#the 100 1x02
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forbescaroline · 5 months ago
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TOP 5/10 CHARACTERS PER SHOW (as voted by my followers) ↳ the 100 edition #3. Raven Reyes portrayed by Lindsey Morgan
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scarringstars · 11 months ago
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bellamy blake in every episode: earth skills
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gifpercabeth · 1 year ago
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100 DAYS OF PERCABETH ↳ Day 17
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bisexualseraphim · 2 years ago
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Enough of the TERF bullshit. Time for Episode 2!!!
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winnie-the-monster · 2 years ago
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s0fter-sin · 5 months ago
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one of my favourite aspects of supernatural that you very rarely see in paranormal shows is that sam and dean are already versed in the world they live in. there’s no sudden discovery of ghosts and demons and now they have to learn about them along with the audience; they are born into it and already know all about it. it allows the audience to follow their personal story instead of also trying to figure out this new world and its rules
the first season is full of knowledge we never see them learn; “w*ndigoes are in the minnesota woods or- or northern michigan. i’ve never even heard of one this far west.” […] “great. well then this [his gun] is useless.” (1x02), “you don’t break a curse. you get the hell out of its way.” (1x08), d: “it’s a god. a pagan god, anyway.” […] “the annual cycle of its killings? and the fact that the victims are always a man and a woman. like some kind of fertility right.” […] s: “the last meal. given to sacrificial victims. d: “yeah, i’m thinking a ritual sacrifice to appease some pagan god.” (1x11)
almost every episode in the first season is a monster they’ve faced before that they then explain to the audience in a way that should feel patronising; like it’s the same speech given over and over again but instead, the audience almost feels included in the knowledge. it’s stated with such an innate confidence and comfort in said knowledge that it feels like we already knew it too; “spirits and demons don't have to unlock doors. if they want inside, they just go through the walls.” […] “the claws, the speed that it moves; could be a skinwalker, maybe a black dog.” (1x02), “it's biblical numerology. you know noah's ark, it rained for forty days. the number means death.” (1x04), “no no no, not the reaper, a reaper. there's reaper lore in pretty much every culture on earth, it goes by 100 different names.” […] “you said it yourself that the clock stopped, right? reapers stop time. and you can only see 'em when they're coming at you which is why i could see it and you couldn't.” (1x12)
they already know and, at least in the first season, already have what they need to kill whatever they’re hunting; already know to salt and burn bones for spirits, fire for a w*ndigo, exorcisms for demons, a silver bullet to the heart for shapeshifters. there’s only three times in the entire first season that they run into something new to them; 1x14 when sam gets his first vision that leads him to another psychic, 1x16 when dean calls caleb for help on the sigil he put together and he tells him about daevas, and 1x20 when they find out vampires are real- and they only don’t know that bc john thought they were hunted to extinction and not worth mentioning
(there’s also technically two half instances if you count one of them knowing something the other doesn’t - sam figuring out the tulpa in 1x17 and dean already knowing about the shtriga in 1x18 - but those still rely on sam and dean having prior knowledge)
even when they’re uncertain about facing something, it’s not bc they don’t know what it is; it’s precisely bc they know what it is and acknowledge that it’ll be a difficult hunt (“i don't know, man. this isn't our normal gig. i mean, demons, they don't want anything, just death and destruction for its own sake. this is big. and i wish dad was here.” 1x04)
so much of the tension in paranormal shows typically comes from the main character(s) not knowing what is happening to them/the people around them and having to find out how to resolve it. supernatural is unique in that it operates more like a police procedural. the tension comes from solving the clues and identifying patterns to figure out who (what) the killer is and intercepting before they can take another victim
it’s such a different tone to go for when compared to other shows that came both before, during, and after its run. it sets sam and dean on even footing with each other since they both have the same knowledge going in, and it puts them in a place of authority usually reserved for an outside character
the shows i compare spn to most is charmed, buffy and teen wolf; every main character in those shows are brought into the paranormal world knowing nothing, putting them on the same level as the audience, and they have their mc interact with others already knowledgeable about that world in order to overcome their problem/monster of the week. the audience organically learns about this new world as the characters learn about it. it’s a sound writing strategy that prevents “as we already know”-style exposition but something that complicates it is if your world building isn’t unique or intriguing enough, this slow introduction can become boring
we’ve seen shows like these before; sitting through the same tropes of characters learning to use their powers, struggling with no longer feeling normal/relating to the regular world around them, and not knowing how much they can trust the people already involved in this new world gets repetitive. all three shows eventually reach the same level of comfort with their new world that spn starts with but if the characters aren’t enough to draw you in, you can end up dropping it before they reach that point (and often, before the overarching plot can really kick in and evolve the show beyond the villain of the week format)
