#season 1 episode 18

[auduux]

"That would be bulkhead..."

"Who asked you?"

[onespncap]

s01e18 -- "Something Wicked"

[vivaciousoceans]

Stabler is finally getting angry!

[total-drama-everyday]

[liopleurodean]

Season 1, Episode 18: Something Wicked This Way Comes

Back to Wisconsin!

I wonder why they're in the hospital?

Those curtains aren't gonna do much

That's freaky

Fitchburg Wisconsin is a real place, but I'm told this depiction is going to be really inaccurate

Dean is not always right, but I'll give it to him

I mean. The playgrounds in my town are usually kind of empty

That's suspicious

They got the right county, at least, but the Dane County hospital would be in Madison.

I wonder who that is

A public hospital wouldn't have that cross

Those poor kids

Spooky

That's weird

Flashbacks!

Aw, baby Dean!

Thundercats!

Fort Douglas is probably a combination of Fort Atkinson and Camp Douglas, both real places in Wisconsin

Smart kid. Baby is beautiful

I bet they're next

Scabetti-Os!

Aw, Dean

This episode is gonna make me cry

It's funny that Dean knows more than the internet at this point

Liar

Aha! The old lady in the hospital!

Yeah, Sam, listen to your brother

They're walking in sync

I knew it was gonna be a jump scare

How did it get to be upside down in the first place?

Dean is great with kids and I will hold onto this forever

He's got a legit conspiracy board

DUDE I GO TO A SUMMER CAMP IN BLACK RIVER FALLS

Brockway is right outside Black River Falls (but it's too small to have its own hospital)

Ogdenville is in New York

North Haverbrook does not exist

That's a plot twist

Yeah, Dean's

I mean, they are important to him

And Sam is still surprised that Dean has a few braincells to rub together

Aw, Dean, no

Oh no

Aw, you can't blame baby Dean for hesitating to shoot a gun

That explains so many things

He saw it??

This is going to be interesting

Dean has too good of aim before that

Aw, apologies!

No chick-flick moments!

And there it is

That's pretty freaky-looking

Ouch

It's literally just a Dementor

And that's why you check for a pulse

That looks disgusting

Thank goodness

Kid after Dean's own heart

[stewy]

he misses s1 house too :(

[koalchicine]

I want Arthur to get some rest.

[icy-watch]

*snorts*

[witchinatree]

making a list of my favorite quote/ones that stuck with me from each season 1 episode because i feel like it

(i'm starting this after episode 4 but it will be a WHILE before i post it)

episode 1: "bones are a lie peddled by Big Milk" - alice

i love this one because it's a great introduction to alice i think. also it radiates spiral so i hope we get avatar alice not dead alice (isnt there a podcast called alice isnt dead?)

episode 2: "If I wanted to clear the canvas, I would have used turpentine." - statement

this one was just fucking powerful and caught me so off guard like 😶

episode 3: "What would I do without her?" - statement

the norris statement <3 it feels like martin asking what he would do without jon which makes mag200 a lot sadder and i love them

episode 4: "Perhaps you shall prove a stronger will than I, and will yet find it within yourself to destroy this hungry thing of wood and cat-gut." - statement

augustus sighting #1 and we immediately get jonah magnus expressing that it may be possible for gwen bouchard unknown family member to overcome the eye's hunger spooky violin

episode 5: "Voyeur needs to be seen to be believed." - statement

i feel like this one is pretty reflective of how the seasons gonna go? like if you explain the events of tma (mag200 specifically) no one's gonna believe you, it must be seen to be believed!! and also seen!! like the eye!!!

episode 6: "Not sca- This isn’t some poxy blood test, some little pinprick, this is hundreds, thousands of razor sharp points pushing into your flesh." - needles

i love needles so much and i thought this was really funny because it was like "you dont find me scary!! what the fuck!!!" just kind of toddler michael energy

episode 7: "It’s not like we’re wrestling with tape recorders and manila folders." - celia

STOP IT. celia you can't say that you just cannot!!!!!! you Know™ too much maam i cant with you

episode 8: "Pleasure to meet you both. I’m Gerry!"

