#stranger things season 4.5

[bkdk-bylerthings]

UPDATED THIS POST GO READ THE END I ADDED MORE I MISSED BEFORE

They gave us SUCH A BIG BYLER HINT in the reel that @/strangerthingstv posted on instagram today popping off with the celebration of stranger things day

Let me explain, I might be reaching with the first part of this but you never know

Credit to @pixidivine for posting about two of the frames which made me go back and rewatch the reel to analyze it more.

First part I want to talk about is Dustin asking Mike and Lucas if they are both seriously this Dense. When he says: “this dense” it lands on Mike and stays on Mike till he is done talking then goes to Lucas making Mike the subject of this.

This could mean Mike being clueless to his own feelings for Will or in season 4 of him being clueless about the lying coming from Will and that that Will likes him.

Second part, where I got the idea from which is shown in the reel RIGHT AFTER THE DENSE COMMENT:

Nancy asking Mike if the way he’s been acting was because of Will then we have Joyce saying “Ring a ding ding” like the sound of bells going off when something is correct. ‼️

They did this on purpose, because with these videos promoting a movie/TV series/anything they take clips of different scenes to put together to make a cohesive sentence so it makes sense to the subject of what the video is talking about, which in this case it’s about ST day and Rewatching ST on ST day…but is it??

That leads to my next part which is this:

There is a double meaning here that most people won’t think about.

Obviously we have the 1st part talking about the special day which is ST day, then we have Mike saying “what’s exciting about this” then Joyce says: “just watch”

Interesting because we already know ST is exciting and a good show, so good point Michael what is exciting about ST day? Hmmm HINTS and NEW N E W INFO—we don’t have to rewatch it to know that it’s an exciting show. What is exciting is what they give us in the reel, Joyce saying “Just watch” is a double meaning the front meaning MEANING to rewatch the show, the hidden meaning is to JUST WATCH THE REEL

Which gives us THE BYLER HINT RIGHT AFTER THAT ‼️ I find it interesting that all the words throughout this reel are about ST and watching it and how exciting it is but the Will comment???? That’s totally out of place!!

The order of these frames so it makes more sense, u can also just watch the video to understand what I’m trying to say:

1 “Is a very special day”

2 “It’s ST day”

3 “what’s exciting about this?”

4 “just watch”

EDIT: (4.5) “Why?”

5 “are you both seriously”

6 “this dense”

7 “I thought it was bc of will”

8 “Ring a ding ding

EDIT bc I totally missed this in the reel too omg— ok here we have a frame of El asking “why” after Joyce says “just watch”

(And maybe an interesting hint to actually go watch the 1st episode bc byler was there all along)

This is even more questioning!! Right after we get Mike’s Questioning!! It makes you want to think again, like didn’t Joyce answer Mike already with a “Just watch” why is El now asking

After “why” is THEN when we gets Dustin’s “are you both seriously this Dense”

Which is LITERALLY asking WHY THE DOUBLE QUESTION, WHY is this reel and what is the reel actually trying to tell us

Then ofc after “this dense” It’s like They give us an answer to all the questions:

“I thought it was Because of Will”

Omg so after two asks, Dustin being fed up with what ur not understanding, we get a answer

“Ring a ding ding” 🤯

OR

GO BACK TO THE FIRST EP, AND WHY??? EL ASKS?? WHY IS DUSTIN FED UP??

THEY GIVE US THE ANSWER WHY TO WATCH IT AGAIN OMG

(Sry guys I’m back tracking on my theory holy shit)

THE ANSWER WAS “I thought it was bc of will”

WHICH IS DIRECTED AT MIKEEEE

“RING A DING DING”

*slams paper on table that reads ‘byler is real’*

[animusrox]

31 Days of Horror Marathon 2023

Day 1 | Saw X (3.5/5) Day 2 | No One Will Save You (4/5) Day 3 | Cobweb (3.5/5) Day 4 | The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster (4/5) Day 5 | The Exorcist: Believer (2.5/5) Day 6 | V/H/S/85 (4/5) Day 7 | Totally Killer (3/5) Day 8 | Beaten to Death (3/5) Day 9 | The Wolf Man (4/5) Day 10 | Werewolf of London (4/5) Day 11 | She-Wolf of London (3/5) Day 12 | Friday the 13th (4/5)(REWATCH) Day 13 | Friday the 13th Part 2 (3.5/5)(REWATCH) Day 14 | Friday the 13th Part III (3/5) (REWATCH) Day 15 | Tremors (4/5) Day 16 | Someone's Watching Me! (4.5/5) Day 17 | Tourist Trap (3.5/5) Day 18 | When a Stranger Calls (1979) (3/5) Day 19 | Motel Hell (3/5) Day 20 | Night of the Comet (4.5/5) Day 21 | Eden Lake (4.5/5) Day 22 | Lake Mungo (4/5) Day 23 | Halloween III: Season of the Witch (5/5)(REWATCH) Day 24 | Megan is Missing (3.5/5) Day 25 | The Autopsy of Jane Doe (4/5) Day 26 | Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum (4/5) Day 27 | When Evil Lurks (3.5/5) Day 28 | Five Nights at Freddy's (2/5) Day 29 | The Thing (5/5) (REWATCH) Day 30 | The Mist (5/5)(REWATCH)​ Day 31 | Trick 'r Treat (5/5) (REWATCH)​

[beansthebylershipper]

since my Wednesday ship analysis is getting a lot of likes, here’s a… ✨Stranger Things kids ship analysis✨

Disclaimer: I will also write one about the teens and adults, but I didn’t want to make this post too long