it’s the superhero origin movie in tv format; dragged out and overplayed. dropping the audience into an established world of course comes with its own problems but you also have the benefit of pre-existing established character dynamics that let the audience slot in like they’ve always been there instead of just getting to know all the characters while the characters also get to know each other
sam and dean already knowing about the supernatural lets the audience immediately get to the core of the story; the conflict between sam and dean, the search for their father, and the mystery of what killed their mother
#i could go on forever theres literally so many examples#dean figuring the ‘two dark doubles’ is a shapeshifter sam figuring out the changing ghost is a tulpa#also peak how many of these examples come from dean despite them pushing so hard for sam to be the one knowing hunting theory#this format is why i cant stand watching the first season of charmed despite loving it so much#i just cant be bothered watching them have the same struggle ive seen a hundred times play out again#different genre but sons of anarchy does this well too; all the characters are already in the club life and already have inner conflict#spn having such a natural introduction makes me so glad they didnt go with the original plan of sam not knowing about hunting#that wouldve been Painful#watching spn so young has really shaped my view of media bc i legit cant stand things with a learning curve#give me an established world damnit#lord of the rings never stops to explain what a dwarf is! you just go with it! and it rules!#dean is just as theoretical and lore savvy as sam and id go as far to say he actually knows more#instead of trying to do this bullshit brains v brawn divide they shouldve done new tech vs analogue#sams laptop is famous and he also knows how to hack thing where the second dean doesnt know something he defaults to books#have dean be the one where if its written down he can find it almost like a proto bobby#they even kind of support that by him being the one to find the phoenix in s6 when they go through all their books#but this was 2005 and characters could only be so conplex and theyd already decided dean needed to be the hot one and sams the nerd one#side note how many of these metas am i going to write on this rewatch? tbd#side side note included all the quotes and episode numbers makes me feel so academic#coming out of my cage and ive been doing just fine.txt#carry on my wayward son#talk meta to me#meta#supernatural meta#spn#supernatural#dean winchester#sam winchester#save post
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jbaileyfansite · 1 month ago
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Jonathan Bailey as Tim Laughlin in “Bulletproof" (Fellow Travelers - 1x02)
Gifs 100/?
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ofthebrownajah · 9 months ago
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Show only tweet I just saw:
I'm a show only and I'm half way through s1 and they should've already explained what the point of the Dragon is.
Maybe I'm misremembering s1 but was it not addressed in literally every episode in s1? Including the first half?
1x01: Moiraine explains that the previous Dragon and his 100 Companions broke the world in the previous Age. She tells the EF5 that one of them is the Dragon
1x02: Rand talks about how it's said the Dragon will either save or destroy the world
1x03: Dana tells Rand and Mat how the Dragon has the ability to help end all the suffering in the world and break the Wheel (granted she is a Darkfriend and is an unreliable source but she's telling the truth about Ishy's endgame though the audience doesn't know that yet)
1x04: Logain says the Dragon is meant to save the world or destroy it and how the last Dragon broke the world but he means to bind it. Again, maybe some people don't see Logain as a reliable source but when he talks to Moiraine she doesn't contest it just tells him he's not the Dragon
Oh and Alanna talks to Moiraine about how what would happen if they Gentled the Dragon Reborn before he led them against the Dark One in the Last Battle.
There's plenty here in just the first 4 episodes so I'm confused as to what more this person wants? (And I'm probably missing some things too)
Are people just not paying attention, want everything spoonfed to them, or want all the lore explained right now immediately?
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raayllum · 3 months ago
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Spark notes on "Callum lost his true heart" in S2. Excellent true heart meta here by @kradogsrats on how the concept works more generally that I would 100% recommend reading before coming back here
The true heart is a gift of childhood. For a few wonder-filled years, we each have innocent eyes to experience the world’s beauty in a simple way. 
We see Callum on the cusp of being 15 undeniably believing that the resolution to the war can be that simple (even if we know well before S7, wherein Aaravos directly says they have similar views of how the world works, that Callum does not hold onto this simplicity for long). This is demonstrated, as Krads points out, in Callum's conversation in 1x02:
CALLUM: Can't you just make peace with them? HARROW: It's not that simple. CALLUM: It seems pretty simple to me. You don't want to die, I'm sure the elves and dragons don't want to die, so everyone agrees.
This emphasis on what people want over what they're devoted/committed to ("I'm sure they don't want to die" -> "I am already dead") is similar to Ezran's in arc 2 ("We all want peace and we all want love [...] you want to hurt someone else") that is both dismantled and upheld ("You want Janai to attack!" / "I want them to hurt"). To hammer it in further, Harrow even denotes that Callum is operating under the illusion of childhood, where adults have all the power/freedom.
