#suuuuuuch a good drama

[twig-tea]

Let's see how this goes. I was tagged by wonderful @waitmyturtles and @wen-kexing-apologist to put my repeat playlist on Spotify on shuffle and list the first 10 songs. Should I apologize now? 🤣

1. Voldemort: With Confidence (linking to yt for those who don't have Spotify)

Apologies for the HP reference. If it helps, the song isn't actually a fan song; it's pop punk about supporting folks with mental health issues (and I'm pretty sure predates That Author's visible transphobia).

2. Lubalin: Internet Drama Part 1 (Is This Available?)

I need y'all to know that my music taste is ridiculous, if it isn't already obvious. This is that tiktok guy who got famous making songs from Internet memes, they get stuck in your head and the only way out is through!

3. Mapa: SB19

Ahhh these guys are so good! If you don't know SB19 they are the biggest P-pop group and one of the few to break out of the Philippines.

4. Super Junior: No Other

My SuJu ELF heart! Listen these guys are old and so am I but look at themmm! This is my fave SuJu song of all time, I'm so glad it came up 😭

5. Etc.: เปลี่ยน [Plleyin/ Change]

The lyrics of this song are about realizing sometimes rather than changing to suit the person we're with, if they won't change with us and won't acknowledge our effort, we should change who we're with. I can't remember where I first heard it but it's great.

6. blackbear: hot girl bummer

I get far to much joy in singing along to "fuuuu~ck you, and you, and you and you and you" 🤣

7. Charly Black: Gyal You A Party Animal (Remix w/ Daddy Yankee)

Did I mention I love reggaeton and dancehall? This song is such a big tune.

8. The Note: Comeback

This band is a Thai-American pop-rock trio of three brothers who fulfilled the dream of their deceased elder brother, Note, by forming band and naming it after him. This song is all about having an unrequited crush on your friend and wishing they would make the first move.

9. Bodyslam: ท่านผู้ชม [Than Phu Chom/Viewers]

I got really into Thai rock as background music for when I have to focus at work, and Bodyslam is one of my faves. Toon's voice is iconic! This song is about not ever being able to do the right thing according to your audience (and the frustration around that feeling).

10. Speak Up: Jangan Pernah [Trust Me]

Speak Up are an Indonesian punk rock band and this song is suuuuuuch a jam. It's basically asking your lover to trust that you'll be by their side in the future (forget your last love and my previous behavior and focus on who I am now).

Alright turtles did a good job with the original tags, but tagging @troubled-mind @my-rose-tinted-glasses, @clara-maybe-ontheroad and @plantsarepeopletoo!

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

Roku spoiler thoughts so far (spoilers for Yangchen and Kyoshi too)

Man it is SO HARD to get through the damn Roku novel orz I'm in Sozin chapter that's right after "Roku Alone" atm.

Roku Alone I liked. I'm happy when Gyatso is reading him to filth. I really liked seeing Roku and the Avatars before they are the Avatars. I live for it! gimme more!

I do wonder about Yasu. I....I dunno. Maybe they'll touch on it later, but the way he died? I can't help but wonder if he'll come back. jkslfdja And if he doesn't, the set up just feels like suuuuuuch a missed opportunity for some drama. Like "lol what if Yasu didn't die, and he was taken into the spirit world when he went under?"

I dunno I feel like it has a good set up for "dramatic sibling coming back reveal" and I just....doubt we'll get that.

There's that and....really? Killing them off...AGAIN?

Kyoshi and Lek were technically siblings, and not just in the brotherhood sense. Like Lek is her adopted lil bro. And he died in front of her (ooo parallel :'D *throws a chair*)

Jetsun was technically Yangchen's big sister, maybe more so a 3 cousin twice removed but she took the role of a big sister!). She died.

Then Roku has not only a brother-brother, but a TWIN brother! And.....he dies.

Like him already having a brother he was raised with that's his legit bro already set him apart. But to make it a TWIN? Oh boy I wonder where this is gonna go-oh he's dead.

