#recently gone on an Elizabeth I drama rewatch

[isabelleneville]

How our parent's generation treats Charles Jarrot's "Anne of a Thousand Days" and Genevieve Bujold's performance as Anne Boleyn is how most of our generation treats Shekhur Kapur's "Elizabeth" and "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" with Cate Blanchett's performance as Elizabeth I.

[djemsostylist]

Rome, Part 1: The Worst Show Ever

I have, rather recently, gotten into the history of ancient Rome. It wasn't that I was unaware of history--I knew the highlights of course (I read Julius Caesar in high school, I have a dad obsessed with Roman history, I exist in the world), but I have, at the behest of my oldest sibling, begun listening to the History of Rome podcast by Mike Duncan, and subsequently, have been wiki backreading and etc to fill in some gaps. I have yet to read primary sources, though I am excited to, but I think the podcast does an excellent job of covering the important bits and the little bits in between.

But this isn't about the History of Ancient Rome. Or rather, it is, but only in so much as it applies to my subsequent rewatching of what I think I can safely say is the Worst Show I Have Ever Seen.

I generally think of myself as somewhat lenient on moralizing in television. I don't think our media should be scrubbed clean of subjects which are upsetting or disturbing, and in general I fully support the idea of media being viewed as media--a show does not endorse a thing simply because it features a thing.

I also generally quite enjoy shows where the main characters are...less than stellar examples of human beings. While I am, somewhat notoriously, famous for falling in love with what amounts to Human Cinnamon Rolls, I also quite enjoy a character who is really just an awful person. A character does not have to be good to be enjoyable. I loved the Americans, for example, and Phillip and Elizabeth Jennings are hardly models of humanity and temperance. I also think that dark subjects can, and should, be addressed with humor. Four Lions is an excellent example.

So when approaching the HBO series Rome, which I had first watched maybe 10+ years ago, with fresh, newly learned eyes, I expected to be disappointed by historical characterization--a not uncommon thing for me, as most historical movies/tv butcher important figures in the desperate bid to create a better "story" than history did, but I did not expect to be so thoroughly and completely disgusted by, well, literally every aspect of this show.

I spent my spring/summer watching Once Upon a Time, which I believe I declared as The Worst Show Ever, but I was, in fact, completely wrong. The thing about terrible tv shows is that most of the time, the shows know they are bad. OUAT was deliberately cheesy, and though my primary complaint was that it didn't have to be, it was. Cheap costumes, shitty writing--they weren't trying to achieve greatness.

Rome was HBOs masterpiece. It was their pride and joy. It was their Game of Thrones before Game of Thrones (which was also shit but I digress). At least until it became prohibitively expensive to produce anyway. But it was really at the dawn of "prestige television", pushing the envelope, going to for historicity, drama, humor, and an attempt at telling the truest story of Rome, by elevating the stories of both the common man, and the women of Rome.

Rome was...a disaster. It fact, it's honestly the type of show that I genuinely don't know how you can enjoy it, unless, like my dad, you turn off your brain and don't really think about characters, accuracy, or anything beyond what is currently happening on screen. (My dad, it should be noted, is not a thoughtless man. Nor is he I a deep thinker. He is incredibly intelligent--he just doesn't ever really think deeply or introspectively about the media he watches. Ever. As long as it has funny moments and some sort of "stompy army", he's good. I both respect it, and find it infuriating. But I digress).

Rome not only fails to tell an accurate historical story (with almost all historical figures changed beyond recognition, dates switched, and timelines muddled, as well as major players simply gone), but it fails to even tell a story that makes a show itself. I know the history of Rome, and I was left confused more often than not about what the hell was actually happening, and when I attempted to forget the little I did know, I was left even more baffled than before.

It is also deeply, disturbingly misogynistic. And look, I'm not one to complain about misogyny, particularly in media, but Rome actually got to a point where watching felt deeply uncomfortable--and not because it was dealing with uncomfortable subject matter, but because the writers themselves didn't seem to realize that their main characters were the villains, not the heroes, and that all their women fell into one of two camps--evil harpy bitch, or drippy useless wet blanket (though the latter applies almost exclusively to Octavia, as the other women are almost exclusively manipulative evil harpies, who rule men through their womanly wiles and overt manipulation). The main character is a horrific domestic abuser, who shows little remorse for the way he rules his family through fear and the threat of both physical abuse (and death), and mental abuse he heaps on them. And the narrative doesn't seem to realize this at all.

Additionally, the costumes are godawful. Again, it wouldn't be so egregious if they weren't claiming historical accuracy. It was so distracting that at some points in the show I found myself concentrating more on how on earth they could have possibly managed to weave that fabric or achieve that neckline, rather than concentrating on the story at hand.

I'll dive a little more deeply into my next post, though it reality, it probably deserves at least 3--one on the accuracy (and overall story), one on the disgusting treatment of women, and a further one on the overall aesthetic, but we shall see how tired I get after the first two, lol.

[theawkwardterrier]

Ship game

Rules: Movie/TV ship questions, no repeats, answer with a gif. (I couldn’t make my own, but I’ve credited below.)

Honored to be tagged for this by the fabulous @nevertothethird and my wonderful meme partner, @lavellenchanted. Let’s talk ships!

1. First Ship ↳ Jack/Sue, Sue Thomas FBEye

This show used to air at random times on my local UPN station and I was - completely inexplicably - wild for it. My best friend and I would call each other frantically if we happened to catch it when it was on. A big part of my interest? This very chaste pair of coworkers who wanted to be something more! (Gif via @suethomasfbeye) 

2. First OTP ↳ Buffy/Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Cannot tell you how completely gone I was for this ship for essentially all of high school. Was it the soulmates aspect? The Yearning™ because they couldn’t be together? Their sweetness and encouragement toward each other, the way they relied on each other despite everything? My enormous thing for David Boreanaz? (It couldn’t have been my total 😍 for the symbolism of the cross burned into Angel’s chest in 1x07 - I was not astute enough to appreciate it until later.) Regardless, I spent much of driver’s ed when I was 16 writing a full on treatise about how they were meant for each other. Still do not drive, but they’re still with me, so I think I took care of the important stuff. (Gif via @buffysummers)

3. Current Fave Ship ↳ Elizabeth/Henry, Madam Secretary

It’s not a huge surprise that I got into this show, considering my love of The West Wing and my past as a college aged Good Wife fan, but I was shocked at how absolutely wonderful this ship was. I’m always here for functional married couples, and they are a prime example of believing in each other, having complementary values, communicating, and sticking together through everything. I’m about it. (Gif via @beautifuldisastr)

4. Your Ship Since the First Minute ↳ Booth/Brennan, Bones

I purposefully picked a gif from the first Bones episode I ever watched (2x04, The Blonde in the Game) because from the second they walked through those woods arguing about the possibility of having a pig for a pet, I was gone for them - and they didn’t even get together for another four seasons. The show shifted tone in later years in a way that I wasn’t totally on board with, but at the core, their bickering and chemistry and rock-solid partnership remained a draw for me. (Gif via @becauseyoulovemebb)