What happens, I think, over the course of season one and season two is a bit of a domino effect, with Callum making choices in season one that season two continually 'knocks' down so to speak. The first and easiest example, perhaps, is Callum's choice in 1x03 between staying and trying to save Harrow... or choosing his little brother, who will remain in danger the longer they stay at the castle (Runaan and Viren both presenting strong antagonistic forces) and even worse danger the longer the egg remains.
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Callum glanced out a tower window and saw Ezran in the courtyard searching for him. But how could he leave the tower when the king was in so much danger? Callum tried to think of what the king would want him to do. “I’m coming, Ez,” he called out the window. He gave one final look back at the door to King Harrow’s chamber, then bolted to the spiral staircase. He took the stairs two at a time, trying not to look at the dead bodies strewn on the way to his little brother.
—Book One: Moon novelization
Now, this choice makes sense. It is in many ways just another version of the same one (choosing Ezran and his safety) that Callum had made earlier this same episode. Both are more complicated choices ("the right thing, I hope" does not beget certainty, and therefore does not beget simplicity) but we'll get to that in a moment.
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The final domino set up in season one for Callum's true heart is, I think, choosing to destroy the primal stone. The reason I say these are the dominoes, so to speak, is because each of these choices are made in a very distinctly Callum-y way, by which I mean: he thinks to a certain degree he can skirt the consequences.
This is not to take away from the weight of the choices Callum is making — they're still sacrifices, they're still honourable, he's still aware that he's risking Something — but there's still clearly a 'block' of some kind between "this is what I'm choosing to sacrifice" and "this is the full consequential weight of my sacrifices".
For example, the primal stone means a great deal to Callum. He states that "without this, I'm nothing" and it's a great powerful tool of magic. However, when Callum destroys it, it is currently unknown to him that this means no more magic, point blank. The consequence for his choice is steeper than he'd imagined, and now he has to live with the reality of it (for a time, anyway, but it's not like the journey to primal magic isn't gruelling, anyway).
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But as we grow up, we are forced to make choices, sacrifices, compromises. And they change us forever. 
The same happens when it comes to learning about Harrow's death. Callum was happily writing him a letter two episodes ago, reassuring Ezran in 1x03, etc etc. And yet:
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Callum made a sacrifice, then convinced himself that maybe he hadn't, and had to face the devastating reality of what he knew was most likely, on top of why Rayla wasn't able to tell him for the same reason(s) he couldn't tell Ezran.
I also want to highlight Claudia (and Soren)'s betrayal of Callum as well for two reasons. The first, and less interesting/important one in some ways (to me, anyway) is that if Callum's betrayal of 7x02 contributes to the last vestiges of Ezran's true heart being snapped to pieces, it would make sense that Claudia's betrayal would likewise contribute to Callum's.
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The more interesting/important facet of the Callum/Claudia breakdown is, to me, what happens before Claudia shows her true colours, and whereupon she hasn't done anything (knowingly) wrong to Callum yet, and still:
RAYLA: Callum, I know you trust them, but if we let them come with us, by the time we know the truth, it'll be too late. Do you understand? We'll lose everything. CALLUM: So what do we do? How can we figure out if it's help, or a trap?
Callum has already made a Compromise. He trusts Claudia, but Rayla doesn't, and he ultimately trusts Rayla more than Claudia, even this early on, the same way he trusted Ezran more than Claudia (and didn't trust Claudia with Ezran, then) in 1x03. So he goes along with the illusion plan, which would've been pretty crappy to do to an old friend if Claudia (and Soren) had been genuine in their offer to help.
So I think in quick succession over a few days, most if not all of Callum's true heart gets shredded to pieces within the first few episodes of season two. Barring that, I think 2x07, specifically the choice to do dark magic, takes whatever remains.
AARAVOS: You call it corruption. I call it compromise.
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'Could he really bring himself to go through with his plan? What if he didn’t succeed? What if he compromised his beliefs and it was all for nothing? […] But Rayla was in trouble.' —book two: sky novelization
While Aaravos lists off choices, sacrifices, and compromises as though they are separate things, and occasionally they can be, I think more often than not in life and within TDP that they are all the same thing.
Do you choose (sacrifice) your father or your baby brother? Do you sacrifice your oldest friendship (compromise) to ensure your travelling party can be safe? Do you use dark magic (a compromise, a sacrifice of yourself) to save someone you love?
And Callum's dark magic use falls into his previous pattern of you made a choice, and you knew there would be consequences, but you never dreamed it'd be This. And finally — finally — in 5x08, Callum makes a choice with the full knowledge of the consequences, of exactly what he's risking — and what he refuses to sacrifice.
