#some fans need to rewatch s1 and s5 and realize how much of a growth they all had.

[guillermogoth3000]

Respectfully how do you watch the Finale, see the obvious point being made about how NOTHING changes in the house despite literally 5 seasons of dynamics changes between characters where they went from roommates to a literal family and be like yeah.

That's what i wanted.

That's what the show was actually about.

NOT changing.

[esther-dot]

Hey Jon fan who became Jonsa anon here, I would definitely love to share how I became jonsa, sry for the late reply, IRL is busy lately, also I fear this will be very long answer. So I binged watched GOT till s5 bfr S6. Even though I am Jon fan I have never hated Sansa or other starks. I liked sansa in s1 but started stanning her when she played ppl around her with the whole 'I am loyal to my beloved Joffrey' thing. I never knew so many ppl underestimated her strength & smartness till I joined the fandom. During s6, I knew ppl were shipping Jonsa. There were many articles, videos abt it but I didnt. Not even when R+L was revealed bcs I always saw them as siblings. But I admit kit & sophie had chemistry. Some of their scenes were filmed weirdly & made me all👀 ( especially that s8 feast scene convinced me abt jonsa - Dany love triangle lmao)

But s7 happened & poor jon lost all of his personality. Jonerys was very very cliche for me. I couldn't believe this was GOT, felt like CW show. They had no development, interacted for 2 episodes but we were told they loved eachother so much. Kit & Ec's nonexistant chemistry didnt help either.

Most consider them ice/fire, central romance but I dont. For me Jon is a hero and Dany isn't. She suffered at the start of s1 but after? I noticed all her crimes bcs I binged watched the show within very short time. Final nail in coffin was the racist mhysa scene. I am WOC and watching white women worshipped by POCs filled me with rage. I couldn't believe ppl saw that and thought this person is a hero? How? And then they showed my fav character who mercy killed Mance, falling for this person who's solution to any problem is let's burn it? They are foils, stand for opposite things.

Then s8 aired & Jon got worst ending possible. I started looking for fics so in character Jon could get some happy ending.  Ngl initially I read both Jonsa & Jonerys fics. But I didnt like how Jonerys authors treated Jon. He was so ooc, used as sperm donor to create targ lookin babies, burned all starks alive to keep perfect queen Dany happy 😂, supported targ restoration, was happy living in KL/Essos etc. I stopped reading them. Jonsa fics though? Perfection❤! Jon who like canon chooses starks, gets to take stark name, feels happy at his home in Winterfell, is KITN or consort to Sansa. Queen Sansa also gets a brave, gentle, strong high lord who is as good looking as her ( she doesn't need to end up with a ugly abuser for 'growth' lol), She can stay at Winterfell without the fear of someone using her for her claim.

All this made me realize that Jon and sansa are perfect fit for each other. Their dreams match. They were right in front of my eyes but I never even realized it. I read a lot of fics in few months, rewatched their scenes, got convinced abt pol!jon, then read metas, ended up reading the books too. I am hopeful we will get canon Jonsa in books bcs both Jon and sansa deserve to be happy

So yeah this is how I started shipping jonsa. It is only Jon and sansa ship that makes sense when we consider their canon characterization and overall plot of the series. That's what I meant by previous ask abt ppl shipping Jon with his abusers like Dany and ygritte accusing us of self-inserting into Sansa and not caring abt Jon & his dreams, when anyone who likes and understands Jon at all would know he can never be happy by living like wilding with ygritte or becoming targ restoration supporter for his crazy aunt after she burns Kl in books. Jonsa is the ship for ppl who love & care abt Jon and Sansa, as they are in the canon.

Thank you so much for taking the time to share that! I love hearing about how people got into Jonsa/interpret the characters/their dynamic. Your experience is similar to a number of others I’ve heard. 

Once you see Dany for what she is, it’s impossible to go back and being force fed how wonderful she is by characters who would have known better was nauseating. I’ve heard several people who binged the series after it ended say it was obvious where this was all going by s2, so I think what the cast/crew said in interviews/all the marketing really shaped how fans thought. In a few years when people watch it I don’t think any of them will be surprised by her turn, although I know they’ll be angry at the sidelining of the Starks/treatment of Jon. I would scroll through twitter to see the general reaction to things as s8 was airing and everyone was mad about them making Jon defend Dany burning KL. Abhorrent. @visibilityofcolor wrote about Dany and the white savior trope (link) and @sayruq has an anti daenerys tag with lots of posts about the racism in her story (link) as does @jonskory who is also a jonsa! (link). 

