#some spoilers for 5x12 and 5x13

[sapphicscholar]

Pride Month Prompts Day 22: Wedding (Grace/Frankie)

From this Pride Month Prompts post! I’m taking the opportunity to write some short fics for a variety of pairings that I haven’t written for as much. I’ll be sure to tag them all with #pride month prompts so you can find them later if you’d like!

Day 22: Wedding - on AO3 as Casual Simplicity

Pairing: Grace/Frankie

A/N: I apologize if this has already been done and I haven’t gotten to read that particular fic yet!

“Marry me.”

They’re words Grace never expected to hear again, not after 40 years of a loveless marriage came crumbling down around her, the husband she’d tolerated for so long apparently deciding that the years she gave him weren’t enough to make up for that “more” he’d gone chasing in another man’s arms, sneaking away on long “business trips” and leaving her alone with the children she’d come to love but had never wanted for her own sake. But the words are real. Nick is real, sitting there, right in front of her, looking perfectly handsome in a tailored suit from a designer that Grace has heard of and approves of. But the words—they have to be a joke, and she says as much.

Only Nick doesn’t leave. He stays there, telling her he doesn’t care if it’s crazy; he wants to marry her anyway. There’s an answer for every question, even that why that Grace has tried to avoid thinking too hard about when it comes to most of her romantic decisions. But Nick smiles up at her, more guileless than he’ll ever be during the business day, and tells her it’s simple, says, “I love you,” says, “I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

And there’s something so damn attractive about simple.

Robert had seemed simple. He was a lawyer from a wealthy family with a charming smile and an easy laugh. He was a perfect gentleman on their dates, never pushing her to do things she didn’t want to do—later, she’ll wonder if all those years of polite manners were just repression dressed up in bourgeois niceties. When he asked her to marry him, neither of them asked why, neither of them wondered if it would be enough, if it would be the kind of love that sent them reeling. They fit. Socially, politically, financially, hell, even aesthetically—Robert’s taller, slightly stockier frame the perfect accessory to finish off Grace’s ensembles, right along with all shimmering, pre-packed gift jewelry that accentuated prominent collar bones and thin wrists and long, perfectly manicured fingers.

Simple makes sense. Simple is Byron telling Grace she’s “smokin’ hot” and sweeping her off her feet—quite literally—his desire plain for the world to see. Simple is the way her body had reacted to that show of need, of someone wanting her so clearly, so straightforwardly, at least until her mind caught up with her.

Everything with Nick would be simple. Problems would be purchased and turned into solutions or made to disappear. Love would be something declared in clear prose. Meals would appear and could be ignored in turn, the dishes vanishing and leftovers sliding down a garbage disposal that would never be clogged with paint or dirt or the DVR remote that had gone missing weeks ago. Sex would happen on a semi-regular basis and would continue to be semi-good, and Vybrant, promising older women that they could enjoy genuinely fulfilling sexual pleasure, would continue to flourish, and never would she let herself hold those two things up side-by-side for a comparison that might show her things she didn’t want to see.

Grace leans over and kisses Nick, hoping it’s answer enough when she can’t make her mouth form the sounds needed to agree to this next simple step. He cups her jaw and kisses her, smiling into it, and it isn’t Byron’s rough hands, but it’s real. It isn’t some video broadcast to the whole Internet talking about kisses that never happened—kisses offered in jest and discussed in public and penciled into Grace’s otherwise pristine planner in all capital letters, but never a real option.

As Grace walks down the beach, tucked into Nick’s side, she finally manages a, “Yes.” And that settles it. Because Nick doesn’t offer things he doesn’t mean. He doesn’t proposition someone for years only to laugh—loudly, too loudly—and insist it had been a great big tease all along when they finally start to say yes.

Only, it turns out that for all his simplicity, Nick wants some of that simplicity in return. He wants someone who will want him back. Can deal with a third player in the game, but not when it becomes clear that player 3 will always be priority 1.

They’re in the back of Nick’s car, flying down the highway on their way to be married, but all Grace can think about, can talk about, is Frankie. About what Frankie said. About everything Frankie has done. About all the ways Frankie has been telling her, again and again, even after her walking disease of a boyfriend took his yurt and fucked off, that what they have isn’t enough—and why shouldn’t it be enough? Why can’t it be enough? Why is Grace—again, always—being told that what she valued as enough someone else saw as lacking, never the “more” that would somehow make it worthwhile?

Nick shrugs his shoulders, as laissez-faire in his attitude towards Frankie’s behavior as he wants the government to be about his business. “Maybe Kooky wants something that you already have without her.”

“And what the hell would that be?” Grace snaps, yanking her hand free of Nick’s, too annoyed to want his easy comfort right now.

Nick turns to face her head on then, and Grace can see something like resignation in his expression, wonders how she’s fucked another thing up today, all before the sun has even set. “I meant me. A relationship.”

“Oh.”

Before Grace can get out one of those light, breezy laughs and paper over the fact that she’s forgotten the very thing she’s on her way to concretize in binding, legal documents, Nick takes her hand in his once more. “Maybe I should have listened when you told me this was crazy.”

“Nick.”

“I love you, Grace. I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. But not when you’ll always be there wondering about someone else.”

“It’s not the same,” Grace insists, her voice cracking as Nick’s words edge close—too close—to the questions that she’s been trying to quiet with pills and drown in vodka.

“No, it’s not the same. But I think I’m on the losing side here.”

---

Hovering on that thin line between still drunk and already hungover that would normally have Grace reaching for either a new drink or an Ambien and a few Advil, Grace pulls her sweater tighter around herself to ward off the chill as she wanders down the beach. The sea lions are quiet now, the breeze barely a whisper in the air. If only Bud and Allison had scheduled their wedding for 4am, then no one would have known that Grace couldn’t make heads or tails of Frankie’s pictionary Post Its.

The lights are almost all out at the beach house now, though the outside decorations are still up, long strings of fairy lights twinkling in the night sky. Grace knows she could walk back in, go up to her room, and sleep in a bed, but after hours of drunken contemplation alone, she isn’t quite sure she deserves it. Yes, Frankie had left stupid notes that made no fucking sense, but Grace could have asked, could have dealt with Joan Margaret and gotten on Frankie’s calendar, or pulled a Frankie and scrawled her name across the entire day (and she thinks Frankie may well have honored such a request). Instead, she’d assumed that Frankie was being, well, Kooky—and the caricature of Kooky that Nick thought he knew, not the slightly kooky but also brilliant, caring, warm woman Grace had come to know over the years.

Of course, there’s still anger there, too. Anger at Frankie for thinking that her life only meant something if she drank disgusting cacao and slept in a yurt on a beachfront in La Jolla and stole the Whole Foods groceries Grace was still buying for her and acted like somehow it was all enlightened because some man who smelled like feet and patchouli told her it was. Anger at Frankie for getting stoned and tweeting out promises that would bankrupt the company they’d worked so hard to build together—their refuge in a world that told them they didn’t matter. Anger at Frankie for posting some poorly edited video that made it sound like they were some old lesbian couple selling vibrators and sneaking into one another’s rooms late at night to kiss and test out their merchandise. Anger at Frankie for making her think about those things, making her wonder about those possibilities.

Then Frankie’s own anger and hurt comes rushing back at her. The betrayal in her voice when she’d seen the store-bought cake—the last straw that seemed to scream into that big empty kitchen: “I don’t trust you to do anything, not even when it comes to your children.” But Grace’s mind keeps returning, again and again, to the big fuck you moment—at least the one Frankie named as such. “You ran away with your boyfriend.” Grace absolutely loathes the hope she can feel bubbling up in her chest at the thought that maybe Frankie does see value in what they are together, that maybe Nick hurt Frankie—not because he was a capitalist or a fiscal conservative, but because he was there, with Grace, the new second name to her “Grace and”—as much as the yurt hobo and the version of Jacob who’d decided Santa Fe was a good idea had hurt Grace.

Eventually Grace settles herself in on a pile of rocks, tries to ignore the aches and pains that have become so much sharper as all the alcohol from earlier fades into the cold sobriety of almost-morning. Closing her eyes, Grace lets her mind drift, thinks about all that might have been had she run off with Nick and gone through with the marriage. Would she be here now? She doubts it. A wife would have been at home in bed with her husband, not sitting on the beach desperately needing to make things right with the woman who’d been her home for the past five years.

---

It’s a little after sunrise when Grace sees what she thinks is another figure down the beach. Her eyesight isn’t as bad as Frankie’s, but it certainly isn’t what it once was. Deciding it’s worth the potential humiliation of yelling at a stranger or an inanimate object, Grace stands and starts moving toward the blurry shape, yelling, “Frankie!”

But then the blurry shape is standing and yelling, “Grace!” right back at her.

And she doesn’t care that her knee is screaming, doesn’t care that Grace Hanson most definitely does not run, because her heart is pushing her as fast and as far as she can go—even if it isn’t very far or very fast.

“I’ll come to you!” And Frankie, who eats carbs and whipped cream and gummy bears for breakfast, is running like some sort of elite athlete in the 65+ category, while Grace waits, half hobbling, desperately hoping her knee won’t give out on her now.

Then Frankie is in front of her, and all the anger slips away in the face of the person she might have lost, maybe forever, and everything Grace has been thinking comes pouring out of her. Apologies for the terrible things she’s said. Admissions that she’s become a better person, someone that most days she can stand to look at in the mirror, with Frankie at her side. And somehow it all builds to Grace, standing on the beach, waves crashing beside them and the surf inching closer and closer to their feet, holding Frankie close, calling her a best friend, a partner, telling her that she needs her. And there’s nothing simple about that need. There are no straightforward lines where Frankie can do x or be y to fulfill z. It’s a need mingled with pangs of annoyance and frustration and anger but wrapped up in what Grace is finally realizing is love, and somehow that outweighs everything else, makes it simple even when it’s not. “I need you,” Grace repeats, blinking back tears that make Frankie look blurry, even now when she’s only inches away.

“Oh, I need you too.” Frankie falls into her arms with the words, holds her tight, the last vestiges of their fight falling away the longer they stay like that. “So, let’s go home.”

A sentimental part of Grace that rarely rears its head, and even more rarely gets anything out, wants to say that she’s already there. Instead she blurts out, “Nick asked me to marry him.” In an instant, all the happiness and love in Frankie’s expression is clouded over with hurt. “I—we’re not.”

“Not getting married?”

“Not getting married. Not together.” A deep breath. “He felt like he was always competing with you. Competing and losing.” Frankie’s usual taunts about beating Nick in any way are absent. She looks cautious, and Grace wonders if the same fragile hope is demanding shelter from her too. “Maybe he’s right.”

The quiet maybe isn’t enough to bring Frankie back to that joyous openness—not after she’s put back up those walls so few people realize she has in the face of all the pain Grace’s declaration had been poised to deliver.

This will never be simple, and Frankie will never be Robert, assuming Grace will say yes because it follows logically. She will never be Nick, convinced so deeply of her own charms that she’ll put her heart on the line in matters of love without a moment’s hesitation. Despite the “fuck it” lifestyle, she will never be Byron, desire plainly written in every move.

But, Grace realizes with a jolt, she can be that for Frankie, can let her see everything she’s offering—no jokes or questions about it.

