#the great glee rewatch

[spaceorphan18]

Glee Musical Retrospective: 4 Minutes (The Power of Madonna)

Sung by: Kurt Hummel and Mercedes Jones Original Artist(s): Madonna feat. Justin Timberlake and Timbaland

Baby penguin my ass.

I sometimes go back and read 'of the day' reviews, and one of them stated that this episode featured too much music. And I got to thinking, while I clearly don't agree, this is the one that would probably end up on the chopping block. I'm very glad it didn't though, because I think it has more to say than you may think.

And it's only one of two duets we get between Kurt and Mercedes.

Story Anaylsis

It's really nice to be talking about Kurt again... when is the last time???

So, here's the fascinating thing about this one. Kurt and Mercedes both often feel like they're playing second fiddle - especially to Rachel Berry. And here they get to showcase their amazing talents together. But the thing is - they got this huge performance as a thank you from Sue for making her over in Vogue. (Also - Sue is doing this as an FU to Will, but Sue is savvy enough to know talent when she sees it - and Kurt will remain one of her favorites for the rest of the series.)

The song itself is a little random story wise -- and most likely chosen because it was a highly energetic, more modern hit. It's a song about going out and saving the world in 4 minutes? Honestly - the lyrics are supposed to be about saving the planet, and having the urgency to do so. But I can finagle a few things...

I think one of the things both Kurt and Mercedes are doing here are latching onto the urgency in their own lives. Sue's giving them a chance to shine and they're both going to take it. Neither of them is willing to wait around for Will to give them a chance. So, they'll make their own chances. Which speaks to both their characters, really.

But if I die tonight At least I can say I did what I wanted to do Tell me, how bout you?

I think the lyrics are mostly not the point in this one. But I like this little stanza. It speaks to the two of them briming with their own confidence and jumping at the chance to show, at least the school, what they can do.

I'm going to quote myself from my Kurt meta:

One of the things I really love is how confident both Kurt and Mercedes are in this dance number–with the whole school watching.  Before, both of them were looked down upon, and thrown in dumpsters, and slushied, but now that they’re with the Cheerios and singing Madonna, they really latch on to a growing self-confidence.  Sure, they aren’t there yet, and they have many more obstacles to go over, but just the fact that they’re up there performing, uncaring really what anyone else thinks, is a step in the right direction.

I will say - one of the things that I've often had a hard time buying on this show is that people continually think that these kids are losers. I'd have been so amazed if I saw a performance like this in high school. There's no reason any of these kids get the hate they get except for the fact that the plot needs them to be.

Technical Thoughts

First of all - I love that they arranged this as a marching band song. Not only is it a great interpretation to the heavy sound of the original song, but it's nice to see a marching band used well on screen.

Secondly, they sound pretty good! I love Kurt in his lower register. And Mercedes just owns this song. It's not surprising that they had them switch parts because Amber is much more comfortable with kind of song than Chris and it does show a little bit in the vocal track.

The on screen charisma, though, they both have it. The fact that both Mercedes and Kurt feel so comfortable in their bodies is fantastic. Neither of them are what mainstream society would label as sexy or hot but I love, love, love that this speaks to that -- that these two are both sexy and hot in this number as they play off each other. The choreography on this is the best, and I love that they allow these characters to be in control and confident in their bodies.

Also - sometimes I don't think Chris gets enough credit. Yes, he can be clumsy and fall of a piano (oh we will get there) but sometimes he just owns his physicality in a way that is never commented on is just remarkable.

This performance also has some great reaction shots. I love that Will looks annoyed and almost disappointed. Rachel's 'no comment' was perfect. And I love that Quinn genuinely seems to be enjoying herself. (I love when Quinn gets to be a human.)

Also - super technical thing - but notice all the quick cuts and camera whips? I'm sure that was done purposely to enhance the urgency the song is trying to create.

Fun fact: Apparently, this is the last time Kurt does a duet with anyone else besides Blaine and Rachel until Adam Lambert shows up. Crazy right? Shame that the show doesn't try out varying combinations more often.

vs. The Studio Version: It's the full song! Or more so it feels like they just repeat the chorus a few more times. I do like the second half, though, because they both get into the song just a bit more and it feels even more powerful than the show version.

vs. The Original Song: I love that this song is actually 4 minutes long. It is slightly slower than Glee's version - which makes sense, because that's Glee's trend - to make everything just a little bit faster (I assume to fit into time limit of being on a tv show). As I said earlier, I think Glee's marching band interpretation is really cool - because it's a great in world adaptation of the instrumentation the original song uses. That all said, what is going on in this video? I don't get how this reflects saving the world. *shrugs*

[angelhummel]

im also really liking quinn on this rewatch but i mean we're only 12 episodes in we'll see how it goes

i just love her moments in acafellas and mattress where she tells sue off and chooses glee bc its what she really likes. and blackmails sue into getting the glee club a full page in the yearbook. queenie <3 <3

[cescalr]

Oooh, definitely glee for the fandom asks! <3

Always with the hornets' nests with these ones, I see! Though i don't think there's a fandom out there that isn't in some way a hornets' nest once it gets large enough... hm. Alright. I'm just gonna be as honest as i can be about this, and tag accordingly.

Glee:

my favourite female character: augh. argh. ouph. so difficult. so hard. Since I'm working off of half-remembered show and half recently-rewatched show... its a tossup. Mercedes, Santana, Quinn. Probably Mercedes. She did nothing wrong ever in her entire life <3 well okay maybe except that one time she smashed kurt's car windows (but it was a banger song, though). Can't say Santana because of the Biphobia TM and other things like excessive use of bigotry-based insults, and Quinn. Oh god girl. Cheating is not cool! Funnily enough! So I find them really interesting but 'favourite' is hard to say. Mercedes. Mercedes for sure <3

my favourite male character: Blaine sam blaine sam blaine sam yes. I am imitating ripping petals off of flowers and coming to a conclusion based on which is the last name i said. So I guess that means Sam! But really this is a tie.

my favourite book/season/etc: Mannnnn idk. I don't like shows for seasons as-a-whole. Also i could not tell you what happened in any given season if you held a gun to my head. I'm not good at that. The only shows i know 'seasons' of are Buffy and Teen Wolf because i've watched them like 100000000000 times (exaggeration) for various reasons (mostly fanfiction research).

my favourite episode (if its a tv show): I can tell you my LEAST favourite episode (blame it on the alcohol, thank you Kurt king of biphobia! this is a persona foible it's not the worst episode in the show. by far. by far. it's kind of an average one. I'm just angry at it.) BUT er. Favourite? Idk. Genuinely some of the earlier Kurt-centric stuff was really well done (his convo with Burt... <3) and the Quinn giving birth accompanied by bohemian rhapsody was obviously iconic, but if I'll be honest I couldn't name any episodes of this show (other than That One previously stated, anyway). And yeah most of the time they were named after song titles and No i don't remember those song titles either. I'm just so bad at this. My memory is that of a goldfish's being haphazardly bounced around on a sieve.

my favourite cast member: it would be really funny if I said Demi Lovato [she counts!] but the truth is N/A: i don't know these people !!! They are strangers!! (i don't. follow celebrities. at all. I couldn't even name most of them. They're just people doing a job and their lives are irrelevant to me beyond their ability to perform that job well. I do not need to know where they live and what coffee they drink. Stalker shit tbh. I'm kind of a very private person myself, so rpf-adjacent stuff just... creeps me out. I've never watched a single cast interview in my lifetime and I'm not about to start!)

my favourite ship: Difficult to say! Grave and obvious lie. Blam. It's blam. Quintana is a close runner up though Santana really needs to stop dating people who cheat on the regular (I'll accept Quinn has grown enough not to do this by the time a Quintana coupling would be viable - and satisfying in terms of character arcs - narratively speaking).

a character I’d die defending: Blaine Anderson did something wrong for sure but like Kurt did it first so shrugs. Cancels out. Bad for each other! Case closed!

