#post s3 coda

[bookqueenrules]

The Strawberries and Bananas Conversation Might Have Revealed Beth's Location

Warning... Spoilers for Season 2 and Season 3 Speculation Below!

I had seen the "oops release" of episodes 5, but without the translation, I missed how important this conversation is.

I posted here that episode 4 was the "second Coda" episode complete with coda symbols and the coda-like death of a petite blonde who is Daryl's love interest. @frangipanilove posted this theory about how episode 5 is the story of what happened to Beth's body after Grady. I won't repeat what she said, but I believe we also might have discovered where she is right now in the conversation between Codron and Laurent.

Consider that is a strange conversation between the two. Really out of place as they could have started talking about their feelings with out all the fruit references. In TWDU, that usually means it has some symbolic significance.

First Codron, who has become a one-eyed Sirius character, picks a strawberry. Strawberries are tied to Beth due to her using them as currency at Grady and to Daryl as they are the only thing he "claimed" when he was with the Claimers.

Then, Laurent mentions them having vitamin C and that you can get scurvy on land. I am not sure what all the symbolism is here other than the last time Daryl, Carol, and Beth all lived together it was in cellblock C and that there will be a sea voyage soon. Maybe, Daryl has been deprived of his strawberry, Beth, and his vitamin C?

Then, Laurent randomly asks about bananas mentioning that he has "never have I ever" eaten a banana. That is sort of red flag that he will get to eat one soon. Stay with me here.

The strawberries symbolize Beth in the past or season 4 and 5 Beth.

The banana symbolizes her now. Still "sweet", as Codron says, but barely remembered.

So, knowing that S3 is in Spain, I decided to look up banana production in Spain and found this:

How do the Canary Islands connect to Beth? During the final season of FTWD there was a mid-season "Coda" where Madison, a "dead" for years character who returns in season 8, is calling out coordinates over the radio. A mysterious figure with a blonde braid is listening to the coordinates and starts to pack-up. At the time, TD thought this could have been Beth due to the blonde braid. It turns out it was a one-eyed, bashed repeatedly in the head with a hammer and presumed dead character, Troy.

Two oddities of this coda are that, when Troy returns, he doesn't have blonde hair or a braid and one set of coordinates were not in the US. Where did those set of coordinates lead? You guessed it, the Canary Islands. @twdmusicboxmystery and maybe @wdway were the ones to discover and posted about this at the time, but I can't seem to find the post now to link it. If someone has it, please send it to me, I would love to link it here.

I could add a whole lot more about the canary connection to Beth. Most obviously they sing and are yellow. Beth had an empty bird cage in her cell in cellblock C. I could go on, but this post is long enough.

For reference, the Canary Islands are off the coast of Africa but are part of Spain.

Thoughts?

[crackers4jenn]

Fic Masterlist - Supernatural (Dean/Cas)

CANON-ADJACENT

TITLE: down the road (WIP)

SUMMARY: Set immediately after the s7 finale, when Dean and Cas get sucked into Purgatory. They stick together to fight their way back out, running into some old friends along the way... and some old enemies. (Or, Brokeback Purgatory 1.0. Dean and Cas work through their issues in monsterland.)

TITLE: every inch of my life

SUMMARY: Post-season 15, in a version where Dean doesn't die and Cas is back from the Empty. Gabriel shows up with some mischief in mind, hurtling them through classic porn tropes.

TITLE: one more time (WIP)

SUMMARY: Set during the s15 divorce arc. What if Cas got captured by a djinn. What if he experienced his moment of ‘true happiness’ while caught in its dream, and it summoned the Empty. What if Dean saved Cas from the djinn, only to have a portal of black goo open up in front of them?

TITLE: lapse and fall again

SUMMARY: A post-finale fix-it fic where Dean doesn't die. Instead, he pulls Cas out of the Empty. Eventually, after the reunion, there's romance and a road trip, but not specifically in that order.

TITLE: like a tidal wave I'll make a mess

SUMMARY: 5 Times Dean and Cas Get Mistaken for a Couple (and 1 Time They Actually Are)

TITLE: and I will pull my whole heart up to the surface

SUMMARY: 15x20 fix-it fic. Heaven feels perfect, until suddenly it doesn't.

TITLE: here's a map, here's a shovel, here's my achilles heel

SUMMARY: Post-15x19. Turns out, Dean doesn't have to ask to get Cas back.

TITLE: sink

SUMMARY: "Where to?" A 9.06 coda.

TITLE: dry and blown like dust

SUMMARY: They worry first about angel doings and once-dormant plagues and monster illnesses from cursed objects around the bunker, but Sam WebMD's Cas' symptoms and diagnoses him with: the flu. Set in s9.

TITLE: Mr & Mr Winchester

SUMMARY: "No pet names, I popped the damn question, and you're the girl." (Or, Dean and Castiel: fake-married. Set in a hypothetical s9.)

TITLE: lights down low

SUMMARY: When Dean comes to, it's with a fuzzy, head-pounding disorientation. He's on his back, on the ground, that much he immediately knows, where there's an overgrown lawn cushioning what must've been one hell of a landing. (Or, my excuse to do a canon-compliant Dean/Cas rom-com.)

TITLE: the morning when it's clear

SUMMARY: Post-8.02 Purgatory fic. When it all goes to shit, and obviously it does, it feels like the world is splintering open. That's probably because it is.

✨

ALTERNATE UNIVERSE

TITLE: 99 problems (and a stitch ain't one) (WIP)

SUMMARY: Dean gets a job at a craft store to woo and date ladies, but his plans backfire because his boss is the v. annoying but v. dreamy Castiel, who might be the actual temptation.

TITLE: Wedding Guy

SUMMARY: Cas slips Dean his number at a wedding, and a friendship/relationship takes off from there.

TITLE: on higher grounds

SUMMARY: (based off a tumblr post) charity collector cas who has a spot outside dean’s favourite book store in town and who always looks so cold despite the huge scarf he wears so dean takes to bringing him hot chocolate every day and cas gets this little smile every time he sees dean coming down the street

TITLE: a way not steep

SUMMARY: Dean's twenty-six and his roommate's a guy who cries during E.T.

TITLE: like only a best friend could

SUMMARY: They're both 18 now and Cas is going off to college and Dean's. Well, Dean's probably headed for a fun future of 'would you like fries with that?' and sometimes it scares him so much he thinks about running away too. Like their dads.

✨

CROSSOVER/FUSION

TITLE: Filming Jesus

FANDOMS: Community, Supernatural

SUMMARY: God is not here, Dean. (Or, Jeff and Annie meet Dean and Castiel. Set during Community s3 and SPN s5.)

TITLE: 11 characters that never were the slayer

FANDOMS: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Supernatural, The Office, Community, Glee, Parks & Rec, Gilmore Girls, etc etc.

[thekristen999]

✨2023 writing round-up✨

I enjoyed seeing @exhuastedpigeon 's write-up and thought I'd post mine :)

I wrote 97k words in 2023. Which is more than I thought! I struggled with finding time to be creative this year. My RL has been such a chaotic ball of stress. But things are getting better, and I think my Muse will be more exited to come out and play this year!

February

bro·ken 32k

This was my favorite story I wrote this year. It’s dark, gritty, and a deep exploration of what would have happened if Eddie and Buck hadn’t meet until the S3 timeline. With both guys at rock-bottom and how they find each other to heal.

.

bro·ken

adjective 1. having been fractured or damaged and no longer in one piece or in working order. 2. having given up all hope; despairing.

Forced to take shady side jobs to pay his bills, Evan Buckley doesn’t think he’s ever seen such rock bottom. Until he meets Eddie Diaz, a man even more desperate and alone. Season 3 AU.

March

Not Today 2k

A coda to the lightning strike that uses those events to explore Eddie’s encounters and emotional understanding of death.

.