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His true heart has been gone for a while by this point, I think — but within the narrative, Callum is an adult from 5x08 onwards. He knows undeniably what he'll sacrifice and why, and what he won't.
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(Something something sacrificing your true heart to protect the person who is your heart and your truth.)
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forbescaroline · 5 months ago
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TOP 5/10 CHARACTERS PER SHOW (as voted by my followers) ↳ the 100 edition #4. Octavia Blake portrayed by Marie Avgeropoulos
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blodreina-noumou · 2 years ago
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ah fuck, I forgot how close Octavia and Lincoln get to reuniting and how far they still have to go :(
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scarringstars · 1 year ago
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every clarke griffin scene: 25/???
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gifpercabeth · 1 year ago
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100 DAYS OF PERCABETH ↳ Day 8
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highly-flammable · 4 months ago
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Little Klamille things: Season 1 Edition - Episode 1x02 to 1x03
1x02 - House of the Rising Son:
The Painting:
Klaus apparently tracked down the artist after the night they met to buy the painting they bonded over. Mind you, this had been quite the trying night for him, and right after he and Cami talked about the artist, he went to talk with Elijah, and then went on with his shenanigans to dethrone Marcel.
But that painting never left his mind, and sometime within the following couple of months (TO 1x02 and the following episodes take place a couple of months after TVD 4x20/TO 1x01), he managed to find the artist and get that painting for himself. Oh, and funny thing is, considering there were only a handful of people watching the painting, I don’t think the work was supposed to be excellent, but it struck a chord with both Cami and Klaus, so he bought it.
Oh No, I’ve Lost My Touch:
Klaus’ mouth was literally hanging wide open in shock (you can see it in the corner of the screen) when Cami blew Marcel off after he tried to get her to give Marcel a chance.
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Marcel was being sweet towards her, but Klaus was the one who had charmingly pulled her over and set the whole interaction up. He was clearly banking on his charisma working on this human girl, and he was just baffled that it wasn’t the case. Hence him musing “Perhaps I’ve lost my touch, or maybe you’ve lost yours.”
Not All Bad Boys Are Created Equal:
Important to note, Cami was sort of smiling at Klaus when he was putting on his little act. She had also been quite happy to see him when he walked over to her to muse about the artist, so she always kind of liked him and was amused by him. And here’s my opinion, which will also tie into the next point: she would have had a slightly harder time saying no had Klaus asked her out for himself. She still would have refused because she could tell he was a bad boy, but between the two bad boys, her preference was clear.
Klaus Keeping Their First Conversation Alive in Cami’s Mind:
When Klaus later showed up at Rousseau’s to tell her to give Marcel a chance, she talked about how she needed only good in her life, and he added that she meant she didn’t need someone who was tragically wounded and damaged by demons he could not escape. This interaction was the reason that their conversation about the painting started becoming significant in Cami’s mind. When they had originally had that conversation, Klaus was the one asking the questions, and Cami was just relating to the artist. She wouldn’t have thought too much of it, for in her mind the most interesting thing Klaus had still done was putting that 100 dollar bill on the bartop earlier that evening. But this exchange right here was when this understanding passed between them that he was relating too, and unlike Cami, he was trapped with his demons. And this set him apart from the generic bad boys, because he was self-aware on some level and willing to admit that he was indeed damaged and therefore not right for someone like her.
1x03 - Tangled Up In Blue
Thank Goodness He’s Just Rebekah’s Brother:
Cami was clearly a bit worried that Klaus was the infamous on-again, off-again of Rebekah’s since the two of them showed up together. So our girl kind of already had a crush. This is also evidenced by the fact that right after she and Klaus talked about Marcel being the guy of Rebekah’s, Cami was basically admiring Klaus.
Is That How You Talk to an Almost Stranger?:
Klaus was being a complete seducer when he said “You do look stunning.” That line delivery was laced with very obvious lust (like dude, you could try being a little more subtle). This is even worse considering they had people around them, including his own sister. And don’t forget that while they had seen each other around, he and Cami were still nothing more than acquaintances.
Barely Knows the Girl but Already Protective of Her:
Klaus was keeping an eye on Cami the entire time she was in that party full of vampires. He was with her every second before Marcel came over to interact with her, was watching them like a hawk (he was jealous as hell but he was also clearly worried about her safety) while they were dancing and kept his attention on her afterwards as she watched Marcel confront Thierry. You could also tell that he was slightly worried about her (not that it stopped him from later compelling her to give Marcel a chance, that fucker) when she commented about Marcel’s temper.
The Human Perspective:
Klaus later asked Marcel if he really liked Cami, and Marcel responded that he liked that she was not a part of their shenanigans and it was sometimes nice to see the world the way humans did. Those words clearly struck a chord with Klaus and gave him the language for why he himself was drawn to Cami.
