#the opening scene of that ep was GENUINELY so sweet and nice with him bringing Padme dinner and them being all mushy together | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

jemmo · 2 years ago

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the eclipse ep 2 - the reprieve

i cannot tell you how much i absolutely love the moments in this ep where it’s like akk is considering and testing out his feelings for ayan. im talking mainly about the series of scenes from akk with ayan’s hoodie to when they’re in the bathroom together after feeding the dog, it’s the sweetest moment in the whole show so far, bc we actually get to see akk at ease around ayan. that’s so rare and so surprising, it makes me wonder what prompted this softness, but you can see it when he approaches the hoodie, when he picks it up and feels it in his hands, analyses it, smells it, you can see his brain ticking thinking “what is it about this boy that’s getting to me like this? what is that i can’t stop thinking about? what is it that’s making me confused?”.

but it’s not like he even approaches those thoughts in a hostile way, it’s more genuine curiosity, you see it in how wide and wondering his eyes are, and even more in the expression he makes when ayan catches him, there’s no initial anger or annoyance to it, it’s wide-eyed and caught out, like he’s been snuck up on in a moment of innocence and vulnerability.

and then of course he puts on that anger, let’s the harshness to return to his voice and words, which just makes it even better when he’s confronted by ayan’s innocence and sweetness. he tries to insight an argument but there’s no argument here, just ayan doing something kind, and that face returns, the wide eyes, the genuine shock, bc oh fuck he’s not fighting, he’s just being cute.

It’s the pin all over again, except this time he doesn’t run away, he lets himself slip into this rare moment of being relaxed and real and genuine. they feed the dog, they mess and joke with each other and at no point do either of them try to start something, they don’t get hostile, and notably they don’t bring up anything about the school or rules or morals, it’s them without all that exterior stuff that fuels their fight, without it there’s really nothing to fight about.

and then the bathroom. i adore this scene. like seriously, genuinely, with all my heart this scene is my favourite so far. ayan looking up and across at akk tentatively, almost as if he’s thinking “he’s being nice… why is he being nice?? what kind of move is he trying to make??”.

but then akk looks back and again he’s so wide eyed, idk just something about how big and shining akk’s eyes are in these scenes, it makes it genuinely feel like he’s opening himself up to feeling something, giving it a chance. and he doesn’t even look away, doesn’t do that classic thing of being caught staring and avoiding it, he just openly stares for so long with so much boldness and curiosity.

and I don’t think ayan knew what to do with that, bc instead of taking the interaction somewhere else, he offers up something familiar to them, he tries to start an argument, comes at him with an argumentative tone, like saying “come on, let’s do what we always do��. it’s a chance for akk to back off, to explain away these subtle things he’s doing, this different way he’s acting, ayan gives him that out.

but akk doesn’t take it. instead he considers ayan for a while, eyes flitting around but still not leaving him, and then he says “nothing”. if he wanted to start an argument, if what was on his mind was something hostile, he’d voice it, we know he has no problem doing that. so by saying nothing, it’s not just him for once backing down, not going in to attack mode, it’s almost giving away that he’s not here for that, not even thinking about that, this interaction is so removed from this back and forth fight they’ve had going on.

and that’s only made more clear when he says the dog is cute and then splashes him with water. that’s such an un-akk thing to do. we’ve maybe seen him have more fun when he’s in his dorm with his friends but we’re so used to seeing him straight laced and and controlled, considered, that this free smile, this silliness, this compliment, it’s so shocking, to us and to akk.

and that’s not even getting into the line about the dog, bc we all know what that means, us, akk and ayan. he compared ayan to a dog and then called the dog cute, it couldn’t be more obvious. what has my mind reeling is what was going through akk’s mind when he said that, was it spur of the moment, an impulse, was it considered, did he have to work up the courage to it. what made him 180 so much, feel so free and relaxed in himself and so bold and confident to say that, it’s insane, bc this isn’t some huge turning point, all their other interactions carry the same tone of tension and hostility, this doesn’t change anything, it’s almost like a reprieve, an oasis, some kind of aside, it’s so polar to all else and so interesting bc of that, bc you have to wonder why. akk and ayan’s interactions to me are very much dictated by how they’re both feeling coming into them, is akk partially frustrated, has he just spoke to a teacher or his friends about needing to crack down on rules, is ayan particularly focused on uncovering stuff about his uncle or equally are they just not in the mood to fight, they just wanna have some space and not have to deal with it. to me, this interaction is almost like they found each other in a rare moment where they both weren’t fixed on their goals or morals, where they were both off guard and more them than the things they represent, and that’s what gave us this moment, and that’s how all the external factors made it this isolated thing that didn’t continue after.

but then my final thing about this scene is the way ayan looks after akk leaves, bc you see the initial confusion, the way it goes from “wait he’s not fighting back??” to “wait did he just call me cute?” like did he understand wrong, did that just happen?? but it’s like as he accepts that it did happen, his mouth creeps up more and more into this smile, this grin, and that’s what I wanna know.

I wanna know if this smile is one of those “this school is gonna be fun” smiles, where he’s kind of delighted that he’s affecting akk and making him act this way and getting to see this side of him, almost like the joy of actually being surprised by him. or is it a genuine “that was cute, I liked that” smile, bc how akk feels is already pretty obvious, it’s his ability to accept how he feels and let it out that is gonna be his set back and how he grows. ayan is different, bc he has no issue voicing things, he’s bold and in your face, he’s not holding himself back, the thing is we don’t know how he feels, we haven’t had a sign yet that tells if he does like akk too. all his flirting in ep 1 was always combative, and he dropped that vibe as soon as akk walked away from him, stopped smiling, cold reset to what he was thinking about before. he doesn’t do that here, mainly bc he wasn’t trying to get akk to get off his case, he wasn’t up to anything, and the fact that instead of one of them walking away and ending the interaction, the fact that ayan says “hey, wait”, he’s going after him.

this is the kind of tiny, subtle storytelling I adore bc as I said, we don’t know how ayan feels, bc in a way he voices so much and puts on such a front with what he says that we almost can’t trust his words, there’s no knowing what’s true and what’s just to get a rise out of akk, to cover his truth, to get what he wants. so how do we get an impression of how he really feels? by how he acts. and when you look at their past interactions, through all of ep 1 and 2, the scene always ends when their interaction ends, either bc one of them walks away or bc they stop talking, we always see the conversation end. this is the only time we get any kind of allusion to an interaction continuing after the scene cuts, as well as the only time that one of them leaves and the other one pursues, tries to carry it on. and it says so much that it’s in this single scene where they don’t fight, that when it’s all dropped they seek to be around each other more, and that it’s ayan who is going after him. mr ‘mind your own business’ is trying to make this fun, relaxed interaction go on longer.

#oh no I’m back on my shit again #and by my shit I mean unnecessarily long rambles about the gays being on their shit #I just can’t tell you how much I love these 3 tiny scenes next to each other #it’s such a great flash in to what’s to come #and why they will eventually gravitate to each other and develop feelings #with enemies to lovers it’s so easy and so common to just go from hatred to love almost like a switch #and for it to have no build up #it’s just tension growing and growing until it snaps #but here’s this sweet scene that shows us exactly why they will fall for each other #and how their dynamic will work #like a little glimpse into the future neither of them know is waiting for them #it’s establishing them as having amazing chemistry outside of their feuding #that it’s not just their hostility that brings them together #but in their softness they can be close too #agh I need to stop I seriously like this bit too much #the brain rot is not just real it’s coming at me full force #the eclipse #also sorry I can’t put a read more on this I’m on mobile #apologies for plaguing all your dashes #made by jemmo

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vaguely-concerned · 4 years ago

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X-men Evolution; the great 2021 rewatch liveblog

exactly what it says on the tin, about halfway through the show I had TOO MANY FEELINGS and had to start writing some of them out haha (gets quite gambit & rogue/gambit heavy in the latter half, Because of Who I Am as a Person)

- this is my childhood’s x-men, my formative experience with them, and I’m happy to report that still seems like a good thing. the little eleven year old within me gets to geek out and have a good time with the characters and the surprisingly good animation and writing, adult me gets to CACKLE at regular intervals at the fashion/technology/absolute bonkers hot garbage comic book nonsense they use to justify a storyline every now and then, it’s been a good time

- I was like ‘ah well it is super dated it probably won’t be quite the same now’ and then rogue’s HAIR did the THING in the opening and ‘it’s all coming back to me now’ started playing in the background... the little baby queer in me swooning across time and space

- such a good beast, both his design and the writing, my heart aches for him all the time. he’s just so passionate! about being a teacher! helping young humans learn the stuff they’ll need in life! the most wonderful nerd man, just let good things happen for him

- I’m going to go ahead and assume that rogue’s ‘crush’ on scott is more of a deeply complex psychological process about desiring normalcy and intimacy and trying to figure out if she’s queer and dealing with her emerging sexuality and latching on to the first and best safely unavailable and nonthreatening older boy to project these issues onto rather than actually being a real thing, because I respect her so much as a person and I cannot bring myself to imagine she’s honestly attracted to a man who has POSTERS OF CARS on his bedroom wall. (I’ll give jean a break just because she seems to have a longer deeper history with him that might counteract some of that libido-kill, and also she’s a jock so lol)

like I am very sorry but can u imagine being a teenage girl with any interest in a boy with model cars in his bedroom when gambit’s swanning around being a much, much, much worse choice on almost every possible level but in a teen girl kryptonite kind of way? inconceivable

(I drag scott quite a few times in this and it’s not because I don’t love him, it’s just his tragedy to be the most draggable man in the world)

to be fair by the time gambit shows up that whole Situation has mostly played itself out I suppose but still

- toad’s design is so ineffably brilliant, I can’t quite tell you why but that ugly cute charm has really stuck with me, he’s one of the characters I remembered the best to this day just visually

- poor evan... he truly never had a chance, did he, they just saddled him with the most 90s teen bullshit they could come up with like he’s some kind of ‘what adult writers think teens like’ frankenstein’s monster ;______; it’s not your fault honey

- poor poor POOR storm, she gets one focus episode and they were like ‘we’re going to make an episode so racist -- ‘

I’m still STUNNED at how bad it was, but undeniably I laughed hysterically to the point that my neighbours were probably worried when that dude was earnestly like ‘He [stunningly breathlessly racist caricature of a ‘witch doctor’ guy] has stolen her powers, and he’s going to use them to take over Africa!!!’ fhajsdlfhsakjldfh oh really? tell me more, like how the fUCK this could be on television within my life time fasdlfhsdkjfhsad f just... fahjksdfh

- it’s a testament to gambit’s appeal as a character that his charm can survive what they’ve done with his hair and beard choices in this one fajskfhs regrettable but true I still fuckn LOVE him and in my highly biased yet Correct opinion he should have been around much more. get you a man who manages to stay hot through sheer Vibes even with a bowl cut

- aw scott/jean is kind of sweet in this show even if it’s taking them forEVER to get there, I like it

- it’s very nice of rogue to not mention magneto’s romantic daydreams and nostalgic memories about charles xavier after touching his face that one time... or maybe her brain did her a service and repressed it, there’s some stuff you shouldn’t have to know about your father figure

- the danger room is the very definition of ‘why do we even have that lever’ and I wonder what the fuck prof x does to have enough money to replace everything that gets busted all the time

- I’d say that a lot of the writing holds up surprisingly well! (but some of it is also incredibly inexcusably racist in ways that beggar belief, so... not full marks here) the characters have distinct voices and their arcs are set up and delivered on solidly for the most part, and there’s a lot of love showing through in small moments that are just there to have a funny/interesting thing to say about the characters and how their powers work separately and in combination. listen, sometimes I get so thirsty for like. basic goddamn competency in storytelling, let me have this

- ugggggh why is there captain america in my x-men have I not suffered enough... very very funny when prof x goes ‘sounds like you knew rogers personally’ and logan is like ‘I did ;)’ *all the students ganging up on steve rogers* “did you fuck our teacher, captain america?!”

- fskadfhas WHY are you showing me hot young-ified magneto’s ass fksjahfskj charles is not even here to see it, what a tragic waste erik

- ...I was sort of kidding before but uh I think logan genuinely did fuck captain america (or at least wishes very much that he did lol)

- wanda can have a little watching the world burn. as a treat for the way every single adult in her life has fucking failed her (’aren’t they treating you well here’ professor x she’s in a straightjacket)

- poor rogue tho can you imagine finding out after your biggest crush on a girl yet that she’s your fucking MOM in disguise... I would break out in cold sweat every time I thought about a boob forever after

- well seems like they really just had all that homoerotic rivalry stuff between quicksilver and spyke in their first ep only to never do anything with that again ever?? I mean even without the gay undertone that seems like a dynamic you spent most of an episode setting up writers what the hell haha

- dslhfkasjlh GAMBIT THERE HE IS MY BOY IS ON THE SCENE THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!! I don’t even care about his awful hair situation or the fact that his eyes are wrong here (coloured contact lenses, maybe, for a watsonian explanation? though he’d probably have to get them made special, considering he needs the sclera and the iris covered up in different ways, I’ve seen some comic panels indicating he has been known to?)

(cute little detail: when he shuffles the cards the first time we see him he ends with removing the top card to show the ace of hearts beneath <3 foreshadowing baBEY he’s a... good-ish boy deep down. hey he tries okay shit gets complicated sometimes lol)

- cracking UP at gambit perched cheerily on the edge of a crate dispensing cards in the middle of the battle... he’s like ‘eh it’s a livin’ sfsajkhf remy stop working for supervillains just because you had nothing to do on a thursday afternoon and they said they’d pay you

- I’m guessing magneto must have imposed a strict order of silence on these guys or something because I cannot imagine any other reason for him to shut up, especially once he notices rogue is a QTE (or, far more likely, they hadn’t settled on any voice actors for the new characters until next season haha. it is kind of odd that they’re all keeping up near monastic silence, though, even sabertooth lol)

- WHAT an epic first meeting for us rogue/gambit fans here... first his shadow like there’s fireworks going off behind him lighting him up and then he gives her the fuckn king of hearts and she’s so enchanted by his dumb handsome face she doesn’t even notice it’s about to blow up in her hands and it all happens in heavily meaningful silence afjsdfjashjk no wonder this ship ingrained itself in my hindbrain

yeah look smug while you can remy she’s gonna have you on your knees one day and you’ll be happy about it lol

- god storm is so COOL, everything just fading out of focus when she really gets going... give her more screen time, show!!

- mystique is every person... this person... that person... that bird... that cat... that wolf... I’m not even sure she’s not also me... are you sure she’s not you?

- holy fuck I respect the hell out of the decision to just... blow up the entire status quo in a season ender, I only vaguely remembered that (actually in general I appreciate how good the continuity is -- buildings and places that get damaged in battles need to be repaired or rebuilt, it makes the consequences feel more real even when no one gets seriously hurt. where they get the money to restore scott’s car and logan’s motorbikes every time they go cablooie is still an open question tho lol is it credit card fraud, professor? is it telepathically acquired blackmail???)

- I first watched this when I was nine or so, so it’s a real experience to go from my starry eyed intrigued ‘oh my god... they’re teenagers’ to my horrified adult perspective of ‘oh my god... they’re TEENAGERS D:’

that goes double for the brotherhood boys honestly, I’m here with tears in my eyes like ‘I’m sorry the system has failed you so badly you’re all just a bunch of dumb kids whose caretakers clearly fucked up spectacularly’

like lance is always waiting for mystique to come back because she’s the closest thing he has to a safe parental figure, may we speak about how crushingly depressing that is

- rogue is so ready to throw hands at literally any moment and for that I love and treasure her immensely (I think getting to see her be so surly and unreasonable and sometimes difficult and jealous, like any teenager, meant a lot to me as a kid who was not really allowed to be any of these things, this version of the character has stayed with me so deeply. she holds on so fiercely to her right to feel what she feels and be what she is even when it’s ‘ugly’ or unreasonable, which I think plays in really interestingly with how her powers involve getting invaded by other people’s thoughts and memories to the point of overwhelming her own sense of self and the fact that she clearly has a lot of self-loathing and self-consciousness and confusion about her identity as well. I love her so much)

- oooof this is the ‘the gang experience a microaggression’ episode huh (well more like macroagressions really)

hits a bit different with adult eyes and perspective huh

- hearing jean sound almost like a child when she says ‘that’s so unfair!’ somehow has me like ;______; -- she has to be so adult and responsible all the time, and having her be reduced to the kid she still is and should get to be in front of this awful awful man she could squash like a bug with the flick of a thought... ugh I’m Big Sad (it is funny that jean seemingly plays Every Sport tho djfhaskj)

- MY BOY IS BACK!!! this time with the duster coat and his eyes the right colour, im so happy (too bad about the subdued colour scheme tho; I adore his dumb bright pink getup with my whole heart)

it’s kind of adorable that he takes the time to take the bullies aside and go ‘I know these guys can’t wreck you without getting expelled, but I think you’ll find no law set down by god or man would stop me from doing so whenever I wanted to. so piss off and leave them alone’ lol he’s looking out for them, in his own way

- in this episode: remy lebeau wrangles some kids while looking bored yet mildly amused the whole time. what the fuck does magneto have on you for you to agree to this level of babysitting duty buddy

- fun detail I noticed b/c when I get a fave I hyperfixate: he gave rogue the king of hearts before, but he ‘introduces’ himself to the brotherhood here (lol) with the jack of hearts, probably to symbolize he’s here as someone who works for magneto in this setting and not as his own man? it’s a demotion he’s given himself there, anyway, might be he’s not very pleased about his current position huh

- I like it when rogue and kitty team up, they’re not very effective together but their squabbling is so cute and non-aggressive

- pietro is what draco malfoy would be if I ever found malfoy interesting to watch for even one moment, every time quicksilver talks I’m like ‘what wonderfully insufferable thing is going to come out of your mouth this time you little shit :’)’

- a) why are scott and logan shirtless for this scene? I am not complaining on the logan side of things at least but why and b) I laughed so hard I almost fell off my couch when scott asked logan if he’d ever been in love and he was like ‘once. she was the most beautiful bike I ever saw’ falsdfhaskjfhsakjlfhasklhjfd THE BEST VERSION OF WOLVERINE EVER, ACCEPT NO SUBSTITUTES

- mystique’s sheer dedication to being a petty bitch is kind of inspirational tbh, almost makes me want to go on a completely bonkers and extra crusade of personal revenge myself

- oooh they’re doing some genuinely cool things with vision/lack of vision in this one (it’s the scott left on his own in the desert without glasses one btw) even visually, dang! I’m so sad this show didn’t get more seasons than it did, honestly, it deserved it

- hell yeah jean wreck her, go get your man with the suspiciously specific clothing damage normally done to female characters

awww :’) okay yeah they’re super sweet, I love the tiny loving animation details like how he leans his head against her and her stroking his hair away from his eyes

- nooo don’t bully evan leave my t0tally r4dical sk8er boy alone :(

- I love the running joke of people fleeing in blind panic only to reveal that what they’re running from is kitty’s cheerful well meaning little face fskfaskh

- scott and jean are already peak married after officially being together for one episode and it’s adorable, and they just stone cold threw logan under the bus, rip wolverine we hardly knew ya

fjasdlfasldfhslajdkfhsadkjlfhsdkjalfhsdakfh h jean establishing herself as the alphabitch of this relationship by throwing her man to the wolves right after dsjfhaskjfhaskjhfsakjdhfaskjhfaskdhfskjahfskdajhf get smarter or get volunteered scott

- ...eyepatch lady is so hot ngl

oh evan went to the place hank used to go to calm down ;________; (honestly he’s kind of won a place in my heart just by being a pretty normal teenage boy haha)

- jesus fucking CHRIST can you imagine being storm having to look her sister in the eye as she tells her ‘I lost your only child, he’s *vague gesture* somewhere in the sewers we think’ this poor woman

- amanda the self admitted monster fucker you are so VALID (I love her and her family’s design so much tho!)

