#the slavery feels like set dressing a lot of the time tbh. like it's there so we can pretend the setting is 'realistic' and 'dragon age'

[bthump]

hello! i hope im not bothering you with this ask or anything, but i really love your blog and the thoughts you write, so i wanted to ask if you any other titles you would reccomend that are similar to berserk (not necessarily in terms of setting, but mostly the Vibe) and deal with similar themes (i watched and read devilman!). i would accept anything tbh, be it a book or movie or a series. thanks in advance, hope you have a good week! :)

Thank you very much, and yeah I'd be happy to rec a few other things I like that have some similarities! Some of these similarities are pretty thin lol, but tbf Berserk is pretty unique, at least in terms of media I'm into, and I've seen some good homoerotic movies recently.

Anime/Manga:

Claymore is compared to Berserk fairly regularly, and it's not just for the big swords. There's no griffguts equivalent, but it's got medieval fantasy monster hunting vibes, similar themes wrt human nature (though more shounen, power of love-esque lol), great action scenes and cool monster designs, and a lot of great female characters with interesting relationships, which isn't similar to Berserk but it's a bonus by itself.

I've also seen Vinland Saga compared to Berserk, and again there's no griffguts equivalent, but there's a very Griffith-esque character who has an AU where Griffith became king the old fashioned way vibe, and a central theme is revenge.

An anon a while ago made the point to me that Light from Death Note is similar to Griffith in a few ways, such as wanting to create a kind of ideal world, and being very charismatic and having culty followers who view him as a god.

Books:

tbh I have a bad memory for books I've read, but here are a couple I read specifically because of Berserk similarities:

I read As Meat Loves Salt by Maria McCann because I was told it had griffguts vibes, and it did. Medieval lone wolf is recruited by idealistic blond mercenary who wants to create a utopia, falls in love with him, and gets fucked over. It's very dark, darker in some ways than Berserk, but it was a good read imo. More in depth post on it with warnings here.

Captive Prince by CS Pacat is known for the author having based one of the characters partially on Griffith, and you can tell lol. It's a fun read if you don't mind or are into the tropey sex slave setting, with an engaging gay romance that has surface similarities to griffguts, though the vibe of the relationship was fairly different to me. But like, the political scheming felt like a Golden Age AU to me. It's been a while since I've read it but for warnings there's rape, csa, incest, and sex slavery not portrayed positively but like, used as erotic scene setting if that's a dealbreaker.

TV Shows:

Hannibal! It's got intense homoeroticism, it's got betrayal, it's got an operatic level of intensity, it's fun to dissect analytically, violence revenge and trauma are significant themes, one character tries to escape his life ruining feelings for the other by killing him, and it's just a great time.

Yellowjackets also has strong themes of violence and how it's a temptation, and though I wouldn't compare any of the relationships to griffguts exactly, there's an intense tragic homoerotic friendship that haunts one of the characters decades later.

Xena has a campy overpowered anti hero dressed in black leather wrestling with their inner darkness and in love with a blonde, also a flirty exes kind of relationship with a god (though that's hetero lol). Not really similar tonally and no griffguts equivalent, but it's got some similar themes wrt violence, revenge, human connection saving your soul from darkness, etc, and it's a gr8, fun show.

Black Sails has a kind of love vs revenge thing going on, as well as an attempt to overturn the social order and create a utopian kingdom. In some ways it's similar in tone as well, often pretty dark and violent, but with some very funny moments, and set in a fictionalized historical setting. No griffguts equivalent, but all these shows are extremely gay.

Movies:

Ladyhawke gets a lot of comparisons to Berserk, and may have been one of Miura's inspirations since he cited Rutger Hauer movies. Starcrossed wolf and hawk themed lovers, medieval setting, significant eclipse, it's got the vibes.

Hellraiser is one of Miura's stated inspirations iirc, and I mean yeah lol. It's the godhand as sadomasochists. Idk that there's that much in common in terms of theme, but the aesthetic is there.