Next: 1x04
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winnie-the-monster · 2 years ago
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francesderwent · 9 months ago
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what is stranger things saying about the dichotomy of ordinary versus strange? it’s more complicated than you think
1x01 Hopper tries to tell Joyce that Will is probably with Lonnie, saying, "99 out of 100 times, kid goes missing, the kid is with a parent or relative." She answers, "What about the other time? You said 99 out of 100. What about the other time, the one?" Over the course of the season, her willingness to entertain unlikely options is proven correct (pro-strange)
1x02 In a flashback, Lonnie skips out on a baseball game with Will and Jonathan tells Will, “He's trying to force you to like normal things. And you shouldn't like things because people tell you you're supposed to. Okay? Especially not him.” (pro-strange)
1x04 Jonathan tells Nancy why he does photography: "I guess I'd rather observe people than, you know..." "Talk to them," she finishes. "I know, it's weird," he says. "No," she says. "No, it is. It's just, sometimes, people don't really say what they're really thinking. But you capture the right moment, it says more." (pro-strange; verging very slightly into anti-ordinary because Jonathan doesn't trust people to tell the truth from their own lips, he has to seek it out and capture it.)
1x05 The infamous Nancy and Jonathan scene, Nancy says why she thinks her parents got married, "I don't think my parents ever loved each other." "They must've married for some reasons," Jonathan answers. "My mom was young, my dad was older but he had a cushy job, money, came from a good family. So they bought a nice house at the end of the cul-de-sac and started their nuclear family." "Screw that," says Jonathan. "Yeah," Nancy agrees. "Screw that." (pro-strange, starting to creep into anti-ordinary)
1x05 Jonathan explaining what he saw in Nancy's photograph: "I saw this girl trying to be someone else, but for that moment, it was like you were alone, or you thought you were, and you know, you could just be yourself." "That is such bullshit," Nancy says, "I am not trying o be someone else just because I'm dating Steve and you don't like him." They fight, he says, "Does that mean I have to like [Steve]?" Nancy says, "No." "Jonathan says, "Listen, don't take it so personally, okay? I don't like most people. He's in the vast majority." Nancy says, "I was actually starting to think you were okay. I was thinking, Jonathan Byers, maybe he's not the pretentious creep everyone says he is." Jonathan answers, "I was just starting to think you were okay, I was thinking Nancy Wheeler, she's not just another suburban girl who thinks she's rebelling by doing exactly what every other suburban girl does, until that phase passes and they marry some boring one-time jock who now works sales, and live out a perfectly boring little life at the end of a cul-de-sac, exactly like their parents, who they thought were so depressing." (this is a clash of perspective; Nancy is vaguely, defensively pro-ordinary and Jonathan is pro-strange and pretty-anti-ordinary)
1x06 Eleven confesses that she opened the gate and she's the monster. Mike says, "No, El, you're not the monster. You saved me." (her powers and her difference make her a hero; pro-strange)
1x08 Steve, the boring, popular one-time jock, comes back to fight the demogorgon alongside Nancy and Jonathan. (pro-ordinary)
1x08 Mike tells Eleven that when it's all over she can have a real bed in his basement and his parents will be like her parents and Nancy will be like her sister. "I was thinking, I don't know, maybe we can go to the Snow Ball together. It's this cheesy school dance where you go in the gym and dance to music and stuff." (cheesy ordinary school stuff that Mike wouldn't have considered going to before is now a desirable ending. pro-ordinary)
so the main thrust of season 1 is strongly pro-strange. ordinary people are blind to the evil and suffering in the world, and blind to the strengths of people like El and Will. Joyce is contrasted to the perfect prim Mrs. Wheeler; where Mrs. Wheeler's comfort and advice is useless, Joyce sees the truth and saves her child. Nancy and Jonathan butt heads, but end up being an effective team. there's just a little bit of ambiguity introduced at the tail end of the season: Mike doesn't want to escape or rebel against his family, he wants to bring El into it, and wants them both to go to the Snow Ball - the epitome of ordinary - together. and ordinary, shallow Steve surprises everyone (including the writers, who'd planned to kill him off) by showing courage and selflessness when it counts.