- it’s so cool that even in his human ‘disguise’ kurt’s fingers follow the shape of his actual hand beneath it rather than moving like a five fingered hand, it’s such a lovingly consistent little detail

- magneto and mystique in a breathless race to see who can be the shittiest parent... tune in next week for yet another parental nadir (also some low-poly gambit appearances in this one, for those at home keeping score (me), he’s in the background looking like someone drew him with their eyes closed fakjldfhasd look how they massacred my boy)

- someone please teach the brotherhood boys about consent huh

- jean ‘soccer mom before her time’ grey and her SUV dfhakjlhds :’)

- im sobbing rogue baby girl i’m so sorryyyyyy, this voice actress is so good, my parental instincts suddenly kicked into overdrive hearing the crack in her voice :( (bb me was right tho rogue centric episodes ARE the best episodes. that tension between ‘do I identify witn this character or am I crushing on her?? both???’ now has the fun new addition of ‘oh god oh no you are a baby I want to shield you with my body from everything trying to hurt you’)

- mystique is like ‘so you see despite you telling me you never wanted to see me again I completely disrespected that and posed as a friend your age, manipulated you by offering you the mirage of direly needed emotional intimacy and belonging and added some sprinkles of homoerotic tension to it just to massively worsen your already existing grievous psychosexual trauma and identity issues... out of love’

god go jump in a black hole you fucking monster

- there’s some very interesting and quite subtle subtext about the people she’s morphing into and what that says about her mental state/how it shows off some of her emotional baggage with the rest of the team. it’s like she’s switching between people/powers that fit the purpose as if she’s going through cycles of fight/flight (and then bursts of freeze where she’s herself, which is... so sad)

- this whole episode is hurting my heart but rogue at full power is undeniably epic

- ‘professor x get your goddamn act together and get this poor girl some fucking tHERAPY’ challenge

- SAFE PAPA LOGAN ;_____;

- EYYYYYY opening straight on My Lad, I cannot stop winning!!!!!

fasdfhsad disintegrating the window with a smiley face... remy I do love you more than my heart can bear honestly, hello may we speak about the fact that his urge to be a little shit is so deep and strong it survives mind control (that little breathed out ‘hiah!’ as he vaults the fence too dsakfjsd)

hahaha and he does up the coat fhsalfdsaj

- magneto dismissing other telepaths like ‘puh-lease, your Meaningful Looks have got nothing on my ex-husband’s’

- :’) rogue and kurt sibling timeees

- say what you want but this pyro guy’s got job satisfaction in being a creepy arsonist with a weird recurring horse theme (well at least twice but still weird)

- I love how beast is the kindest man to ever walk the earth but also straight up savage, this man drags people so hard their ancestors wince in their graves

- gambit taking the time to complete the guard’s game of solitaire -- this episode is giving me everything I want. u little disgrace mr lebeau

and THEN he takes the spider out in the most hilariously bonkers way my heart is so FULL

(I love that when magneto moves by he looks startled and has to quickly move his head out of the way to avoid getting kicked in the temple too that’s a fun detail)

I’m so INTO how this sequence shows off that his greatest strength isn’t even his powers (which are pretty straightforward, really, he makes go boom, longer time and bigger thing bigger boom) but that he’s clever and creative and always extremely ready to be the most harebrained-bananapants-extra-in-a-deceptively-laidback-sort-of-way person in the room (I actually have some genuinely Deep Thoughts about how his whole character does a really interesting thing with having the straightforwardly destructive nature of his powers yield to what his nature as a person is, and how using the playing cards play (heh) into it, maybe I’ll write it out some day. just the fact that he could use anything, but he deliberately chose something that adds style and playfulness and corny charm to it and that also limits the damage of the explosions compared to if he habitually used something with more mass... I find it fascinating how much he’s made a story around himself with it and how deeply it shows he does have a good heart, at the end of the day, in almost a metatextual way. he doesn’t want to destroy things or people, he’s at worst (and best lol) a thief.)

- I honestly have literally no memory of white nick fury (which seems so weird now isn’t it funny) in this series from when I was a kid, he clearly did not make an impression on me lol

- mr wolverine ‘assigned canadian at birth’ x-men

- oh man I dig the androgynity of x-23′s outfit (even tho they had to compensate with the long hair, which... kind of doesn’t make sense in-universe but does on a design level because it’s a crucial thing that she’s a female clone of logan so yeah okay fine whatever have your arbitrary gender markers if you must haha)

ooooooh that’s actually really clever, they make her gender gradually more obvious as she unravels through the episode and her outfit changes -- first the mask coming off, and then her jacket opening to show her silhouette more clearly, that’s cool!

- my god what really sets this show apart is how much it invests in little character and relationship moments, it’s just so fucking GOOD! it gives laura looking in on those moments such depth and weight because it’s new to her but established to us as an audience, this is how you make found family devastating people (storm growing bonsai trees is so charming too haha)

- ooof this is honestly quite harrowing

SHE’S SO SMALL COMPARED TO HIM I’M CRYING (at least that part of his genes translated over faslkfsjdh short king, I say this with all the love and support of a fellow short monarch)

- tabitha seems to just be running around doing precisely whatever the fuck she wants and you know what I support her even if she is an asshole her father left her a bunch of trauma and no fucks left to give

- still thrilled about professor x explaining the spider key fuckup to magneto after the fact like ‘magnus you dumb bitch this is why we split up’

- awww kitty has anime and movie posters on her wall and sleeps with a stuffed toy :’)

- remy rogue

🤝

doing completely unnecessary parkour around the brotherhood living room seemingly just for the hell of it... I’m not saying soulmates but fucking soulmates

- fhsadkjlfhsakjldfhsadjkfhsdajkfh just as gambit’s soul-level need to be a little shit survived his bout of mind control, rogue’s deep and urgent desire to kiss gambit full on the mouth survived hers I can’t breathe

she looks so pleased with herself too GOOD FOR YOU GIRL at least get something out of this other than more trauma

also not only the fact that he’s smart enough to figure out what’s going on (though he’s only partially right about who’s behind it. I do so enjoy gambit/mystique deep and sincere antipathy as a constant across all universes tho lmao pure wlw/mlm hostility) but also that he keeps fending her off like he’s not trying to hurt her even though she’s in nigh on unstoppable and invulnerable terminator mode... awww

- gambit having absolutely no patience for wolverine and sabertooth’s bullshit macho-off and consistently being this little biker trio’s one brain cell is adding years to my life with every passing moment

his voice is a little different in these scenes too, a bit softer and less like he’s trying to impress someone, it’s nice

- hank: well I barely recognize any of these (completely made up) ‘ancient egyptian hieroglyphs’ but from what I can make out -- *proceeds to infodump a perfect coherent narrative* fjdhfak

listen this whole thing is such nonsense on so many levels, I’m just turning my brain off so I won’t have to think about it okay, the compulsion to put ancient aliens in egypt haunts us as a culture

- I am CACKLING about gambit in the snow after having to listen to these two chucklefucks ooze testosterone at each other for hours

he started out taking it in good cheer and is now reduced to ‘dieu would both of you just jump off this fUCKING mountain please’

- ah. a little oops-a-daisy there, we seem to have unleashed the apocalypse. please stand by (they really don’t pull their punches with the season cliffhangers in this show haha)

- opening the season on gambit’s merrily grinning face is the easiest way to gain my favour. yes good this season may commence

baby u r my

ANGELLLLLLLL

(he’s so cute here tho haha I think it shows the design isn’t unsalvagable, just get him better hair and stubble more like logan has and you’ve basically got it)

love his exasperated eyeroll when the dude gets spooked (by his eyes? or just the general weirdness?) too

he’s just trying to keep this crazy family of evil mutants together and unmurdered by one another until they’ve managed to avert the end of the world, bless him

- oh NO rogue’s LIP wobbles my hhhhhheart ;____; such a good animation detail to put in

- like... I know kurt is just a sad scared teenager with a lot of shit going on and all the adults are too busy averting the end of the world to help him... but buddy maybe don’t ask your sister to wake her abuser (who forced her to kickstart the end of the world!!!!!) when she feels utterly unsafe even with her statue version around huh

- ...wanda is good and I want only good things for her. and for her dad to be disemboweled for what he did to her both the first time around and when he forced her to forget I mean what

- magneto throwing an epic satelite-slinging tantrum b/c ‘no I am the biggest sexiest strongest mutant of the pack :(’... erik fucking get over yourself

- yes boys absolutely go along with a plan suggested by a dude who looks at you like this

nothing bad can come of this surely asdfkhsa

- lance’s quarter of a braincell always trying to go ‘hey wait, maybe... not do this???’ and it never helps lol

- in this episode: Logan Has A Bad Day

...some very specific bondage positions he’s held in here, I am sure this episode awakened something in someone once upon a time lol

- logan shielding x-23 with his body... im fine it’s okay I’m not crying don’t look at me

- afsdhlsdfjasdlk those sure are some ‘scottish’ accents flsadkjhkdsjahfsd

- scott relieved to finally be able to cede the position of ‘charles xavier’s least favourite son’ to someone else fjsaklfhsajd (poor scott it’s not your fault honey)

supremely cowardly to suggest there is an ex-wife involved rather than charles slutting his way around the british isles back in the day but okay

- kurt with a cold is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. it’s okay kid it’ll get better soon

- ...is there an implication here that professor x is naturally blond. because I am losing my entire little mind about it (i mean he at least has to carry the gene, as does this lady?)

ETA: upon doing some research into this I can indeed confirm that charles xavier does seem to be naturally blond, and after this knowledge I will never be the same

- “listen, dracula” fskdafghasd oh scott you sweet baby angel I love you

- I know jean’s abilities are a bit ‘as strong or as weak as the plot needs right now’ at this point (so you can have the setup for what’s going to happen with them eventually and she’s basically invincible ;____;), and normally I’m cool with it but god I want her to just squash lucas like a little bug

- ewwwww please don’t ever say ‘daddy’ like that again

- ...what the fuck is even going on this episode’s a mess

like okay the split personality thing could be something but the way it’s done... what just happened lol

- MY BOY EVAN IS BACK! with a real glowup too (...though kind of weird how he suddenly looks like a grown man)

- augh scott’s eyes are so pretty oh my god ;__________________________;

- that episode in the first season where evan makes the ‘this is my new family!!’ video is so sad now (also, again, his poor poor parents)

- time for: life affirming road trip with gambit (involuntary) faskljdfhaskjd

stunt therapist remy lebeau

- I mean the way he goes about it is batshit insane and it’s very much secondary to what he’s actually up to but this is the first time rogue’s sounded genuinely hopeful and confident and like herself in like a season <3

- he is disconcertingly pleased about her nearly throwing him off the train, and may I just say I agree it’s so nice to see rogue with her old fire back

- the first time I watched this it was of course dubbed into norwegian, so I had no idea either of these characters were southern lol (though to be fair I probably wouldn’t have had much context for what it meant exactly either, I was like ten at the time and not too interested in america) I seem to dimly remember the norwegian voice actor did a little more of a ‘french’-tinged accent for gambit all over tho haha

- you know what respect where it’s due, pyro dude knows to live his life for the lols and one has to admire his sociopathic dedication to it

interesting that he, too, seems to have fucking hated magneto -- I wonder if the implication here is that he kept all the acolytes in line with blackmail or by keeping something/one hostage? (except sabertooth maybe he’d just have to say ‘you get to fuck shit up and fight wolverine’ and that’d be enough)

- fsdakfhsd he’s so focused on her he doesn’t notice that guy about to hit him fkafhsa

- fuck everything else except whatever the hell these two’ve got going on

- it’s weirdly cathartic to have rogue have a conversation with someone who was not happily adopted as well, I don’t think kurt like. gets it because his parents loved him unconditionally and still do

birds of a feather motherfucker

- fun detail: when the x-men team are on the shore and logan is sniffing around scott is stepping in something and trying to wipe it off his boots in the background

- when he wakes up after passing out from the touch he’s smiling even though she’s standing over him looking like the rage of god outlined by the moon fsajfsa well the last time he passed out like that it was from a kiss, maybe he still has some hopes and dreams in that direction lol (also he recovers from the tumble down the hill first and is checking on her before accidentally brushing her cheek with his hand, which I thought was sweet)

and it was in that moment he knew he fucked up *passes out*

- ‘I can explain’ can u remy. can u

- did it ever even occur to you to just. ask her. to help you. I mean I know it didn’t but like rogue’s always one second away from throwing hands with some bully and is stupidly ride or die, if you’d given her the puppydog eyes she would have crumbled immediately (fair enough I guess this entire episode is telling us he’s not from a background where he has much experience with people just helping him without a price haha)

- his eyes glowing when he’s angry or upset or using a lot of his power is undeniably cool as all hell. I’m just saying it would be Big Sexy if they sort of flickered with light in moments of genuine vulnerability okay

- his coat... his coat is what makes the Silhouette tm and I could not be happier about it

- another parent of the year contestant enters the running lol “hey remy have you ever considered that you’re more of a walking bomb factory than a person? that’s certainly how I think of you hahaha c’mon kid let’s go”

- the running joke of jean luc getting dollar signs in his eyes seeing the other mutant powers and gambit being like ‘nO!!!!’ and pulling him along is amazing haha

- from the way he looks when he touches rogue accidentally and the way he talks to his dad I’m sort of getting the feeling this gambit might actually be a bit younger than he looks?

here too -- idk why but it’s making the ‘wait is he baby???’ alarms go off in my head haha. very early twenties at most.

- and we’ve officially seen him with all the face cards in the heart suit folks! (yes this is the sort of thing my brain notices no I don’t know either)

- poor logan running his ass off this whole episode in a panic and then she’s like ‘nah he’s fine (in several meanings of the word ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ) please put him down’ hfaskfsda

- rogue without makeup!!! her eyes look so naked like this haha <3

- oooh here’s a really interesting thing that tickles my brain a bit in this specific part of the scene where gambit frees his dad -- the part where he’s leaning against the door frame waiting for jean luc, who’s about to suggest using the opportunity to ruin the rival gang from the inside rather than slipping away while they still can

from his expression here he knows what’s about to happen, what jean luc is about to say, and it’s clearly a ‘man who thought he’d lost all hope loses last additional bit of hope he didn’t even know he still had’ sort of situation. he KNOWS what jean luc is like, and it still hurts that he really, honestly can’t give him even this, can’t appreciate that remy’s already done all this shit for him when he extremely didn’t have to, without immediately (no really, it took him less than ten seconds to go there? jesus) demanding more.

remy tells him “I’m just here for you” and jean luc does not understand it. remy seems to be sincere in this motivation -- rogue certainly thinks so, having experienced it second hand and found enough at least emotional merit in it to decide he was worth saving even after all his bullshit (lol a bit of a running theme maybe. I think it’s very telling that after she absorbed mystique she was like ‘what the FUCK you’re a fucking monster’, and after she absorbed gambit she went ‘you did the wrong thing for the right reasons’ after she got over the first wave of outrage)

there’s also what he says as he stands there: “You don’t need me for that”, with the distinct implication that jean luc would only keep him around because he has a use for him and for no other reason -- and then jean luc shamelessly doubles down on that by specifying that it’s not even him he’s got a use for as such, just his powers. that’s some kicking puppies level of deliberately missing the point, it’s almost impressive in how cheerfully mean it is haha

this idea of using people is really important in this episode because remy’s doing basically exactly the same thing to rogue to begin with; it doesn’t really matter to his plan that it’s her that’s with him through this, just what her powers are. (I think it’s p r e t t y solidly implied that he does actually like her a lot outside of that too and maybe there is some comfort in having her around for this, but mostly he’s behind a smokescreen of lies through the whole thing sooo I doubt he’s even aware of it, honestly)

but then it does matter that it’s her when she comes back for him, even after what he did. and unlike jean luc he understands what that means, that she did that for him, and that she didn’t have to. and instead of asking her for more, in return he gives her the thing it’s been established is what he considers the most valuable thing he has; his ‘last card’, the thing he’s credited with keeping him alive many a time, basically. it’s gone from using to mutuality, a tentative place of friendship, and at the end of the day he is a different man than his adoptive father, with a capacity for selflessness and love he lacks. which is of course some of the same stuff going on with rogue and mystique too, except rogue acted from a more fragile and unstable place and did something she regrets, or at least has a LOT of doubts about now, and she found some catharsis in helping someone make a different choice in a similar situation. man there’s some Stuff going on under the surface here haha

(by the way it’s a weirdly... meaningless yet intensely meaningful thing, the gifting of a symbol? of an idea? but he’s putting something very crucial of himself into her hands, is the subtext, and he expects her to understand, which she also does seem to do. at the beginning of the episode he’s proving that he’s seen something true about her -- “You’re such an unhappy girl”, knowing where she comes from, the way she’s mourning her lost confidence and autonomy with her abilities -- and here she’s proving she’s seen something true about him. :’) I wish this show had gone on long enough for this dynamic to progress, it’s really interesting and touching)

- gambit dragging himself up onto dry land seeing someone approaching (to help?!): :D

gambit seeing that it’s logan and the look on his face: D:

- rogue using her powers so confidently and fearlessly in this episode tho!!!!

- *me crying* and then her FAMBILY comes to take her home and he says he’s looking out for her too and kurt still loves her even though they’re having a conflict thing between them and she’s finally able to use her powers without so much fear again and --

- ...did I just watch some baby lesbian love at first sight shit right now???

