#predicting episodes left and right B)

[denfucker]

i truly see in my mind an episode about macs online boyfriend. mac comes into the bar, yelling that he has news, AMAZING news, and he gets the typical unenthusiastic reactions, but he doesnt care and announces he has a PROPER BOYFRIEND NOW. he describes this perfect boyfriend, how they have similar interests (karate and god), how he thinks mac is totally a bear and a beefcake and so hot, etc etc, and one of them asks for a picture of this Perfect Guy and mac is like. "Well technically i havent seen him yet BUT TRUST ME GUYS hes totally legit, i did a virtual ocular patdown😎". so the gang starts yelling at him about catfishes and scammers and mac rolls his eyes and says "guys, i think id know if i was getting scammed, and trust me, this isnt it-" and then you cut to the title screen and it reads "Mac Gets Scammed"

[midnight1nk]

My dear fellows, it's time to place your final bets for this upcoming WOTFI! Only just mere days away, everyone's been curious:

How will the challenges play out?

Whose submission got accepted into the episode?

How will the crew defeat Mr Puzzles?

Will Mr Puzzles die?

Indeed, they are very valid questions. It's only reasonable that we would guess. Some speculated that Puzzles will die similarly to how One-Shot Wren did in Western Spaghetti. Others said the opposite, that Puzzles may go down a path of redemption. So on and so on.

The point is: We aren't a hundred percent sure what will happen. That includes me. Anything could happen. But that is the fun of it all, it captivated us so much that we were at the edge of our seats. Eager to find out more.

In my "Welcome to Puzzle Park" episode review, I predicted that SMG4 and Mario would have to win the mini-game challenges to save each of their friends from Mr Puzzles. And now, before the SMG4 show decides to jump-scare me with a new update, I want to share a twist on my original guess.

If SMG4 and Mario couldn't save the Crew and get controlled by Mr Puzzles, then who would?

"...Mom sure is taking a long time, huh."

THE UNEXPECTED GUESTS

⚠️ DISCLAIMER IN INTRO POST ⚠️

"To your own demise, you created your own enemy…"

RECAP

Let’s go over the episode ‘Welcome to Puzzle Park’ once again:

The SMG4 Crew, including Karen, is forced to listen to Boopkins' vacation story, beginning to wonder where Meggy is. And right on cue, Leggy pops in and lures them to Puzzle Park, a carnival built by Mr Puzzles, which they didn't know that part until the Crew got there. Unfortunately, being forced to enter the park, each one of the Crew took part of the attractions and games. One by one, they suspiciously disappeared, Three noticed this.

A whole day goes by and the park is empty except for Four, Mario, and Three. Three saw Luigi getting captured, realizing that the park was a trap, and went to warn the rest of our Star Trio. A clown head intervened, capturing Three before he could tell them to run. In his last efforts, instead of struggling, Three sent a text to Four, hoping it would be enough for the two to escape before it was too late. Four and Mario, being in the middle of their competitive water gun game, saw the text and attempted to escape.

The whole park, somehow coming to life, chased the two down until they went through a magical exit door. In there, they faced a hall of mirrors and finally face Mr Puzzles. Puzzles reveal his plans, that the Crew was “the missing pieces of Puzzle Park”. Leggy opens up a portal to the hall for Didney’s Engine Room, Four and Mario having no choice but to go through. Entering the Engine Room, they encounter a horrifying site: A grown-sized Mr Puzzles, merged with the Power source Star with wires and limbs. Mr Puzzles laughs maniacally before the doors of the Engine Room close behind the duo, ending the episode with the grayed-out credits.

Now, that is all well, set, and good. But, when I was rewatching this episode, a question popped into my mind:

"Wait, if Karen is here, then are Zack, Cody, and Katie home alone?"

As much as I could assume that they were with a babysitter or at school, Karen got captured by Mr Puzzles regardless. A whole day has gone by and her kids are left at home. Then, I fall into a rabbit hole of questions:

Would her kids notice her strange absence? Would they ask if their mom was ok? Would they try to locate her?

Wait, what about Beeg4 and Eggdog? Three and Four were also captured and didn’t tell them where they went.

And JubJub? Sure, Boopkins have other family so Jubjub isn’t technically alone but wouldn’t he wonder where his brother went?

Question after question, it all ends up having the kids missing their family members.

If the kids realize that their family is gone, what will they do?

Well, why don’t we play a game of “what if”, shall we?

Instead of Four and Mario, what if the kids save the Crew?

THINK OF THE CHILDREN

The kids, believe it or not, have been an important aspect of this WOTFI arc, ever since the very beginning. Look back at all the previous episodes:

We Must Kill Mario

Zack, Cody, and Katie get excited seeing Four on screen in a Puzzlevision episode, ‘Mario’s Mysteries’

Despite being Zack’s birthday, Four tailored each entertaining act for each kid, making them feel special

SMG4 and SMG3 come up with an episode

Three came up with the plot of Four turning into a child just so he could go on the teacup ride

Mr Puzzles’ Lowest Point

Puzzles relied on the children’s interests in brain-rot comedy just so he could be popular

In the first series of attempts, he sought Karen’s kids for their approval. The third time was successful

his videos only catered to a single demographic

Unable to satisfied the children at the convention, Mr Puzzles gets chased all around town. Zack being one of those kids who chased him

The children abandon their attention on Puzzlebox to pursue Goob4. Sure, Goob4 is not SMG4 but it is still another punch to the gut for Puzzles, that Four will keep beating him in popularity no matter what. Losing his young audience was a subtle factor that drove him to lose his mind

Mr Puzzles' Clubhouse

Didney, formerly beloved by people of all ages, has a park known as Didney Worl, dubbed as "The Happiest Place on Earth"

A flashback shows Mr Puzzles as a child wanting to own a carnival when he grows up, hoping that he could make everyone happy (similarly how Four’s goal, shown in IGBP)

These episodes all revolved around kids, so it’s possible that WOTFI would as well. Plus, it’s one of the aspects of Four and Puzzles parallels. While Puzzles tried to satisfy every kid with one show, Four made sure that each kid was happy, his acts being unique.

Well, another reason for Mr Puzzles to hate SMG4, jealous of Four being able to connect with his audience so easily.

HOW WILL IT PLAY OUT?

Technically, this is the end of the mini-theory. However, I do want to contribute to the narrative in how I would personally write it. Not that it will come true, this is just for funsies. This is how I imagine it:

Four and Mario attempt to fight off Mr Puzzles, wanting to save their friends. But Puzzles became too powerful, not even Mario of all people being able to stop him. The last scene we see them trying to dash for the exit before being grabbed by Puzzles.

We cut to Karen’s house. Zack, Cody, and Katie would be sitting around, flipping through the channels on the TV. One of them looks out the window, noticing that it is nighttime. They were told that their mom (Karen) would be visiting SMG4 for just a bit, something about welcoming Boopkins back from his vacation. It was supposed to be for a couple of hours.

“Mom sure is taking forever, huh.”

Back before dinner, she said. That she was going to make pizza. But the oven was cold, and no pizza was made. They were starting to get hungry. They loved having Mom around, she was always there for them. She loved them with all their heart. But now, something felt off.

“Hey, guys, look!”

The three looked at the screen to see an advertisement of Puzzle Park, an incredible carnival with exciting attractions and games, having its grand opening today. It’s so much fun that you wouldn’t want to leave.

Right there on the screen, they see SMG4, in a new outfit with a top hat and twirling cane, performing an act. They cheered, of course, they recognized their favorite YouTuber. Wow, who knew Four was part of this.

Then, they saw their mom on the screen, exactly as Four is with the new outfit and act. They were a bit surprised by this, Mom didn’t tell them she was part of this. Why? Wouldn’t she have invited them to join her at the carnival? Still, they were happy to see their mom.

Just then, a knock on the door. They open to see Beeg4, Eggdog, and JubJub on the other side, they looked worried. They were let in and through Cody’s translating, they were worried that something happened to their dads. Three never told Eggdog where he went and was pretty much left alone in the cafe. Beeg initially didn’t care, he got to be home alone to do whatever he wanted to do for meme’s sake, but a new meme just dropped, and was shocked to see that Four didn’t say anything about it. Not even a like on the post. For JubJub, his brother said that he was going to tell his friends about his vacation but he never came back home to the ocean.

Eggdog spots his dad on screen, dancing around in glee. That’s not my dad, Eggdog points out. The light in Three’s eyes, it was gone. As if his mind wasn’t there. Despite the theatrics the crew was doing, they looked like they didn't intend to act this way. There was no happiness. They looked like puppets.

Finally, Mr Puzzles come up on the screen, urging the viewers to come on down to Puzzle Park. Zack points out that Puzzles was the one behind Puzzlebox. They then concluded that Mr Puzzles had something to do with their family members being mind-controlled. So, they gear up and head for the carnival to confront Mr Puzzles. And soon, they learn they would have to save each Crew member one by one by completing mini-games.

.・-: ✧ :--: ✧ :-・.

And there you have it, the kids being Puzzles’ first audience to ultimately being the ones who will defeat him in WOTFI! It would be a nice change of pace for the show and it will come full circle if they go with this. I'm going to be honest: I didn't intend to post this today. I was hoping to wait for the trailer to drop so I could post multiple things:

one of the posts is obviously my reaction/analysis of the trailer

second, a post where you guys help me fill in the boxes on the bingo card I'm creating for WOTFI (still going to do this in the future btw)

and lastly, this mini-theory

I initially thought that it would be a silly little post, thinking that it might not come true, But the more I thought about it, it made sense in my head. It works especially with my “The Ticket” theory (excluding the shoe part) of the kids knowing some form of truth behind Puzzle Park. Again, anything could happen, my dear fellows. This isn’t out of the question. We would just have to wait and see at around October 19th!

“One can't fully understand how much a child love their family...”

And hey, that’s just a theory…

AN SMG4 (MINI) THEORY

🎶Thanks for dropping by🎶

[oneatlatime]

The Desert

Alternate title: Gimme Appa back.

"But I believe, Aang can save the world." no pressure kid.