Yk what? The Lost Boys. Homoerotic, campy fun, brooding teen is recruited into a gang and has sexual tension with the leader... that should count.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture starts with Spock trying to purge all his emotions after we can only assume breaking up with Kirk, and failing, and it's a parallel to a godlike being learning to love.

Okay hear me out on this one... Sweet Smell of Success is like if there was no Guts and instead the homoeroticism was between Griffith and the King, and it was set in the New York world of 50s gossip columnists, and look, I recently watched and adored this movie and I want to rec it. And hey, it's about doing fucked up shit to feed your ambition and being pretty and charming while you do it.

The Favourite is about a servant seducing and manipulating her way to power in a royal court, kind of an f!Griffith AU without a Guts if you look at it a certain way. But also it's another movie I love and want to rec based on at least one similarity lol.

Uh, Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence is about a dude wanting to fuck a hot charismatic and guilt-ridden blond guy but being too repressed to go for it? Great movie in general. Also Midnight Cowboy is about trauma induced gay repression while we're at it.

And finally, Paul Verhoeven's sci fi trifecta of Robocop, Total Recall, and Starship Troopers have virtually nothing in common with Berserk in terms of theme, character, relationships, etc. But the tone feels exactly like the Black Swordsman arc to me lol, to the point where I've always said that the only live action Hollywood adaption of Berserk I'd accept is the one Verhoeven directed in the 90s in an alternate universe. Miura was directly inspired by one of his 80s movies that I've never seen, Flesh and Blood, and yeah, I feel like you can kind of feel the inspiration.

I have other rec lists, as well as things people have recced to me often on the basis of similarities to Berserk/griffguts that I haven't checked out yet, in this tag, so I'd highly recommend browsing through it for more media suggestions. And if anyone wants to jump in with more recs for things that remind you of Berserk in some way, please do!

[lululawrence]

Lululawrence’s March 2020 Fic List

There is no associated podcast this month, but I’m easing back into the monthly fic lists, so here we go! 

Please remember to always leave kudos and nice comments for the authors to show your appreciation!

what's mine is yours to make your own by @soldouthaz / soldouthaz (40k, E, Harry/Louis, Friends with Benefits, Dom/Sub, Pining, Canon Compliant, You’re so in Harry’s head you get very frustrated at times trying to figure out what is going on lol, It’s wonderful)

His and Mine by @kissyboystyles / glitteredcurls (66k, M, Harry/Louis, Soulmates, Soulmarks, Dystopian, Adoption, Soulmark Removal, This is such an interesting take on Soulmates, I loved the world building, kind of open ending but also not?, It’s hard to explain)

Unchain My Heart (Baby, Set Me Free) by @fallinglikethis / FallingLikeThis (49k, E, Harry/Louis, Royalty, Slavery, Angst, Happy Ending, This fic is so rich in so many tropes that I remember from when I first entered the fandom, Which makes sense I suppose since it’s an older fic, Please be careful and read the tags)

Fellowship of Eroda by @sadaveniren / SadaVeniren (5k, E, Harry/Louis, Kink, DnD, Three Night Stand, Enemies to Lovers, Ish, Basically it’s the sexiest DnD has ever been, And you don’t need to be familiar with the game to follow the fic)

ain't no stopping your plans by @disgruntledkittenface / disgruntledkittenface (4k, M, Nick/Louis, Canon Compliant, Established Relationship, Bastardized pronunciation of Givenchy, Banter, Sexy Times, Basically excellent Tomlinshaw content)

Knead You Now by @writsgrimmyblog / Writcraft (11k, E, Nick/Louis, Banter, Bad Cooking, Cooking competition, Matchmaker Harry, or is it Wingman Harry?, Either way it is excellent and a wonderful read)

Dress You Up in My Love by @rsadelle / rsadelle (7k, E, Harry/Louis, Girl Louis, Flirting, The other lads are boys, They’re still in a band, I don’t really know what else to describe it as, But I enjoyed reading it!)