5. Ship You Wish Had Been Endgame ↳ Mary/Marshall, In Plain Sight

Y’all. It makes no sense that these two didn’t end up together. I rewatched somewhat recently and liked Abigail much better this time around, but these two had a best friendship that was extremely obviously a romance, and they passed it over to stick them with random others. (Gif via @browncoatgrl221b)

6. Ship You Wish Was Canon ↳ Sam/Ainsley, The West Wing

The idea of the principled Republican doesn’t exactly carry the same meaning these days, but I’m with Aaron Sorkin: not keeping Emily Proctor on West Wing was a huge mistake. Watching these two characters walk and talk through disagreeing on nearly everything and still managing to be friends of a sort is an unexpected joy of any rewatch. (Gif via @donnajosh)

7. Ship that Most of the Fandom Hates, but You Love ↳ Rory/Logan, Gilmore Girls

I’m not completely alone in shipping them, but Jess is definitely the more popular Rory boyfriend and Logan gets a LOT of hate. And in some ways I get it, but my heart belongs to these two beautiful messes who filled my life with adorable moments of banter and affection as they learned to be in a relationship. (They were also a candidate for “different storyline” - where was my revival non-cheating media power couple, Palladinos? Where was it?????????) (Gif via @rosedatlantis)

8. You Don’t Even Watch the Show, but You Ship It ↳ Jim/Pam, The Office

Mike Schur is my guy, but The Office has always been too awkward for me to handle. Still, if I ever force myself to watch, getting to see these two will have been a big factor in the decision. They look adorable, and history has shown that I’m wild for a sweet Schur relationship! (Gif via @bymine)

9. Ship That You Wish Had a Different Storyline ↳ Dawson/Casey, Chicago Fire

Part of the reason their relationship turned out the way it did was because of behind the scenes real world stuff, but I would have absolutely loved for Dawson to stick around and for them to figure out their issues (and maybe even eventually build a family). Also for them to have gone through just a touch less Drama™! My brother was recently binging the show and as I watched over his shoulder I found that I didn’t remember about 400 fairly large obstacles and random soap opera plots they added in for them. (Gif via @jayhalsstead)

10. Fave Ship That’s Endgame ↳ Steve/Peggy, MCU

It’s gotta be them, ya know? It was in the prompt. I’ve been extremely #blessed to have a lot of endgame or at least canon ships (Ben/Leslie from Parks and Rec? Matt/Julie from Friday Night Lights? Parker/Hardison on Leverage? Logan/Veronica on Veronica Mars since they got married and lived happily ever after and nothing else? Jake/Amy from Brooklyn 99? DON/SLOAN ON THE NEWSROOM??????), but the surprise and delight of these two finding their way back to each other? Unparalleled. A joy. 10000/10. (Gif via @onscreenkisses)

I’ll tag @mediocre-mee, @sisforsammi, @nightlocktime, @thesokovianaccords, and anyone else who wants to do it!

[letterstothemidnightsociety]

It’s week three of my Global-Pandemic-Induced decision to rewatch all of Supernatural, and so I’m still attempting to make this watch more productive than the last show that I binged.

So I’m on disc two now - that’s episodes 5 - 8 for those of you watching on Netflix. By the time we get to this disc, we know the basic formula for Supernatural as a series - Two Hunks + Fighting Evil to the Power of Acceptable Levels of Gore x Missing Dad = Ratings Gold. Or at the very least, good enough ratings that we’ll give you a season (or fourteen). And then...well...then.

Episode five is “Bloody Mary”, easily the scariest episode of this first season and, based on the nose dive that the formula takes after season 1, probably the entire series. Maybe it’s that the Bloody Mary legend was one that really got me as a kid, maybe it’s just that I don’t do so hot with ghosts, but guys this episode still made me turn on all the lights and avoid all my mirrors. I accidentally turned this episode on at 9pm and regretted it immediately. I walked away at one point to go clean my kitchen to strategically miss some of the spookier points and I walked back in during an even spookier point. I was mad that there were no commercials at the commercial break cut-to-black! The first time I watched this episode, I’m pretty sure I watched it through my fingers. This most recent viewing, I ALSO watched it through my fingers. Guys, THIS EPISODE. 

I will say it a-hecking-gain: This episode scared the SHIT out of me.

AND THEN, THEN! Then this show has the gall to go ahead and drop a major season/character plot point right there in the middle of all this content that I am actively trying not to look at: SURPRISE! Sam has premonition powers and sorta kinda knew that his girlfriend was gonna die a terrible death weeks before she dies. Because sure, why not? 

Ohmiglob the DRAMA.

I’m gonna take a moment to say that, yes, technically this piece of plot gets dropped within our first six episodes, so we can still safely say that, you know, they’re still setting up the story for the rest of the series. It’s not like a sudden twist they drop half way through the season, it’s being laid down as ground work. And I know that this turns out to be a MAJOR issue for the next four seasons at least, but can I just say: Kripke, you’re really throwing a lot at us. I mean, OK. here’s what we’ve got - 

The Winchester’s lost their mom at a young age to some evil thing. Cool, got it.

THEN they have daddy issues with C-minus Single Dad John Winchester. Alright, that seems logical. 

The brothers hunt bad guys looking for the thing that killed their mom. Ok still on board. 

There’s family drama, relatable. 

Dad’s gone missing and we gotta find, ok ok ok. 

Also Sam’s girlfriend dies in a fire, alright, so we’re looking for that thing now too. 

OH! And now Sam has magic powers. 

I mean, it’s a lot, right? We got a lot of layers here. That’s all I’m sayin.

So “Bloody Mary”, right? Big episode, big bad guy, they kinda loophole their way into defeating her but I’m not mad. Big reveal at the end, so kind of an important lore episode. And then...well...then we get the following episodes:

“Skinwalker” - gross-out fx, establishes Dean as a lonely asshole with a lot of APB’s out on him

“The Hook Man” - takes the Urban Legend angle of the show and dials it up to 11

“Bugs” - Does what it says on the tin.

Now to be fair: all three of these episodes have at least ONE shining moment that reveals a little more about the characters we’re working with, and that character development plays out in important ways in the rest of the season/series. But all three of them are arguably---

FILLER EPISODES-ODES-ODES-ODESSssssssss. 