I had completely forgotten about these two chuckleheads. For once the 'Previously On' segment is useful rather than spoilery.

Ok Aang is going to get the world's biggest pass this episode, because he's in the suckiest of all situations. But even so, how exactly was Toph supposed to come and get them, when she was both actually blind for once and the only reason the library hadn't drowned them yet?

Aang has something of a history of running away. Does going after Appa count as running away from his friends?

Zuko's theatre kid tendencies are genetic.

The way Iroh said "What Now?" you know he was actually saying "fuck's sake."

Zuko's hair seems to grow very quickly. I thought that I could use his hair growth to measure time passing but this is not tracking. He barely had a buzz cut in The Chase and now he's fluffy.

Two things: a) this guy has eyes greyer than Aang this episode. b) He's cocking his hands like that ridiculous Henry Cavill scene from Mission Impossible where he cocks his biceps.

This guy's spear has piercings. And is coming out of a Dragon's mouth.

I don't know that I'd call these guys legendary. They're zero for two against an Avatar in Drag and two starving refugees with three functioning arms.

Doesn't Katara ever change out her water? Or even use it up and have to refill it?

I said it last episode, and I'll say it again: why did five people, a lemur, and a ten tonne sky bison travel into a desert famous for its desertiness with only a single water pouch between them? Admittedly, if they'd brought extra water and left it on Appa, they'd be having the same problem, but still...

Is a kids' show actually going to go there?

They actually went there!

Honestly if you're dying of dehydration in the desert, eating strange plants is absolutely the way to go. I'd rather trip my way into the afterlife than just shrivel up and die.

I love the way Aang's glider shadow moves over the dunes. Another one of those tiny details that the animators could have left out, but they didn't!

Sand benders must get crazy high speeds if Aang can't spot even a trace of Appa from up high. He wasn't Appa-napped very long ago.

Everyone go watch the scene where Aang blows up the mushroom cloud. Go right now I'll wait. And pay attention to Sokka's mouth. It does the wave.

His mouth does the wave and his arms do the worm. Someone really had fun this episode.

Zuko breaking the world record for highest number of Fire Nation wanted posters. Despite being the only person on that board who's unquestionably loyal to the Fire Nation. What a nice reward he got for his loyalty.

How is that one wrestler dude's hair so shiny?

Why, other than plot convenience, would Zuko and Iroh be at the Ice Spring?

I see now that the left hand shadow is Sokka with a Momo on his head. But for just a second I thought it was Ramona from Scott Pilgrim.

There are some really beautiful colour gradients in this desert.

"We won't survive without Appa." Well yes, but you have to try.

If this is a normal desert they're going to freeze their butts off overnight.

No comment. Just vibes.

Hey this is a Katara episode! Toph is blind, Sokka's zoinked, Aang's given up, so it's Katara time baby!

This episode has no business being this pretty.

"Sokka. I was there." I'd be very surprised if Katara's voice actress doesn't have an idiot older brother. That line was delivered a little too perfectly.

I'm not going to comment on every Sokka is high joke, but rest assured I'm finding them all hilarious.

Those drinks cost a gold piece each. Where did they get five gold pieces from?

Colour me shocked. The chuckleheads actually had a good idea for once.

Colour me shocked again! I vaguely predicted this!

Zuko. Honey. How are you this dim? He's so very good at missing exactly what's in front of him.

"Gold?"

Big muscles. No brains.

Very pretty. The sand texture is good too.

Well that was mean.

Passive aggressive glider deployment. Also how low is that cloud if Aang can reach it to bend it?

Aang is not shining this episode (understandably) but Katara is going from strength to strength. I NEVER would have thought that she was someone who could keep her cool under pressure like this. Happy to be wrong!

I have no idea if Sokka is going to remember or be aware of this epic trip he's on, but this is probably the best time he's had in months. Certainly since Yue died. He deserves this. Bad timing, but he needed a break.

"You must forgive my nephew. He is not an initiate, and is dumb as shit and incapable of reading the room."

Why is there a flower shop in the middle of the desert? What clients do they have? Obviously it's a front for this pai sho secret society thing, but why did they pick such a nonsensical front?

Toph has so much personality that it's easy to forget how tiny she is. Like a little gargoyle.

Sokka talking like a Greaser was the thing I didn't know I needed.

Poor Katara. Now you know how your brother feels every time he has to save your bacon from your weekly prison break.

I am losing my mind over these colours. Especially after The Library.

"I have a natural curiosity." I'm going to start using that.

Oops they found the circle bird nest.

Hey showrunners, you're going to take Momo from me too? You sure you want to do that? After last episode? Don't give me a pretty sunset with a latte swirl. Give me back Appa, put down Momo, or I'll sic Toph on you.

I do like Toph as a piece of artillery.

Turns out a combined Appa and Momo -napping is what it takes to get Aang to break his no killing rule. I now know how to defeat the Fire Lord.

The Audacity. Going to Ba-Sing- however the hell that's spelled. The sheer audacity. But then what? What's the plan after they get there? Just live the rest of their lives?

Rejected Mortal Combat guy.

You ever have one of those days where you do only your top lip?

Whoever made that door, and that lock - good job!

Nothing to see here, just making a delivery of two giant planters in the middle of the desert. The Owl decided to spruce up his entryway.

Y'all are fucked. Y'all deserve it. Aang has completely lost control. He's spent the whole episode losing it more and more and now he's gone completely off the rails. Has he ever zipped into the Avatar state that fast before?

Never underestimate the power of a woman who's fed up with everyone's nonsense. Just so fed up.

Well that was sad.

Badass name of the day: Malachi Throne, voice of a character whose name I don't recognise.

Final Thoughts

This was Katara's episode. I'm not going to forgive not getting Appa back, but Katara actually keeping a level head for once was an unexpected delight.

This episode was pretty unrelentingly heavy in the A-plot, which is why I don't understand why Sokka and Momo tripping worked so well. It did work, and I very much enjoyed it, but it should have stuck out like a sore thumb and it didn't. The beat up Sokka quota fulfillled from within by chemicals was a nice creative touch.

I am very happy to see Iroh take the wheel, although I'm not convinced there's a long term plan here beyond get food and shelter. Which, fair enough, goals tend to be short term and immediate when you're in dire straits.

This episode really stomped all over Aang. And then stomped some more. I was surprised how negative and shouty he was at the beginning, but by the end I was surprised how long it took him to lose it. Apart from his staff and his clothes, Appa really is all he has left from before he got frozen. That sandbender punk was rotten to the core.

So I guess we're going to the earth kingdom capital regardless of the eclipse information. Is the rest of the season going to be getting there? I also can't help but notice that it's where Iroh and Zuko are headed as well. Zuko could actively run in the direction opposite to the Avatar and he'd still end up tripping over him. The earth Kingdom is ginormous. And yet, like every two episodes Zuko runs into the Avatar. Is it fate? Is it plot convenience?

I should dislike this episode. It's 24 minutes of our faves getting beat down and not finding Appa, with a b-plot of Zuko being more oblivious than usual. I should dislike it, but I don't. This is definitely going on the rewatch list. It was a very pretty episode, which helped. Beyond that I can't put into words why I liked it, but I did!

[cross-my-heartt]

okay so I slept on it... and as much as I hate to say it I think I'm disappointed with episode five

really disappointed

putting my thoughts under a cut, they're mostly critical but there's some praise in there too

I'm not gonna lie some parts of this episode were fantastic. I legitimately started crying when Crosshair picked up Mayday's helmet and started lining them all up. but as much as I wanted to feel the same way about the other emotional moments in this episode (and they were a lot) I just didn't and it's weird because they feel right from a storytelling perspective but execution wise?... yeah, I have some thoughts

for starters I'm getting really frustrated with Corbett and co's aversion to showing us characters reacting to major events. I fully expected this episode to pick up where we left off but instead we went straight to the timeskip, foregoing all the initial stages of Crosshair's reintegration into the team (similarly people have pointed out how disappointing it is that we didn't see Crosshair react to the news of Tech's death. or Echo reacting to the news of Fives’ death. can we see the pattern here?)

we're supposed to feel like this tension in the team has been going on for a while but instead we're just told that it has. yes, it makes sense for this to be the case but when you think that the whole thing is resolved in one single episode, you start to realize just how damn rushed it is

so much of this episode relied on clunky exposition to fill us in on what's happening instead of just taking the time to show us. imagine if instead of one episode we had three episodes to develop this story line. one on Pabu, one on Barton and one final one for the mission where Crosshiar and Hunter's tension comes to a head. just imagine.

we have so much room for side quests where these characters' conflicts can broil and stew and develop in the background and we can get a real sense of time passing and a sense of how this affects them. we got a whole episode dedicated to showing us what Omega's imprisonment was like on Tantiss, imagine if they'd put the same effort into setting up Crosshair's return the same way

instead this is really starting to feel like we're trying to get Crosshair's arc out of the way so we can move on to the next one (which I presume will be about Tech) and if we do get episodes where this could have been developed as a background subplot I will chew my socks off

also if I see another giant worm creature living underground in a star wars media, I will throw myself off a cliff

NO MORE FREAKING CREATURES. we're sick and tired of them. why, why do we have to waste precious screen time on a redundant action scene? it feels so old at this point. not to mention how obviously shoehorned it is because a) it messes with Outpost's plot and b) Outpost never mentioned this being the purpose of the sensors meaning this is obviously something the writers retconned into existence to hastily cobble the plot together

a very predictable one too, I swear to god I expected it to be a worm the moment they showed the ground shake, I swear

yes, it was supposed to show us the batch working together as a yay team moment but I personally feel it was pretty lackluster (none of them actually put their special skills to good use, I'm baffled by how useless Hunter's sense were here). imagine if instead of this we got an episode that was actually interested in exploring the conflict between these two

have them walk off to quarrel after Hunter sees Crosshair acting strange with the helmets (the one piece of setup I would praise) then accidentally fall through a weak point in the ice, plunging them underground. and instead of an action scene we get a long episode of them trying to get out of the maze, walking through the tunnels and struggling to cooperate in between bouts of bickering. have Crosshair internally freaking out because this is all so similar to him and Mayday crawling through the tunnels. maybe have one of them step on an old mine, echoing that same moment in Outpost

have Hunter ask Crosshair why he knows about these mines and who taught him to disarm them. have Crosshair completely reluctant to tell him

seriously there is SO much wasted potential here...