Your secret's safe with me by @lightwoodsmagic / lightswoodmagic (sarah_writes) (7k, M, Harry/Louis, Royalty, Famous/Non Famous, Friends to lovers, Hidden Identity, Pure Adorableness)

No One But You Got Me Feeling This Way by @runaway-train-works / runaway_train (4k, E, Harry/Louis, Camboy Louis, Pining, Longing, Something else I don’t really wanna tag because the reveal is too great, so just please read this and scream with me kthanksbai)

adjudication by @bottomlinsons / bottomlinsons (75k, M, Harry/Louis, Royalty, Arranged Marriage, Miscommunication, like a LOT of miscommunication lol, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Happy Ending, One of my fav reads this month tbh)

with no way out and a long way down by @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed / we_are_the_same (21k, T, Harry/Louis, Royalty, Soulmarks, Soulmates, Angst, Happy Ending, I cried reading this, but it was 3 am and I was feeding the baby so maybe you won’t, I loved it)

laktatsiya by @jaerie / jaerie (6k, E, Harry/Louis, Girl Direction, Lactation Kink, Trans Harry, Pregnant Louis, What more do I need to say? lol)

light my heart up baby like a matchstick by estrella30 (9k, M, Nick/Louis, DJ Nick, Intern Louis, Banter, Miscommunication, Flirting, They get it right eventually, I love them in this fic, and Niall and Liam are the best little cameos ever)

Silicone Knot by @jaerie / jaerie (2k, E, Harry/Louis, A/B/O, Camboy Louis, Omega Harry, He identifies as alpha, but alpha Louis makes him wanna explore things, yaaassssss)

Series of random ficlets. by @himynameiszayn / Greenmetblue28 (344, T, Harry/Louis, Only one is posted so far, A/B/O, I love it so much, I kinda want more hehe)

some things fade (some never do) by @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed / we_are_the_same (25k, T, Harry/Louis, Exes to Lovers, Magical Tattoos, Pining, Longing, Hurt/Comfort, Happy Ending)

social distance psychic by @jaerie / jaerie (2k, NR, Harry/Louis, Psychic Louis, Referenced Cheating, not between them, Meet Cute, This fic was so short and so perfect and so lovely, I barely ever reread fics, I’ll probably reread this one though)

touching me, touching you by @disgruntledkittenface / disgruntledkittenface (6k, E, Harry/Louis, Meet Cute, Strangers to Lovers, Listen, There are such lovely details in here that have me continually thinking about it, pretty much every time I wash my hands, it’s so great, and you’ll understand that comment if you read it, please read it)

For As Long As I Can Remember (It's Been December) by @greenfeelings / green_feelings (128k, E, Harry/Louis, Exes to Lovers, Amnesia, Angst, Alllllllll the Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Secrets, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, I am like the last person to read this fic, So I’m not trying to sell it to you, but DAMN I loved it)

Destiny Won't Be Denied by Jesapeak (10k, E, Harry/Louis, Royalty, Exes to Lovers, Harry runs away, Louis finds him, Shiall is the CUTEST)

I Like It Better When It Hurts by @dimpled-halo / dimpled_halo (7k, E, Marcel/Louis, Dom/Sub, Exploration, I just have to say that this was fucking hot, and I can’t wait for later installments)

Sometimes You Just Know by @2tiedships2 / 2tiedships2 (34k, M, Harry/Louis, A/B/O, Exes to Lovers, Miscommunication, Longing, Pining, Soulmates, Just everything you always love about Mel’s fics, but then she takes it and twists it around a little, so it feels brand new)

Lean On My Shoulder (I See Myself With You) by Jennifer_Kaid (20k, E, Harry/Louis, A/B/O, Royalty, French Louis, Courting, Period Typical Prejudices, Except in like an A/B/O world, Just go with me on this)