Eddie propelled himself up the ladder, shutting off those parts of brain he refused to listen to, only focusing on how fast he could climb, how hard he tried pulling on Buck’s safety line, until finally, he gave in to the only logic he was willing to consider.

What Buck needed; Eddie couldn't provide.

(Eddie and his battles with death and dying)

We’ve Got Fun & Games  7k

I wrote humor? :) It was a great fun to have the 118-taking part in a mini version of the Amazing Race and all the shenanigans that follow during a contest across the city.

.

"Um. You trained for this?” Ravi asked.

Eddie released a long-suffering sigh. "We trained. Every day. For a month.”

Buck could not believe his ears. Did they not grasp the glory of the great adventure before them? He cleared his throat and lowered his voice. “Running across the scorching plains of Africa, bolting down the steep steps of Shanghai, diving straight into synchronized swimming routines with Olympic athletes in Moscow. These are only a few obstacles we might encounter during…The Amazing Race."

Bobby frowned. "This is for charity.”

Buck spread out his arms to encompass the couple hundred people mingling around the park. "And it’s against all the other firehouses in the city. We do have a reputation to uphold."

April

Tick...Tick...Boom 3.6k

A very intense story on the dangers first responders face during a call gone wrong.

.

“Eddie,” Buck warned.

He started to say something else when the door cracked open.

A woman poked her head out, her voice shaking. “Yes?”

“Are you alright ma’am?” Eddie asked.

The question was rhetorical. Blood dripped down her chin from a busted lip, her puffy face framed by the beginnings of two black eyes.

“I’m fine. Is there, um…,” A shadow loomed. Her trembling hand gripped the door frame harder. “How can I help you, officers?”

“We’re with the L.A. Fire Department,” Eddie said, his voice calm. “We really need to come in. It’ll just take a moment.”

The woman glanced behind her, whispering, “I can’t…. I’m trying….”

The shadow retreated.

Eddie stuck his foot under the door, slowly pushing it open as he eased his way inside. “It’s okay. We’re here to help.”

May

We All Fall Down  3.5 k

I wanted more from the finale. Like the skeleton was there, but I needed more details and bit more logic.

.

He’d done this before. Inside the well. Trapped forty feet underground instead of in a tin can, rising water the constant threat.

Eddie stared at the radio, knowing this time there’d be someone on the other end to hear him if he needed to say something. If his time his second chances had finally run out.

He wouldn’t die alone. Not really. His team would be there. Just inches away. He could tell them, tell Buck….

(A nuanced re-working of the events of the episode to satisfy certain wants and needs)

August

Cutting The Ties That Bind 34.K M

I wrote something that wasn’t a hurt/comfort or an angst fest! It had lots of sexual tension, drama, and meaty plot. I love world-building.

.

Evan Buckley was a businessman, he had meetings and deadlines like everyone else. Sometimes he used intimation. While using the very same tactics he was trying to end while converting his family business into legitimate operations was a little hypocritical, it was the results that mattered.

Occasionally, he got threatened, but it was usually all hot air and ego. That all changed the day his breaks were tampered with. Enter Eddie Diaz, security specialist, who was not easily impressed by Buck’s expensive suits or financial conquests. That was okay. Buck enjoyed a challenge.

(The Mafia AU)

November

Follow You Into The Dark  14k

I had a need. I wanted to put both Eddie and Buck in the worst possible situation where they literally had to depend on the other in ways they had never before.

.

Buck kept a firm grip around Eddie’s arm as he was guided down hallways. They’d both experienced something like this before during the Academy: cadet’s exercises where both teammates were blindfolded and forced to depend on the other to escape burning buildings. This wasn’t unlike that experience, except of course this was real and Buck’s freaking eyes were swollen shut and Eddie was concussed and deaf.

(Or a serial arsonist terrorizes the city, plunging Buck and Eddie into a dangerous game of cat and mouse.)

[babytarttdoodoo]

Fanfic Masterpost (Ted Lasso)

Gen

i should be the poster kid for this shit The team finds out about Jamie’s first experience in Amsterdam. Post-S3 | 6,979 words | Content warnings: Implied sexual assault, discussions of underage sex, canon-typical swearing. (Original Post) (Read on Ao3)

high hopes are getting low Jamie seeks out Roy’s company after a run-in with his dad. Post-S3 | 2,278 words | Content warnings: Discussions of alcoholism, implied/referenced child abuse, canon-typical swearing. (Original Post) (Read on Ao3)

every emotion that i'm meant to express Jamie has a panic attack during the events of Mom City. S3 Coda | 1,802 words | Content warnings: POV description of a panic attack, canon-typical swearing. (Original Post) (Read on Ao3)

just remember to smile The AFC Richmond players discover something unpleasant about Jamie’s childhood and react accordingly. Post-S3 | 963 words | Content warnings: Implied/referenced child abuse, mentions of blood and dental injury, discussions of anxiety dreams, canon-typical swearing, canon animal death. (Original Post) (Read on Ao3)

why am i bent and burned Jamie is diagnosed with ADHD. Post-S3 | 1,520 words | Content warnings: Discussions of neurodivergent behaviour, canon-typical swearing. (Original Post) (Read on Ao3)

act like you're torn apart Jamie doesn’t tell anyone he’s injured until it gets very bad. S2 | 3,177 words | Content warnings: Canon-typical swearing, physical injury, vomiting. (Original Post) (Read on Ao3)

reignited with a vengeance Roy watches Jamie tackle his Manchester demons in very different ways. S2 & S3 | 1,189 words | Content warnings: Canon-typical swearing, physical injury, implied/referenced child abuse. (Original Post) (Read on Ao3)

pick up the pieces Jamie and Roy go for a drink. It goes much better than last time. Post-S3 | 1,567 words | Content warnings: Canon-typical swearing, mentions of surgery. (Original Post) (Read on Ao3)

before i get put down again Colin is injured during a match and Isaac worries. Post-S3 | 1,362 words | Content warnings: Canon-typical swearing, physical injury, implied/referenced homophobia. (Original Post)

Roy Kent/Jamie Tartt

accused of appearing insincere Roy becomes protective of Jamie when a fan makes unwelcome advances. Post-S3 | 1,852 words | Content warnings: Mentions of sex and alcohol, non-consensual physical contact, exceptional levels of swearing. (Original Post) (Read on Ao3)

effort to make it look effortless Jamie attends training at Nelson Road while sick and makes everyone very worried. Post-S3 | 1,364 words | Content warnings: Implied illness, canon-typical swearing. (Original Post) (Read on Ao3)

puzzled together again Jamie has a bad day. Roy helps. Post-S3 | 1,697 words | Content warnings: Canon-typical swearing, plus Spanish swearing. (Original Post) (Read on Ao3)

laugh about it all All of AFC Richmond get a big surprise - and not the one they planned for. Post-S3 | 2,185 words | Content warnings: Canon-typical swearing. (Original Post) (Read on Ao3)

[rmd-writes]

Do you have any recs (or your followers) for fanfics of a stoic/serious Carlos and sunshine/sweet TK? Like being with TK makes carlos break his act/break character. Would love to read this dynamic if anyone has written them as such

Hi nonnie!

I will admit that my initial reaction to this ask was to say: that's just their post-S1 dynamic though?

And to an extent it is, except that Carlos gets much more relaxed as S2 and S3 progress. When I was trying to think of fics that fit the bill I struggled, because most AUs start with that prickly S1 TK and end with a Carlos who is more open and less-reserved, at least where TK is concerned! I couldn't really think of any that were just the serious/sunshine dynamic that you're asking for!

Episode codas might do what you're looking for, depending on the episode and the fic rating.

These two fics kind of fit the brief - both involve Lou II and are very sweet and funny:

Carlos's Greatest Lizardventure by @rosedavid

grounded by @taralaurel

but I'll throw this open to anyone reading this ask - if you've got a rec for nonnie, pop it in the comments or rb with a link 💖

[messymindofmine]

For a while now I’ve been trying to get my thoughts on the first four episodes of this season sorted out. I did actually enjoy the arc as a whole. I enjoyed getting to learn more about Carlos’s backstory and I actually enjoyed getting to know Iris better. I think so many of us assumed that Carlos had such a lonely childhood and so it’s nice to know that he had at least one person in his life that he was close to and be himself around.