Mileven: mileven’s reunion in season 2 was cute, but other than that I never really enjoyed their moments together. When I first watched season 1 and 2, I *sort of* shipped it, but I stopped in season 3 when they actually got together and I realized that they didn’t make a very good couple. Plus when they met in season 1, I never really saw the chemistry. It was just boy + girl = couple. There was nothing more to it than that. Rating: 2.5/10

Byler: byler is probably my favourite stranger things ship. They have definite chemistry and their relationship has been building up for 4 seasons. Mike doesn’t treat Will very well in some instances (iTs NoT mY fAuLt YoU dOnT lIkE gIrLs) but I believe that this is because Mike is taking out his anger about his sexuality on Will, and it is obvious that Mike cares about Will very much. Mike clearly suffers with extreme internalized homophobia, but once Mike learns to love himself for who he is, or even just except his sexuality, Mike and Will will make an adorable couple. Rating 9.5/10

Elmax: Elmax is probably one of the healthiest stranger things ships. Max helps El figure out that she is so much more than Mike’s girlfriend and Hopper’s daughter. Their relationship is beautiful whether you interpret it platonically, queer platonically, or romantically, because it is undeniable how much they care for each other. Almost half of Max’s happiest memories are with El, and El learned how to be herself with Max’s help. They bring out the best in each other and I think that’s adorable. Rating 8.5/10

Lumax: I think Lumax is a great ship because not only do Max and Lucas love each other romantically, but it is shown in season 3 that they also care for each other in a friendship type of way. What season 3 lacked in romantic Lumax moments, it made up with in moments that showed how they didn’t just want to go on dates by themselves and make out (*cough* mileven *cough*) but they enjoyed hanging out in more platonic ways as well, and were good at balancing their relationship with their friendship with the rest of the party. But I think we can all agree that season 4 was the best season for Lumax. It really showed how much they need each other and how empty they felt without each other. While Max is being vecnaed it doesn’t only show how much Max valued her moments with Lucas, but how much Lucas cared for her and how broken he felt when Vecna took her. If there’s one ship I know will be endgame, it’s Lumax. Rating 8.5/10

Elumax: Elumax is adorable, because it combines both my love for Elmax and my love for Lumax. El and Lucas both care about Max so much and I think that is really a beautiful thing. Rating: 9/10

Henderhop: I think that the idea of this ship is really cute, but when watching the show I just don’t see that much chemistry. It’s definitely a healthy ship, but I think of El and Dustin’s relationship as more of a platonic one than romantic. Rating 4.5/10

Hopclair: Hopclair is cute, and I see more chemistry than El and Dustin, but I don’t ship it that much. I do think that they care for each other deeply though, and I would love it if they had more time to bond over their love for Max. Rating 5.5/10

Byclair: I like the idea of this ship because Will and Lucas definitely care about each other a lot, and I am a firm believer in Will gay panicking when he sees Lucas play basketball, (plus we all know that Lucas is a bi king), but I still like the idea of them being platonic besties more than I like the idea of them being romantically involved. Plus I just can’t see Will growing to love anyone but Mike. Rating 4.5/10

Wheelclair: This would be cute, and I think that I ship it more than I ship Byclair, but i just don’t think Mike want to date a guy that isn’t Will. I still kind of ship it romantically, but mostly because of fanwork. Rating: 5.5/10

Henderclair: the main reason I don’t ship this, (along with this being the main reason I don’t ship Byclair and Wheelclair), is that I see them as just friends. I think the ship is cute in theory, but I just don’t see romantic feelings on either side of the relationship. Rating: 5/10

Duzie: Dustin and Suzie are really cute together and both care about eachother so much. We don’t see that many moments between them, which is the main reason that their rating isn’t higher, so let’s hope that suzie gets more screen time is season 5 🙏. Rating: 7/10

Part 2 ⬇️

[deliriumsdelight7]

Baby, you need some reading comprehension skills, because for a fully grown adult, you’re severely lacking.

No one was victim blaming. Phoenixwrites was literally shipping Eddie and Erica and wanting smut of Chrissy at 16!!! With Eddie who was 30+… which is also statutory rape as well as pedophilia/hebephilia. And you’re just as disgusting as her for supporting that. She also said someone getting death threats sent to them was “karma” for saying that you shouldn’t ship Eddie and Erica OR 16 year old Chrissy and 30+ year old Eddie and wanting them to fuck, which they were absolutely correct about. Tell me what part of this is victim blaming. It’s not.

Sugar pie honey bunch, I already outlined this for you in my last response to you. Telling someone that they deserved a terrible thing that happened to them as a child, decades before they engaged in shipping discourse over characters who are fictional and do not exist, is victim blaming. The lived experiences of real people is, has been, and always will be more important than the imaginary lives of fictional characters. If that’s not clear enough for you, I’m not sure how I can spell it out for you. But apparently I’m a masochist, so I’m going to try.

My lovely, would you accuse everyone who listens to True Crime podcasts of being a serial killer? How about George R. R. Martin, who wrote a sex scene between a thirteen year old and a thirty year old in the first book of ASOIAF? Is he a pedophile? Or how about the Duffers, who wrote not one, not two, not three, but four gratuitous murders of teenagers in season 4 alone of Stranger Things? Are they teen murderers? They wrote a racist character. Are they racists? (And if so, shouldn’t you be boycotting it?)

The answer to all of the above is no. People can consume and/or create stories that do not embody their real life values. If we couldn’t, then your local library would be full of nothing but coffee shop meet-cutes.