The feast scene in s8 was definitely suspicious. There was absolutely no reason to include that except for Jonsa. I remember freaking a few people out by pointing to that. It’s one of the things that makes it feel like there was weird editing to alter the story as much as possible after shooting because Dany and Sansa already had the political tension, she’d definitely make a move to protect Jon, why throw in the jealousy? They should have cut that unless they were going to deal with it later. It was such a tropey scene I had people who hate Jonsa freaking out the show was going to deliver. 😂

I’ve been so curious how jxnerys shippers wrote post canon fics (I mean, Jon killed her), but burning all the Starks alive...👀 I know they routinely wish/write death for Sansa, but yikes. The thing that haunts me about s8 is Jon because Sansa, while I wish she had gotten better writing, was still within her previous characterization, but Jon...unless you use the pol!jon interpretation, being banished is only the beginning of his nightmare. How is he supposed to live with himself if he was genuinely trying to make a Targ restoration happen? I really care a lot less about him having sex with Dany/believing himself in love (I mean, he did think he loved an abusive/violent girl before) than I do about the idea that his loyalty/motivation was changed from the Starks/protecting them. That’s what’s unforgivable to me, so pol!jon is the only way I can deal. 

I love post s8 fics too because there are so many ways you can followup the events of s8/interpret the emotional story to fill in the gaps, and give Jon and Sansa the ending they deserved. Their matching dreams is such a beautiful touch. Love that. One of my favorite post canon fics is Homecoming because the moment when Jon breaks and confesses his feelings is just...perfect. 

[team-adults-blog]

4.08-4.13

Hi friends. I haven’t written since Ep 4.07. And then I didn’t want to write them all individually, so here are the highlights of the season, broken down by character. I waited until after the finale to see if any of my issues would be resolved. Would not recommend reading in one sitting. Below is 6,750+ words (10 pages single spaced in word) and some tangents. Please don’t read it in one sitting, I’m sure you have better things to do.

Warning: A higher emotion to jokes ratio.

This gets pretty critical. I loved the first half of the season, but the second half was hit and miss.

Octavia (? /+)

Wowwieee what an arc. Wasn’t sure exactly where she was going the whole time, but I generally enjoyed the ride.

Kane’s body guard. Fight with Dad!Kane. Pushed off a cliff. Ilian. Still have mixed feelings about Ilian. INDRA LOVE.

I’m happy she got to talk to Bellamy in the finale, but of course, after trying and failing to tell each other they loved one another all season, the radio cuts out, preventing it again. Typical. It still hurt. But then it hurts that much more after when Clarke doesn’t get to talk to Abby.

I like the reluctant leadership role Octavia finds herself in a lot. She acknowledges she’s not a natural leader like her brother or Clarke, but she’s being pushed to lead anyway. Indra’s council that all leaders have help/ a team is so so so so so so so so important for O to realize. She’s not entitled or arrogant like Jaha. She’s strong and humble and it will make her a great leader. I’m also glad she’s like a queen or emperor or whatever and not heda or commander. It’s a new dawn. It’s a new day. It’s a new life. And they’re feeling [claustrophobic.]

And this old world is a new world and a bold world for me- would have been another appropriate lyric to throw out, but it lacks a joke and is not as obvious a reference. Same song btw.

Indra (+)

Indra had a fantastic season. I loved the depth her character got and like whoa! Daughter! Lets go back and rewatch S1-3 with this knowledge as we look at how she interacts with Octavia. I need to talk about 4.10’s conclave because holy bajobie. Such good acting. Much emotion. Give Adina Porter a series regular role. Why the hell did they make Roan a series regular when he just died. SHE DESERVES MORE. SHE IS INCREDIBLE. Ok so. We got Indra rebuilding a relationship with her estranged daughter, who have different ideas of faith and leadership. We get serious Octavia mentorship. Her conversation with Kane when he’s telling her that if Octavia makes it out of the conclave it’ll all be because of her and he’s thankful and also like I miss you, we were friends. And She’s like… you can have multiple mentors that teach you different things. And also I hope she’s ok too. We can try and be friends again. Then boom. Guess who ruins it? Fricking Thelonious Jaha. Kindra better have rebuilt in that time gap. I need them to be friends again. Plus they’re both really important influences and mentors to Octavia so they WILL interact, even if they’re disagreeing. I’d like to see that too. Show me the friendship rebuild. I need it.