I think for me the reason why I felt so stressed about it all was actually more down to the fandom reaction to the storyline. I’m not trying to blame anyone here or insult the fandom at all. I actually understand why a lot of people reacted the way they did. But there were things that stressed me out. I didn’t like how so many people just seemed so resistant to the concept of Carlos even having flaws. Carlos has always had flaws, it’s just that for some reason some people always ignored them in favor of lashing out at TK. And I think that right there is why a lot of people who care about TK felt frustrated. Since s1, TK’s worthiness has constantly been questioned and every mistake he has made has been held against him. In s3, ppl kept saying that Carlos should never have taken TK back at all and made him work for it. Mind you, these people completely overlooked the fact that Carlos had bought a house without even discussing it with TK. The thing is, the narrative and Carlos himself seemed to ignore that too. Even Rafa boiled the breakup down to “TK fucking up.” But with this, it feels like the writers didn’t even want to acknowledge that Carlos had even made a mistake. There is never a moment where it’s pointed out to Carlos that he was married for the entirety of his relationship to TK and didn’t tell him. Instead, it’s brushed of bc it wasn’t a real marriage. I think this frustrated a lot of people bc it felt like even when Carlos is unequivocally the one who made a mistake, it’s going ignored. I actually did defend Carlos as much as I possibly could during that arc bc I do understand why he married Iris in the first place and it does fit his character that he didn’t tell TK. I just wish that had been pointed out as wrong the way TK breaking up with Carlos instead of talking to him about the house was. Carlos got to vent his feelings back then yet TK never said a word about how he felt about Carlos keeping that secret and then he constantly blamed himself for Iris going missing and nobody stepped in to tell him it wasn’t his fault.

On the other hand, I didn’t like how people who were understanding of both sides were treated either. I know for a fact that there were people writing entire coda fics that validated TK’s feelings and yet they were being sent messages accusing them of not liking TK. I most certainly did not like how the writers and especially the actors were being left nasty comments to the point where an Instagram post had to be taken down. As much as I loved Ronen, Rafa and Lysney showing each other solidarity, it should never have come to that in the first place. I don’t know what type of comments they were or who they were coming from. I do know that there were people who were just mad that a woman had been brought into the dynamic at all. I know that there were people who just couldn’t stand the idea of Carlos having flaws. I know there were people who, after the first ep, were sending anyone who vented their feelings on their own blog lists of every mistake (both real and imagined) mistake that TK has ever made. I know there were people who went out of their way to blame TK anyway and people who tried to pin the blame on Iris even though she was literally in a state of psychosis for years and was living on the streets. At any rate, whoever it was that left comments on Rafa’s post or sent hate to any of the actors should be ashamed.

Ronen himself touched on this in a post ep 4 interview but it really does seem that ppl forget that TK deals with mental health issues as well and none of this situation was at all easy on him. There’s a reason why Iris likened herself to TK. From the vibe I got, the ppl that were actually hating on Iris for the stuff she said during the dinner didn’t even seem that concerned about TK himself. They just wanted an excuse to hate on Iris. I’ve said before that there is ableism in this fandom that has come into play with how TK is talked about and it definitely feels like it came into play with how Iris was talked about. I know it frustrated a lot of ppl seeing TK’s struggles in this arc being ignored by everyone and even Carlos seemingly blaming him for Iris going missing. Now, I do understand why Carlos reacted the way he did. He was deeply worried, probably blaming himself since this is something he and TK have in common and Iris’s life was in danger. And Carlos has always had a tendency to compartmentalize to the point that it becomes toxic. So I do understand his reaction but I can’t say that I didn’t find it upsetting. I also feel like it led a lot of ppl to be louder about how bad they felt for TK bc they felt that nobody else was going to do it. There were also ppl outright blaming TK and the fact that Ronen made it a point to defend why TK went to Iris shows that the actors do in fact see the stuff fans say. I just hope that after this ppl can recognize that it is possible to understand and sympathize with two characters at the same time and to do so doesn’t mean that you dislike one or the other. I actually do understand (even if I don't necessarily agree with it) the hypersensitivity that some ppl had over TK during this arc bc there’s no denying that there are ppl out there that look for excuses to hate on TK and downplay his feelings. Apparently enough for Ronen to notice. In my experience, ppl who love TK generally love Carlos as well but the same can not always be said the other way around. However, as I already said, this is no reason to go after the ppl who do love both and are just trying to be understanding of both sides. At the end of the day, as far as I can see the majority does love both and that should be what matters. I think there is also the matter of how the anger ppl felt at Carlos was ultimately temporary. Ppl were angry after 401 but they calmed down after 402 when we saw Tarlos being a united team and expressing love for each other. And of course there was the exquisite couch scene. The anger started up again with ep 2 and Carlos’s behavior. The anger at Carlos always felt like a knee-jerk response that I didn’t like but at least it was temporary in the end. For TK on the other hand, ppl have been looking for excuses to hate on him since s1. Going as far as him bringing Lou the lizard home as proof of how he’s not good enough for Carlos.

All of this is something that has really been bothering me especially since there’s people who seem mad that Carlos wasn’t in ep 5 and I truly don’t understand why. I understand wanting more screen time, I always want both guys to have more screen time but I enjoyed the focus on Marjan and I want more for her. Plus we had 4 episodes straight focusing on Carlos where we learned so much about him and a lot of fans even got there wish about seeing him be the one in danger and TK rescue him. That’s actually another thing btw, while I liked ep 4 itself, I didn’t like how ppl were rejoicing at Carlos being hurt bc it would make “TK be the one to worry and show his love in a more obvious way.” Anyway, I don’t understand why some ppl were so mad at Carlos not getting screen time in this ep. I also understand wanting to see acknowledgment of what happened but I feel like it’s ok bc there’s so many brilliant coda fics for that. We didn’t really get any aftermath in the Push arc either but I don’t remember ppl complaining about that. TK was barely in any of the episodes after Push until the end of 307 and he was barely in this ep either. There are about 10 regulars on the show and this is the first time Marjan has had a big storyline so why is it such a bad thing that the focus was temporarily moved a bit? I genuinely don’t understand.  

Anyway, as I said before, I’m not trying to blame anyone or start anything. I just truly needed to get this off my chest so that I can sleep at night. As I said, I did enjoy the storyline overall. More than anything else, I’m just happy to move on from the angst and into the happy wedding-planning era. Personally, I don’t want anymore relationship-related drama. I know Rafa said that what happened in 404 would impact how Carlos dealt with things later on and I hope that means we see growth. I hope that means Carlos realizing that he has things he needs to work on the way TK did after Push. That’s all I want next for Tarlos and for Carlos

[twdmusicboxmystery]

Hi! I like the theories! It’s sad though when I a show could have had such great storylines and deep theories play out and instead…🤷‍♀️. I was looking at the story from Norman though w all the scar transfers, and the wrist box looks like it says Camille I think? I’m hoping the spin-offs pan out well. I guess I just don’t have the faith you do. Seeing the varying quality in writing over the seasons, how do you keep faith that the exec team will do all that justice and it wasn’t just overlap that’ll go half finished? I’ve seen varying reviews of gimple, mainly leaning negative though. I just don’t want to get my hopes up that they are actually capable of pulling off something so massive with the spin-off storylines when it seems so far off in comparison to TWD, at least to me, but I’m new to the fandom. I’ve also been severely let down by getting too deep in the past with fandoms. I’d love to see you do theories though not just relating to Beth, but other storylines in TWD. You’re really good at meta. Thanks for staying active for new fans!