I dunno it feels wasted on Roku. Maybe if it was a new (I guess in this case I mean old)/original Avatar we don't know about we could've explored it more because....well.... It's not Roku's fault, his story is more set in stone. But it's baffling we'd just....waste an interesting dynamic/plot thing on him in this case. TT0TT

I'm also just not vibbing with the damn island. And I'm a slut for fog! But I'm just so BLEH!

It doesn't help I think including Sozin is just.......I dunno. He feels like a worst Coryo Snow from the Hunger Games prequel. One of the reasons Snow was so good is because we get to REALLY be in his head the entire time. And I think flipping between 3 perspectives is kinda......it's more detrimental. Esp since they're all so like......not connected yet. Maybe it comes together later but right now it's not the vibe. u_u

Anyway I think Snow was just....written better. Manipulates better? I'm kinda baffled Roku is so blind right NOW. Like what's the rest of his years ahead going to be like?

He must not interact with him AT ALL. That was the vibe I got from the show and tbh that worked. It allowed Sozin to become worse without Roku realizing it. Because they didn't get to interact.

As for Malaya. I like her. I'm interested in her story, but like....not for a Roku/Avatar novel. For an ATLA WORLD novel? Yes. A story of someone who's just in ATLA? Yes. But for an Avatar novel? I'm trying to like...get into Roku, and it's hard..... cause we keep not spending time WITH Roku. TT0TT

And every time we go away from him I'm like "ok we can just.....stay away from him?" TT0TT

I dunno, it's not really a Roku only issue. I had a similar issue with Dawn of Yangchen when she wasn't near Kavik during his chapters. (I like Kavik! I do! I just....wanted more Yangchen ;w; Legacy fixed this tho!). Similar thing happened with Yun in Shadow of Kyoshi (Sorry Yun u_u you aren't babygirl Jianzhu tho ajfkdslajf), but that was mostly on relistens rather than my first listen through.

At least with Kyoshi's novels, we had a good number of chapters before the next jump/break to a new POV. Roku's just.....it's sooooo often I'm like "ok break time TT0TT"

I dunno, so far I'm all around iffy on the book. I think I'm officially like half way (it's like what? 11ish hours and I'm on the 5thish hour?)

People say they couldn't put it down, and more so in the latter half? I hope so cause right now I'm just.....ehhhhhhhhhhhhh.

It doesn't help I'm not really sympathizing with Roku. I know it's a tragic shame his friend is a genocidal maniac and his rosy glasses are too thick to see.

But he's just.....sigh...... Kyoshi had a similar "oh woe as me" issue (disservice for me to be describing it like THAT but you know what I mean), but with her a lot of it was just THRUSTED upon her. She found happiness and was stable and then she literally got the shit end of the stick (AGAIN). Her choices in her first book were of self preservation and is winging it.

Then we have Roku. He's winging it. He can't bend well either. But he has SO MUCH more LUXURY than Kyoshi did. Him going to that island was a choice. "Oh Kyoshi had a choice" yeah she had a choice to run and try to survive or be tortured. Roku barely knew squat about the damn island. Like Gyatso has EVERY RIGHT to read him to filth.

Tbh I feel like a reason they gave Roku a dead brother was because....the needed to give him something to be depressed about. I dunno, I guess they didn't think he had enough personality on his own? Which is laughable since he had THE MOST screen time outta all the past Avatars.

I really don't think they needed Yasu, I think having Kyoshi's intimidating legacy behind him would've been just fine as itself. No other Avatar has that on their plate, it's allllll Roku. Lean into it more.

Like yes, Yangchen had Szeto, and Kuruk had Yangchen. But no one lived THAT LONG and did THAT MUCH like Kyoshi. She's scary. Make people wonder if what happened with her will happen with Roku. Should they be scared of a 230 years worth of a Fire Avatar?

Who knows! Maybe I'll have this answered later in the book! Maybe next book! But you'd think we'd have.....more of this???? Now???? I'm half way through, this feels more like questions and answers during the set up stage. We're past that stage now, we're on an island who god knows if they know what an Avatar is. TT0TT

I dunno this book feels so disconnected, then I hear about some of the stuff that's retconned (I don't mean the comet, I know that was a typo and they're fixing it).