I’m done talking about this. You have come to my inbox based on something you saw on my friend’s blog, which you only would have seen by hate-scrolling when you could be doing something productive with your time. Write a fanfic. Do some volunteer work. Learn a new hobby. Take a class. Hang out with friends. Life is too short to be spent hate-scrolling someone’s blog and picking fights over a matter that doesn’t have any impact on you.

So I’ll say again, hoping that the third time’s the charm: please, for the sake of your mental health and the environment of fandom, do better.

All future hate asks will be met with recipes, because I want this blog to be a positive space, and interacting with this negativity is, quite frankly, not how I would like to spend my time. So, as a soothing cleanser, please enjoy this recipe for a lovely lavender cold process soap.

Ingredients:

Distilled water: 6.8 oz. / 193 g

Lye (Sodium Hydroxide): 4.2 oz. / 118 g

Lavender infused Olive Oil: 8.7 oz. / 247 g (29%)

Coconut Oil: 8.1 oz. / 230 g (27%)

Tallow: 5.4 oz. / 153 g (18%)

Shea butter: 4.5 oz./ 128 g (15%)

Castor Oil: 1.8 oz. / 51 g (6%)

Hemp Oil: 1.5 oz. / 43 g (5%)

Lavender essential oil: 25 g

Patchouli essential oil: 6 g

Kaolin clay: 3 Tbsp

dried lavender flowers: 1 cup (~¾ cup for the oil infusion, 1 tablespoon for the "tea")

Optional: about 8 little lavender twigs or buds for the top

INSTRUCTIONS

Safety First: Put on googles and gloves, wear long sleeves and make sure you're not soaping around children and/or pets. Keep your space ventilated or soap outdoors

Measure out 8 oz. of distilled water (a little more than the recipe calls for) and boil it in a small saucepan. Add 1 tablespoon of lavender buds to the hot water, stir and let it cool to room temperature

Using a coffee filter, cheesecloth or fine sifter filter out the lavender

Weigh your water again and depending on how much has evaporated either add or take away as much as needed

Slowly and carefully add the lye, gently stirring until fully dissolved.

Place lye solution in an ice bath (if the lye water turns too brown it will color your soap brown as well)

Melt coconut oil, tallow and shea butter over low heat

Add hemp, castor and infused olive oil to melted oils

Add essential oil blend (lavender and patchouli essential oil)

Add kaolin clay and mix until there are no more clumps

When lye solution and oils are about room temperature combine the two and stick blend until medium trace (thin pudding consistency) is achieved

Pour soap batter into soap mold and tap it down a couple of times to release any air bubbles

If you wish to decorate the top with lavender twigs or buds, make sure that the soap is at VERY thick consistency at that point. For me that was 10 minutes after I poured the soap. This will prevent them from leaving brown marks on the top of your soap.

Insulate mold with a heavy towel to encourage gel phase, cut into bars after 24-36 hours and cure for 3-4 weeks

[guzmapkmn-archive]

So ... I am a complete stranger to Gotham, and since you want to gush about it ... what's it about, exactly? I've gathered Oswald's a pretty important character (as he should be 😤--he's in a relationship with you, after all), but I don't know much else.

Take this as an opportunity to info dump as much as you like!!

~ librarian-lover 📖

You've opened the floodgates...

okay so basically got.ham follows bruce w.ayne as a child as he becomes b.atman.... him and jim are technically the main characters but bruce isn't really. On the list of my favorite characters tbh. It was MEANT to be more of a "crime drama" I guess but after the first season they focused less on the police stuff. But its still a pretty big part. Also jim is literally the worst character ok don't let the fact that I like him make you think otherwise he very much sucks ass. Jim if he wasn't a bootlicker my beloved <3<3

I could go on for Ages abt oswald but his main goal is to become the king of goth.am and rule its underworld, so hes HEAVILY involved in the mob. He really kinda does his own thing and aids people no matter what side they're on as long as it's for his own benefit. He wants power and to be feared and respected

He starts off as a literal nobody in the beginning of the show and he makes it clear that he's always dreamed of being somebody important in gotham... he's very smart and clever and started a city wide gang war just so he could take over from everyone else's downfall <3<3 Not very many people like him or are nice to him, so when someone IS nice to him he cares for them very easily. He is a villain who has done terrible things but he is so sweet to the people he cares about 🥺🥺

Also I think the writers hate him bc he was literally never allowed to be happy. Got.ham aka oswald is used as a punching bag for 4.5 seasons :((( but hey at least he can't die

[cryptid-cuties]

Every Episode of Stranger Things Ranked (according to IMDb)

So I was doom scrolling on twitter (or X, which I still refuse to call it that) and I came across this tweet. After clicking on the link, it just took me took me to the Stranger Things page on IMDb where the individual episodes were individually rated, but there was no comprehensive list that actually went through and ranked every single episode. So being the curious cat that I am, I decided to take all of these numbers for each individual episode and put it into a spreadsheet, and then sorted it based on overall rating of each individual episode.

(Note: If multiple episodes had the same rating, I went into the breakdown of the overall reviews and calculated which episodes had a higher overall percentage of 10/10 rankings and then sorted those episodes based on that percentage.)

After completing my calculations I went ahead and sorted them into an actual list of every episode of Stranger Things ranked based on general audiences reviews on IMDb. I also went ahead and took the average score of all the episodes of each season to see how the individual seasons ranked overall.

(Note: This is purely based on the information provided by IMDb and in no way reflects my own person opinions of these episodes and seasons as a whole.)

Without further ado I present to you: Every Episode of Stranger Things Ranked From Worst to Best:

(Note: Since I can only add 30 images per post the first few are gonna be blank.