Thank you! I keep faith mostly because there's so much evidence. It would be one thing if things were promised in Beth's story, and then they seemed to kill her off in Coda, and then we never heard or saw anything relating to those promises ever again. That truly might just be the writers changing their minds, as they did in S3, and going a different direction than originally planned.

But that's very far from what's happened.

Ever since Coda, there's had been tons and tons of evidence of her return. The symbolism has remained steady and 100% the same throughout the seasons. And once we learned to read the symbolism, we've been able to predict other story lines. (See THIS POST.) And if we're reading the symbolism correctly there, by definition we HAVE to be reading it correctly for Beth.

Outside the show, with comments various members of tptb have made, there has also been evidence. Like Nicotero being really weird about the fate of Grady, the tease about the missing 17 days, and the writers saying--mostly in response to nasty shippers--that they are going to tell the story they originally set up to tell [emphasis mine] no matter what different factions of the audience think.

The story they originally set up to tell with Daryl's love life, was Beth.

As for Gimple, I know there's a lot of negativity out there about him and his writing skills, but this is an internet troll thing. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, of course, but you have to understand that most of that negativity we see online comes from people who simply did not like the direction of the show. So, their favorite ship didn't go canon, or their favorite character was killed off. When that happens, they immediately take to the web and start ranting about how terrible a writer Gimple is. I got news for those people: just because the story HE is telling isn't the one YOU want to hear, doesn't make him a bad writer.

Furthermore, consider this: while of course the viewership has gone down some since S5, TWD and all it's shows are still one of the most popular and in-demand shows in the world. Trust me, if Gimple sucked at his job, that would NOT be the case.

So, in short, I don't blame anyone for lack of faith in her return. It has been a long time, and I totally get it. But the entire TWD universe ends, or we get a concrete "no" from the writers--which we've never gotten, btw--I will continue to hold out hope. And for now, that means looking forward to the spinoff.

Xoxo! 💌💕

[jonfucius]

Great Star Trek Rewatch - Enterprise S3

Originally posted on Twitter 16 September 2019 - 10 January 2020

Enterprise Season 3 is up next in my Great Star Trek Rewatch. As in Seasons 1 and 2, mini-reviews will document my progress.

The Xindi: Good action, a suspenseful mystery. The 5-species Xindi are a great addition to the Trek pantheon. The first neuropressure scene is extremely awkward and objectifying, and I'm taking 2 points for that. Still, a somewhat strong start to Season 3. 8/10

Anomaly: Our heroes are forced to compromise their ethics, as the mysteries of the Delphic Expanse deepen. It’s still jarring to see Archer nearly suffocate a prisoner to get information. Good action at the end. 7/10

Extinction: I didn’t like this one when it was “Identity Crisis” on TNG, so I really don’t like “Extinction”. If I was a first-time viewer who stumbled onto this episode back in 2003, I’d probably never give Trek another chance. Just awful. 1/10

Rajiin: The women of ENT are once again the unfortunate victim of a tone-deaf, misogynistic, exploitative script. Star Trek hasn’t ever handled sexuality with the greatest aplomb, and this episode proves it. 3/10

Impulse: Day of the Dead Vulcans! A shockingly effective teaser and a truly scary coda elevates a basic zombie story. Jolene Blalock gives one of her best T’Pol performances in this episode. The trellium poisoning will have later ramifications. 8/10

Exile: Hoshi and the Beast, and an Archer & Reed subplot. Both plots move the season arc forward, but it’s an otherwise forgettable entry. 5/10

The Shipment: We learn more about the Xindi here, as a crucial piece of the plot is advanced with the titular kemocite shipment. 8/10

Twilight: One of ENT’s finest episodes. A spatial anomaly renders Archer much like Leonard Shelby. A reset button episode, sure, but a sweet and touching episode that evolves Archer and T’Pol’s friendship. 10/10

North Star: I don't care that this is a Space Western, I love this episode. The stakes are relatively low but it's a rollicking ride. It's fun to see our heroes doing exactly what Pike, Kirk, Picard, Sisko, or Janeway would do, but before the Federation exists. 9/10

Similitude: Y’all. One of the all-time great ethical debates Star Trek has ever posed. Another excellent season 3 installment. 10/10

Carpenter Street: An engaging time-travel yarn with some subtle commentary on early 21st century American life. Archer and T’Pol are an underrated pairing. The great Leland Orser is the icing on the cake. 8/10

Chosen Realm: It’s heavy-handed, and D’Jamat is a hateable villain with absolutely no redeeming qualities. I feel no sympathy for these people. I demand justice for the poor unnamed sciences crew person blown out into space by the suicide bomber. 6/10

Proving Ground: The Andorians offer assistance, but it’s just a ruse to get their hands on a WMD that would defeat the Vulcans. Archer’s solution is ingenious. Nice VFX here too. 7/10

Stratagem: The titular stratagem is exceedingly clever. The one that closes out the episode is even better. Degra is a sympathetic villain. 8/10

Harbinger: The plots with the mysterious alien and the MACO-Starfleet tensions are great. Had this ep focused on that, it would’ve been better. What’s not great is the T’Pol-Cole-Tucker Triangle, culminating in the infamous nude scene. It drags the score down by 5 points. 3/10

Doctor’s Orders: I liked this one better when it was “One” on Voyager. 4/10

Hatchery: The reverse-imprinting twist is intriguing, but it also feels very similar to “Extinction” (not a good thing). It’s an utterly forgettable entry. 5/10

Azati Prime: Wow. Tense from the jump, excellent plot advancement, and a truly harrowing, nail-biting conclusion. 10/10

Damage: A quieter "second act" to Azati Prime, Archer has to make some tough calls that are explicitly compared to the marauders from earlier in the season. He also manages to sow some doubt among the Xindi Council. 8/10

The Forgotten: Trip's struggle with writing a condolence letter to a fallen colleague masks his trauma over his sister's death. His scene with T'Pol in the wrecked corridor is incredibly moving, as is his condolence letter. The Degra plot is duly advanced, as well. 10/10

E²: I’ve watched this one four or five times while trying to review it for this rewatch, and it still does nothing for me. DS9’s “Children of Time” has the same basic plot, but is more memorable and poignant. This episode is basically marking time to the final episodes. 4/10

The Council: Pour one out for Degra and Cpl Hawkins. What starts as a slow, methodical dialog-heavy episode goes from 0-60 in the final minutes with the launch of the Xindi weapon and Hoshi’s abduction. 8/10

Countdown: The body count rises: the Xindi-Insectoid Councillor and Maj Hayes (in a tragic subversion of the last-second beam-out trope). The Sphere Builders play their hand as the weapon deploys. Meanwhile, our heroes discover the thermal exhaust port of the spheres. 9/10

Zero Hour: Y’all. ENT’s biggest spectacle to date. The Xindi weapon is destroyed (featuring a stone-cold Archer killing Dolim with a bomb), the Sphere Builders are defeated, and…NAZIS?! This episode ties up ENT’s strongest season to date while keeping us hooked for S4. 10/10

And with that, Season 3 of ENT comes to an end in my Great Star Trek Rewatch. Final score: 7.04/10. Highest score(s): “Twilight,” “Similitude,” “Azati Prime,” “The Forgotten,” “Zero Hour”. Lowest score(s): “Extinction”

[bookqueenrules]

Coda, Coda, Coda-DD Episode 4

In this post, I asked TDers to be on the look out for the Easter Egg that's not really an Easter Egg which Gimple mentioned on the NYCC panel. It was unclear if he was saying it was in episode 4 or not, but if he did mean episode 4, he was clearly referring to the Coda symbols in this is episode. For a reference as what a Coda is and how it is connected to Beth and her return, here is a wonderful post by @twdmusicboxmystery

I found two coda symbols in the episode. Please let me know if anyone found others. Interestingly, there are other TD related symbols above each of the codas.

In the garage with Theo and the other older gentleman, I don't remember his name, the coda symbol is clearly reflected on the top of the car.