Alright, maybe that’s unkind. Maybe we should call them standalones or self-contained. A Filler is an episode designed to “fill out” your season. It doesn’t necessarily move the overarching story of the season forward, although it may contain some concepts or revelations that are important later. I’d argue that Supernatural has only ever had two kinds of episodes - Series Arc and Filler. Not that that’s a bad thing -  I like a filler episode now and again. Depending on how heavy your season gets (and by all accounts Supernatural gets pretty heavy), they can be a nice breath of fresh air - also known as a Breather Episode. Or they can be just for fun. I’mma reference “Once More with Feeling” again because sure, why not throw in a musical episode in season 6 of a show about vampire slaying, that’s fine. I wanna reference something from Community here too, but honestly anything after season 2 could probably be called filler or self contained, so who even knows. I’ll point at the Voltron episode where they spend a day in the mall to gather some unobtainium for the ship and wacky shenanigans ensue. Point being, they can be times to break the mold and experiment and have fun with what you’re writing. Or they can be ridiculous nonsense. Mileage may vary. 

The crazy thing about these episodes is that they most closely resemble what Kripke intended the show to be in the first place. Kripke wanted a show that revolved around characters investigating American urban legends. What is more quintessentially urban legend than Bloody Mary, the Hook Man and curses from ancient Native American burial grounds? These were stories that I as the viewer was already sort of familiar with because I’d heard of all of them before. What I appreciated, specifically about the Bloody Mary episode, was that they a) acknowledge the fact that these are Urban Legends (capital letters and all) and then b) acknowledge that the legends vary wildly so a part of their job is figuring out what is true and what is rumor. I guess you could also call that a cop out but when I was a kid, I was told that Bloody Mary was the ghost of Queen Mary of England who was sister to Elizabeth I and was also violently anti-protestant. WHERE did I get this story? I have no idea. But I also have no idea where Sam got the “mutilated bride” story from either. 

In an old article I found circa season 2, Kripke actually talks about preferring standalone content to mythology/lore episodes in television. Both as a creator and as a viewer, he wants a show where people can jump in at any time and “join the party” wherever they are. That’s the beauty of procedurals - you don’t need to start from the beginning to enjoy them.

But what really got me personally hooked on the show was the mythology, was the season long arc to find John Winchester and whatever killed their mom. Those mythos episodes were where the meat of the show was for me - it usually involved a lot of feelings and a lot of character development which is still mostly my jam. If I’m obsessively watching a show, it’s because I’m connected to the characters and watching them struggle through the challenges in their path, not because I want to see what monster they kill next. 

And again, I’ll reiterate that each of these episodes contains an important nugget of character. In “Bloody Mary”, easily the least likely to be called Filler, we find out that Sam has weird magic powers that are the real source of his guilt over Jessica’s death. 

In “Skin”, we find out a lot about Dean’s inner landscape from the DopppleDeaner, who reveals that Dean is probably most afraid of people leaving him (be still my 19-year-old heart). 

Wasn’t mad about this bit...

Coulda done without this bit tho...

In “Hookman”...alright, you kinda got me on “Hookman”, but we do get the first appearance of the rocksalt shotgun and Sam talks with a girl about her dad issues which is really Sam talking about his own dad issues in the language of tv shows. Also, he maybe starts to move on from Jessica???? It’s unclear, and also a little weird but I guess he’s only 22 and that’s not that far off from 18/19. 

Really, WB?? Sneaking into sorority houses?

And then in “Bugs”, yes, even in “Bugs”, we get juicy little bit of tension between the brothers as they advise some teen boy about family dynamics. The fight shows a lot about what each character feels about their own experiences growing up the way they did, how they manage the expectations from their own father, and how they believe those family dynamics should exist. I mean I guess you could also argue this is the episode that plants the seed for Wincest, but I don’t really want to go there, let’s not talk about it.

This kid’s like, “This is...not a conversation about me and MY dad, is it?”

So they could be worse. I mean the last two definitely aren’t great, and we’ll see how they measure up to the Monster Truck episode later in the season, but they’re not bad episodes. 

So let’s flash forward to Now again - have we seen the end of Filler Episodes?

As I have mentioned in previous posts and will probably continue mentioning in future posts, the 22 episode season is not the norm anymore. A lot of articles I’ve read point to Breaking Bad as the first American show to really break that mold. Breaking Bad released only 7 episodes in it’s first season in 2007. When you’ve cut your story down that much, there’s no room for filler - you’re basically producing a 7 hour movie. 

Now notice I said American TV show. I’m pretty sure for most of the rest of the world, 22 episodes is way outside the norm, but really I can only speak to UK TV. Seasons in the UK do not last as long as seasons in America. Doctor Who, one of, if not the, longest running show on BBC, aired its first season with 42 episodes, which is mind boggling. But since the series revived in 2005, it hasn’t had more than 13 episodes in a season. Spooks/MI5 never had more than 10 episodes. The IT Crowd only aired 6 episodes per season. Broadchurch had only 8. And because I must complete the Superwholock trifecta, Sherlock seasons were only 3 episodes a piece. These are the shows that spring to mind while I’m writing this, but you get the idea.

So why does American broadcast TV have such long seasons? Well, the answer is: moneymoneymoney.

We live in an age of “prestige” TV. Some throw around “Golden Era”, but there’s been like, a Golden Era of television every 10 years since tv’s became household commodities, so that phrase basically means nothing. TV today is more similar to long-form film making than it was a decade ago. We associate terms like “film” with other terms like “art”, and sometimes we forget that television is, and always was, a business. It’s a business that’s making a lot of money entertaining you for hours on end, but a business nonetheless. I’d argue that it doesn’t mean it’s not art, but I don’t think we can separate the art and entertainment value of tv from its actual monetary value. 

Strategically, the 22-episode season was to get a show to a magical number of total episodes - 100. Once you hit the 100th episode, somewhere around season 5 (thanks math), then you can sell the show in syndicated reruns. This is also referred to as second-run syndication or off-network syndication. When a show is syndicated, that means the production company that produces the show can now sell the right to air episodes to other channels. Think channels like TBS or TNT or even USA Network - they don’t really dabble in producing their own content, they just repackage content from other networks to plug in to empty slots in their programming. And because these channels can air episodes 5 days a week, 365 days a year, that means the production company can actually make more money by selling the show in syndication than when they sold the show to the primary network. The more episodes you have in a season, the faster you get to syndication, and sometimes that means a show that’s on the brink of cancellation due to poor numbers may still get greenlit for another season or two if they’re closer to that magic 100th episode. For a show like Supernatural, that has a very procedural, not-super-heavy-mythos, structure, you can do very well in syndication. Just cuz another network agreed to air your show doesn’t mean they agreed to air it in order, so procedurals work better in syndication than your season-arc shows do. And that’s why we have episodes like Bugs, that have nothing to do with the overarching plot of the season and also phone in some questionable CGI. 

Apparently they DID use real bugs to shoot this scene and everyone got bit to hell but the bugs didn’t show up good and they went with CG anyway?!?

But these days, you don’t have to hit 100 episodes. Sometimes only 80 episodes will do. Sometimes, you run a streaming site and you don’t have to worry about reruns at all because your revenue isn’t generated from air time or even ads, but from subscription prices. Honestly, when you think of it that way, it makes way more sense to greenlight shorter seasons so that you have the budget to buy more and more diverse shows that will appeal to a broader audience of viewers. 