- okay last two episodes let’s go

- HELL YEAH STORM (I love that she’s like ‘don’t give me a dumb order like that and I won’t have to disobey it’ too sdfjsaj) her voice has such command I’m usually very much not the ‘step on me’ type butttt

- y’know I feel like apocalypse’s main fault across all versions I’ve seen of him is that he’s like an immortal superpowered god king and he’s not even sexy. like at least make him hot if he’s going to be insufferable in every other way

- also callout post for apocalypse: one time he made gambit into the Horseman of Death... and didn’t even make him sexy!!! you were handed remy lebeau, supreme bi disaster slut of the x men universe, and you couldn’t even make his brainwashed superpowered evil side hot?? a beautiful stubbled twunk with glowing red eyes and extremely charming :> face practically delivers himself into your hands and you do that to him???? I mean I’m sure apocalypse did some other bad stuff too but that was the worst one

(comics are so dumb y’all)

- having to watch jean cry is emotional terrorism!! ;___; she has such older sister/mom energy, whenever she gets sad and helpless it hurts

- oh, OH so PROFESSOR X you’ll make into a hunk and ~*strategically*~ rip his clothes to show off a nipple and a flawless pec in a way that makes me extremely uncomfortable because he’s like The Dad??? apocalypse you are rotten to the core this is unforgivable

- so wait wanda never actually gets her real memories back. what the FuCk I hope that was a dropped storyline because they ended the show tragically prematurely rather than like. the plan

- why is spyke calling storm ‘storm’ show that’s his auntie o!! >:(

- as a society we need to acknowledge that apocalypse looks like a fucking clown

- ooooh yeah I have been thinking that this show’s greatest visual weakness so far has been not having a visual way to show telepathy/battles of the minds, but this is a pretty cool way to do it! better late than never

- I’m so happy rogue gets to end this herself, since she was forced into starting it against her will, it’s just nice and neat storytelling

- YEAH FUCKING TELL HER KURT AND ROGUE I AM SO PROUD OF YOU and she has the temerity to look pissed off oh my god

the only valid thing mystique has done in her entire life is be in love with destiny. literally everything else she gets up to is a travesty. like I know objectively she’s hot but my loathing for her stops me from even appreciating it. I do enjoy loathing her tho so please don’t change her haha

(a bit odd to have kurt’s attitude to her swing so much but I’m just going to assume he and rogue had a good long conversation after ‘cajun spice’ and that he understands what’s going on better now)

- this last part is such a cruel tease faskdfhsdaj ‘here are all the cool-ass things we had planned. sucks you never get to see it huh’ im devastated

- magneto without his helmet and playing charmingly with children like charles is going ‘well at least I saved my marriage finally’ fsadkhfjsd (honestly tho I would be super interested in seeing how they’d redeem this magneto because he’s been a real bitch the whole time lol)

there’s an interesting thing here where magneto looks down at wanda as the last thing he does on screen before this epilogue part (yeah I hope it fucking haunts you forever what you did to her erik you absolute piece of hot garbage) and the last thing charles does is look at jean b/c he knows what’s going to happen to her and it breaks his heart... Dramatic Parallells

- just the hint of jean as the phoenix has me in full D:D:D: mode tho maybe I wouldn’t have survived it

- gambit in the last groupshot with his arm around rogue ;^) I mean I’m sure they’re headed for some turns and roundabouts along the way but what’s that thing she says as her wedding vow, that she’ll always find her way back? anyway that got me in my heart

- man I really wish this show had been given more seasons, we were barely even getting warmed up here :’(

#x men evolution #x men #gambit #rogue x gambit #aaah this is like therapy for me... just dumping all my emotions into a tumblr post and then let them go into the ether #I am now wondering if I'm desperate enough to go all the way back to the x-men animated series (which I've never seen before!)#like am I willing to go there for more Contente. time will tell I suppose #happy tag #...this is very long #MAN why can't I channel this dumbass energy into fiction writing I'd get so much DONE

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calzona-ga · 4 years ago

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EXCLUSIVE: ABC’s promo for the Season 17 premiere of Grey’s Anatomy teased a “shocking, jaw-dropping ending.” That was an understatement.

In one of the series’ biggest twists ever, a beloved character, Patrick Dempsey’s Derek Shepherd, whose tragic death in an April 2015 episode left fans heartbroken, came back. Appropriately, the late McDreamy appeared in a dream sequence, joining Ellen Pompeo’s Meredith Grey on a beach seconds after Meredith collapsed in the parking lot of Grey Sloan Memorial.

The sweet Meredith-Derek reunion was the joyous coda to an emotional two-hour season premiere of Grey’s Anatomy’s 17th season, dedicated to frontline healthcare workers, which marked the conclusion of a Station 19 crossover. It was marked by tragedy, as Meredith struggled to cope with the mounting COVID deaths at the hospital; anger, as medical personnel were left to fight the disease without enough PPE; hope, as the teenage girl whom DeLuca had unsuccessfully tried to save from human trafficking was reunited with her family; heartbreak, as Owen refused to reconcile with Teddy despite her pleas for forgiveness; and happiness, as Link and Derek’s sister Amelia took their newborn baby boy home. In fact, just minutes after Link announced their son’s name, Scout Derek Shepherd Lincoln, Derek made his appearance. While not necessarily designed as a clue, “it all came together quite beautifully,” Grey’s Anatomy showrunner Krista Vernoff and star Pompeo said.

In an exclusive interview with Deadline, which had known about the big twist, Dempsey, Vernoff and Pompeo reveal how the idea for McDreamy’s return came about, how long he will stick around, how the scene was filmed, and the great lengths to which the show went in order to keep the cameo a secret so fans can fully enjoy it.

Vernoff and Pompeo also address Meredith’s fate following her medical emergency and in the context of Pompeo’s contract coming up at the end of the season, how the real-life coronavirus pandemic changed Grey’s Anatomy on and off the screen, whether will there be COVID casualties among the staff of Grey Sloan, are there plans for a time jump, and is there hope for Teddy and Owen.

Dempsey, who has a cancer foundation, had his own questions for Vernoff and Pompeo about whether advancements in COVID treatments and the issue of wearing masks are reflected on the show.

DEADLINE: Before we talk about Patrick’s return, let’s address the incident that brought on the cameo, Meredith’s collapse, because we usually associate those kind of visions with somebody on the brink of death. Is Meredith OK? Is this just her being overworked, or is it COVID or something else very serious?

VERNOFF: Well, you have to tune in next week. We started the episode with Meredith dreaming of a beach, and at the end of the episode, she’s dreaming of the beach where Derek happens to be, and that’s what we know so far.

DEADLINE: How did the idea to bring Patrick back come about?

VERNOFF: From a writer’s perspective, it happened because it was my job to find a way — once we determined that we were doing the pandemic — to also bring joy, and escape, and fan candy, and all the things that at Grey’s Anatomy we give people. We give them romance, and we give them humor, and we give them joy, and a lot of that is lacking for the medical community in this pandemic. And so, I was walking on the beach one day, and I was like, what if there’s a Meredith dream motif?

There have been studies about how intense our dream life has been. In the pandemic, people are having really intense dreams because of the lockdown. We’re not getting enough stimulation, and so, it’s happening in our dreams. So, it started as that. It started as, how do we give people some escape. I had this imagining of a beach motif throughout the season, and I called Ellen, and I said, what if we bring back, I don’t know, some dead character that you could dream of on the beach, that would be so fun for the fans.

And she said, let’s get Patrick. Even in my most excitable dream life, that thought hadn’t occurred to me as an option, and there it was.

DEADLINE: Ellen, what made you think of Patrick?

POMPEO: Patrick and I both have homes in Malibu, and we went for a hike one day. I had known that Krista wanted to do a beach thing, and I was at the beach. Patrick and I weren’t hiking on the beach, but we were hiking in Malibu, which, you can see the beach.

And the idea just struck me so I just said to him, would you ever consider coming and being a part of the storytelling this season? I know that Patrick has his foundation in Maine where he helps cancer patients and cancer survivors, and that’s a huge effort of his, and I know that it’s important to him, also, to give people hope, and give people joy, and we wanted to bring something to this moment.

There’s just so much darkness, and we knew that coming together would be a little ray of light. And so, I think we had the same idea, at the core, to want to help people and bring a smile to people’s faces. So, he loved the idea, and we were just so excited, and we had a ball filming it.

DEADLINE: Patrick, were you surprised when Ellen asked? What made you say yes?

DEMPSEY: I had a lot of calls from a lot of local government officials in Maine saying, we really need to get the message out there, to get people to socially distance, to wear a mask. I came across a photo that I was going to post that had Ellen and I, and I think that produced a call where I reached out to Ellen, and this was right around, the conversation was starting for Season 17. And Ellen’s like, let’s get together, I want to go over a couple things, I want to catch up.

We hadn’t spoken or been together for a while. It was a great opportunity to catch up and say, OK, what can we do for all the frontline responders? I’ve been tracking what Grey’s had been doing with giving masks, and making sure that people had the right equipment, and it came from that place — OK, what can we do to make people feel better, to give some comfort in this time of uncertainty, and that’s how it began. And it was really a wonderful experience to go back, to work with [director/EP] Debbie [Allen].

I think the whole atmosphere has changed, certainly working at the beach, and seeing everybody again was really a very healing process, and really rewarding, and a lot of fun. And hopefully, that feeling translates, and the fans enjoy it. I know that they’ve been wanting us to get back together, and I think this will satisfy a lot of people, and surprise a lot of people, hopefully.

DEADLINE: Was it easy to go back into character?

DEMPSEY: It was really enjoyable. It was really exciting, and fun, and it was great to see everybody. Kevin [McKidd, who directs Episode 3] was there as well, so there was a lot of familiar faces, a lot of new faces. The dynamic behind the camera had changed. There’s much more diversity within the crew. There was a nice balance, too, of equality that I was seeing. So, culturally, there was a lot of things that were different, that I thought were very positive and very inspiring, actually.

DEADLINE: Ellen, Patrick, did you filmed the beach scene together?

POMPEO: Yes.

DEADLINE: How was it looking at each other, on set, in character, after so many years?

DEMPSEY: Well, I have less eyesight than I used to, so (laughter). It was great. It was really fun, very special. it felt really comfortable, incredibly safe. The whole process, I have to say, from getting tested before even showing up to the set, the whole process in which we shot, I felt safe the whole time. You felt the crew was protected. We had the outdoor space, and it was easy.

POMPEO: It felt great. Patrick and I have this chemistry, where I think, even from when we first met, for some reason it just felt like we’ve known each other for a hundred years, and it’s just the same feeling. It’s like riding a bike, we just have a chemistry and a dynamic that’s always served us well, and I think we have a genuine affection for each other.

And it was very healing to come back, and know that we’re doing something good, putting out a positive story, a healing story, going to make people smile, and I think, for me, I’m really grateful for the opportunity to be able to be at this place in the show where we can do this. We constantly get to rewrite, I don’t want to say the ending, but we get to keep the rewrites going, which, I guess, you writers love, right?

They love to start over, to scrap it and rewrite it, and make it better, and that’s what’s fun about this process this far along, is getting the opportunity to work with Patrick again, and just coming up with ideas, how do we keep surprising the fans, and how do we keep the quality of the show up, is what makes it continue to be fun.

DEADLINE: How long is Patrick going to stick around for?

VERNOFF: It’s more than the one scene you saw, Nellie, and it was just joyful. I really want to echo that. Patrick and Ellen and I were all there at the beginning of this; I wasn’t there for the pilot, but I was there for the first seven seasons, and that was 17 years ago. That was, like, a lifetime ago; my kids weren’t alive. It was so wild to walk out on that beach, and just be together again as these different people that we are now. But I can’t overstate how joyful and healing an experience this was.

DEMPSEY: Yeah, for me as well. It was really special. It’s really hard to believe, 17 years, that’s remarkable. I mean, a lot of us didn’t have children at that point, right? So, our kids have grown up, they’re now in school. It’s crazy how much time has passed, but it really was so comforting, and lovely, and inspiring to go back, and to work together, to see everybody. It really was so open, too, that was the thing, really, people were very, I think, vulnerable in a positive way, where we were all grateful to be there and to be together.

DEADLINE: And you are game to do more episodes?

DEMPSEY: Yeah, it was fun, because I really love the message of what the dynamic is in this story. With everything that we’re dealing with right now, and certainly we have been distracted with the election, but we’re going to get back into the reality of COVID and being in a pandemic, and all the lives that have been lost. Where are these souls going? And I think that’s what attracted me to this storyline, I think it can be really helpful and healing to so many people.

POMPEO: I also think that, in a strange way, the behind the scenes of the show is certainly paralleling what we need, with the stories that we put out. What do we love about the show? We love that the show brings people together. We love that the show hopefully opens people’s minds, it opens people’s hearts, and I think that, in the running of the show and the making of the show, if we follow those same principles, if we follow the principles of love first, of acceptance, of open mind, open heart, forgiveness, all of it is, that’s the message of Grey’s.

And for us to be able to mirror that behind the scenes, and truly walk our walk and talk our talk with each other, those who created the show, I think, is a really amazing full-circle sort of story for a TV show that’s gone on this long.

DEADLINE: How hard was it to keep Patrick’s return a secret?

VERNOFF: I have to say that it was an epic feat, the keeping of this secret. I didn’t send cuts to the studio and network that included that last scene. I didn’t have writers’ assistants in the writers’ room for the last couple of months. There were writers who didn’t know we were doing this on that staff. Most of the actors didn’t know we were doing this. The crew didn’t know we were doing this when they showed up on the day.

I put the name “Ellis Grey” in the script that we read at the table, and I had Meredith say “Mom” at the table, so we got there on the day, and no one had been told what was happening. So, also watching the crew react, and [producer] Linda Klein, who’s been there from the beginning, we got Norman back, who was our amazing hair guy from the beginning [Norman T. Leavitt was makeup department head on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy for the first 14 seasons]. I was like a crazy person with this secret. And Ellen and I were texting at all hours of the night, like, who knows, I think this person.

POMPEO: Absolutely.

DEADLINE: Will we see Ellis on the show this season?

VERNOFF: I don’t know. I don’t know. You have to tune in and see who comes to the beach. It’ll be a joyful discovery.

DEADLINE: Ellen, your character is dealing with a lot of tragic COVID deaths in the premiere. For you and Krista, will we see some tragedy within the ranks of the Grey Sloan staff too? A lot of medical professionals have lost their lives to COVID in real life.

POMPEO: I think we have a responsibility to really show what these healthcare workers have been going through. It’s so easy for a big part of the population to just be irritated with wearing a mask, and they’re sort of disconnected from what real doctors and nurses and anyone who works in a hospital are actually dealing with.

I don’t want to speak for Krista, but I think for me, certainly, I saw this as an opportunity to tell the story of how hard this is for our healthcare workers; it’s devastating for them. I think Krista will tell you that they’ve sat down with so many doctors and nurses, and they hear the stories, and they’re writing right from these stories that they’re hearing. And this has been devastating, and changed the medical community forever.

So we have to show, that’s our responsibility, to show what a struggle this is for healthcare workers, and continues to be as we see [COVID] numbers spiking again. We have to try to spread some empathy, and show people that this is very real, and it’s really hard, and the next time you want to complain about wearing a mask, think about what these people have to do. They have to wear a mask, they have to wear full PPE, full cappers. They literally have to do 50 things just to be able to perform their job.

DEADLINE: Krista?

VERNOFF: I have to say that I feel like Ellen did an extraordinary job in that premiere, paying respect to healthcare workers with her performance. The thing that she did is exactly what I’ve been talking about so much, which is that these doctors and nurses who come to the writers’ room every year. They are joyful and excited, and they’re always there to tell us these exciting stories. And this year, it felt like, it was the first time they were talking to anybody.

It was the first break they were taking. It was the first time anyone was asking them what they were living through, and to a person, it felt like they were on the verge of breaking. They were different people, and I felt like Ellen so beautifully embodied it throughout this episode, the change, what this pandemic is doing to people who were trained to help and heal, but not trained to walk through war, and not trained to lose dozens of patients, sometimes in a day.

It’s breaking them, and I feel like we’re already showing the strain and the impact, and yes, there will be more of that, and somehow, we’re also bringing joy. We’ve been carefully threading this needle, of paying honor and homage, and telling the truth of this story, while finding ways to also bring joy to the audience, and I’m really excited about Season 17.

DEADLINE: You’re not going to hint whether anyone on the show is in jeopardy, are you?

VERNOFF: Well, for sure, Nellie, for sure people are in jeopardy. Meredith collapses at the end of the premiere. People are in jeopardy, and multiple people are in jeopardy throughout the season, in myriad ways, because that’s the moment we’re living through.

DEADLINE: Ellen, should we read more into Meredith’s collapse in light of you figuring out your future on the show? You have said that you’re not sure what you’re going to do beyond this season.

POMPEO: You can’t read into anything. Really, that’s dangerous territory. I think that, collectively, we, or creatively, it’s the same this year as it always is. Is there a reason to continue? What stories do we have to tell? What characters do we have to bring back that gives us story to tell? I said in another interview last week, we’re always in this incredibly sweet spot with this show, for whatever reason.

We always have incredible circumstances that allow us to continue creatively, whether it’s ideas, or circumstances that happen. Our goal is just to make good TV. I think we’re all aware of the icon status of the show, we’re so aware of that, and I think that that’s why Patrick was so humble and so grateful to be able to come back, because we are very grateful that we have this huge platform. And I don’t think any of us take the platform that we have lightly.

And so, at this point, I think, we don’t know what we’re going to do. We know that we’re grateful, and we know that we want to show our gratitude, and grateful to each other making the show, that we’re able to keep continuing to grow, and to tell stories that we think are important, and getting this moment. Listen, who gets career runs like this? Patrick Dempsey’s been working since he’s … I know he’s been working off-camera even earlier, but I mean, when was your first role, Patrick, when you were 16 or 17?

DEMPSEY: Sixteen, 17, so 30 years.

POMPEO: Who gets a run like that? So, I just think that we’re incredibly grateful to be able to still be here, and be telling these stories that we feel are important, and we’ll see. Creatively, this is our heavy-lifting, to keep raising the bar for ourselves, but we’ve got something great, which is we’ve got gratitude, and we’re all smart, creative people. So, if there’s a way to figure it out, we certainly will.

DEMPSEY: The range of emotions, where you’re getting a chance to cry, but you’re also getting a chance to laugh, I think that’s a huge success in the storytelling. The whole ride has been remarkable on so many levels, being a part of this show for so many years, and it’s profoundly changed my life in so many ways. I’m very grateful for that, and hopefully to use that platform in a positive way, where you’re doing something good. And I’m grateful to be a part of this show at this particular moment in time.

DEADLINE: The premiere is set in April 2020. Krista, will the show fast forward to now?

VERNOFF: We’re not fast forwarding. We’re playing it through. So, by the time it’s airing, most of what we’re doing is almost a year ago, in the timeline. And there’s more joy.

DEMPSEY: Do you get into how the disease is treated over time as well? Do you get into how the science — and I think this is an important thing for us to remember and to really believe in the science, in the breakthroughs that they’re making on a daily basis. How do you track that, and has that been part of your conversation?

VERNOFF: It is. It’s a constant part of the conversation, and we have three doctors on staff now who come into the writers’ room most of the time, and we have a lot of conversations of even the evolution, what you see in terms of the protective gear that they’re wearing in the premiere versus the evolution of the protective gear, when are they treating with ventilators and when are they not. There were drug studies and drug trials, and we’re doing our best to be honest about that progress, and also the evolution in the hospitals.

Grey Sloan in the premiere has a special COVID ward, and these intake tents, and then, throughout the course of the season, other spaces evolve to hold COVID patients, and we’re hearing news about other hospitals. Washington was hit really hard early on. So, we’re trying to play through all of that.

DEMPSEY: Sorry, follow-up question, if I may. Do you get into the politics of the mask, and how that affects in a negative or a positive way? Do you go down that road at all?

VERNOFF: We try to stay away from overt politics, and the politicizing of the mask is a real thing that happened. So, we’re not talking about politicians. We just don’t do that at Grey’s Anatomy, partly because we want the show to be for everybody, and we don’t want it to become so polarizing, where it feels like we’re preaching from some particular pulpit. We’re just sticking with the science, and the reaction of doctors to the idea that people are not understanding and/or not believing that masks are imperative to protect other people and themselves.

So, we’re playing it through character, is the answer, like what an outrage it is for these doctors, who spend their lives and their all-day, every-day, trying to save people, to see human beings out there choosing not to protect their fellow human beings, because they’re not believing in science, and they’re not believing scientists.

DEADLINE: How is filming going? Grey’s was one of the first shows to shut down production early in the pandemic to protect the cast and crew. How is it now, with the new COVID wave? I write stories about shutdowns virtually every day.

VERNOFF: I mean, knocking wood, so far.

POMPEO: Good so far, yeah. We’re good. Of course, anything can happen at any moment, but I think that collectively, everybody’s really careful. And again, we’re trying to be mindful of one another, and we’re trying to be mindful of how we live our lives when we’re not at work, because that’s the smart thing to do, and we have to come to work and keep everybody safe. Nobody wants to get shut down.