The fact that this coda symbol is literally a reflection on a CAR is like a neon sign for TDers. If Beth did survive by being left in a car, either in the backseat or the trunk, putting the coda symbol on the car would be a clear sign that Beth was "resurrected" from the car as TD believes. Above it is a car sign for a brand of car, these cars no longer sold in North American, with a Chevron pattern like the one in the gray sweater Beth wore during Coda.

Next, there is the coda painted on pillars at the Nest. Soon after Isabelle's Coda-like death, this appears clearly in the shot behind Losang. Above the coda is a compass rose. I won't go over the compass rose symbolism as many other TDers have written about it for years.

So what do these codas mean? If this is the "mythology" Gimple is referring to, why is he calling it out? We know he uses symbols of all kinds in every episode. So, why call out this symbol now? The obvious answer is that the episode is the second Coda and now we will be going back to the first coda and Beth will return. Another NYCC tidbit is that right before the question that elicited Gimple's "Easter Egg" response was a question about crossovers and cameos. Gimple and Zabel looked at each other, laughed, and Zabel said that they are working on something right now.

By the end of season one and now throughout season two of DD, they have clearly repeated parts seasons 4 and 5. Based on this, below is my conjecture as to when Beth will return.

There may be post credits scene that airs after the cable broadcast of 2x6 where we see that Beth is alive like we saw Morgan after 5x8 Coda.

2. It could mean that we are in middle of a replay, but the replay isn't complete. I did a post explaining how we have seen a replay of 5x01, 5x02, and 5x03 here. However, knowing how the rest of the season goes, I don't think we have seen the replay of these episodes yet.

Honestly, as disappointing as it may be, I think season 3 will be about replaying some of these episode before we get Beth.

I'll post more about it later, but we already have a S3 spoiler that during a celebration a military like vehicle pulls up. Then, a man was heard yelling, "They kidnapped my daughter." I believe they were filming episode 2. So, @galadrieljones I believe you were correct about the kidnapping. It's not Laurent but a new character in Spain. Assuming D and C go after the girl, and I am sure they will, that episode may be the replay of Consumed and/or Crossed.

Another confirmation from S3 spoilers is the train connection. Trains are mentioned strangely in a couple of places in episode 4 as @twdmusicboxmystery pointed out in her video. She predicted that we would see a train soon. Guess what? A BTS picture was posted of a yellow(the color of reunion) train being filmed in Spain.

I'll post all the BTS pics I have as soon as S2 is over. I mention all the things TD has been and continues to be right about to show that we should not be too upset if she doesn't show at the end of season 2. She will show soon. Judging by the replays, she will show by the end of season 3 at the latest. Hang in there! In the mean time, Bethyl has the BEST fanfiction writers to keep us entertained!

TD is right. All the signs and symbols point to Beth's return. She will return. Unfortunately, TPTB are not in as a much of hurry to get there as we are.

[crackers4jenn]

So, @dollsome-does-tumblr did this – she took writing prompts and, instead of filling them anew, used her existing stories – and I have to admit, it looked fun. And it was.

hug – here’s a map, here’s a shovel, here’s my achilles heel (Supernatural, Dean/Cas) – Post-15x19. Turns out, Dean doesn't have to ask to get Cas back.

crown – Alternate Energy (the key to a brighter tomorrow) (Community, Jeff/Annie) – The obligatory Jeff-and-Annie continuation of this truthy moment from 2.09.

repulsed – Out of my Mind (The Office, Dwight and Pam) – Dwight has an usual and unprofessional dream about Pam. (Takes place in season 3.)

blood – lights down low (Supernatural, Dean/Cas) – When Dean comes to, it’s with a fuzzy, head-pounding disorientation. He’s on his back, on the ground, that much he immediately knows, where there’s an overgrown lawn cushioning what must’ve been one hell of a landing. (Or, my excuse to do a canon-compliant Dean/Cas rom-com.)

flower – sink (Supernatural, Dean/Cas) – “Where to?” A 9.06 coda.

clothing – resetting the feminist movement (Community) – “Let me get this straight. You dressed like Britney Spears, just to… drive home a point Tyra Banks already teaches us every episode of her hit show, The Tyra Banks Show?”

god – Filming Jesus (Community/Supernatural crossover) – God is not here, Dean. (Or, Jeff and Annie meet Dean and Castiel. Set during Community s3 and SPN s5.)

dance – Wedding Guy (Supernatural, Dean/Cas) – “I’m Castiel. I wanted to let you know I’ve been noticing you all night, and I wanted to leave this with you, before I left.” (aka Cas slips Dean his number at a wedding, and a friendship/relationship takes off from there.)

music – Pardner in Crime (New Girl, Jess/Schmidt) – It’s Valentine’s Day, and Jess lands herself a wingman. Who is Schmidt.

magic – something wicked (Good Mythical Morning, Rhett/Link) – “Why’s it always gotta be witches.”

kiss – 35 yrs time (Good Mythical Morning, Rhett/Link) – It takes a little while for Rhett and Link to figure things out, but eventually they get on the same page.

ending – keep me as your finish line (Stranger Things, Steve/Nancy) – So badly she wants to lie to herself and pretend she doesn’t know where this conversation, this confession, is coming from, like they haven’t been building up to it since the night Steve leapt headfirst into Lover’s Lake. The symbolism of that, by the way, isn’t lost on her.

[ebonysolcum]

Sorry if this is too much. I like to be thorough. Lol. (Also, please note, the episode numbers for Season 1 treat “Caretaker” as two episodes. If your thing counts them as one, just subtract a number.)

I’ll stick everything under a cut just so it doesn’t take up as much space.

Party (I’ve italicised the ones that are probably most what you’re looking for.)

S1 E6 “The Cloud” (I don’t know if you’d call it a party, but she does attend a gathering at Sandrine’s)

S2 E6 “Twisted”

S3 E6 “Remember”

S3 E14 “Alter Ego”

S4 E12 “Mortal Coil”

*S4 E25 “One” (It’s a holographic simulation of her, so not really.)

S5 E6 “Timeless”

S5 E11 “Latent Image”

*S5 E18 “Course: Oblivion” (Duplicate performs wedding, so kinda.)

S5 E23 “11:59” (Kinda, at the end.)

S6 E10 “Pathfinder” (Kinda, at the end.)

S6 E11 “Fair Haven” (Holographic party on the holodeck?)

S7 E23 “Homestead”

Planet

- Outside

S1 E1-2 “Caretaker”

S1 E4 “Time and Again”

S1 E10 “Prime Factors”

S2 E1 “The 37’s”

S2 E2 “Initiations”

S2 E12 “Resistance”

S2 E22 “Innocence”

S2 E25 “Resolutions”

S2 E26/S3 E1 “Basics”

S3 E7 “Sacred Ground”

S3 E8 “Future’s End, Part I”

S3 E15 “Coda”

S3 E16 “Blood Fever”

*S3 E24 “Displaced” (Technically a simulated environment on a space station.)

S4 E10 “Random Thoughts”

S4 E11 “Concerning Flight”

S5 E4 “In the Flesh” (Technically a simulated environment on a space station.)

S6 E14 “Memorial”

S6 E19 “Child’s Play”

S7 E16-17 “Workforce”

- Inside only

S1 E8 “Ex Post Facto”

S1 E14 “Alliances”

S3 E18 “Darkling”

S3 E20 “Favorite Son”

S4 E21 “The Omega Directive”

S6 E7 “Dragon’s Teeth”

S6 E13 “Virtuoso”

Q’s puppy

S3 E11 “The Q and the Grey”

In a hat

- Unfortunately, this does not exist. I guess the woman is opposed to headwear. Lol. However, I can give you two sorta options.

S5 E12 “Bride of Chaotica!” (She wears a wig with a spider on it. Kinda headwear, but not really.)

S5 E23 “11:59” (It’s not actually Janeway, but Shannon O’Donnell does wear a hat.)