Sorry for the disconnected/rambly thoughts. Not a lot of sleep last night. kasjfdklaf

[hwanwooyoung]

my top 10 fav bside tracks would have to be

opening sequence

frost

dear sputnik

dreamer

cant we just leave the monster alive?

way home

we lost the summer

farewell neverland

drama

puma

this was so hard!

these are suuuuuuch good choices 🥺💖 honestly it is really hard to pick just a top 10 ahhh their whole discography is amazing 😭

[tomorrowsdrama]

2020: A Year in Thirst

In 1985, Gabriel Garcia Marquez gave the world Love in the Time of Cholera.  In 2020 (er, I guess it’s now 2021), I give to you, Thirst in the Time of Covid-19 or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Embrace the Thirst, a brief recap of all the dramas I watched in 2020 and whether such dramas made yours truly parched..  

The list contains dramas that premiered in 2020, but also dramas from previous years.  If I watched it or attempted to watch it in 2020, it’s on the list.  

EDIT: Ok, I’m going to have to do this in multiple parts because apparently I watched more dramas in 2020 than I remembered and talking about them all in one post would just be too long.

This also serves as a sort of greeting to all the people who recently followed me.  I don’t know how or why, but thank you for being interested in my thirst, and also so sorry for everything you have/will witness here!  I started this side blog last December 2019 as a place to dump all my fangirl feels and thirst with unbridled abandon and let’s just say, the thirst REALLY ramped up in 2020 during quarantine and all the political chaos/uncertainty.  The state of the world may be uncertain, but my thirst will always be a comforting constant!  LOL. If you want to thirst or fangirl/boy together, I’m all ears.

Anyway, let’s start with the drama that was partially the inspiration for this list. 

1. The Wolf

Brief Summary: Sweet hot boy raised in the wilderness/by wolves meets sweet beautiful girl and they fall in love.  Shitty evil people do shitty evil things to them to cause a misunderstanding and they are separated for years.  Sweet hot boy is given the “Sexy Bloody Tormented Killer Makeover” TM and turns into a VERY VERY BAD HOT Wolf Man after being tortured/brainwashed by an evil asshole king who “adopted” him.  Bad Hot Wolf Man reunites with sweet beautiful girl but because of third party machinations in the past, he thinks that she betrayed him so he is suuuuuuch an ass to her (while still maintaining hotness).  But even beneath the asshattery (and sexy jerky smirks), he can’t help his love for her and it’s just *chefs kiss*. The angst, the pining, the mutual sacrifice for each other, the torment of wanting to be together but not being able to be together because of external forces/circustances, oh I am getting in a tizzy just thinking about it.  I won’t reveal anymore so as not to spoil the drama, but just know the ending may destroy you.

Is she thirsty? Am I thirsty? AM I THIRSTY?  Oh honey, if you don’t know the answer to that, then you must either be new here or you haven’t been paying attention to any of my posts in the past few weeks.  Look, from the first moment the camera panned to Darren Wang’s very well-defined and tan chest and windswept hair, all semblance of shame and dignity I ever tried to feign on this tumblr was immediately thrown out the window.  The feelings that he inspired within me were purely primal.  My cavewoman ancestor from millennia ago stopped gathering food in the harsh wilderness for a brief second to transmigrate into my body and go “me want big strong man!”

I mean, below is literally our introduction to Wolf Boy.  Am I supposed to just witness this and not feel anything?  The director knew what he/she was doing.  Anybody who worked on the drama who says they didn’t intend to exploit Darren Wang’s assets is a BOLD FACED LIAR. And this isn’t even Wolf boy in his hottest form.

That would be this:

Damn, your girl needs a moment here.  When Wolf Boy turns into Bad Hot Wolf Man, wheeeeewww.  The things that came out of my mouth and the thoughts that popped up into my head.