RAGHHHHH OH MY GOD GERRY!!!! i love him so much and idk how to handle him being alive in the tmagp universe!! gertrude too but idk we got so much of her in tma and not nearly enough of gerry

episode 9: "And honestly, it’s kind of compelling by this point." - sam

they got him 😔😔 the horrors got sam 😔😔 also i found this to be an interesting contrast to jon's heavy resistance in season 1 like he was being compelled but he wasn't going to let anyone know that vs sam "its kinda compelling to trauma dump on this paperwork :]" how is he somehow even more victim material

episode 10: "Gosh you’re sexy, here’s a twenty for your trouble.” - alice

does this count as a quote if shes also quoting what she thinks sam should say? idk anyway i love her i would say that to her if given the chance and it was very silly. i will not be addressing bonzo i am scared.

episode 11: "...Thank you, Alice" - gwen

dyhard dyhard dyhard dyhard dyhard. okay also, the way she CRUMBLED at the idea of anyone doing anything nice for her please someone give her a hug and let it be ME. this series is tossing me back and forth between sam & alice (what is their ship name) and dyhard but this put me back to dyhard

episode 12: "You know it's rude to have absolutely no game?" - alice

she's so fucking funny i need her to be okay so badly!!!! i don't think even tim made me laugh as much as she makes me chuckle and this one really got me. it's hard to write such a comedic character in a podcast since you only have the voice but they really nailed it i adore her

episode 13: "Is it my fault?" - gwen

each of these episodes just reveal a little bit more about how loving and soft gwen is and idk i love her so unbelievably much so seeing that she felt guilt about the bonzo stuff just made her so much more real :(

episode 14: "Christ, they’re in the walls…" - statement

theyre in the walls!!! theyre in the goddamn walls!!!!! anyway that got me because i realized the hole before the statement said it. made more sad than scared tbh

episode 15: "Babies are cool!" - alice this entire interaction between her and sam & celia was so awkward, she is so obvious and i love her anyway

episode 16: "It’s not like I was holding doors open for Mr Bonzo or anything." - gwen my wife is so so so stupid but i adore her AND this gives room for character development. i wish she did not do that though. i love when characters are flawed and have depth but i struggled to get past THIS flaw of hers

episode 17: "Thanks, I guess. Not exactly the same, though, is it?" - celia shes talking TO JON IN THE COMPUTER. SHE KNOWS. i lost my damn mind i love her i love her. get the gay people out of the puter please queen

episode 18: "Why would I need to talk to you? Your work is satisfactory. Unless you have a work-related issue I could assist you with?" - lena solidified my opinion that lena is the best boss to ever have, i adore her and i would want to work for her if she wasn't the boss of Creepy Establishment #1

episode 19: "You’re going to throw it in the fishtank, aren’t you?" - alice colin's behavior is like really worrying BUT i'm glad he's back. i was not convinced he was still alive

episode 20: "I suppose it’s too late for remorse, isn’t it? And why should I be sorry? This is what I deserve!" - ink5oul/statement they reminded me of jon a lot, like especially his season 3/4 transformation when he doesn't quite know everything but he knows he isn't who he was in season 1 anymore, i hope we see more of their life and they can be helped :(

episode 21: [Tape Recorder Bites Ink5oul] - audio description i know it's not technically a quote but this is just so fucking funny. why does it have teeth. what does this mean for the lore. holy shit.

episode 22: "Jonathan Sims and Martin Blackwood" - celia. knawing at the walls of my enclosure i am so not okay. i'm not okay. wtf. wtf. wtf. they're real. wtf.

episode 23: "I had a favorite mug. It said “love you, bitch” and had a picture of a drunk dog on it." - alice. okay i just love this entire interaction because gwen got to open up a little bit and my dyhard heart is so full

episode 24: "I am told that children like me, and I’ve always held the opinion that the world would be a better place if everyone just thought more." - basira. once again this whole interaction was so fun but like idk i loved hearing basira somewhat happy and in a safe place :] my wife <3

episode 25: " I am trying to help, to save us from this goddamned fucking nightmare machine!" - colin. MAN I REALLY WAS ROOTING FOR YOU!!! I WAS SO CONFIDENT YOU WEREN'T GONNA DIE!!!! it's over

episode 26: "I was worrying for a moment that you were Magnussing." - alice. MAGNUSSING BEING CANON MADE ME SAY IT EVEN MORE I'VE SAID IT LIKE TWICE ALREADY

episode 27: "You didn’t tell me the room was labelled, “Archivist.”" - celia. oooooh somebody's got TRAUMAAAAA LMAO

episode 28: "So you’re telling me you know nothing about an OIAR external contract being found with the bodies of two tattooed thugs who met rather grisly ends?" - TREVOR HERBERT???? anyway. ink5oul mention!!!!! i hope they stop killing people it's really rude

episode 29: "Alice, er… we’ve got to talk. It’s important." - teddy. i knew it was over for him but i didn't think it was gonna be THIS bad??? bye babe i guess??? 😭

episode 30: how do i even pick. the whole fucking episode. i can't. i am in a state of shock. i need to lay down for 30 years.