So if Supernatural was produced today, would we get these off-shoot, self-contained episodes that have little to do with the plot of finding Sam and Dean’s dad? It’s hard to say. Knowing what I do about Kripke’s original plans for the show and his thoughts on procedural standalone episodes in general, its possible that he’d still try for a traditional season aired on a traditional TV network. But in that same interview I quoted above, he also mentions that the only way to get into a show with a heavy mythos is to buy the DVDs. We don’t need DVDs anymore - we have Netflix. And Hulu and Prime and any number of other streaming services that pick up any show they can get just to have a larger library of content and attract new viewers. I think a good indicator of what Supernatural would look like if it aired today is Hulu’s Helstrom - a show about two siblings with a childhood marked by strange and terrible happenings, who spend the season trying to defeat an evil demon. This show is a Hulu original that dropped all 10 episodes on October 16, 2020, and damn if that doesn’t sound familiar. I told a friend, “it’s like Supernatural but more emotions.” (Her response was, MORE emotions?!?!?) And before you dive down the rabbit hole, the characters in Helstrom made their debut in a Marvel comic back in the 70’s, so you can just chalk it up to nothing new under the sun. 

Big Mood, guys. Big Mood.

I’ll close this one by reiterating I don’t mind a filler episode. Some fillers can be weird and great and wonderful. I’d say “Tales of Ba Sing Se” (Avatar the Last Air Bender, Season 2)  is a great example - with the possible exception of Appa, the vignettes presented in “Tales” are basically side quests that have nothing to do with the main quest of season 2 and only serve to develop characters. The stories are sweet and touching and also light and fun.

I’m not crying, YOU’RE crying! It’s ok, I’m also crying. 

 And the longer a show runs, the more likely you are to run into these fillers - episodes that take a break from the main action to bring something that’s new and out of the box and possibly/probably writers getting bored with the every-day formula of the show. I think season 1 of Supernatural does a decent job of balancing the two styles of episode so that neither gets boring. In fact, I’m pretty Supernatural was what taught me the difference between the two episode styles in the first place. And the first time around, I was hyped for those season arc episodes, because back in the late 2000’s, I hadn’t seen a lot of TV content like that. Now, 15 years on and mired in a sea of seasons that stick mainly to a season arc story with little to no room for breathing, I think that if all TV became nothing but season arc episodes...well, it’d get pretty boring. 

[2046]

out of boredom i will now be doing these to track my own cinethoughts as of may 2020

A movie you've seen most times in cinema.

la la land (2016) or shoplifters (2018) from recent memory. i usually don’t rewatch movies in the theater

Your most rewatched movie.

howl’s moving castle (2004)

A movie you quote on a daily basis.

chungking express (1994)

Favorite movie soundtrack.

main theme (the godfather)

he lives in you (the lion king ii)

young & beautiful, bryan ferry ver. (the great gatsby)

run free (spirit: stallion of the cimarron)

the imitation game (the imitation game)

concerning hobbits (the fellowship of the ring)

the wardrobe + the battle (narnia)

the medallion calls + he’s a pirate (potc)

main theme (the shining)

the outside world + outside (perhaps • love)

edelweiss (the sound of music)

main theme (barbie in the 12 dancing princesses)

Top 5 films of your favorite actor and actress.

?? i’ll come back to this

Top 5 performances of your favorite actor and actress.

actress 1: tilda swinton

eva, we need to talk about kevin (2011)

the white witch, narnia (2005)

orlando, orlando (1992)

eve, only lovers left alive (2013)

mason, snowpiercier (2013)

actress 2: keira knightley

elizabeth bennet, pride & prejudice (2005)

elizabeth swann, pirates of the caribbean

joan clarke, the imitation game (2014)

gretta, begin again (2013)

ruth, never let me go (2010)

actor: ?? i’ll come back to this

A movie storyline you wish you had actually lived.

transformers (2007)

only lovers left alive (2013)

nerve (2016)

A movie that reminds you of your mom.

gone with the wind (1939)

A movie that reminds you of your dad.

lord of the rings trilogy

Favorite movies from your childhood.

the sound of music (1965)

narnia: the lion, the witch & the wardrobe (2005)

the mummy (1999)

kung fu hustle (2004)

spirit: stallion of the cimarron (2002)

the lion king (1994)

the lion king ii: simba’s pride (1998)

bridge to terabithia (2007)

dinosaur (2000)

Favorite quote(s).

“i’m not hungry. i want to see a film. goodbye.” (vivre sa vie)

“ugh! as if!” (clueless)

“love you for 10,000 years” (chungking express)

Top 5 favorite female performances.

audrey hepburn, holly golightly (breakfast at tiffany’s)

alicia silverstone, cher horowitz (clueless)

toni collette, annie graham (hereditary)

mia farrow, rosemary woodhouse (rosemary’s baby)

imperrator furiosa (mad max: fury road)

Top 5 favorite male performances.

benedict cumberbatch, alan turing (the imitation game)

jack nicholson, jack torrance (the shining)

joaquin phoenix, arthur fleck/joker (joker)

judd nelson, john bender (the breakfast club)

hayden christensen, anakin skywalker (revenge of the sith)

Favorite year for movies.

1994

Your favorite movies from [insert year].

2017, the year i had moviepass & the most recent year in which hordes of great movies came out...

baby driver

the florida project

land of mine (limited release in u.s. began 2017)

call me by your name

raw (2017 u.s. release)

loving vincent

it

lady bird

phantom thread

the post

the shape of water

the disaster artist

blade runner 2049

dunkirk

thor: ragnarok

wonder

get out

Favorite [insert actor/actress/director] movies?

director: hirokazu koreeda

nobody knows (2004)

shoplifters (2018)

our little sister (2015)

like father, like son (2013)

List all you've seen from [insert actor/actress/director].

actress: scarlett johansson

lost in translation (2003)

the prestige (2006)

iron man 2 (2010)

the avengers (2012)

under the skin (2013)

don jon (2013)

captain america: the winter soldier (2014)

lucy (2014)

avengers: age of ultron (2015)

hail, caesar! (2016)

the jungle book (2016)

captain america: civil war (2016)

ghost in the shell (2017)

avengers: infinity war (2018)

isle of dogs (2018)

avengers: endgame (2019)

marriage story (2019)

jojo rabbit (2019)

An underrated actor.

callum turner

lee pace

paul bettany

An underrated actress.

gemma chan

rose byrne

rachel weisz

An underrated director.

edgar wright

alex garland

An overrated actor.

christian bale

An overrated actress.

constance wu

An overrated director.

woody allen

A film you wish you had seen on the big screen.

mad max: fury road (2015)

A movie you've seen that you think no one else's here will have heard of?

city of life and death (2009)

perhaps love (2005)

Favorite movie characters.