Examples of shameless fangirl drooling can be found here: https://tomorrowsdrama.tumblr.com/post/636986055498792960/dangermousie-this-should-be-illegal-i-mean Here: https://tomorrowsdrama.tumblr.com/post/637238885944033280/dangermousie-i-am-fucking-dead-the-end-this Here: https://tomorrowsdrama.tumblr.com/post/637793196830769152/dangermousie-wolfie-acquired-a-kid-omg Here: https://tomorrowsdrama.tumblr.com/post/635272988321775616/dangermousie-i-dont-know-about-you-guys-but and here: https://tomorrowsdrama.tumblr.com/post/637621638524977152/dangermousie-hnnnnnnnngh-i-am-beginning-to-forget

Honestly, just check out The Wolf tag on @dangermousie​ tumblr and you won’t be disappointed.  Prepare to become obsessed, horny, and heartbroken.

Would I watch it minus the thirst traps? Have you ever thirsted so much that you couldn’t separate what reaction was hormonal and what was objective?  Like the guy is so hot to you that when your friends ask you what do you like about him, the first 10 things you can think of are “he’s hot!” and then you try to remind yourself that you’re not a shallow person who actually cares about things other than looks but at the same time you can’t for the life of you think of a non-hot based trait that you like about the guy  Yeah, that’s what happened here so sorry, I can’t give you an objective opinion.  It’s not that there’s nothing objectively good about The Wolf, it’s just that my judgment is too clouded by Darren Wang’s abs and big hands.  But from what I can tell by other people’s posts, even if you didn’t thirst for Darren Wang (Are you made of stone?  But also, can you please teach me your magic so I can go back to being a semi-functional working woman?), The Wolf is still a very enjoyable drama with its own non-Darren Wang related merits.

2. My Beautiful Bride

Brief Summary: A drama about a strait-laced banker who wears a dorky backpack and rides a bicycle everywhere while wearing the dorkiest looking helmet ever and his beautiful bride-to-be whom he is hopelessly devoted to.  This being a kdrama, and an OCN drama at that, things aren’t all what they appear to be.  Yes, you read that right, an OCN. ROMANCE. DRAMA.  Turns out the beautiful bride-to-be has a dangerous past that soon comes back to haunt her and she mysteriously disappears one day from strait-laced banker’s life in the typical kdrama way to protect him.  Part of the reason she leaves him is also because she doesn’t want him to know about her past because she doesn’t think she’s good enough for him.  Little does she know, he knows everything about her past and accepts it all.  The only reason why he doesn’t bring it up is because he knows she doesn’t want him to know about that part of herself and he loves her so much he’s willing to do anything to make her happy.  But also, another thing she doesn’t know is that underneath that boring but perfectly ironed suit, is a finely chiseled, super efficient fighting machine who did his mandatory military service in the special forces.  He is like the terminator meets Liam Neeson’s character in Taken.  He has a very particular set of skills and will stop at nothing to get his bride back.

Is she thirsty?  Please just watch this video and you will have your answer: https://youtu.be/Ut9MhxWadHM

Prior to The Wolf, My Beautiful Bride was probably the most thirst-inducing drama I watched in 2020.

I mean, just look

at this

at all of this

I don’t’ know how Joo Young saw that body and never questioned whether he really was just a banker.  The writers of the drama must be super heterosexual men who are blind because so many of the characters in the drama question why someone as beautiful as Joo Young would ever want to be with someone like the banker. Um..Um...aside from the fact that he is financially well off, treats her well, is loving and respectful of her, and prioritizes her over everything else, JUST LOOK AT HIM.  I was so thirsty for Kim Mu Yeol in this role that I would accidentally tag this drama as My Beautiful Banker sometimes.  The banker was on a relentless one-man mission to take back his bride and turn me on in the process and ooooooh boy was he successful on both fronts.  He is seriously sex on legs every time he beats up a baddie in his quest to find answers about Joo Young’s whereabouts.