34. 2.7 The Lost Sister (6.1/10)

33. 3.1 Suzie, Do You Copy? (7.8/10)

32. 3.2 The Mall Rats (7.9/10)

31. 4.2 Vecna's Curse (8.1/10)

30. 4.5 The Nina Project (8.1/10)

29. 4.1 The Hellfire Club (8.1/10)

28. 2.1 Madmax (8.1/10)

27. 2.2 Trick or Treat, Freak (8.3/10)

26. 4.3 The Monster and The Superhero (8.3/10)

25. 3.3 The Case of The Missing Lifeguard (8.3/10)

24. 1.2 The Weirdo on Maple Street (8.4/10)

23. 2.3 The Pollywog (8.5/10)

22. 4.6 The Dive (8.5/10)

21. 2.4 Will the Wise (8.5/10)

20. 1.1 The Vanishing of Will Byers (8.5/10)

19. 3.5 The Flayed (8.5/10)

18. 3.6 E Pluribus Unum (8.5/10)

17. 1.5 The Flea and The Acrobat (8.6/10)

16. 4.8 Papa (8.6/10)

15. 3.7 The Bite (8.7/10)

14. 2.5 Dig Dug (8.8/10)

13. 1.3 Holly, Jolly (8.8/10)

12. 1.6 The Monster (8.8/10)

11. 1.4 The Body (8.9/10)

10. 3.4 The Sauna Test (8.9/10)

9. 1.7 The Bathtub (9.0/10)

8. 2.5 The Spy (9.1/10)

7. 4.9 The Piggyback (9.1/10)

6. 2.8 The Mind Flayer (9.2/10)

5. 3.8 The Battle of Starcourt (9.2/10)

4. 1.8 The Upside Down (9.3/10)

3. 2.9 The Gate (9.3/10)

2. 4.4 Dear Billy (9.4/10)

And the overall best rated episode of Stranger Things is......

4.7 The Massacre at Hawkins Lab (9.6/10)

If you made it to the end congratulations! What a wild ride that was. Were you surprised by any of the episodes placements? Also if you want me to do with with another show, let me know! I had a lot of fun with this one and would definitely be down to do it again.

As a bonus treat have all the seasons ranked based on their episode ratings! Seasons ranked Best to Worst (according to IMDb episode ratings):

Season 1 (8.8/10)

Season 4 (8.7/10)

Season 3 (8.5/10)

Season 2 (8.4/10)

[zerolostwalks]

conspiracy theories you say?? please share!! i’m so new here i’m confused and intrigued

Hi Anon!

It's really not the most convoluted of theories and quite frankly I am sure I haven't been the only one thinking it or saying it.

Ever since I discovered JatP last year I 1000% believe Netflix wanted it to fail and tried to bury it. I have no solid proof of this (had? if we say the Kenny Netflix news of last night is some level of proof? which I honestly don't know)

Like I never heard of it. It's a kids show, sure, but like I HAVE a kid and the last few years they have pretty much dominated the netflix viewing. They watch stuff like Disney(when Netflix still had it), MLP, and general wholesome fantasy and musical stuff a lot. No one in my family even HEARD of JatP until I stumbled on it, looking for Glee of all things. Even my Sister and Brother with their OWN kids with similar musical, magic, disney channel esque viewing patterns never heard of this show until I told them about it. (This all happened during my tumblr hiatus otherwise that would probably be how I learned about it)

Then after binging it and doing the math and seeing it was given like a grand total of like 4.5 hours for its first season I got really extra pissed. Like I don't know whose decision that was but like WTF!? (This might just a be streaming thing but I am TIRED of shows being given like NO time to develop like shows should be able to.)

And then the real like WTF of it all is JatP is consistently left out of my Watch Again reccomendations. Shows I have binged/watched more often than JatP show up. Movies and shows I started years ago and never finished show up. Shows/movies I watched a week ago and shows/movies I watched years ago show up. JatP, I consitently have to search for because it doesn't show up.

I actually told my wife all this like last week and the first question out of her mouth was something along the lines of "Was it a show not led by a cis white guy?" which really only added fuel to my paranoia filled brain.

Part of me wants to reason and logic there are other explanations but then I just see other people mourning the other shows netflix has cancelled and my wifes question just keeps replaying in my brain.

Netflix keeps claiming its low viewership but HOW THE HELL could I have added to the viewing numbers if I never heard of the show in the first place? If you NETFLIX never reccomended it to me in the first place.

Netflix keeps making shows to seem diverse but more and more it just comes across as pandering to me.

Strangely the thing that really made me go Netflix is full of shit and doesnt care was what happened in S4 of Stranger things(spoiler warning just in case) but like they killed Chrissy(I think thats her name I haven't actually watched S4) and got all remorseful. "Oh we regret killing her." " Oh the chemistry" blah blah blah because they then went and killed the character that any of that applied to! Which just made all that remorse come across as performative and pandering.

Which is exactly what they are doing with so many of these other shows they keep canceling. "Look at our representation" "Look at our wide variety of entertainment"

...."Ope no one is watching better pull the plug quick"

And I KNOW regular TV used to do similar stuff to regular TV shows but like....it doesn't make it better. Older TV shows also got like pilot episodes to gauge initial interest. They got weekly rating reports that helped those involved gauge what their future looks like. There were patterns that could tell you where your show stood(Thursday lineup was a BIG deal)

Sure there are shows that just got randomly canceled mid season (firefly being one of them) but that doesn't make it FEEL any better or any less like pandering.(also if I remember correctly a lot of those shows got shafted by their networks as well)

.