which leads me to the next point which is dialogue. the worst side effect of rushing plot is that most of your dialogue ends up being expository and it really showed. characters saying exactly how they feel, over explaining and pointing out things that could have been shown. it all feels even more egregious when you realize that Crosshair is the one saddled with most of the exposition making him not only weirdly talkative this episode but also nudging him into the out of character territory

because Crosshair has always been taciturn and roundabout in the way he expresses himself and I feel like this was sorely lacking this time. it's a shame because that's one of the main things that made him so complex and interesting to watch

call me crazy but we didn't need Crosshair and Hunter acknowledging their mistakes. a meaningful look or a silent moment shared between them would have sufficed. we didn't need Crossahir saying what he's done, we know what he's done, and knowing Crosshair that shouldn't have come out so earnestly either

I feel like the show has proved that it's really good at conveying these nuances in a subtle way but somehow it forgot all about it in its urge to hurry the plot along

I don't know if I'm wrong or right about this but I really hope I'm not. I'm not saying the writers are neglecting Crosshair as a character, there were moments where I could really feel how much love they have for him. but the telling of that story really fell flat

all in all this episode felt like 'finish crosshair's story arc: speedrun edition'. the right story beats are there - the hug, the confrontation, honoring Mayday, focusing on the tremor - but they're so rushed and the dialogue is so expository and clunky that they left me feeling hollow

(also are we really going to pretend it's okay for AZ to be there?? your sole chip removing droid and it's used as target practice by the man with a hand tremor and a 50% accuracy rate?? hello??? anyway, just a nitpick lol)

all in all there is a lot to love and in a sense we got everything we wanted but I do wish it had been done differently

[chirpsythismorning]

I think what really puts into perspective the likelihood of ST5 premiering in 2025 (I’m gonna predict March 21st for fun), is that a year from now is just barely Summer 2024, and yet as of now, they have not even started filming.

Are fans really expecting them to have season 5 filmed, fully prepped with marketing and promo ready, with everything ready to be released within one year from now (roughly speaking, give or take a couple months)?

In all honesty it's very much the norm for Stranger Things' to have promo leading up to an upcoming season last for months. And I'm not talking like 3-5 months I'm talking a year+.

This isn't like s1 where they put out a trailer and a release date and some low budget marketing roll out on social media, which is something they do for every new Netflix show. This is a $35 million + budget per episode series and thats just to budget for the literal episodes... There are dozens of partnerships they have going on with merchandise and things like that which are discussed and planned for months/years. There are music rights negotiations which go on for months upon years. Shit, post-production has the capacity to take, at the very least half of the time it takes to film, and in some cases as much time or even more. This shit takes time!!!

The build up to a new season is so huge, that each month leading up to it, there are different things dropping, creating the hype that guarantees millions of fans engagement for a long time.

Like 1 year up to the 6 months before the release, promo starts heating up officially. The main accounts for the show will start posting stuff, initially it'll be cryptic using old footage to kind of recap the characters and get us refreshed on where we left off. This time could have some really awesome surprises, but it's mostly casual. If we're lucky we can count on Atlanta filming paparazzi bc those people are insufferable...

6 months up to the one month mark is when it starts to get more real. At this time we're likely to get an episode list announcement, along with sneak peeks and teasers that are quite short, being that they're still likely in the editing process when they are releasing these so it's very much in part them trying to tide us over and keep us interested.

The final 3 months leading up to it is when it gets REAL real. This is at the latest when we'll get a release date announcement, but that's a worst case scenario. I feel like it took so long for them to announce s4, and not until like Feb 2022 bc they wanted to be certain certain. And that could apply to s5 as well. The state of the world isn't like awesome I would say... Look what happened last time? Like it sucks to be the person to say that but I think also considering delays in general, for any reason are a possibility, is also what contributes to my open mindedness about an early 2025 release.

And so based on what we should be expecting for marketing, that means that assuming s5 would somehow premiere in summer 2024, means we are already close to the one year mark, which means promo should be ramping up right now, with literal content to share? And yet we have nothing filmed...?

A lot of people have this idea that s5 is going to take as much time to film as s1 took, which is just not the case. Not saying it will take as long as s4 took, however it's still going to take a while. One of the main factors for this is an in demand cast with conflicting schedules. In a perfect world, everyone would be available all the time throughout the entire production run. Instead what you have is certain actors not available at this time, and so you have to overlap those that need scenes together and schedule according to all of that. And so even if it wouldn't take more than 7 months to film literally, adding another 4+ months might be necessary to accommodate everyones schedules so that they can have these A/B list actors be able to film scenes together.

And then there’s editing and VFX to account for, happening during filming yes, but also with them needing months to focus on AFTER filming is complete. S5 is arguably going to have more VFX than any other season, as most of the season is expected to be surrounded by UD conditions and with the final battle being pretty epic with a 3 headed dragon potentially. Editing is more likely to be 7+ months post filming AT LEAST, vs. like the 4 or less, which is what I think everyone is imagining and telling themselves.

This is also the last season and so they obviously want to focus on the quality, not their ability to churn it out as fast as possible. Rushing for a quick release is just setting themselves up to flop.

The story is over forever after this (excluding spin-off prospects). It would make sense for them to give themselves the wiggle room to make it perfect (the stakes are so fucking high you guys), as opposed to rushing the entire time just to have it release as early as possible.

This also reminds me of what Noah said when asked about s5 premiering in 2024, where he basically just deflected and said that they want to focus on quality… essentially hinting at the fact that it’ll probably not be soon as we’re expecting, but we’re better off for it bc it gives them time to ensure it's the best that it can be and also is just realistic in terms of considering potential unplanned delays.

And then there are the strike implications. While I think the ST production is lucky in that they wouldn't be impacted as much as other productions, that doesn't mean the solidarity won't impact other parts of the production beyond just the writers. This is an industry where people are extremely overworked and underpaid, where a strike could be on the horizon at any moment. And we’re out here telling them hey i know the conditions are horse shit, but I'm gonna need you to step it up and experience even worse conditions bc I need s5 asap... which is just, it’s asking too much if I’m being honest.

Not trying to rain on anyone’s parade here. I know it sucks hearing that it could be another 1 year and 10 months. But lets be serious right now.

All the action that happens in the fandom, building up to the release is arguably just as exciting as the actual premiere and I think we overlook that. Again, once it premieres, it's over. So being so hellbent that it comes as soon as possible, is built on this idea that getting it is the only worthwhile part of this experience, which couldn't be further from the truth. Hiatus and all of the activity that happens during that time is what makes this experience so unique and without it, none of us would be here.

I think realistically, the timeline for s5 production is likely to look something like filming taking place from May 2023-Feb 2024 (giving them AT LEAST 10 months, but if you ask me srs i think it'll take 12...). We should get an announcement post from the official Netflix/ST social media accounts the very day filming starts.

As time passes and they're filming more and more, we will start to get teasers and sneak peaks from the little bit they have filmed from the earlier episodes in the season. Technically they can't spoil that later stuff too much in promotion, so it does work out for us in that sense.

But in all honesty, well planned out and detailed promo is likely to not start getting official until this fall when they’ll actually have at least (hopefully) over half of s5 filmed, and be planning ahead plenty in advance so all of the promo leading up to the release is well thought out.

I won’t rule out Fall 2024. But there are no Friday dates in fall 2024 that ring any bells to me as being the perfect day? Maybe Winter 2024? Or like January/Feb 2025?

The problem is Netflix loves ST for their summers... But summer 2024 is too soon and Summer 2025 is too late imo...

So what it will likely come down to is them trying to be realisitic about their options, and how to ideally get it to match with the setting of the show, which is something they have tried to do with s2-3, but couldn't in s4 (for obvious reasons), and so I definitely see them thinking ahead to try to bring back that approach for s5 if they are able to.

So filming, best case scenario, ends maybe Jan-Feb 2024. If we give them at least 7 months, which is still arguably rushing to me, that lands them in September 2024.

BUT if they were smart they would be realistic and just plan for late 2024/early 2025 so that they don't have to keep delaying... also why they haven't announced a date/year... if it was for certain going to be 2024, they would say it. But they aren't. That alone should tell us they are not willing to make that commitment bc it's not something that can be made when there are so many impromptu factors at play.

I imagine a scenario though honestly, where it takes them a year (12 months to film), so they won't be done until May 2024, which means that they would have until January 2025 to edit with 7 months for that strictly. And that just honestly feels realistic to me to look at instead of hoping that everything just is swift and fast as possible.

Not to mention ST5 2025 just fits.

However, I don't see anything wrong with hoping for late 2024, since as of now I think it is still possible.

But I also think, keeping all of the factors in mind, most notably a potential strike and also them ensuring quality over a speedy release, I think 2025 is something people should also be prepared for as a possibility.

The good news is that we'll know eventually as s5 starts filming and as time goes on.

If filming is complete in 2023 then we could definitely hope for a fall 2024 release. If filming isn't complete officially until early/mid 2024, then pack up your duffel bags bc we're going back to spring break...

[jakelopezzz]

someone on tiktok said that the splurge of ryan and oliver interviews for season 7 feels targeted and i slightly agree with that..... i am not closing the possibility of buddie going canon but i am also seeing a pattern where they are using it to attract new and fresh fanbase especially that the show has recently moved into a new network... the directions that this show might get this season is so unpredictable especially because it only has 10 episodes (because of the strike), nonetheless my predictions are as follows:

1. buddie will go canon but it will be a slow burn trope (meaning it wont definitely happen this season)

2. buddie immediately springing right before the finale, therefore, buddie canon in the finale

3. ryan said in an interview that buck and eddie will be "closer than ever" this season, which logically can be interpreted as (a) buck realizing he has feelings with eddie and they will talk it out or (b) buck coming out to eddie will create a more personal and deep growth in their relationship as bestfriends

as much as i love buddie, im definitely positive that options 1 and 3 will be the most likely to happen, especially that the focus of the story will be another bobby's backstory, henren and mara, marisol and eddie, buck and tommy, and madney's wedding, and there are only 5 episodes left...