jack sparrow (pirates of the caribbean)

howl jenkins (howl’s moving castle)

holly golightly (breakfast at tiffany’s)

furiosa (mad max: fury road)

john bender (the breakfast club)

cher horowitz (clueless)

david collins (the guest)

legolas (lord of the rings)

A film that was better than the book.

atonement (2007)

Best remake.

the crazies (2010)

Your first favorite actor.

orlando bloom

Your first favorite actress.

keira knightley

Favorite animated film.

howl’s moving castle (2004)

Your most anticipated films.

dune (2020)

peninsula (2020)

Last movie that disappointed you.

the sound of silence (2019)

your name (2016)

Last movie that surpassed your expectations.

doctor sleep (2019)

Share an unpopular film opinion you have.

disney animation films looked better in 2D

Favorite Oscar win/speech.

allison janney, best supporting actress (i, tonya)

Biggest Oscar snub(s).

taraji p. henson, hidden figures

Who do you think is overdue for another nomination/win?

helena bonham carter

How many movies have you seen (rough estimation)?

800

A movie that made you go 'wtf was that'.

suicide squad (2016)

A film that scarred you.

i am legend (2007)

the hills have eyes (2006)

Most movies watched in a single day.

9. yes it was star wars

A film that always makes you cry.

perhaps love (2005)

la la land (2016)

A film that always makes you laugh.

shaolin soccer (2001)

Movies that you think everyone should watch (not necessarily your favorites).

eternal sunshine of the spotless mind (2004)

under the skin (2013)

nobody knows (2004)

shaun of the dead (2004)

A movie that took you a couple of viewings to appreciate.

burning (2018)

A book you want to see adapted to the big screen.

the secret history, donna tartt

pachinko, min jin lee

A book you really, really, really don't want to see made into a film.

house of night series

Favorite child performance.

natalie portman (leon: the professional)

yuya yagira (nobody knows)

Favorite pre-code.

freaks (1932)

Favorite silent film.

safety last! (1923)

the artist (2011)

Favorite coming of age film.

the breakfast club (1985)

Favorite superhero film.

the incredibles (2004)

the dark knight (2008)

Best cinematography.

la la land (2016)

the handmaiden (2016)

chungking express (1994)

we need to talk about kevin (2011)

hereditary (2018)

house of flying daggers (2004)

the lighthouse (2019)

Movies you know you should watch, but can't bring yourself to do it?

vertigo (1958)

requiem for a dream (2000)

citizen cane (1941)

8 ½ (1963)

sunset boulevard (1950)

Favorite genres.

drama

fantasy

psychological

war

Least favorite genres.

romcom

Biggest movie pet peeve.

action scenes with a million cuts per second, shaky camera movement, bad lighting

[hopevalley]

5.7 Heart of the Matter (Thoughts)

NOTE: Tumblr is messing up formatting with readmores on the dashboard. Please click the readmore below to read this on my blog.

I have to admit that overall this was a very enjoyable episode. There wasn’t a whole lot for me to gripe about, which may be in part because one of my favorite characters showed up again (finally). It feels good for me to be able to say that I think Hallmark did a pretty good job this go-around, and not just with the storylines but the characterization and everything. My complaints are minor and not wholehearted. So let’s get this show on the road!

Elizabeth & Greta | The Kids | The Bank Fiasco (Part I)

Bill & AJ (Part II and III)

Hey, it’s broken up in to three parts this time!

Click on the links for navigation! :)

1.) Elizabeth & Greta

I’ll talk first about Elizabeth coming back to town, because it’s how the episode starts.

The pseudo-honeymoon was skipped over entirely. It is the beginning of October now (I don’t think two weeks is an appropriate time frame for travel, but I feel certain Hallmark would think that), and Elizabeth is in the stage right outside of Hope Valley finishing up a diary entry and mooning over a photograph she and Jack had taken together. Check out that picture quality folks; Elizabeth and Jack are living in 2018.

She’s greeted by Lee, Rosemary, Abigail, Dottie, Molly, and Florence. Quite an ensemble. I guess at least people cared enough to come and greet her right away. I’m sure Lee is there to help her with her luggage. ;P

Florence was the highlight of this scene, the way she swooped in and hugged Elizabeth, desperately glad that she was home again so that she wouldn’t have to keep teaching the kids. I got a little chuckle out of it. This is the kind of humor I can appreciate; it’s not really poking fun at anyone in particular, it’s genuinely amusing, and it’s fun to watch Abigail’s face in the background.

Next, Elizabeth goes to the school and does some school things.

Opal accidentally calls her Miss Thatcher instead of Mrs. Thornton. 

Robert has absolutely no idea why Mrs. Blakeley might have had to raise her voice so much while Elizabeth was gone.

And Elizabeth once again gives her students a “special lesson” instead of, you know, actually teaching regular school. In defense of this episode, though, at least the lesson she was trying to teach this time felt more relevant than usual. Kids should know a little bit about how businesses are run, especially in a time period where things are a little less complex. This could easily be in their futures.

It’s easy for kids to get worked up about things they don’t understand (the railroad not paying taxes, for example, or not building a depot) because their parents are worked up about it, but it’s something else entirely to understand exactly why something like that might be an issue and how it affects the town.

So Elizabeth gets a bunch of town merchants gathered up together to try and convince them to participate in this latest lesson of hers. Confused? Me, too. Who are half of these people? Where is Abigail? Bill? Bill isn’t a “business” but the law is a functioning part of the town and there’s no reason why it should be excluded. (Also, the Bill and AJ plot would be 500% funnier with a child glued to Bill, c’mon!)

Rosemary sort of steals the show in the saloon and tells Lee he’s special in front of like, everyone.

Which put Ned to good use trying not to laugh about it. I enjoyed that little addition.

For once I wasn’t annoyed to see Carson participating in something.

And I liked that Dottie was here but was disappointed to never see her actually interact with Emily.

But it’s kinda cute that so many merchants stepped up to let kids job-shadow them. I wish we knew who some of these people were, though. And how Elizabeth managed to get so many people together on such short (read: no) notice.

The next morning, Elizabeth releases her hoard of school children on the town and smiles about it like she’s proud of them for getting this far in life. Or maybe she’s just happy to be free of them for a day, like the honeymoon wasn’t enough time away from the job for her. I guess that’s a relateable feeling.

And hey, this is one of the best lessons Elizabeth has come up with on the fly, prooobably because it has practical application. At least...theoretically. I think it would be super cool if it actually went somewhere, but I’ll talk more about that later.

Elizabeth continues walking around town and runs into...an old friend! Hey, it’s Greta! Who we’ve never heard of before!

Greta says “quite” quite a lot. Rewatch her conversations with Elizabeth and it stops sounding like a real word.

Both of them are from Hamilton and there’s lots to talk about! Like Duncan, Greta’s son! Who was...one of...Elizabeth’s best friends growing up? That’s definitely news to us. How many “close friends” did Elizabeth have as a high-society child, anyway? Sounds fake, but okay.