Sorry....I went on a rant there. . .but yeah basically in the back of my mind I just think Netflix WANTS certain shows to fail but they do it in a way where they can still claim they are pushing to be full of representation and thats basically the conspiracy theory

And I feel like I need to end with I KNOW it is all circumstantial evidence based on my own experience and perceptions. I know I have no empircal data to back this up. Thats why I call it a conspiracy theory and strong opinion.

if you made it to the end of my rant have a cookie, 🍪 and I hope you have a good day.

[reaping-raven]

I want Billy's return in stranger things season 4.5 to be with Steve and Nancy stuck in the upside down and for them to be walking around trying to find a way out and then they hear something and get scared and cautious. Maybe they will hide and then they see someone walking towards them from the red fog and they recognize that walk and that hair and Steve will come out and be like "Hargrove?" And Billy will fully come out if the fog so the audience can see him and be like "yeah it's me Harrington don't cream your pants." And my little ship heart wants Steve to run to him and they like hug or kiss and then Billy begins to fret over Steve and his bruised next and bat bites. I don't think it will happen but a girl can dream.

[bisexualvampires]

HYPOTHETICALLY. if i were to post a stranger things fic, should i do it on my usual ao3 or on a new one?

(disclaimer: i am still very much gonna be writing about the bi disaster and his angel crush, just don’t wanna scare off my followers) 🥲

[thatbendyfan]

WOOOOOOOOOOO STRANGER THINGS 4 VOL 2 TOMORROW!!!!

TELL YOUR FRIENDS

TELL YOUR LOVER

TELL YOUR DOG

TELL THE MONSTERS UNDER YOUR BED

ITS HAPPENING

[d-aisys]

I BINGE-WATCHED MOST OF STRANGER THINGS IN A MATTER OF TWO DAYS AND I REALLY SHOULD HAVE BEEN FOCUSING ON MY FINAL EXAMS WHAT IS MY LIFE

[ratherembarrassing]

this week

north by northwest (1959): the movie that invented everything, including comedy. i don't know what i was expecting from something that regularly is cited as a key entry in the american cinematic canon, but it wasn't what i got. everything good in cinema that i enjoy owes itself to this movie. 4.5 stars out of 5, half a star off for the misogyny.

only murders in the building (hulu, or if you're outside the us disney+): my beloved idiots have returned. i hate amy schumer, but everything else is as wonderful as i remembered, plus selena gomez is now kissing a girl and that girl is cara delevingne.

architectural digest's tour of nancy meyers' home (25 june 2022): sometimes people live in my dream home, and sometimes that person is nancy meyers. a little while back the internet was obsessed with her two kitchen islands kitchen, which is how i ended up following her on instagram, and now i must covet her entire domicile.

stranger things season 4 (netflix): did everyone else hate the last two episodes? i quickly scrolled past a couple of posts before i realised what was going on and slapped a filter up, but i feel like that's what i was quickly scrolling past. anyway, the thing i hated was probably different from what you hated: you know that thing that happens in american movies only, where some psycho with a weapon shows up thinking he knows better than everyone else, interrupts something very important, and the important thing cannot be done because they're too busy having to punch the guy who thinks he knows better than everyone else until he just stops. you know that thing? fuck i hate that thing. i was having a really nice time until that guy showed up.

the handful of tracks from she & him's upcoming brian wilson tribute album (2022): this likely ages me in such a specific way that maybe i should be embarrassed but whatever. i fucking love she & him, and i love brian wilson, and i love these tracks and can't wait for the rest.

eleven shampoo: this shampoo that i borrowed from my cousins' shower smells exactly like the strawberry shortcake strawberry scented toy i had as a child i actually time traveled for a couple of seconds.

this hilarious article on the abc's news site about some dude's hunt for the toucan icypole (yesterday): as someone who is That Guy when it comes to tracking down evidence of things from my childhood, the vintage iceblock wrapper instagram account that this article links to is niche content i live for.

[hamliet]

The Crows Summon the Sun

Or, Hamliet’s review of Shadow & Bone, which gets a 4.5/5 for enjoyment and a 3.5/5 in terms of writing.

The true heroes of this story and the saviors of the show are the Crows. However, the problem is that the show then has an uneven feel, because the strength of the Crows plotline highlights the weaknesses of the trilogy storyline. But imo, overall, the strengths overshadow (#punintended) the weaknesses. 

I’ll divide the review into the narrative and the technical (show stuff, social commentary), starting with narrative.

Narrative: The Good 

It’s What The Crows Deserve

I went into the show watching it for the Crows; however, knowing that their storyline was intended to be a prequel, I wasn’t terribly optimistic. And while it is a prequel, the characters have complete and full arcs that perfectly set them up for the further development they will have in the books (which I think should be the next season?). Instead of retreading the arcs they’d have in the books, which is how prequels usually go, they had perfect set up for these arcs. It’s really excellent. 

Jesper, Inej, and Kaz are all allowed to be flawed, to have serious conflicts with one another, and yet to love each other. They feel like a found family in the best of ways. Kaz is the perfect selfish rogue; he’s a much more successfully executed Byronic hero than the Darkling, actually. Inej is heroic and her faith is not mocked, yet she too is flawed and her choices are not always entirely justified, but instead left to the audience to ponder (like killing the girl), which is a more mature writing choice that I appreciated. 

Jesper is charming, has a heart of gold despite being a murderer and on the surface fairly greedy, and MILO THE EMOTIONAL SUPPORT GOAT WAS THE BEST THING EVER. I also liked Jesper’s fling with Dima but I felt it could be better used rather than merely establishing his sexuality, like if Jesper and Dima had seen each other one more time or something had come of their tryst for the plot/themes/development of Jesper. 

