#there's big bang burger drama sis

[marskid11]

after work out meal (affectionate)

[bangtan]

Inside BTS-mania: A Day in the Life of the K-Pop Superstars

The screaming begins just beyond baggage claim, when the first bob of purple-gray hair peeks up over the security wall separating the biggest Korean pop band in the world, in history, from its fans. Amid shrill hysteria, the seven soft-faced men of BTS stride through Los Angeles International Airport flanked by human trains of burly people in yellow “Event Staff” shirts. The boys smile, wave and, with the efficiency of British royals, slip past a few hundred young women and teen girls into black Escalades, their portal to the heart of the American mainstream. It’s mid-November and BTS have flown here from South Korea, propelled by the fervor of their admirers, a diverse group that calls itself ARMY (short for “Adorable Representative M.C for Youth”). The band is here for a string of high-profile TV appearances: They go from the airport to James Corden; Jimmy Kimmel the next day; then they’ll meet Ellen Degeneres, who’ll compare their U.S. arrival to that of the Beatles in 1964. But BTS are mainly in town to perform their hit song “DNA” at the American Music Awards – a performance that will make them Google’s top trending topic and set a Guinness record for Twitter engagement. Group leader RM (short for “Rap Monster”), 23 and palpably ambitious, compares the whirlwind trip to being “like surfers on a big wave.” But at 9 a.m. the day after BTS land, the vibe is more like “showing up for work.” We’re at a rehearsal studio when AMA reps arrive to shoot promo photos in the parking lot. Bubbly ham J-Hope, 23, an MC and onetime street-dance champ, walks out with his arms up, shouting, “Hello! AMA! Whoa!” The others trickle out with less ado and take turns getting primped, on the asphalt, by a team of stylists also in from Seoul. There’s Jimin, 22, the prettiest yet most puckish, a former top modern-dance student who’s currently shaving his chin while a woman holds a mirror. The perpetually wide-eyed singer V, 21, another art-school kid, who made his screen debut in a Korean historical drama last year, gets his purple-gray bob brushed and parted. A man uses a pick to dislodge something from the teeth of Suga, who like RM started his career as an underground rapper. Lead singer Jungkook, 20, a devout Belieber who joined BTS at 15, gets a streak of eyeliner. Meanwhile, singer Jin, 25, an aspiring actor so handsome he was recruited by a boy-band casting agent while walking down the street, shuffles quietly through the flurry. Their entourage is massive; I lose count in the mid-thirties. There are managers, publicists, a choreographer, a masseur, the interpreter, groomers, folks with cameras, unsmiling guards and several drivers with earpieces. Back home, BTS are pretty much only breaking their own records at this point – for video views, album pre-sales and chart placement – and it’s spilling over to other countries. Their recent EP, Love Yourself: Her, which features a song written with Andrew Taggart of the Chainsmokers, topped iTunes’ album chart in 73 countries, and BTS have become the first Korean-pop group to crack the American mainstream, with a Steve Aoki remix of their “MIC Drop” recently crashing the Top 40. ‪"We are so lucky that we’re living in this time, in 2017,“ says RM, the only one who can carry on a conversation in English. “When we post a tweet, it becomes translated to more than 30 languages.” The group’s lyrics – which are almost entirely Korean but close-captioned on YouTube and translated for sites like Genius – are a big part of its international success. BTS songs tackle issues like depression and anxiety. They promote progressive social ideals like female empowerment and accepting people from different backgrounds. They even address the internal unease of ditching less commercial career paths to become “idols,” as K-pop stars are called. BTS fans appreciate the band’s empathy, honesty, and independence—themes that are particularly in-demand amongst Western pop audiences these days. Plus, BTS set their message to canny hyper-modern production (frequently done by the members themselves) that devours all manner of EDM- rap- and R&B-leaning pop – think Major Lazer, Justin Bieber, DNCE, Logic, the Chainsmokers, Nick Jonas – and spits out a deeply catchy, slightly askew pastiche. After the photoshoot, the guys go in to practice their AMAs routine. From the opening whistle of “DNA,” they are a single-minded, many-limbed organism. Jin, who normally seems like he’s brooding, deploys pouty looks and precise hand jives. They goof around a bit – Jimin grabs Jungkook’s ass after the latter executes a balletic twirl – but are in the zone. An hour later, at 10:40 a.m., they’re chugging water and getting cooled off by women who use their entire bodies to swing paper fans emblazoned with the boys’ own faces. Jin quickly nods off in a rolling chair but is soon awoken by the masseur, who wants to jam an elbow into his shoulder; Jin winces as he does. Minutes later, V is yowling in pain, mouth wide as a handler treats a canker sore inside his cheek. Later, RM will dance with a bloody tissue in his nose – the wages of jet lag and constant hustle add up. An early lunch of cold burgers and fries seems meager compensation, but they eat with abandon. BTS, an