Apparently Duncan and his mother haven’t spoken in a long time, and for having been such good childhood friends, Elizabeth hasn’t heard from him, either. Or...tried to contact him, apparently.

Elizabeth quickly tires of talking about her marital status (she must be tired of the “How’s married life?” jabs that everyone tends to throw at newlywed couples) and so turns her attention to sticking her nose in people’s business. Namely Greta’s business. Her personal business.

Like her relationship with her son.

“Please drop the gosh-darn subject, Elizabeth.” At least, that’s how I imagine this scene in my head.

The way Elizabeth pushed Greta to talk about it was kind of disconcerting, tbh. Like, I get her concern but there are discreet ways to inquire about something like this that don’t involve, you know, repeatedly making the investor Henry brought in to try and save the town uncomfortable.

This could be a really great plotline if Elizabeth didn’t come off so pushy. I know how this plot will end up, too----or at least...I feel like I do. Elizabeth will upset Greta some more, but her pushy behavior will pay off and Duncan will write to his mother or come and see her and ~everything will be great! Gag me. I’d be shook if Elizabeth’s pushiness just pushed Greta right out of town, leaving Hope Valley with Mr. Baxter as their only viable option.

But I guess “to be continued” is what we get here.

Elizabeth was lacking in this episode and I liked it. She had a nice role that was a bit quieter than usual and therefore didn’t consume the entire plot with her presence. 

It was honestly a very nice change of pace; I hope more episodes in the future choose this route just to keep things feeling a bit fresher. The way it was done here worked really well, at least for me. And hey, for once she’s not embroiled in personal drama flung on her by the writers, so that probably has something to do with how I feel about it, too.

2.) The Kids

I won’t lie: I vaguely dreaded this part of the episode. In recent seasons the child characters seem to exist as plot devices more than actual characters, and I find it a terrible shame because child characters can be amazing when they’re done right.

So the kids pick who they’ll job shadow and half the kids in the room I don’t recognize. I’m a little extra annoyed that the railroad is in town, the depot is in place, and the schoolhouse has new kids but most of the old ones have left. Suspension of disbelief is something I’m usually pretty good at, but different kids every week is hard to swallow. WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?

Anyway, Emily went to Dottie and Rosemary, Opal went to Ned, Cody went to Lee, and Robert went to Carson.

I won’t go into too much detail about these because I can’t imagine anyone wants to read my Detailed Thoughts™, but Lee and Cody were pretty cute.

All I’ll say about this is that it’d be a whole lot cuter if this didn’t feel so forced. Frank literally just left. You couldn’t have waited for this plot for a few more episodes? You couldn’t have bothered to set up Cody looking up to Lee in the absence of Frank? You couldn’t have just let the characters say that Cody’s missing having an adult male figure in his life and now that Frank’s gone he could use one? There was this active avoidance of even mentioning Frank that annoyed me. Just say his name; people haven’t forgotten him already. It’s okay to bring him up. Continuity is a good thing, Hallmark, I promise you.

Maybe this is petty of me, but c’mon. This would have been really sweet if it didn’t feel like they were shoving it down the audience’s throat. Cody has never acted this way and never will. Also, I resent the idea that he doesn’t have male figures in his life to look up to: he’s had nice scenes with Bill and Jack, too; he’s not lacking in male presence in his life.

Also, the open-ended Frank exit means that Frank is, if nothing else, writing to Cody, so he’s still a part of his life.

With Bill being continually pretty busy (and not exactly a warm Father Figure), Jack being absent so much (and busy with Elizabeth when he is around), and Frank gone (not physically present even if he does write), Cody might decide he wants a male figure to spend time with. But the obsession he has with Lee right away 1) doesn’t feel age-appropriate, and 2) comes out of nowhere. It’s a part of what I call “forced wholesomeness,” where the writers try to cram something wholesome into the story that doesn’t quite fit and therefore feels awkward.

I wanted to like Lee’s interactions with Cody but they just didn’t feel right. Try again, Hallmark.

Emily might have been more fun if, you know, her family was still on the show and she showed up regularly to do things. But in recent seasons Emily mostly hovers in the background if she’s in the episode at all, and when she’s not around the other kids don’t mention her. That makes it really hard to feel invested in her, here. 

I will admit, I thought at first that she might come up with something amazing and we’d have a scene where everyone in the shop fawned over her uncanny skill, but no. She’s awful.

And again with the “child imitating an adult” thing. Twice was a bit much. Pick a character and let that be their thing. I could easily see Emily looking up to Rosemary but it’s never been mentioned before so again... Bzzt. Doesn’t fit. Pass.

It was still a fun scene.

If mostly thanks to Rosemary. I wish I had more to say about this. A fun fairly mindless bit of material is all it is, though. Enjoyable for what it was supposed to be.

And I was glad that Rosemary took the time to actually talk to Emily about patterns!

Next, we had Opal at the mercantile...

This part was cute. And her liking the egg and almost spitting it out ‘cause she spoke with a full mouth? Also cute. I was a little disappointed Opal’s scenes weren’t just a bit deeper, though. She didn’t get to ring anyone up or anything. :/

This? Wasn’t cute. She’s not four years old. This kid is like, eight years old by now. I’m a little tired of seeing her act pre-k. I know it’s probably mean to say, and I feel like I’m the only person watching this show who doesn’t love Opal, but...ugh. Please stop using her as a cutesy charming baby. She’s not a baby anymore; she’s a school-age child. Maybe think of cute school-age things she can do instead? :U This was pointless and not at all charming or sweet. Please stop, Hallmark.

Finally, we have Robert who goes to the clinic. Carson immediately wishes for sweet death.

He has a hyper badly behaved child in his clinic who does nothing but complain. Carson thinks to himself, “There’s a reason my wife and I were madly in love and I pulled the heck out every time; kids are irritating.”

Faith tries to be inspiring and gentle with what she’s telling Robert. Sometimes as a medical professional, your job involves helping people who can’t do anything for you in return. Something you’d fully trust in if you went to church, ROBERT. Oh wait, this town doesn’t have a pastor hahahah. 

I like that she says this but it isn’t the whole story and that’s a little grating, too. The railroad fronted some money for, at least, the expansion of the clinic but as I remember it, they were supposed to pay part of the expenses for keeping it open, too. Maybe that only held true as long as the line was being built (due to the increased likelihood of injuries at that time), but it wasn’t exactly made clear, so...

Anyway, I get that Robert is a child, but he’s at least 13; I’m pretty sure he’s capable of understanding a little more about 1) the economy, 2) the clinic’s role in Hope Valley’s economy, and 3) ethics of a medical professional, than they bother to explain to him.

UMMMMM.