VERNOFF: We’re really careful in our creating of the show, also, to help the actors feel safe. We shut down before other shows, we also came back to production before a lot of other shows, thanks to truly the leadership of Debbie Allen. There was some leadership from me, but for sure, it was guided by Debbie Allen going, if we don’t come back, we’re never going to come back, come on, Krista, we’re coming back. Set a date, set a date, set a date, where’s the scripts? Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go.

She kept saying, if you put a date on the calendar, we’re going to work toward it, and we’re going to figure out how to do it safely, and we really did figure out how to do it safely. We were lucky that we’re set in a hospital, so that our actors, when they’re working together tightly, can be in masks. But it was also my job, and the job of the writers, to come up with plans and motifs that allowed the audience to see the actors’ faces, and the actors to feel safe in that.

So, you didn’t just see a beach motif, which is a continuing motif through the season, and it was designed, that particular motif, so that Ellen could come to work without a mask and feel safe, because she’s outside; the epidemiologists have been clear about how much safer outside is. But you also saw, for the first time in 17 seasons, Meredith’s house back yard. We built a backyard set on the exterior of the lot, outside the writers’ bungalow, so that those actors could give us some no-mask time, and feel safe in the beginning.

And more and more, we’re understanding how to keep everyone safe indoors, so we’re getting a little bit more without masks indoors, but at the beginning, we had to really be creative, in terms of how are we doing this, how are we keeping ourselves safe, how are we helping them feel safe, and how are we giving the fans a show that’s joyful in addition to true.

DEADLINE: And one final question: is there any hope for Teddy and Owen?

VERNOFF: Teddy is doing good. They’ve got a long haul, Nellie. If there’s hope for them, it’s in the ethers, but you know, I didn’t have a lot of hope that Patrick Dempsey was going to be back on Grey’s Anatomy last year, and look where we are. So…

#grey's anatomy #Ellen Pompeo #Patrick Dempsey #news #spoiler #deadline #krista vernoff #season 17 #17x01 #17x02

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popculturebuffet · 4 years ago

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House of Mouse: Mickey and the Culture Clash (Commission by WeirdKev27) or “What the Hell, Clarabelle?”

Hello, hello, hello... I wish I could say I was in good spirits but i’m tired, have covid induced chills running down my spine.. and oh yeah there was an armed insurrection i the captial last night that showed just how broken this country was. And while Monster Bash would still be relevant... I couldn’t do it. I admit to being unable to do an episode where the millitant racist nutjob who harms people runs off into the night, and does much worse in later episodes, while the people she harassed are arrested the night after a bunch of millitant, racist, sociopathic, selfish nightmares sieged the captial, killed a woman, raised the fucking maga flag over the buildling and took pictures like they were goddamn heroes. We got a stark reminder, not a wake up call, not an opening a REMINDER of just how badly broken our country is last night, and it wasn’t till this morning I found out just how BAD it was. The deaths, the flag, the fact josh fucking hawley, MY STAT’ES SENATOR and registered piece of shit, raised A FUCKING FIST IN SOLIDARITY, which gives me the crippling fear his stupidity and unabashed racisim and support of a cou could mean riots at best and attempted uprisings at worst and who knows what kind of hate crimes against those of color and those in my own queer community. I am afraid, tired, and I am pissed and I feel we could ALL use something wholesome, warm and far removed from the shit going on. And in my hour of need to figure out something like that to put on the schedule.. Kev brought up a wonderfufl idea. Every month this month till the end of it Kev is going to comission one episode of a show near and dear to both our hearts that has it’s 20th birthday this month. House of Mouse. He was intitally going to request Pete’s One Man Show, which is one of my faviorites, but was ironcially one I already planned to cover next month to celebrate both the show’s anniversary and Pete’s Birthday. But since he was happy to wait till then to comission it, he instead asked for another classic and one with easily my faviorite character on the show: Moritmer Mouse.

One of the best things House of Mouse did was bring back Mortimer Mouse. Introduced in Mickey’s Rival, Mortimer was an ex of minnies who showed up for one short to be a dick to mickey before running off and leaving Minnie at the mercy of a bull he pissed off. He also weirdly kept electrodes and a car battery in his pants. The short itself is.. not great mostly because Minnie dimissies Mickey rightfully being pissed someone is hitting on his girlfriend in front of him, making jokes at his expense, and generally being a pillock as being jealous... which yeah, yeah he is. Most of the time jealousy and supscison of your partner is ugly, gross and damaging to a relationship. You should trust them unless you’ve been given good reason not to, and if your paranoidly jealous about every friend she has she could be attracted to.. get some fucking help. Seriously, I need to, not for this for various other problems, but get some therapy to help with your trust issues or if your just being the kind of dick who naturally assumes men and women or men and men or women and women or men and nonibinary persons, or women and nonbinary peeps and so on and so on cannot be friends if they could possibly be togehter romantically... grow up. I say all of that because those are serious underlying issues and I didn’t want it to seem like for a moment I was supporting them... and because sometimes i’ts OKAY to be jealous, to either just feel a little jealous of someone, or to you know be irate because your girlfriend’s ex is hitting on her in front of you and she’s being entirely receptive to it.

So yeah i’ts really hard to feel bad for minnie’s bull attack or find the ending sweet after Minnie was you know, what ramona said for an entire short. However my point for this rant, besides giving out about the short again because I clearly didn’t enough in my Mickey Birthday Special, is that Mortimer is still pretty great. He’s a frat bro in the 40′s sense sure, but the idea of a local douche hoping to swoop in and woo minnie away, who has an oddly specific sense of humor and a bizzare, memorable and wonderful walk, seriously the short is worth watching for mortimier’s “I got two car batteris in my pants’ walk, is a good one. While he’d naturally show up in comics and what have you Mortimer just sort of vanished. But clearly someone on the House of Mouse staff, and Mousewerks before it, agreed because Morty was made easily one of the best and most recurring characters in the HOM, and often more prominent than Horace or Gus. While he still tried his old “I’m gonna do your common law wife act” a few times he was mostly there to be an annoying douche when the ep needed one and to be taken down a peg by everyone in the house. And that VERY MUCH includes Mickey. That’s also part of why I love this show bringing him back: It gives Mickey someone besides pete to give out too on a regular basis. He’s still his charming self about it but it’s lovelyt os ee Mickey sarcastically roast someone. And I honestly attribute the main factor of his sucess on the show to VA Maurice LaMarche. While his original VA, Sonny Dawson, was fantastic.. it’s Maurice who very clearly made the character his. While others like Jeff Bennet have taken over since i’ts Maurice who gave him his signature “ha-cha-cha” catchphrase, swagger and signiture voice. And no i’ts not lost on me that one of Maurice’s OTHER best roles is another cartoon mouse.. and I now very badly want him to meet Pinky and the Brain. But yeah, Maurice just oozes the smarm that defines mortimer for me, oozes condescinon and assholery and he, is., glorious. He was a faviorite as a kid, he’s a faviorite now, and Disney needs to use him more.. and also have Maurice voice him for wonderufl world of mickey mouse, though Jeff Bennett is not bad at all I just prefer the master at the role.

So obviously, after the nightmare of an evening america had yesterday, an episode not only about how wholesome mickey and minnie are but about Mickey teaming up with Mortimer was EXACTLY what i needed. So pitter patter, this is Mickey and the Culture clash. As always for house of mouse i’ll be chonking it up and since this one starts right with the wraparound, and sicnce you know I spent a godo few pagraphs going over mortimer and he’s only IN the wraparound this episode... let’s start there

Mickey and the Culture Clash: Don’t Go Changin, To Try and Please Me So we open the episode and the review proper with Mickey performing a banjo sernade for Minnie, their song in fact. It’s a really sweet scene.. that’s quickly ruined by Clarabelle being an asshole, who says i’ts a bit crude. Minnie counters that while “It’s not mozart”, it’s nice and she clearly likes it and the gesture. Instead of you know leaving it there like a good friend, like she’s SUPPOSED to be to Minnie in most continuities, Clarabelle.. takes the things she said and her having to run out to wrangle pluto out of context, painting it as her thinking he’s not sophisticated and then running out because of it. Oh and she tops it by pointing to a classified add from a MM looking for sophisticated companionship.

It just paints Clarabelle not as Minnie’s friend or a chatty gossip, but as a heartless bitch who has no trouble implying one of her best friends would cheat on her boyfriend TO HIS FACE, and is fine wrecking a perfectly lovely relationship just to have more to talk about. Seriously she starts gossiping to everybody on top of it just in case you thought Clarabelle was a decent person in any shape this episode. She’s the one thing about this episode that dosen’t work despite being integral to it.. well two but hte other thing is a small, end of episode gag we’ll get to. This.. this is an integral part of the plot. It also relies on Daisy and Donald being absent for the episode for what I can only assume is their annual sex decathalon because otherwise the second she heard about her friend doing this, before reassuring Minnie, Donald would be holdiing her while Daisy beat the absolute shit out of her for hurting thier closest friend and not bothering to take a look into anything when leveling such a rough accusation at Minnie. In a really stellar, really well paced episode, Clarabelle being so heartless stands out. It’s also, might as well get this out of the way, teh final episode not inlcuding the two holiday specials.. and it’s a good note to go out on otherwise, I just can’t ignore the obnoxious cow in the room.. in both senses of the word.

So yeah Mickey’s trying to be fancy, and Mortimer gets a good dig in about him reading “You having trouble sounding out the words”, but once he hears what’s going on, or rather once he realizes mickey things Mortimer’s personal add is in fact his girlfriend cheating on him, he decides to help Mickey. And to his credit for this con.. Mortimer actually thought things out on how to trick his rival, and his plan here is douchey as hell but incredibly genius: he offers to help mickey and while that’d normally be suspcious he offers a genuine, and very mortimer explination for helping him become a bit more sophisticated to win minnie back: if Minnie finds a handsome, sophisticated guy to date, what chance does MORTIMER have against that? At least with Mickey, in his deluded egocentric view of things anyway, he has a shot at beating him.

So Mickey classes it up a bit, taking some sopshitcated stances when announcing and trying to woo minnie by talking in ye olde english. When that fails, she just finds it silly but charming, Mickey finds Jose.. hitting on her.

Just.. I expect better from you man. Woo ladies all you like as long as your respectful but I expect better than to hit on someone else’s girlfriend.. which granted he has but given the last time we saw him do that, he nearly got stabbed a bunch and the last time he agressively hit on a woman he got punched in the beak as he should, you’d THINK he’d of learned something. Seriously once again Donald is only missing because this time Daisy would be holding Jose down while Donald hit him. Or possibly they’d take turns. Point is Jose REALLY shoudln’t be doing this and knows better.. marginally. But.. it is in character enough so ti’s not as bad as Clarabelle the homewrecker.

So Mickey tries being fancy and goes on to do poetry instead of letting O’Malley and the Alley Cats play.. which is a nice running gag the series does as they NEVER get to play.. which while funny is a shame since I love the Aristocats. So then we finally get what Mortimer’s been playing at, he swoops in, claims MICKEY dosen’t need HER, and uses the same personal add to trick her. See, while what Mortimer’s doing is vile.. unlike clarabelle I can repsect it at least. I don’t condone it and i’m glad he gets foiled.. but as a bad guy plan it’s pretty clever and for someone like Mortimer whose usually pretty incompitent.. it’s pretty suprising he could pull this off. It’s still pretty damn low and scummy, no question, but props to being able to outwit and nearly outplay two people who deal with your crap on a regular basis and still convincingly conning both. Thankfully while he tries to take Minnie out Mickey, in a great visual gag, puts two and two together, and busts out their song, with Mickey and Minnie heartwearmingly reuniting on stage as seen above. Then we get that gag I mentioned not liking: Mickey gets Morty back by planting a false marriage proposal from Moritmer to Clarabelle, again under MM and he gets carried off.. HAHA HE’S BEING FORCED INTO A MARRIAGE HE DOSEN’T. LAUGH. LAUGH AT IT. The gag just really hasn’t aged well, as otherwise it’s clever Mickey used Mortimer’s own trick against both him and the person who caused all of this but really.. Clarabelle gets no real compuance. At worse sshe finds out she was tricked.. but she again you know tried to break up her close friends relationship for shits and giggles. But .. it’s at the very end of the episode and very easy to ignore, so it dosen’t really bother me too bad, and compared to some gags of the type i’ve seen, it could be MUCH worse. Overall this wraparound is one of the series best and a good one to go out on. it has a simple premise, a brilliant antagonist plot, some great bits from all involved, and even a great Belle and Beast cameo. All in all a really good wraparound only hampered by a sexist and dated ending and Clarabelle being portrayed as ...

She’s the worst, in the world. Okay onto the shorts.

Mickey’s Piano Lesson: That was a Fun One

It really was. It’s a simple premise: Minnie wants MIckey to do a piano recital and he decides “I don’t need practice i’m mickey mouse. “ And it’s REALLY nice to have a short that has, rather than aw shucks mickey, shenanigans mickey. While thanks to the new shorts we’ve had tons, it’s still nice to get one in the House of Mouse era, and it’s just fun to see Mickey take the usual donald roll of letting his overconfidence punch him in the face> It fits both though: Both are everyman and while I lean towards the duck, to no one’s shock, Mickey is just as capable, and his lack of practice comes off less like the angry and hostile way donald would dismiss it and mroe just loveable procastination. And as someone who REALLY struggles with procastination I related to this short, as Mickey does everything else he’d rather do from bathing the dog to skydiving till Minnie, in a great bit informs him everyone from the president, to several dignitaries from other countries, to a televised audience will see. We then get two really great and really beatuifully animated bits as MIckey wrestles with the notes on thep age then fights with his piano as he performs, still pulling it off but destroying the thing and rightfully earning a glare form his girlfriend. Just a fun, slapstick short with a great premise.

Dance of the Goofys: Scary Children Set to classical music, this one has a bunch of goofys as Fairy’s, who are making the flowers go and the one who sleeps in ends up saving the king from a horrifing looking little brat. He reminds me of Montanna Max a bit.. speaking of which Creer Summer recnetly announced Elmyra won’t be in the reboot. And while this does make me fear actually good characters like Fifi, Montana Max, and more will be cut like the animanics reboot and I do feel for Cree not getting to be involved and hope they find another roll for her as, given her status in the industry she deserves better.. THANK FUCKING GOD. I’ll go into this in another review I have planned for the future but unlike the cuts made to animaniacs this was a REALLY good decision i’m really greatful for. Thank you crew thank you.

Back on topic, it’s just a fun, really beautifully animated short about the goofies and hteir shenanigans with a really great high concept.

Maestro Minnie: Brahm’s Lullabye: Simply Irresitable Another simple but clever and lovely to watch one, and one I like quite a bit more. Minnie is conducting some living violins to Brahm’s Lullabye to get a baby Violin to sleep, and we get some really beautiful shots of her as she does so.. only to get comically interuppted by other insteruments turning up the noise. Not much to say on this one as it’s short and simple.. but sometimes short and simple is just what you need and the fun premise nad really beautiful especially for tv animation at the time visuals really sell this one. ONce again, good stuff.

Overall: This was a REALLY good note to go out on. While as I said the Clarabelle stuff can eat my entire ass, everything else is really damn good and I highly recommend checking this one out. Next time, in about a month, we’ll be looking at Pete’s spotlight episode for his birfday. While you wait tommorow we have my first look at legend of the three cabs. But for now, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye.

#house of mouse #mickey mouse #minnie mouse #mortimer mouse #clarabelle cow #donald duck #daisy duck #goofy goof #mouseworks #maurice lamarche #mickey's culture clash

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yukisohmasmokesweed · 4 years ago

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heeey... so, might be still a bit early to ask, but: top 10 "things" about season 2? could be eps, moments, characters, things they did, whatever you feel like, literally ur top 10 favorites from it

i interpreted this to mean top 10 moments so....top 10 moments!

10. (from 2x4)

i love this whole fight so much. it’s kind of an unspoken thing after it’s first established that they have to hide a huge part of their lives from everyone around them since it’s a given, so i like this bottled-up frustration over having to live constantly walking on eggshells coming out. i also really really like that we get to see haru acting genuinely scary as dark haru; it’s introduced as a comedic thing and haru is a generally well-adjusted character compared to the rest of the zodiac, and so i like that we get to see just how destructive and chaotic his coping mechanism really is. filmmaking-wise it’s a little boring but i don’t really mind because it’s tense enough that i don’t really notice it.

9. (from 2x17)

this is the only funny one on my list because i live for the drama haha but i like this scene for more than its humor! this episode takes place at a point in the season where yuki has been able to accept that he is allowed to put himself and his recovery first, and has spent enough time with others and pushed himself out of his comfort zone enough to shake off the instantaneous automatic fear of rejection that his social anxiety manifests as. because of the slow undoing of this hardwired reaction and because he’s become very comfortable around kakeru, though, his real, unrestrained personality as well as his actual opinions start slipping out. i like that this scene shows us 1. that he cares for tohru so deeply that he would end a friendship over her getting hurt, even though he thinks it’s childish after he says it and 2. that not even yuki knows what his real personality is like because he’s kept it repressed for so long. and i think for people with social anxiety the reaction to this kind of thing is embarrassment, but despite his embarrassment kakeru accepts what he says at face value because he likes yuki for who he is, not who he pretends to be for other people’s comfort. this is a very sweet moment between the two of them even if it’s buried a bit underneath the humor and kakeru’s easy acceptance of yuki’s more dramatic and snarky side is one of the reasons yuki trusts him so much when it comes to heavy stuff. i don’t love the bg changes to this cartoony thing in fb but in comedic scenes like this one it didn’t bother me, and i thought all of the art in this episode was really nice. this was also one of my favorite voice acting moments from shimazaki, i looooved loved loved him stuttering as he turns around right after he has this revelation, i think it’s super funny and also very natural-sounding, plus it’s a different kind of delivery from yuki but it fits him so well.

8. (from 2x19)

i love this little moment between shigure and hatori. the way they talk about the curse in this scene is very indicative of their characters and how they feel about the curse: shigure is flippant and casual when he says rin visits him to see if he knows how to break it, and hatori is shocked at the idea of it, then instantly becomes resigned, claiming it’s not possible. but this moment right at the end is just *chefs kiss* the way shigure says hatori’s name so weighty, and the delivery of “...do you hear it?” is curious if not hesitantly hopeful, some of my fav line readings in the whole show. i also really love the pan up the stairs back up to the house when he says “the sound of breaking,” the implication of tohru’s involvement in this clear. this scene is also visually stunning and i like the track under it a lot.

7. (from 2x18)

i’m obsessed with this scene and i’m obsessed with every line reading from nakamura, he is so incredible. i thought the art in this scene was gorgeous and every blocking choice was amazing, the body language and where they moved and when was perfect. also one of my favorite tracks off the ost plays under this scene, and i love that it ends just before shigure delivers his line, “i’m the worst.” and rin looks over her shoulder in silence other than the sound of the door(!) sliding closed as shigure exits. you can feel in this scene how desperate rin is and how frustrated shigure’s flippancy is making her. i also really like rin’s body language in general, she’s a good amount touchier than anyone else, and she’s all over shigure in this scene, both because she’s propositioning him but also because of her implied closeness (gure-nii) to him.

this is an excellent shigure scene, and i love these lines included in particular as well as the repeat of them in the finale. it’s a moment of actual self-awareness and self-reflection from shigure for sure, you can tell by his face, but in true shigure form he is not saying it because he’s trying to be emotionally open with rin; he’s saying it to get her off his back. he knows that the curse is weakening but he also knows that the harder he pushes people and the harder they struggle to get out, the more likely the curse is to break. it’s cruel and manipulative and the most painful way to go about things, but hey at least he knows it!