acronym for Bangtan Boys (“Bulletproof Boy Scouts” in Korean), was built around RM and finalized via auditions. The group was assembled by a small company – Big Hit, run by songwriter “Hitman” Bang Si Hyuk, who co-founded one of the so-called Big Three agencies, JYP, before leaving it behind – which gives them underdog appeal. And while BTS came through the famously rigorous K-pop system, living in dorms together and training constantly, RM says Big Hit offers relative artistic freedom. To wit, in a unique spin on K-pop fan service, BTS build mythologies around their albums, like last year's Wings, whose theme comes from Hermann Hesse’s 1919 bildungsroman Demian. The concept appears in the lyrics, art and videos. Exactly how these subplots take shape is unclear, but it’s feasible that RM, who reads heady authors like Haruki Murakami and Albert Camus, is involved. “We try to make our own BTS context,” he says. “Maybe it’s risky to bring some inspiration from novels from so long ago, but I think it paid off more. It comes through like a gift box for our fans. That’s something you can’t find easily from American artists.” Instead, he likens it to Star Wars. “The big thing about creating our universe is expandability,” adds Suga, the most contemplative of the group, via interpreter. “Because it draws from our personal lives and interests, we can expand it as much as we want and it’s not alien for us. Having that allows us more diversity in the stories we can tell and the music we can make.” Do they feel free enough to write about Korean politics? RM says they’re working on a song that does so subtly, but Suga cautions that the subject “is fraught with danger, not in a literal way, but because of the risk of being misunderstood by young people who may not have fully developed sensibilities.” He’d rather focus on fostering understanding than “inciting conflict.” The rest of the group stays silent for our midday interview except to shout out ARMY and admit they’re eager for more crossover opportunities. As J-Hope puts it, “It’d be an honor for us to work with anyone.” RM says that, instead of breaking more records, the band’s mission is to promote individuality, which isn’t always encouraged back home. “Especially in Korea, there are all these standards: Get married, go to a nice university.” How will they spread that message? He smiles. “Better music and doper performances.” After selling out arenas in California, Chicago and New Jersey, BTS are planning a bigger U.S. run in 2018. They’re in unprecedented territory. Unlike PSY, their success here didn’t spring from a novelty hit – their rise up American charts was gradual and shows no sign of slowing. While they’ve brushed off the idea of an English-language album in the past, RM dropped English verses on a Fall Out Boy remix and Wale collab this year. At 1:30 p.m., it’s time to get ready for Kimmel. I follow BTS from the dance studio into the hall near their dressing room. There’s a folding table covered with silver rings, flashy necklaces and dangly earrings for the choosing. On the floor is an outsize ziplock full of identical Puma slides. After hair is redone and outfits adjusted, they load into the four Escalades with no fuss at all. As our caravan passes Hollywood Boulevard and turns onto the small street leading to Kimmel’s backlot and outdoor stage, we see them: more than a thousand BTS zealots who explode when they see us. They’d been waiting for hours. Kimmel music producer Mac Burrus later tells me a group of five teens spent two nights out there, on the street, in sleeping bags. In the green room, there is finally downtime. Suga and RM eat bananas. Jin plays his Nintendo Switch. Jungkook and J-Hope sleepily lean into one another on the couch. V lays on the floor to get his neck adjusted by the masseur’s bone-crunching assassin-twist before settling into a sofa to stream “Carpool Karaoke.” Around 4 p.m., producers bring in a couple ARMY moms for a skit where they taunt their girls, who are still in the line, via FaceTime from BTS’ inner sanctum. The daughters eventually come back and I steal them for a chat. Both discovered BTS on YouTube. Adriana, 24, is teaching herself Korean “slowly but surely” so she can hear the boys in their own tongue. Rosa, 18, insists, “Language isn’t a barrier when it comes to music.” At 6:20 p.m., BTS head to the stage. From the back, it sounds like there’s a roller coaster full of shrieking riders on the other side. A grizzled staffer walks by with a kooky grin, muttering, “This is nuts.” From the wings I watch the band rip into a six-song set that inspires face-clutching and tears. For “Save Me,” a “Where Are Ü Now” soundalike, the crowd deploys a coordinated K-pop “fanchant,” roaring each member’s birth name in perfect rhythmic succession. I can barely hear the music, so it doesn’t occur to me until the end that BTS don’t seem to be using vocal backing tracks, as a U.S. or U.K. group might – they rap and sing every last part while doing constant choreography. When it ends just after 7 p.m., an exhausted J-Hope flops onto the asphalt out of view of the crowd and his team, chest heaving, eyes wide. After 30 seconds, he picks himself up and rushes to join the other members of BTS disappearing into the hall leading to the green room. As he turns the last corner, a voice squeals, “Oh, my God! J-Hope looked back at me!”