Grace steps forward, closes the distance that had pulled them apart again. Her hands find Frankie’s arms first, one coming up to hold her jaw, thumb sweeping across her cheekbone. “I’m not going anywhere this time. I promise.” A kiss to the forehead, like Frankie had asked for all those years ago, only to have Grace deny her in a moment of panic about why—dear god, why—the thought of pressing her lips to any part of Frankie had sent her heart pounding. Then Frankie’s cheeks, one after the other. Grace pauses, waiting, centimeters away from Frankie’s mouth. “I promise,” she whispers again, the words ghosting across Frankie’s lips. Her eyes flutter shut as she leans forward, her mouth finding Frankie’s. Just one kiss. One sealed promise. One hint of what might be waiting for them.

When she pulls back, she finds Frankie blinking at her. Everything is still and silent for a long moment.

Frankie’s hand reaches out, tangling around her own. “Let’s go home.”

[saadiestuff]

SPOILERS: Animal Kingdom s5

Episode descriptions for the ENTIRE REST OF THE SEASON

(TNT made the pages for all the eps so if you know the ep # and title you can get to them oop)

5x02 What Remains - As Pope deals with Smurf's remains, Craig and Renn balance their old lives with being new parents. J finds a new job through an old contact, and Deran can't outrun his past with Adrian.

5x03 Freeride - J's business secrets come to light as Pope mourns the loss of Smurf. Deran distracts himself from his own loneliness. Craig and Renn struggle to find work-life balance.

~click KEEP READING for the rest through 5x13~

5x04 ??? (I couldn’t find the title of the ep so couldn’t get it)

5x05 Family Business - As Deran and J compete for control of the family, Pamela presents the Codys with a risky proposition. Pope processes an additional loss by exploding in violence and Craig does business with Frankie.

5x06 Home Sweet Home - Tensions rise as Deran, J, and Craig do a job that risks everything the family has. Pope goes to the desert trying to outrun his grief. 

5x07 Splinter - Pope confronts his demons with the help of a desert guru. Deran marks his territory as J handles business. Craig struggles with the demands of fatherhood and the temptations of his old life.

5x08 Gladiators - Pope helps a new friend. Deran, J, and Craig deal with the fallout from past mistakes as they make new friends and enemies. 

5x09 Let It Ride - Local law enforcement turn up the heat on the Codys, as further secrets threaten to destabilize the family. Deran gets some news about Adrian. Craig discovers Renn has been keeping a secret. 

5x10 Relentless - Desperate for cash, and with pressure mounting, the Codys discover what they thought was a solution to their problems may be the biggest threat of them all. 

5x11 Trust the Process - J and Pope take a road trip to clean up the aftermath of some family business that went sideways. Deran and Craig scout a new mark with the help of Frankie. 

5x12 Loose Ends - The Codys resolve unfinished business and plan their biggest heist ever without Smurf. 

5x13 Launch - In the season finale, it's all hands on deck as the Cody family uses all their tools, tricks, and vehicles to pull off the job of their lives and settle all scores. A deadly secret from the past is also revealed!

[itsclownhours]

okay so i don’t know if i ever mentioned it but while watching merlin i’ve used a google doc of weird title ideas to rename all of the episodes and now that i’ve finished the series i would like to share with the four people who always like my posts the absolute nightmare that is the contents of this google doc (spoilers ahead, technically, i think)

merlin Things Historians Pretend Aren’t Gay: The Unlikely Adventures of Bitchface and Go Fuck Yourself

1x01 the dragon’s call Neither Boss Nor Employee Paid Enough to Deal With Each Other

1x02 valiant Everyone Should Learn First Aid (This Has Been a PSA)

1x03 the mark of nimueh Let’s NOT Wipe Out Humankind

1x04 the poisoned chalice I Fell Into a Deep Hole

1x05 lancelot You’re Valid, I Support You

1x06 a remedy to cure all ills This Is Absolutely the Right Decision

1x07 the gates of avalon I Go For an Unwanted and Unexpected Swim

1x08 the beginning of the end The Small Child Is Annoying

1x09 excalibur Ya Dun Goofed

1x10 the moment of truth The Regular Fuckface Returns to the Town of Fuckface

1x11 the labyrinth of gedref Guys, It’s Been Three Weeks Since I’ve Eaten a Vegetable: My Destiny as a Bad Cook

1x12 to kill the king Ultimate Showdown: Murder Father versus Murder Daughter

1x13 le morte d’arthur Dreams Do Come True (And That’s Not a Good Thing)

2x01 the curse of cornelius sigan The Good, the Bad, and the Okay I Guess

2x02 the once and future queen The Broken Ribs Poked Our Lungs

2x03 the nightmare begins I Need an Explanation, What Is Going On

2x04 lancelot and guinevere I Approve (This Time)

2x05 beauty and the beast part 1 This Wasn’t the Family Meeting That I Was Expecting Tonight

2x06 beauty and the beast part 2 I Am Saved From Certain Death By Being Killed

2x07 the witchfinder Those Stories Aren’t Real

2x08 the sins of the father How to Traumatize Your Children: 7 Proven Methods to Help You Screw Up Your Kids Deliberately and With Skill

2x09 the lady of the lake Can’t Wait to Tell This Story to My Grandchildren

2x10 sweet dreams Getting Distracted by a Hot Girl Only Leads to Bad Things

2x11 the witch’s quickening The King Can Go Fuck Himself

2x12 the fires of idirsholas Everything is a Goddamn Ordeal in This Family: Top 10 Anime Betrayals

2x13 the last dragonlord I Turned Out Liking You a Lot More Than I Originally Planned

3x01 the tears of uther pendragon part 1 Ask and You Shall Receive...Sometime Next Year

3x02 the tears of uther pendragon part 2 In Which Everything Goes Wonderfully Wrong

3x03 goblin’s gold Let’s Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly-True Memoir)

3x04 gwaine This Is Why I Don’t Socialize

3x05 the crystal cave Man Miscast in Role of Father

3x06 the changeling Successfully Evading Responsibility

3x07 the castle of fyrien The Dumbasses Take a Road Trip

3x08 the eye of the phoenix Tone It Down a Bit, Geez

3x09 love in the time of dragons Hey, Look, Old People

3x10 queen of hearts Running From Your Dad: I Know Exactly What I’m Doing (No, I Don’t)

3x11 the sorcerer’s shadow You’re a Special Kind of Stupid, Aren’t You?: Merlin Makes a Rash Decision

3x12 the coming of arthur part 1 Orphan Does Her Best to Fit in After Horrible Childhood

3x13 the coming of arthur part 2 There Is Absolutely No Way It Can Get Worse (It Got Worse)

4x01 the darkest hour part 1 Oh, Look, a Ghost

4x02 the darkest hour part 2 Unfortunately, I Am Alive

4x03 the wicked day Didn’t See That One Coming

4x04 aithusa I Wasn’t Prepared For Parenthood

4x05 his father’s son I Stab a Bitch: Aggressive Negotiations Make Everyone Hate You

4x06 a servant of two masters And God Said, “Let’s Not Give This Bitch a Break”

4x07 the secret sharer Apparently, Agravaine Does Have Some ’Splainin’ to Do

4x08 lamia The Boys Are Here

4x09 lancelot du lac I Call Shotgun (Said the Dead Man)

4x10 a herald of the new age Possession or Obsession?

4x11 the hunter’s heart I’m Bitter and I Won’t Stop Whining (Solitude Was the Only Logical Ending)

4x12 the sword in the stone part 1 I’m Packing Up My Crayons and Leaving

4x13 the sword in the stone part 2 A Guide to Giving Up

5x01 arthur’s bane part 1 My Boy!

5x02 arthur’s bane part 2 My Boy! Part 2: Electric Boogaloo

5x03 the death song of uther pendragon Way to Go, Dumbass

5x04 another’s sorrow Live Every Crisis Like It’s Your Midlife Crisis

5x05 the disir Why Am I Like This?: Merlin Is a Fucking Bitch

5x06 the dark tower What the Hell? I'm in Hell (I Have a Heated Make-Out Session With My Lifelong Enemy. Who Would’ve Thought?)

5x07 a lesson in vengeance You Know That There Is Nothing That I Love More Than Just Chilling and Drinking Poison. Seriously. I’s Great

5x08 the hollow queen An Unexpected Visit Leads to a Change in Career Paths

5x09 with all my heart A Trip to Memoryville (I Hate It)

5x10 the kindness of strangers Don’t Accept Rides From Strange Relatives

5x11 the drawing of the dark Why Didn’t I Just Walk Away? Oh, Right. Because I’m an Idiot: In Which Merlin Fucks Up

5x12 the diamond of the day part 1 We’ve Been Tricked, We’ve Been Backstabbed, and We’ve Been, Quite Possibly, Bamboozled

5x13 the diamond of the day part 2 How to Mistakenly Assume You Have Everything Under Control

[where-theres-smoak-2]

Future Episode Titles

 So I have just discovered that the episode titles for 5x10 through 5x13 have been released so I figured and see if there are any clues as to what might happen in those episodes. All of these titles are in reference to various movies so be warned there are spoilers for all the movies the titles have. So if you see the name of movie and don’t want to be spoiled stop reading. 

With 5x10 we’ve got a bit of an advantage as we also have the synopsis for that one. But the title is ‘The Pincushion Man’ the title is a reference to a 1935 animated short film. It is also known as ‘Balloon Land’. The story is set in a land where everyone and everything is made of balloons. Two young balloon children are given the warning to beware the Pincushion Man who lives in the forest. The Boy and Girl don’t heed the warning and travel into the woods where they end up leading the Pincushion man back to Balloon Land. He pops a load of the residents before he is finally brought down by the army. So I actually have alot of theories around this one. Obviously in Riverdale I think the Pincushion man is going to represent a serial killer, in the cartoon when he pops the residents he essentially kills them. But who in the episode could be the Pincushion Man. I mean we have a couple of serial killers at the moment. There’s the Truck Killer, TBK and even potentially The Mothman, though we don’t know for sure if they are killing people. So which one could be presented as the Pincushion Man. Well I don’t think its any of them or rather it could be all of them. The Pincushion Man could be more of the idea of a s serial killer terrorizing a town and so could be represented by a number of different characters/ killers. I actually think it could also be in reference to either Chic or Charles or both of them. The synopsis says that Betty and Alice get unexpected visitors and my theory is that this is Charles and Chic. I also think there are clues in that short film that support this theory though obviously like with all the titles that Riverdale episodes share with films I don’t think they will follow the plot exactly but there might some common themes or symbolism.

 Like I said the Pincushion Man is lead to the town by a young boy and girl. In the episode 9 synopsis it says Betty has to make a difficult decision, which if you read my previous post I said that I thought that she would find out that Charles worked on cases relating to the the Truck Killer and is trying to decide on whether to reach out to Charles. It’s also worth noting that in this episode we know from released stills that Betty and Jughead will be interacting and maybe even investigating together. So as Charles is brother to them both Jughead might also be involved in reaching out to Charles. In this scenario Betty and Jughead would be the boy and girl that leads the killer to town whilst trying to escape. Also the title of episode 9 is Destroyer. There is a 2018 film of the same name. This film is about a detective who ends up investigating a case from their past and a criminal that re-emerges after 16 years. Again this could support my theory of Charles’ old cases being reopened as the killer has reappeared. Also in the film the law enforcement officers (a LAPD officer and an FBI agent who are partners working undercover) investigating the crime fall in love and decide to legitimately join in on the crime. Again this to me seems really similar to Charles and Chic with Charles being an FBI agent who becomes a criminal. 