We'll Never Fall Apart by @goodmorningtoyouuniverse / GMTYUniverse (21k, M, Harry/Louis, Exes to Lovers, Oliver the Cocker Spaniel, He’s adorable and very important tbh, Famous/Non Famous, Gosh this fic was just, perfection)

Falling Again by Halos_Boat (15k, M, Harry/Louis, Exes to Lovers, Friends with Benefits, Pining, Angst, Happy Ending, With the amount of exes to lovers on this list, you’d think I’m turning into Anitra, lmao, for real though this is also kinda a song fic, it’s so good)

[drunklander]

Drunj!Der Yells About Outlander

Thoughts on Ep. 312

Ok so I *really* like half of this episode, and then I really don’t give a single fuck about the other half. But! It manages to jump around enough that the parts I don’t give a fuck about never reach the point where I’m annoyed that I’m still watching them. Which like, is the best case scenario for an episode dealing with a storyline I’m not partial to?

The squad is finally actively trying to find Young Ian, you know, the actual main goal of the back half of the season! But it also feels a bit like they threw all of the plot confetti they needed to into it in order to set up the finale after spending so long on side-quests. There are some great scenes but there is also some batshit insanity. This was the first time in a while that I didn’t check to see how much time was left in the episode. So that’s a bonus.

I personally give zero fucks about the prophecy stuff, but since that’s a massive part of the end of the book, and the show has always stuck maybe a little too closely to the source material, it’s not like I was surprised that a lot of the episode was dedicated to that. And since this episode yet again feels like something completely different from the previous ones, most of my feelings and reactions to it are yet again based on it as a standalone thing and not as part of the season as a whole. (I’m finding more and more as the season goes on that while I have really enjoyed some individual episodes or scenes, if I look at the season as a whole, I’m left feeling sad about missed potential and what might have been if they had made different choices along the way.) So yeah, personally I was like 50/50 really enjoying the episode vs. rolling my eyes at its complete ridiculousness. Which, compared to how I’ve felt about other eps, is pretty solid.

I love that Young Ian keeps fighting on the Bruja and doesn’t give in to the fear he must be feeling. Like if he’s going down, he’s going down swinging and I really do like that wee goober.

Of course Geillis takes literal blood baths. Fucking of course she does.

This whole part is absurd. But like I guess that’s the point? Geillis is fucking nuts. (It does make me roll my eyes a bit that they keep being like “we don’t do gratuitous nudity” while literally having a lady walk around naked and then doing long shots of her showering. Not complaining, just observing.)

DON’T EAT THE CAKE, YOUNG IAN! THIS LADY LITERALLY JUST TOOK A BATH IN ACTUAL BLOOD! SHE’S CLEARLY FUCKING INSANE! DON’T EAT THE THINGS!

NOOO, NOT THE TEA! LOOK AT YOUR REACTION TO THE TEA! THERE IS CLEARLY SOMETHING WRONG WITH THE TEA! STOP DRINKING THE TEA!

Ok, let’s just remember Young Ian’s reaction to being drugged without his knowledge and sharing things he doesn’t want to share. He’s clearly not ok with it. Just keep that in mind for a second...

Geillis is so fucking creepy. Like Lotte Verbeek is so fucking good at pretending to be the creepiest motherfucker ever.

Aaand then the show decided that it was a good idea to have yet another child get raped. This is, what, the third time? Mary, Fergus and now Young Ian? There is no plot-relevant reason to keep this in the show. But they did. Because of course they did. If a girl gets roofied and sleeps with a guy, we call it rape. Because you can’t consent when you’ve been drugged. They’re *literally* called date rape drugs. So here we have a kid getting basically roofied and then it’s implied Geillis sleeps with him. It doesn’t matter if he seems into it. Saying what happens to Young Ian isn’t rape, in my opinion, is the same as saying a girl who gets roofied and taken advantage of wasn’t raped. This, to me, is a rape and I’m *rull* pissed and disappointed, but not at all surprised, that the show decided to include it. (Yes, I know it’s in the book. It was one of the things that I was hoping they’d cut. But given this show’s track record, that was clearly a naive hope to have.)