6. (from 2x25)

this whole scene between shigure and hatori in the finale is a super hard hitter; they both know everything about one another and have nothing to hide and they are also very desensitized to cruelty, and so their conversations are incredibly frank, and they don’t skirt around anything, either. i like that hatori doesn’t hesitate to put shigure in his place regarding akito’s status (a good example of hatori as akito’s enabler and the upkeeper of the status quo in order to keep everyone’s lives as calm as possible at the cost of his own happiness), and i like that shigure immediately gives it back by calling out hatori’s attachment to the bond—which is an interesting thing to bring up and speaks to the bond as not just a curse, but of how it is also their family and community. their lives do revolve around it, so the curse breaking would be an unthinkable change to something integral to their existence.

i chose this moment in particular because it’s a great insight into shigure’s emotional state, one of deep jealousy and pain over akito’s rejection of him. i like that it’s a close-up of his eyes here; shigure’s eyes are important in the reboot, and seeing them here tells us that this is his emotional truth. when hatori calls him out, though, they are hidden again. these lines are also delivered so well, i love how low in his register he’s speaking, it’s not something we hear from shigure a lot. it’s very heavy and very indicative of his pain.

also, i like when they copy things exactly from the manga, so i liked this shot a lot as the closer of the scene:

5. (from 2x21)

ok obviously i had to put this because it’s my favorite scene in the manga...i thought this was very visually beautiful, loved that they had yuki standing in darkness (in front of a door!) and kyo illuminated by the light, but a light from a place he’s not allowed to enter. i think the lighting design speaks to how yuki views kyo, not only when he’s a little older as someone who is naturally charismatic and attractive, but in the moment, as a potential ray of light, a possible friend who could understand his situation through shared life experience. i just love the puff of breath yuki gives in reaction to kyo confirming what akito has been saying to him about how everyone hates him and everything is his fault, and i love yuki’s hands folded in front of his chest, protecting the most vulnerable part of his body as a reflex to words that deeply wounded him.

i like this scene for its function of the root of yuki and kyo’s conflict: that kyo needs to hate yuki and scapegoat him for his own problems due to yuki’s status in the family, and yuki hates kyo back to protect himself. it’s a very nuanced and deep take on a fictional rivalry that comes from a very realistic place of maladaptive coping and morphs into something more habitual and every day over time. also big love the casting choices for these two as children. this scene was amazing, it’s super short but i like this specific moment in it because it does a great job visually showcasing yuki and kyo’s immediate reactions and emotions to meeting one another for the first time.

4. (from 2x25)

i thought this whole sequence was incredibly well-done, but specifically i loved this part where the music swells and the loom crashes down onto the floor over akito’s repeated lines. also one of my favorite voice acting moments of the season, i loved akito delivering these lines through hiccups and sobs and trailing off into childish crying, and the art and animation was very visceral. seeing akito this out of control was amazing and kureno’s reactions to akito hit very very hard; it’s easy to sympathize with him and see why he would agree to this, and it contextualizes his decision to do so when all we the audience has seen before this is akito’s terrible and abusive behavior.

i also really liked kureno’s hands coming in towards akito to comfort, it reminded me of this

from 1x9 but flipped; instead of kureno’s hands coming forward to comfort akito but representing his choice to trap himself in the curse, it’s akito’s hands coming from behind to force yuki to stay with akito against his will. they also both cut off very suddenly, which i like a lot.

3. (from 2x8)

this transition makes me go absolutely ballistic. visually i love akito and tohru turning to look over their shoulders in opposite directions, i just think it looks very sexy and it was a cool way to transition out of one scene and into another. i also like the mirrored body language to set them up as each other’s foils in these two scenes. akito brings kureno, who is functionally their love interest, out for a walk and then proceeds to belittle him, his status, and his opinions. tohru goes out with kyo, her love interest, so they can have a nice time at the beach. they have a very open conversation about the “monstrous” aspect to kyo where tohru validates and appreciates his thoughts and emotions. having these two scenes back to back was a really smart move to contrast our protagonist and antagonist and set them up as each other’s foils, and it’s definitely my favorite scene transition in the season.

2. (from 2x10)

i loooove how insanely tense this scene is. i really like that shigure and akito are sitting in silence here until akito starts their monologue in full, and then the track is cut off at its crescendo by kureno’s knocking. the track being bookended by low ambient sound from outside makes it more impactful when it does start playing, and the track cutting off with the knocking makes the sound of akito’s clothes moving as they get up and the door sliding open while the camera is still trained on shigure’s expression deafening. i also like the shot choices in this scene, particularly the close-up of akito’s hands around shigure’s jaw and that we can only see their mouths, as well as the shot of shigure seething but partially blocked by akito’s torso. the voice acting in this scene is also bonkers good, particularly yuichi nakamura’s shigure.

this is the first time the audience has seen shigure mad, not just annoyed or frustrated, and that’s definitely a big part of why i love this scene. his conflict with akito adds a lot of depth to his character and i like seeing a different range of emotion from him than normal. i also just love the introduction of their whole relationship drama love triangle thing going on with the adults, i honestly think it’s hilarious that takaya baits the audience into thinking it’s going to be a love triangle between the teens and it just completely is not but is instead a deeply fucked up one between the older characters. truly a stroke of genius

1. (from 2x8)

i love this whole scene so much. i think cinematically it’s gorgeous, i love that they’re surrounded by greenery and i really like the leaves starting to fall around them and the beams of sunlight behind tohru. those choices could have come off flashy and overdone but i feel the way it was directed was subtle enough that it didn’t feel like ibata was holding my hand through my emotions, but impactful enough that it’s an emotional gut punch every time i watch it. the moment where the flute ends with tohru’s internal line and transitions into strings/chimes mixed with the sfx of the wind rustling through the leaves is beautiful and probably my favorite use of soundtrack this season.

the reason i love this moment in particular so much is because it so encapsulates yuki and tohru’s relationship. she sees him so clearly and has been in his life long enough to tell that his reaction to rin is a marked change from who he was when they first met. she also knows that yuki working through his trauma over akito is something he needs to do on his own, and that the best thing she can do for him is to support him and show him that she loves him. on yuki’s end, he already knows tohru will support him unconditionally, but he’s now at a place where he’s able to accept it in stride and knows without a doubt that she’s there for him. this little moment really showcases what their whole relationship is about and was gorgeously done. this scene very quickly became one of my favorites when the episode came out and i’m pleasantly surprised that it’s stayed there; in fact, it was totally enhanced by the development of their relationship this season, which has undoubtedly become my favorite relationship in all of fruits basket. i think a friendship as deep as this one is a rare gem in fiction, let alone one between a man and a woman. this whole exchange is very beautiful and touching and a great summation of what they both mean to each other.

#fruits basket #fruits basket season 2 #yeah im putting this on the tag because i spent a long ass time on this post #meta???#anonymous #ask #takes a huge bong rip

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empty-dream · 4 years ago

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Just watched 91 Days

Yet another anime I watch because of the opening song.

A dude wants to get revenge on the mafia family who murdered his entire family 7 years ago by getting close to them and killing them one by one.

If only I didn't have a life to do I'd really binge this in one sitting lmao

I've known this anime exists for years but despite being interested I couldn't bring myself to watch it because I knew this kind of story has nothing but pain yet I'd still get attached somehow and I'd get hurt in the end as the result.

It turns out, this kind of story has nothing but pain yet I still get attached somehow and get hurt in the end as the result.

Your typical mafia gangster revenge criminal show, complete with the all possible cliches of its genre, except in anime format. Seriously, the atmosphere, the soundtrack, the settings, even the logo, all scream “MAFIA SHOW.” I feel like actually watching western gangster show instead of a Japanese anime.

Seriously tho who names the town "Lawless"? Why would any decent person live in a town named "Lawless"??

*Wheeze* I know this was out in 2016 but I can't ignore that one of the main casts looks and acts like FGO's Napoleon but his goddamn name is Nero lmaoo. Thank God he doesn't go umu umu on me.

For all their shortcomings, I like all the major characters. Except Don Orco, fuck that guy. But if you ask me who is my most favorite, surprisingly (or maybe not), it's Corteo. Dude just wants to study in school, not become a mafioso. He's like, normal, if a little bit too meek. I mean, helping your bff who comes back after 7 years with his vengeance but still questioning if it's really worth it is pretty much on the middle side. Not blindly loyal, not self-serving either. Also I can't believe he and FGO's Wodime share the same VA? He sounds so soft and nothing like the latter?? Soma Saito, the range you have...

What do you mean Nero is only 21?? And was only 14 by the time of the Lagusa murders?? He looks at least 25. I like how much of a jolly guy he is that sometimes I wonder how is he a mafia? At least until the second half, that is. "Avilio is like an empty shell. I will find him a reason to live." Wow dude. That's some heavy declaration.

Avilio is... Avilio. Your classic For-Vengeance! anti hero who becomes the very thing he despises but he most likely doesn't care either way.

See, why I was afraid to watch this anime is because I knew the protagonist will get close to the antagonist and they will forge an amazing bond. For the latter, it's genuine but for the former, it's fake. It's just a painful thing to watch when you know from both sides.

On the other side, I love how Corteo-Avilio relationship is portrayed, and unlike Avilio-Nero, I know it's sincere from the both of them and it's just sweet. Their faling out scene is one of my favs too because at that point, they both have had it and it's because they care about each other.

For Avilio, Corteo (and his beer recipe) is both the key to get anyone into his side and a target for the others, so losing him would endanger his revenge goal and whatever sanity he has left, while having him around would be risky and means more work, not to mention the questionings. Corteo himself is worried for Avilio, is jealous of his bond with Nero despite knowing it's fake, and to be fair Avilio involves him in his personal agenda under the pretext of "brotherhood" and is trying to wave everything with money. But it's clear that from the beginning to the end, they are loyal to each other.

Fango is batshit insane and while I love how Ep8 turns out, honestly he is entertaining lol.

Vanno is done so dirty even though I like him a lot.

I love how fucking wrecked Avilio looks after ep 10 and it just doesn't get better. He sure spirals down really fast it's quite eerie.

I did say I got attached and hurt but it wasn't as deep as I thought it'd be.

They should probably dig more of the past of the central characters instead of simply mentioning it. Like say, they could have shown Avilio's life for the past 7 years or how Nero fared with the mafia life given that he wasn't that fond of it but still devoted himself to protect the family pride. Weird, because many other aspects of the casts' characterizations (hobbies, abilities, tendencies, relationships) are usually shown instead of told.

Well following the cliches of the genre, Fio the girl of the family is set up to marry the political rival and after her role is done, she is shipped away. She could have more to do with the plot than this. Even though I like her initiatives to get the brothers work together...

I love religious badass characters because of rule of cool. And in this setting, I can watch them recite prayers, sign cross, go to mass, and I can honestly say "What's all that for? Y'all just gonna commit atrocities again anyway." and I love the irony in it.

I'll never look at lasagna the same way again.

For the kind of revenge story that focuses on how ugly revenge is, I like this show's execution and exploration. There is nothing new, but it plays its cards nicely.

So I was listening to TK on Spotify and Signal is fucking amazing. Its popularity is directly behind the legendary Unravel and Katharsis, even. Then I found out it's actually the op song for this anime, which is what finally spurred me into watching it. The power of a song, indeed.

Tl;dr What do you mean it's been only 91 Days I thought it was an entire year?? They got done in by a guy they've known for just, like, a season??

#91 days #random saying

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paperclipninja · 5 years ago

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NCIS post-ep ramble 17x01

I know it’s been days since the season 17 premiere and I had every intention of writing something earlier but just didn’t have time (plus I have been so caught up in reading everyone’s thoughts and reblogging all these posts and general flailing that honestly, who has the time for anything??) but I most certainly do have a few thoughts and feelings about the ep I’d like to get down.

For those who don’t know me that well, hi :) and also, I’ve always been rather partial to a post-ep ramble (which is basically me trying to process everything by dumping many words here) so I thought I’d throw a few words down because let’s be real, ‘Out of the Darkness’ was A LOT.

Ok, so can we talk about the opening scene, because it seemed like a classic NCIS ‘guys doing a dodgy deal but wait, the team needs the vehicle’ kinda moment but then FINGERS. Actual freaking fingers on that car dash and I should mention I was live streaming this episode on the train on my way to work and I was NOT chill at this point because it was brutal.

I was having so many feelings right from the get go, I mean Ziva is back and even through we’ve had months to process this it still felt so surreal yet like she’d not really been gone for that long, except that from the very first interaction with Gibbs in the basement, you could just see that she’s different. It’s subtle but it’s there. I love that the moment Gibbs’ basement starts getting shot up and both he and Ziva are out of ammo, they immediately default to working together to create the makeshift explosive thing, no words, just right into the groove of knowing what needs to happen without treading on one another’s toes.

Meanwhile Nick, McGee and Ellie are obliviously having a drink (lol @ McGee lasting less than two seconds not talking about work), for anyone into the Nick/Ellie ship there was a nice little moment and the three of them hot foot it to Gibbs’ place after after McGee gets the call to say there’s been a shoot out (seriously, can you imagine being Gibbs’ neighbours? The weird-ass stuff that has gone down there over the years, that’d be one house you’d tell the kids to skip for trick or treating). I am so into the follow through from the Ziva set up last season, Ellie feeling like the fabric was familiar was a nice way to bring it all together.

It’s funny, after so many years of watching this show then stepping away for a little while, I’m really not sure what I expected when I heard that Ziva was going to return. My shipper heart is really just locked on to Ziva and Tony finally getting some kind of happiness, but I was unsure what it would be like seeing this character on screen after so long, especially considering the way she was written out initially. Can I just say that the way Ziva has returned to our screen exceeded any expectations I did or did not have. I never in a million years expected this show to not just consider, but actively highlight the toll of all the years of trauma and struggle of Ziva David. A credit to the direction in this scene, but as Ziva began having the anxiety attack in the sewer pipe and we gained our first glimpse of her battle with this demon, it was unnerving to see this character who had always remained so seemingly in control, so vulnerable. But it was also wonderful (and heart-wrenching and sad). I am so grateful to Gina Lucita Monreal (who I Stan v. hard btw) for showing this side to this character because to me, it demonstrates not only the character’s journey, but NCIS’s growth.

Gibbs knowing that Ziva needed space and giving it to her but then finding her in a state that clearly caught him off guard was once again something I was not expecting and I was floored, yet again, when the pills Ziva stuffed back into her pocket were actually addressed and spoken about on the bus (I realise it sounds like I’m just constantly surprised but in the past, it’s the kind of thing that may get followed up about six episodes down the track, though I’m aware there isn’t the luxury of drawn out breadcrumbs with this arc and honestly, I’m grateful).

The scene between Ziva and Gibbs on the bus is quite possibly my favourite interaction between these two characters ever. And yes, I mean in the entire series. Hearing Ziva talk about Tali, explain the significance of the necklace and then put it to Gibbs that wouldn’t he do anything if it meant he could hold his daughter one more time, ugh my heart. The ONLY thing I disliked about this episode was later when Ziva said she wasn’t talking about Kelly. I understand the sentiment and I am here for her calling Gibbs out on giving up on her every day of the week, but in that moment on the bus, it absolutely was and should have been Kelly she was referring to because it was in that moment that she and Gibbs connected on an entirely different level - as parents. And more than that, as parents who know what it’s like to risk everything because of the love they hold for a child. So while I do love that Ziva put it to Gibbs that he abandoned her, I do feel it could have been brought up in a way that didn’t diminish the power of that conversation on the bus. Because when Gibbs reached out and touched that scar on her wrist, it may have been a small gesture but the meaning was huge and yes I did start crying and no, I did not care that I was on a train.

Of course we must talk about Odette. Sweet, old, possibly an assassin or some other kind of highly trained deadly human Odette. When Bishop asked her, ‘who are you, really?’, all I could think was, same girl, same. I am so into this character and I really hope she sticks around because her turning up later in the ep with a car load of weapons and then wanting to join in just upped my curiosity even more.

I really am such a fan of Ellie, I have been since the beginning, and I did feel for her trying to balance the wishes of Ziva and her loyalty to her team. McGee’s reaction to finding out that Ziva was alive and that Ellie knew about it was definitely warranted and my Tiva loving heart is trying very hard not to read too much into everyone’s avoidance of answering whether Tony knows (read: I am 150% reading too much into it and of course he knows because Ziva has obviously been leaving clues the entire time that she’s ok and it’s fine, it’s all fine, I’M FINEEE*)

*I am not fine

Nick is immediately suspicious after the awkward af conversation in Vance’s office where every time he mentions something from the crime scene at Gibbs’, Ellie and McGee very obviously downplay or dismiss it. Plus Ellie’s sweaty neck is apparently a dead giveaway and I love that Kaisie also mentions it because when this show does funny, it does it damn well. Aside from the bus scene, my other favourite scene of this episode was in autopsy when Nick ‘I don’t even know this ninja but this is like the biggest news of my life’ Torres has just learned about Ziva and Jimmy ’you said the thing about Ziva and my ears heard it and now I think I need to sit down’ Palmer also gets clued in and honestly, this entire sequence is absolute gold. I heart Kasie so hard and her discomfort with the ‘weird air’ just lent itself to making the whole thing wonderfully hilarious and the dynamic between all the characters was so on point. Nick and Kaisie really are stellar additions to the show, it just works.

Ziva’s determination to go it alone definitely wavers momentarily after Gibbs has spoken to McGee and asked him to decode the encrypted SD card (so many lols at Gibbs asking Ziva if she wants to talk to McGee then telling him she says hi. Again, the writing in this ep is just brilliant, being able to slot in genuinely light and funny moments between the dark and serious), there’s the ever-so-brief expression before Ziva gets into the car, as though she remembers what it’s like to have a team, her team, working with her.

What is on the card of course leads Gibbs and Ziva to be standing in the man who uses phrases like ‘dope’ in front of his machete wall’s office and I have to say, his ‘what are these two homeless people doing in my office’ was accurate. The show then stabbed me in the heart with the necklace situation - either her heart or her albatross- and of course it all connects back to Ari (the parallel to Saleem ripping off her necklace was noted). We also get our answer as to why Ziva had those severed fingers in the opening scene which is still gross and brutal but also understandable and much better knowing that the dude was dead when it happened. But still gross.

One thing that really struck me was when McGee, Ellie and Nick see Gibbs and Ziva making their getaway and McGee and Ziva share their moment of locking eyes and her indicating for the team to stay put, it is Ellie who points out that, ‘she knows what she needs better than anyone else’. It was just really interesting to me that McGee’s initial instinct was to go after Ziva and Gibbs, despite Ziva clearly not wanting him to, and it is the woman on the team who points out that he needs to respect Ziva’s wishes and trust her. I have no idea if this was making some kind of larger statement but it felt significant to me for some reason. Plus I just love the respect Ellie has for this woman she has never met and I can’t even imagine what it must have been like for her to see Ziva in the flesh for the first time after harbouring her secret for so long.

We all knew Vance would find out eventually and omg Nick just cracked me up, ‘I’m the least guilty one in here, Bishop is the worst...’, he is just such a great character (in case I haven’t mentioned that enough times). I don’t know enough about Sloane at this stage and I’m a little confused about her role or position so I will catch myself up on that (or feel free to fill me in) but she also seems pretty cool. I think back to early days McGee, the nervous probie who was so unsure and then think of him in this episode, standing in Vance’s office defying orders and all I can hear is Tony’s voice saying, ‘I’m proud of you Tim’. I love that he’s backing Ellie and that he’s standing up for and trusting her and knowing Vance’s history with Ziva, it’s just all such a wonderful coming together of NCIS history and the present.