Going back to the 1935 short film, another reason why I think the Pincushion Man might be in reference to Charles is because in the short film the Pincushion Man gains entry through the gate and into the town through hypnosis. He hypnotises the guard at the gate to gain entry. We know that Charles has an interest/ skills in hypnosis.  

But there is something else that is interesting. In the short film the Pincushion Man is finally stopped by the army. The synopsis talked about how Archie’s former general shows up in town with some surprising news. Now I do have a theory that its to do with the Military Base outside of Riverdale but now I have another theory on what it could be. There is a department called the United States Army Criminal Investigation Command aka CID. Now I am not going to pretend I’m an expert on this department but I did some research and what they basically do is investigate felony crimes where the Army is or may be a party of interest. So maybe the surprising news is that the Army or someone in the army is being investigated by the CID in Riverdale. We know that both Archie and Betty were doing stunts for episode 10 and I’m pretty sure this might be the episode Archie is wearing a Kevlar vest so we know its likely to be a pretty action packed episode. So maybe the FBI and CID investigate together. As to who they might be investigating I think it could be one of two. Either Eric Jackson really goes off the deep end and does some crazy stuff. Or it could still be to do with the military testing theory that Pop’s had.  

Episode 5x11 is titled Strange Bedfellows. This again could reference a 1965 film of the same name. In this one a couple impulsively get married then when they realise they have nothing in common and always fight they separate. Seven years later they reunite to finalise their divorce and end up rekindling things. The next day they are right back to fighting and so decide to carry on with the divorce. But then the male protagonist finds out his promotion relies on him being married. So he woos her back. Meanwhile the female protagonist is constantly getting involved in public protests. To me this just screams Chad and Veronica. So here’s what I think is going to happen. I think Chad and Veronica will have a big bust up in the next episode 5x08. They will end up separating at the end of the episode. Then Chad will reappear in episode 11 to finalize their divorce. We know that in those episodes in between that Veronica will likely continue fighting against her father and working to save Riverdale. I think Hiram will come up with a scheme and will offer Chad this amazing job but will tell him he can only have it if he stays married to Veronica and helps distract her/ keep her away from trying to save Riverdale.   

Episode 5x12 is titled Citizen Lodge. This one is actually really interesting to me. It is obviously to do with the 1941 film Citizen Kane. What’s interesting to me is the film has this theme about trying to solve a mystery/ find the truth but failing. The film is about a man named Charles Foster Kane who on his death bed whispers the words Rosebud before dying. A man is tasked with finding out what the significance of the word Rosebud was. He is never able to solve the mystery and resigns himself to the fact that they will never know the truth. I think this part will be to do with Jughead and his search for the Aliens/ Mothmen. It is worth noting that whilst in Citizen Kane the characters never find out the true meaning of Rosebud the audience does. I think this will be what happens in this episode we will find out something really important about the Mothmen but Jughead and the other characters won’t and maybe they will temporarily give up on finding the truth. It’s the idea that not all things can be explained. 

The other thing that’s interesting about this film is that it is also about the rise and fall of a newspaper magnate. How he rises up from nothing to become one of the most powerful men in his business before then falling back into obscurity. I actually think this will be in reference to Hiram. I have heard some rumours, though to be clear I don’t think this is confirmed, that episode 12 will be a Hiram flashback episode. So I think we will see how Hiram came to be as powerful as he is. But I also think this will be the episode where it either all falls apart for Hiram or at the very least begins to. But I do think Hiram is going to take a drastic hit in this episode. 

So lastly episode 5x13 is titled Reservoir Dogs. Again another film this time from 1992. This one is about a jewellery heist that goes badly wrong and leads those involved to think that one of them is a police informant. Here’s my theories about this one and they could be seen as a little out there but it makes sense to me. We know that Veronica is opening a jewellery store by episode 13 she should have that up and running. I reckon if I am right about Hiram taking a big hit in episode 12 then Veronica probably played a part in that. Hiram is known to take out revenge on her when she gets in the way of his plans like when he had her liquor license cancelled and smashed all the rum she had. So I think he will organise a raid on her jewellery store and this will go badly wrong. Some or more characters might get hurt. As to who might be the part of the police informant well in the film the informant gained the trust of the gang and become friends with one of them, they become really close and have a father/son like relationship and when that friend finds out he is a cop he is naturally devastated at the betrayal of his friend. I actually think Reggie is a double agent and will betray Hiram to protect his friends. Also I think Ted confirmed that episode 12 covers some of Reggie’s backstory so that would line up with this episode if in the one before we get to see how Reggie came to work with Hiram. I mean to me they seem kind of close. Reggie is clearly someone that Hiram trusts and he listens to his advice which we saw last episode when Reggie convinced him to delay the turnpike and let the Coopers search the swamp. To me it would make sense for them to show us how Hiram and Reggie developed a bond in episode 12 and then for us to see it be betrayed in episode 13. In the film major spoiler alert here but I think all but one of the thieves is killed. I am hoping that the story doesn’t go exactly the same way though because if it does it could lead to a situation where Hiram kills Reggie. In all honesty I don’t think they are going to kill a whole bunch of characters like they do in Reservoir Dogs but I could see either Hiram or Reggie dying maybe even both if Riverdale are feeling really ballsy. Personally I really hope that Reggie doesn’t die because I love his character as for Hiram I don’t know if Riverdale will kill him off but I also feel like there’s not much else they can do with his character. I mean we’ve already seen him in jail and we’ve already seen him as a villain about million times by now giving him an emotional death where he’s betrayed by someone he trusts could be a good way of bringing his story to a close. 

 As for who could be representing Mr Pink the only one to survive in the movie and who tries to sneak off with the jewellery I think this could potentially be Chad. In the film its a bit ambiguous what happens to Mr Pink but if you listen closing in the ending scene you can hear him struggling to start the car, and then police yelling at him. It seems to me like he gets arrested but does survive. I think Chad will attempt to get away with the jewellery but will ultimately get caught and sent to jail.

So yeah those are some theories I have based pretty much purely on the titles of the next few episodes and the plots of various movies.                        

[stranger-who-writes-fiction]

SO HEY, EPISODE 5x13

Crops? Watered. Skin? Clear. Fifth Dimensional Imp? Redeemed, and here to help our Kryptonian Sunshine Child Learn Some Much-Needed Lessons on this Very Special Episode.

SPOILERS!

NEW AND IMPROVED MXY! He is excellent. Loved every second he was on screen, he had such a great dynamic with Kara, and the ENTIRE OPENING SCENE WITH ALL THREE OF THEM WAS HILARIOUS.

Give the Danvers Sisters More Comedy Scenes, Please

Man when he just walks across the furniture.

SO GOOD

And then J’onn w/ his casual ‘Hey girls.’ SPAAAAACE DAAAAAD

MAGIC PAINTBALL!

(Man Supergirl’s Attic podcast just nailed that, huh?)

Loved all of the different viewing methods--Projector! MyxFlyx! Betamyx! Also the popcorn bucket gag, and how Kara’s just like: ‘...Yeah alright.’

And then we get to the first of the alternate timelines and OKAY, OKAY I see now why they need the bad wigs...they gotta match pre-existing footage, FINE. 

But UUUUuuuUUUUgh bad wigs. BAD.

You know what else is bad? Lena blabbing Kara’s secret to Sam!

Because KARA DIES. 

And you know...we’ve seen Kara in some pretty gruesome fights, we’ve seen her in a coma, we’ve seen her die before but there is something final and painful and AWFUL about her flat-lining in the DEO. 

AND THEN ALEX AT THE GRAVE???!??!?!?!

*openly weeps* *just like Mxy and Kara*

Look I don’t wanna keep harping on the wigs but good grief, Kara’s ‘Supergirl’ hair looks like it walked right of the set of a 70s sitcom.

Right, okay, so the chat with Lena! I sincerely doubt that Lena would’ve let anyone help her with Sam. Just sayin’. 

‘I had to go through that alone!’ Yeah, Lena, that’s kinda your MO, and you do it even when people level with you.

(As much as I enjoyed the cathartic release provided by this episode, I still found some of the dialogue in regards to Lena a bit...trying.)

(Like this part, and Sam insisting that the Kryptonite manufacturing was totally fine! No big deal!)

(Reader, it was not fine, and was, in fact, a Big Deal.)

“Wait you’re skipping a lot!”

“So much exposition.”

Awww, Beard-of-Wisdom Mon-El is back!

And BOY OH BOY, HE’S GOT SOME WORDS O’ WISDOM INDEED.

“You know Lena and I have a lot in common.” MMMMM-HMMMMMM.

In that both your story line and Lena’s were/are extremely tedious

But no, for real, it’s a really lovely exchange.

“You deserve the same compassion that you show others.”

THREE CHEERS FOR OL’ WISE-BEARD!

Also, happy to report that the wig works best in the rain!

And speaking of Raineign... (har, har)

More Death! A recurring theme, with these alternate realities!

So, basically:

Back at the loft! Loved the Friends-esque VHS titles

The One Where Lena Moves to National City

The One Where Lillian Admits She Loves Lena

The One Where Supergirl and Lena Fight the Nanobot Lady

And then we get the ‘First Meeting’* reveal and may I just say, the score? Lovely. 

*Not really the first meeting but ‘Third-ish meeting that was retroactively added in “Confidence Women”’ is a bit of a mouthful, so. 

“I have to recall all those alien detective devices because they clearly don’t work!” Or...you could recall them...because they’re bad.

Just a thought.

Love 20s news announcer Mxy and the newspaper spins.

I also love that this particular timeline is a direct response to...a specific corner of the SG fandom, and their ongoing complaints. ‘Everything would be better if Kara told Lena right away!’ Well, no, actually! It puts a huge target on Lena, just like Kara feared. ‘Why does Kara even need a secret identity? Almost everyone knows, it’s barely a secret, why bother!?’ because IT PUTS A HUGE TARGET ON KARA’S LOVED ONES, JUST LIKE KARA FEARED.

Alsoooooo the one out there going hard for and stanning the Luthor/Super partnership...is a fanatical cult leader.

Which I’m sure means nothing and isn’t a thinly-veiled commentary, or anything. 

...Anyways!

EVERYONE DIES AGAIN.

And THEN we go to the darkest timeline.

Love Kara’s, “You know what? No thanks. Nope. Don’t need to see it.”

And then Dreamer! With a face scar! And as we all know, face scars are always code for Dystopian AUs. 

KELLY WITH THE SHIIIIIEEEEELD AGAIN!

And it looks like the good guys are winning their respective fights! But then METALLO!LENA JUST STRAIGHT UP TRIES TO MURDER KARA. 

To quote Kara: No thanks. Nope.

But Mxy gets Hat’s hat and they’re safely back in Kara’s loft AND THEN

AND THEN AND THEN AND THEEEEEENNNNNNNN:

After 13 long, (loooooong) episodes, we finally get some gol-dang character development.

♫Aaaaaat laaaaaaaaaast, the skiiiiiies above are bluuu-uuueee ♫

And not just any character development! KARA CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT.

THE CONTENT I CRAVE.

It was so good. EVERYTHING. SPELLED OUT. CLEARLY.

Whoop, wait, before we dig into that: Redemption for Mxy.

Who is now a FRIEND and not a creepy stalker! Which, lemme tell ya, really put a damper on the otherwise fun energy that a fifth dimension imp from the Silver Age should bring. 

I am very Pleased with these developments, is what I’m saying.