Saying goodbye

*S1 E1-2 “Caretaker” (Says goodbye to Mark, though she doesn’t realise it’s permanent.)

S5 E10 “Counterpoint” (Do you want to count Kashyk? I dunno.)

S6 E11 “Fair Haven” (Tries to say goodbye to Michael. That didn’t last. Lol.)

S7 E17 “Workforce, Part II” (Says goodbye to Jaffen.)

Hope this helps! Also, sorry if I missed anything or got anything wrong.

I'm working on a video (aka I wanna start working on a video at some point, lol) but I need some help finding scenes. If anyone can help with the episode number on these scenes, I'd appreciate it!

- Janeway at a party (I know there was at least one in the mess hall)

- Janeway visiting a planet (one or two episodes/scenes)

- Janeway with the dog and Q

- Janeway in a hat (does that exist?) or at least a head thing of some sort

- Janeway saying goodbye to a man she liked but has to leave (one or two episodes/scenes)

[pinkletterday]

The Way We Were

Pairing: Barry Allen/ Iris West

Rating: All Audiences

Summary:

Memories may be beautiful and yet

What's too painful to remember 

We simply choose to forget

So it's the laughter we will remember

Whenever we remember

the way we were

Read on AO3

The box of mementos had sat stored away on high closet shelf until Iris had been seized with the need to find some obscure sweater of Barry's. Her frenzied search accidentally knocked it to the floor, the contents scattering every which way, joining the mess she had made of the rest of the room.

She picked up the tiny velociraptor fallen near her foot.

***

They had both loved Jurassic Park. Barry because he was a nerd and Iris because she had seen that T-Rex eat a guy on the toilet and screamed at the time but also thought it was awesome. They would sneak into the kitchen at night to get Jell-o, pretending they were trying to evade raptors. Sometimes Iris was the velicoraptor and Barry had to hide from her.

Her Dad had the living daylights scared out of him once when he came down for a glass of milk at 1am without switching on the light and they had both screamed in his face.

***

The memory rose so vividly that she took a step back and nearly tripped over Barry's old sneakers. They were covered in sharpied scribbles, laces still tied together.

***

Iris had never been able to monitor her own sugar consumption. She used to eat so much candy at fairs that it made Joe and Barry sick just to watch her. She'd puked on Barry's shoes TWICE after eating funnel cake on top of cotton candy and candy corn. Barry told her later, the morning after they had first made love, that this was probably when he figured out he's in love with her for real, because he was too worried and exasperated to be grossed out as much as he should have been.

It hadn't stopped him from jokingly gifting her the sneakers once they'd been cleaned. Iris had retaliated by refusing to give them back.

***

The keychain from her first car gleamed dully from under the side table.

***

Joe still thought it was Iris that crashed his car. It had actually been Barry at the wheel. Iris knew her Dad loved Barry but there was always a shadow of a fear in her heart when he annoyed her Dad a little too much. She had insisted they swap seats and change their story before the cops came and never told him why. She could take her Dad's anger. She's his little girl. But she's never trusted anyone to love Barry as much as she does.

Dad had given them a beat up Ford Escort for them to share when they were seventeen, but Barry had refused to get behind the wheel again till he left for college.

***

The Titanic poster that had half-unrolled across the floor had been a gag gift from him the Christmas he had come home his freshman year.

***

They had been too young for the Titanic fever when it had first come out (except for everyone getting sick of that Celine Dion song) but when they had been about ten, Iris had taken it firmly into her head that she needed to see what the fuss was about. Dad hadn't let them because he thought they were still babies who didn't know about sex, which made Iris all the more determined.

She had gotten Barry to steal his parents' DVD copy and bring it with him one day he was sleeping over at the Wests' house. They watched it together in their basement, giggling and blushing at the sexy parts. Barry yelped and covered his face with his hands, ears burning, when Kate Winslet disrobed, and Iris covered up her own embarrassment by laughing and throwing popcorn at him.

At the end of the movie, Barry had been crying into his own popcorn but Iris was incensed.

"Well that's....just stupid!" She steamed at the tv. "Are you CRYING?"

"NO," Barry sniffled. "But it's not stupid. Why is it stupid?"

"She let him DIE, Barry!" Iris fumed. "They could have shared that door! Taken turns! Or made HIM get on it!"

"It's a minus freezing sea, Iris, not a swimming pool. You can't jump in an out of it like that. Besides, then she would have died," said Barry, looking at her in incomprehension.

"Well duh!" Iris huffed and threw her hands up in indignation. "You dont let the boy you love DIE for you. How is that romantic?"

"It's romantic cause he sacrificed himself so she could live," insisted Barry. "That's what you do when you love someone!"

"Oh yeah, I love you so much Im just gonna up and LEAVE you, have a nice life!"

"That's not fair!" said Barry, seeming irrationally hurt. "It's not like he had a choice! You just dont get romance, Iris. You don't even like musicals," he concluded in a superior tone.

Iris gaped at him, then closed her mouth and returned to the point at issue. "Anyway. It's stupid. She doesnt deserve him. I'd a died with my man if it was me."

"Well then you're stupid," said Barry with uncharacteristic vehemence. "You're worth way more than some guy!"

"I happen to love that guy!" Iris yelled back.

"What guy?"

"Whatever guy!"

"Fine! Go die for Whatever Guy!"

"You too! Go drown yourself for little Miss Cant-Share-A-Frggin-Door Priss!"

They glared at each other before the absurdity of the argument dawned on them and they started to laugh.

"Is everything okay down there?" Joe's voice called down to the basement.

They looked at each other wide-eyed and at the TV before Iris scrambled to eject the DVD.

That night, after her Dad had turned off the light with a firm admonishment to go to sleep, Iris snuck into Barry's camp bed and under his covers where he was reading with a flashlight.

"Hey," she poked him. "Just to be clear, I know you're a sappy nerd -"

"YOU'RE a sappy -"

"But," she continued determined, "no sacrificing yourself for any girls, okay? I need my best friend around."

Barry had a weird expression on his face.

"What?"

"You're a girl," he observed rather too casually. "Im not allowed to give you the door either?"

Iris swatted him, appalled. "Especially not me! We're partners Barry! The whole point is that we go down together!"

"You jump, I jump, Jack," grinned Barry at her over the beam of the flashlight.

Iris poked his pointy nose. "Except we mean it, Rose."

***

The loft had grown dark during her reminiscing. The floor was chilly beneath her but her limbs were too heavy to move.

She simply sat, Barry's sweater forgotten on her lap, spinning the tiny lone raptor in her hand. Lost among the debris of their life together that he had left behind when he walked into the Speed Force, the ghost of his last kiss still tingling on her lips.

You lied to me again, Barry. You lied.

[changingthingslikeleaves]

Alex can handle the big moments: a triumphant repudiation of his dead father, a reunion with a lover. He's got no experience with the mundane expressions of love that come so effortlessly to Michael.

[organchordsandlightning]

Lighters in Malevolent

Hello, folks! 

So, as loads of people have noticed, there’s some hinky stuff going on with the lighter in Malevolent.  As I was going back through transcripts to see where it popped up, I thought it might be helpful to have a reference of all the lighter appearances so far (a sentence that sounded a lot more hinged in my head than when I typed it out.)

Obviously, there will be spoilers from EP1-26 under the cut. 

Bold: Arthur obtains a lighter. Regular: Arthur uses a lighter. Italics: Relevant but not directly related to lighters.

For brevity purposes, I’ve also omitted repetitive lighter uses. (For example, if Arthur flicks on the lighter four times to guide himself around some tunnels, I’ve only noted the first go unless something has drastically changed in the meanwhile.)

(This is more of a reference post than a theorizing post, but IMO, a lot of the more Compelling lighter red-stringing pops up in later S2 + S3.)

Season 1

EP1: Arthur uses the lighter while exploring the ritual/sacrifice basement.

EP2: Arthur finds a flashlight in the trunk of his car. He leaves it after the crash.