The final scene of course left us in a TBC moment as Gibbs’ attempt to arrest Sahar (or at least a woman I assume is Sahar but then it’s NCIS so who knows?) is railroaded by Ziva’s adamance that unless she is dead, Sahar will always be a threat. I can’t wait to see how it all unfolds, I’m just loving the speculations and excitement and most importantly, consideration with which the show seems to be bringing back these storylines and characters and really, I do believe we are in for quite a ride and if this episode is anything to go by, one heck of a payoff.

#NCIS #ziva david #leroy jethro gibbs #ellie bishop #tim mcgee #nick torres #leon vance #tiva #ramble #thoughts #feelings #so many words

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sunsetsover · 5 years ago

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Talk about yesterdays episode.. tell me everything you enjoyed in detail lol.

first of all lemme just say i’m SO SORRY this took me so long to get to i know i said i’d answer this like last sunday but sometimes shit happens!!! but you asked for me to go into detail so i very much went into detail so!!! buckle in!!!

i’m doing this in bulletpoints for clarity otherwise it will just be an incoherent mess lmao

(also for reference this is abt the 8th nov ep aka the ‘you’re my boyfriend’ ep!)

ok so let me preface by saying i fuckin adored this ep it’s like god tier for me rn i love ben and pam’s relationship so mf much i hope she comes back soon

like the fact that she just knew!! she knew smth was going on w callum and ben more or less straight away and ok granted those two were not exactly being subtle what with the domestic they were having in the middle of the albert but u know... for all she knew callum was straight and had just broken up w whitney so the fact that she knows ben well enough to just be able to Know smth was goin on despite all of that?? i love that it says so much abt their relationship!!

and then her being the nan that she is and taking it upon herself to fish for information with jay like ‘callum seems nice.... shame abt whitney 👀’ and then jay covering for their asses by not saying anything but pam is Not Stupid and jay was also tellingly vague so she was instantly like i see 👀👀

and then ben entering the parlour shouting about ‘bring out your dead’ or w/e it is he says like the little shit he is and pam rolling her eyes and just the easy affection of that whole interaction like her gently slapping his face and calling him a little devil like ur damn right he is!! almost literally!! but there’s sm overt affection and love there and it’s so nice to see bc ben doesn’t really get that from anyone else (he does from callum now, and jay in certain situations, but it’s just different u know?? like u dont even see that energy from his own mum v often so it’s just... nice to see idk)

like i just love her she has such nan energy and it’s so comforting and warm and she needs to be around forever not just for ben but for jay and lola and also callum like ? pls come back forever pam

ben innocently trying to help callum out by getting him promoted to manager when he hears jay is gonna take a step back like!! he was really just tryna help bc he knew callum was struggling w money... and alright, he probably shouldn’t have meddled and i get why callum wasn’t happy abt it (i’ll get to that) but i also truly believe that that wasn’t him tryna control the situation or interfere or whatever but him genuinely trying to help out his bf and jay was gonna take a step back anyway so it wasn’t even like he was the one to suggest it or anything idk i just thought as misguided as it might have been it was very sweet and thoughtful

also the fact that ben’s reaction to jay being like ‘i suppose callum could be ready to be a manager’ was basically ‘yeah man have you seen him in that suit!!! he makes my dick hard!!!’ like !!!!!!! he was so sincere and enthusiastic as well like he’s fucking diabolical i love him sm ..... pair that with jay’s reaction basically just being like ‘........................ anyways’ sdkfjsdkfsl iconic scene

and then later!!!! you’ve got ben practically chasing callum into the parlour when he sees him go in there!! he’s so excited to see callum and tell him the good news abt the promotion!! bc he’s done good!!! he’s helping!!! bc he knows damn well he’s in the doghouse bc of what had happened with pam and like the energy he radiated when he walked into that parlour was very much ‘i am coming to u w my tail between my legs bc i know i fucked up but instead of saying sorry i’m going to give u the sad eyes and hope u relent’ and like u can see he was practically buzzing out of his skin as he waited for jay to tell him abt the promotion and he’s looking at callum like ‘look! look at what i did!! i’m fixing it! i’m making up for my mistake!’ bc this is obviously how he thinks he can fix things instead of idk having a conversation and talking abt things but!!! i love it ben’s so cute

but ofc it backfires bc callum doesn’t want ben to fix things!! he doesn’t need ben fixing things!! he can look after himself! and we the audience know it wasn’t like ben went to jay and was like ‘you need to promote callum bc he’s struggling with money’, it was more of a two birds one stone situation. but ofc callum doesn’t know that, and it comes across very much as ben meddling and also - as callum says - very hot and cold. like ben can’t tell pam abt their relationship and will ignore him for hours but will (seemingly) wade in like some kind of knight in shining armour bc callum said he’s having money troubles? nah. i said it at the time but i completely agree w callum’s reaction, i would have reacted the same way if i were him. and maybe on any other day callum wouldn’t have reacted so strongly, but after what had happened that morning w pam it’s completely understandable why he goes off on one.

and like poor ben is so confused like he obviously really thought this would be good news and put him back in callum’s good graces but ofc it doesn’t bc what callum needed was an explanation and apology. and you can see how confused and crestfallen he is bc he doesn’t want to fight w callum and he really didn’t want to make things worse but he evidently has and not only that but jay is there witnessing his massive fuck up in action. and u can just tell from the body language that he straight up doesn’t know what to do or say so he’s just kinda floundering bc he really thought he could fix what had happened with pam bc what? he half talked jay into giving callum a promotion? bless him lmao

then he goes full grovel mode - even if he is still very ben about it - and is leaving him voicemails (meaning he’s tried to call him multiple times, he probably tried texting too lmao) and moping abt in the cafe looking all sad and stressed and it’s just so good bc he knows he fucked up and he’s trying not to let it fester which is a v good and v adult thing to do. plus the juxtaposition of ben being like ‘u know ur gonna forgive me so stop being a diva and call me back’ and then that soft little ‘please 🥺’ tacked on the end??? delicious

and then pam walking up to him and standing there and just sighing. like not a word, she just stands there and sighs like dkjfkjsdkfjlsdkf mood !!

no but ok that whole scene of ben and pam in the cafe really had me welling up like just. everything about it. the layers to it all. and i won’t sit here and dissect every little thing even tho i probably could bc we’d be here all day but like just. all of it.

like pam’s exasperation at ben not telling her about him and callum (bc obviously she’s found out from someone - probably honey, who wouldn’t think to lie abt it if pam asked outright), ben not even being marginally surprised that she knows bc even he must know how obvious he’s been, and she was bound to find out from someone. the fact that he jumped when she raised her voice and pointed at him - i could make a whole separate post about that honestly that just. says so much about ben. but yh.... the fact that she knew without him even having to open his mouth that ben was gonna say it was to spare her feelings (like that’s essentially what he says to callum later in the ep). the fact that he didn’t really have a good excuse to offer her and he knew that. his sad little face and the fact that he made himself smaller and ducked his head like just his body language in general (max bowden is SO good at playing on that shit, he has a way of making ben seem physically smaller in certain situations and i love it sm). ben being like ‘idk i thought it’d be easier’ and pam immediately being like ‘yeah for u not callum!!!’ like the ‘u silly boy!!’ was so heavily implied throughout this whole scene u can practically taste it.

and pam! pam manages to effectively have a go at ben and call him out on his shit without belittling him or being cruel or nasty (and no naming names but like. certain mothers could learn a thing or two 👀) and actually have ben listen to her. because she listens to him and hears him and respects and loves him and he respects and loves her so she can have a go at him and his back won’t go up and he won’t lash out because he knows she’s not going to try and hurt him or be unnecessarily harsh. and that’s why their relationship is so special. also i’m still v bitter abt the way kathy handled calling out ben’s shit as opposed to how pam handled it but 🤷🏻‍♀️

like it’s such a little thing but it’s the way she waited for ben to speak. ben said ‘i didn’t-’ and then cut himself off, obviously either struggling to find the right words or struggling to say them out loud, and she just waited for him. waited for him to find the words, to figure out how to say it. she didn’t rush him or try and put words in his mouth or anything, she just sat there quietly, patiently waiting for ben to explain himself in his own time. that is the difference between her and everyone else, and that’s why ben listens to her. because she listens to him - and i mean really, actually listens rather than just hearing the sound of his voice ygm

and then they get too the root of it all: paul. he says he didn’t want pam thinking he’d forgotten paul - which is only half true, imo. i think he was (and maybe still is) just as scared that he’s going to forget paul. i think he has a lot of unaddressed issues when it comes to paul and what happened in general. and i think he definitely needed permission specifically from les and/or pam that it was ok for him to move on now - bc other ppl have tried to tell him that but u can tell from how he’s reacted in the past that he doesn’t like ppl who didn’t really know paul talking abt what he would or wouldn’t want. but pam did know paul, probably better than anyone. and she’s telling him that it’s ok. that she wants him to be happy, and that’s exactly what paul would want too. and she would know - she’s his nan. so ben can allow himself to listen to her. he trusts her, trusts that she would know what paul would want, how he would feel. and now he has permission to let go of the past a little bit and finally start moving on.

and that’s hard!! like as much as he might like callum, that’s still a hard thing to do for him!! you can see on his face that it’s hard for him to digest and accept what pam’s telling him - that maybe it’s finally time to let go. it’s just as hard for him to confess that yeah, he does care about callum - he gives her the tiniest nod of the head because he can hardly even bring himself to say it, but he can’t deny it either. and it’s hard for pam too, is the thing. you can from the way her voice shakes as she tells him it’s time to start showing callum that he cares how hard she’s trying not to cry. not because she’s not being sincere, not bc she doesn’t mean it or she doesn’t want ben to move on and be happy, but it’s still a hard thing. the world has moved on without paul, and now ben - the last link to him in a lot of ways - is too, and as necessary and as good as that is for him, it doesn’t make it any easier for them. grief is a weird and difficult thing and i think they both did a good job of portraying the struggle of it in this scene.

and then them having this moment right at the end at the end where they’re just smiling at each other w their heads rested together and it’s not an easy thing and they’re both obviously a bit upset and broken but it’s so sincere and warm and she just pulls him in and kisses his head and he just lets himself be comforted by her and by this point i had a big lump in my chest bc it was a very real and important and sweet moment and i was a lil overwhelmed

the tiny mick and callum scene!! i want more of them!!! we haven’t had a proper mick and callum scene since before the wedding i think and i know realistically it’s bc danny dyer has been doin other stuff and hasn’t been filming much and then when he has been filming obv the focus has been on the ollie/linda stuff but!! i miss them and it was so good to see them acknowledge that they haven’t seen each other much and for mick to acknowledge callum’s relationship w ben (calling it ‘matters of the heart’ 🥺️) it was just Good i love their relationship sm and i miss them and i need more!!

mick being so happy to see pam was just !!!!!!!!!! like everyone loves pam!!!!!!! please can she come back and stay forever pls

ben’s face when he tried to approach callum only for callum to turn his back on him like that boy was CRUSHED and he didn’t know what to do like he just stood there for a moment unsure what to do w himself and it was Gud

the shot of callum drinking his beer looking all mopey and dejected with ben staring at the back of his head obviously pining even if he wasn’t in focus and then pam telling ben to basically get his shit together and fix this and practically shoving him towards callum while ben’s lookin like he’s trying to psych himself up and mick’s just there looking between all of them trying to figure the whole thing out??? high art

ben approaching callum looking visibly nervous and out of his depth... and then callum seeming genuinely surprised that ben had come over... bye

the fact that the first thing ben said was ‘i’m sorry’!!! ben saying he understands why callum flipped out the way he did!!! callum saying he understands that ben was just trying to help!!!! ben acknowledging that callum is hurt and upset and then explaining why he did what he did and how he felt but still acknowledging that he hurt callum!!! the fucking communication!!!!!!!! like honestly it hasn’t been smooth sailing for these two so far but they always seem to be surprisingly good at communicating and talking when smth is going wrong, at least after the fact (esp ben) and i LOVE that it’s so healthy!!

callum doing the very callum thing and being like ‘it’s fine, i get it’ even tho he’s clearly still upset bc he doesn’t wanna rock the boat but then ben being like ‘no, it’s not fine! what i did is not fine! you don’t have the pretend that it is!’ and callum seeming lowkey taken aback by that :-(

(pam and mick just watching on in the background of all of this like the pseudo parents they are like honestly??? maybe the best part of the scene LMAO)

that little bit of nervousness before ben says ‘you’re my boyfriend’ like he said it in a very sure way but you could tell he was nervous bless him... and then the way callum’s face lit up but he tried to hide it and not smile and play it cool with his ‘you’ve never called me that before’ but then it cuts back to ben who has the biggest smile on his face but u can tell he’s tryna suppress it a lil too but failing miserably AND THEN shy ben makes an appearance w his little ‘well you are, aren’t ya?’ like he just wants to be sure!! he wants to ask so callum has the opportunity to say no (though judging by both of their faces he knew callum wasn’t gonna say no lmao) but he’s still ben so he’s gotta ask in this roundabout way... man it’s so cute

combine that with callum’s little pout and squint like he was pretending he really had to think abt it and the tone of his little ‘yeah’ like he was like ‘i suppose so’.... the subtle banter of it all i love it.... but he can’t keep it up for long bc then he’s the one with a massive smile on his face like bro... the sun doesn’t even shine that bright

and then ben’s little disbelieving ‘yeah?’ like he had to make sure :-(

AND JUST PAM AND MICK BEING LIKE AWWW WHEN THEY KISSED AND MICK BEING LIKE ‘HOW LOVELY’ AND JUST STANDING THERE SMILING AT THEM IT TOOK ME OUT FR

ben asking callum if he’s happy and callum tapping ben’s chin and telling him he is...................... the two of them looking at each other Like That....... talented brilliant incredible amazing etc

pam being like ‘my work here is done’ i love HER

ben making a point of being like ‘pam i want you to meet my boyfriend’ he’s so fuckin cute i love him

the whole pam and callum exchange from the hug to her holding his hand and telling him how lucky he is to have ben and then telling callum that ben has the biggest heart of anyone she knows but saying it to ben bc she knows he needs to hear that too bc like... when has anyone EVER said that about ben?? when has anyone ever thought that about ben?? but she sees through all the bullshit and sees him for the kind, soft-hearted, loving but equally damaged boy he really is and she wants callum to know and understand that but also for ben to know that too and i’m crying just thinking about it bc you can see ben’s face change and how emotional he starts to get not only bc it’s pam and everything that must be going through his head abt paul, but also just?? someone being kind to him?? saying smth nice?? god i’m broken

like pam really almost had me in tears in this scene genuinely esp when she was clearly getting emotional (as was ben) and she took both of their hands and told them to look after each other, given everything that happened with paul, and them both saying ‘we will’.... like that really fucked me up.... it felt like a Moment.... and then follow that up w pam and ben resting their heads against each other and whispering ‘i love you’ and it was so warm and full of love and adoration .... the ‘i hate goodbyes’.... the palm kiss.... the fact that ben looked like he was abt to cry as pam left... i was a broken woman truly

and then they just went on as if nothing happened and they didn’t just have a very significant relationship moment with the ‘i am lucky’ ‘i’m glad you realize it’ banter lmao

ben being like ‘u have the support of ur boyfriend 🥰️’ when callum was explaining he wanted to leave the parlour like he really couldn’t keep that word out of his mouth huh 🥺️

and the way he grabbed callum’s hand but only managed to get 3 fingers and then callum putting his hand on top of ben’s like for some reason that really fucked me up......... like gays and hands am i right

the journey ben’s face went on when callum told him he wanted to join the police.... the way it went from ‘haha good joke’ to ‘..................... wait he’s being serious’ to ‘oh god what the fuck’ was amazing lmao

and then him interrupting jay and lola w his massive dramatic freak out was so fucking funny like the way jay just shoved lola off his lap when ben come in KILLED me honestly and like ben’s on the verge of a breakdown and his brother and the mother of his child are just taking the piss and laughing at his expense.......... i love family

yeah so perhaps i went a bit overboard w this one but i did make you wait like a week and a half so perhaps this will make up for it lmao ??? but rlly tho i loved this ep sm there was so much good abt it and i want to keep pam forever thank u for ur time 💖💖

#ballum #eastenders #i fully went overboard with this looking at it now but i have a lot of pam feelings allow me #anon #question

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multimetaverse · 5 years ago

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Andi Mack 2x01-2x13 Re-Watch

I’m going to divide this post into main characters and their associated recurring characters. And with this post I’m all caught up to where I started writing ep reviews.

I’ll start by saying that I think 2a was the most cohesive stretch of eps the show ever had. All the main story arcs lead to the big events of Bex’s graduation and Cyrus’ Bash Mitzvah and we saw great character development and the show did a good job of expanding its universe; and there’s noticeably less filler than there would be in 2b and S3.

The writing did go off the rails a bit in 2b as the show couldn’t pull off Buffy’s moving plot or deal with the extra five eps Disney ordered in August 2017 but S2 as a whole comes off much better than S3 in terms of character development and story arcs. There’s clear growth for almost every character from 2x01-2x25 and where their stories began flows logically into where they ended. That’s not to say that S3 has been bad or that individual eps didn’t surpass what we saw in S2. For example both Howling at the Moon Festival and One in a Minyan both rank among the show’s best eps and they both improved on the similar themed S2 eps of Chinese New Year’s and Cyrus’ Bash Mitzvah. But S2 and 2a in particular have a sense of of a show firing on all cylinders rather than running out of steam as it has been for much of the latter half of S3.

Cyrus and TJ:

Cyrus’ story line in 2a comes off much better being able to binge watch it; I think people viewing the series on Disney + will have a much smoother experience. His arc also comes off way better than it does in S3, in part because he actually has an arc in S2. There’s clear growth and forward momentum from where his story starts in 2x01 to where it leads in 2x13 to where it ends in 2x25. In contrast, Cyrus had no real story set up in the first few eps of S3 and the gun plot and coming out to Jonah were more one off’s than carefully set up plots. There’s a clear line between Cyrus coming out to Buffy in 2x01 and him helping redeem TJ and realizing his crush on him in 2x25. Cyrus’ story does get a great ending as he gets together with TJ in 3x20 but there’s been no actual set up for that before the finale and there’s really no sense that his story is building to anything.

Cyrus coming out to Buffy is still so powerful. Knowing how far Cyrus will come from the scared, tearful boy who couldn’t even say aloud that he had a crush on Jonah to the confident young man who would later tell Jonah he was gay makes this scene all the more special.

It’s jarring to watch Cyrus talk about his feelings for Jonah or his relationship with Iris knowing that that last time Cyrus will openly discuss his feelings will be in 2x22 when he realizes his crush on Jonah is gone and he won’t be able to again until 3x20. I’ve discussed this before, but there’s a real momentum to Cyrus’ story in S2 even with the obvious restrictions on it: he comes out to Buffy, breaks up with Iris, gets to know Jonah the man not the myth and starts viewing him as a friend, gets to know TJ and starts viewing him as more than a friend, and comes out to Andi.

Ciris is rough to watch knowing that at best Tyrus will only get a fraction of the time and attention they got. Before the re-shoots for A Good Hair Day we would have seen Cyrus break up with Iris in 2x04 rather than 2x10 which fits much better with their second bad kiss in 2x03. I’m sure Terri would have done things a lot differently if she knew how much Disney would crack down after S2. Pretty clear set up in 2x03 for Cyrus to kiss a boy and come out to his parents at some point, not in S2 certainly, but probably in the S3 Terri was envisioning at this point. No surprise that this is the same ep that TJ is introduced and that Cyrus has his ‘’I hate TJ, who’s TJ?’’ line. I’m sure the writers were chuckling to themselves when they wrote that line, knowing what was to come with Tyrus.