Would I watch it minus the thirst traps?  I binged the first six episodes of this drama in one afternoon partly because of my thirst, but also partly because it’s a very well made crime-action-gangster drama.  This is an OCN drama so you can expect a competently made production with well choreographed/bloody action scenes and a solid script.

3. Scarlet Heart Ryeo / Moon Lovers

Brief Summary: IU plays Hae Soo, a modern woman who is somehow transported back in time to the Goryeo period.  There, she gets entangled with a group of royal princes.  Her two main love interests are Wang So (played by Lee Jun Ki) and Wang Wook (played by Kang Ha Neul).  The princes vie for the throne and some of them for Hae Soo’s affection.  Lee Jun Ki does what he does best, which is play a sexy tortured deadly man who looks way too good with blood splattered on his face.  Kang Ha Neul is the seemingly kind prince/daddy long legs character who turns out to be not so kind or daddy long leggy.  Hae Soo is...well IU did the best she could with what she was given (which was a hot inconsistent mess).

Is she thirsty? Scarlet Heart Ryeo is like the honeypot of thirst traps.  It’s essentially a reverse harem set up with a prince for everyone.

Like them young and cute?  Then try the 10th prince, Wang Eun.

Want them big, tall, and kinda dumb?  Here’s the 14th prince Wang Jung for ya.

Want an evil bastard with an affinity for guyliner?  Try out 3rd prince Wang Yo.

Tall, slender, and scholarly? 13th prince Baek-ah will fill your needs.

Is a kind/gentle man who will ultimately disappoint you because he doesn’t show up when you need him most more your speed?  Well, let me introduce you to 8th prince, Wang Wook.

Kinda scary but oh so hot and with a ton of baggage?  We’re talking, I overpacked and brought 10 overstuffed large suitcases levels of baggage. 4th prince Wang So is the guy for you.

And if you prefer someone with no personality, presence, or memorable traits, I got a two-for-one deal for you in the crown prince Wang Mu and 9th prince Wang Won.

Would I watch it minus the thirst traps?  There is political intrigue, scheming, romance, fluffy hijinks (my least favorite parts of the drama), angst, beautiful costumes, and pretty decent fight scenes.  Scarlet Heart Ryeo is a pretty solid fusion/fantasy sageuk mostly thanks to Lee Jun Ki.  The only person who has ever carried a larger load on his back is Atlas.  I’m not saying all the other actors are horrendous. It’s just very clear that the one elevating the material beyond the inconsistencies/messiness/elementary politics of the script is Lee Jun Ki.  Your enjoyment level of the drama will likely increase if you are a fan of any of the main actors.  

[arlothia]

I WAS VICIOUSLY ATTACKED!!!!!!!

@oh-yebaiyi-you-sassy-bitch has succeeded in killing me and she plans to kill me again!!!!!

30 posts she tagged me in!!!! 30 beautifully deadly posts centering around Liu Hai Kuan and I am DEAD!!!!!

I, too, am very lazy, so didn't react to each one, but will do a bit of a rundown here under the cut, just to make her happy, because I know she feeds on my tears ;)

POST 1 - If LHK, the man who is my 10 among 10s, is the starter????? I be ded, y'all!!!! I won't last the weekend!!!

POST 2 - OOOOOOF!!!!!

POST 3 - NOT FREAKING FAIR YOU MONSTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

POST 4 - I'm so excited for this drama!!!!! I have it listed as a "plan to watch" on MDL because, well, do you really have to ask? :P But I had no idea the other two were in it as well!! YES!!!!

POST 5 - THAT SMIRK!!!!

POST 6 - Suuuuuuch a look!!! DANG!!!!

POST 7 - *happy sigh*

POST 8 - I really DO need to watch this drama....

POST 9 - *listens to this for the rest of my life *

POST 10 - hehehehehehehe!!! Adorable!!!!!!

POST 11 - Love this pic!

POST 12 - slightly ruffled in a fight = 1000000x sexier!!

POST 13 - *heavy breathing*

POST 14 - Heh! Dorks, the lot of them!!!