[bird-inacage]

I was thinking about Sand and Top, and why Sand is hanging on so hard to the past, and what that might say about Sand (and Boeing). One thing I've seen floating around is that the way Sand fixates on Top having "stolen" his ex could indicate some ugly things about Sand re: possessiveness, maybe a controlling nature in relationships, like Boeing is some kind of prize to be won. And that could mean that Boeing leaving him for Top might be less about Top and more about not getting what he wanted from Sand. Alternately, it could be that Sand blames Top because it's easier to do than to acknowledge Boeing's fault in the decision, because it feeds into Sand's fears of inadequacy because of his poverty and the ways his circumstances (time and obligations) restrict what he's able to offer in a relationship. Which might mean Sand hasn't really gotten over Boeing because he's idealised him and blamed everything on Top. Which could be fun if Boeing comes back! Another fun thing I've been thinking about is the Checkov's Gun of whoever Sand's father turns out to be. If it's Top's dad, well, that would play in really nicely to Sand's inadequacy issues with Top - my brother who has the things that I should also have a right to has used those things (status, wealth, freedom) to steal away someone I loved. And on Top's side of things: did he love Boeing? Did he just pursue Boeing because he could and then get bored later? I'd personally love it if Boeing was seduced because Top was pursuing him and it was interesting and fun and exciting but then Boeing left Top because he was bored and unsatisfied in the actual relationship and said some choice words about Sand being better on the way out. Let me have Top with a chip on his shoulder about Sand! That would be delicious! Anyway, I trust Jojo to deliver some tasty spicy drama on this front. What would you like to see out of this plotline?

Hey Anon! :)

I'd almost forgotten about that little clue we'd been dropped a few episodes ago. For the sake of contextualising this for anyone else, I'm assuming you're referring to the little model airplane that Top had in his hotel apartment with the letter 'B' on it (as below)?

I haven't personally read any theories on 'Boenig' (aka whoever gave Top that airplane) being the same person as Sand's ex. In regards to the whole Sand VS Top dynamic, there have been very little concrete clues given to us so far. I try to make predictions based largely on what we've been shown and what I understand of these characters at this current point in the series. So for that reason I'll just discuss my thoughts on Sand's ex.

One thing I will definitely agree on is there's more to this story. Episode 6 confirmed that for me. In order for Sand to be so driven to seek revenge on Top, that he would disregard and risk how Ray may respond, said to me that this grudge runs truly deep.

For Sand to be so disgusted makes me think that either Sand's ex was a very important person in his life (a la Mew for Ray), or the way in which Top seduced or caught his ex's eye was really vile and underhanded.

Due to the fact that Sand's ex is no longer associated with Top meant that it either wasn't serious (maybe they both screwed Sand over), or it didn't work out. However the way Top behaves with Mew suggests that's the first attempted "serious" relationship he's tried to have. So the former may be more likely.

The interesting thing for me though is that Sand and Top clearly look like people who operate in different circles. So Sand's taste in romantic partners I imagine differs quite significantly from Top's. What is it about Sand's ex that would have caught Top's eye in the first place?

I also can't get this out of my mind:

When Sand said this, he looked like he was thinking of a specific memory, very likely the whole debacle with his ex.

Something you did mention, which I thought would be really interesting, is for Sand's ex to return. The cast have been alluding to a special cameo by a familiar face. But especially if they were returning in an attempt to patch things up with Sand and rekindle. Because that would also provide a great source of conflict for Ray/Sand.

As soon as Ray sees Sand possibly being 'taken away' from him, he'll realise how important Sand is. Which would align with the below scene and make sense with Ray's personality. He doesn't want Sand when Sand wants him, but as soon as Sand may be swayed, Ray does want him. Again, classic brat temperament.

In regards to Sand and Top being related - I'm not a huge fan of that theory. I don't see what purpose or additional depth it would add to either of their characters or story arcs in terms of writing.

The 'who is B (aka Boeing)' question is still very much at large for me. I can see why people may think B is Sand's ex, but I'm not convinced Top would keep a memento from someone he "conquered" and "won" from someone else. That doesn't suggest a relationship that has particularly sentimental meaning attached to it.

But thank you for reminding me about the B mystery. There is definitely more to come...

---birdie

[thewickedbohemian]

Thoughts on the Found season finale

I didn't expect her closing things down because A. it would have been teased, B. they already fake-outted that in E10 and C. we have a second season so where do we go from here

On the other hand maybe the people who've been partially comparing this to Leverage were right because Leverage also had a 13-episode (but that's more normal for it) first season intended to be a complete story should the series not be renewed and fractured the team near the end of S1 to bring them back together in the S2 premiere

For another Leverage parallel Leverage often kinda sets up kid "pseudo-successors" connecting with the team and being inclined towards wanting to do what they do even if they aren't seen again and it feels like Found was doing that both here with Dasheka and last episode with Aisha and her best friend.

Now that we've seen the flashbacks of him actually being a teacher Sir comes across less neurodivergent to me although that could just be him being very good at masking like how he masked his dark side (either way in addition to obvious ways he's a dick he's kinda a little pretentious)

Well, there went a lot of the more-exciting theories I had about the motives for Zeke's kidnapping that I formed as soon as we learned his dad's a politician (though who knows what still could have been up with his uncle)

Yet again with me predicting some of the other plot twists (that Sir left the photo and that Dasheka's abuse wasn't reported because there was a cover-up going on)

I know episodes of a show aren't shot week-by-week-to-be-done-by-the-airdate but if I didn't know better I'd say the prominence of Ethan this episode out of nowhere was the writers reminding people "Dhan has a husband, stop using him as the Fandom Bicycle"

I'll say this again if I've said it before, there's a lot of freaking fairytale-archetype parallels going on with this ensemble (but not to the level of Bones and the Arthurian stuff) from Gabi being "the princess who saved herself" and Dhan even more her knight-in-shining-armor (albeit platonically) than Trent to Zeke's situation basically being how one would modern-AU-in-a-OUAT-esque-sense a wizard in a tower

But despite the fairytale motif it's still also got the superhero motif cropping up again with Dasheka's comment about the invisible capes (and also making me think back to similarly-chaotic-good sadly-one-season show Rebel a couple years back as that show's "professional activist" lead's whole catchphrase was about "putting on your cape" as a metaphor for social action)

[markantonys]

My Mom Reacts To: wheel of time season 1 (this is mostly just a compilation of her commentary, but i do allude to a couple of significant book spoilers in my commentary on her commentary)

names she has called rand: brand, ran, land. she hates that there is one character named rand and another named lan. thankfully she didn’t catch tam’s name or she would’ve lost it.

for a while nynaeve was known only as “the woman who was cleaning the pool”

mom when nynaeve showed up at the end of episode 2: who’s that? me: nynaeve, the wisdom from the village mom: me: you know, that community leader mom: me: [sighing] the woman who was cleaning the pool mom: oh HER

me towards the end of episode 2: [pointing at perrin] what’s his name? mom: i have no idea

she loves egwene’s name because it sounds arthurian and she loves arthurian stuff. she’ll be pumped to find out about elayne, gawyn, galad, and morgase.

20 minutes into episode 1 she was like “there’s too many characters to keep track of” and there were 7 characters. what would she do if confronted by the 2,000 characters in the books.

mom: i’m gonna have to find a list of characters on the internet me: DO NOT GOOGLE ANYTHING RELATED TO WHEEL OF TIME

of course, this is the woman who intentionally googled history spoilers when we were in the middle of watching i medici. do you see where i get it from.

“hmph, i don’t like that he [lan] helped her [moiraine] mount her horse when this is supposed to be a world where women are in power” if THAT bothered her, then boy she would’ve hated the books jfkgh

mom when rand and egwene are kissing: are they gonna die :( me: [shrugs while holding back tears]

haha i think she thought one or both of them was going to be the Innocent Villager Casualty Of The Inciting Incident, she didn’t know they were the main characters! she also thought tam was dead after the trolloc attack, but this is a rare fantasy series where the parents are (mostly) allowed to live.

while nynaeve and egwene are listening to the wind: “now i’ll be scared to go for walks when it’s windy”

that shot of padan fain during the battle: “hmmmmm he doesn’t seem too concerned.............”

mom as the kids are leaving the two rivers after the battle: they must all have pstd! me: ptsd? mom: yes

she’s a little confused but she’s got the spirit!

me, who has never watched prime video on a tv rather than a laptop: i can’t figure out how to skip the recap of the episode we just watched 2 seconds ago mom: no no that’s okay, i need it

moiraine: there are more dangerous things than trollocs in the world mom: [visibly dismayed] i don’t see how THAT can be true

overall she is very concerned with logistics, i.e. how do they get enough to eat while they’re riding all day? did the horses have water to drink when they were camped in shadar logoth? while dana was chatting with rand in his room, who was running the bar? who will run the bar now with dana dead? how did rand get his coat back when he didn’t have it after dana chased him out of the room and then he left right away with thom? a woman after robert jordan’s own heart.

my dad: isn’t there a rope attached to the ferry that they’ll be able to use to get them? lan 1 minute later: [cuts said rope] dad: [approvingly] good

he will seem to be not paying attention and then randomly chime in with a prediction that is totally correct (he also called that dana was being suspiciously welcoming and buttering rand up in order to harm him in some way)

mom roasted rand for a) setting up his sleeping bag by himself away from the rest of the group when there are trollocs after them and b) just falling asleep after seeing moiraine take egwene off alone rather than being worried about egwene. she doesn’t know she needs to cherish rand being able to sleep while it lasts.

what she did not roast rand for: mistrusting moiraine! i was very pleased that she was still suspicious of moiraine despite the show making her the main character and less mysterious than in the books.