Fwiw I do think Terri probably could have gotten Cyrus coming out to his parents approved in S3 since Cyrus was allowed to use the word gay instead of having to talk about his feelings for a specific boy but she probably wanted Cyrus coming out to his parents to be a bigger affair during some sort of Jewish holiday like Passover or Purim and likely wanted him to have his boyfriend TJ there to show an example of full acceptance from parents but also a chance to show that Cyrus can bring TJ into his family’s cultural and religious practices just like he would have if he’d been dating a girl.

The first swing set scene remains one of the best twists the show has ever done. A great, sweet scene that established an instant connection between Cyrus and TJ and showed where Cyrus’ story was really headed. Even in 2x03 they were setting up TJ to have a moment with Cyrus when they went out of their way to show him being mean to Buffy and coldly indifferent to Marty. The muffin scene was great set up for Tyrus, it was the first time we saw TJ genuinely smile and it established their dynamic of TJ making Cyrus more confident and Cyrus making TJ more kind.

TJ is typically an active character and we see that for good and ill in S2 where he often helps Cyrus with something but also takes action to try and drive Buffy off the team or get her to do his math homework. His character development in 2x11-13 remains some of the best work the show has ever done; we learn about his dyscalculia, see him connecting with Cyrus, try and be a better person while at the same time struggling with his bad habits, and learn his last name which marks him as an important character. Indeed, in S2 he was very important, without him most of Cyrus and Buffy’s plot lines couldn’t happen whereas in S3 he’s just been filler except for the gun plot as the show has to stall until Tyrus can actually canon in 3x20.

That’s not to say there weren’t obvious restrictions on Cyrus’ story. While him keeping his crush on Jonah secret from Andi made perfect sense it did allow the show to basically separate Andi from the gay story line for pretty much the entire series. Very clear that Cyrus could only have a set amount of scenes with Jonah even though it was painfully clear that Jonah is straight. 2x07 divides the plots into Jandi and Muffy with romantic plot lines and Cyrus with his wacky screen play. We see Jonah gift Cyrus a Space Otters jersey which Cyrus never wears because he wasn’t allowed to. The Tyrus apple cider scene got cut for ‘time’ but I think we all know that if 2x13 had been Andi or Buffy’s Bat Mitzvah that they never would have cut their only scene with their love interest and for that matter they never would have had just one scene with them.

Buffy and Marty:

Buffy starts off strong in S2 and we really see her at her best counselling both Cyrus and Andi and sticking up for herself and her friends. As badly as her moving plot was botched, it did make perfect sense why the show had her move specifically; she really is the glue that holds the Good Hair Crew together.

She had a great moment with Jonah in 2x10 where she opens up about her mom and shows real vulnerability. We also see her standing her ground and turning down Marty who she did like because she knew (correctly I think) that them dating at the time probably wouldn’t have ended well.

The writers did her dirty by having her agree to do TJ’s math homework when she would have obviously known that TJ suddenly doing better would be suspicious and she would be exposed if he ever got help for his Dyscalculia.

I don’t think it’s a surprise that her story really goes off the rails late in 2b once it became clear that they weren’t going to get Marty back. I really don’t think the show would have had Andi ask if she should call Buffy and Marty, Muffy or Barty, in 2x02 if they had known at the time of writing that they’d lose Garren for over half the series. It seems to me that the original 20 eps were written with the hope or expectation that Garren could come back, likely to say in person to Buffy what he wrote in his time capsule letter, and the final 5 eps where the show introduces Juffy/Wuffy were written with the expectation that he was gone forever. What we see of Muffy in 3c is probably a very condensed version of Terri’s original plan for them.

It’s so bizarre that they took the time to make the Airplanes a real team with an actual coach but played the Spikes as a big joke for the most part.

Andi and the Macks and Jonah and Amber:

When Bex and Bowie tell Andi that Cece is selling the house, Andi says what I think is one of the most important lines of the series, that Andi Shack was there for her when Bex and Bowie weren’t. I think it was likely always in Terri’s mind that the series would end with Andi herself clearing out Andi Shack as she grows and moves on from her childhood crafting to bigger and better things.

Mama was one of the best eps of the series. The show really needed to address the circumstances of Bex leaving home in order for the Mack family to heal and move forward and I can see why Terri wrote it herself. She did a great job of showing how young Bex really was and how awful teenage motherhood truly is. I’m glad they didn’t gloss over the fact that Bex would simply not have been able to give Andi as good as a life as Celia did when Celia thanks Bex for having the strength to make that sacrifice for Andi’s sake. And it’s made clear that the dysfunction in the Mack family began long before Bex got pregnant and that one way or the other Bex was always likely to leave home.

Celia telling Bex she’s proud of her at Bex’s graduation was touching and a great end to the Mack women’s estrangement. But it also marks the end of Celia as an important character. From then on she’s almost always just in the wacky grandma role.

Frankly, it was nice to not see Bowie every ep. It really was a mistake to make him a main while also keeping Celia as a main.

Bowie basically instantly gets over Bex turning his proposal down but Bex is also clearly written as still in love with Bowie. Wild how long they dragged it out but at least they got their happy ending.

Clearly Gabriel was the cause of the Good Hair Day re-shoots, I’d love to know what happened since Disney let them write and shoot the ep before deciding it needed to be drastically re-shot.

I forgot how absurd the Celia selling the house plot was, it only lasted from 2x04-2x08 and was introduced by Terri herself. I’m sure they regret not sending Ham off permanently in S2 but they Lauren Tom was under contract for 4 seasons just like the other mains and the show could never afford to lose the Mack family set so it was always going to be pointless.

Miranda started off like a normal person but by her final appearance in 3x12 she was a cartoon villain.

Really seems like they had something planned for Amber as she was in 3 of the first 5 eps before disappearing for huge stretches and only being in 7 out of 25 eps in S2. Which I’m not complaining about, we really did not need Amber in 11 out of the original 21 eps of S3. She never had much of an arc and it’s sad that she ends S3 still working at the Spoon and still with parents who fight.

Jonah comes off a lot better in S2 then he does in S3. He’s a much more supportive friend and we still see some of that Bill Clinton Charm. The Jandi dimples convo was cute. I’d love to know what Terri’s plan for Jandi was because she tears them down in 2a then builds them back up and largely fixes their problems in 2b then just drops them early in S3 and at best maybe they’ll get some ambiguous endgame in 3x20.

Jonah’s panic attack plot was a real shocking moment. Though it does highlight some of the show’s pacing problems in that TJ helping Jonah in 2x13 isn’t addressed again until 3x08 which is a 20 ep gap and those eps aired nearly a year apart. The audience had drastically shrunk by that point and a good chunk of those who were left barely remembered TJ getting help for Jonah.

Walker was a character who started bright with promise but by 3x09 his character was run into the ground and swept aside to make way for endgame Muffy. Wandi really was cute in 2x13 and they had great chemistry. For a character who was in both S2 and S3, Walker ended up being completely forgettable.

#Andi Mack #Tyrus #Muffy #Jandi #Bexie #Andi Mack Rewatch #Andi Mack Season 2 #Andi Mack Meta

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mysterylover123 · 5 years ago

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BNHA Rewatch: Episode 36 “Stripping the Varnish”

mysterylover123

aka the Mineta one. Sigh.

Hooh boy. So we open up with the big “DO YOU LIKE HIM? YES? DEFINITELY, ABSOLUTELY?” scene. I’ve already talked about this scene in my post on Izuocha; basically, I have no idea what this scene’s supposed to mean. Why does Aoyama bring this up? Why does this fit with the Final Exam arc at all, an arc about overcoming weaknesses? Why is there this weird thread of 1) people telling Ochaco she likes Deku rather than her figuring it out herself? 2) Ochaco wanting to ‘be like Deku’ and screwing up? 3) Ochaco succeeding when she tries not to be like Deku? It makes it hard to ship them, dammit, and I wanna!

Couldn’t this scene have just been about Uraraka’s badass karate skills? Sigh. Prepare for me to spend the next season’s worth of episodes grousing about Uraraka’s repetitive crush on Deku. (It’s not that I can’t see them as a couple or ship them, it’s just that I find the execution annoying. “Do you like Deku? Wanna be like him” “Yah do I?”... rinse repeat again and again. Sigh).

Kaminari and Mina vs Nezu! Poor sweet dopes never had a chance. I guess i don’t mind Iida and Momo being in the Observation Chorus as much...it seems more in character for them than it does for Uraraka. And Momo commenting on Nezu is such a MensaUnite moment. Anyway, Mina and Kaminari fail. Ah well!

LOL listen to me complaining about the filler of Izuocha, but this little bit of filler Iichaco is awesome to me. I guess cause it feels less repetitive than the Izuocha bits do. And very authentic, just a simple ‘congrats on passing your exam.’

Jiro you so smart! ILU.

YSR appears again! Drink! And savor it, because sans the film, this glorious track won’t appear again until Episode 61 (yes, that one) in any form. For some reason they basically dropped the series’ most iconic soundtrack piece in Season 3 for almost the whole runtime, much to fans’ dismay. I’m not sure why they chose this scene for it...but Jiro needed it at least once I guess. (also holy crap Present Mic covered in bugs Jiro and Koda are ruthless someone protect the sweet innocent LOV members from their wrath).

Shoji and Tooru vs Snipe. This one’s quick and efficient. They did the best they could for filler. Tooru is pretty boss with those handcuffs. Teamwork good, all that jazz.

Oh boy. Mineta’s stuff. Yawn.

OK, there’s actually a few pieces of interesting info here, that pertain that theme of Motivation. Recovery Girl points out that it would be hard for a kid like Mineta to survive at UA if he just wants to be a hero for no real reason. He needs a concrete goal to focus on. That’s been the main theme of Season 2; I just wish they’d chosen a different character to explore it with.

There are times when I wonder if Mineta should be added to Deku’s harem (hopelessly, of course; even Deku isn’t that nice) because he does seem to genuinely admire Midoriya for his courage, and that counts for something. Anyway who cares Mineta stuff done! Quick tease for BKDK PART 2 ELECTRIC BOOGALOO next episode and we’re a wrap!

“Stripping the Varnish” is definitely probably towards the low end of BNHA episodes for me. It’s mostly filler, there’s too much Mineta, and the Greek Chorus of Class 1-A kids gets a little repetitive. But what I think is interesting is that, if I were to put Stripping besides some of the worst episodes of other shows I like, I’d still prefer to watch it (Mineta stuff aside) to most of the best of other series. Still, ngl, the best part of it is the tease for the next episode. Coming tomorrow: EPISODE FREAKING 37.

BKDK CORNER:

IT’S. ON.

BEST GIRL OF THE EP

RANKER:

#my hero academia #season 2 episode 23 #stripping the varnish #uraraka ochako #mina ashido #kyoka jiro #midoriya izuku #katsudeku #uraraka and aoyama vs 13: don't get to overcome their flaws and fluke a win. meh.#mina and kaminari vs nezu: never had a chance but still they tried! aw!#good stealth #mineta and sero vs midnight: sero should've passed too #koda and jiro v mic: awesome #needed ysr #but who cares #ngl #next ep: BKDK!!!!!!

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whencallstheheart · 6 years ago

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What are your favorite moments from season 6?

See all the responses below the cut.

Elizabeth asking Bill to be Baby Jack’s godfather

Rosemary and Lee moments...Jesse and Clara stuff...all the Henry plotlines... Elizabeth getting to hang with other characters apart from Abigail !

All

Favorite moments would include conversations between Lee and Rosemary about their ability to have a baby, Elizabeth’s conversation with Henry after the mining note was discovered, and scenes related to the entry of the telephone into Hope Valley.

When Lori was still good in the show

Henry/Abigail. Lee/Rosemary. Allie

Lee being proud of Rosie not spilling the tea about Faith + Carson. (And the kiss of course) :-)

Nathan telling Elizabeth the founders would be proud and Allie’s expression afterwards.

The strong man contest that Carson won.

Pretty much all scenes that we now get to see more of the characters interacting that never did before.

Rosemary and Lee’s baby conversation

The show flows really greatknow that lori is gone. I enjoy Elizabeth being strong as a mother. I love Elizabeth and Lucas charming scenes together and lee and rosemary are so amazing together.

Baby Jack, Lee and rosemary , Lucas, new saloon looks great

When the doctor won the game instead of Lucas and Nathan.

I love the fresh face of Lucas. I think he brings mystery and a lot of charm to the show and his Chemistry with Elizabeth is beautiful . I also enjoy Fiana's new style. And energy she brings to the town

everything fiona, rosemary being sad as opposed to hyper all the time (nice change of pace), i love nathan's niece. and i'm quite intrigued by lucas

The scene in the finale with the guys trying to win the fishing pole for Alie.

All the kids - they are so adorable and should have more screentime! Baby Jack has more potential than I expected - he should be fun to watch as toddler.

Elizabeth moving on with life. She was growing intolerable the last two seasons, even while Jack was alive. I'm happy to see her pulling herself up by her bootstraps and getting on with life.

Lee and Rosemary were terrific as always.

Lori leaving was honestly the best thing to happen to this show. It's so refreshing to see other characters on screen.

Just about anything with Elizabeth and baby jack

Faith and Carson finally taking the plunge.

I really enjoyed moments with Elizabeth and baby Jack. The talks between rosemary and lee

Fiona is so much fun and adds something to every scene she's in. :D

Anything Lee and Rosemary!

Henry and Abigail want it to happen season 6

Lori Loughlin being gone and other characters getting more attention since she was a screen hog.

Writing is so much better. Love that we are getting to know ALL of the characters.

Florence getting more depth when she got a job, Nathan’s niece being jnrkduced, Jesse and Clara engaged.

Jesse clara proposal

Rosemary lee talks

Bill being asked to be godfather

Julie coming back

Tying in of old storylines for once it felt a little more cohesive

Clara and Jesse scenes

Anything with Henry. And I ended up liking Elizabeth & Baby Jack a lot more than I was expecting to.

All the Lee and Rosemary scenes

Épisode 6

Lucas giving Elizabeth the library.

Learning that Henry tried to get the safety of the mine inspected.

Jesse staying at his job with Lee.

Rosemary & Lee talking about their inability to conceive.

all

All the Carson and Faith moments

What I remember really liking was Lucas and Elizabeth being held hostage, and Nathan coming to the rescue. I overall liked the episode a lot

My favorite moment was when Elizabeth introduced herself to Nathan. Was really tasteful and nice.

Lee/Rosemary discussing the baby situation

The conversation with Elizabeth and Lucas when he quotes the book to her.

Elizabeth asking Lee/Rosemary to be Jack's guardians, Jesse/Clara proposal.

Christmas episode

Allie

when jesse decides to stay loyal to lee

I enjoyed every moment after Lorigail was fired. It's so much better of a show. I think what surprised me most is that I love Faith and Carson together. I enjoyed everything about Fiona, Nathan, and Lucas as well. Julie coming back was great, too.

My favorite moment was definitely in the finale with the look Elizabeth and Nathan gave each other at the very end of the show. It was like she wanted to say something to him. There was definitely a spark between them.

Henry and Bill scene in the finale.

My favorite moment was when Baby Jack put his hand on Bill’s shoulder. When Elizabeth asked Bill to be the Godfather and when Bill and Lee were watching Baby Jack.

Lee and Rosemary's talk in ep 7

the strength game and, honestly, the break that took away Abigail. i hate it happened, but I enjoyed the rest of the season so much more!

Henry

Jese and Clara discover the oil. Beautiful hug.

Carson and Faith romance and finding out Henry did try to address safety in the mine.

Anything with Henry or Nathan

Everything Elizabeth and baby Jack.

Henry redemption

Nathan and Allie

Introduction of new characters

The carnival

Henry and Elizabeth’s conversation and Lee and Rosemary’s conversation about having children. These added substance to the show.

Basically any moment with unusual friends paired: Lee/Bill, Elizabeth/Bill, Fiona/Clara, Lee/Jesse.

Plus, of course any Lee/Rosemary moment.

adding new characters

not seeing Lori

When Elizabeth Met Lucas

Aside from Abigail Stanton leaving (a true highlight! sad to hear about the issues with Lori Loughlin, but not sad to have her character leave WCTH), the best moments are every scene with Lee and Rosemary.

Nathan and Lucas’s scenes together, the Lee and Rosemary wanting a child plot, Elizabeth’s brief stint as an action heroine

The carnival

lee and rosemary's storyline

Nathan and Elisabeth talki'g about Allie's difficulties to make Friends.

I enjoy Nathan’s niece. Would like to see more Fiona interact with the town. I really liked the phone coming to the town.

Undecided

Faith and Carson scenes, Henry's arc and Lee and Rosemary. Glad to see the characters get to shine!

Rosemary and lee conversations

The carnival; it was sweet when Carson won Allie the fishing pole.

All scenes with Henry in them!

I liked the library stuff, the baby moments, the Coulter's storyline, the founder's day festival.

\- The new library being built.

- Fiona and Lucas being added to the cast list.

- Henry beginning to move forward from the past.

None.very boring show.m

All of the Elizabeth and Lucas scenes

Rosemary and Lee at the Ladies Choice- so cute!!!

Also Lucas quoting classic literature- I want more of that!

Henry being redeemed. Bill and Lee watching baby Jack.

I loved Henry. His scenes were always pretty amazing. I love all of Nathan & Elizabeth's scene because most of them feel so genuine, natural, and real.

Elizabeth and Rosemary's girls' night, Lee/Rosemary + kids storyline, moments when the whole town interacts like with the library and festival, Julie being baby Jack's godmother, Lucas in general

Elizabeth and Rosemary girls night, Rosemary and Lee scenes, Elizabeth and Lucas in the library when he was quoting the book, Elizabeth and Henry finale scene.

The writers did a fantastic Job re-tooling and I enjoyed all do season 6. That being said, I loved it when Elizabeth asked Bill to be Baby Jack’s godfather, and his Baptism. Also when she asked Rosemary and Lee to be his guardians.

The Lee and Rosemary moments

Baby Jack being born

Faith and Carson romance

Rosemary and Lee anytime they were on the screen

Elizabeth meeting Nathan

Anything with Lee & Rosemary

I really liked how they spent a good amount of time with each character/ couple rather than spending the whole hour focusing on Elizabeth/ Abigail. I lost motivation to watch the show during seasons 4-5 because the storylines weren’t interesting or exciting to me, but this season was really enjoyable to watch. Can’t wait for season 7!

Bill being asked to be godfather.

Henry striking oil.

The part where they took Lorigail out. :P

Lee and Rosie's conversation about getting through things together.

When Elizabeth is mad at Lucas for teaching a card trick to Allie. The boys trying to win the fishing pole for Allie. Henry and Abigail at the Queen of the Heart opening dance.

Lori's exit. It was the best thing that could have ever happened to the show.

Finale

Elizabeth and baby jack

Hickam running through town covered in oil. Elizabeth talking to Henry.

Lee and Rosemary storyline

Everything Lee and Rosemary especially the infertility plot

All of Lee and Rosemary!