2x01 Steve talks to Nancy about the future: "I'm just going to end up working for my dad anyway. Is that such a bad thing? There's insurance and benefits and all that adult stuff." (the scene is about Nancy's fear of following in her parents’ footsteps, and so it leans pro-strange)
2x01 Will tells Jonathan that treating him like he's fragile just makes him feel like more of a freak. "You're not a freak," Jonathan tells him. "Yeah, I am. I am," Will answers. "You know what, you're right," Jonathan says. "You are a freak, but what? Do you want to be normal? Do you wanna be just like everyone else? Being a freak is the best, I'm a freak." "Is that why you don't have any friends?" Will asks. "I have friends, Will." "Then why are you always hanging out with me?" "Because you're my best friend, right? And I would rather be best friends with Zombie Boy than with a boring nobody. You know what I mean? Okay, look, who would you rather be friends with? Bowie, or Kenny Rogers." Will grimaces. "Exactly, it's no contest," Jonathan says. "The thing is, nobody normal every accomplished anything meaningful in this world. Got it?" "Well," Will says thoughtfully, "some people like Kenny Rogers." Bob, passing by in the hallway, says "Kenny Rogers? I love Kenny Rogers!" (strongly pro-strange, strongly anti-ordinary)
2x02 Nancy and Steve fight about whether to tell Barb's parents the truth or keep on pretending everything's alright. Steve says, "It's hard, but let's just go to Tina's stupid party, wear our stupid costumes that we've been working on for a stupid amount of time, and just pretend like we're stupid teenagers, okay?" (this scene is ambiguous, leaning pro-strange, because they both use the language of "pretend"--ordinariness is all a performance, a lie)
2x02 Bob asks Joyce, "What if we were to move out of Hawkins together? I was thinking about what you said, we have all these memories here and you wish you had enough money to move. My parents are selling their house in Maine, there's a Radio Shack nearby I'm sure they'd take me on. We could just..." He sees Joyce's reaction, and says ruefully, "My turn to be silly now." "No, it's just so hard to explain," she says. "It's just this...this is not a normal family." "It could be," Bob says. (this scene is ambiguous, leaning pro-strange. Bob means well but Joyce doesn't see his hopes as possible or realistic given the complications of their life)
2x02 Nancy drunkenly accuses Steve in the bathroom, "You're bullshit. You're pretending like everything's okay, you know, like we didn't...like we didn't kill Barb. Like it's great. Like we're in love, and we're partying." Steve echoes, "Like we're in love?" Nancy says venomously, "It's bullshit." Steve asks, "You don't love me?" (the scene is mostly pro-strange, but with a little ambiguity injected because we can see how much this hurts Steve)
2x02 Will tells Mike about his episodes, Mike tells Will about feeling like he sees Eleven. "I don't know, sometimes I feel like I'm going crazy," Mike says. "Me, too," Will says. "Hey, well, if we're both going crazy, then we'll go crazy together, right?" Mike says. "Yeah, crazy together," Will agrees. (pro-strange)
2x03 Nancy and Jonathan discuss the burden of carrying on after loss. "Maybe things just can't go back to the way they were," Jonathan says. "Doesn't that make you mad?" Nancy asks. (ambiguous! "the way things were" being possibly gone forever is a loss, according to Nancy.)
2x05 Bob deciphers Will's drawings, saving Hopper's life. (pro-ordinary)
2x06 Murray tells Nancy, "Probably, like everyone, you're afraid of what would happen if you accepted yourself for who you really are, and retreated back to the safety of...name? Name!" "Steve," Jonathan supplies. "Steve!" exclaims Murray. "We like Steve, but we don't love Steve." "We - I do!" Nancy protests. (pro-strange and anti-ordinary; Steve's only desirable characteristic is that he's safe, he's being set up as another Mr. Wheeler, the husband in another loveless marriage)
Bob tells Joyce, "I thought stuff like this happened in comic books and movies, not in Hawkins and certainly not to people like you." "Or you," she says. He chuckles, jokes, "Bob Newby, superhero." She asks if he's cold, he tells her not to worry about him. "It's not as if you didn't warn me, this is not a normal family, isn't that what you said? Kind of makes my idea of moving to Maine seem a little less crazy, doesn't it." Joyce says, "Oh, it's not crazy." (still ambiguous; Bob's heart isn't in question but it's still unclear whether he can keep up with the world he's been thrown into. his plan is to flee it, but is that admirable?)
2x07 Kali tells El, "We will always be monsters to them. Let me guess, your policeman, he also stops you from using your gifts? What you can do it incredible, it makes you very special, Jane." (pro-strange, anti-ordinary)
2x07 El tells Kali that she has to go back because her friends are in danger. Kali says, "There's nothing for you back there. They cannot save you, Jane." El answers, "No, but I can save them." (pro-strange but with nuance! the strange and the special have something to offer the ordinary)
2x08 Bob gets Joyce, Hopper, Will, and Mike out of the lab, saves all their lives. Mike tells everyone that Bob was the original founder of Hawkins AV club, that their teacher Mr. Clark learned everything he knows from Bob. (strongly pro-ordinary! not only is Bob a hero, but he's shown to have been just like the boys, and even though he grew up and became the epitome of normal, his legacy helps other little nerds)
so season two is more complex than season one. on the one hand, Nancy finishes the arc she started in season one: rejects Steve and chooses Jonathan, rejects ordinary and chooses strange, precisely because she sees being with Steve as buying into the whole suburban destiny that she now knows is a lie. on the other hand, the two main heroes of the season are Bob - Mr. Ordinary - and El, who rejects her sister's anti-ordinary worldview and chooses to use her strange gifts in service of her ordinary friends.