< / rant >

Ok Claire has that whole trunk of clothes on the ship. Why is she still wearing the same outfit? Seriously, I get that the production is like weirdly attached to that blue dress, but at some point the woman should be allowed to change her clothes. Especially since last week she was like bleeding all over her sleeve and she’s basically been wearing the same outfit for months. Like no fresh dress to go ashore in? Really? I mean, who cares. It’s not anything to like actually get worked up about, it’s just silly to me.

Although, good riddance to the bumroll. I like the outfit much better without it, tbh.

Claire immediately closing the parasol when it’s pointed out that it makes her seem respectable makes me smile. Especially after drunkenly asserting that she *was indeed* respectable last week.

The episode does a decent job of setting up Geillis, though. With the Rose Hall “RH” brand on the enslaved woman Claire sees and the mention of Mrs. Abernathy from a rando in the crowd.

The whole slave market sequence makes me angry and uncomfortable and that’s exactly how I’m supposed to be feeling. It’s clear that’s how Claire feels too. Plus an added dose of helplessness because there’s literally nothing she can do.

And I’m not at all surprised it’s seeing a man being sexually assaulted that makes her snap. With all of the times Claire herself has been assaulted and knowing what Jamie went through at Wentworth, it makes perfect sense for her to manage to hold it together despite her strong feelings, but then to lose it when she sees a man being dehumanized even further in that particular way.

Um, why the fuck did Jamie use Claire’s name instead of his own on the paperwork for Temeraire? She clearly had such a visceral reaction to the situation and he was like well you wanted me to fix it, so I bought a human...in *your* name. It’s really not a big deal. I think it just bugs me a little due to residual Jamie-annoyance from the episodes where I wanted to punch him in the face.

I *am* here for Jamie being immediately on board from the start with needing to get Temeraire somewhere he can live safely. As someone who has been a prisoner in one form or another for so much of his life, it would be out of character for Jamie to respond in any other way.

I like that Jamie and Claire make it clear to Temeraire that his freedom doesn’t hinge on his cooperation in helping them find Young Ian. They tell him he’ll be free as soon as possible regardless, and I’m very glad they make that explicit. Because again, it’d be out of character for them to do anything else. This is, however, kind of becoming a generic white guilt/white savior story. Like they can’t solve slavery but look at how they’re helping this one guy. But honestly, considering there’s like no time in the episode to devote to this particular storyline, this is about as unproblematic as it could get.

Aaand on to the prophecy stuff. It’s all well acted and stuff, I just have no interest whatsoever in this part of the plot.

Although Geillis’ sassy “bitch please” fan flick when Archibald says something is pretty great.

The whole time at the party I was like scared Claire’s hair was going to fall over to the side. Like you can do it, hair, defy the laws of physics! Don’t fall down! I believe in you!

Marsali calling Jamie a dandy is my everything. I really like Marsali, you guys.

Yi Tien Cho’s shade at Frenchmen is also my everything. Yi Tien Cho in general in this episode (and this season) is my everything.

Seriously, his face at Jamie telling him he’s there to be a distraction. Like aw *hell* no. I feel you, dude. It’s fucked up.

Ok the “Ye look as ‘twas yesterday.” line about Claire looking like she did at Versailles is a bit of on-the-nose meta commentary about how they don’t look like they’ve aged that works because it’s a super sweet thing to say regardless of how she actually looks. But Mr. Campbell’s line about “What chance that we end up on the same island, eh?” is up there with The Replacements’ lines last week about Claire randomly showing up in the weirdest places. Like we get it, there are a fuckton of convenient coincidences in the show. No need to point them all out.