Nina and Matthias’s backstory being in the first season, instead of in flashbacks, really works because it automatically erases any discomfort of the implications of Nina having falsely accused Matthias that the books start with. We know Nina, we know Matthias, we know their motivations, backgrounds, and why they feel the way we do. It’ll be easy for the audience to root for them without a lot of unnecessary hate springing from misunderstanding Nina (since she’s my favorite). Matthias’s arc was also really strongly executed and satisfyingly tragic. Their plotline was a bit unfortunately disconnected from the rest of the story, but Danielle Gallagan and Callahan Skogman have absolutely sizzling chemistry so I found myself looking forward to their scenes instead of feeling distracted. Also? It’s nice seeing a woman with Nina’s body type as a romantic and powerful character. 

Hamliet Likes Malina Now

Insofar as the trilogy storyline goes, the best change the show made was Mal. He still is the same character from the books, but much more likable. The pining was... a lot (too much in episode 4, I felt) but Malina is a ship I actually enjoyed in the show while I NOTP’d it in the books. Mal has complexity and layers to his motivations (somewhat) and a likable if awkward charm. Archie Renaux was fantastic. 

Ben Barnes is the perfect Aleksandr Kirigan, and 15 year old me, who had the biggest of big crushes on Ben Barnes (first celebrity crush over a decade ago lol), was pretty damn happy lol. He’s magnificantly acted--sympathetic and terrifying, sincerely caring and yet villainous in moments. Story-wise, I think it was smart to reveal his name earlier on than in the books, because it helps with the humanization especially in a visual medium like film. Luda was a fitting (if heartbreaking) backstory, but it is also hard for me to stomach knowing what the endgame of his character is. Like... I get the X-men fallacy thing, but I hope the show gives more kindness to his character than the books did, yet I’m afraid to hold my breath. Just saying that if you employ save the cat, if you directly say you added this part (Luda) to make the character more likable (as the director did) please do not punish the audience for feeling what you intended. 

I also liked the change that made Alina half-Shu. It adds well to her arc and fits with her character, actually giving her motivations (she kinda just wants to be ordinary in a lot of ways) a much more interesting foundation than in the books. Also it’s nice not to have another knock-off Daenerys (looking to you Celaena and book!Alina). Jessie Mei Li does a good job playing Alina’s insecurities and emotions, but... 

Narrative: The Ehhhhhhh

Alina the Lamp

Sigh. Here we go. Alina has little consistent characterization. She’s almost always passive when we see her, yet she apparently punches an officer for calling her a name and this seems to be normal for her, but it doesn’t fit at all with what we know about her thus far. Contradictions are a part of humanity, but it’s never given any focus, so it comes across as inconsistent instead of a flaw or repression. 

I have no idea what Alina wants, beside that she wants to be with Mal, which is fine except I have no idea what the basis of their bond is. Even with like, other childhood friends to lovers like Ren/Nora in RWBY or Eren/Mikasa in SnK, there’s an inciting moment, a reason, that we learn very early on in their story to show us what draws them together. Alina and Mal just don’t have that. There’s the meadow/running away thing, but they were already so close, and why?  Why, exactly? What brought them together? The term “bullies” is thrown around but it isn’t ever explored and it needed to be this season. If I have to deal with intense pining for so many episodes at least give me a foundation for their devotion. You need to put this in the beginning, in the first season. You just do.

A “lamp” character is a common metaphor to describe a bad character: essentially, you could replace the character with a lamp and nothing changes. Considering Alina’s gift is light, it’s a funnily apt metaphor, but it really does apply. Her choices just don’t... matter. She could be a special lamp everyone is fighting over and almost nothing would change. The ironic thing is that everyone treating her like a fancy lamp is exactly the conflict, but it’s never delved into. We’re never shown that Alina is more than a lamp. She never has to struggle because her choices are made for her and information is gifted to her when she needs it. Not making choices protects Alina from consequences and the story gives her little incentive to change that; in fact, things tend to turn out better when she doesn’t make choices (magic stags will arrive). 

Like... let’s look at a few occasions when Alina almost or does make choices. For example, she chooses to (it seems) sleep with Kirigan, but then there’s a convenient knock at the door and Bhagra arrives with key information that changes Alina’s mind instantly despite the fact that Bhagra’s been pretty terrible to her. If you want to write a woman realizing she’s been duped by a cruel man, show her discovering it instead of having the man’s abusive mother tell her when she had absolutely no such suspicions beforehand. There’s no emotional weight there because Alina doesn’t struggle. 

When she is actually allowed to carry out a bad choice, the consequences are handwaved away instead of built into a challenge for her. Like... Alina got her friends killed. More than once. I’m not saying she’s entirely to blame for these but could we show her reacting to it? Feeling any sort of grief? She never mentions Raisa or Alexei after they’re gone, just Mal, and I’m... okay. They were there because of you. Aren’t you feeling anything? Aren’t you sad? The only time Alina brings up her friends’ deaths is to tell Kirigan he killed her friends when they were only there because she burned the maps. She yells at Kirigan for “never” giving her a choice, but she almost never makes any, so why would he? Alina has the gall to lecture Genya about choices, but she herself almost never has to make any. 

Which brings me to another complaint in general: Alina’s lack of care for everyone around her when they’re not Mal, even if they care for her. Marie dies because of her (absolutely not her fault of course) but as far as we know she never even learns about Marie. She certainly doesn’t ever ask about her or Nadia. Alina seems apathetic at best to people, certainly not compassionate or kind. 