Okay, back to the good stuff. I’m just gonna quote it in full:

I recognize I made a mistake in hiding my identity from you for so long, but the past is the past, and I can’t change it. Forgive me or not, that’s your choice. Just like it’s your choice to work with Lex. I’m done blaming myself for your bad decisions...from now on, you’re accountable for your own actions. If you decide to forgive me, I will be there for you. But if you continue to work with Lex, if you go through with whatever it is the two of you are planning, I will do everything in my power to stop you, just like I would any other villain.

Amazing. Spectacular. Brilliant.

And to top it all off? SPACEFAM CONTENT. AND JUNK FOOD! A WINNING COMBO.

Kara’s happy face is so cuuuuuuute and the french fry toast!

And EL MAYARAH! STRONGER TOGETHER!

It’s just so beautiful.

So in conclusion! I think, given the constraints set up by the season long arc, this was a really nice way to tie it into that story but also honor a lot of what came before. I know a lot of folks wish it had focused more on the Spacefam, and that we had more Season One call backs, and that’s fair, but personally, I didn’t mind it. (Because we got a beautiful Superfriends reunion in 5x11/5x12 and Eliza is coming back at SOME point in the future so I am Content. XD)

...Also let us all be grateful that it didn’t fall within one of the crossovers, like Arrow’s 100th episode. Oof. 

[originalsdaily]

THE ORIGINALS SEASON 5 - ALL THE FACTS AS OF PREMIER DAY 18TH APRIL 2018 - All ship information, TVD character cameos, new characters, flashbacks, how the show will end and other tidbits (also 'accidental’ spoilers the writers didn’t want us to see)

DISCLAIMER: 

These are compilation of spoilers issued by the writers and cast themselves through social media, SDCC and text/video interviews, also IMDB listings. Please don’t read if you don’t wish to have spoilers for the upcoming season. The ‘accidental spoilers’ for the season are going to be posted under a cut, so those who want the official spoilers and wish to stay away from the other ones can do so.

Below is a summary of everything we know so far about season five. I’ve sourced where possible, though for some things there is no available source, (such as Danielle Russells instagram live video which isn’t available in it’s entirety, though I watched live and wrote down what she said as it was airing, and a photograph from Carina Mackenzie’s instagram of a draft of 502 which was not screenshotted.)  At the time of posting, all tweets are active, though tweets can be removed at any point. This is up to date at time of posting, I’ve scoured and added everything I could find. If I’ve missed something out, please link me and I will add on.

For SDCC 2017 facts, I’ve simply put “SDCC” as the source. Here are links to watch the SDCC panel  - (xx)      

A compilation of like 97% of the bts photos are here (x)

General Season Info

The Originals season five premiers Wednesday, April 18th at 9:00 p.m and this season is the final season of the show (x) (x) The show was originally due to premier on the 20th April, but got moved from Friday to Wednesday. The show has now been on every single weeknight. (x)

The Tagline of the season is “Family, Always and Forever” (x)

Joseph Morgan, Daniel Gillies and Charles Michael Davis will be directing again. Joseph is to direct episode 3 “Ne Me Quitte Pas,”  Charles to direct episode 6 “What, Will, I, Have, Left” and Daniel is to direct episode 10 (SDCC) (x)(x)(x)(x)

Episode titles are as follows (followed by director, writer(s) and synopsis where possible) (x):

5x01 ‘Where You Left Your Heart’ - Directed by Lance Anderson, written by  Marguerite MacIntyre (x)(x) 

“Desperate to see her father Klaus after seven years, Hope resorts to drastic measures to bring her father back to New Orleans. Hayley attempts to minimize the fallout from Hope's actions, but not before news of what she's done ripples through the city. Meanwhile, Freya's guilt over not being able to reunite her family gets in the way of her happiness with Keelin, while Rebekah struggles with her inability to fully commit to Marcel. Finally, struggling without Elijah by his side, Klaus' murderous rampage throughout Europe leads to an unexpected encounter with Caroline Forbes.”

5x02 ‘One Wrong Turn On Bourbon’ - Written by Carina Mackenzie (x)(x)

“When a mysterious disappearance brings Klaus back to New Orleans, Hope looks forward to the prospect of seeing her father again. However, when the dark magic that had been keeping them apart begins to manifest in dangerous ways across the city, Vincent turns to Ivy for guidance about what it may mean. Elsewhere, Marcel returns to New Orleans amidst increased tensions between the supernatural factions, while Freya makes a decision about her future with Keelin. Finally, Roman's surprise visit to the Mikaelson compound forces Hope to reveal some dark truths about her family. Josh also appears.”

5x03 'Ne Me Quitte Pas’ (Do not leave me) - Directed by Joseph Morgan (x)(x)

“In the immediate aftermath of having his memory erased by Marcel, Elijah awakens to find himself in the middle of nowhere and without a clue as to who he is. Unable to control his instinctive vampire ways, Elijah encounters Antoinette, a beautiful and free-spirited vampire, who helps him navigate his new life. However, a run-in with Klaus threatens to destroy the peace he's finally found.”

5x04 'Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea’

5x05 'Don’t It Just Break Your Heart’ 

5x06 ‘What, Will, I, Have, Left” - Written by Marguerite MacIntyre, Directed by Charles Michael Davis (x)

5x07 ‘God’s Gonna Trouble The Water’ - Written by Bianca Sams & Julie Plec (x)(x)

5x08 ‘The Kindness Of Strangers’ - Written by Carina Mackenzie (x)(x)

5x09 ‘We Have Not Long To Live’

5x10  ‘There In The Disappearing Light’ - Written by Jeffery Lieber & Eva McKenna, Directed by Daniel Gillies (x)(x)

5x11 ‘Till The Day I Die’

5x12 ‘The Tale Of Two Wolves’ - Written by Carina Mackenzie (x)

5x13 ‘When the Saints Go Marching In” - Written by Jeffery Lieber & Julie Plec    (x)(x)

On returning special guests:

Nate Buzolic, Claire Holt, Danielle Campbell and Sebastian Roche are all also returning for their roles as Kol, Rebekah, Davina and Mikael respectively. (x)(x)(x) 

Julie said there’s a chance Cami, Finn or Jackson will appear this season. Soon after posting this, Leah Pipes was on set for one of the final episodes (x) (x)

On the Mikaelson Family:

There are “several” Hope/Elijah scenes and “a few” Rebekah/Hope scenes (Danielle’s insta live) 

"This season is about the Mikaelsons trying to find a way to bring the family back together" (x)

Danielle Russell said Hope was 15 (in her insta live) and that eight years have passed, which was originally said during SDCC by Julie also. However, Julie has stated seven years elsewhere (x) (There seems to now be a general consensus 7 years has passed)

Hayley, Klaus and Hope are ‘a family’ (Danielle’s insta live)

More sister bonding for Freya and Rebekah will be in the show. (x) 

Klaus’ true ship of the season is the family (x) 

We can tell that a lot has changed, but as the siblings have been alive for 1000 years, it’s almost like a blink of an eye for them. (x)

Hope and Klaus have a strained relationship, despite Hayley and Freya trying very hard to keep them all close. Klaus ignored Hope over the years and Hope isn’t thrilled about it. (x) (x)

Nobody at school knows Hope is a Mikaelson. (x)

Riley describes Freya’s first love as her family.  (x) 

Hayley has found happiness with her new boyfriend Declan (x)

Freya is experiencing peace for the first time in her life though struggling to put herself first, she’s in love and happy, though working to bring her family back together and has also been very active in Hope’s life, working as her mentor and support system, which causes conflict with Klaus. It has also been stated that she is in her late 30′s / early 40′s but has physically aged slowly (SDCC)(x)(x)(x) 

During the time jump, Klaus has gone on a murder spree (SDCC)

Hayley and Hope have a typical chaotic mother/daughter relationship and there  will be ‘many’ scenes with the two of them together. During the time jump Hayley has helped Hope with school projects, focused on her personal life, and also tried to overcome her heartbreak to be strong for Hope. (SDCC) (x) (x)

Marcel will reflect on his past and how he’s managed the quarter. (x) 

We see why Rebekah makes the same mistakes over and over, going deep into who she is. (x) 

Klaus hasn’t been in touch in five years (x)

Klaus visits Elijah in Manosque, France and converses with him, though Elijah has no clue who he is (x)

There’s a Freya/Elijah moment in which there’s tears of happiness (x)

Hayley is not in every episode this season. Elijah will also not be in at least one episode. However, Klaus is in all. (x) (x) 

We get an episode that is Elijah from start to finish. We get to see where Elijah left off in the s4 finale, and what he’s been doing in the seven years that’s passed. Julie has said she had “Being able to write a narrative for Elijah that allowed him to live an entirely different life and imagining what that life would look like was a lot of fun,”  (x) (x)

Hope is aware of the kind of man her father is and what he’s done, and is annoyed he's trying to hide it from her (x)

On new characters:

Minor characters cast for the season include Nicholas Alexander as “Henry Benoit”,  Alexis Louder as “Lisina”, Katie Cook as “Poppy”, Malone Thomas as “Colette”, Jamie Thomas King as  “August Muller”, Kyle Jackson as “Lookie Loo”, Jason Burkey as “David”, Shiva Kalaiselvan as “Ivy”,  Bella Samman &  Allison Gobuzzi as “Josie & Lizzie Saltzman”  (x)(x)(x)(x)(x)(x)

Several love interests have been cast for main characters. Jaime Murray has been cast as Elijah’s new love interest Antoinette - “a beautiful, “old-school” vampire who meets Elijah shortly after he loses his memories. Her flirtatious, free-spirited nature masks dark secrets about her painful past” - who will appear in episode 3. Torrance Coombs has been cast as Declan - a flirty Irish chef completely ignorant to the supernatural until Hayley introduces him to it - and he’s to be Hayley’s new love interest. He’s been described as her ‘friend with benefits’ and Hayley has been described as ‘the woman he loves’ Jedediah Goodacre has been cast as Roman - “ a charming vampire who takes an interest in Hope after a “mysterious incident” occurs at her school” - Hope’s love interest. Another love interest for Hope includes Landon, portrayed by  Aria Shahghasemi  -   “a thoughtful, compassionate and self-aware kid from the wrong side of the tracks who catches Hope’s attention when she witnesses him being bullied by his affluent classmates,” & “desperate to escape his broken home and the small southern town in which it stands. Despite being human, Landon apparently has a shady past, and investigating it could lead him into the dangerous world of the supernatural.” - who will appear in the penultimate episode  (x) (x) (x) (x) (SDCC)

A character named Margot is set to appear, described as “a “calculating” vampire, whose glory days trace all the way back to 1920s Europe. She recently moved to New Orleans, and she has an “almost zealous devotion to her family.”  (x) It’s highly likely that ‘Margot’ has been renamed to ‘Greta Sienna’ and will be played by Nadine Lewington as the character descriptions are identical (x)(x)

On TVD character appearances 

Candice King is set to appear in 4 episodes,  501, 506, 512 & 513, reprising her role from The Vampire Diaries as Caroline Forbes-Salvatore, Headmistress of the school Hope attends - it was also confirmed she recorded audio for a fifth episode. Matt Davis will reprise his TVD role as Alaric Saltzman in episode 512. Demetrius Bridges will also reprise his TVD role as “Dorian Williams” 501 at least (x)(x)(x)(x)(x)(x)(x)

Stefan Salvatore mentions are possible. And due to a bts photograph of stand ins that have hair unmistakably like that of Stefan, it’s almost certain he will appear along with his brother Damon. (x) (x) (Though in an interview, Paul has said he likely wont cameo, which means that the stand in’s may simply be filmed from the back to represent the Salvatore’s, though their faces and voices wont be appearing) 