a character I just can’t sympathize with: genuinely don't remember if I had one of those the first time around because I was like 10 and just didn't pay attention if I didn't care, but Terri and her racist self take that 'prize' this time, alongside the obvious predator in the room [original choir teacher. Sandy? I forget his name immediately after hearing it. He doesn't deserve to be remembered]. Also JBI is just.... a yikes character all around. I mean, he's a blatant stereotype for one, in a the people who wrote this person don't like jews kind of way. Unfortunately common stereotype too, for the era, so not only is he that, he's also lazy. Just a one-note pervert who's the butt of various antisemitic 'jokes' you've heard from era-peer shows a million times over, tired and awful and a sour reminder of bigotry that continues to this day. Really regrettable character who's lack of redeeming qualities was probably purposeful. (I know Rachel and tina are also jewish, but this comes up very rarely and mostly only when santana needs to say something kind of fucked up, as is her modus operandi, for 'comic relief'. Tina's jewish-ness wasn't even canon for several seasons, because she didn't have a surname or a family or anything resembling complex character depth for several seasons. The one time I really remember Rachel's religion being important was when she was pressuring Kurt into believing in some kind of god, which??? don't do that. Bad example. Trying to guilt trip a friend into faith sucks. I take back what i said earlier Mercedes did that too. Boo. Girls try again that was a bad showing all around. Though i have no idea why Kurt went the acupuncture route as his 'secular' option but i think that has to do a lot with the writers doing literally no research ever once in their lives (you can tell they don't by the way they write the football segments of the show, which make no sense according to football fans who watch Glee, of which there are numerous because real life isn't like fiction where you can only like music or sports. Most of the kids in my school year were doing the most of everything ever if they were the 'popular' ones - we do that differently; popularity isn't really based on who know know; for some bizzare reason literally everyone knew who I was? Even people I'd never spoken to?? - but more about like... how much you can do, I guess. Overachievers, but I'm not saying that negatively; these people were generally - generally - very nice, and surprisingly chill for people who had no spare time whatsoever. I'm not entirely sure when they slept; A* across the board, at least one sport, at least one instrument, several extracurriculars, parties every weekend, dozens of friends and an s.o. . Eh? Way too much going on. Scary lifestyle! Impressive burnout rate, probably. Er. Tangent! Back to the scheduled programming).) There's uhhhh there's a lot of bad characters on the show, but i'd say Sandy and Terri and her equally but more loudly racist sister are truly completely irredeemable ones. Like they're not interesting or anything, they're just there to be narrative annoyances (which, in the case of Sandy specifically, is insane. Arrest that man!!! He has actively sexually assaulted minors!!!).

a character I grew to love: difficult to say because I tend to just make an opinion and stick to it. Also i don't remember who i liked at first and who i didn't, this show came out when i was eight. I didn't watch it until I was a little older than that, of course, but I frankly have spotty memory until my late teens, so! I'm not sure!! Quinn, probably. Pink-hair-era Quinn helped me understand her more, and seeing the moments of kindness hidden behind practical cruelty, when you understand her family and situation, makes things make a lot more sense. It takes a lot to get me to sympathise with a cheater, but I can see where Quinn was getting all turned around in her head about life because of her upbringing and socialisation, not to mention the profoundly negative impact cheerios had on her mentally and that the school's culture in general was not exactly a breeding ground for empathy and optimism.

my anti otp: can you tell (klaine). I don't dislike Kurt!!! Please let him have a fun chillaxed boyfriend in new york with his vogue friends. But also please stop attempting to control other people's diets thank you!! Thank you!! I'm of mixed feelings. Blaine and Kurt both did at least one bad, relationship-ending thing, and proved over and over again that they just weren't on the same wavelength in regards to life goals and ways of living it. They can't even share the same living space, which is kind of required for a functional marriage. I don't know, it just seems like they settled for their first proper, serious boyfriend even if that's not really the best match, and I... wish they'd just got to see more of life first, you know? They got married at like 20! Or something! I'm 23, I cannot imagine getting married at 20. That's a baby. Let them live first!

(same for Santana and Brittney, imo. I also don't really like them together because Santana and Brittney have very different ideas regarding monogamy, which is just never going to go down well in the long run. If your girl cheats on you like twenty times and tells you to your face its not cheating in her view of things, but you think it is, break up with her because you'll just make each other miserable. Brittney sort of seems incapable of feeling guilt but if she were, this kind of moral pressure would be Not Good, and obviously Santana isn't comfortable with the idea and doesn't have to be!! Just move on!!! Find other people!!!! Don't marry your first girlfriend if you've broken up like ten times this is simple!!!! Please!!!! But Klaine wins out over Brittana because - in my opinion, glee fandom please do not persecute me, I am known for this specific thing - I see... interactions that verge on abusive between Klaine that I don't see in Brittana. So. Oof? Ex; use of public perception to disguise attack; deliberately hurting Blaine in a stage-combat fencing match (you are not meant to make actual contact in these) and thus using Blaine's own dislike of making his difficulties common knowledge against him in order to 'punish' him. This is no good! Don't do this!!.[Also just to err vaguepost about a comment.... that is. not. what i would call passive aggressive. Physically attacking someone with a sword - no matter the type of sword, fencing foils hurt just as much, they're just not stab-you sharp... er, these days - is just straight-up aggressive.]).

Note that negative things stick in the mind better than positive ones; on a rewatch I may well alter my opinion!

But also I'm really, really stubborn. So it's not likely. Klaine.

[2leggedshark]

If u see me start tagging things with glee characters literally mind ur business. I'm regressing as a person for my HEALTH.

[iwadori]

Sounds like you still had fun, though. The beach is nice!!! Happy writing. Hope you can sleep in. - genius anon

yes like the weather in England today was for once NOT RAINING CATS AND DOGS so it was actually super sunny. nearly died in the car journey tho since my dad drives like a MADMAN. but other than that I had a slay of a day.

[hispersions]

damn both glee and shadowhunters have episode-by-episode retrospective podcasts hosted by the former stars going on right now what a time to be alive

[lesbianmarrow]

augh. rewatched btvs 5x22 scene where spike & buffy go to buffy's house to get weapons before the big showdown. them having to retrieve weapons is such an amusingly flimsy excuse to have them go to her house so we can have the scene where she invites him in + he promises to protect dawn + "i know you'll never love me" speech. i love a paper-thin excuse to put 2 characters in a room together. especially when those characters are buffy and spike!!!!!!!!!!!!

it really is so striking the way spike refrains from asking buffy to let him in even though he would be perfectly justified in doing so as it's obvious that buffy has forgotten he's not allowed in. i think part of it is that he wants to make it clear that he will respect the boundaries she has set with him. but i also think part of it is that he doesn't wanna feel the pain of being rejected again, because that fucking hurt. if he doesn't ask then he doesn't have to hear her say no again. it shows how head over heels he is for her and how much he has changed since the beginning of the season, when he was challenging her boundaries so much.

spike's expression when he's walking thru the doorway......it's so endearing and some really great acting from james marsters. first surprise and disbelief, then glee which spike is trying very hard to restrain because these are grave times. and yet he can't help feeling so joyous that buffy trusts him. he glances as the doorway like he's thinking "ah yes what a nice house" which makes me laugh because it's so stupid but also sweet. i think it's him trying to play it cool and doing a not so good job of it. there's such a lightness to him - it reminds me of the feeling when you think you did something to upset your friend a few days ago and you're anxious that they've been angry with you all this time and you finally gain the courage to ask them about you and it turns out they were never angry or upset at all. the giddy relief you feel.

and then there's that little moment of tension where they're standing so close together and you think something might happen but then spike breaks off and goes to the weapons chest and starts rambling about what they should take. it's so notable that it's him who gets nervous and moves away. so different from the way he behaved with her in fool for love, getting up in her space and trying to make her admit she had feelings for him. he's accepted that she'll never love him back, and moments like this where it feels like maybe there could be something between them are too painful, so he disrupts the moment. moves away.