#When Calls The Heart #wcth survey

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worldstraveller · 7 years ago

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My most favourite pairing/shipping of all time

1. Fudo Yusei x Izayoi Aki ( Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s) (Edit: I have given links of the collages of my favourite moments for a better view and understanding of why are my favourites)

They are my most favourite couple/pairing/shipping of all time, before Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's aired, it was SakuraxShaoran, then YuseixAki came, for some years I was quite undecided which one I liked most, there was a time it was equally. Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's is a very special for me as Yu-Gi-Oh! spin-off, even as an anime, animated series and tv show, because it was the first one I watched from the beginning, I knew before it aired in Japan, I will never forget the memories I had watching in livestream in RAW right in the morning before going to vocational school, online friends that I have fond memories shipping together YuseixAki, it was fun, theories and speculations about the plot, I still hold some grudge and issues in season 2 regarding the story development and lack of limelight and focus in some main characters (season 1 was pretty good, I think Fortune Cup story arc is the best arc in 5D's). How I came to start liking and then loving this shipping as much as I do today, when the series aired in Japan, I did catch up with japanese dub with an excellent translator who given the subtitles in .ass file, I was bit wary at first about these two while on edge to jump into shipping them, due to pairings in YGO doesn't usually appeal me or doesn't satisfy me enough in terms of hints and development (I like MaixJounouchi, KaibaxIshizu and Priest SetoxKisara in a indiferent way), let's say I was with low expectations, so I wouldn't get disappointed (a bit like Eleteo), it was fun finding the hints and you could tell there was a special connection between them, it actually kinda started as rivals as well as not because involves the plot and their character development, their duels, technically two, it's very nicely done and usually moved me, their duels are some of the most emotionally, metaphocally and symbolically charged, I get a little moved or very moved. It was after their first duel I started to ship them hard, when they become friends officially, they're always there to support each other, trust each other while giving hints they like to love each other in romantic way, they even have a "date" and many sweet moments.

Why I love this pairing so much to even be my most favourite:

- Most of you who follow me don't know much about Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, Izayoi Aki is a bit of a tragic character (unusual for a female lead in YGO), she is a psyhic duelist, a card game player with psyhic abilities through duelling, in her case, she can materialize the cards she uses, in order words, she can cause physical damage with monsters cards, spell cards and trap cards (but can heal if she uses cards that restores LP - Life Points), however she couldn't and didn't know how to control her powers, in result she was ostracised and feared by society, at first when she met Yusei and during the tournament, she was very wary of Yusei, despite of her being ostracised, Yusei was the first person who step up in wanting to understand her and her pain, to help her and be her friend, it took a while for her to accept his friendship and trust him, Yusei became her very first friend and person willing to genuinely understand and help her, he even helped her parents to reconcile with her. (I didn't expect the first reason to be this long, wow...). - Before them becoming friends, as I said above, Aki was wary of Yusei in the beginning due to her past and his always serious expression were bit intimidating and so his skills, Yusei, well... is a bit difficult to make out due to his poker face, he did also felt a bit uneasy about her, not really because of her psyhic abilities (even though is natural for one be scared of her) but her duelling skills, their skills and posture are closely matched, but Yusei was most curious and eager to understand her side, while Aki being wary of him prefered to avoid him, the main reason being they are are signers (exists 5 of them, 5 chosen ones of the crimson dragon). - How Yusei tried to help Aki by her opening up to him bit by bit and himself taking all of her pain and hatred, trying to convince she can think for herself, loving herself and save herself from the hatred in herself and society who always shunned her for her powers, while implying the marks they both hold in their arm and they share all the pain this mark gives and share between signers in trying to guide them, in other words, that they're friends (this happens in their first duel) - In their rematch, Yusei tries to help Aki once again since last time they were kinda interrupted when their last duel ended (by the crowd shunning Aki and the leader who is using her as psyhic duelist to escort her back to the organisation), he says he sees her as a friend (dearly and secretly holding romantic feelings for her as eps 40 implies), helps her and her parents to reconcile. (the post has become a little too long, so I had to cut a little, that’s to be expected to be my most favourite pairing...)

- When they become friends, Yusei is very supportive of Aki and Aki gives personal space to him when he needs it. - After sometime has passed, their friendship has grown stronger, Aki feels more confortable around people, specially her friends, she feels very grateful to Yusei for the support and help he has given her, being her first friend, so she is eager to help him in return (it's a bit obvious she holds some romantic feelings for him by this time). - Both Yusei and Aki have soft spot for and protective of the fraternal twins (Rua and Ruka) and each other. - Their trust in each other grows deeper and closer, sometimes they argue a little but is in matters in protecting and saving each other, their connection is quite strong to a point when one of them is in trouble, only their marks glow (even when the 5 signers are present), she has such absolute trust in Yusei to open up to him when they become closer friends, when says she wants to get her riding duel license in order to understand Yusei better and her friends who are D-Wheelers (Jack and Crow) as in return for Yusei effort to understand and help her. - As it reaches the end, they don't exactly confess their feelings but they imply to each other (in a sense is more of a declaration). - By YGO main pairings standards, they're one of the most sucessful and well done pairings in making it quite obvious and clear in YGO that they have a romantic connection, specially compared to it's predecessors. - they are the first male and female lead characters when both do not follow a "duelist" path, instead they become doctors in their respective fields, Yusei being more of developer-physician doctor while Aki in becoming a medical doctor. - also their personalities do match well, they hold similarities such as they are serious, level-headed and both reserved, they have differences, Aki is a very fiery and emotional person under her calm and reserved posture, Yusei hardly shows any emotions unless from people who know him for years (even so, he still behaves serious), he is more of introspective nature than Aki, kind and faithful to his ideals, they do bring out each other what they lack and need (Aki has bit of a challenging personality and middle wise between emotional/fiery and calm/serious (it only becomes problematic when she is feeling emotinally vulnerable or very unstable), for Yusei who is mostly serious and more reserved, so is natural he would be drawn to someone who is able to be calm as much emotional without overwhelming him, in Aki's side, well Yusei given everything she needed and still does, so Aki is very eager to help him).

Favourite Moments:

for better view of the picture click here

1. episode 154, it's when Aki goes to his house to say farewell to Yusei (she will study abroad to become a medical doctor) and try to confess to him, but in the end Aki tells him that she was glad she met him and Yusei replies it was the same for him, then they talk about their first impression they had of each other when they first met, they admit they thought of each other as scary, she got a bit angry, then comes the romantic lines and scene from each other, starting with Yusei saying to Aki...

Yusei: Aki, don't forget to smile. There's no one in the world with a smile better than yours. as he holds her hand while saying this, tightly holds her hand and Aki one hand holds his hand tightly in return, then Aki's other hand holds over his hand and replies: Aki: You're the one who put that smile on my face...Yusei. then they look into each others eyes, Aki closes her eyes, it's implied they kissed (it wasn't shown, so we can't confirm, but there is rumours in the DVD, there was a scene that was cut of them kissing in this scene, so we can't be sure), then they let go of each others hands, you see there is hesitation in them in let it go of their hands and say goodbye, then Aki leaves and Yusei looks at the door from where she left for a awhile and turns around...it's a very beautiful and romantic scene, even a romantic insert song starts playing in this scene. what they say to each other, is not exactly a confession but more of a declaration. I was actually quite surprised about such a romantic scene even their lines...

for a better view of the picture click here

2. episode 75, the "date" episode between Yusei and Aki, Yusei to help Aki to get her sense of balance in riding motobike for evasive techniques for her license in Riding Duel, he takes her to a rolling skate rink, while the twins watching them from the rink bench (to not interfere with Yusei helping Aki) and making the conclusion it is a date, it's very likely Yusei had this intention in mind a little, since Aki didn't skated before, Yusei ends up teaching her, as she gets the hang of it, Yusei and Aki are so well synchronised skating.

for a better view of the picture click here

3. episode 40, this happens before their rematch, Aki is in the hospital unconscious dreaming of her sad memories regarding her past and recent memory she dreams is the first person who approach her genuinely trying to help her being Yusei and tears starts to come up as moved by his words, Yusei was brought by Aki's father for Yusei to help her wake up, when he arrives by the side of the hospital bed where Aki is unconscious, he whispers her surname "Izayoi..." (probably would be behaving too familiar with her if was just her name), removes his glove in order to remove her tears, their marks starts glowing, she finally wakes up.

for a better view of the picture click here

4. episode 42, It's right in the beginning of the episode, when the secretary Mikage of Public Security of Domino City presents evidences about the organisation for Psyhic Duelists about abducted children and living test recordings, the organisation Izayoi Aki was in, revealing the real intent of the organisation was to use psyhic duelists as soldiers for war-torn regions and she was chosen to be one of them, she was disgusted, slightly shocked and hurt by this reveal and she leaves the room, Yusei who was watching her reactions worried followed her and found her sitting in front of a table lost in thoughts about the recent info, when she talks about her feelings regarding this reveal of the true intent of the organisation, Yusei was able to cheer her up, affirming to her he won't reject her and that they're friends/comrades and that there is people that will trust and need her now.

For a better view of the picture click here

5. episode 99, there is three great scenes and both very moving between these two, around beginning, middle and ending, I don't know which I like it more...it happens in the middle of a team vs team riding duels...in the beginning, Aki's turn is coming and she is feeling very nervous, Yusei in effort to relax and encourage her and points out her parents are watching to support her and says she isn't alone anymore...

For a better view of the picture click here

6.episode 99, in the middle of the episode, it's revealed that before she started her time to riding duel, Yusei borrowed and entrusted his ace and favourite card, Stardust Dragon to her as token for her to have fun riding duel, between duelists and D-Wheelers, it's a very big deal, it's a sign of unwavering trust towards her (and romantic feelings for her, it's obvious he also wanted her to see schryncro summoning his fave card) and his rxcited reaction when she summoned his monster while doing the summoning chanting...

for a better view of the picture click here

7.episode 99+100, at the end of the episode and beginning of episode 100, Aki is feeling quite down, because she lost the duel but was able to keep Yusei's card that he borrowed her and two of her facedown cards to Yusei, after Stardust Dragon being put in his duel disk by Rua, Yusei puts his hand over the card gently and tells her "I've carried on your feelings. Let me handle the rest.", he is quite touched by her gesture and intentions...he has intentions to make up for it and more determined in not wasting her efforts... (there is much more moments I could include, but I went a little overboard with this post...)

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onestowatch · 7 years ago

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Q&A: Katelyn Tarver Talks Transforming The World Around Her Into Song on ‘Tired Eyes’ EP

Photo: Steven Taylor

Chances are you have already seen Katelyn Tarver before. Already a well-established actress from her multiple recurring television appearances, Katelyn’s next mission is to conquer is the world of pop. While the transition from television to music may seem overdone at this point, Katelyn’s emergence into the music scene rings out as genuine and true. Relocating from her hometown of Glennville, Georgia to Los Angeles in pursuit of her dreams, seeing her dreams come into focus, albeit perhaps not in the order she may have imagined, Katelyn’s journey is one just beginning.

We sat down with Katelyn Tarver to talk about her EP Tired Eyes, the friends and people she’s worked with who have inspired her, and everything in between.

OTW: Your EP Tired Eyes is out now. You recently finished a month-long residency at Resident, five weeks in fact, and you packed that place every week. Let's talk about your background--talk about transitioning from acting into music and finding your own style of music.

KT: Yeah I mean, it's funny because a lot of my experience out here in LA has been acting-focused, and that's always been interesting to me because I've always had the idea in my head and viewed myself as a singer-songwriter first. So it was funny to kind of get the acting stuff off the ground a little bit quicker, because then most people are like, "What's it like being an actor trying to transition to music?" and in my head I'm like, "I've always kind of been a musician first!" -- but obviously I'll take it, I don't mind, but it is definitely a challenge as far as trying to nail down that sound. I think even if I wasn't doing acting, it would still be hard to kind of find your voice. I feel like I'm constantly evolving as a person and as a songwriter. So I think as I've gone from Georgia to moving out here and kind of being on that journey of songwriting and figuring out music, it's all kind of coincided with me growing up into an adult-person too, which has been cool to kind of hear my music reflect that along the way-- dealing with different themes and concepts in my music, so that's been just fun to kind of see how it changes and grows and kind of just be along for the ride, honestly.

OTW: For sure. And along this journey, you kind of made a career out of supporting other artists in the beginning, like writing this number 1 UK single "Crazy Stupid Love" for Cheryl Cole-- how did that become a success for you, and is it satisfying to finally be releasing your own music now?

KT: Yeah, so for the Cheryl Cole song, I was going in to write with Wayne Wilkins and Heidi Rowhouse, and I think it was the first time we'd ever written together, and I was going in kind of writing for my project initially, I was like, "What about this?" -- and we kind of came up with this concept, and as it was becoming "Crazy Stupid Love," I was like, "Okay!" -- At some point in a session a song kind of takes on a life of its own and you just kind of follow it to the end and you're like, "Okay, we ended up with a cool song; I don't know if it's right for my project." And then Wayne the producer was like, "Well, would you mind if I pitched it?" And I was like, "No, not at all!" And so then to have someone actually cut it... and then release it as their first single, and then to have it go number 1, was like, the biggest shock. I was just like, "Oh! Wow, um, yeah!" It was exciting and it was like, really validating too, as a songwriter, because I think all artists are riddled with self doubt. It's always going to be rewarding to release stuff as an artist too, for me. So that's been exciting to get to that point.

OTW: Yeah! But now you've transitioned into doing your own music, which must be so exciting. Which producers and writers have taught you the most and who do you really enjoy working with?

KT: Oh man. I feel like I work with such a diverse group of people, and I like to remain open to learning a little bit from everyone, but as far as collaborations, I've written with a songwriter who goes by JHart, who's a friend of mine. Just insanely talented, and I tell him all the time, and I'm just obsessed with his work. I really love working with him. And I'm definitely speaking for him on this, but I think he would agree, because I feel like we are good collaborators--I feel like we bring out different things in each other, and he can bring out a lot of good stuff in me, so I always am excited when I get to write with him. I wrote "Weekend Millionaires" with him, and a couple others that aren't on the EP but that I've written, and that maybe could come out eventually.

OTW: Was "Weekend Millionaires" your first single you released?

KT: Yeah. So I wrote that with J Hart, and then Ludwig Goransson produced that, who's done all of Childish Gambino's stuff and is a composer and is insanely talented, so I obviously learned a ton from him... and I just love the way he works. He was always doing something amazing, but it wasn't super obvious. Stuff I would never think to do with production, so... those have both been really cool unique experiences.

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OTW: Awesome. Before we dive into the EP, what have you learned from your close musical peers--Bridgit Mendler, Molly Kate Kestner, and Paris Carney who also joined you on the residency?

KT: Oh, yeah. I mean, Bridgit and Paris are close friends of mine that I've known for years so we relate on everything. We'll talk about songwriting, we'll talk about how it feels to be pursuing a career in music, how it feels to be a woman in the industry, how it feels to have an off-day or have a day where you don't feel good enough. Luckily, with any good friendship, when I'm down, they'll be on their game, and when they're down, I'm on my game, and we can kind of help each other stick it out, because it can get overwhelming. So I'm really thankful to have women who support and encourage each other and help me keep my head on straight. And, Molly Kate, I actually just met her for the first time at the residency. She was so talented and sweet--I loved having her at the residency.

OTW: Cool. So I "Planez” is your most successful song on Spotify so far--how’d that come about?

KT: Yeah, I followed up "Weekend Millionaires" with "Planez," which was a cover of Jeremih's "Planez." I don't know, I'm just a big fan of that song. I've always loved covering songs from the hip hop genre -- I've done that on tour before. I think it definitely hints at a lot of what my new music sounds like: just a little more stripped-down, a little more raw...

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OTW: You can kind of get that vibe on the EP for sure. And the EP is Tired Eyes--what does the title mean and is there a theme to the EP?

KT: These songs were kind of all written in that phase of life that I'm still in-- probably will always be in, to an extent--I don't feel like there's ever a point you reach where things are settled down, you've got it all figured out, everything's fine. So I think when I was just growing and realizing things about the world, and myself, and my friends, and just kind of observing what was happening around me, like a songwriter does, I was writing about it. And I was starting to kind of notice this trend of just being really inspired by those themes of life, and what it all means, and how we all kind of have that struggle of wondering why we're here, and what we're doing, and what it all means. So it explores those themes in a lot of ways.

So Tired Eyes came because it's actually the title of another song I wrote that's not on the EP, but when I was thinking of titling it, I was like, that's such an interesting title to me. And I feel like it encapsulates that feeling in a nice way of just looking around and feeling kind of overwhelmed and tired of what you're seeing, but still having hope -- but just being a little bit jaded, or a little more cynical.

OTW: Tell me about "You Don't Know" --the video touches a nerve amongst teens struggling with depression. It came out around the same time as 13 Reasons Why, and it immediately got 1.3 million views in the first week. What does it mean to you to get that kind of response?

KT: Yeah, the response has been amazing. That's a song that I've held onto for a few years; I've only just kind of not been able to let go of it knowing there was something special about it. I mean, it felt special when I wrote it, for me personally, but also as a songwriter, when you hit that song where you're like, "I said exactly what I wanted to say," it's always such a good feeling.

I think, like you said, people have connected to it in dealing with depression, because I feel like that's kind of how it feels. You have a lot of well-meaning, loving friends around you, trying to do their best to give you advice. And not that you don't like it, but sometimes it's like, "Thank you, but just having a positive attitude is not gonna make me feel better right now!" Not that I think you should stay there, or that it's a healthy place to be, but sometimes I think it's necessary to feel what you're feeling, and allow yourself to be where you're at, and not try to pull yourself together, or feel better, or be positive, or smile or...for a minute, wanting people around you to kind of let you do that. And so I feel like that's kind of how I try to be as a friend. And I think I've wanted to try to get better at that, and allow myself to learn about how to be a good friend to people.

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OTW: And then there’s "Love Me Again"--such an intimate song with a nice build. This is about your fascination of people and relationships. Elaborate more on this song, is this personal to you?

KT: Yeah, "Love Me Again" is more about the complexity of love and relationships, and specifically, being in a committed relationship and hitting that point where you're you're thinking about the future, and you're like, "Is this gonna work? Just the unknown of the future, and your relationship, was interesting to me. I wrote it in Nashville, and we came up with the line of the chorus, "Will you know how to hate me and love me again?," which I think kind of sums up the whole meaning of the song, you know? I don't claim to be an expert by any means, but that's kind of my personal feeling behind that song.

OTW: I enjoyed seeing that balance in the live show, and you packed The Resident every week. I mean, talk about the response you got!

KT: So much of what I love about music, and why I got into the music industry in the first place, was a love of performing, and playing shows and being on stage. So, I've had a lot of time in the studio, writing, figuring out what these songs are going to be, without the payoff of being able to perform them. So, it just felt like this awesome release to just get up there and play the songs and see how the response was, how it felt singing them onstage.

OTW: Awesome! And last question: Who are your top Ones To Watch right now?

KT: Oh, gosh. I mean... we were talking earlier about Wrabel, I'm a big fan of him. I have been for a while, and he just put out an EP that's really good. There's a lot of cool new pop girls coming out. I mean, Dagny just released a cool song, Sigrid, obviously, my friend Paris releasing her new project, O'Neill Hudson coming soon! She's really talented, and a sweet friend and person. Gosh, there's so much cool stuff coming out that it's hard to keep track. Julia Michaels too--she's just a freaking genius and inspirational songwriter. Yeah, a lot of cool female artists coming out, which is exciting.

#katelyn tarver #tired eyes #pop #jhart #j hart #cheryl cole #Ludwig Goransson #Bridgit Mendler #molly kate kestner #wrabel #julia michaels #sigrid #dagny #paris carney

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