Regarding Flashbacks:

Summer Fontana will return as Hope in flashbacks  as we see her struggle with her magic as she grows older. (x) (x) ( Also confirmed by Danielle Russell in her insta live when she said she met Summer on set) 

There’ll be a flashback to 1x22 show how Hope got her name (x) (further evidenced by this photo of Phoebe on set wearing her 1x22 post-birth costume)

On the final episode:

In the finale there’ll be a bench scene between Elijah and Klaus similar to the one in the first episode (x)

When asked about the finale, Joseph said “The family doesn’t all sail off together into the sunset. There is hope there, there is definitely some sort of peace for everyone. It’s very emotional.”  (x)

One of Julie’s regrets is that there was never a full scene on why Elijah believed Klaus had dropped the family into the ocean, though it is touched upon in the finale.  (x)

Julie says there’s no character who had their ending planned from day one (x)

The show probably won’t get a happy ending and it’s possible that the final words of the show may end up being the iconic “always and forever” (SDCC) (x) (Danielle said in her insta live that she believes the finale ties a lot of things together)

On Vincent:

It’s confirmed Vincent will be given a love interest and has just been carrying on with ‘business as usual’ in New Orleans, he’s been maintaining the stability of the city. He’s comfortable but vigilant. (SDCC) (x) 

He is managing the quarter, restoring peace and calm (with a little help from Freya) (x)

On Hope / Roman

Roman and Hope is described as “Complicated but really interesting” (Danielle’s insta live)

Roman appears to be the only person who knows Hope is a Mikaelson, it’s unknown if he’s always been aware or is new to the fact.  (x)

On  Freya / Keelin

Freya and Keelin have a love that runs deep but they’ll hit hurdles along the way (x)

Freya is ‘so in love with’ Keelin - “Keelin definitely wants her to put herself first, and it’s just really hard for Freya. But I think you’ll start to see that transition a little bit, where she starts kind of considering, you know, ‘This is what’s best, and my family understands, and that doesn’t tear us apart.’ - Riley (x)

Keelin has been spending time with Doctors Without Borders, in the Middle East (currently in Lebanon) and is often away from New Orleans; Freya astral projects to her. They spend a lot of time apart, as Freya doesn’t want to leave the city till her family are reunited, this gets to Keelin. Keelin wants to spend the rest of her life with Freya, but wants to explore their relationship when Freya isn’t as connected to her family. Freya fears she’ll lose Keelin if she doesn’t join her in Lebanon. (x)

On Hayley / Elijah -

Elijah and Hayley will have a conversation about their past, future, regrets and dreams and their relationship this season is described as “equal love and pain” in regards to them, though Julie hopes the two will find peace in eternity together (x) (x) (SDCC) 

Hayley & Elijah will appear in Mystic Falls during the season (x)(x) 

On Marcel / Rebekah - 

Marcel and Rebekah have remained in New York over the time jump, Charles joked they were ‘catching broadway shows’ and couldn’t get tickets to see Hamilton (SDCC) 

They have a penthouse in New York, and they’re doing ‘pretty good’, coping well with the Mikaelson separation, though Rebekah does get upset and it sometimes causes tension. (x)

On Kol / Davina -

Kol and Davina are married in season 5, the wedding happened in the time jump. Nate described their relationship this season as  “The struggle that comes into play is now that he has this responsibility to his wife, he also has this struggle with his family. And I guess as he tries to separate from the family, his family tries to drag him back in. It becomes a bit of a struggle between wife and family.” (x)

On Klaus / Caroline -

Caroline and Klaus will have three scenes together in 501. She will be there to call Klaus out on his shit. Caroline also has at least one scene with Klaus in the season finale in New Orleans. (SDCC) (x)

Julie say’s that they don’t collide and get a happy ending - because she thinks their relationship is more mature than that.  In the same interview Joseph is satisfied with how the characters leave off, and he hopes the way it’s done will pay tribute to the fans and their devotion, but warns that not everyone will be happy. (x)

According to Candice, Julie has always had a ‘clear idea’ of what she wanted from Klaus and Caroline together, and the final season of The Originals gives life to that. (x)

Misc info:

The Hollow will remain a prominent enemy in the season, but there’ll be another big bad to contend with.  “The Big Bad this year is launched from an ideology more so than one singular person’s nefarious desire, It’s an ideology that was spawned almost a century ago, a movement that has been simmering and stewing over that century. It does have a personal connection to the Mikaelson family, but it also has a thematic resonance that is very timely.”   (x)

Every year, Josh, Freya, Vincent and Hayley prep for Mardi Gras together  (x)

Julie promises a ‘sliver’ of hope for Klaus and Cami fans (x)

Don’t expect a friendship between Caroline’s twins and Hope, it seems that the age gap isn’t workable for the three witches to become friends. (x) (x)

New Orleans has been at peace without Klaus (x) (x)

The werewolves still have their upgraded power, as Hayley and Jackson kept their vows until he died, and the werewolves will be included more this season (x)(x) 

Caroline and Freya don’t have scenes together (x) 

Caroline will also have a scene with Josh in 501 (SDCC)

Julie scripted a wolf!Klaus scene but it was cut (x)

UNDER THE CUT ARE THE ‘ACCIDENTAL SPOILERS’ FROM THE WRITERS ROOM. DO NOT READ IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO BE SPOILED BEYOND WHAT THE WRITERS HAVE OFFICIALLY CLEARED

These are the ‘accidental spoilers’ - spoilers that were leaked by the writers unintentionally and the photograph which revealed them was quickly deleted. These have been put under the cut so those who do not wish to view them do not have to.

This was posted by the new showrunner Jeff Lieber, the storyboard is from episode 507 - it was promptly deleted

As the image is hard to read, I’ll decode it down here;

Hayley dies in 5x06, she burns to death. Klaus tries to save her but is unable to as someone stops him. Elijah watches her death.

Elijah’s memory returns.

Someone (possibly Margot due to the last letter of the name being ‘T’ and she is the only character with a name ending in ‘T’) knows Hope could be the ‘Ruin or Salvation’ of New Orleans.

Margot is killed to protect Hope (Which furthers the theory that she knows Hope could ruin NOLA and may have tried to stop her)  

Vincent is on the outs with Klaus and Freya

Keelin is pregnant - judging by the comment “Freya/Keelin resolution” it could be assumed that Freya is unhappy about the situation

Marcel and Davina reunite, and Elijah is going to help Davina with a problem.

There’s a flashback in 507 -which is presumably the 1x22 flashback that Julie has all but confirmed is where Hope’s name is decided upon  (due to the nature of the flashback and the episode in which it takes place in, one can assume that Klaus is telling Hope how she got her name in an attempt to comfort her) (also see this post here explaining how people came to the conclusion that the flashback is set in 1x22)

Hope goes missing and is searched for by Klaus and Caroline

Hayley’s funeral is in 5x07, Klaus speaks at her funeral. On the board there are several points questioning the kind of funeral Hayley will have, a second line typical of new orleans, or a crescent ceremony in the bayou -judging by info from fans who watched filming in Conyers (from videos that have now been deleted) - there was a second line funeral parade filmed meaning Hayley probably doesn’t get a Crescent ceremony.

Hope is angered by Hayley’s ‘calm funeral’ and is to make a ‘big move’ at the end of the episode.

[twdmusicboxmystery]

Character Flashbacks in 7x01: Master Post

Good morning Everyone! Once again, sorry it took me so long to finish this meta. You’ll probably understand why as you read. It’s VERY long. Mostly lots of pictures, but even they take time to format. ;D

This post was requested by a FB follower. (Always love to hear from my FB followers as, outside of the group, I have so few of them. Thanks so much Dani!) She requested I go back and analyze the flashes Rick sees for each character, especially Maggie and Daryl.  I knew I’d mentioned them in my original analysis, but not in great detail. HERE’s what I originally said and it’s not much.

I’m going to post each flash of each character here so they can be used as points of reference. While Maggie and Daryl’s flashes are some of the most relevant to TD, I found that by analyzing ALL the flashes together, some interesting patterns emerged. I’ll do them in the order we see them in the show. Each character has five images, except Carl, who has six.

(Some of these images are a bit blurry. That’s because the flashes are VERY fast, but I wanted to get the flashes specifically from this episode, rather than getting screen pics from the episodes the flash scenes originally appeared in. I’ll talk about why at the end of the post.)

Rosita:

1.      Holding a gun when the stormed the Savior’s compound in 6x12.

2.      Smiling at Glenn in 5x05, when he asked her if she was in, no matter where they all ended up. Of course, her answer was yes.

3.      Lying down in the rain beside Tara in 5x10.

4.      Killing a walker at Teminus with her three-clawed Wolverine weapon.

5.      Watching Michonne kill a walker in 5x02, before they reach Father Gabriel’s church. Abraham leans down in this scene and says, “Right there is why we’re waiting for our moment.”

Glenn

1.      Screaming happily as he drives the red car out of Atlanta in 1x02.

2.     Beside Rick’s tank in Atlanta, picking up the SHERIFF’S HAT.

3.      Smiling in the rain in 5x10.

4.      Smiling when Shane found water in the truck on the interstate in 2x01.

5.      Smiling at Hershel with Maggie beside him in the 4x16 flashback.

Sasha

1.      Hugging Tyreese when they reunite in 5x01.

2.      Leaning over to kiss Bob in 5x02.

3.      Smiling at Abe in the flashback of 6x02. This is where he asks if she only volunteered to drive the red car in Operation Lead the Walkers Away because she wants to die. She smiles and says no.

4.      Talking to Deanna in 5b, looking grim. She and Deanna are disagreeing about things here.

5.      Looking at Abraham in the RV in 6x16 when he talks about wanting to have kids.

Eugene

1.      In the RV on the way to Alexandria in 5x11.

2.      Walking with Abraham, Rosita, Glenn, and Tara in 4b.

3.      Fighting a walker. This is so fast I can’t tell when it is. Possibly in the warehouse in 6x14 with Abraham or possibly the warehouse where Tara gets hurt in 5x14.

4.      Talking to Noah in Alexandria about the converters they were going to get for the solar panel.

5.      Hugging Abraham in 6x16.

Aaron

1.      Meeting TF in the barn in 5x11.

2.      Eating applesauce unhappily.

3.      Smiling at Eric when they reunite in 5x11.

4.      Following Daryl in the woods in 5x13 (Buttons episode).

5.      Sitting with Daryl in the car (wolf trap) in 5x16.

Abraham

1.      Raising a cup of wine in Father Gabriel’s church when he proposes they all go to Washington D.C.

2.      Asking Rick when they can leave when they first arrive at FG’s church. You can see the bus behind him.

3.      Looking at Glaggie’s ultrasound picture.

4.      Male bonding moment with Rick at the gates of Alexandria (6x15).

5.      Looking at Sasha in the RV with the sunlight behind him. (6x16)

Maggie

1.      Hugging Hershel and Beth after they reunite in 2x13.

2.      Accepting the music box from Carl in 5x10.

3.      Kissing Glenn. Classic Glaggie moment from S2.

4.      Her and Daryl talking about Beth in the barn in 5x10.

5.      Talking to Rick in back of the RV when she’s ill in 6x16.

Daryl

1.      Hugging Carol when they reunite in 5x01.

2.      “You’re my brother” moment with Rick in 4x16.