The sadness and sympathy on Claire’s face as she sees all of the enslaved men around the room is perfect, as is Jamie’s picking up on it and asking when it will end. But his being in tune with just how much seeing enslaved people affects her again makes me wonder why he put her name on the certificate of sale. (Whatevs, it’s really fine. I don’t like hate Jamie for it.)

Ok so Jamie only calls Yi Tien Cho by his name when he’s making YTC play the part of the Exotic Other. Claire calls him by his name all the time because it’s his name. I do judge Jamie a little for this. When Jamie decided to rename Claudel to Fergus, it was a tad presumptuous, but Fergus embraced it and was on board. Mr. Willoughby was never a name that Yi Tien Cho embraced so calling him that seems a tad disrespectful, regardless whatever Scottish word his actual name sounds like.

Also, Claire’s face when the girl calls him Mr. Cho made me wonder if it was ever made clear what YTC’s family name vs. personal name is. Isn’t it custom for family names to be said first? So he’d actually be Mr. Yi? Is that what Claire’s face is in reaction to, or just the girl being absurd and racist about meeting YTC? Serious question, I can’t recall if this was ever addressed in the book...

Regardless, Yi Tien Cho has more patience and tolerance for bullshit than my privileged white ass could ever hope to have.

Giving him a storyline with Margaret is also infinitely better than the foot fetish bullshit from the book. But again, no brownie points for fixing the obvious problems, show.

Oh man, the look between Jamie and Claire. All the love and lust, and sadness and regret about losing so much time, and thinking of what might have been and what is still to come now that they’re together again. Just all the fucking feels. Their faces are good at emoting, guys.

Still a bit salty that Claire never got to really make Jamie see what the separation was like for her and that Jamie was so easily let off the hook for his behavior and that we had to headcanon most of their reconciliation but I’m tired of being salty, sooo whatever. *pours one out for what could have been*

Lord John’s happy puppy face when he sees Jamie is adorable.

I need Lord John and Chris Traeger to be best friends and like go on happy, optimistic adventures together.

“I thought she’d died too, but she returned to me.” “My god. But how”? “It’s a long story. I’ll send you the BluRay in a couple months. It’ll catch you right up.”

I know the party wigs are intentionally bad because they’re supposed to be wigs of the time period as opposed to the dead animal that’s been living on Jamie’s head all season, but Geillis’ wig is a special kind of ridiculous. (Also why is she randomly blonde now? Like whatever, who cares, but it’s a random change to make. Unless it was literally because the actress didn’t feel like dying her hair or something, haha.) (ETA -- It’s probs how they chose to show she’d aged. I’m an idiot.)

The scene with Jamie, Claire and LJG in the side room is perfect and awkward and I want to give them all a hug. Like look at all of their faces. LJG is like omg I heart you. I am full of feels about how I heart you. And Jamie is like omg thanks for raising my kid. I am full of feels about my kid. *writes and deletes a broken record rant about how it would have been nice to see him show this much emotion even fucking once about his other kid* And Claire’s like pulling double duty on the feels like oh man it’s so sad that Jamie doesn’t get to raise his son but it’s great he has someone to talk to about him and maybe just a bit of jealousy over Jamie getting to be part of Willie’s life for a bit but not Bree’s, and then also like yooo this dude is in love with my husband. I am so full of feels about how this dude is like pining over my husband. You’d better stay in your lane, dude.

TL;DR: Their faces. They’re good at emoting.

This episode does kind of cross over into the gay-guy-in-love-with-his-straight-best-friend trope area a bit. Part of why I liked show!LJG so much in episodes 303 and 304 was because while it was clear he liked Jamie, that wasn’t his primary feature. In this episode, it is. And while I’m here for Claire to notice that he cares for Jamie in a way that’s more than just buddies, it’s a tad too heavy handed with the heart eyes for me. Especially when he keeps telling a romanticized version of the sapphire story.