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[tuseriesdetv]

Guía de series: Estrenos y regresos de mayo 2020

Tenemos mucha suerte de seguir más tiempo con el confinamiento, así podremos disfrutar con calma de todas estas series y de todas las que tengamos atrasadas. Además, hay mucha comedia entre las novedades.

¡Feliz mayo!

Leyenda:

Verde: series nuevas

Negro: regresos de otras series

Naranja: miniseries o series documentales

Amarillo: tv movies, documentales, especiales o pilotos

Morado: season finales

Púrpura: midseason finales

*

Calendario de series

1 de mayo:

Hollywood (1T completa), Into the Night (1T completa), Casi feliz (1T completa), Mrs. Serial Killer, The Half of It y All Day and a Night en Netflix 

Trying (1T) en Apple TV+ 

Betty (1T) en HBO

Upload (1T completa) y Amaia: Una vuelta al Sol en Amazon

Charmed (2T finale) en The CW 

3 de mayo: 

Billions (5T) en Showtime

Rick & Morty (4bT completa) en Hulu

Good Witch (6T) en Hallmark

Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (1T finale) y Good Girls (3T finale) en NBC 

4 de mayo:

Reno 911 (7T) en Quibi

The Neighborhood (2T finale) y Bull (4T finale) en CBS 

5 de mayo: 

The A Word (3T) en BBC One

El ministerio del tiempo (4T) en TVE

Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind en HBO 

The Conners (2T finale), Bless This Mess (2T finale) y Mixed-ish (1T finale) en ABC 

6 de mayo:

Becoming en Netflix

SEAL Team (3T finale) en CBS

Riverdale (4T finale) en The CW 

7 de mayo:

Blindspot (5T y última) en NBC

Brassic (2T completa) en Sky

Bruh (1T) en BET+ 

8 de mayo:

Dead to Me (2T completa), The Eddy (1T completa), Valeria (1T completa) y 18 regali en Netflix

Solar Opposites (1T completa) en Hulu

Madres (1T completa) en Amazon

Dynasty (3T finale) en The CW

MacGyver (4T finale) en CBS

10 de mayo:

I Know This Much Is True en HBO

The Rookie (2T finale) en ABC

11 de mayo: 9-1-1 (3T finale) en FOX

12 de mayo:

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. The Reverend (especial interactivo) en Netflix

The Flash (6T finale) en The CW

13 de mayo:

The Wrong Missy en Netflix

American Housewife (4T finale), Single Parents (2T finale) y Schooled (2T finale) en ABC

14 de mayo:

Station 19 (4T finale) y How to Get Away with Murder (series finale) en ABC

Katy Keene (1T finale) en The CW

15 de mayo:

The Great (1T completa) en Hulu

La unidad (1T completa) en Movistar+

White Lines (1T completa) y Chichipatos (1T completa) en Netflix

The Blacklist (7T finale) en NBC

17 de mayo:

Hightown (1T) en Starz

Snowpiercer (1T) en TNT

The Simpsons (31T finale), Bob's Burgers (10T finale) y Duncanville (1T finale) en FOX