3.      Massaging Carol’s shoulders in 3x01 atop the overturned bus.

4.      He and Maggie in the barn talking about Beth in 5x10.

5.      He and Rick on the road together in 6x10 (where they meet Jesus).

Michonne

1.      Her and Carl on the train tracks in 4x16.

2.      She and Carl’s convo in 4x16 just outside of Terminus. (“I’m just another monster too.”)

3.      When she finds Rick and Carl alive at the pudding house in 4x09.

4.      Her and Rick in bed in 6x15.

5.      Smiling at Rick after brushing her teeth in 5x12.

Carl

1.      Reunion with Rick in 1x03.

2.      Receiving the sheriff’s hat from Rick after recovering from his gunshot wound in S2.

3.      Talking to Rick in the barn in 2b. This is where Rick tells him, “No more kid’s stuff…People are going to die…There’s no way to ever be ready for it.”

4.      Smiling in the 4x16 flashback to the prison; that’s the one where Beth receives the hat from Rick.

5.      Taking care of Judith in 5x10/5x11.

6.      Hugging Rick when the prison went down in 4x08.

Okay! That’s all of them. Let me talk general observations and then I’ll go into specifics.

A few patterns I notice from each set of flashes:

1.      Most of them have scenes from 5x10. Admittedly, not all, but obviously that’s very significant to TD. I think that episode shows up most in the flashbacks overall. More than any other episode.

2.      Quite a few of these flashes were flashback scenes when we first saw them, such as the flashbacks in 4x16 or the flashbacks in 6x01. So these are flashbacks of flashbacks. Not sure what the significance of that is, but I’m sure it’s important.

3.      The flashes tend to show the character’s most significant relationships, moments of great trial, or great happiness.

Here’s the thing, guys. The most obvious thing to do for these montages would be to show how the characters first entered the picture (met TF), them being happy or sad (which they’ve done here) and then maybe a final flash that represents where they are just before Negan arrives. They did that last thing in a few cases, but not all.

Overall, they did not follow this pattern. The flashes SEEM much more random than that, but we all know randomness is not really a part of this show. I firmly believe that each flash represents something specific for or about each character and was carefully and thoughtfully placed by the writers.

Here’s my overall theory for these flashes:

I think these specific flashes for each character were chosen to show things that would be relevant for their arcs MOVING FORWARD. The flashes (by necessity) come from the past. But these are moments that plant the seeds of things that will happen moving forward from 7x01. Let me illustrate.

Let’s start with Rosita. Her and Abraham’s flashes are some of the most telling and a big part of why I concluded the above. Abraham is not in Rosita’s flashes. Neither is she in his. If this was just about where the characters have been, they should have been in one another’s flashes. But in both cases, the flashes don’t focus on prior things that have now ended. That’s part of why I think the same is true of each character.

We see Rosita with a gun at the Saviors’ compound, and then killing a walker at Terminus. I think both of those point to her gutsiness and independence and the fact that she would eventually try to assassinate Negan. Others talked about wanting to kill Negan, but she was the only one with the foresight and follow through to try as quickly as she did.

She no longer has a relationship with Abraham at this point, but she does with Glenn and Tara and the rest of TF. If she dies, those relationships, some of which we see established in these flashes, will end.

Next, Glenn. Most of Glenn’s flashes are just Glenn being Glenn. Being happy and positive. His relationship with Maggie is the most important one, of course, and if he dies here (which he did) that relationship will come to an end. The last one is interesting for Glenn. It’s a flashback from 4x16. HERE’s an old post about the 4x16 flashbacks and why they’re important for TD. Other than Maggie, Hershel might have been the most influential man in Glenn’s life, so it makes sense to have this in Glenn’s montage. But like I said, for the most part, these point to things moving forward. And Hershel is dead. So something about this flash could possibly affect Glenn moving forward. Perhaps it’s irrelevant since Glenn died in 7x01, but I’ll come back to Hershel.

Sasha. First we see her with Tyreese and then kissing Bob: two of her most important relationships on the show. Their deaths affected her profoundly. Then we see her being angry in the next two flashes. (Even though she smiles at Abraham in #3, she’s not happy in that flash.) And I’ve always though the convo between her and Abraham in #3 was a Bethyl retelling. Finally, we see her looking at Abraham when he talks about having kids. Some of the other characters have flashes that are not in chronological order, but Sasha’s are. Hers seems very much like a progression to me. The final one is almost like her trying to decide if she’s going to be positive, as Abraham is being, or keep being negative. I think it shows that Sasha is at a crossroads here. I maintain that there are a lot of death omens around Sasha. I was wrong about her being a Lucille victim, but in terms of the Change = Survival theory, she doesn’t qualify for life anymore. Just saying. And even though we do see some past relationships in her flashes (Ty, Bob) they are still affecting her moving forward.

Eugene. Eugene is a more minor character and most of his flashes are those of him coming into TF and establishing relationships, such as with Abraham, Noah, etc. I do think it’s interesting that we see him killing a walker in #3. That’s a representation of him becoming stronger, like Beth. (He was something of a proxy for her in 6x14. (X)) Given what spoilers are saying about him in 7b, all of that will probably be important. I could also read into the fact that some of his scenes are from 5x14 (lamp theory: X ) where Noah dies (X, X), Tara’s head injury (X), etc.

Aaron’s flashes are interesting. Once again, we see him meeting TF, and then his important relationships which of course are Eric (since they’re both alive that will continue to be part of his arc moving forward) and Daryl. It’s kind of surprising that two of his flashes are about Daryl, given that they had zero interaction in S6. It would have made sense to show Aaron hugging Maggie in 6x05 since that was more recent or crying over the pictures he found in the wolf’s bag, because he saw it as his fault they came to Alexandria. But no. They went with two Daryl moments, both of which we pegged a long time ago as significant Bethyl moments. Buttons the horse, and in the wolf trap. In both episodes, Aaron functioned as a proxy for Beth. And then there’s the applesauce issue. (See the Apple Theory.) And actually, even though the moment in the barn where he first met TF isn’t specifically a Daryl moment, they chose a shot that ONLY he and Daryl can be seen in.

Abraham. His first two flashes are about his determination to get to D.C. Obviously, that’s not only how we were first introduced to him, but a big part of his arc. Looking at Maggie’s sonogram showed his change. Bonding with Rick and then looking at Sasha in the RV. I don’t think I need to talk about this much. Abraham was a major proxy for Beth and I’ve explained why these scenes are significant before.

Maggie. Okay, first she hugs Hershel and Beth in 2x13. Obviously this is where she came from; her most important relations outside of Glenn. But here’s why I think it’s more than that: this is literally the only scene in all of the montages that Beth appears in. This is also the second one that Hershel appears in. And as I’ve said, most of these appear bent toward things that will be important moving forward. Not that I think Hershel will return as Beth will, but I think at some point we’ll have flashbacks that he will be relevant in. Something about this flash will be relevant moving forward. We see Maggie kissing Glenn, for obvious reasons. We have two scenes (not one, but two!) for Maggie from 5x10. One of her accepting the music box from Carl and then one of her and Daryl talking about Beth in the barn after the storm. Again, why have these scenes in there if there’s nothing relevant there anymore? Something about them will be relevant to Maggie’s arc moving forward. The final flash from 6x16 signals, I think, that her pregnancy will continue to be part of her arc moving forward, and of course her relationship with Rick..

Daryl. Okay people, stick with me on this. It’s gonna take some explaining. I know most TD-ers were upset that we saw two Daryl/Carol scenes and no Bethyl scenes. I was disappointed, too. But here’s the thing, guys. We already know that they’re totally ignoring Beth’s arc ever since 5x09. This is just another way to do it. Besides, as I said originally, Rick thinks Beth is dead, so he wouldn’t see her as part of Daryl’s future. But what they do actually show here is really interesting. 

First we see him reunite with Carol in 5x01. Let’s face it guys. I know not all TDers like it, but Carol is his best friend. She’s one of the most important relationships he’s had since S2. I’ve always liked their relationship. I think it’s sweet and it’s obviously not romantic, so I’ve never been threatened by it. This is simply showing the relationships that will still be important to Daryl moving forward. More evidence for that shows up in the flash of him and Rick in 4x16. Obviously a defining moment for Daryl. Two of his closest friendships/familial ties.

 But let me also point out that the flash of him and Carol in 5x01 has a definite “reunion” vibe to it, and there are many ways in which Carol was paralleled with Beth in that episode. Then we see him massaging Carol’s shoulders in S3. I keep going on about how these scenes point to the characters’ arcs moving forward, right? Don’t freak out at me. I’m not saying Daryl and Carol will be together. Actually, the opposite.

My FB group has talked about this scene at length and what it means. This is the moment when the writers shut down all possibility of Daryl and Carol being a thing moving forward. Carol initiated it, saying “You wanna make out?” Daryl actually looks like he might be interested, if she is. But then she laughs like it’s a big joke and he gets this look on his face like, “Oh. Nevermind.” Then they jump down from the bus, joking about sexual puns and such, and they’ve been best buds ever since. (I also like to read into the fact that the VERY NEXT scene is where Beth sings and Daryl stares at her as he walks toward the fire. The entire way over.) Bottom line, this was the moment when Caryl ceased to be a thing. So to have this in Daryl’s flashbacks just says to me that moving forward he and Carol will NOT be together.

And what flash do we get RIGHT after that? He and Maggie talking about Beth in the barn. He, Maggie, and Beth are really the only people relevant in this scene. (Okay, Sasha is mentioned, but she’s not in the flash and with the flash being he and Maggie looking at each other in conversation, Sasha obviously isn’t what they’re trying to invoke here.) So unless Daryl and Maggie are going to have a hot affair (yeah, right) the only other thing that could possibly be relevant from that scene moving forward is Beth. 

I’d also like to point out that they pretty much us the EXACT same scene here for both Maggie and Daryl’s flashbacks. If you look at my screenshots, Maggie’s head is turned more in one than in the other. I don’t know if they literally used one second for Maggie’s scenes and the very next second for Daryl’s, or if it’s just that I took the screenshots at slightly different places in the scene, but even if they were going to use that same scene for both sets of flashes (weird in and of itself) they still could have used a different angle or a different moment in the scene. Nope. They used the exact. Same. One. And guys? it’s the exact moment that Daryl says the thing about Beth being tough, but not knowing that she was. Juuuuuuust saying.

Finally, we see him and Rick on the road when they meet Jesus. I talk HERE (X, X) about how much this episode had callbacks to Still. But even them meeting Jesus is something I read into. With Beth being the Christ figure, having a dude named “Jesus” be a proxy or parallel for her is just the obvious thing to do. And no, he hasn’t been paralleled in as much detail as Bob or Abraham was, but still. We have Rick and Daryl on the road and they meet Jesus. (Can’t help but notice how often we already know they’ll be on the road in 7b: to go see Ezekiel, to discover the junk yard, more than likely they’ll return to Oceanside at some point. Hmmm. )

Like Sasha, read Daryl’s flashes as a progression. First it was him and Carol, then he and Rick became brothers. Then he and Carol were no longer a thing. Then Bethyl happened. And the next step is for him to meet the “Christ figure” on the road. Which incidentally is exactly what the Betsy/David parallel story said in 6x03. (Details HERE.) David (a.k.a. Daryl) said he met his wife Betsy (a.k.a. Beth) on the road back toward Alexandria. Just sayin.