POST 15 - *le sigh*

POST 16 - I swear I could look at this man aaaaaaall day!!! ;)

POST 17 - the post said it: "fine, so fine" like DANG!!!!

POST 18 - DOOOOOOORK!!!!! hehehehehe He's freaking adorable, alright?!!!

POST 19 - that LOOK on his FACE!!!!!!!!! UUUUUUUUGH!!!!!!!

POST 20 - OH MY GOSH YOU HAD TO INCLUDE THE ONES WITH THE HORSES!!!!!!!!! UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

POST 21 - well hello there legs!! ;) And I love how the lighting in the third pic set makes him look like he has red-ish hair! A very good look for him!

POST 22 - Oh look!! A snack eating snacks!!! :P

POST 23 - And now I feel like it's MY birthday!! 😍😍

POST 24 - THIS FREAKING SERIES OF PICTURES!!! WOW!!!!

POST 25 - He looks evil and I am HERE for it!!!!!! Let this man play a villain please!!!!!!

POST 26 - Yes, I WOULD watch a drama all about him designing and sewing clothes! No other characters or plot needed, just him doing just about anything!

POST 27 - profile uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuung!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *ded*

POST 28 - hey! Mannequin! Get out of the way! You're blocking my man!!!!

POST 29 - Here he is!!! The character that made me fall in love with LHK!!! Lan Xichen is sooooooooo amazing and LHK is sooooooooooooooo perfect to play him!!!!!! UGH!!! Now why on EARTH didn't HE get his own spinoff?!?!?!??! I NEED IT!!!!!

POST 30 - And now, for the final nail in my coffin!! He's almost FERAL in that first gif!! DANG!!!! Yup, soooooo have to watch this drama!!!!!! and THE ICE CREAM GIF!!!! WHAAAAAAAAAAAT!!!!!!!!! WHY YOU DO THIS TO ME!?!?!?!?!?!?!? 😭😭😭😭 The man looks STELLAR in a tux and UGH that smile and head tilt!!!!!

And of course you add THIS to the end!

You little jerk!!!!!! hehehehehe

[village-skeptic]

I’m worried about FP, you guys

...or at least I would be, if this show made any goddamn sense.

My attempts to untangle the half-assed macrame of S2, including musings on the possible identit(ies) of the Black Hood(s), and other possibly-spoilery predictions and reflections, below the cut...

The question is - who are the Black Hood(s) and what do they actually want?

For a long time now, I have been saying that the Lodges HAVE to be involved with the Black Hood situation, whether it’s as the original perpetrators, or hopping on the bandwagon of opportunism in order to elevate people’s desire for “law and order.” The resulting consolidation of power would of course place Hermione in the mayor’s office, their pet sheriff holding the reins of local law enforcement, and Hiram calling the shots economically, as the CEO of the local manifestation of the for-profit prison-industrial complex.

The most recent Black Hood appearance at the debate serves these aims, as does the first Black Hood attempted murder - offing Fred Andrews was both the satisfaction of a personal grudge and also good business sense. Now that Fred is a political opponent of the Lodges, he continues to be an obvious target - hence the “you’re next, sinner!” note.

I can’t quite explain why the Lodges would want to off Midge (2x!), Moose, Grundy, or Svenson other than as simple crimes of opportunity in line with the “sinners” (law and order) theme. If Cheryl ends up as a Black Hood target (as the last ep’s cliffhanger would suggest), it could be a power play related to whatever twisted history exists between the Blossoms and the Lodges. Consider the payments from Hiram to Clifford that Veronica unearthed last season, as well as Claudius’s inchoate hatred of the Blossoms.

Here’s the thing: unless he’s actually complicit in their plans, FP would seem to be an OBVIOUS target for a Lodge-connected Black Hood hit. It’s definitely in their best interests to destabilize the power structure of the Serpents - not to mention the fact that FP talking about how Hiram paid him off to drive down the price of the drive-in land is a messy little loose end. Finally, given how personal the enmity between Hiram and Jughead has become (a pause, as we all consider the amount of emotional energy that Hiram expends on the local teenage boys) - knocking off FP just seems like an obvious move to make.