jumping to the end of the scene - i love that buffy is on the stairs when spike does his little speech. she's physically above him. "you're beneath me." not only that, she's ascending, just as she ascends at the end of the episode, accessing a level of heroism that spike will never be able to meet. rewatching this part, spike's expression really surprised me. when he says "i know you'll never love me," he doesn't look at all bitter or resentful. his face is open, understanding, compassionate, and thankful. because that's what this speech is - he's thanking her for treating him better than he deserves. he's so grateful for the respect and trust she has given him. it has been truly transformative, as we've seen. only he doesn't get to the actual thanking part, because he cuts himself off, saying he'll wait for her down here. i think he cuts himself off because he realizes that this isn't what buffy needs to hear right now. she's got an enormous battle to prepare for, and a sister to save, and spike's feelings simply aren't important. so he stops mid-sentence for her sake. i think we're meant to understand that the only reason he started to say this at all is that he really thinks he might die tonight and it could be his last chance to let her know what it has meant to him to be treated like a person capable of doing good.

i've focused on what's going thru spike's head in this post bc i think buffy is a lot harder to read here. which is interesting bc sarah michelle gellar as buffy is so expressive that usually you can always tell exactly what buffy is thinking. but when she's with spike in these episodes toward the end of season 5 it's difficult to tell how she regards him. i think a lot of the time even she doesn't really understand how she feels about him. their relationship is so paradoxical. she relies on him but she reviles him. she wants him around but she finds him intolerable. i might rewatch the scene again and make another post about what might be going thru buffy's head, but for now i'll leave it at saying that i kind of love how spike's feelings for buffy are crystal clear to us and buffy's feelings for spike are much murkier. spike started out as this cool mysterious antagonist, whereas buffy has always been the protagonist and we're constantly seeing things from her point of view and being made to understand how she feels. so it's kind of fun to see that flipped a little bit. and it also rings really true for me how buffy in this moment is like, i have 5 billion things to be worrying about right now, i cannot even begin to process whatever feelings i may or may not have regarding spike. and with all of that said........there really is a softness to the way she treats him in this scene. and it's nice.

anyway. these two ✌️ gonna go jump off a tall tall tower

[natigail]

DnP playing a drinking board game with liquorice and soups should not be that hilarious. Just!! I had to pause the video approximately twice a minute just to take in the next hilarious thing that they said. SO many innuendos. Phil doing it on purpose for sure, glint in his eye as he was watching with glee as Dan struggled to consume liquorice, not even stopping when Dan tried to wave him off. Dan the cougar with the animal print and Phil with the blond hair, blue eyes combo. Getting use out of their left-over New Years cups. Repeat of Phil really struggling with soups (they are evil when lumpy and cold, Phil, I feel for you). Dan's hatred for liquorice (though that drink must have been toxic levels, so fair for that but not the salted liquorice because that's also a loved sweet here in Denmark as well as Sweden). Phil handing Dan the black piece instantly and choosing blue for himself. The mug with the whiskers (deep nostalgia). All of the little mini games where they're fighting so intensely, stumbling over their words and almost spilling drinks. The banana video censored and Dan hiding behind the board game packaging. Dan joking if Phil slept with the bearded ginger and Phil's lil shut up huffed out through laughter. Dan comparing himself to a hippo needing a bird to pick out stuff between his teeth, TILTING his head jokingly towards Phil as if he should be the bird and just go to town (no words for this, they are insane!). The secret draft thing (birthday related?)! The Phil can't have chocolate, so don't make that type of cake pls, mum. The sheer drama of their dice rolling and Phil threatening to leave or stick some authority on Dan about seven times. Phil being so brave and actually drinking that horrible concoction (though Dan protecting the sealz <3). The little iPhone videos put in, clearly of them just fumbling around. The sheer laughter and smiling and joy that was all throughout the video, even as they were suffering with their drinks/foods. They are just so gay and I don't even dare tally up all of the innuendos. I feel like I need an immediate rewatch. They are just so entertaining and funny and feeling themselves and it's contagious and I love them and they've come so far and this is the longest sentence ever but that's okay because none of this is meant to be pretty or nice, it's meant to just express my love for these two insane dorks that have made videos for us for like 15 years at this point. Anyway, I'm clearly completely chill. Great video, guys.

[spaceorphan18]

Glee Musical Retrospective : Hello (Hell-O)

Sung by: Rachel Berry and Jesse St. James Original Artist(s): Lionel Richie

I have to ask - what libraries have a piano in them? Doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose of people trying to study? Anyway...

I have a confession to make. My first watch through of the show, I really did not like Jesse St. James. Like, at all. And somehow over the past few years, I've really just fallen in love with Jonathan Groff. And I've come back to Jesse St. James with a greater appreciation.

So, let's dig in!

Story Analysis

You had me at hello....

A couple of things right off the bat - continuing with our 'hello' theme - we have a new character! So, of course, we are saying /hello/ to Jesse St. James. Is it blunt? Well, yes, but it's also Glee.

So, here's the thing -- right after Rachel gets her heart smashed by Finn, this random guy shows up who hits every once of Rachel's fantasy kinks, then sits down to do an impromptu piano ballad duet with her so... it's no surprise that Rachel just melts like a puddle.

Jesse clearly knows what he's doing. Did he do his research? Or does he just understand Rachel on a more fundamental level because they are both cut from the same cloth? Hard to say -- but this song really works for an initial introduction.

I've been alone with you inside my mind And in my dreams I've kissed your lips a thousand times I sometimes see you pass outside my door Hello, is it me you're looking for?

This song is just kind of perfect for this dynamic. Jesse is singing to her soul. How often has Rachel just sat and daydreamed -- about Finn, about any guy really just wandering to her and being the perfect match. And here Jesse is singing what she's feeling. It's instantly mesmerizing.

I can see it in your eyes I can see it in your smile You're all I've ever wanted And my arms are open wide Cause you know just what to say And you know just what to do And I want to tell you so much I love you

Again - he is playing to her wants and needs and fantasies. Not only is he everything that /she's/ always wanted -- but he's singing back to her that she's all that he wants. It's a fever dream -- where some guy is telling her all the romantic things that she never had told to her -- that she never thought would be told to her.

And it's especially impactful that this comes after Finn dumping her. Because even before this -- Finn was such hard work to get to admit his feelings for her. And here's someone who now speaks her language, and bam! instant connection and Rachel can hardly contain herself.

Rachel comes into the duet here, too -- which amplifies the effect that she's buying into her fantasy coming true. She's hesitant just a little at first, but then pushes in rather quickly. Rachel's a pretty dramatic girl, leaning into self indulgence, but Jesse's willing to play into that. Sure, we don't know at the moment that he's purposely playing her, but he's just as dramatic and there is a pull there between them.

Sometimes I feel my heart will overflow Hello, I've just got to let you know

This is such a Rachel line -- her heart just bursts with emotion so much. It's a great line for her.

Tell me how to win your heart For I haven't got a clue But let me start by saying I love you

I love these lines for Jesse. Because it's the way he plays the moment. It's like touting innocence -- playing on that instant connection. But he's calculating his every move in this performance. He knows exactly how to make her fall in love with him, and using it to his advantage. Such a fantastic, sneaky little line here.

Technical Thoughts

I may not be huge on this song but I LOVE this performance. There's so much going on. Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff are on fire -- and each doing exactly what's needed to portray their characters perfectly. This scene is so well shot.

First of all, musically. Look - if you are one of the five people who don't know, don't be alarmed, I didn't -- Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff are bffs, and had quite the bonding back when they did the Broadway musical Spring Awakening together. So there's a lot of chemistry and a lot of natural comfort here. And I'm not being hyperbolic when saying that Jonathan Groff is easily the best male voice they've featured at this point. (Sorry Matthew Morrison)

It does help that both actors are well trained vocalists that can keep up with each other. It helps sell the idea that these two have an instant connection. And they do! Even if Jesse is suspect. The fact that they sound good together is a huge thing.