[camera shows lan during the manetheren song] mom: [chuckling] i can’t imagine HIM starting to sing

she was devastated by the horse dying in shadar logoth and spent the next two (2) episodes asking me repeatedly if the other horses made it out safely

dad in the 1x03 cold open: i thought they [trollocs] were afraid of water me: only deep water nynaeve: [emerges from the water and kills the trolloc] dad: well, looks like they should be afraid of shallow water too

rand: i thought moiraine was more your speed mom: did...........did he say................moi- me, hastily intervening lest she worry they’re trying to set up matraine: it was just a joke!

mat to rand: you’re the reason we’re in this shit town to begin with mom: well YOU’RE the one who stole that dagger!

she got so mad about mat (and rand) wandering off and touching things in shadar logoth after lan specifically told them not to touch anything

“rand chopped all that wood and mat served 2 drinks! 😤”

mom when the farmer says they’ll have to muck out the stables and the camera cuts to mat: he’s thinking “ugh i have to do WORK?”

i don’t think she’s a big fan of mat so far djfkjgh

oh no actually mat did get some points because when rand was hollering for perrin and egwene my mom was like “he’s gonna draw all the trollocs right to them!” and approved of mat saying the same thing a moment later

she LOVED dana’s bit about the horse trader with no horses, that got her biggest laugh so far. the runner up was nynaeve’s “i said you could ask, not that i’d answer.”

when lan says “stay there” to nynaeve and rides off mysteriously: “he’s gonna kidnap another aes sedai to heal moiraine” honestly he Would

thom to mat: what farmboy from the two rivers has met a trolloc? mom: a lucky one me: [kid with veins popping out as he tries to resist saying something meme]

every time anything even remotely unusual starts to happen she immediately goes “is this a dream????” and 90% of the time it is not a dream, but she’s in the right mindset!

she didn’t like the logain scenes because she thinks he’s “creepy” lmao

mom when the aes sedai are talking about the different color ajahs: oh, like those colorful women in the opening credits! me: [wiping away tears of pride]

haha i definitely am doing with her the same thing i always roast book readers for doing to show-onlys, assuming she won’t understand something but she actually did and explaining something she’d already figured out! in my defense, my mom is very much NOT a fantasy person and typically gets very very confused by many tv shows (she is the person constantly asking questions during the movie jdkfjg). but she did pretty well keeping up with the lore and plot etc, which tells you that the show did a great job making the story accessible for newcomers and casual viewers! all the different names and terminology tripped her up, but the actual concepts, she got pretty solidly.

she went “awwww i liked him :((” when lan was dying, i’m thinking he might be a fav (along with nynaeve, and she seemed invested in rand too especially in the last couple episodes)

post-episode-4 prediction of who is the dragon: either “the girl” (egwene) or “the red-haired boy, land” but not “the other two” (mat and perrin). i tried to get her to consider nynaeve as a candidate but she tossed that idea immediately due to nynaeve being too old. can’t fool her!

we watched the first 4 one night and the second 4 the next night, so before starting i quizzed my mom on names and she immediately called rand “land” AGAIN jkjfg but she got mat and perrin right, and she called egwene something that kinda sounded like egeanin lmao. but rest assured, by the end of the season, she knew rand’s name!

both parents were pressed about how long it should’ve taken rand and mat to reach the city judging by how far away the bridge across the river looked in that aerial shot when they were looking at the mountain, logistical concerns strike again

nynaeve: if i’m as powerful as you say i am, maybe it’s you aes sedai who shouldn’t underestimate me mom: i LIKE her!

she also really liked stepin and was so sad when he died, so take that, stepin subplot haters. it worked for new viewers!

loial is my dad’s favorite character, rightfully so. although he did ask if he was “the shrek of this show” when he first showed up jkjfg

mom when dad was blathering about something during the scene where perrin was telling egwene about laila: [genuinely mad] STOP MAKING SILLY COMMENTS!! THIS IS SERIOUS!!!

me at adult siuan’s entrance: see the tattoos? that’s the little girl from the opening scene, it was a flashback mom: whoa. good thing i have you to explain things

but then in episode 7 she figured out that the cold open was depicting rand’s birth right when tam first had the line to rand about finding a baby in the snow, before it actually went back and finished out the scene

dad, who used to work in local government, during the scene in the hall of the tower: this is just like town meeting

“so if moiraine swore not to return until the amyrlin seat called her back, what happens if someone else becomes amyrlin 🤨” my mom is thinking like an aes sedai! although i then pointed out that moiraine changed the wording to siuan’s name instead. still, good instincts!

egwene: what happens to the ones who aren’t the dragon if they go to the eye? mom: she’s the smart one

“i can’t believe they’re just blindly following moiraine in there. i wouldn’t be getting on this bus!” mat 🤝 my mom

both parents chose rand for their final dragon predictions. i guess he just has Special Chosen One energy despite the show’s best efforts to throw people off the scent haha

my dad’s reasoning was “i don’t like the red-haired one, so it’s probably him” betrayed by my own father! he did not have a reason why he didn’t like rand though lmao

the egwene-loial-rand exchange about loial trying to list things that are worse than falling into a bottomless pit brought the house down djfkg loial is very beloved here

min got quite a few laughs in her various scenes, i'll admit! she does have some good lines

“they’re both big and they both brood” was another hit lmao it’s iconic!

my mom when egwene is the only one arguing in favor of going to the eye just on the smallest chance that doing so could save the world: “she SHOULD be the dragon, she has the highest moral ground”

while lanaeve and randgwene are having their moments: “but poor perrin is all alone :(”

it was getting late but she insisted on watching the last episode because she couldn’t wait a whole day to see what happened, i think we officially have a new WOT fan! at one point she did say “i wish the books weren’t so long, i’d be interested in reading them but i don’t think i can do that” lmao Felt

she kept going “but who IS that guy???” about ishamael and i’d just shrug mysteriously haha i didn’t want to lie and say “it’s the dark one!” but i didn’t want to give away spoilers by saying he WASN’T the dark one. the struggle! i feel all you pre-show readers’ pain now.

at this point my dad had fallen asleep and spent the rest of the episode snoring and drowning out the show and not getting woken up by loud battle noises, so no more commentary from him. dads just be like that.

my mom was SO upset when she thought loial and nynaeve had died, i had to reassure her right away that they weren’t dead rather than saying Watch And Find Out (and loial’s alive status wasn’t confirmed in the episode anyway)

she kept being like “but how are there 14 books???” she really was thinking the eye of the world confrontation would be all there was to it

and then she still asked “does rand just wander forever by himself and go mad?” as if she didn’t know there were 14 books

when it showed The Western Shore she said “oh, this was where ships were disappearing” i was so impressed, man, i barely even remembered that throwaway line!

mom: do rand and egwene get back together? me: i’m not going to spoil you mom: no just tell me i don’t care me: okay. they’ll see each other again but they don’t end up together. mom: [as if i’d dealt her a mortal blow] NO!!!

randgwene shipper #1 i guess awww but she doesn’t even know elayne and aviendha yet! she has no idea what excellent ships are in store!

[totaldramafan-lauri]

EPISODE 5

SO.....I HAVE.....QUESTIONS.....

LIKE......A FAIR AMOUNT OF THEM, AND THE SHOW'S NOT GIVING ANSWERS, WHICH IS......a good thing, cuz it's keeping me guessing

THAT SCENE WITH HUSK, AND- WH- HOW-

L-LEASH-

O-OK-

B-but if Alastor doesn't wanna talk about it, I'll just d-drop it there, cuz I don't wanna- N-nope, not touching that right now, I'll just- s-see where this goes, b-but- But just know that I DO have a theory, I-I'm just gonna keep it to myself. A-and if it turns out to be true, I-I WILL let you know, cuz I'm gonna type "I FLIPPING CALLED IT" in all-caps and BOLD font. Th-that's how you'll know-

I-I kinda don't want it to be true, tho, cuz....o-one of my fav things about Alastor is how....m-mysterious and....unpredictable he is.....s-so, I don't wanna call things about him so early on, and have them be true....I-I wanna still guess.....>//////> D-don't do the predictable thing, Hazbin, please....

I-I still liked the scene, d-don't get me wrong, cuz of the threat- hhhhhhhhitfeelssoawkwardtosaythatnowthatIknowIhaveafriendwholovesHusk- b-but I can't help iiiiiiit-

B-by the way, only Alastor, who never swears normally, would have the guts to cuss out the fallen angel in the room-

Altho, Lucifer doesn't present himself as very....th-threatening.....

.......LUCIFER-

Ohhhhhhh BOY, finally getting to see the short king himself!! (Seriously, I LOVE how short he is XD)

H-honestly, I like this direction for him! I was expecting something pretty similar from the intro- a guy who "lost his will to dream"- but I was also expecting a bit more of an ego on him, cuz he's the sin of pride.....but no, he actually seems a bit....I-I wouldn't say insecure, cuz he never puts himself down on screen, but he's obviously got no hope in his people cuz he's only ever been exposed to the evil and not the good. He....FEELS downtrodden. But no, definitely still a good person. So, I like....half called it....?

M-Mimzy's pretty cool.....I pretty much guessed that she and Alastor were friends from life. Hearing Spinel's voice out of her is REALLY weird, tho.....T-tell 2019 me that Spinel's VA was gonna be in Hazbin playing one of Alastor's friends and....I-I would've exploded.....X/////D

The songs weren't.....AS good as they have been in previous episodes, at least on first listen. I do like things about both tho. I flipping love how Alastor spends the first song still deliberately trying to piss off the fallen angel in the room like- H-he doesn't even c-care-! (H-him talking about Charlie before the song, too, and- didhereallyliftherchin!?!?! HELP-) I really love his and Lucifer's dynamic already. It's fun. X/////D

And the second song.....I-I can't believe I'm saying this when the first one had Alastor, but on first listen at least, I liked the second one a bit more as a song....? Lucifer admitting that he doesn't want Charlie to go because she's all he has left....man, poor guy....Hazbin's ballads have been GREAT so far, between this and "Whatever It Takes".