[rinnie-marylin]

SHEESSHH!

justice for the robot guys😭

[larry-is-my-anchor1]

Season 5 episode 18, is Buck literally always at Eddie’s house? It’s sweet he’s checking on his friend, while he and Taylor I’m guessing will break up, but it was nice of Buck to worry about Eddie going to visit his family.

Good for Eddie for standing up to his father.

It’s nice Hen and Karen renewed their vows. And their foster daughter could be the flower girl.

Woohoo Eddie is back at the 118!

I think Maddie, Jee, Chris, Harry and May should have been at the wedding.

I wish Ravi and Lucy could return to the 118.

[cowboypossume]

RORY KNOWS PARIS'S COFFEE ORDER IM GONNA *SOB*

[sarucane]

OFMD Spiral Narratives 43: Stede's Fantasies Creating Reality

Intro: What I love most about how season 2 builds on season 1 of OFMD is the spiral narrative structure. Ground is repeatedly and explicitly re-trod from season 1 to season 2, but in season 2 everything goes deeper than season 1. Meanings are shuffled, emotions are stronger and truer, and transformation is showcased above everything. The first season plucks certain notes, then the second season plucks the same ones--but louder, and then it weaves them together to create a symphony.

---

At the beginning of each season of OFMD, Stede is living in a fantasy. In the first season, it's a fantasy of being "the greatest pirate who ever lived." In the second season, it's a fantasy of romance (and a bit of uber-pirate fun). In each season, the fantasy is tempered over time by reality. Stede adapts, changes his expectations, and figures out how to keep moving forward. But a funny thing happens: over time, his fantasy ideas of reality reshape reality around him. It's not the perfect reality he once imagined and projected on the world. By the end of each season, it's a fantasy that has outgrown him, spread from him to others and enriched their lives, and the result is imperfect, hard-earned, and absolutely beautiful.

In season 1, Stede is blissfully unaware of how out of touch with reality his fantasy is. By all signs, he genuinely seems to believe his first "raid" goes well, and that he came off as a "real" pirate while stealing a plant.

And he thinks he's doing a great job as a pirate captain, even though he's totally unaware of what's going on in his crew. They don't remember his crazy shit about "talking it through," and they don't care.

They don't really get what the hell he's trying to do with his "amenities," (Pete demands to know what game he's even playing), and Stede's attempts to overlay his class-shaped fantasies onto reality lead to a "ballroom" and a library full of books the crew can't read. He doesn't think he's living in a fantasy world, but he is.

Stede's fantasy world of Season 2 is spiraled in to become more intense: he's literally in a fantasy when the season opens.

The fantasy starts with the season 1 fantasy: he's a super-pirate, complete with sword skills to match Izzy's, one-liners, vengeance for betrayals, and an earring. Then the older fantasy merges with the more recent fantasy, as references to Ed appear--followed by the man himself.

But this isn't the real Ed: this is a fantasy super-pirate version of Ed (hence the return of his beard, even though Stede last saw him completely clean-shaven). And this is a fantasy version of Ed who isn't mad at all over what Stede did last season. Love conquers all and sunset bearded* beach sex awaits. Fantasy (adolescent) romance.

And then the reality of Stede's situation attempts to suffocate him to death: Ed marrooned his crew and went off to chase madness in Stede's ship (largely as a consequence of what Stede did to him, although Izzy gets a hunk of blame for that one too), so now Stede and the gang are living in squalor.

Just like, in Season 1, Stede was lost in a fantasy that Lucius was inscribing (a literal example of Stede imposing his fantasy on reality, the idea being the this book of shit will be what future generations think of him) so it would eclipse any reality--right up until Buttons intervened with bad news.

In season 1, Stede is able to avoid reality tossing him overboard by imposing a second layer of fantasy over reality, claiming he killed Nigel so the crew will respect him.

In season 2, Stede is also using writing to avoid reality, also presenting a narrative of what's happening around him that only bears the most basic resemblance to reality (like the book Lucius wrote).

But this time, his relationship to the fantasy is more complex: it's his way of trying to cope with how quickly his life spiraled out of control; to cope with the distance between him and Ed right now; to banish the insecurity-birthed fears of his past.

But despite the fact that Stede is still struggling with the mismatch between fantasy and reality, he also demonstrates real growth in the second season.

In season 1, Stede really believed that his fantasy would come to life in front of him, as soon as he arranged it so the conditions would be right.

But in season 2, Stede knows he's creating a fantasy. He knows the fantasy that things are going well is pure copium. And that fantasy is an evolution of his "perfect pirate" fantasy from season 1, the fantasy that meant Stede's dream started with dueling and defeating Izzy, not with reaching Ed. But in season 2, Stede is able to recognize and set aside that fantasy before it takes over his life and gets him killed, like it almost did in season 1.