The acting here is just phenomenal as well. The shot is super simple -- the camera closing in on them as the song goes on. It can be visually boring just watching two people sing at a piano. But the camera begins to get intimately close, and both of them are playing such complex characters here.

I love everything that's going on with Rachel. That she's getting sucked into this fantasy -- a fantasy she really only dreamed off. She's a bit demure at the beginning, then just sinks all the way in, and is just smitten by the end of this duet. This girl falls hard with infatuation (which will be her downfall) but ooff is it played so well here.

(A side note -- there are a few brief moments where we see some genuine smiles from Lea Michele, and I get the impression that she's just over the moon excited to be doing a duet with her bff. It's the subtlest of actor bleed, but I feel like the giddy looks are genuine.)

Meanwhile, I love the calculated looks by Jesse. So, Jonathan Groff does something that I'm not sure if it was intentional or not. Most of the time, he's staring her down to sing deeply into her eyes. But every now and then he's carefully looking back at the piano and the music. I don't know if this was because Groff wanted to make sure he was doing/playing/singing something right? But it makes an interesting effect - where, when Rachel has her head turned, it's like he's looking at the script of what he's supposed to be doing and it makes the whole song seem just a little suspect. I realize I'm probably looking too much into it, but it's just a couple of fascinating moments.

Also, I have to point out a moment that generally has me chuckle -- it's the whip around to see that there's a string quartet that's been added, as if that's also normal in a library.

Also, also going to add that this song is mostly sung in minor -- but at the end it lifts into a major chord. It's a nice touch -- that there's this melancholy loneliness about this song until it has a hopeful ending.

Glee Live

This is super cute. It's much more Lea and Jonathan (with Jonathan goofing around a little) than Rachel and Jesse, but still a treat - and probably a fun surprise on whatever tour stop this was at.

vs. The Studio Version : There's not a whole lot different from the tv version. The mixing is a little more balanced between voice and instrument, and of course as usual, it's a cleaner track. But nothing huge.

vs. The Original Version : So... Glee pretty much stripped the 80s right out of this song, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Making it a straight up piano ballad with out all the synth modernizes the song, and it works better for high school students in the the late 00s, and less like an 80s after school special. No disrespect to Lionel Richie, though -- wow does he have a light and airy elegant touch to his voice.

[jaesivq]

“It felt like fireworks”

inspired by glee s2 ep 12 “silly love songs” (lmao I love this show but when I rewatched it and heard this line I felt so SAD FOR RACHEL HOLY SHIT)

no summary cause idrk know how to cram my whole point to interest you IM SORRY

WARNINGS ▸ mentions of cheating, yelling, toxic relationship, kissing, manipulation, emotional…just sad

GENRE ▸ toxic relationship

CHARACTER ▸ mingyu x reader, wonwoo joins in

MUSIC INSPO ▸ is there someone else by the weeknd, the other woman by lana del rey, reflections by the neighborhood, i love you so by the walters, and heather by conan gray

this is just a draft for the first part idek if I’ll finish it and make a part two yet!! so please let me know if you want another part!!

you never thought you’d be here right now. regretting your decision of transferring from YOUR dream school for the boy you thought would be worth it. I mean you would’ve said he was worth it a couple months ago. maybe your eyes are just opening or maybe you’re overthinking it.

everyone welcomed you with welcoming arms BUT HIM. I mean your own boyfriends face was betraying the words he said.

“Im so glad you’re here” as his smile dropped and he tried to fake up a new one

god you werent that stupid and naive, you could see right through it. his eyes didn’t have the sparkle he use to have even AFTER seeing you everyday. his smile didn’t even show the canines you adored to death. even the tone in his voice dripped with disappointment. It felt like it was storming when you seen him or at least his mood gave off that vibe.

obviously the first thoughts racing through your head were the worst I mean how could you not. college and the parties were a recipe for a bad disaster and mingyu of the all people would damn sure be getting attention.

you DIDNT want to believe it that your boyfriend of a year and just a few weeks wouldve given in to it but you couldn’t not. he never gave you a reason to question his loyalty but that was over the phone, through texts and through social media updates you seen but god it’s easy for people to fake it these days.

so now you’re here sitting with your best friend trying to piece this new act from mingyu.

“okay so let’s get this straight…you transferred, you got here, you surprised mingyu after not seeing him in person for 4 months and his smile dropped”

“yes kae that’s exactly what happened am I crazy or is that weird??” you fiddled with your fingers

kaes mouth dropped and she raised her eyebrow at you “there’s no way in hell you think im gonna sit here and deny that, that’s in fact crazy”

“i know-“

“I mean who does he think he is?? We have to tell cheol about this he would know what’s up with mingyu” picking up her phone going straight to her and her boyfriends messages

you stopped her “no do not go running to cheol about this I don’t want to come to any conclusions without seeing more signs”

“y/n what more do you need? cheol sees me everyday and still gives me the same look he has since he’s confessed even before we got together he’s always had it”

“well isn’t that just great for you” you huffed out hugging your body with your arms as you leaned back in your chair

“Im sorry, you know the eyes hold a lot of emotions and if you can’t look at mingyu in the eyes and feel it then maybe it’s-“ she looks up from her hands looking at you in the eyes “maybe it’s not there anymore y/n”

“yeah I know that’s exactly what I was scared of” you looked away from her and looked out the window of the cafe shop

“hey look” you look back at her and she continues slowly “let’s not instantly…even though it’s a possibility… think that way, how about we really find out”

“how would we do that” she lifts her eyebrow at you “wait..are you suggesting we SPY ON HIM??”

“I mean if we have to we can but we can start small like maybe you should go through his phone” she shrugs

you looked back down at your hands again. you’ve never even gone through his phone. I mean sure that would be the perfect place to start but there’s no way mingyu would be dumb enough to keep something incriminating there…right? you honestly didn’t even know if you could do it I mean what if there’s nothing and you feel guilty he’d probably feel some type of way about the breach of privacy and the lack of trust but….if there is something there then you know that look in mingyus eyes when he first asked you out would never be there again.

you looked back at her “alright let’s do this”

“thank god because this shit has me mad for you”

you guys talked a little bit more but as the sun set you guys decided it was best to wrap up and part your ways.

as you guys walked out and started to walk away from each other you hear her call your name “y/n”

you turn around looking back at her “yeah kae?”

she smiles “dont worry i have your back” and turns back to walk away

as you walked the way to mingyus dorm it was like the whole atmosphere changed. your headphones were tucked in your ears and it was even like your randomized liked songs even knew your fate. the song heather played throughout your ears. was spotify listening to your whole conversation. the air felt cold and smelled of faint rain. there was nobody around. the street lights were dim and not a single animal could be heard. no squirrels running up trees and no birds chirping.

you were scared not even just scared absolutely petrified. could mingyu do that to you…would mingyu do that to you? since you came a week ago he didn’t even sound the same, talk the same and when he touched you he felt like a stranger. a distant stranger. somebody you loved so much you could scream it out to the whole world yet when you wrapped your arms around him it felt like opposite magnets. and yeah that’s the kicker he didn’t run to you he didn’t even pull you in for a hug… you had to reach out for his cold touch.

you put a pep in your step. you didn’t even text him warning him about your appearance. he gave you a key when you surprised him telling you to just stop by because he’s too busy for a formal meeting right now. he barley looked you in the eyes just plopped a key in your palm and folded your hand over with his gripping it giving a fake smile at most because you seen the way he dropped it when he turned to walk away.

the song shifted to “im not the only one” and you felt a jab in your chest. you would’ve thought you were having a panic attack with the way your body reacted to the song. your body felt hot and you could’ve sworn you felt that sting in your eye as if your body was fighting tears. your heart knew but your mind had hope that mingyu wouldn’t have traded you for a fling.

you inched closer to his dorm hall walking up the pavement pressing your key card against the censor and reaching for the lobby door. you made your way to his hall patting around your eyes making sure you weren’t just numb to the feeling of crying and didn’t miss the drops. you pulled your phone out making sure your face looked fine. you inched closer to his dorm and the door opened and mingyus broad body stepped out facing the opposite way of you holding the door open as a girl stepped out smiling up at him.

you stopped in your tracks. it was like your heart paused for a second and then it rushed to start up again. your hands shaking and your breathing increasing.