The frustrating thing is that there is potential here. Like, it actually makes a lot of psychological sense for an orphan who has grown up losing to be reluctant to care for people outside of her orbit and that she would struggle to believe she can have any say in her destiny (ie make choices). It’s also interesting that a girl who feels like an outsider views others outside her. But the show never offers examines Alina’s psychology with any depth; it simply tells us she’s compassionate when she is demonstrably not, it tells us she makes decisions when it takes magical intervention to do so. It’s a missed opportunity. This does not change between episodes 1 and 8, despite the episodes’ parallel structures and scenes, which unintentionally reinforces that Alina had little real development. 

Inej and ironically Jesper and Kaz embody the concept of “mercy” far better and with far more complexity than Alina does. The Crows have reactions to the loss of people who even betray them (Arken, etc), learn, and course-correct (or don’t) when they are even loosely involved in having strangers die. They’re good characters because they change and learn and have their choices matter. When they kill we see them wrestle with it and what this means even if they are accustomed to doing so. Jesper can’t kill in front of a child. Kaz wonders what his killings do to Inej’s idea of him.

Narrative: The Mixed Bag

Tropes, Themes, Telling vs. Showing

So the show’s themes in the Alina storyline are a mess, as they are in the trilogy too. Tropes are a very valuable way to show your audience what you’re trying to say. They’re utilized worldwide because they resonate with people and we know what to expect from them. The Crows' storyline shows us what it wants us to learn.

Preaching tells, and unfortunately, the trilogy relies on telling/preaching against fornicationBad Boys. It’s your right to write any trope or trample any trope you want--your story--but you should at least understand what/why you are doing so. The author clearly knows enough about Jungian shadows and dark/light yin/yang symbolism to use it in the story, but then just handwaves it away as “I don’t like this” but never does so in a narratively effective way: addressing the appeal in the first place. If you really wanna deconstruct a trope, you gotta empathize with the core of the reason these tropes appeal to people (it allays deep fears that we are ourselves unlovable, through loving another person despite how beastly they can be), and address this instead of ignoring it. Show us a better way through the Fold of your story. Don’t just go around it and ignore the issue.

The trilogy offers highly simplistic themes at best--bad boy bad and good boy good, which is fine-ish for kid lit but less fine for adult complexity, which the show (more so than the books) seems to try to push despite not actually having much of it.

Alina and Mal are intended to be good, we’re told they are, but I’m not sure why beyond just that we’re told so. Alina claims the stag chose her, but in the show it’s never explained why at all. Unlike with Kaz, Inej, Jesper, and hell even Matthias and Nina, we don’t see Alina or Mal’s complex choices and internal wrestling. 

Like, Inej’s half-episode where she almost killed the guy they needed was far more character exploration than Alina has the entire show, to say nothing of Inej’s later killing which not only makes her leaps and bounds more interesting, but ironically cements her as a far more compelling and yes, likable, heroine than Alina. We see Inej’s emotional and moral conflict. We can relate to her. We see Kaz struggling with his selfishness and regrets, with his understanding of himself through his interactions with and observations of Inej, Alina, the Darkling, Arken, and Jesper.

We don’t explore what makes Mal or Alina good and what makes them bad. We don’t know what Alina discovers about herself, what her power means for her. We are told they are good, we are told she knows her power is hers, but never shown what this means or what this costs them/her. Their opportunities to be good are handed to them (the stag, Bhagra) instead of given to them as a challenge in which they risk things, in which doing good or making a merciful choice costs them. Alina gets to preach about choices without ever making any; Inej risks going back to the Menagerie to trust Kaz. Her choices risk. They cost. They matter and direct her storyline and her arc, and those of the people around her.

Production Stuff:

The Good: 

The production overall is quite excellent. The costumes, pacing, acting, and cinematography (for example, one of the earliest scenes between the Darkling and Alina has Alina with her back to the light, face covered in his shadow, while the Darkling’s face is light up by her light even if he stands in the shadows) are top-notch. The soundtrack as well is incredible and emphasizes the scenes playing. The actors have great chemistry together, friend chemistry and romantic when necessary (Mal and Alina, the Darkling and Alina, Kaz and Inej, Nina and Matthias, David and Genya, etc.) All are perfectly cast. 

The Uncomfortable Technicalities Hamliet Wants to Bitch About:

The only characters from fantasy!Europe having any trace of an accent reminiscent of said fantasy country's real-world equivalent are antagonists like Druskelle (Scandinavia) and Pekka (Ireland). When the heroes mostly have British accents despite being from fantasy Russia and Holland, it is certainly A Choice to have the Irish accent emphasized. The actor is British by the way, so I presume he purposely put on an Irish accent. I'm sure no one even considered the potential implications of this but it is A Look nonetheless.

The Anachronisms Hamliet Has a Pet Peeve About: 

The worldbuilding is compelling, but the only blight on the worldbuilding within the story itself (ignoring context) was that there are some anachronisms that took me out of the story, particularly in the first episode where “would you like to share with the class” and “saved by the horn” are both used. Both are modern-day idioms in English that just don’t fit, especially the latter. The last episode uses “the friends we made along the way.” There are other modern idioms as well.

IT’S STARKOVA and Other Pet Peeves Around the Russian Portrayal 

Russian names are not hard, and Russian naming systems are very, very easy to learn. I could have waved “Starkov” not being “Starkova,” “Nazyalensky” not being “Nazyalenskaya,”  and “Safin” not being “Safina” as an American interpretation (since in America, the names do not femininize). However, “Mozorova” as a man is unfathomable and suggests to me the author just doesn’t understand how names work, which is a bit... uh okay considering a simple google search gets you to understand Russian names. They aren’t hard. I cannot understand why the show did not fix this. It is so simple to fix and would be a major way to help the story’s overall... caricature of Russia. 