3x03 Joyce tells Hopper that the magnets can't be a coincidence, and he says "I don't think it's a joke, I think that when I asked you out, I think you got scared. I think you got scared, and now, you're inventing things. You're inventing things to get worked up about so that you can push me away, because God forbid any of us move on! Because that, that would be too much, right Joyce?" (the strange happenings are seen as an excuse to stay away from ordinary vulnerabilities; the scene is vaguely pro-ordinary, filtered through angry hungover yelling)
3x03 Dustin tries to tell Steve that he should date Robin, Steve tells him she's not his type: "For your information, she's still in school. And she's weird. She's a weirdo. And she's hyper. I don't like that she's hyper. And she did drama. That's a bad look. And she's in band? No." Dustin says, "Now that you're out of high school, which means you're technically an adult, don't you think it's time you move on from primitive constructs such as popularity?" (pro-strange)
3x07 Steve confesses to Robin on the bathroom floor, "The point is, this girl, you know, the one that I like, it's somebody that I didn't even talk to in school. And I don't even know why. Maybe cause Tommy H would have made fun of me, or I wouldn't be...prom king? It's stupid. I mean, Dustin's right, it's all just a bunch of bullshit anyways. Because when I think about it, I should've been hanging out with this girl the whole time. First of all, she's hilarious. She's so funny. I feel like this summer I have laughed harder than I have laughed in a really long time. And she's smart. Way smarter than me. You now, she can crack, like, top secret Russian codes and, you know, she's honestly unlike anyone I've ever even met before." Robin tells him he's not thinking straight, he says he's thinking a lot more clearly than normal. She says, "Look, he doesn't even know this girl, and if he did know her, like, really know her, I don't think he'd even want to be her friend." "No, that's not true, no way is that true," Steve says. (pro-strange)
3x08 Joyce re-initiates her date with Hopper, calling it what it is this time. If the world doesn't end, they deserve to celebrate. They deserve to move on. (pro-ordinary)
season three takes a step back from the focus on these themes or any themes. as in s2, Joyce tries to have the courage to seek an ordinary happy ending again, and again, experiences loss. the only person still grappling is Steve, who's coming to see more deeply the parts of "normalcy" that deserve to be rejected.
4x01 Eddie's introduction speech: "We're the freaks because we like to play a fantasy game. But as long as you're into band or science or parties or a game where you toss balls into laundry baskets...it's forced conformity, that's what's killing the kids. That's the real monster." (pro strange, casually anti-ordinary)
4x01 Chrissy confesses to Eddie, "You know, you're not what I thought you'd be like." "Mean and scary?" he guesses. "Yeah." "Yeah, well, I actually kinda thought you'd be kinda mean and scary too." (this scene is pro-strange AND pro-ordinary! neither of them is what the other thought they'd be, underneath the "freak" and "queen of Hawkins High" facade)
4x07 One's manifesto: "Why would you cry for them, Eleven, after all they did to you? You think you need them but you don't, you don't. Oh, but I know you're just scared. I was scared once, too. I know what it's like to be different, to be alone in this world. Like you, I didn't fit in with the other children. Something was wrong with me. All the teachers and the doctors said I was...broken, they said. My parents thought a change of scenery, a fresh start in Hawkins might just cure me. It was absurd. As if the world would be any different here. But then, to my surprise our new home provided a discovery and a newfound sense of purpose. I found a nest of black widows living inside a vent. Most people fear spiders, they detest them, and yet I found them endlessly fascinating. More than that, I found a great comfort in them, a kinship. Like me, they are solitary creatures and deeply misunderstood. They are gods of our world, the most important of all predators. They immobilize and feed on the weak, bringing balance and order to an unstable ecosystem. But the human world was disrupting this harmony. You see, humans are a unique type of pest, multiplying and poisoning our world, all while enforcing a structure of their own - a deeply unnatural structure. Where others saw order, I saw a straitjacket, a cruel, oppressive world dictated by made-up rules. Seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades, each life a faded, lesser copy of the one before. Wake up, eat, work, sleep, reproduce and die. Everyone is just waiting, waiting for it all to be over, all while performing in a silly, terrible play, day after day. I could not do that. I could not close off my mind and join in the madness, I could not pretend. And I realized...I didn't have to. I could make my own rules. I could restore balance to a broken world. A predator, but for good....I could reach into others, into their minds, their memories. I became an explorer. I saw my parents for what they truly were. To the world, they presented themselves as good, normal people, but like