Gaia (+)

From the first moment she was on screen I said, I don’t know her, but I love her. And then I found out she’s Indras BLOOD daughter. Not adopted. BLOOD. Her face is so expressive. I would love to see where S5 takes her. She’s obvs in the bunker, right?

Ilian (eh)

A generally nice boy. He took Octavia home to meet the parents…that was a poor joke, but not bad enough that I feel the need to remove it. I can feel cringes already. He helped O out of some bad situations and helped her grow. I wasn’t a fan of the cave sex, but I think I get where it came from. I still have no idea how he blew up the Ark without being stopped. He was a decent one season character. OH. It was nice in his first ep that we got to see the destruction A.L.I.E. caused on a more personal level for the grounders. While Ilian’s story can’t represent the experience of all grounders who became chipped, it does a good job of letting the viewer see the devastation she caused. By feeling sorrow for this grounder family, you can imagine that multiplied across all the clans and boom. Lots of sadness all over the coalition.

Echo (+)

She may have done some pretty messed up things but I’m still loving her. I loved her when she and Bellamy met. I was thinking, “wow we get another badass warrior woman. This show is great.” Then she helped blow up Mount Weather and I was all. “I don’t know if I can still love her… I still want to and sort of do, but I don’t know if I should.” She made sure Bellamy wasn’t inside though, you’ve got to give her credit for that. AND THEN. She wants to be buds with Bell and he’s all like. You’re a frickin spy and you killed my girlfriend. I can never trust you. And her face falls and I’m like oh, Echooooo. Someday you’ll be buds or more. In the conclave she’s a sneaky little cheater which I want to be mad at, but it was so smart and she was just trying to save her King. Her face falls AGAIN and you get where she’s coming from. She’s exhiled. King ded. Riding in to save Bell/ sneakily following him to try and find safety. One cool grounder. I really like her. I’m glad she made it into space because that will be really cool for future plotlines/ flashbacks while she’s learning how everything works.

Roan (eh)

Everything he does makes sense for his character. Most of the conflict in the 4A storyline comes from a lack of/poor communication between him and skaikru. Banishing Echo was just, but you died 5 min later and without her Azgeda literally has no clear leader. He was p cool but not my fave. They could have explored his backstory a lot more and gone in some interesting directions had they chosen to.

Clarke (?)

-a little confused?

-I get her plans fall through at every turn

-bellamy? You’re worth something to me. She saves bellamy in the rover/ tank scene. Then at some point Jaha’s influence becomes more important. Jaha potential mentorship made for interesting parallels, and made me actually a little interested in Jaha. But then he screws her over with the bunker.

She shoots at Bellamy?!?!?! But only a warning shot. And then 30 min later she’s forgiven? Man he must really love you.

Finale: wow lots of emotional Bellarke. Wowieeee. Ofc Clarke goes to the tower. Ofc she lives. But. How? How much food was left in the lab? Assuming they actually left enough for Raven, was it 5 years’ worth? How did the bunker get buried in rubble and ash (I know it was in the temple) but Becca’s lab stay perfectly fine AND sealed? It survived the first time, and has medical equipment so Clarke could treat her radiation poisoning. HOWEVER. She should have had some scars 6 years and 7 days later. What is Clarke dying her hair with? It’s really cute that she talked to Bellamy all that time to stay sane. He gave her hope. That’s really nice.

With some kid named Maddie (spelling?) now. How’d that happen? And she’s a nightblood? I’m sure this will all be explained to me so I’m not going to spiral here.

Bellamy (+)

What a great season for Bellamy. He gets emotional fixing from S3, emotional development with his sister and Kane and Clarke. He was an absolute hero in the finale. That was prime Bellamy. Holy cow was that his episode. Sure Clarke was doing things too but. Wow. He talked to Octavia, sad. He comforted Raven. He comforted Echo. He was on fiaahhh. Very happy with his season. We need a new name for this season- Bellamarie or Bernie or something that shows his growth.

Murphy & Emori (+)

Good teamwork. Glad Murphy is happy with his gal.  Glad they’re both alive and in space. He’ll be the fun conflict/ complaining guy up on the Ark but still do what needs to get done. Emori is going to learn to trust these 6 other people and then no one else. I’m here for it.

Nate Miller (+)

He got rid of that trash that is Bryan. Bryan bugged Miller’s jacket in S3 or did y’all forget? Bryan wanted to let everyone die on the trip to Azgheda. Nate deserves better. He GOT better. Jackson is pure and morally right most of the time and is just way way better.