Like, it sucks to the max that Lord John can’t live honestly, but it seems that a guy who has been given shitty posts because of the rumors about him would be more subtle? The gay-guy-pining trope isn’t that interesting to me and part of why I don’t like book!LJG as much as most people. I know I’m probs in the minority here... I *am* still enjoying show!LJG much more than book!LJG though, and (to me) the genuine friendship between him and Jamie plays better here than in the book too. Like when they’re sitting at the table just catching up. I’m so here for their bromance, just not the pining.

I do love that Jamie calls Young Ian “our nephew” in the scene though, instead of “his nephew.”

If Yi Tien Cho and Margaret don’t run away together in the finale, I’m going to be sad. They win the prize for most surprising ship of the season. But I am On. Board. They each just want to be seen for who they are. Not just as an Other.

Love the convo between Claire and Lord John. And that it seems like he knows (or at least assumes) she knows about him and what he feels for Jamie because he knows Jamie tells her pretty much everything.

I also love Claire’s emphatic “I have.” to Lord John when he notes how she has returned. She’s Jamie’s wife and she is the only person who he loves in the way John wishes Jamie would love him. Like, she finally has Jamie back and she’ll get territorial with anyone who might presume to have a claim on him in a romantic sense. I honestly think that Claire being like this isn’t due to Lord John being a dude so much as just that he’s a human who has feelings for Jamie and at this point, regardless of the person’s gender, she’d start peeing circles around Jamie if *anyone* tried to make a move on her dude. Especially after 20 years with a guy she didn’t love. She did the opposite of pee circles around Frank. She let him do whoever whatever he wanted. He wasn’t worth fighting for. Jamie is. So I am *here* for Claire being a bit possessive. It’s the first time in a long time she’s had someone in her life worth staking a claim on.

I liked the convo with Claire and Geillis until like halfway through when I was like oh shit, wait, CLAIRE, GIRL, REMEMBER THAT SHE’S FUCKING CRAZY AND HAS STRAIGHT UP MURDERED THREE OF HER HUSBANDS AND RAPES BOYS AND KILLS THEM FOR HER BATHS AND HAS YOUNG IAN! RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY!

“Why are men such fools?” You’re batshit crazy, Geillis, but you raise a good question.

Of course Geillis went to her own execution. I’d be disappointed in her if she hadn’t.

Ok but Geillis knows how Dougal really died, right? And she’s going to like bring it up with Jamie and Claire next week as something she’s butthurt about, right? It’s come up twice in the episode and I can’t tell if that’s because it’s going to be a thing or if she’s just talking...

Aaand now we get to the pure ridiculousness that I kind of just don’t pay attention to because I can’t even with this storyline.

Also, you’re really just going to grab at the governor’s crotch, Geillis? This lady has more red flags than a Chinese airport.

I get it’s a story that involves time travel, but apparently I draw the line at prophecies.

“A 200 year old baby? Do ye think I’m an idiot.” Geillis, who do you know that could maybe have traveled 200 years between getting knocked up and having a baby? Think about it for a hot second. The riddle is obvious af for us, the audience, but like even for Geillis it shouldn’t take that much to get to the answer. Sure she doesn’t know at the moment that Claire was pregnant and DeLorean’ed her way Back to the Future, had a baby, and then came back again, but she knows Claire’s a time traveler. They literally *just* talked about it. Whatevs. I’m guessing she’ll find the pictures of Bree next week like in the book and put it together so Claire has to murder her to stop her from going to kill Bree with the bloody machete from the promo clips and then she’ll be the skeleton in Joe’s office who was beheaded with a dull blade, which I still don’t think was important enough to include but whatevs, some folks love it and that’s fine too.

How convenient that the escaped slaves live near Rose Hall. But I am so here for Temeraire being like nope, not later, I’m going to be free now, here, goodbye.

For as problematic as the pictures have been for me this season, I do love that Jamie’s first thought when about to be arrested is protecting the pictures of Bree and Willie.

I do not love that we end on another cliffhanger.

*starts singing One Week More to self to the tune of Les Mis*