“so I’ll see you tomorrow night right?” his voice rang out

she reached for his hand that wasn’t on the door squeezing it “yeah of course see you then gyu” she said walking away

she passed you. and by the time mingyu turned around going to say one last thing to her his eyes landed on you.

those eyes. those fucking eyes. the most emotion you had seen in days. being that of guilt? of anger? of sadness? you couldn’t even tell anymore.

gyu? it felt like a punch to the gut.. the nickname his friends and you called him now spoken by a girl who got the look you craved.

that wasn’t mingyu, that wasn’t your mingyu, that wasn’t your high school sweetheart, that wasn’t the boy who asked your dad before taking you to prom, that wasn’t the boy who asked you to his girlfriend during a big fourth of july fireworks show where you guys were away from everyone and when the first boom rang out and the sky lit up and you turned around to look at him with a big smile plastered on your face did you see him looking at you with a promise ring in his hand…yeah that wasn’t your mingyu standing there like a deer caught in his headlights.

you dropped your bag more so your body went limp and it was like your shoulder couldn’t even hold the weight of a few books anymore. your hands trembled grasping your face covering your mouth as the tears welled up at your waterline.

time felt like it paused the moment he turned around but it was just a couple seconds. the sound of your bag hitting the floor brought you out of it.

“y/n-“ he moved into the hallway his dorm door shutting behind him he slowly inched forward his hand reaching out

you stepped back as you repeated “oh my god..oh my god…oh my god” the words got more incoherent. your throat stung. It felt like you could barley speak and if you did you were gonna burst at the brim. your vision was fogged.

“y/n it’s not what it looks like” he inched closer “y/n it’s not”

“stop” you croaked out pushing your hand out you turned your head away not looking at him “don’t come closer to me”

he stopped “y/n seriously look at me love”

“DONT call me that. you can’t call me that anymore. you haven’t called me that in weeks DONT think now is the time for it. that meaningless name can’t save you” you spat out

gosh as heartbroken as you were in that moment you weren’t fucking pathetic. you had to stand up for yourself. your body felt weak and your eyes and throat stung but he didn’t deserve to see you like this.

“y/n stop it wasn’t like that, she wasn’t here for whatever you’re thinking” he stepped forward grasping for your hand

you pushed his hand away stepping back grabbing your bag off the ground. it felt like your fingers were gonna snap from the pressure of your bag. he really made you that weak. or maybe you felt so sick from everything that’s going on. your body couldn’t even stand it.

“no gyu-“ saying the nickname you always called him didnt even feel like it was yours to call “no mingyu you don’t get to tell me to stop and you don’t get to try and correct me for what I just saw”

“whyre you assuming that i would even do that” he raised his voice his head leaning closer to yours “why would I do that to you???!!”

you turned your head away “oh please cut the fucking act you’ve been acting different since I got here, you aren’t a fucking saint mingyu” you pushed him away

he scoffed “what are you even referring to, I’ve been the same since we’ve been together nothings changed and I didn’t do shit to you” and in the matter of seconds his tone changed “you have to listen to me love” he reached out for your face

you smacked his hand away “I don’t have to do shi-“

the sound of footsteps walking up echoed throughout the halls. you turned back seeing two people walking down the hall your way.

you turned back looking at him swinging your bag back over your shoulder “we’re done here I don’t even know you anymore mingyu”

you stepped back walking away avoiding eye contact with the people walking in. you didn’t even turn back to look at him. and he didn’t go for you. you had no words for what you witnessed. you held in the tears as your eyes stung and your throat ached even worse.

you reached the lobby doors the doors clicking as you pressed against them and the tears flowed. you’d never felt the pain you had felt right now. your whole body was shaking as you walked letting the door shut and your relationship with mingyu ending.

the sky lit up with thunder at the click of the door and the droplets started hitting the concrete. and you could’ve cared less. the sound of the rain and the thunder canceled out your sobs. your hands clawed at your face as the tears kept flowing. you just stood there with the rain engulfing you and your tears mixing with it. you couldn’t even physically step forward. you couldn’t even make out a normal breath.

you wobbled to the closest bench by the doors and you just sat there the tears couldn’t even make it out of your eyes. was it physically possible to feel like crying and not be able to? you just felt like you were in shock and all you could vision was his face when he turned around. the pain kept hitting you as you replayed the image over and over.

“y/n?”

you heard that deep calming voice and you already knew. you looked up seeing the exact face you thought belonged to that voice. the black hair, the glasses, the soft smile.

he rushed over his umbrella covering over you “what’re you doing out here like this?? you’re gonna get sick come on come inside”

“wonwoo i cant- i have to go”

“why not? you dont have an umbrella and you’ll be walking you shouldn’t go now” he reached for your hand “just come with me”

your body betrayed you and let him grab your hand helping you up, you should go you shouldn’t go inside with him. you can’t go back in there. your mind was spinning.

“y/n? come on” he had walked you over as he keyed in and held the door open

you walked in with him and he shook out his umbrella and held your stuff in one hand

“wonwoo i cant go with you i have to leave”

“it’s storming I can’t let you go out there like this” he looked at your state of soaking wet clothes

“it’s mingyu i cant go back there” you said quietly

you could see the realization in his face that he found out that you were out there like that because of him “don’t worry me and him aren’t even dorm mates anymore” he smiled softly

“i still shouldn’t wonwoo” you reached for your bag

he backed away “no I’ll let you leave once the weather clears i promise”

how could you not trust the warmth in that voice when everything else felt so cold. the weather was cold, mingyus touch on your hands just minutes prior was cold, his voice was cold even to your face after that. but even with that warmth you couldn’t trust him after what mingyu just did. he probably knew, they probably all knew.

he could see the look in your face go from convinced to right back how it was

he reached for your hand clenching it “you can trust me, im roomed with dk but he’s busy off with soonyoung just come till the weather clears and we will get you home”

your body let him pull you to his dorm where he pulled you in setting everything down and offering you clothes to get out of the drenched ones. there you were sat on his couch as you waited for him to change. your head was everywhere. you just caught mingyu with another girl, you tried to be strong and storm out and your feelings got the best of you now you’re here being helped by his best friend. god you were so pathetic.

“hey im back” he smiled at you as he took the space right beside you

you looked down at the floor and hummed in response

“tell me what happened” his voice was stern and you looked up at him

“what do you mean nothing happened” you looked back in forth between his eyes

“we both know that’s not true, tell me what happened seriously” he scooted closer “look i know something happened it’s written all over your face and you were sitting out there in the rain with no care…nobody does that y/n”

“i-“

“you can trust me”

“your his best friend though” you looked away

“ive known you since high school come on im not just going to instantly take his side y/n, just tell me”

“okay wonwoo”

[shammers86]

Alright here goes. Buddie and BuckTommy.

I’ll start off by saying, I’m very very neutral on BuckTommy. I am happy Buck is bisexual. I just don’t see what fans of BuckTommy sees and that’s ok. But I am gonna tag it anti BuckTommy because my God I don’t want any hate. That being said, I am and always will be a Buddie shipper.

I also just finished my rewatch of season 5 and gasp, I found out that BuckTaylor wasn’t as bad as I thought it was then. EddieAna was *checks notes* just boring. Anyways, let’s get thoughts written down about what I expect the first three episodes will bring Eddie and Buck.

The first time I read this paragraph, I rubbed my hands together in glee because of angst. When was the last time Buck and Eddie were apart where Buck doesn’t see or have time for Eddie?

If you say season 5, I would say no. Even when Eddie left the 118, Buck was still in touch with Eddie. He had dinner with him and yes, Buck also imploded without Eddie there, they were still Buck and Eddie in 5B.