Get???? Wrecked???? I guess at least this was funny, if not kind of annoying. Trust me, kid, it ain’t ‘cause the clinic workers work for free. I really wish they’d taken the time to try and explain it to him: some people can’t afford to pay but need the help. If those people don’t work, they don’t make money so they can’t spend money. BOOM. Done. Heck, they could have had someone poor come in for treatment. Maybe even a parent of someone Robert knows from school to make it feel personal. 

Later, Robert is still being irritating while Faith does all the work. I was never this badly behaved as a kid; I would have never acted like this around Adult Supervision. Absolutely not. Of course, I would have gotten beat for misbehaving and that’s unlikely to happen to Robert, so...there’s that. I thought for sure they were going to try diagnosing him with ADHD or something and luckily they didn’t touch that with a ten foot pole. I might have been pretty offended if they’d tried.

Then Jesse comes in with an ouchie. Or maybe like, more than an ouchie.

Robert...is pumped. FINALLY! DRAMA!

He is quickly...less pumped.

“Actually, this is kinda nasty.”

“Ugh, ew, ughghghhhh.”

Goodbye cruel world.

Jesse’s face sold this scene, like he both expected this to happen and was shocked when it did. I knew it would but only because when I was in the 8th grade I job-shadowed a country vet with a classmate of mine and there was fainting involved.

Anyway, I predicted he would pass the heck out and let’s just say sometimes it feels good to be right.

This was cute and funny in a non-irritating way, at least in my opinion. It’s a life lesson but a cuter one----less in your face than this series’ usual schtick. 

Unfortunately, I wasn’t convinced that Robert really understood why they’d work for free sometimes. I feel like my idea would be a lot better in that regard. The way they presented it, Robert only feels that personal connection to, “Well it’s nice to not be charged money for a service I as a child can’t afford” instead of what they usually deal with, which are adults who can’t afford to pay for treatment with money or at all, at least on occasion. In other words, there are times when it’s not a “dollars and cents” type of business.

And yes, in part it’s an economically reasonable choice, but it’s also an ethical decision. I think these things would have made Robert’s scenes much better, but I enjoyed his the most of all of them anyway, so it’s just a small nitpicky detail.

Again, not bad, all things considered. The kids had their job-shadowing experiences and I wasn’t greatly offended or annoyed by them. Carson was also pretty nice in this episode, which was incredible. Unfortunately the preview for the next episode made me want to kick him into the pond again, but them’s the breaks, huh?

Mostly though I thought these little storylines were sweet and nonintrusive, and worked nicely around the main plots of the story (namely the bank plot that ended up involving AJ and Bill). It was nice to see them happen without disrupting or affecting other storylines.

3.) The Bank Fiasco

I’m keeping the bank plot separate from Bill and AJ for the purpose of talking about two very different things (the latter will be more for character discussion).

So, the first hint of the bank plot shows up when Mr. Jenkins speaks to Abigail by the stagecoach.

He found an investor that will be coming out to Hope Valley to look around and Abigail’s excited about it. So is he. It’ll solve the town’s problems to get the bank issue taken care of, so naturally both of them are pleased to have a second person express a modicum of interest in their bank, especially after they’ve had such bad luck finding someone thus far.

Abigail meets with Mr. Jenkins and the new investor on the scene, Joshua Baxter.

He looks fairly normal, but we already know from the previews and the exclusive clip that he’s the investor Abigail doesn’t trust. That’s a little annoying, mostly because we know exactly how this will turn out without even watching the episode: Abigail’s gut will be right and he’ll be Bad News. 

But for the sake of discussing what actually happens in this episode...

First of all, what mayor isn’t somewhat pro-growth?

I like how Abigail doesn’t use the word pro-growth here, but uh, duh. Of course she wants her town to do well? She’d be an idiot not to. And Abigail is kind of insinuating a big “duh” by saying this, which is why I think Baxter comes back with what he does:

Baxter: If I become a majority stakeholder in the bank, I want to make sure we’re partners in promoting new businesses and growth. Abigail: Uh… what kind of businesses and growth? Baxter: Well, whatever helps this town prosper.

Her face says it all lmao. IS THAT SO. 

Mr. Jenkins rushes in to, you know, save this conversation but Abigail has obviously halfheartedly checked herself out of it. She’s worried because this guy is dodgy, and he’s dodgy because he didn’t really answer her question in a satisfactory manner.

I don’t know why she doesn’t tell Bill this later, but I guess that’s just too smart of a thing for Abigail to be saying. Besides, the story answers later what kinda growth Mr. Baxter is looking for, and I know they don’t wish to spoil it too soon.

I’m pretty sure the answer’s kind of obvious, though.

Abigail goes to Bill with breakfast the next morning (presumably) and talks to him. He’s pretty much the only confidant in town she has who has a good head on his shoulders, so I’m glad they chose to let her speak with him.

She goes on to be super vague and tell him there’s something about the man that she doesn’t trust, which...could be anything, and either Abigail is choosing to be vague, the writers stink, or Abigail as a character isn’t good at pinpointing why she feels what she does. Bill asks the guy’s name and Abigail gives it, which of course gives AJ a chance to interrupt and repeat the name.

AJ’s kind of busy getting her feelings hurt by Bill being upset with Bill but she’s willing to speak nicely to Abigail, who asks if she knows Joshua Baxter.

“His name kind of rings a bell.”

Abigail jumps on this opportunity like a man plunging into an oasis in the desert.

Bill is 400% against the idea but he doesn’t have a better one, and AJ isn’t about to pass up an opportunity to get something out of this. Now that’s a #mood. Why should she help them out without getting anything in return?

She’s in jail, will be going to trial the day after tomorrow… Why shouldn’t she try to get away with something, right?

While AJ is getting a bath at the jail (and then gussied up by Dottie), Abigail meets the investor that Henry found.

Greta is immediately distracted by Elizabeth and then everyone stands around smiling a lot.

Luckily, Henry peels Greta away from Elizabeth and he and Abigail take her to the mayor’s office to have a chat. 

I liked her immediately but did kind of want to kick her for calling Abigail “darling.” At the same time...I like it because it gives her some character. Makes her feel interesting and unique. That isn’t something we see often in this show anymore, you know what I mean? Usually our one or two-episode characters are easily forgettable, but this woman isn’t. Yay!

Abigail tries to be on the level by telling her that another person is in town also looking to invest in the bank.

Which we know is true; Abigail didn’t find out about Baxter until the previous morning. You know, shortly before he showed up. There’s absolutely no way Henry could have known before this point, at least not reasonably.

I liked Greta already but this made me feel invested in her character, at least to the extent of this plot. She’s interesting, she takes no bullshit from anyone, and she doesn’t appreciate games. She’s also not afraid to call things as she sees them, and that kind of honesty was refreshing, especially in this episode where a lot of Bill and AJ’s interactions were quite the opposite.

At least we know Abigail is telling the truth, here. She’s definitely not that sort of person and wouldn’t ever approve of it, not even if she felt pushed into a corner. But boy is Greta not having it.