David Miller (+)

So he gave into the masses and shocked Kane. He understands mob power and mentality, but I thought they were buds. It hurt a little, but I see why he did it.

Father son guard duty was awesome.

Sacrificing for Nate was heart wrenching. I want more of the Millers.

I became strangely attached to his character after he interrupted Kabby’s reoccurring eye sex back at the start of S3. Also if you read about the casting of the millers it will break your heart even more. (link) this was all I could find in a 2 min search, but they’re really tight and it’s lovely.

Raven (+)

-so so so happy Sinclair came back in 4.11. I love him. So so much. We deserved more of him. When I saw Allesandro Juliani’s name on the opening guest credits (and not having watched any promos) I was so excited. Guys. He had a wife that I never got to meet. Will we ever get to meet her??? Abby’s already adopted Raven but you can never have too many adopted parents. I adopt them all the time. You don’t have to tell them. It’s fine. They need a good kid like me to look after. I’m cry if I keep thinking about Cindy, who was too young to actually be my mom, but was my high school mom all the same. But cooler. And with fun verb songs. Kay now I’m cryin about my Spanish teacher brb y’all. (I actually was for the record)

Ok. Back to Sinclair and Raven. Everything was beautiful. He validated her for her, not just for her super mind. That love and support was just so lovely because raven only sees herself as valuable if she can contribute with her brain. The tank scene where they touched the glass? I know that’s also common for love and hope in prison glass/grate scenes but like. Ian directed this ep. It was not a coincidence. Not at ALLLLLLLLLL. Especially with DNR written on Jasper’s hand held up to the glass. And we know Kane trying to open the bunker was a deliberate call-back to the hatch because the writers tweeted it. At this time I would like to thank Bailey and Peter for telling me I would like Lost so that I may make these connections. The ep was great because of all the emotionnnnn (4.11). Sinclair deserved better.

her surprise at the delinquents returning/ Bellamy hugging her is another emotional stab at my heart.

Raven Reyes is one bamf and I love her with all of my heart. I’m so happy she got to spacewalk, and it was really sweet Clarke figured out why she was happy about that.

Jackson (+)

Oh my gosh Jackson got a first name and a boyfriend this season and I’m so happy for him! Honestly, he delivers a lot of “the viewer needs to know this so we’ll give the lines to Jackson as him talking to Abby,” so it was really nice to see him get some development. Jackson, Nyko, and David Miller were characters that I was happy to see getting lines and screen time. Now all I have is Jackson. I’m considering getting attached to Costa but he just stands there so. Maybe not.

Nyko (-)

Nyko sacrificing himself for Luna was ok when it was for the greater good and all that, but with how Luna’s story ended up being, I wish he’d just lived. It wouldn’t have been as meaningful if someone else had died, but she doesn’t do anything that makes him dying for her worth it. It just makes me sad.

Luna (-)

I understand Luna’s resentment of being used for her nightblood. However, I don’t completely follow her path to wanting everyone to die. All of her people died, so there’s pain there, but Luna was supposed to have turned her back on violence, despite being good at it. The shift from I am reluctantly helping you (when Raven convinces her and Nyko dies) to I hate this one group of people so much I have now changed my perspective on the human race that they are all terrible and need to die. If I have to spend significant time retracing Luna’s story in my mind to try and figure out how she got to this point, the writers aren’t doing their job in tying episodes together and making her arc progress logically. I’m a nerd. I’m willing to take the time and try and figure it out. But really? Luna could have entered the conclave with the idea to share the bunker, which would have made sense to me? But then Octavia wouldn’t be able to have that growth. So. I don’t really know. Generally disappointed.

I will say, I love a good parallel or call back. When Ariana (that kid who came to Arkadia with Luna and Nyko back when Flokru died) was dying, she said something like “from the water we are born to the water we return.” When she said it again as she drowns Roan it was so cool. I’m sorry for Roan and all, but it was a cool variation of yu gonplei ste odon which all the other grounders seemingly say. I find both expressions pleasing because of the ability to shift their meaning based on tone and context. Mercy and comfort vs basically die bitch. Love it.