Michonne. The biggest thing here is that her flashes reinforce the idea that these flashes deal with what’s important to the character arcs moving forward. All of Michonne’s flashes are about red-letter moments in her relationships with Carl and Rick. The two most important people in her life moving forward. Notice how they don’t show flashes of her and Andrea, even though they were BFFs. Or the Governor, even though he was a big part of her arc in S3. Or her son, even though we saw him in a dream sequence in S4 and he was a big part of who she was before and at the beginning of the apocalypse. Or even her two pet walkers, even though they very much defined her when we first met her. Nope. Only Rick and Carl. Because they’re the only thing relevant to her arc moving forward. The rest is in the past.

Carl. Other than Maggie and Daryl, I think Carl’s flashes are the most interesting from a TD perspective. We see his reunion with Rick in S1, which is something we’ve long seen as a Beth parallel. Like Rick, she was in the hospital for a time, will wake up without her family, go searching for them, and eventually find them. Then there’s him receiving the sheriff’s hat, which can ONLY be paralleled with Rick and Beth. The barn scene isn’t necessarily a Beth thing. Because of Rick’s line there, I think it’s the perfect thing to include pre-Negan’s victims, and there isn’t any way they wouldn’t include it. Then we Carl smile in the scene where Rick puts the hat on Beth. Of all the scenes with Carl or even Carl smiling, why use that one? The only other people in that scene are Hershel (dead but referenced a third time here), Judith (not present in front of Negan) and Rick (who is seeing the flashes and therefore doesn’t see any for himself). What could be relevant moving forward? Not just Beth, but Beth in the sheriff’s hat.

I don’t know why Carl has an extra flash, but the scene of him hugging Rick to me shows that stuff having to deal with the fall of the prison and Hershel’s death are still relevant. Not only is Hershel included several times in these montages (I get that it makes sense for the characters we see him with, but most other deceased characters are not featured, even when they played a big role. Cases in point: Beth for Daryl, Andrea for Michonne, Dale for Glenn, etc.) but also recall that the official TWD account, while doing MANY things to remind us of Beth’s death, have also a done a few to remind us of Hershel’s. They’re the only two who have gotten that extensive emphasis thus far on social media.

So you see what I mean? What’s shown in these flashes are possibilities for the characters moving forward. The only ones that won’t come to fruition are Glenn’s and Abraham’s, since they became Negan’s victims. 

(Oh and about the flashbacks? I wanted to take them from this episode bc they were all black and white like in 6x01. I just wanted to point that fact out for now. I’ll do another post on it, hopefully later this week.)

Wow. That’s was a WHOLE lot of wind-bagging from me. If you’re still reading at this point, thank you so much for sticking with me. God bless you for your patience. :D I’d love to hear your thoughts, even if they don’t line up with mine. So���thoughts?

[bethgreeneishopeunseen]

Missing Spoilers Compilation

As you all know, I obsessively diligently archive the missing spoilers from seasons 5 and 6. For some of the spoilers, we have concrete proof that they took place; others are implied or have to be inferred. I still think that all of this missing footage will compromise a miniseries meant to explain what happened to Beth’s after Coda. I do not think she will simply have a bottle episode. TPTB filmed too much. (For those unfamiliar with filming, Emily should have finished filming for TWD in late August 2014 (circa August 28th), as that is when she filmed for Tyreese’s hallucinations.) (All relevant links can be found on my evidence page, archived in my “Filming Spoilers” section: X.) 

Missing Spoilers (season 5): X.

Retirement home (circa May 20th-25th, 2014)

Around the time of filming for the white houses, a picture surfaced of a building reported to be used for filming. No other information came out related to the set. It resembles a retirement home, and Easter eggs and comic parallels indicate that Beth’s journey will take her to a retirement home.

Source (X).

the Rottweiler (May 21st, 2014)

Two scenes were filmed with a trained acting dog. The show will use nonprofessional dogs for basic scenes, indicating that the Rottweiler was used for scenes with heavy action. There was also a dog house and two “Beware of Dog” signs at the white houses.

Source (X).

Car Chase (May 22nd, 2014)

Gunshot heard followed by a car chase involving a Grady car and another car.

Filmed when Melissa and Norman were in Senoia, likely filmed at the same time as the C@ryl car scene in 5x02 to throw off sites. (The sequence of events does not match the C@ryl car scene.

Source (X) (X) (X).

the White Houses (May 23rd/24th 2014) (possibly also filmed at other dates)

Included heavy security for “critical scenes” at neighboring properties.

Included several actors, the show’s costume designer, and two major producers on the show

A man was photographed walking to set, and he was in costume. He resembles an actor who tweeted about being on the show, but was called a fraud by one of the producers. This producer also happened to be on set that night. Sounds like a cover-up.

Security was so tight Emily’s van pulled straight up to the steps of the smaller house so she couldn’t be seen.

Source (X) (X) (X).

Scott Wilson spotted on set filming. A fan reported that he was there acting. (circa June 2014)

Source (X).

More Rottweiler filming (June 18th, 2014)

Ozzy worked on an unnamed project, likely TWD, as his owner will always note the name of the project.

The owner mentioned closed sets and late nights, which are hallmarks of TWD filming.

Source (X) (X).

Beth in the backseat of a Grady car (early-mid July 2014; 5x06 filming) (deleted)

Source (X).

Car Crash (July 11th, 2014)

Emily was spotted at set.

Reports of a car set to crash into a fence that night.

Security was heavy; a tarp was set up so people could not watch.

Source (X) (X).

Beth at Grady (July 15th, 2014)

Reported that Beth drove a police car away from the hospital.

The spoiler site originally claimed that it was Beth seen driving; now they say it was Emily driving.

Included gunfire and heavy security

Descriptions of the scene bear similarities to Beth’s first escape (which was filmed a month earlier).

The man beside Emily resembles Ansel Elgort, who was reported to be involved with Beth’s storyline as ‘Andrew’ and who was already in the area for a movie project.

Source (X) (X) (X).

Explosions at Grady (late July 2014) (deleted)

Included descriptions of a fire screen

Source (X).

800 walkers for the MSF (early August 2014)

In an interview, Nicotero mentioned doing the make-up for 800 walkers, specifically for the season 5 MSF.

Footage taken on July 8th, 2014, during filming for 5x06, shows at least 23 walkers getting off a bus right next to Grady Memorial Hospital. This was miles from the bridge used for filming the van drop scene in 5x06, indicating that the bus was dropping the walkers off at the set, which happened to be right outside the hospital.

Source (X) (X) (X).

Beth driving a police car (August 2014; filmed during episode 5x09, later changed to AL driving a police car)

Referenced as Beth in a meta written months before Coda.

Source (X) (X).

Don’t f**k with me zombies tweet (August 28th, 2014)

Emily tweeted about zombies, and it implied she would be fighting walkers, even though there were no walkers in the scenes she filmed for 5x09. 

She appeared to have a faded cheek scar, and she was in the type of van used for transporting actors from basecamp to set.

Source (X) (X) (X).

5x10 Filming (September 2nd/3rd, 2014)

Emily was spotted, but not photographed during filming for 5x10. Security was very tight at the time, and fans only got pictures of the cast at the makeup trailers.

Source (X) (X).

Bloody Hand Picture (September 4th, 2014)

Norman posted pictures of his hands covered in walker blood. During shooting for 5x10, he likely filmed Daryl searching for Beth’s remains in a walker as he did for Sophia.

Source (X).

Bloody blonde woman (circa late September/early October 2014)

Spotted during filming for 5x12/5x13

Could not have been Sasha’s flashback as that memory was stock footage form 5x08

Emily had been in Atlanta around this time.

Source (X).

Bethfoot 2 (November 17th, 2014)

A fan photographed a woman resembling Emily Kinney, who was wearing Beth’s boots, outside the Alexandria set.

Photographed the day Emily posted a picture from her TWD trailer, and she wasn’t wearing nail polish even though she had it on the other day for her Rockstar music video.

Source (X) (X).

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Missing Spoilers (season 6): X.

Cemetery/Farmhouse (May 19th)

Filming rumored to take place around a cemetery and a farmhouse.

Road blocked off so no could see what or where exactly filming took place.

Source (X).

Past Actors on Set (August 17th, 2015)

Michael Rooker, Tyler James Williams, and Chad Coleman all spotted on set the same day.

Notable due to Atlanta not being convenient for busy actors, Senoia even more so.

Source (X).

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Indications/Inferences:

Security Guard Comment (July 5th, 2014)

When a fan passed the hospital set at Newnan, they spoke to a security guard there who mentioned that the show would be filming there on-and-off “over the next few months”.

While not conclusively, it supports the the overall evidence.

Source (X) (X).

Taking the Heat (July 10th, 2014)

During a radio interview, in response to a question about the Georgia heat, Emily mentioned filming being bearable because of interior and night shoots. It explains why Emily was barely spotted while filming.

Source (X) (X).

Emily Sighting (July 24th, 2014)

Detailed description of Emily at her trailer during filming for 5x07. Consistent with her drop-off/pick-up at the white house.

Source (X) (X) (X).

Erik Jensen on Set (August 5th, 2014)

In an interview, Erik Jensen mentioned watching Lauren do multiple takes of Maggie breaking down at the end of Coda. The courtyard scene was filmed on August 5th, and Jensen should not have been on set that day as the hallway scene was filmed on August 6th. (While there was a deleted scene from Coda in which Edwards and Beth try to treat Percy, Emily mentioned filming those more intimate scenes after the courtyard and hallway scenes). Jensen was on set when he didn’t need to be, unless he was there to film something we haven’t seen.

Source (X) (X) (X).

Firetruck at Newnan (August 14th, 2014)

The spoiler site used a drone to take a picture of the Newnan set during the two-week filming break after Coda wrapped. The Newnan set was still up, including the firetruck. The firetruck was promoted leading up to season 5 and seen in a pre-season 6 BTS video on the studio backlot.

Source (X) (X) (X).

5x10 Filming (September 2nd/3rd, 2014)

Emily was spotted, but not photographed during filming for 5x10. Security was very tight at the time, and fans only got pictures of the cast at the makeup trailers.

Source (X) (X).

Creech Creative Productions (September 6th, 2014)

In early June Creech Creative Productions scheduled an interview with Emily, and in early September they confirmed that the interview came out so late because she was filming into October.

They later explained that “her appearance fell through due to her busy schedule” even though she had no major projects besides a show at Eddie’s Attic that month.

Source (X).

Emily Leaving a Con to Film (September 28th, 2014 — October 2nd, 2014)

Emily left a con suddenly, even though she had been scheduled to appear the whole weekend. A fan posted about it on social media and mentioned that he had been informed that she left for filming. Yet she posted about being at her friend’s wedding on social media. This doesn’t make sense as weddings are scheduled far in advance usually, and leaving to go to a wedding is a perfect enough excuse. A few days later Emily then flew out of Atlanta, indicating that she was likely not in New York for the few days she disappeared.

Source (X) (X).

Emily at the Airport (October 2nd, 2014)

A woman flew into L.A. with Emily and confirmed that they flew in from Atlanta. This was around the time 5x12/5x13 were filmed and the bloody blonde woman was spotted.  

Source (X) (X).

Refinery29 (October 11th, 2014)

Emily described filming for season as, “really tough on me physically and emotionally. It was super satisfying, and really fueled me creatively.”

This quote makes no sense if Emily only filmed for 5x04 and 5x07-5x09, and for two of those episodes, she appeared in only a handful of scenes. 5x07 and 5x09 were not very physical or emotionally-charged for Emily in terms of TWD. If she were filming in advance though, with great secrecy, it would mean she would filming in isolation and at odd hours. Hence her often tweeting about coffee that season.