Now, obviously Hiram isn’t the trigger man in this situation. While a nameless capo could be on Black Hood duty, a Lodge alliance with a dissident Serpent-Ghoulie faction headed by Penny and the tall, green-eyed Tall Boy also makes a LOT of sense. With the Lodges controlling law enforcement and civil government, the Serpent-Ghoulies get free rein to run drugs, guns, pancake mix, and whatever eldritch horrors they’re trafficking out there to Greendale - and Hiram gets a cut of the profits.

In this case: FP becomes AN EVEN MORE OBVIOUS TARGET for a Black Hood hit. @stillscape‘s recent (and amazing) post about Hiram Lodge expanding into predatory student loans reminded me that we still don’t know WHAT the source of the beef between FP and Penny is. 

(Until we are informed otherwise, I am assuming that FP destroyed Penny’s credit rating by forgetting to pay her law school loans. And - to be perfectly clear - I WILL PERISH if we do not eventually find out why Penny hates him.) Point being - Penny has ample strategic and personal reason to want FP dead - and that was BEFORE her mutilation and banishment. We know that she’s back this week with an army of Ghoulies and ready to riot. Why would she NOT take the chance to settle this old score?

Now. Paparazzi spoilers and recent plot points suggest that Hal Cooper is the Black Hood. Unless Hal’s working with the Lodges - and that is a possibility, given his willingness to sell the paper and puff Hermione’s campaign - the sudden revelation that he is, in fact, obsessed with “sinners” seems like suuuuuuch a bunch of bullshit. Why this specific collection of “sinners?” Why his next-door neighbor and high school classmate Fred, a pervy music teacher, and two teenagers indulging in the exact same kind of experimentation with sex and drugs that the rest of their classmates have? Given the family connection, I suppose Svenson is at least mildly understandable; and of course Hal’s pissed at Cheryl for breaking up his thing with Penelope. How a serial killer obsessed with sin maintained a romance with an actual madam is an other question entirely - maybe he was playing the long game there? 

But if he was going to fixate on sinners - why not the guy who dumped Jason Blossom’s body this season, knocked up Hal’s girlfriend in high school and then schtupped his now-wife again like two weeks ago? How is FP not at the ABSOLUTE TOP of Black Hood!Hal’s list? 

About the last possible Black Hood candidate that we know of for sure is Claudius Blossom. We know he and Penelope have a plan to knock off Nana and Cheryl, so they’re certainly capable of murder. Much like his character motivations, Claudius’s whereabouts are unaccounted for before his surprise appearance, so sure, why not, he could be the Black Hood. Does explain the appearance at Cheryl’s door; doesn’t explain the fixation on Betty AT ALL, but fine, whatever. Claudius has no reason to want FP dead, as far as I know, but Claudius has no canonical reason for wanting ANYTHING. RAS and the writers’ room lighting upon “deus ex Claudius” for no reason other than the sheer hilarious of having Barclay be the murderer twice in a row honestly would not surprise me for a hot second. 

Then again - nor would I be surprised by the choice to introduce Claudius simply to lay the groundwork for Hal Cooper’s evil twin, who was JUST RELEASED from the insane asylum to which he had been sent away when they were very small, and who will have successfully managed to frame his brother for these murders - setting up the NEW sleuthing plot of clearing Hal’s name for S3.

Back to FP though.

We’ve got these comments from the actors about how “this season’s finale is just the same as last season’s” and that we finally recognize “a chess game that someone’s been losing very badly.” With FP in the Fred role and Penny making her move for revenge - that just FEELS right, doesn’t it? Plus, he’s been turning over a new leaf and making things right with Jughead. What better time, narratively speaking, for Penny (or Hiram, or Hal, or Claudius, or Hal’s evil twin Mal) to cap him and amp up the drama?  

Now that I’ve said this, of course - FP HIMSELF will probably turn out to be the Black Hood, at which point I WILL PERSONALLY put a brick through a window and a pint of bourbon into my milkshake.