everything else in this world it was all a lie, a terrible lie. They had done things, Eleven, such awful things. I showed them who they really were, I held up a mirror....To your papa, Eleven, you are just an animal, a monster, a lab rat to be tamed, but the truth is just the opposite. You are better than they are. Superior....If you come with me for the first time in your life you will be free. Imagine what we could do together. We could reshape the world, remake it however we see fit." (this is explicitly the villain’s perspective which it is clear we are not supposed to share, and so the scene circles back around to pro-ordinary. moreover El, our hero, rejects his proposal, and so we see that the heart of the strange doesn't have to be about superiority and resentment, and so it's also pro-strange)
4x08 Will's speech to Mike, about El and about himself: "These past few months she's been so lost without you. It's just, she's so different from other people, and when you're...when you're different, sometimes you feel like a mistake. But you make her feel like she's not a mistake at all, like she's better for being different. And that gives her the courage to fight on." (pro-strange & pro ordinary! ordinary Mike makes his strange loved ones feel like they belong; they fit together)
4x08 Steve's speech in the Winnebago while Fire and Rain plays: "It's silly, but I've actually...I always had this dream that I'd have this really, really big family. I'm talking like a full brood of Harringtons. Like, five, six kids?" "Six?" Nancy repeats. "Yeah, six little nuggets. Three girls, three boys. And every summer I figured all of us Harringtons we'd pack into something like this and just see the country. You know, the Rockies, Grand Canyon, maybe Yellowstone, end up in some beachside town in California, spend a week parked in the sand, learn how to surf or something." Nancy says, "That sounds nice." "Yeah?" Steve asks. "Yeah," she says, then shakes herself and adds, "Well, um, except for the six kid part, that sounds like a total nightmare." Steve gestures around the kid-filled RV and says wryly, "If only I had some practice!" Nancy smiles, and says, "All right, fair. That's fair." (strongly pro-ordinary! but at least a little ambiguous because Nancy tries to brush it off after.)
4x09 Max hides "in the light": the Snow Ball. its ordinary goodness is a haven against the darkness, which is invisible to Vecna who can only see the evil of the world. (pro-ordinary)
4x09 Jason tells Lucas, "I was wrong about you. I never should've let you in the door." Lucas answers, "And I never should have knocked. I thought I wanted to be like you. Popular. Normal. But it turns out, normal's just a raging psychopath." (pro-strange, anti-ordinary)
4x09 El tries to get through to Vecna: "I know what [Papa] did to you. You were different, like me. And he hurt you. He made you into this. He is the monster, Henry, not you. Not you!" "You're right," Vecna answers, "you and I, we are different. And Papa did hurt me, but he was no monster. He was just a man, an ordinary, mediocre man. That is why he sought greatness in others, in you, and me. But in the end, he could not control us, he could not shape us, he could not change us. Do you not see, Eleven? He did not make me into this. You did." (this scene is more ambiguous than his previous one--it's clear we ought to reject his extreme anti-ordinary views that make him want to destroy the world, but it's less clear what we are to make of the fact that El did reshape him)
4x09 Mike's speech to El: “I love you on your good days, I love you on your bad days. I love you with your powers, without your powers. I love you for exactly who you are. You're my superhero.” (like his conversation with Will, it's both pro-strange and pro-ordinary)
4x09 El uses her powers to restart Max's heart, focusing on their happy memories together rather than any anger - her power is more than violence, it can also be beauty. (pro-strange)
season four, things are coming to a head! the "normal" townspeople are shown to be afraid of what they don't understand, and prone to blaming the wrong person just because they're different - but if we look closely, Jason isn't evil, he's just misdirected. he does want to kill Eddie, but then again all our main characters want to kill Henry, and it just so happens that they're correct about who's to blame. Jason's biases are wrong, but his intent- Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good - is very much right and in line with the message of the show. Jonathan and Nancy's forays into anti-ordinary thinking are shown to be eerily similar to that of the monster haunting them - and moreover, Jonathan's solitary ways lead to him smoking so much pot that he can't even be there for the people he does care about. El remains committed to using her powers to help her friends; she doesn't want to be a monster just because she is different. and Steve finally reveals himself as the anti-Vecna, completing his transformation into the embodiment of ordinary. his prior classification as "babysitter", an unorthodox role for a teenage boy to choose, has been replaced by a sincere desire for the most orthodox of destinies for an adult man: fatherhood.
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