Kabby (+++, End--)

Kabby, as a unit, because these characters are more than their relationship. Holy cow. 4.01: we see guilt and forgiveness and love and a face caress in front of Clarke, who we see is cool with it, but also a little sad. 4.02: SEX BA-BEEE. Jake’s rings. Heart eyes. Then Abby takes the rings off- off camera. Which is not super cool because we didn’t get to see her make that decision, but they just had sex and I will pick my battles. Hug. Abby returns to go where she can be useful. I LIKED THIS because it recognized they are individuals with different skill sets and allows them to have plotlines and conflicts of their own. Abby is not just hanging around Polis and all those grounder strangers and popping onscreen to be Marcus’ girlfriend lady. I respect the separation. I HATED THIS because it separated them. Which meant less kabby scenes because they were not in the same physical location. The walkie scenes warmed my heart. That was beautiful. BUT THEN. They were apart. For ten episodes. Ten. There were thirteen total episodes in the season. They were together for three. I know Clarke’s story is the A plot darling and more important and I accept that. But her narrative and decision making process was all over the place this season and I do NOT accept that I was denied a reunion scene after Kane and Abby were apart for ten. Episodes. And then completely left out of the finale. It’s disrespectful and rude. To the characters and their storylines, which now have unanswered questions (to follow below) and a 6 year time gap. We’d better get some fucking flashbacks or something because last time there was only a THREE MONTH time gap and the emotional consequences of Mount Weather was mishandled or brushed off until Bellamy had to get a redo to fix the shitshow that was his S3 this past season. I have concerns.

Abby (started off +, end of season MAJOR--)

Kabby amazingness at the beginning and then Abby getting her own plotlines was super satisfying. I had some issues with Abby and medical ethics, but SO DID SHE! Those are hard questions to grapple with and I’m not mad at her for anything she did there. She got talked into a lot of the questionable things she did- which is good in that I can defend her to these assholes, but not good in that she was able to be talked into a morally grey decision. Abby and Raven were great. As they always have. Even when they fight and I have to explain the fight and why it’s ok to someone who will continue to say, “Whatever. I still hate Abby.” You’re entitled to your opinion, but it’s wrong. Kids these days don’t want to empathize with the adult and try to see things from their perspective. Ofc Abby doesn’t want Clarke putting herself in danger. She’s her MOM. Ofc kids identify with Clarke. But take a sec and try to understand where the other person is coming from too. Abby and your own parental unit. Sympathy and empathy are important. I don’t want anymore “oh I didn’t think of it that way.” Once you’ve considered Abby’s side of conflict, and you decide you still don’t like her (and not just to make me mad), that’s totally fine. You can feel that way, Z.

Didn’t like that Clarke and Abby were in the same room and not talking to each other? Yeah, idk.

Freeing Bellamy was awesome.

Not telling Kane about being sick- I have conflicting opinions. On one side, she’s sick and doesn’t think she can do anything about it, so don’t worry Kane until you’re together. They haven’t really had alone time since they reopened the bunker, so are we surprised she didn’t tell Kane yet? Not really. Then there’s the “don’t worry anyone at all by keeping it a complete secret” method. By keeping it a secret, you don’t have to face it full on. Your loved ones don’t know, so they don’t treat you any differently. I don’t know if this is super common or just in my head, but with cancer, it’s not uncommon for parents not to tell their kids that they’ve been diagnosed until they’re in later stages and showing symptoms? Alternatively, if their relationship is as solid as it is in my heart, there’s no real reason to keep her illness from Kane. He’s hurt, but aside from her own fear and denial, there’s no real reason for omission.

UNLESS. She’s not sick. Hear me out- Raven is having multiple seizures each day, and Abby began having hallucinations around roughly the same time. So if the illness was affecting them the same way, she ought to be symptomatic. Unless she’s not? It could be affecting her differently. But there were other people in the lab who know about Abby, and I have faith in Jackson that he can be subtle, but how did he avoid spilling the beans in front of Kane before Raven? Abby is his fam and you know he’s gonna be checking up on her even if he does have a super cute new relationship. So that means Abby isn’t progressing with her illness at the same speed Raven is, which is plausible, but she apparently hasn’t had a seizure or any other issue since the one hallucination. So I’m feeling the Clarke with radiation was a dream. BUT Jackson did a scan back in the lab, which is how we know she’s sick, so how do we explain that away? Why even bring up the fact that Abby is still sick and that Kane didn’t know, just to LEAVE THEM BOTH OUT OF THE FINALE AND NEVER ADDRESS THE UNANSWERED QUESTIONS OF: 1) how will Abby get better? 2) how will Kane and Abby deal with the fallout of a secret?