I think season 3 and the lawsuit was the last time where Eddie couldn’t reach out to Buck. And it seems like maybe this could be the case here. It would great to see Eddie and Buck figure out why they are miserable if they can’t see each other.

Onto BuckTommy. It seems like not much time has passed and this means… Buck and Tommy are still getting to know each other.

However, the word comfortable doesn’t sit right with me. Yes they are a couple but getting comfortable is like when you cat finally gets comfortable in a new setting and starts doing cats things.

Buck, by his definition, is a settler. When his life is in upheaval, like Maddie and Chim leaving and Eddie leaving the 118, he doubles down and settles. It’s those pesky abandonment issues rearing up again.

I think the same is true here. This time, his surrogate dad isn’t there and an asshole takes his place and causing Buck’s world view of the 118 to go sideways. Bobby, for the most part, has been the most consistent things throughout the years for Buck. So replacing Bobby with Gerrard is going to make Buck’s issue more prevalent than they were in season 6 and 7.

We also have the emotional upheaval of Chris leaving. I say this because if there has also been one consistent thing in the past 6 years is that Chris is always there. They have their own special relationship outside of Buck and Eddie. Chris leaving also affects Buck, not as much as Eddie but still makes him feel enough to settle.

Getting comfortable means Buck is going to be like well, these other aspects suck and maybe this could go somewhere.

And then there is Eddie. The Eddie of it all. Buck has always lost it when something happens to Eddie. This time, it isn’t Taylor but a man. A man that by all means friends with Eddie first.

It will interesting to see how Buck juggles Tommy and Eddie and if he realizes that he pulled away from Eddie unintentionally. Mirroring the lawsuit maybe. I do think Eddie is going to be a sore point in the BuckTommy relationship and it should be.

Buck’s entire coming out was centered around Eddie. Tommy was Eddie’s friends, Buck felt bad about lying to Eddie and came out intentionally to Eddie. Then they partied together like it was 1995. Then Eddie blew up his own life and Buck was there to see it happen.

The other thing that could come between Buck and Tommy is Gerrard. I don’t know if Tommy is gonna be like keep your head down, don’t make waves, which I think might be the case. This would make Buck very unhappy and act out a little more. And Eddie can’t really be the emotional support he would need because well.. Eddie is suffering too.

Anyways, the question was about BuckTommy and Tim went oh hey here’s how Eddie is gonna be affected! Tim is Eddieblr. He loves him just as much even if he did come up with than damn doppelgänger story line.

And now it’s time to delve into my favorite character, one Mr. Eddie Diaz.

Oh Eddie, my beautiful, guilt ridden mess of a man. How are you going to be dealing with all of this? First and foremost, his son, his good luck charm decided to leave with his parents. Who should have asked if Eddie needed help too instead of absconding with their grandson.

Yes Eddie is gonna be reeling from this. He has lived most of his adult life for his son, not for himself. Season 5 kinda dipped into this and started him on this journey but he never really dealt with… you guessed it the Shannon of it all.

I’m kinda excited to see Eddie figuring who he is without Chris around. We love the Diaz boys but Eddie deserves to be like “Who am I without these people? If I wasn’t a father, what would my life look like?”

I also think it’s important for Eddie to this out without Buck. He leans on Buck a lot especially when he’s in emotional turmoil. And he can’t hide behind his son either.

Buck having less time for him means Eddie is flailing around and it also seems like the mustache is part of this self discovery.

Maybe he follows Chim and Hen’s lead with Gerrard but then realizes Buck needs the backup. I want to see Eddie really pushing the boundaries with Gerrard after a few weeks when he starts going after Buck.

Petty, jealous Eddie is one of my favorite things about him. And I do see this side of him coming out around Buck and Tommy. It will entertaining to watch.

I do hope that eventually we do have Chris ready to start talking things through with Eddie and that his dad isn’t this perfect man but a man who has repressed so many emotions in his life.

That being said, the above quote about figuring out who the hell he is with everything stripped away is very queer coded and I hope we finally see the Eddie we know is there come out and shine.

To summarize, I don’t think BuckTommy will last and I think we may have some hints as to why Eddie could be feeling jealous of Tommy and not any other love interests Buck has had.

One can only hope.

[total-drama-brainrot]

i come humbly requesting the post about chris’ descent you teased in an ask

Of course! I'll start by outlining how Chris' behaviour changed over the course of the series.

Chris starts off the first season of Total Drama as a huge dickhead, but not an outright morally bereft one.

He doesn't have the same familiarity with the gen 1 cast as he does in later seasons, but he's friendly enough with them - as friendly as you'd expect a television host and de facto caregiver to be to a group of twenty two teenagers. Sure, he's a bit of an arse at times, but it's very rare that he puts any of them in direct, life threatening danger. Most of the first season's challenges aren't outright lethal, in fact many of them are just regular camp activities taken to their logical extreme.

The main outliers here are the two torture-based challenges, and even then most of the mini challenges within are bearable if incredibly uncomfortable and painful - none of them are outright fatal. Plus, it can be argued that Chris himself doesn't have a lot of agency or input on the challenges themselves; he's there to host the show, nothing more and nothing less. At least, in the first season, there isn't any indication that Chris himself has control over the challenges (save for when Chef takes over for an episode, but his challenges are a lot simpler in design and execution than anything Chris hosts, so it can be assumed that was a last minute change.)

Now, it's been a while since I've rewatched Island, but I'm fairly sure Chris doesn't ever show the same amount of glee in the contestant's suffering as he does in later seasons. He's sometimes amused, sure, but there's very little in terms of outright vindication. More often than not, he's just trying to host the show.

Take Island's Chris and World Tour's Chris and contrast their attitudes against each other; time, it seems, developed an almost malicious streak within Chris. He even goes so far as to take his competitor's suffering into his own hands, at his own whims, using the excuse of entertainment value. (Dropping them out of the jet repeatedly at his fancy, deciding to choose the most dangerous moments to have them sing, ect ect.)

And then we get to RotI, where Chris is almost consistantly taking a great deal of joy in exposing the new cast to the horrors of nuclear waste and chemical hazards. His blasé attitude towards their mortality in the cave episode speaks for itself, and the fact that he gives a grand total of 0 shits about Dakota's mutation is the icing on top. By the time this season came around, any semblence of care for others within Chris was diminished.

The question therein is why?

The most obvious answer here is that the repeated threat to his contestant's lives became so normalised, so mundane to him that he simply stopped caring. Or seeing it as something wrong, or anything more than a ratings tool. None of them have actually died yet, so why not continually up the ante? Raise the stakes? Add more thrill to the show he's hosting - that's bound to draw in a bigger audience!

Which is how you end up with situations like Alejandro's and Scott's, where a contestant is injured enough to warrent use of machine-assisted healing and trauma chairs. Two situations that Chris himself is directly involved in, and doesn't seem to care about in the slightest.

Because showbusiness as a whole has a tendancy to reduce the people within it into objects of entertainment. There's a lot of dehumanisation in the world of TV - even reality TV, where people oftentimes play up aspects of themselves to become characters instead of people.

Throughout the show, Chris often talks about things like ratings, or the producers, or other business-focused aspects of entertainment. In his eyes, the teens under his dubious care gradually became little more than pawns in the game of Good Televivion. They stopped being kids and started being ratings jewels - puppets for him to manipulate and torture for his own and an international audience's amusement.

Perhaps there was some pressure from the producers themselves to be crueller to the contestants, to draw in a bigger audience or maybe just to add a sense of thrill and urgency to the challenges. After all, there's a reason shows like I'm a Celebrity are so popular, and it's because the people competing in them are having a decidedly bad time.

So, in his mind, making the contestants go through cruel and unusual punishments and challenges is justifyable because the show itself has benefits from it. He doesn't consider (or, perhaps, just doesn't care about) the harm he causes.