But the second part of Stede's season 2 fantasy is Ed, and his desperate belief that their romance will survive what's happened since they last met. Stede could have written these letters and then set them aside, to give to Ed when they meet again. Instead, even after acknowledging that the odds of Ed finding the letters are slim, even after acknowledging reality, Stede chooses a fantasy. Chooses to hope, and defies reality to hang onto that hope.

Stede's different relationships with his fantasies foreshadow his resolution this season: his fantasies about being a super-pirate captain will fade, but his romantic dream of Ed will not. And by the end of the year, of course, he'll set aside one in favor of the other.

But in the meantime, as the seasons unfold, Stede's fantasies run up into reality and lose--but not before they get him where he needs to be.

In the first season, Stede hangs onto his fantasy and hangs onto his fantasy and ends up on a Spanish warship, where he's stabbed and almost dies.

But even though riding his fantasy here was insane and misguided, it's changed his life forever--for the better. Because Stede's fantasy of being the Gentleman Pirate had a measurable effect on reality.

If Stede hadn't held onto his fantasies well past knowing "I'm not a pirate, I'm an idiot," if he hadn't imposed one layer of fantasy after another on reality, he never even would have met Ed. The odds were slim, as Stede said, of him and Ed finding each other in the first place--but Stede grabbed reality with both hands, closed his eyes, and hummed, and here they are.

And something similar happens in season 2.

If anyone had asked Ed at this point whether he wanted to see Stede--that Stede wanted to apologize--the answer would probably have been a deafeningly loud "NO." Stede's been wandering around telling anyone who will listen how crazy he is about Ed and how they're "on a break" but it'll all be fine, and if anything the obstacle will be that Ed's doing so well without him that Stede'll disrupt his life. All of this is ridiculously out of sync with reality. But it all got Stede where he needed to be. Stede believed so hard, and so long, that he was in the right place at the right time to make something fantastical really happen.

The structure gets a bit tricky here, because Stede's reckoning with his fantasy in season 1 comes before it works out for him (with Ed's arrival), but comes after it works out for him in Season 2.

In season 2, first off, just as Stede's pirate fantasy led straight to him being stabbed, his romantic fantasy leads right to him being headbutted.

Reality asserts itself, and Stede has to deal. Both times, he starts dealing with some denial.

And both times, his attempt to deny is punched in the face by reality.

In season 1, Stede's development balancing fantasy and reality is fairly straightforward--Stede believes his fantasy long enough to attract Ed, who then helps Stede not get killed by his fantasy. In season 2, Stede sits and talks to Ed and does the relationship work that lets them move forward, embracing real communication instead of romantic fantasies. He works with Izzy and learns how to bring his piracy closer to reality, to respect other people's fantasies (the cursed suit)

But here's the thing: even as Stede adjusts, sets out to become a better pirate (by taking notes, but still, he is trying) and to become a better partner, the seeds of his fantasies have been sown.

The fantasies Stede tried to impose on reality return, and they serve to reshape reality--to save him, and to give hope in darkness to the man he loves.

In season 1, Stede's fantasies of being a bloodthirsty killer and having murdered Chauncy almost get him executed--but they also get him saved. And in season 2, Stede's fantasies and resulting brief reign as a "super-pirate" may be gone, but he's still gained enough skills in pursuit of that fantasy to survive for this:

It's hardly equivalent to defeating Izzy Hands in a duel, but Stede's fantasy followed by his work has gotten him where he wants to be.

And then, in both seasons, Stede's Episode 1 fantasy appears in his Episode 8 reality. His dream of being a different kind of pirate captain is animated by his crew. His fantasy of creating a place where traumatize pirates can grow as people has come true, because other people came to want it as much as he does.

And in Season 2, going deeper as usual, the same music as in Stede's dream plays as Ed and Stede reunite. And when this fantasy becomes reality, it's more complicated than it was in Stede's dreams. But it's shared, and so it goes deeper--and it's all the more true for being earned by two imperfect men who defied the world and their own fears for each other.

And of course Stede knows. After all, his knowing made all of this happen.

[ashleybenlove]

Luca, Vincenzo's contact in Italy uses a translator app to speak for him. Because he's an Italian-speaker in a Korean speaking place.

Also, Mr. Ahn greets him in English.

To be fair, Luca is white. I assume most Koreans would assume English speaker if they came across a white person.

[helpmyinterestsareverywhere]

Didn't have "crying over The Sarah Jane Adventures" on my 2024 bingo card but here we are