C-can't wait to ACTUALLY SEE HEAVEN next episode!?!?! WOW-

.......

........."Take that, depression!" Favorite non-Alastor line in the episode, BTW. I-I laughed pretty hard...

[akuaya-eng]

(Card story) Vanis SR - The Fallen Angel Waiter

- MASTERING BUSINESS AND ENTERTAINMENT -

EPISODE 1

Vanis: Sorry to keep you waiting. Here’s your drink.

Casino Customer: Ah, thank you.

Vanis: Phew… I'm tired. (thinking) More customers than I expected. It’s probably a good thing, but… customer service is tough. Plus, Rosé charms customers left and right, making some of them almost lose control… And Adder completely crushes any challengers, so I have to clean up after them. …Maybe I can slack off-- I mean, take a break for a bit. It’s noisy here, so maybe I’ll rest outside… Wait, what?

Tis: (walks in) Ah--

Vanis: Hey, are you having fun?

Tis: … Uh, yeah, kinda.

Vanis: Really? Angels don’t usually gamble, do they?

Tis: Well, maybe normal angels don’t.

Vanis: If you’re thirsty, want me to get you something? We have great drinks and food.

Tis: No, I can get it myself.

Vanis: …? You’re avoiding eye contact. What’s wrong?

Tis: Um… Brother Rath, are you sure it’s okay? You’re paying a lot of attention to me.

Vanis: Well, I’m helping out at the casino, but I was just about to take a break.

Tis: I see… well, good luck.

Vanis: (thinking) As usual, you still seem distant… I wish you'd relax more around me.

Adder: ………

Vanis: (thinking) Oh. Adder is watching. It’d be troublesome if he gets suspicious. Hey, come over here.

Tis: …? Why?

Vanis: The roulette table is over there. You wanted to try it, right?

Tis: Eh. I didn’t say that.

Vanis: Don’t be shy. Come on.

Tis: …You really want me to play, huh?

Vanis: Haha, thanks for being quick about it. Let’s get going.

Tis: Wait, Rath…! (gets dragged by Vanis)

--------------------

Vanis: Alright, let’s start. I’ll be the dealer.

Tis: You can deal, Rath?

Vanis: Yeah. Does Tis know the rules?

Tis: Of course I do! You predict which slot the ball will land in, right?

Vanis: Well, that’s the basic idea. There are some more detailed rules, but you’ll learn those over time. Well then, place your bet--

EPISODE 2

Tis: (roulette sound) …Oh! Red 16!

Vanis: It was a perfect guess. Here, once again, these chips are yours.

Tis: Wow! So many! Roulette is so fun!

Vanis: Haha. I'm glad you're enjoying it.

Casino Customer A: Hey, hasn't that table been on a winning streak? Look at that mountain of chips!

Casino Customer B: Yeah. And the boy playing seems to be having a blast.

Casino Customer C: I think I'll try it as well… Excuse me, can I join?

Vanis: Of course, go ahead.

Tis: Yeah, yeah! Let's play together!

Casino CustomerA: Then, I'm in too!

Casino Customer B: Me too!

Vanis: Alright. Come on, everyone, place your bets--

(time passes)

Tis: Ah, that was fun. I'm really satisfied.

Vanis: I wish I could win that much. I think I'm done for now too.

Tis: ? It looks like others still want to play roulette.

Vanis: I'll leave it to another dealer. I'm tired from spinning the wheel too much.

Tis: Hmm?

Adder: (walks in) Looks like you've made a lot of money.

Tis: Ah, Snake…!

Vanis: Helping out at the casino. I'm doing my best, alright?

Adder: Right, but… --don't overdo it. There are sharp-eyed people everywhere.

Vanis: Yeah, I know.

Adder: Good. (walks away)

Vanis: The sharpest-eyed person here is Adder. Don’t you think so, Tis?

Tis: …Hey, was I used for cheating?

Vanis: Haha, we have a sharp kid here too. Even if that's the case, would it be a problem?

Tis: Yes, it would!

Vanis: But… look around. Everyone’s having fun, right?

Casino Customer C: Yay! I won!

Casino Customer B: Ugh… Next time for sure…

Tis: Ah…

Vanis: A cheater that isn't discovered isn't a cheater. And ruining a good time would be unethical. Besides, you don't really have to uncover the truth, do you?

Tis: …Yeah, I guess that's right. It doesn't sit right with me, but I’m not going to ruin the moment by causing a scene here.

Vanis: Thank you.

Tis: But I'm not going to let Rath use me like that again.

Vanis: That's too bad. Will you play with me again?

Tis: …I’ll think about it!

Vanis: I'll be waiting. If you feel like it, let's play again like today.

Tis: …Maybe I'll play roulette a bit more.

Vanis: Eh? I’m not going to be there to help, so you might not win.

Tis: I know that. Now is the time to really test my luck! See you later! (walks away)

Vanis: Oh dear… But, well, it's not good to be too overprotective.

[yurisorcerer]

A slower episode this week, but certainly an eventful one.

They're officially signed! Rupa and Tomo are working their last day at their job! I am very happy for these people who don't exist!

As one might predict, Nina seems almost as anxious about their current situation as she is happy. After all, Diamond Dust were still the main attraction at the concert TogeToge played at. And despite Nina claiming her band is better (she's right) and that they completely rocked (she's right about that, too), they aren't the ones being talked about on socials. Rarely do the best artists get the most coverage, as Nina is learning.

The callbacks to the first episode are absolutely adorable, as is Tomo's cute but muted reaction to the card and flowers Subaru buys her.

The hotpot party scene is nice; a restrained sort of comfort and a chance to recuperate after the big, billowing emotions of last episode.

TogeToge being assigned a team of similarly-named support staff is really funny.

Their songwriting sessions are motivated by a desire, as you might recall, to get to the Budokan, a feat that would put them on par with many famous bands but most amusingly Cheap Trick. These are subject to montage, the first in the series I think.

Momoka asleep on Nina's shoulder, I'm going to cry.

The show's final twist seems to be to make the whole Diamond Dust / TogeToge fight very literal. TogeToge are offered a co-bill, with composing the theme for a TV series on the line for the band that draws a bigger crowd. This is a stacked fight at best, and TogeToge have a lot to lose. Ultimately, the band put it to a vote, and, despite Nina's misgivings (and being collectively unsure of what DiaDust's actual goal was, here), they opt to decline. This leaves Nina in something of an emotional rut. Being a rockstar, she has learned, is not all about huge bursts of emotional catharsis. There's a lot of boring bookkeeping and shady politicking, too. (I would refer her to the wisdom of KRS-One on this topic, myself.)

Momoka, however, knows that. There's a running B-plot through this episode about a song she's working on, first mentioned during the hotpot party. Throughout, she's stuck on a specific part of it (we're not shown what, specifically). Why exactly is left unstated, but it seems to be at least in part because, in her own way, Momoka wants to beat Diamond Dust, too. She's just being more subtle about it.

Or at least, she thinks she is. Nina seems to pick up on this, and the rest of the band are convinced to accept DiaDust's challenge after all. There's fear in Momoka's shadowed mood throughout the episode too. That much she says herself. She lost everything once before, and she's afraid to lose it again.

The episode ends with an upturn of mood; Momoka admitting that she wants to win against Diamond Dust too, TogeToge's sound engineer and manager telling them they really like the new song (which Momoka finally finishes, naturally), and all seems to be going well in the leadup to the finale.

And then, at the last possible second, we get this; the new song releases, Nina goes to check the metrics. 103 views. Ouch.

It is hard to tie genuine emotion to numbers floating up and down. This is a big mistake that frankly a lot of music anime make these days, but here, that 103 feels like a legit punch to the gut. We only have one episode left! What the hell is going to happen?! It's hard to know, and there's of course the knot of anxiety that GBC won't "stick the landing" so to speak, but I have a lot of faith in the series. TogeToge will figure it out.

[mischief-lies-and-stories]

Loki Episode 1 Reactions (Less Coherent Edition)

It's been two and a half years, y'all, and what a start to the new season it was. (I've seen mixed reviews in the tag, but personally the initial reaction is I loved it.) What I apparently forgot in those two years, however, is that my in-the-moment reactions notes are not very coherent. So I apologize in advance if you aren't sure what part the note refers to. I'm going to make another post tomorrow with some more coherent thoughts around the episode and some predictions about the season in general (I'm also going to be rewatching the episode later so that might lend more clarity to the next post as well). I also cut out a chunk of my reactions that were just me screaming a character's name when they showed up, unless it makes sense for the next note to leave it in (and there were a lot of these, since it's been two and a half years since I've seen my friends).

Obligatory spoiler warning if you weren't already expecting them. Prepare for some wildness. I've bracketed [ ] some brief clarifying post-ep notes (not everywhere though).

I'm obnoxious, I'm watching the entire recap.

The editing of this recap is interesting.

The bleak theme is worrying. I don't like it. But I do love the color scheme of the logo.

SYLVIE???!!!

CASEY!!!

Okay hopefully that wasn't Sylvie.

Someone give this boi [Loki] a nap. He's had a very very very long day and it's only getting longer.

What the fuck is happening.

X-5 you've got the haircut of a cop, I've decided I don't like you.

Man, I hope we fix this time-slipping in this episode, it's stressing me out too fucking much.

Oh motherfuck. This is driving me insane. This is Sisyphean torture. [I don't remember what specifically I was referring to, so I don't remember if this is an accurate description.]

OH MY GOD I LOVE LIZ CARR I HOPE SHE STICKS AROUND [Man, Liz Carr is just hopping from franchise to franchise this summer. She's in Loki, Good Omens, The Witcher)

OH SHIT. Renslayer and Kang. If they kiss on tape I'm marking it on the Bingo.

I DESPERATELY want to know what B-15's backstory is. She's a fantastic character and I want to know how she used this personality on the timeline.

Keep that Hitler youth-looking fuck away from my girl!

Oh my god, I'm going to be watching this conversation in the hall between Loki and Mobius over and over, because I love every part of it. The panicking, the teasing, the touching, the making each other feel better. Just the entire debriefing, reuniting conversation is EVERYTHING to me right now.