Then here it could be argued that his callousness and the detatched, joking attutide he has towards the suffering of these kids is actually just a super unhealthy coping mechanism Chris uses to get through the horrors of his job. That is to say, Chris is just as contractually obligated to host the show as the contestants are to compete in it, and he knows that they're gonna suffer regardless of his input, so being a Good Host and at least making their pain marketable/entertaining will at least garuntee him a bigger paycheck.

Or maybe he was always predisposed to be sadistic, and his relative niceness in the first season was just him testing the waters of how cruel his TV persona could be.

All I can say as a fact is this; Chris' actions and inactions become far more grevious as the series continues. He blows up a volcano on purpose. He sinks a whole island on purpose.

(He, and the series as a whole, drops any pretense of semi-realism to explore cartoonishly whacky and outlandish themes. Because it's a kid's show, at the end of the day. I'm overanalysing how a children's TV show leaned into the freedom of a fictional cartoon world.)

Saying that, he seems to have taken a step back in the theatrical and outlandish nature of his cruelty for the reboot. Maybe the decade away from Total Drama mellowed him out, or maybe the show just does't have the budget to accomodate for his more ambitious stunts. Who knows?

[majorproblems77]

((I need to make u a new pfp soon caue akdksjs thats some old art))

I finished my rewatch of Skyward sword and I have many thoughts, so have some angst. Also this isn’t really related to LU sky but ya can twist it to fit him i think?

After the fight with demise, the curse hangs heavy over Link’s head.

Its a reminder, a threat, something Link wish he could forget and ignore but he cant. How could he forget the Demon’s haunting words as young boys cladded in green just as he, glare him down from the dark corners of his dreams. Faceless faces of youth so similar to his own, they haunt him- reminding him of every error and mistake. Reminding him how he should of just shoved the sword down that monsters throat— but no, he didn’t, and now he stands at the beginning of a trail of blood.

And he can only blame himself.

—

Link loves the colour green.

The boy loved his uniform, the vibrant- everything about it! he has come to love the colour since he was young. So you can imagine his glee when Zelda told him in secret the colour her father had picked for his year of graduating knights— it stirred something in his lazy bones, a spark of determination- not because he longed to be a knight but…well, he really wanted to wear that green tunic and cap. Link loved the colour green, it made up everything he loved! The cool grass he’d nap on, the sturdy stems of hardy pumpkins, the flowers Zelda would have woven in her hair— it was no secret how much the boy loved the colour green.

But now, dream after dream, the blood stained tunic that pooled at young boys knees- the tainted green now but a murky husk of its former glory was nothing more than a horrible memory.

So no one asked why the boy left Skyloft with uniform and matches in hand, no one asks why he and his crimson loftwing do not return until the last sliver of light dusts the sky, and no one asks why the boy’s eyes were redder than his bird. Everyone knew why, they may not know the horrors or the curse or the dreams, but they all know the look of hatred. So now, when the boy pushes aside offerings of green tunics, jewelry or gifts, they know why.

Link hates the colour green

Just like give me a moment cause like I am just

WODJEIDNEHDJWODNEHUWNXDHWIDNHDOWDNDHWKDOENDHEH

EXCUSE ME? MY HEART?

THE ANGST IS DELICOUS I WILL ALWAYS LOVE SKY SWORD ANGST HES MY FAVE FOR A REASON IN ALL SENSE OF THE WORD TRIPPY THIS IS WONDERFUL THANK YOU IM VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS

Okay I'm calm

For serious tho this is great and totally makes sense like poor like the bean needs a hug and a new tunic colour

I vote red so he and crimson can match

I always have so many sksw thoughts and now I have more they are spinning around in my head like a microwave

This brings me so much joy trippy you have no idea thank you

[catcherwrites]

TDP S7E3 Rewatch (feat. my commentary)

Janai and Amaya! It’s been a while and I missed you queens <3

You think the soldiers wanted to prank the traitors? They looked so serious

Queens of Mercy, Janai must really take after her grandmother (SIDE NOTE, THIS REMINDED ME OF SOMETHING ELSE I’LL TALK ABOUT IT AT THE END)

I feel like we’re in a weird grey area with Janaya + Gren. Janai seems confident reading sign language in private conversations with Amaya, so why does Gren interpret when it’s just the three of them? I know it’s for the audience’s sake but I have to wonder if they’ll change things up for Arc 3

Oof the smash cut to Ezran slamming that elf figurine on the table. The first time I saw this scene I was blown away by the return of the bloodthirsty elf imagery from S1

Ez seems far angrier about Callum’s betrayal than Rayla’s, likely because he understands they’re both choosing to prioritise their own dads

“You’re the bread” oh my god the way Soren pouts when Corvus glares

Claudia’s nose-finger-move! Her glee is infectious! I love character quirks in animation!

Aanya and Ezran’s friendship is so important in this season <3

When I watched S7 the first time, I got to this scene and immediately picked up on Miyana’s pregnancy, but I need to shoutout Gren for his reaction because, same buddy

The whole Garden of Innocents is GORGEOUS

Terry having the same reaction to dark magic as S1-2 Soren was a big hint as to what direction his arc would go

The Mage Wars backstory was nice to see!

Claudia and Aaravos’ dynamic is so…intriguing this season. I’m very torn between finding it endearing and disturbing how quickly they grew attached to each other

“My child will avenge me” a not-so-subtle parallel to Harrow and Viren in S2 (“it’s name will be vengeance!”)

God Rena’s voice acting in this scene was really great

Soren shielding Ezran alert!

I can’t help but wonder if a fire ruby would’ve contained enough sun magic to fuel the spell Viren cast to save Duren/Katolis? If there’s another world where Aanya’s parents were honest about Duren’s secret, and none of the queens died?

Janai laying down the law was brutal, but reasonable considering what’s happened

Overall thoughts:

This was one of my ‘meh’ episodes from my first S7 viewing, and honestly? My opinion hasn’t changed much since. It feels like a middle child caught between True Heart and Unfinished Business. There’s a lot of really interesting lore developments and character interactions that left me theorising and analysing previous seasons. It’s still a good episode, but it’s just…good (if that makes sense).

Now, the thing I was reminded of, was a theory I’d had in the lead up to S7 regarding Aaravos, Aditi, and Kim’dael. Basically, I had this idea that 300 years ago, Kim’dael offered her loyalty to Aaravos if he could kill Aditi as revenge for her mercy bind (since she couldn't do it herself). For Aaravos, taking Aditi off the board and gaining Kim'dael's services was a two birds-one stone situation, so he did it, not realising that choice would cost him his freedom. I was going into this season imagining Kim’dael making an appearance as a lieutenant for Aaravos and a mentor figure to Claudia.

I don’t know, it felt like a cool idea and I can’t believe I forgot about it until I heard the soldiers calling Janaya the Queens of Mercy

[qpjianghu]

Do u have any thoughts on the writing of Shan Gudao? I think earlier on in the series I was pretty excited that maybe Li Xiangyi really did , through his own hubris and difference in the way of seeing the world drove a wedge between him and his brother. Even after he was revealed to be alive I kinda wished he became ‘evil’ through a complex set of emotions and circumstances. I’m not saying SGD is completely 2D I just wonder if we could have had a more of a ‘Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian drifting apart (ie; not pure inferiority complex)’ style tragic slant. Li Xiangyi truly #did nothing wrong, but I kinda wish he was a little #more wrong.

Anyway, I’m sure SGD is still thematically very coherent, but is there anything you’d change/ponder changing about his storyline with LXY, or just your thoughts about this topic.

This is a great callout @lei-llustrations!! The short answer is that I agree, and if I had one criticism of the writing in Mysterious Lotus Casebook it would be this. Jiang Cheng is an excellent example of a protagonist foil with more internal complexity, and Shan Gudao is definitely very one-note. I wonder if part of it is the performance -- Jiang Cheng always projects this sort of buttoned-up rage, whereas Shan Gudao's jealousy presents itself as sadistic glee, which is just not as relatable (and believable) an emotion.