Source (X) (X).

Wetpaint Remark (October 23rd, 2014)

On Facebook, a fan reported that, “‘OMG, guys… I got scoop!! “Beth” from The Walking Dead just told me she’s flying to Atlanta this week to return to film her next set of scenes. She’s gonna be back on the show!’” and a friend later reported this to their blog. Wetpaint picked the news up and wrote an article about the information, as Beth fans were concerned since episode 14/15 was being filmed and Emily hadn’t been seen on set. This fits Emily’s movements as she was in Georgia on Halloween to perform at Eddie’s Attic.

Source (X) (X).

Senoia Coffee & Cafe (late October/early November 2014)

On November 2nd, the Senoia Coffee & Cafe posted a picture of Emily with its general manager. The picture was captioned as “recently”, and Emily had been in Georgia for Eddie’s Attic on Halloween. However, Senoia was too far from Eddie’s Attic unless she was also in Georgia to film, as Senoia is near the Alexandria set.

Source (X).

Teri Wyble’s Tweet (December 13th, 2014)

When asked if she would be in TWD again, Teri Wyble said that she was sworn to secrecy. This was two weeks after Coda aired, as well as almost a month after filming wrapped for the season. If she wasn’t going to be in season 5, she simply could have tweeted that she didn’t know.

Source (X).

Greg Nicotero on Filming (February 8th, 2015)

On 5x09′s Talking Dead, Greg mentioned that Emily was on still on set when they filmed the hallucinations. His statement contradicts Emily’s, who mentioned being brought back to set while she conducted a show. His statement also contradicts with the two-week filming break.

Source (X).

Stone Fox Show (May 19th/20th, 2015)

A fan attended Emily’s concert at the Stone Fox in Nashville on May 19th, and she noticed that Emily seemed distracted, among other things that were off. Emily’s opening act mentioned that they also had to leave that night even though the concert the following night was only a 4.5 hour drive. The following day, there was heavy security where Katelyn Nacon filmed the flashback scene with Enid’s parents. Emily was likely filming in the area, with Enid’s scenes being a distraction.

Source (X).

Eddie’s Attic Show (May 21st, 2015)

One of Emily’s bandmates let slip that Emily couldn’t stay after the show to greet fans because “it’s hard with her shooting” that night.

Emily’s opening act also mentioned that they had four days after the Birmingham show on the 22nd, and that they would spend it in Atlanta, even though their next show was in Indianapolis.

Source (X) (X) (X).

“2 days off” Tweet (May 23rd, 2015)

In the early afternoon, Emily posted a picture of her “asleep” on a bed. She was still wearing make-up and there were no sheets on the bed, and the picture was also at nighttime, meaning it was a latergram. There were other oddities about the picture, indicating that she might have been filming on her time off from the tour.

Source (X) (X) (X).

Memorial Day Highway (May 25th, 2015)

While visiting Atlanta over the holiday, a Beth fan took a picture of the highway outside Atlanta (near Grady). She noticed that the area resembled the famous shot of Rick riding into Atlanta. Emily was hiding her location that weekend. My mom is from Atlanta, and she didn’t understand why the highway was so empty on a holiday weekend. She said that she’s only seen it like that in TWD and when Atlanta was hit by a huge blizzard.

Source (X) (X) (X).

Rumored Sighting (circa mid-to-late May 2015)

A fan commented on one of her posts about a rumored sighting. It fits the timeline of Emily’s disappearances at the time and the weird filming.

Source (X).

Scott Wilson and Emily (June 18th-24th, 2015)

Scott Wilson canceled a convention appearance for the weekend of June 19th to June 21st on account of “filming” even though he had no upcoming projects. (It was too early for The OA to film.) At the same time, Emily was off for six days and latergrammed during most of that period, hiding her location.

She was also slated to appear in Con Man, which was filming out in California at the time. She ended up not filming for the web series as her “schedule changed”, which makes no sense as she had plenty of time to film. Con Man’s first season had only ten-minute thirteen episodes. (Her shows on the 18th and 24th took place in California).

Source (X) (X) (X).

Emily's Trailer (November 12th, 2015)

Emily posted a picture that appeared to be in her trailer and she deleted it after people began to comment that it looked like Norman’s trailer.

It coincided with studio filming during the season six finale.

Source (X) (X).

Even if only half of these spoilers were true, it would still mean that Emily filmed way more than what we saw onscreen. No show would just cut that much material. I still think there will be a miniseries. You heard it from me first.

[goodverbsonly]

The Originals

Hooo boy, I got out my laptop to type up a Book Review, because I’ve read for once or something, and there’s at least AT LEAST two reviews I want to do (including Lost Stars by Claudia Gray, which is EXCELLENT, by the way) but instead, The Originals came to an end last night, and I probably should stop spamming my followers with follow-up posts.

I should also give it a rewatch and a few days before I make this, but here goes nothing:

(obviously spoilers for the finale and every episode that comes before??)

my impression of it is that i don’t really need another rewatch of it. at the end of 5x12 and the first few seconds of 5x13 klaus nearly kills himself. 5x12 has a lot of lead-up to prepare us for his death, and the only thing accomplished in the finale is more of that. my main question the whole time was “how is elijah going to die?” because the only thing i knew for sure going into the finale was that elijah cannot make it out of the story alive. this episode could have been done in 15 minutes, and i just don’t have it in me to feel anything for a story that is unnecessarily dragged out. if in 5x12 klaus hadn’t had already said his goodbyes and he had spent the time looking for a way to cure hope, and the siphoning had been presented as a last ditch effort, i think i could get behind this episode, but instead it felt long and short at the same time. long because the action of the episode didn’t occur until the very end, which made the scenes leading up to the inevitable drag and feel tedious,  and short because nothing happened. to get the gist of the episode, i could watch the very beginning and the very end. (the least they could do, and maybe would have done in 16 or 22 episodes, is drag out how the hollow affected klaus instead of it being just a passing concern.)

so i left the finale of what has probably been my favorite show, and make no mistake - it will continue to be my favorite show, completely underwhelmed and disappointed. with hayley gone and rebekah getting to take the cure (my tvd knowledge is cursory so idk how that actually works since i know that damon takes it. can someone please EXPLAIN it to me) and knowing elijah was never gonna make it out alive and freya and keelin starting their own family, klaus’ death isn’t the Poetic Justice i always thought it would be. i honestly hadn’t given the Finale much thought, but I actually thought the end of last season was an effective season finale. open-ended enough but also very final in a way. can klaus find happiness separated forever from his family, from his daughter? no - absolutely not. but does that sacrifice, taking the dark magic into himself to save hope, at the cost of never seeing her again, at the cost of never seeing elijah or rebekah again, show the kind of growth that the premise of the originals promised? YES. As does the finale of season three. Klaus locks himself away so that one day his family might come together. That isn’t a choice klaus would have made on tvd, or in season 1 or 2 of to, but it’s a choice klaus was able to take, because he has learned, because of hope because he has a daughter, what it means to be selfless.

while obviously taking the dark magic and dying for hope in season 5 was Noble and Brave and a Decision Early Klaus wouldn’t have made, it’s not one that is narrative-ly satisfying to me because there was One Really Obvious Solution and one Really Obvious Problem.

The solution is to have Elijah take the Dark Magic, like he offered. I don’t mean to say that Klaus lets Elijah take the dark magic, because that would be Old Klaus, but that instead, by a trick or a mistake, the dark magic gets siphoned into Elijah instead of Klaus. Ideally, this is Elijah’s Last Act.

Why allow Klaus and Elijah to die when only one of them needed to for the plot? (Because Klaus is no good without Elijah? This is a perception of Klaus’ not a reality. Because what is Elijah’s Purpose without Klaus?) Klaus and Elijah’s stories are so intertwined that it is almost impossible to imagine one without the other. Except that Klaus has a Purpose and a Story beyond Elijah and her name is Hope. Even in tvd Klaus has had motivations that were not all about Elijah, but from the beginning, Elijah has been about Klaus, whether to help him or to hurt him. Elijah had to die, because anyway you write an ending for this show (or at least, anyway a team of writers who have shown again and again that they do know what the show is about -which they have; I haven’t agreed with every single choice they’ve made, but they absolutely have never lost sight of the Objective or Thesis or whatever) means that Elijah has succeeded in his One True Purpose which was to protect Klaus, to Redeem Klaus, to make Klaus into the kind of man a fifteen year old would be proud to have as a father. And this ending starts to become undeniable as early as season  two, when Rebekah asks Elijah what he’s going to do now that klaus has found happiness. If Elijah’s purpose or at least his objective is to die -to sacrifice - for klaus’ redemption or happiness, why leave hope parentless, when they could have just as easily left klaus alive?

The Problem is that hope is parentless. She has family, but they’re all going their separate ways, living their own fulfilled lives, while Hope has to be alone. while she’s got family left, they’re all doing their own thing, having their own lives and their own families. Hope is consequently left by the wayside.

Also, the problem is that the narrative allows klaus to hypothetically find peace. while i am thankful that we didn’t have a fifteen minute montage of each character finding peace because to is not necessarily the same Kind of Show as tvd, and in a different time, i think the ending of klaus and elijah disintegrating into nola would have been unbelievably satisfying (and it is still beautiful right where they first discussed hope. this is actually unbelievably beautiful). it gives klaus a way out of a fate that he finds absolutely worse than death -which is that chance to be a Terrible Father to Hope. he has this one last heroic action that saves hope’s life, but he has been a father to her for a terribly small amount of it, and klaus has still never proven to us that he is capable of sustained...gentleness.Especially since at every separation, klaus is reluctant to reenter hopes life because he believes he will be a terrible father, klaus’s death reads to me like another way for klaus to avoid finding out if he’s like mikael. (and i get that it’s not. but it feels a little hollow - lol - to leave your daughter when your all she has left, especially when your biggest fear is that you will only hurt her.)

klaus doesn’t necessarily deserve a “happy ending” and to didn’t give him one. what he sacrificed was a lifetime or dozens of lifetimes with his daughter. but to me, he gave up the chance, the opportunity, to prove that he was capable of not just not doing harm to the people he loves, but to being a positive choice.

But Anna, you might say, in your Ideal Ending, Klaus does get his happy ending, and you just said he doesn’t deserve it.

Sure, but in my ideal ending, Elijah dies and the people around him filter off, and no life without Elijah is necessarily a Good One for Klaus. Plus, klaus would have to live with the knowledge that elijah has sacrificed everything at every turn for klaus. It’s the Perfect Tragedy, in some ways. To the very end, Klaus has struggled to keep his family together, and to the very end, Elijah has loved him more than that. His struggles have separated them, but this time, he’s not all alone, the way he has always feared. He has Hope. One day, Klaus may die, but it is not until he has learned to be a Man. For more than one heroic action. it also gives elijah a fulfilling story in that his lifes work was not in vain, and we see this because klaus can live with a conscience of his own. he no longer needs elijah by his side, no matter how much he may want him there.

But Anna, isn’t that ending unfair to elijah? well I mean sure, but tvd and the last few episodes have established that Vamps Can Find Peace, and Elijah will find peace with hayley so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

that’s probably about half of my feelings, but the most important ones, i had about the finale, and in conclusion, i would have been happy if the originals only had the one season. god, have you watched season one of the originals lately? it’s so good.