We don’t know. We time jumped 6 years and 7 days and don’t know. Flashbacks are the only solution.

Deciding to die? Let’s tear that apart. It happened right after David Miller wrote Nate’s name down, sacrificing himself. Abby’s feeling hella guilty, but I blame Jaha for making her feel like shit. Abby is the most hopeful, stubborn character on the show, and it felt a little out of character for her to decide she wanted to die, straight out. Not sacrifice herself for someone else. If the sickness and the guilt are supposed to be the motivators I’m still not convinced Abby wanted to die. Maybe just me. This scene was awesome for Kane, great writing, but Abby was just there for him to be a great character off of? A little confused.

Kane (++/eh)

I would like to start calling him Marcus at this point but I think that would make everyone uncomfortable?

Sillyness first: SHIRTLESS TWICEEEEEEEE. Ok done. Kane could not catch a freakin break. Abby leaves, which sucks but it’ll be ok. Then his daughter starts causing trouble and he has to ground her, but she dies on the way and he’s thrown in jail with his son. But they find out she’s ok. A little awk talk with stepdaughter Clarke (pre-clack phase) is a momentarily nice, but then no one wants to listen to him and he’s right about everything, but what use is that when no one will follow you? What’s a being to a mob? Jaha ruins everything (again) right when he had helped get Octavia back on track. He’d just started to fix things with his bff Indra too. Everything comes crashing down.

Like Jackson, Kane said things that were advicy but in character, but that maybe weren’t always merited? I don’t know how to explain it, but there were times when it felt like the show was going HEY. MORALS. HEY. THIS IS IMPORTANT. But Kane’s saying it so it’s THEME important instead of the viewers need these deets, Jackson tell ‘em, son. After the diplomat stuff early on, I’m not really sure what Kane as supposed to be doing? He was just sort of there in a leadership role, saying these wise things. Which he did beautifully, I might add. But he didn’t have a clear story going with all the worry and distress he went through. Unless that in itself was the point? Looping back to the issue of being right vs being an effective leader- if Kane and Jaha were being presented in that light I get it but there ought to have been more?

Dad!Kane was fantastic. Lots of hugs. I’m happy with this side of his character. Beautiful and emotional acting. Ian is my fave forever.

Jaha (-)

How dare you bring up Jake. It’s NOT the same situation. And Clarke? Was? Standing? Right? There? Rude. Abby told Jaha about Jake thinking she was talking to a friend. She ain’t yo friend no mo. She thinks you’re an insane but charismatic leader. Marcus was a good man. Damn right! I was screaming HE STILL IS SHE’S GONNA SAVE HIM! And then Abby gets to say the predictable and extremely exciting He still is. And then stab him. Justice. The entire world cheered. She should have stuck him with something more lethal, but that’s not who Abby Griffin is, and I respect that.

Jaha is a dick and I hope he died in the S4/S5 time gap. But I would also like to see his death. Is that too harsh? Ok so. Jaha as Clarke’s leader was interesting when I thought he was relating to her, and I was on board to explore where that would go. We know they would have had a past relationship on the Ark, and an actual personal one because of Wells at that. But all he wasn’t a positive guiding figure for her. He made her hate herself. He made Abby hate herself. He made Kane hate himself. But get this: He made them hate themselves by putting the blame for HIS OWN IDEAS AND ACTIONS ONTO THEM. He has no soul. He takes zero responsibility for what he did on the Ark, or Allie, moving into the bunker or like. Suggesting the lottery system. He says it, even if he didn’t think it was a good idea, at the Clarke and list incident in Arkadia. He RESUGGESTS it in the bunker in 4.12, only to go “Marcus, this is a shit idea, we can’t do that. They’re already about to riot. How can you make them stop?” Thelonious frickin Jaha. This was your idea. You moved these people into the bunker. YOU are the reason they are comfortable and just got used to the idea of surviving and now it’s being taken away. Marcus Kane had NOTHING to do with that. Don’t you put that evil on [his soul], Ricky Bobby. And you also TOLD the dude with the kid to fight against the grounders- which would get EVERYONE kicked out of the bunker if they lost (which ofc they would) according to Octavia’s rules. Everything that’s going wrong right now is your fault.

I have some serious issues with his wardrobe. The monk hood was a little silly, but I preferred that to the forever 21 boob shirt he was rocking for the second half of the season. If you’re going to wear a chesty shirt, go on and show some cleavage, Jaha. Don’t wear a shirt under it. They should have just left him in the normal zip up from 4.01. He looked normal. It was nice.