But at the end of the day I still enjoy the character of Shan Gudao as exactly what you said, OP -- a thematically coherent foil even if he's not a realistically coherent person. Because of MLC's overarching exploration of meta-narratives, I think his character works as a performance of villainy -- and maybe it even works better because it's so over-the-top and slightly divorced from reality. In fact, it's interesting to see the shift in the character of Li Lianhua after Shan Gudao's treachery is revealed, and specfically after Shan Gudao outs him as Li Xiangyi in front of all of Tianji Hall in episode 33: Li Lianhua suddenly transforms into the badass hero everyone imagines Li Xiangyi to be. You can actually literally see the change in his eyes from world-weary to steely when it happens:

(Cheng Yi, you are a marvel)

Or, I should say: When he decides to make that shift. Shan Gudao's grandiose display against Tianji Hall, and his specific call to arms against Li Lianhua, necessitates a turning point for LLH: Now that he's been exposed, will he once again take up the mantle of the heroic Sect Leader Li Xiangyi?

In this moment, he does, but by this point in the show we know that it's just a performance. However, at the end of the day, Li Lianhua still has a kind heart, so he reluctantly puts on the mask of the hero Li Xiangyi in order to save the people of Tianji Hall. As Shan Gudao pontificates about the show's MacGuffin, Li Lianhua agrees to stage the hero/villain performance with him. It even looks like he's literally stepping out onto a stage when he separates himself from the crowd to confront Shan Gudao and his army:

The scene is badass and triumphant... but it's also, on rewatch, devastating and tragic -- because it marks the moment where Li Lianhua seemingly becomes fatalistically trapped by the narrative he's been so desperately trying to escape. (And that's why I love love LOVE @redemption-revenge's post about Li Lianhua finally escaping the narrative at the end! Importantly in a "bonus" episode, which is... not a "literal" part of the show itself. ;)) Since Shan Gudao is performing as a paragon of villainy, Li Lianhua / Li Xiangyi must rise to meet him. (Yin and yang, in a sense.) And that's why Li Lianhua becomes so fixated on vanquishing Shan Gudao for the remainder of the show, though it feels quite out of character for him -- it's so like a prototypical hero. Shan Gudao's performance of villainy necessitates Li Lianhua's equal and opposite performance of heroism.

Which is so interesting and juicy!!!! because of Li Lianhua's series-long internal struggle trying to escape the hero narrative so many characters try to fit him into. (As @redemption-revenge also talked about here -- clearly we're brainrotting on the same wavelength lol.) In a weird way, I feel like the overall lack of nuance in Shan Gudao's performance of villainy actually allows for even more shades of grey in Li Lianhua's character. Not only does he have to reckon with in-world conflicts and consequences, but he's sort of engaging with the meta-narrative as well: can he escape the narrative that the other characters around him and also the show itself is trying to thrust upon him?

As a potentially controversial aside, this is why I actually loved the Nanyin royal blood reveal. It's so dumb and cheesy and predictable and part of the traditional hero narrative (maybe I'm looking at this through a very American "rags-to-riches" narrative lens, but bear with me here) -- but that's the point, according to the meta-narrative. Our reaction as viewers is also Li Lianhua's reaction. For Li Lianhua, this is the exact opposite of a gratifying, triumphant, and redemptive moment. I haven't gotten up to this in my rewatch yet, so I don't have have specific visuals in mind, but I do remember even from my first viewing the look of utter devastation and resignation of Li Lianhua's face in this scene. It marks the final nail in the coffin of Li Lianhua trying to escape the narrative. Like in epsiode 33 when his identity is finally revealed, Li Lianhua once again resigns himself to following the script of the traditional narrative, which is how/why he ends up heroically sacrificing himself for Fang Duobing and his family.

But anyway, back to Shan Gudao as an effective foil: In addition to serving a purpose for the meta-narrative, I also think Shan Gudao's one-dimensionality also works well with Li Lianhua's internal conflict regarding his feelings of guilt and self-blame. You're right, OP: I wish there was a bit more actual blame to lay on LXY -- though I think we can still blame him for being arrogant (to borrow the loaded iqiyi subtitle term) since he was clearly blind to his shixiong's real feelings, and blind to the feelings of those around him as well (including Qiao Wanmian). Though even if you take the track of Li Xiangyi truly never did anything wrong in his life ever (*heart emoji*), this makes his arc even more tragic. This is why I love him so freakin' much -- he feels less like a character and more like a real flesh-and-blood person. And the reason he feels so real is because he acts in ways that are often contradictory and self-sabotaging and illogical, because he's decidedly not following the traditional (heteronormative hero narrative) script. Even when there is a Grade-A villain right there in front of him to take all of the blame, Li Lianhua doesn't take the bait. He has a prime opportunity to look at Shan Gudao and come to the logical conclusion that he (LXY/LLH) actually did nothing wrong, that he's not to blame for any of the terrible things that have happened to him and to others in his name... but he doesn't take the out. He still refuses to forgive himself, he still internalizes all of the guilt, he is not suddenly "cured" from his trauma. He is so real for that, and it's gut-wrenching.

[firespirited]

Used to believe that I hated musicals.

True, I don't like many musical films and usually don't like musical episodes or musical shows like Glee because of the cringe-like emotions when a speaking conversation turns into song. Ew.

Truth is, I like a well-made musical:

It has to have a solid plot built around the musical themes (and not vice versa), the outbursts of song and dance have to make emotional sense (speaking is no longer enough to convey the feelings) and it needs a certain musical quality (not half sung).

I'm starting to think that it's getting spoiled on the good stuff early is what made me cringe so bad when watching the not-as-great stuff. Because I used to say "I hate musicals" and somehow forget I've seen The Sound of Music and The Lion King dozens if not hundreds of times.

Oh yeah, Wicked is that good.

Before, I thought Cynthia Erivo was going to be overpowered for the role so to speak. She's got a range and gravitas for far more serious fare but they pulled production up to match. And she's so soft in this. Just so precious as Elphaba. Played with great intelligence.

And, Ariana Grande as Ariana Grande Butera articulates.

Yes folks, she can hit perfect high notes while using consonants!

Her and Erivo rise to eachother's talent without even a hint of rivalry, they only ever overlap harmoniously which is not something musical duets always achieve. She also injects some sympathy into a character that's tough to like and could very easily be abrasive.

The costumes lack the bulk of old fashioned fabric but don't fall into the flat halloween costume type we've seen a lot either thankfully.

I'm sorry to report that most of Galinda's outfits are sleeker than befits a pink bubble witch. Maybe part 2 will turn up the geometric volume the way Elphaba has grown into her silhouette.

As for the music, I'm not an expert. I liked Erivo and Grande's songs and didn't click with the others. Both have the calibre to make live music sound as perfect as a recording studio so filming the music live wasn't a mess like, say Beauty and the Beast live action.

Can't say it worked as well on a musical level for the other actors who have the personality to pull off the acting part without being obviously theatrical. I think that's probably the small price to pay for a film adaptation : they needed the heft of Michelle Yeoh's charisma as an actress even if you don’t get a stunning singer's single on the soundtrack from the performance. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

All in all: fun, touching. Not cringe. Not flat and half assed. Rewatchable. Catchy songs. Didn’t feel like a theatre piece slapped on screen. Didn’t go in the other direction so far as to lose the whimsy and magic. Did I mention it's highly rewatchable?

Colour grading : not muddy!!! Sound quality : I wasn't constantly fiddling with the volume despite this being a telescreener cobbled from several sources at different sound depths! I kind of want to give this full marks just for not grading to grey and mangling the sound, goodness knows that's rare.

Ah yes, there's plot too. The text is layered: ripe with details and themes and leitmotifs. Lots of fruit for meta analysis whether you want to make personal or political parallels. Lots of food for thought about the concepts and constructs of being good or bad. Rich stuff. A pinch of cruelty and darkness. Exactly what's needed for a solid kids' movie classic.