WHAT A POWER MOVE.

I like that Henry assures her of this and that he doesn’t sound desperate the way Mr. Jenkins did with Mr. Baxter. It feels good to see Henry play a larger role in the story, and it be kind of a positive one? Henry was always best when he managed to kind of toe the line between being decent and...not being decent.

After Greta takes her leave (in kind of a huff, to be honest), Henry asks Abigail about Mr. Baxter.

Henry’s not exactly intuitive, here; Abigail’s terrible about hiding how she feels about literally everything. I do like that he brings it up, though, because it means he’s opening this up for discussion. She doesn’t exactly discuss it with him, but she takes the time to admit that she just doesn’t have a good feeling about him or his intentions, and that’s probably something Henry understands. Abigail isn’t a great mayor by my definition but at least she does try to do the right thing and make the right choices, at least in cases like this. If you’re going to let someone become a stakeholder of the bank, maybe make sure the things they’ll push for are, you know, things…the town wants.

Also worth noticing is that Henry doesn’t actually know who Baxter is and Henry knows quite a few people. That Greta doesn’t know who he is makes him more than a little suspicious, too. Wealthy or not, it’s like, how did Mr. Jenkins even find the man? 

And this also kind of implies that Henry wouldn’t bring someone here he didn’t trust, which means he does trust Greta with the town. That’s cool.

AJ, now clean and freshly made up by Dottie (with her hair done up rather badly IMO–it’s just so flat, when her usual hair is kind of pretty at least? IDK what they were thinking with this) heads over to the saloon with Bill to get a peek at this Baxter guy who apparently comes here after he’s done doing whatever it is he does all day.

AJ spots Henry and detours the trip for a while. I thought it was interesting that even though Bill had the opportunity to say why AJ was out of jail (and therefore defend himself), he makes the choice to tell Henry to mind his own business, instead.

They finally get to the saloon and talk about Feelings while they wait for Baxter.  

Baxter shows up, AJ says she might need a closer look at him, and then immediately beelines for Baxter’s table where she flirts a little and gets invited to sit down. She accepts, to Bill’s complete irritation and horror, and commences a long discussion with the man.

Baxter is apparently regaling her with stories about some kind of business adventure of his that ends with him firing someone else and she laughs in a way that is obviously fake but still convincing enough for Baxter. If nothing else this tells us Baxter’s full of himself but also charmed by AJ’s attention. I wonder how she introduced herself to him. Maybe using her real first name.

They don’t really drink anything (or they’re on their second drinks, though I doubt that), which is kind of…weird, but okay. Maybe an oversight? It would have helped with the idea that Bill has been waiting a while, though. Or it could be saying they’re so wrapped up in conversation that they forget about them...

AJ excuses herself in a very polite but gentle way, and Baxter shoots out of his seat instantly to pull her chair back out for her.

I mean he could not WAIT to offer that. (Damn, girl, you look busty in that dress!)

He also takes the opportunity to kiss her hand and call her Mademoiselle, which AJ acts delighted at while Bill seethes confusedly (angrily??? something-edly?) in the corner.

This guy is so charmed.

It makes me feel extra certain that the writers kind of intend AJ the character to be ~40 years old; so I guess if nothing else, I did take that away from this scene.

So you’d think AJ would have gotten all kinds of deets on this guy or something if she was sitting there long enough for Bill to start yawning. Among Bill’s many colorful thoughts, that question seems to be on his mind, too. The first thing out of his mouth?

After he complains and gets lightly flirted with he cuts to the point.

Which she evidently does, because the very next scene is her sitting with Bill and Abigail after dark talking about it.

This is clearly something Bill has already heard, as he’s looking at Abigail while AJ talks to gauge her reaction. I get the feeling AJ told Bill more than what she tells Abigail, but you know, AJ would probably watch her mouth around Abigail.

There are two American towns called Cane Ridge (none use one word). One is in Tennessee, and the other is in Kentucky and site of the Second Great Awakening, which is pretty cool. They definitely just wanted to make up a town for this, though, and that’s worth knowing. 

Anyway, AJ tells Abigail that a few months ago she passed through this Caneridge place, and Baxter ran its bank.

“Nothing like Hope Valley.” 

You know she’s implying prostitution, but she’s probably also implying various other illegal activities (drugs, abuse, etc), if only because Bill feels he has to add to what she says:

Of course AJ couldn’t know if officials in town were being paid off, and I like that she admits it. I can appreciate the fact that she also didn’t specify any payoff; it’s possible officials were happy to look the other way because they themselves indulged in those illegal things and so benefited from a lack of control regarding them.

Abigail says she wants more information on Mr. Baxter and Bill says he has a friend who is a Texas Ranger.

AJ isn’t too happy to be second-guessed this way, but she’s a fugitive so… Beggars can’t be choosers?

Presumably the next afternoon (it’s dark above, Bill shows up while Cody and Lee are playing ball after school) Bill has an answer:

So they rush to Mr. Jenkins to warn him and find him shaking Baxter’s hand. They’re told Baxter has agreed to help the town out! YAY! Or um, not.

Make Hope Valley Great Again!

Y’all should have just listened to AJ and warned Mr. Jenkins right away or early the next morning.

But no. You didn’t believe her enough to take any steps to protect your town? Are you insane? I get wanting to wait to make sure her story checks out, but it seems a little silly to do that when she has absolutely no reason to lie, not one that benefits her in any way, anyway. Besides, she implied she’d like to come and live in Hope Valley at the saloon when she was talking to Bill. Why would she lie and sabotage it?

Wait, I know: we wouldn’t have a plot if they’d gone right away to say something to Mr. Jenkins. Ugh.

Now, there are parts of this that are ridiculous. I can explain away how AJ got to Texas and back (stowaway on trains), but it’s so convenient and plopped into the story only when it’s strictly necessary for it to be there. It might have been nice to have her namedrop Texas earlier and say that’s where she’s come from most recently; maybe Bill could have asked her where she’s been hiding out or something. That way her mentioning it so casually wouldn’t feel weird. 

Also, as a consideration: she could have said she’s been through several towns in the American Southwest that Baxter was leading and they were all pretty similar. If necessary, she knew he owed them because… I don’t know. Things were named after him maybe? (Establishments or city streets. Whatever.)

I feel like then it wouldn’t be so sudden and AJ wouldn’t feel like an extremely easy and simple puzzle piece that just…fits riiiight in there (conveniently, even though she’ll be getting carted off to trial next episode).

Bill knowing a Texas Ranger isn’t too strange. He was a very important person in the Mountie hierarchy; he probably has a lot of connections all over the place. I just found it weird that he could conveniently wire the guy and get a response from him in less than 24 hours.

Interested to see where this plot goes even though I feel like it’ll be wrapped up in an unsatisfying way.

CLICK HERE FOR PART II.