"In order to do that I need a Loki Who Remains." I love this

"I have no memory of having my memory wiped." Mobius. This is Catherine Tate on Nevermind the Buzzcocks telling David Tennant "I don't know songs I've never heard of" solidarity [I understand I'm making obscure 13+ year old references but this quote lives in my head rent free]

Ugh I HATE time travel. But it makes sense why his name is OB now. Also his door is a circle.

OB IF YOU KILL LOKI I WILL END YOUR CUTE BESPECTACLED FACE FASTER THAN YOU CAN SAY "No...wait."

OB IF YOU KILL MOBIUS I WILL PERSONALLY FLAY THE SKIN FROM YOUR OWN BONES

Mobius writing "skin" into the dust on the computer lololololol

WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING JUST LET LOKI CONFESS

OB I'M GOING TO KICK YOUR ASS IF ONE OF THESE BOYS EVEN SEEMS TO DIE AT THE END OF THIS EP

HOW IS HE GONNA HOOF IT BACK IF HE CAN BARELY CRAWL [I started getting really stressed at this point. It's pretty much caps lock from here on out.]

OH MY GOD OH MY GOD WE'RE GONNA END THIS EPISODE WITH MO BITING IT AND THEN LOKI FIXES IT IN EP TWO AND BRINGS HIM BACK

OR LOKI BITES IT AND THE OTHER WAY HAPPENS

THERE'S ELEVEN MINUTES LEFT BUT I DON'T TRUST MARVEL NOT TO MAKE ELEVEN MINUTES OF CREDITS

MARVEL DON'T MAKE ME CHECK OFF THE CRYING BOX [on the Bingo Card] ON EPISODE ONE

MARVEL

I WON'T BE ABLE TO SLEEP

MARVEL

LOKI

MOBIUS

LOKI

MOBIUS

SYLVIE MY DARLING MY PERFECT LOVE THANK YOU OH MY GOD

How wild is it that Loki comes flying back from the jaws of death itself and saves Mobius from getting his skin ripped off and they land on the floor of the TVA in each other's arms, and the first thing Loki does is bring up his ex-girlfriend [I wouldn't classify Sylvie as this, but I'm being tongue-in-cheek, and Mobius did accuse Loki of falling for himself in season 1, so]

OKAY BUT I WAS RIGHT THAT WAS SYLVIE AT THE BEGINNING [Before you reply, remember I can't respond to those, and also I forgot that was the past and at the end Loki's in the future. HOWEVER, I do still think that was Sylvie at the beginning.]

SHE IS IN BROXTON HELL YEAH WHOEVER FIGURED THAT OUT (I don't remember who that was) FOUR FOR YOU HOLY SHIT

Oh Sylvie :(((

[annikasevenshots]

Seven and Raffi in Picard S3: What We Know (part 2)

Original thread was getting too long, but do give it a read for the full story! I'll probably chop these into parts now that we're getting content of their interactions.

Episode 6 Round-up (now with gifs!)

When Raffi and Worf beam onto the La Sirena, Raffi immediately scans the room - and her face softens when she sees Seven. She approaches her - "hey, you. you alright?" - and Seven responds in a very Seven way - not revealing much about how she is, rather a summary of the Titan crew. Very professional. Work-focused. "We're alive, if that's what you're asking". For me, it calls back to when she calls herself "functional" in S1E5.

Worf does walk ahead of the two of them side by side in this episode, but they're not storming the bridge - whoops - just heading into the transporter room. Having had more time to process everything, Seven reaches out - "uh, it's good to see you", and Raffi says, "it's great to be seen". (I interpreted that as a reaction to her being undercover and not being seen by anyone). Then they share an exchange that, to me, showed... regret? Grief? Some poignant acknowledgement of, "we did what we had to do, but it was still hard to say goodbye"?

Being put in a live slug reaction situation, Worf points out that he's gone into battle with lovers countless times - Seven interjects and says she's not going - and Worf says that it was a relief, and he was practicing deceit. "Breakups on my homeworld seldom end without bloodshed". That's pretty much confirmation that Seven and Raffi are broken up, or at least on a break.

Between going into battle with lovers being therapeutic, and the breakups (the phase of being broken up?) not ending without bloodshed, it's very promising foreshadowing for when Seven and Raffi storm onto the bridge. They'll spill some blood, they'll air their feelings, they'll kiss and make up.

A now taken-down review says that "there is enough sexual tension between Seven and Raffi to power a small-scale ship". We start to see hints of that tension this episode. These two clearly still have eyes for each other and are not over each other, and there was a lot repressed in the short conversation they were able to have.

I mean, look at the way they look at each other. Eyes up here, people.

Anyway, I suspect we'll see more of this tension as they try to repress their feelings and attend to the mission at hand. But I think they'll realise that - in the words of Matalas - they will always be family.

This is significant wording! Family has been a great part of this season. From ep4 onwards, a Family Theme was introduced. This motif was reintroduced when Seven talks about her family aboard the Voyager this episode. The way she phrases it makes it seem like she doesn't have anyone to call family right now.

I think Seven's arc will be to realise that Raffi is family to her. Not only Raffi, but people on the Titan, Picard, etc. That being in Starfleet means that other people have her backs and she can do the same for them. It'll be a continuation of her long-standing arc to learn to be more vulnerable, to learn to trust, to create a home with someone.

Notably, Seven and Raffi were left out of the significant action towards the end. The TNG crew try to revive not-Data Data, Worf vows to hunt down the Shrike and save Riker and Deanna. I'm not sure what Saffi will be doing next episode. Probably hunting down the Shrike on the Titan. But I am hoping that this means they'll have some time to catch up with each other and talk.

Predictions for Ep7:

Terry has said it's a Vadic-heavy episode, so my guess is whatever Saffi are doing is the b-plot.

Seven and Raffi collaborate on a task, and they butt heads as they learn to work with each other again. The tension builds up.

Their relationship are still on the backburner this episode.

Predictions for the rest of the season:

More tension building in ep 8. Possibly, Raffi's family is addressed again, especially her granddaughter.

Saffi's key moment comes in ep9. Much like last season's extraordinary moment. Either in the aftermath or the eve of a great battle. Or both. It will be underscored by the Family Theme.

Seven and Raffi storm onto the bridge in episode 9.

Seven commandeers the Enterprise-F and hails the fleet of retired ships to attack against the infiltrated, interconnected active fleet.

There will be a Saffi kiss in the season finale. Just a gut feeling.

Possibly Raffi (and Seven?) meeting her granddaughter and Gabe, if they're present for Frontier Day.

[catgirledteach]

okay ive reached the point where i need to get my season 2 theories out. i am going full red string cork board please feel free to lobotomize me at any time

i'm breaking these down by the batches of episodes as they will be released, as last season they said episodes were broken up very intentionally to convey certain story beats, and i think that's what they're doing this season as well

First three episodes:

we catch up with what each separate crew has been up to since season one left off i.e. a recap of how stede and the folks abandoned on the island managed to make their way back to society, how the now unhinged crew under ed has been running wild, how i suspect a lot of them are enjoying serving under a successful pirate captain but are confused and unsettled by how and why blackbeard has become so aggressive and unstable

i think the above will be the first episode for the most part. i think this will establish their goals/conflict - i predict some of stede's crew will be supportive of trying to go after ed and some won't. particularly i expect pete will get a storyline of him turning on the blackbeard persona he once idolized now that ed potentially did god-knows-what to lucius, and the only way he'll agree to go after blackbeard is if stede agrees to try and find lucius as his first priority and the rest of the crew backs him up

episode two follows stede's crew as they search for lucius and make new allies (lesbian pirates fuck yeah), meanwhile ed becomes more and more unstable and the crew starts to turn. ESPECIALLY izzy, but we'll come back to that. end of episode two they finally find lucius and they're ready to pursue the revenge

episode three ends with stede's crew finally catching up with the revenge, in no small part helped by frenchie, jim, and maybe even izzy quietly trying to sabotage ed so that stede can catch up and hopefully make things right again. izzy at this point is starting to realize that ed has gone off the deep end and not in a good way. he is seeing that underneath the violence and rage that ed is unhappy and he maybe even feels responsible - things have gone too far for even him and it's not what he wanted either. he maybe even confronts ed in a final attempt to set him right and after being unable to get through to ed, knows that stede is the only one who can fix this, much to his disappointment that he can't be that for ed

the reunion goes BAD, a standoff of sorts happens but ed refuses to forgive or listen to stede despite being heartbroken. however at this point his crew has turned on him so much that there's a blowout that separates them again, and stede maybe manages to take back the revenge or at least they manage to get jim and/or frenchie out of there. and MOST importantly i think this is where izzy defects, approaching stede with the deal that he will help him bring ed back, training him to fight and track down ed together

Episodes 4 and 5:

Episode 4 covers izzy and stede having a tenuous relationship, so starkly at odds yet understanding that they need each other to help ed. stede gets better at fighting/strategy, and despite some initial conflict they come to a place of peace and maybe even friendship?? this is also likely helped by lucius once again being the resident therapist onboard and talking izzy through his shit. izzy begins the tentative journey of realizing he was toxic, wanting to make up for that, and also finally acknowledging that his feelings for ed were more than what he originally thought they were.

also side note i think this may be the episode where one of the B plots are lucius and black pete getting married. sort of a "lucius almost died and there's nothing like being separated and potentially losing the love of your life to make you want to commit to each other for the rest of your life" and so they decide to throw the party we saw in the trailer. and also maybe this starts getting stede's mind going in the direction of marital thoughts

meanwhile the remains of ed's crew have had fucking enough, especially after the blowout that just happened, and throw him overboard. and with ed also being thrown into an emotional spiral after seeing stede again and not knowing how to deal with it, he kind of just lets it happen as he feels like giving up

This brings us to episode 5 which i think will be the "ed stranded on an island and slowly losing his mind" episode, which i think will be the main plot after a stede/izzy-centric episode prior. however, the B plot i do think is izzy and stede getting wind of ed being deposed, and going off just the two of them to find him, and again having some more honest conversations between the two of them about their histories and relationships to ed. (izzy maybe starts developing a crush on stede idk????????)