We loved to hate him, but now that he’s making everyone feel bad about themselves, good riddance. Be gone foul demon.

How the show talks about/writes/deals with death

Killing main characters is good for keeping viewers on the edge of their seat with the knowledge that no one is safe. With warring factions, plague, and radiation, we’d be fools to think that any character (aside from Clarke, probably) is completely safe. Grey’s Anatomy has killed-off a huge number of their cast when actors decide to leave the show, so I’m super used to the concept and also super worried all the time. SPOILER: I was so worried they were going to kill Stephanie instead of writing her off the show, but they didn’t. Her exit was strong and hopeful and I’m v. emo about it. However, Shonda Rhimes and the Grey’s writers, at least I hope and think, have learned that killing characters for dramatic effect and because you’re running out of plot ideas, so let’s just kill someone is poor writing. Thus the last few main and secondary characters to leave the show have been write-offs instead of kills. It’s more fulfilling. Still, in the setting of the 100, it makes more sense for characters to die than to disappear into the background. Yet when killing characters, writers have to be careful about the message they’re sending.

Lexa and Lincoln both had deaths that upset the fandom because of the real-world context fans are living in. The show got a lot of backlash for the killings and gay-baiting with Lexa appearing in the finale. Plot wise, Lexa was badass and really interesting as a character past the love relationship with Clarke; her relationships with Indra and Kane, and her role as commander and a peace broker were much more interesting to me. However, her character development was inconsistent- she died fighting for peace and “blood must not have blood” which, come on, they could have come up with a new catchy slogan, but then pops up in the C.o.L. all slashy and war-time-killing-machine-Lexa. Lincoln’s fall-out was because the show was killing another P.o.C. when white characters had been in near-death situations and survived.

Because of the blacklash, the show brought up the two again, giving them some respect and saying that their deaths still affect the characters. BUT. I liked that they did this, more-so with Lincoln because it felt so important for Octavia’s character development, saying “look where you’re headed, is this who you want to be? This isn’t who Lincoln would want you to be.” Which worked well, provided the characters saying those lines to her actually knew him at least a little. Abby talking to Clarke about Lexa was perfect and sufficient for her respects because it shows Abby accepting her daughter as Bi and Clarke’s pain over lost love.I don’t really get how Niylah and Lexa would have met, but Clarke being able to talk to her about Lexa was good, I just wish Niylah did something outside of that “support Clarke” role for most of her scenes.

BUT. Maybe I’m cynical in thinking that the only reason Lexa and Lincoln are brought back up is because of the backlash, but other characters have been completely forgotten. Pike is mentioned a bit, but no one got super attached to him over his villain-arc and redemption episode that came too late in the season to gain him much sympathy. Monty’s mom, on the other hand, would have played significantly into Monty’s character development, but is never mentioned (?) Monty tells Clarke that she’s not the only messed up one, which is sort of him saying that he’s going through grief of killing his mom. Twice. But he’s apparently fine other than the one fight he has with Clarke over the List™, which was actually more about his part in Mount Weather than his mother. Hannah Green has not been mentioned since her death.

Which leads me to serious concerns about how Jasper’s death has been and will be handled…

Jasper (major -)

So this is where shit’s gonna get real for a few minutes. This plotline hurt me. The whole season I was thinking, “I hope Jasper doesn’t die like this. I’m ok with him dying, but not like this.” I didn’t want Jasper to commit suicide. His narrative has gone from goofball to grief to depression and if you’re telling me the only end to depression is suicide- on one of my favorite shows- I have a problem with that. I have an even bigger problem with Jasper being semi-responsible for a mass suicide pact.

I don’t think showing serious topics such as suicide is wrong; a show representing real emotional and mental thought processes is good. But they cannot drop the ball and not face the real world consequences of showing that story in a way that doesn’t deal with Jasper’s story after he’s dead. His story isn’t over just because he’s not on screen, and that’s an important message the writers need to show. I need to see how fucked up Jasper’s death leaves Monty. My point is, it’s important to see how killing yourself doesn’t end the pain. Let Monty be mad. Let him be hurt. Let him be upset. But show us it. Don’t tell me that he went through his grief process in space and is now A-ok. We need to see it. Otherwise. Jasper’s death has no emotional consequences- like Fox or Monroe, except that he was a main character and needs to have consequences.