EP3: Arthur uses a matchbook to light a candle, found in the Mansion.

EP4: Arthur steals Kellin’s lighter from his bed.  He briefly drops it, and then lights Kellin’s bed on fire.

EP5: John remarks that they have nothing after the hospital, excepting clothes and several hundred dollars from the Lost and Found.

EP6: Arthur remarks that they need to get a flashlight and matches, which they buy at the gun shop.

EP7: Arthur searches for a lighter on his person to re-light the lighthouse wick. John responds that they have one, but it refuses to light in the heavy wind. He re-lights the lighthouse keeper’s supernatural lamp.

EP9: Officer Collin has a lighter at the start of the episode. Arthur takes both a lighter and a flashlight on the police boat, after the monster attack. He uses a lighter to start a fire on the beach.

EP11: Arthur uses the lighter for illumination and.to construct a torch. 

EP12: Arthur uses the lighter to illuminate the hotel basement.. He initially refuses to light the boat lantern, but eventually does use the lighter to both burn the tadpoles and smash a lit lantern against the boat.

Season 2

EP13: Arthur finds his lighter in his bag while dealing with the Trader. He uses it to cauterize John’s wound. 

JOHN: You said something back there. ‘This too shall pass’. (NB: In reference to Arthur comforting John before biting off his little finger.) ARTHUR: Yes. JOHN: Why did you say that? ARTHUR: I don’t know, it’s just a comforting thought. JOHN: It’s written on our lighter. ARTHUR: Oh, that’s right! (He pulls it out and flicks it.) That’s the one I had with me from... the office, way back when. Crazy to think it’s made it all this way. It’s not even really mine. JOHN: No? ARTHUR: No, found it in an old desk drawer when we moved in. JOHN: Interesting.

EP14: Arthur refers to the lighter when talking with the Three Soldiers.

EP15: Arthur uses the lighter to illuminate the tunnels.

EP16: Arthur momentarily drops and recovers his lighter. He uses the lighter to ignite the supernatural bullseye lantern.

EP17: Arthur lights and extinguishes the lighter per John’s wishes. He also uses the lighter to make his Molotov Cocktail.

EP19: Arthur barters back his lighter from the Trader after his imprisonment.

EP20: Kayne lists his things, but neglects to mention the lighter. In panic, John suggests the lighter to help with Lilly’s bleeding.

Season 3

Coda: Arthur uses the lighter to light a fire.

EP22: The following two exchanges -

As Arthur enters the washroom to bathe:

(The door shuts behind him. Arthur searches through his pockets.)

YELLOW: What are you searching for?  ARTHUR: Our lighter. YELLOW: You have a lighter?  ARTHUR: Of course, don’t you … you saw it.  YELLOW: No. ARTHUR:  You must’ve, you said – (NB: Reference to Yellow saying ‘This Too Shall Pass’ at end of EP21.) YELLOW: I didn’t see your lighter, Arthur.  ARTHUR: Fine, must be in the bag. Any way to light the stove? We need to heat the water. It’s freezing in here.

After Arthur sees Uncle rummaging through his room:

ARTHUR: Oh. Um. (He starts to speak, in the same cadence as Kayne’s original rhyme. The main theme starts to play.) The glass, the stone, the mask, the books, the tooth, the coin, the wallet and … (Normal cadence) Some hooks. Um, the shaving kit, and my … uh, lighter should be in here, somewhere. YELLOW: What lighter? ARTHUR: The lighter, you – I used it... oh! (He flicks the lighter.) YELLOW: What?  ARTHUR: Oh, it’s here, in my – in my … in my jacket. W-Wait! Didn’t I just��?

EP23: Yellow tells Arthur to pull out the lighter to illuminate their way in the estate. Arthur refuses.

EP24: In the mine, John asks Arthur where his lighter is. He finds it in his jacket again. He lights a lamp.

EP25: Arthur lights a torch with the lighter. 

[twdmusicboxmystery]

Beth in ep 18′s Opening Montage! 🎉🎉🎉

Okay, so I said I’d give you as close as we have to proof that Beth is soon returning. This is going to be a teensy bit of a spoiler for ep 11x18. But not for anything that happens in the episode.

Lol. Let me explain.

Before the action picks up (the cliffhanger of Daryl holding a knife to Lance’s throat) we get another voiceover/flashback sequence from Judith. This particular voiceover made me SOOO happy when I watched it, that I just couldn’t wait until next week to share it.

And since it technically doesn’t spoil anything that actually happens in the episode…I figured it would be okay. Here is a video of the opening montage for reference. I didn’t want to do screenshots of each shot. There are too many and it would have made the post too long.

So, here is the transcription of what Judith says. Below each line, I’m going to list the scenes it shows while she’s talking. You can follow along in the video above.”

“We’ve come so far...”

Daryl from ep 1, when we first meet him at the quarry

“Lost so much...”

Daryl hallucinating Merle in the gorge in S2

Daryl and Merle on the bridge in S3

(We also hear Daryl saying, “you handcuffed my brother to a roof, and you left him there?!”

Daryl riding Merle’s bike in S2

“It’s hard to trust when anyone could go at anytime...”

Merle as a walker in S3

Daryl crying after putting him down

Daryl lying beside the walker in the burnt-out forest in 6x06

“The people who die and the people who go...”

Carl at Terminus

Hershel just before his death (his smile)

Daryl and Glenn kneeling by the Terminus trough

Denise, dead on the train tracks

“Aren’t lost forever...”

Rick shooting the dynamite on the bridge

Rick and Daryl searching for Sophia in S2

Rick pulling Daryl out of the pit in 9x05, just before Rick disappeared

Daryl feeding baby Judith her bottle in S3

“I believe that.”

Daryl carrying Carol, bridal-style, out of the catacombs in S3

Daryl carrying Beth, bridal-style, out of Grady in Coda

“I have to.”

Daryl putting his arm around Judith after she was forced to kill Earl.

Daryl leading during the Hilltop battle

Daryl leading the group up the hill toward the Whisperer pikes

“And remembering their voices is how we keep them alive…”

Daryl putting his hand on the window for Judith, just before the battle against Beta (the Tower)

Rick and Daryl’s hug in 7x08

Daryl in the subway

(We also hear a female voice saying, “these people need you”

And Rick saying, “the future belongs to us all now.”)

Okay, so obviously the thing that most caught my attention was Beth being in this. I’ll get to that in just a minute. But, in really paying close attention and analyzing this, what really struck me is that this is 100% about Daryl.

The writers, like AK and Nicotero, keep saying they wanted to do these little voiceover montages at the beginning of the episodes to callback and honor earlier seasons in the series. Okay, cool. They also said that the montages are symbolically relevant to what’s happening in each episode.

So, let’s examine the montage for ep 17 to see what we can see.

Judith’s words:

“I’ve heard a lot of stories about when the world fell. There were more dead than living, and it started to look like the world would go cold. It felt like it was almost there. Almost. Some people survived by connecting with each other. Making found families. Others gave in to the darkness. That was a long time ago. And it’s now. Will it be tomorrow?”

I won’t go over all the scenes as I did for ep 18, but it starts out showing a lot of walkers and walker gore. Walkers eating people. Hmm. What happens in ep 11x17? A walker horde is converging on the CW, and there’s lots of gore. We see people getting eaten. She says it feels like the world would go cold (i.e. be lost). We essentially see this happen on a small scale in the CW. The walkers get in, a heavy dose of reality comes crashing down on the citizens. And especially Judith. Her fantasy of a normal life is dashed as she picks up Rick’s gun and kills walkers with it again. See how it connects to what’s happening?

Now, for ep 17’s montage, we do see a bunch of different characters and scenes from earlier seasons. But with ep 18, we don’t. 

Once again, for ep 18, this montage is solely about Daryl. Yes, other characters make appearances, but look at those scenes again. S1 Daryl, S2 Daryl, Daryl and Merle, Daryl and Rick, Daryl and Glenn, Daryl and Beth, Daryl and Carol. It’s AAALLLLLL about Daryl.