ed is going THROUGH it on the island, reckoning with his past and his shame, very similar to stede's fever dreams in season one. ed's imagining hornigold and maybe other memories that formed this discomfort with being seen as weak, vulnerable, not masculine enough, etc. and i think after going through some rough fucking soul searching and lowkey starving and dehydrating, he realizes he was just scared of stede bringing out this more vulnerable side of him, and that stede leaving was one of his worst fears coming true and that's why he lashed out. he knows he loves stede and deep down he knows stede loves him too but was just as scared as ed was, and that's why he left. episode ends with ed nearly fucking dying and stede and izzy finding and rescuing him

Episode 6:

An interesting choice to have one week with only one episode and im very intrigued. it's either meant to just be kind of a bridge episode that's a lot calmer after the previous intense episode with ed and a calm before the storm of the last two episodes, or it's maybe the most climactic episode yet.

i lean more the former, potentially a very quiet episode that is focusing less on the action and more on the emotional states of characters as ed is reintegrated into the crew, met with mixed reactions from different people. this could be the time for lucius to have his reckoning with ed about, y'know, lowkey trying to kill him after being nothing but supportive.

izzy is also very uncomfortable with his emerging new identity and having defied blackbeard once again being afraid of what ed might do to him now that they're back on the same ship. stede is likely the only one who has faith that ed will be okay and is the only person really defending him and protecting him. this is maybe the episode where stede and ed actually have a conversation about everything that's happened, how they feel about each other, and what this means going forward. things are still uncertain but they're recovering slowly

i also think a side plot that's been going on throughout the season is something related to jim's revenge quest, them maybe running into another one of the bandits who killed their family or maybe even their sibling we saw in the flashback (dear god i hope it's that one). so maybe that becomes the more action-heavy plot for this episode while every other plot is more subdued and emotional.

i think the end of this episode is a catalyst of conflict that will kick off the action for the last two episodes. this is so far out that i can't even begin to predict what that could be, but maybe something about being pursued by another country's navy again (i don't think so though, it would be a bit repetitive from last season's ending) or more likely being pursued by other pirates as word of blackbeard's wild behaviour and then subsequent disappearance after being mutinied got around. also he has a fucking price on his head

Episodes 7 and 8:

Just as the crew is starting to get on the same page again, they're thrown into a conflict of some kind. feelings have to take a backseat for a while, although they're still very much at the forefront of people's minds. more pirate conflict, more of jim's sidequest maybe, more seeking/returning of allies (returning lesbian pirates fuck yeah), very hero's journey-esque. i think this is where the clips with jackie maybe fit in, as the crew reaches out to other pirates and strike deals to get assistance with the brewing conflict? this is also what makes me think that the conflict is likely with other pirates, enemy of my enemy and all that.

episode 7 ends with the crew having put all their ducks in a row and prepare to enter the fray.

episode 8 is the climactic conflict, both in the battle-sense and also the emotional sense. stede and ed (and also maybe izzy?) can't hold back their feelings anymore, even in the midst of the current insanity, and maybe even BECAUSE of the insanity because they're worried what might happen to them going into danger. some sort of emotional confessions or proposals (?!!?!?!) occurs, everything coming to blows at once very dramatic and all that. this is perhaps the dramatic cliff scene that the vogue article mentioned??

and heartbreakingly, because there's still supposed to be one more season, i think it will end on another cliffhanger. my theory is that the revenge crew wins the day, but either stede or ed are captured in the process. the beaten pirates or officers or whatever know one of them is valuable to the other and takes them in hopes of maybe manipulating the other towards some goal or even just ransoming them off as they are both wanted fugitives. and by now stede and ed have had their emotional confession and know how the other feels, so we know that the final season will kick off with one of them forging an intense rescue mission to take them back and rain hell on whoever took the other.

BONUS PREDICTION: season three ends with ed and stede faking both their deaths in order to 'retire' peacefully, no longer wanting to live a life that puts either of them in danger of losing the other. maybe im reaching across the atlantic for this take, but i think the High on a Rocky Ledge song from episode one foreshadows all of this, implying they fake falling to their death together so that they can live out the rest of their lives in peace.

Full disclosure i wrote this all this morning before i even knew the trailer was releasing tomorrow so all of this will likely be completely irrelevant in like 12 hours. i have also intentionally avoided looking at any of the leaks (i liked some posts though to look at after i see its release) so if any of this is already contradicted ssshhhh you saw nothing

we still have three weeks to go gang and i'm literally on the verge of writing the whole fucking thing myself i am unwell please help me

[thegeminisage]

sigh ok star trek update time. wednesday we watched tng's "force of nature" and last night we watched ds9's "second sight" and tng's "inheritance."

force of nature (tng):

this one is so infamous i knew about it way before we watched it...as predicted, it made me mad

i've heard something about a lower decks episode retconning this? which just goes to show how little human beings want to like. work on a problem

like, the episode is about fossil fuels and climate change. we rely on fossil fuels but theyre damaging our environment to the point these people are willing to completely isolate themselves in space bc they have no other choice

and like, the point of the episode is that this lady has to essentially self-immolate to get any attention and everyone gets the runaround from the people in charge because no one wants to believe it will get that bad and no one wants to change...

...and then they just. didn't change. like nobody stopped using warp. nobody brought this up ever again. in fact, it got RETCONNED? so why write it at all in a series where you KNOW everything has to go back to the status quo...tng is even worse than merlin in this regard, why would they do this!!!

aside from that, i feel like they gave us a b plot or multiple b plots in the first half of the ep (training data's cat, geordi's rivalry with that other engineer) and then completely dropped and forgot about them?? the whole ting feels just so poorly thought out...

second sight (ds9):

MIXED FEELINGS. under one hand i've been absolutely DYING for more sisko content under the other girl what the fucj was that

the lady was sooo mysterious i was CERTAIN she was either evil or a ghost...what she actually was turned out to be closer to ghost ig but it was so out of the left field the ending didn't leave me feeling very satisfied. also, what a shit deal for fenna to be dying either way when all she wants to do is hang out and make out with sisko

sisko and jake scenes <3

i did like the bits with dax being like oh i get it you cant tell me about girls anymore because i AM one. does the time we fucked twins together mean nothing to you

the ending was really good also. i mean, i think the plot of this episode was kind of ???, but the guy playing sisko is a GREAT actor and his struggle over this ridiculous situation was so palpable you felt for him in spite of it.

the guy she was actually married to was SO ANNOYING but i thought him killing himself was stupid and i was also a little more annoyed everyone seemed so chill about letting him do it - like, there was quite literally no way they could have stopped him, but sisko seeing him off with a sad smile instead of getting angry wasn't really what i expected

THAT SAID, reigniting a star and going out with the words "let there be light!" is pretty fucking metal. like i don't even like him, but you HAVE to hand it to him. that was really REALLY good, especially considering it came from a character i would have happily murdered myself right up until the instant he said it

inheritance (tng):

mixed feelings...2!

first off, i can't help but feel mister terraformer who reignites stars from that ds9 ep would have been able to help here. he killed himself out of fucking vanity and now he's totally useless to people who need him. jesus.

secondly, what the FUCK

i love data episodes, but the last few data episodes have been rough ones. i like him being skeptical of his "mom" and them eventually getting to know one another better, and i DEFINITELY like the subplot of her secretly being a little racist towards androids

like, there's so much complexity in that. what if you were data and you were alone in the universe but you found out you had a mom but she fucking sucked? like, lore traumatized her so bad she wanted a metaphorical abortion and when her husband refused she wanted to leave that baby outside the fire station, if the fire station had a big crystalline entity trying to eat all the firefighters.

i think that would have been a FINE episode on its own. like, her learning about data's loneliness, his failed attempt at having children, his success as not only a starfleet officer but a person, in SPITE of her fears and his rough beginning, his difficulties in not knowing who he was and his accidental reactivation of lore born from that loneliness and separation from his parents which is HER FAULT...all of this is fine drama

why did they have to make her also secretly an android, is my problem. it's a STUPID plot twist, and one tos did to MUCH better effect. like, is that android chapel's long-dead fiance just because he thinks he is? does having a person's memories and personality make you them, or is the copy always going to be different no matter what? tos seemed to decide the answer was that you can't implant a human consciousness into an android and be left with no changes whatsoever. you can't ever truly cheat death - even spock didn't get out of it entirely.

and what REALLY grinds my gears is that now they know this woman is an android WITH A KILL TIMER SET IN HER BRAIN so she can "die of old age" instead of like, working on changing the timer and letting her be friends with data or even telling her and asking HER if she wants the knowledge of what she is wiped from her brain, they're like, well she would be happier being human! WHICH IS STILL RACIST AGAINST ANDROIDS. and data's like yeah damn i guess she would be it would be selfish of me not to let her keep believing she is one. guess we'll lie then. it's not like there's any danger of her finding out from a stranger someday or anything

absolutely nuts by the way that deanna voted lie and picard voted truth. normally picard is the one with the rancid takes but this time it really was deanna :/

there's also logistic concerns. why doesn't she glow like data in geordi's visor? how does she digest food? if she was that advanced why did dr soong not make more androids or at least go retrieve data? why did he let her divorce him without telling her what she really was? like, let's make an android but a WOMAN, which means she gets no agency whatsoever. nevermind her HUSBAND - like, if they fuck, i do feel like he has the right to know he's fucking an android? it sounds bad when i say it like that bc if she wanted to keep it a secret then its none of his business but it just feels so weird that he's married to a copy of a person and neither of them know it and he's only gonna find out after she dies and someone tries to do an autopsy on hr. like what the HELL

also lmao the aside about data aging. threw that in there just for fun did we

anyway, that was an episode with huge potential that missed the mark so fucking completely because they prioritized a dumb shitty plot twist over actual interpersonal shit and character development. SIGH.

TONIGHT: ds9's "sanctuary" and tng's "parallels."