Speaking of that... Ravka is supposedly Russian-based, but it is more accurately based on the stereotypes of what Americans think of Russia. Amerussia? Russica? Not great. 

The royals are exactly what Americans think of the Romanovs, right down to the “greasy” “spiritual advisor” who is clearly Rasputin and which ignores the Romanov history, very real tragedy, and the reason Rasputin was present in the court. The religion with all its saints is a vapid reflection of Russian Orthodoxy. The military portrayal with its lotteries and brutality and war is how the US views the Russian military. The emphasis on orphans, constant starvation, classification, and children being ripped from their homes to serve the government is a classic US understanding of USSR communism right down to the USSR having weapons of destruction the rest of the world fears (Grisha). Not trying to defend the Soviet Union here at all, but it is simplistic and reductive and probably done unconsciously but still ehhhh. 

However, I’m not Russian. I just studied Russian literature. I’ve seen very little by way of discussion of this topic online, but what I do see from Russian people has been mixed--some mind, some don’t. The reality is that I actually don’t really mind this because it’s fantasy, though I see why some do. I'm not like CANCEL THIS. So why am I talking about this beyond just having a pet peeve?

Well, because it is a valid critique, and because it doesn’t occur in a vacuum. The Grishaverse is heralded as an almost paragon for woke Young Adult literature, which underlines itself what so frustrates me about how literary circles discuss issues of diversity and culture. Such praise, while ignoring its quasi-caricature of Russia, reflects a very ethnocentric (specifically American) understanding of culture, appropriation, and representation. All stories are products of their culture to various extents, but it bothers me on principle what the lit community reacts (and overreacts sometimes?) to and what people give a pass to. The answer to what the community reacts to and what it gives a pass always pivots on how palatable the appropriation is to American understandings and sensibilities. There’s nuance here as well, though. 

I'm not cancelling the story or thinking it should be harshly attacked for this, but it is something that can be discussed and imo should be far more often--but with the nuance it begs, instead of black/white. But that’s a tall ask. 

[claire-de-lune]

For every Stranger Things character give me a likelihood of death rating score 1 being very low likelihood that they will die 10 being 100% likely that they will die next season GO!

Eleven 5

Vecna 9 (giving it a 9 because the show could end with the big bads winning, which could be cool)

Mindflayer 9

Hopper 0

Joyce 0

Max 4

Lucas 1

Dustin 1

Will 9.9

Jonathan 8

Steve 9

Nancy 7

Mike 9

Robin 6

Argyle 7

Erica 4.5

Murray 6

Vickie 0

Karen 3

Kali (eight) 1

Ted 7 (because I hate him hahaha)

Terry 0

Officer Powell 4

Becky Ives 0

Owens 7

idk if this makes sense and i don't have much of a system. I just chose numbers that made sense to me based on importance of charcter to the plot or even unimportance etc. for instance i gave Mike a 9 because i could see his death being something that would make El super angry and have the motivation to kill vecna (do i think it will actually happen and do i want it to happen? of course not) but yeah thought id explain some of my logic.

[paperficwriter]

lmao today I was reminiscing about how my “hot” (not really) takes about Stranger Things Season 2, written 4.5 years ago, got me stronger criticism than anything problematic I’ve ever written.

That’s not an invitation but like damn people did not like hearing I liked Steve and didn’t like Jonathan. 

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 4.5/5

Book Blurb: Tillie Gray didn't kill Madison Frank...but everyone thinks she did in this gripping suspense thriller from Sara Walters, author of The Violent Season.

17-year-old Tillie has never hurt anyone and has an expunged juvenile record to prove it. When she and her mother move into the quiet suburb of Willow Creek, Tillie is certain she's left her old life behind. Especially when Tillie meets Madison, a beautiful, carefree girl from the wealthy side of town. The two form a fast friendship, and by the end of summer, Tillie knows all her secrets. Except when school begins, Madison completely abandons her, and lets her friends mercilessly bully Tillie.

Then Madison goes missing. A week later, photos of her bloody body appear online, posted by a profile with Tillie's name on it.

Now, the entire town has Tillie in their crosshairs, convinced she had something to do with Madison's disappearance... and possible death. To clear her name, Tillie must find out what happened to Madison. But the dark secrets that might prove her innocence could very well destroy her.

Review:

Two girls, a history of death, and a twisted plan. Tillie Gray is no stranger to romances gone wrong... especially after escaping the events of her last relationship that has her relocating to a quiet suburb in Willow Creek. Tillie was meant to get a new start, to move on from what happened with her ex and stay as far away from girls that would bring her trouble... but the moment beautiful queen b Madison lays eyes on Tillie it’s over for her. Madison is rich, beautiful, and the resident popular girl... except she’s taken an interest in Tillie for some reason. Yet despite what everyone around Tillie tries to tell her and warn her about Madison, Tillie can’t stay away. The more she gets to know about Madison, the more she thinks that no one really knows the true Madison and that the real evil in this little town is Madison’s ex, Elliot who has been accused of sexual assault by another girl but has gotten away with it. The more Madison reveals about Elliot the more Tillie wants to get revenge with her... but when Tillie’s own past is revealed... things are about to get twisted. What started off as a revenge plan quickly spirals and soon the consequences of their actions will come for them... and a dead body will be awaiting by the end of this. The true question is, can Tillie trust Madison or is Madison just as bad as everyone says? This was a pretty interesting thriller read and I appreciate how both Tillie and Madison are a bit twisted. They’ve both been hurt and they both want to hurt someone, their romance is definitely on the morally grey side but I really liked that about them. 

*Thank you Sourcebooks Reads for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*