So, it’s about how far HE’S come, how much HE’S lost, and how he has a hard time trusting, because anyone could go at any time. And they have. He keeps losing people.

She says “the ones that die and the ones that go.” That’s super important. The writers are making a distinction there. There’s a difference between those that die, and those that simply “go.” And go is a present-tense form of “gone.” So, this is part of the “just gone” symbolism. When, in the show, they use that phrase, it’s to show that someone isn’t dead. They simply aren’t present at the moment. Daryl’s line to Rick about Beth, “she’s just gone” was super powerful that way, and the writers have used it over and over again for other characters and arcs.

Now, the first kicker is that right when Judith says the ones that go “aren’t lost forever” it shows Rick. First, it shows him shooting the dynamite on the bridge, which was specifically when Rick left the show. When he “went.” And then we see him and Daryl searching for Sophia.

So, this makes perfect sense, because the audience already knows that Rick is alive, and is looking forward to the Rick/Michonne spinoff. So, it makes sense that they would show him as someone who didn’t die, but who is just gone.

The thing is, his arc and the symbolism surrounding his disappearance are identical to Beth’s. So, if it’s true of Rick, we can assume the same is true of Beth.

Oh, but the writers didn’t leave us with that little nugget alone. No, no, no. It gets better.

Right when Judith says “I believe that,” (that those who are gone aren’t lost forever) we see Daryl carrying Carol out of the catacombs in S3, followed by him carrying Beth out of Grady.

GUYS!!!

TD has said FOREVER that Carol’s death fake out from S3 was the template they built Beth’s from.

In S3, Daryl believed Carol to be dead, and had accepted it. He’d already mourned her, and even created a grave site for her, though her body was not in it.

Obviously Daryl thinks Beth is dead. He mourned her heavily and heart-breakingly in S5, and continued to do so for many seasons after. Though we didn’t see it on the show (yet), through SM posts and trading cards, the writers have given us hints that Daryl tried to bury Beth at a white church, but was interrupted. (Details here.) It’s possible they created another burial site for her afterward, but didn’t have her body because it disappeared.

In S3, Daryl found Carol’s knife. If you watch that scene, he’s really mystified by it. I think that’s because he assumed she died further out, at a different, outer part of the prison, and finding her knife suggested she might have been alive longer than he realized. It didn’t necessarily tell him she was alive, just that things were different than he originally believed.

In S5, Carol gave Daryl Beth’s knife, and we don’t know where it came from or how she got it. I believe with Beth, these two things (the knife and Daryl realizing Beth was alive for longer than he believed) will be separated. He already got her knife in S5. I believe at some point, as Michonne did with Rick, Daryl will find evidence that Beth may have been alive longer than he thought. He won’t necessarily believe it right away, or think she’s still alive because of it, but he will see it and be confused by it.

In S3, Daryl believed the person/walker who kept knocking against the door and trying to open it was a walker. I believe we’re meant to believe, after he found Carol’s knife, that he realized it was Carol, but as a walker. That’s why he had to hype himself up so much before opening the door. He thought he would find Walker Carol and have to put her down. When he opens the door, he stops, and turns her chin toward him to look into her face, reassuring himself that she really is still alive.

In S5, because of the blond girl he and Aaron found on the tree, we had a representation of this. He clearly thinks Beth has turned into a walker, and the fact that he entertained the idea of the girl on the tree being her shows that he was never able to put her down. So, he thinks she’s still out there somewhere as a walker. He looked into the blond walker’s face to reassure himself that it was NOT Beth.

See what I mean?

Now, in this 11x08 montage, we have the writers comparing the two women’s stories with Daryl. Showing him carrying Carol, who he thought was dead, but turned out to be alive. And then Beth, who we believe to be alive, but of course it hasn’t been confirmed in the show, yet.

And all the while, Judith is talking about those who are GONE (Carol was not dead; she was gone. Showing Beth right after her, being carried in the same way by the same man, suggests her arc will be the same as Carol’s) not being lost forever. So, much like Daryl found Carol again and brought her back into his life, he’ll do the same with Beth.

After that, most of it is Daryl leading his people in one way or the other, and Judith is in quite a few of the shots. That could be because she’s a Beth proxy, or it may have more to do with what actually happens in 11x18, because this is a very Daryl-and-Judith heavy episode. Personally, I think it’s a little bit of both.

One of the last things it shows is Daryl and Rick hugging in 7x08. Guys, I said a LONG time ago that the end of 7x08, where Rick and Michonne and co return to Hilltop, Rick and Daryl hug, and Daryl gives Rick his gun back is a foreshadow of when Rick returns after being taken with the CRM. For one thing, he and Michonne return together, which will obviously happen because of their spinoff. And Daryl will turn the leadership role back over to Rick, along with his Python gun.

Them putting this scene in the montage shows not only that he will reunite with Rick, who is also gone but not dead, but that my symbolic interpretation of that scene was 100% correct.

The montage in 11x17 spanned the entire series. It starts with Rick in the hospital, and end with Judith saying, “will there be tomorrow?” And remember, as I said before, the tomorrow symbolism always implies the CRM war. So, they went through the entire span from Rick awakening in the hospital (1x01) to the CRM (which I think will happen at the very end of the flagship series, perhaps in the final episode, and kick us into the spinoffs.

Here, it focuses on Daryl, starting with his first appearance in 1x03, and ending with him reuniting with Rick, which probably won’t happen until after both the Rick and Daryl spinoffs. Or possibly at the end of one of them.

See how they’re sneakily telling stories of what has happened, but also what’s going to happen with these montages?

See why this made me so happy? It’s practically proof (even if only symbolic) that everything TD has been saying since S5 is true, and is finally about to come to fruition. Buckle up TD-ers. Bethyl is on its way!

[lastoutpost]

i saw ur post abt mystery spot fics & i was just wondering what would be ur ideal mystery spot coda? (also do u happen to have links to any of the fics u did read :0 mystery spot truly my fav ep)

oh hello! well,

I think one of the biggest shortcomings of s3 was the fact that Sam's response to mystery spot got no screentime whatsoever. The point of the episode was just to show that Sam loves and needs Dean as much as Dean loves/needs him, and I get that, but what an insanely traumatizing thing to endure! Not only the constant watching your loved one die graphically again and again part of it but also going six months (!) without said loved one and being yanked back into a reality where it never happened.

I wanted to see Sam be afraid to fall asleep in case he woke up in a time loop again. I wanted Sam to question if what he was experiencing was real or not. I wanted him to hover over and smother Dean and get incredibly panicked if Dean went anywhere alone for awhile. I wanted his desire to save Dean from his deal take on a new urgency, a new fire, not only just to keep Dean alive but to prevent Sam from having to experience the soul-crushing bleakness of those six long months alone again. I wanted Sam to come close to understanding what Dean felt in AHBL and what he felt about Sam for their entire lives. That obsession, that need to protect and keep around. This would have been a great chance for Sam to see Dean's perspective on their relationship.

And I want Dean to be freaked out by it! He didn't live it, he doesn't understand what hell Sam experienced. I want Dean to feel guilty about how much Sam suffered without him around and to beat himself up about it in typical Dean Winchester fashion. I want Dean to be irritated with Sam treating him like he's fragile while also secretly enjoying the heightened attention. I wanted Dean to take a more active role in trying to save himself because he finally sees it as saving Sammy.

Mystery Spot and fictional codas could have been such an excellent time for each brother to finally see the other's perspective and to ruminate on the unhealthy obsession that lies at the root of what Sam and Dean mean to each other. But, alas!

(I don't have any good mystery spot fic recs because I didn't enjoy them BUT I found it helpful to search "mystery spot" in any field on a03 in the fandom of supernatural rather than looking for fics with the episode tag, because not everyone uses episode tags even if the fic is about / adjacent to the episode.)