This season was so dark. If Jasper’s death doesn’t come back in the emotional ways Lincoln and Lexa’s were, and instead is relatively forgotten like Hannah Green, showing that storyline was irresponsible. Don’t make people hurt just for the dramatic effect of it and then treat that hurt like its meaningless.

Harper (-)

If Harper is meant to be the opposite of Jasper in that she decided to live, and is the “hope” character, or the character that came close and then realized not wanting to live is different from wanting to die, I see what the writers were going for, but they failed. Here’s why: Harper has only functioned as a love interest for most of the season. In S3 she was working for Kane with Nate Miller and it was awesome. S4 has her going down a dark path, which it perfectly believable any one of her plotlines from the start could turn someone dark: crash-landing as a delinquent, being drilled in Mt. Weather, being around for all the darkness of S3 plot, and leaving the guy to be trampled. So I understand how she got here, I just don’t like that we’ve only seen it through her interactions with Monty. Let her be a person outside of the relationship too. So my issue with Harper is more of a Monty issue. We don’t get to see Harper making the decision not to drink the tea. We see her say “I love you” back to Monty, which as its own story independent of everything else happening would be fine. She realized she wanted to live. Good. However, when she said it wasn’t the right time on Monty’s side. His best friend just killed himself in front of him. He’s afraid his girlfriend has killed herself too, which would amplify the pain he’s already experiencing. Harper’s fine on her own, but when I compare her to Jasper (as I’m thinking I should) I hate her storyline because it didn’t fully get to the level it needed to. Monty tried much harder to be there for Harper, which could happen, but it pisses me off because Jasper is his best friend and you don’t abandon that just because you’ve got a girlfriend.

Monty (-)

Sometimes it’s hard to be sympathetic when you can’t empathize at all in the situation. Monty cannot imagine what Harper/Jasper’s going through, and that’s hard on both of them. It’s frustrating not to understand. I’ve been Monty, hating someone for “not trying hard enough” when they were just doing their best to stay alive. I’ve been Jasper too. It sucks to know you’re a mess, but you can’t explain it to make someone who hasn’t been where you are to understand. It’s frustrating to see how you’re affecting people you care about, but you can’t stop being the way you are.

We didn’t get to see Monty deal with the death of his mother. We need to see how he deals with Jasper’s death. Or if they decide not to flashback in S5, we need to see that the death of his best friend has changed him. I’m worried that the show will glaze over it or say Monty’s ok because he had Harper to help him get through it. Jasper’s death has to have real consequences for Monty so that we see how suicide affects the ones you leave behind for both Monty’s development and to make Jasper’s death mean something on the show. He could have died in the black rain if they didn’t want to carry the emotional weight of suicide and upset viewers and they should have thought that through.

Why I’m glad Bryan was written off instead of killed (+)

The whole gay-killing would have been worse after Lexa, even though I predicted his death. Good on them for writing him off. Bryan and Miller had important, basal, essential differences. The show demonstrated how you can love someone, but can’t be with them because of irreconcilable differences. If there had been more time to show the emotional fall-out from their break-up, it probably would have been clearer that it was actually a break-up…

Predictions made back at the start and how they worked out

 My death predictions were Bryan or Harper dying. I didn’t want Harper to die, and I saw problems with Bryan dying, so I’m glad he was written off instead. 

 I got tired of writing and stopped. I didn’t proof read this.Trying to remember 6 episodes worth of stuff was hard. Never again.

Kabby baby 2k17// Radiation + 6 years and 7 days. Make it so. Or like. Give them that little boy Jaha has no business acting as a guardian for. I maintain that Wells was good despite his father/ because he didn’t like the coldness of Thelonious, not because he was a good father to Wells. I’d prefer they take that child.

I cannot believe you read this whole thing. You are a very nice person for doing so.

If Kabby is not together is S5 I will no longer be watching the show because on/off relationships make for annoying writing and in reality probs unhealthy relationships. Do better writers. No Ross/ Rachel. No MerDer (But that actually was ok because it wasn’t forever and then they had real issues to work through which was good). More Jim/Pam. Ben/Leslie. Coach and Tami Taylor. Time man/ Penne. Time man and Penne x infinity tbh. Can Sonya guest star on the 100? Please?

Happy Hiatus.

My attention turns to GoT: Ser Jorah and Petyr (Bae)lish.

Hopes: Daniel Portman keeps his real life facial hair because I would like Pod even more