18 de mayo:

Stargirl (1T) en DC Universe

Dead Still (1T) en Acorn TV

19 de mayo: Sweet Magnolias (1T) en Netflix

20 de mayo:

The 100 (7T y última) en The CW

SWAT (3T finale) en CBS

Motherland: Fort Salem (1T finale) en Freeform

22 de mayo:

Control Z (1T completa), The Lovebirds y Survive the Night en Netflix

Homecoming (2T completa) en Amazon 

25 de mayo:

Barkskins en National Geographic

Grant en History

27 de mayo:

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (7T y última) en ABC 

Love Life (1T) y On The Record en HBO Max

Grant en History

29 de mayo:

Space Force (1T completa) en Netflix

Ramy (2T completa) en Hulu

Central Park (1T) en Apple TV+

Defending Jacob (1T finale) en Apple TV+ 

*

Estrenos de series

Hollywood (Netflix)

Descrita como una provocativa e incisiva carta de amor a la edad de oro de Hollywood, sigue a un grupo de aspirantes a actores y directores que intentan triunfar sin importar el precio después de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, y muestra y examina los injustos sistemas y prejuicios basados en raza, género o sexualidad y las dinámicas de poder que continúan hasta hoy y cómo se vería la industria del entretenimiento si hubieran desaparecido. Con Darren Criss (Glee, American Crime Story), David Corenswet (The Politician), Samara Weaving (SMILF, Ready or Not), Jeremy Pope (Choir Boy, Ain't Too Proud), Laura Harrier (Spider-Man: Homecoming, BlacKkKlansman), Patti LuPone (Pose, Penny Dreadful), Holland Taylor (Two and a Half Men, Mr. Mercedes), Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory, The Normal Heart), Dylan McDermott (American Horror Story, The Politician), Queen Latifah (Chicago, Hairspray), Maude Apatow (Euphoria, Girls), Joe Mantello (The Normal Heart), Jake Picking (Patriots Day, Dirty Grandpa), Mira Sorvino (Mighty Aphrodite, Condor), Rob Reiner (All in the Family, New Girl), Harriet Harris (Desperate Housewives, Frasier) y Michelle Krusiec (The Invitation, Hawaii Five-0).

Creada por Ryan Murphy (Feud, American Crime Story) junto a Ian Brennan (Glee, Scream Queens). Diez episodios.

Estreno: 1 de mayo Estreno en España: 1 de mayo en Netflix España

Trying (Apple TV+)

Todo lo que quieren Nikki (Esther Smith; Cuckoo, Uncle) y Jason (Rafe Spall; Roadies, The Big Short) es un hijo, la única cosa que no pueden tener, así que deciden adoptar. Conociendo a sus disfuncionales amigos, sus excéntricas familias y sus caóticas vidas, ¿estará de acuerdo el comité con la adopción? El reparto cuenta con Imelda Staunton (Harry Potter, Pride), Daren Boyd (Fortitude, Lucky Man), Jackie Mouzo, Robyn Cara (Life), Jonathan Rhodes y Phil Davis (Poldark, Riviera).

Comedia escrita por Andy Wolton y dirigida por Jim O'Hanlon (Catastrophe, Inside No. 9). Ocho episodios.

Estreno: 1 de mayo Estreno en España: 1 de mayo en Apple TV+ España

Betty (HBO)

Comedia inspirada en la película Skate Kitchen (2018) que se centra en un grupo de chicas de Nueva York que practican skateboarding. Repiten en sus papeles Rachelle Vinberg, Nina Moran, Kabrina Adams, Dede Lovelace y Ajani Russell.

Creada, escrita y producida por Crystal Moselle (Skate Kitchen) y Lesley Arfin (Love). Dirigida por Moselle. Seis episodios.

Estreno: 1 de mayo

Estreno: 2 de mayo en HBO España

Upload (Amazon)

Sitcom en la que Nora (Andy Allo, Pitch Perfect 3) es una trabajadora de atención al cliente en un ambiente de realidad virtual en el que puede vivir la gente después de morir y al que llega Nathan (Robbie Amell; The Flash, A Series of Unfortunate Events) tras sufrir un accidente de coche.

Con Kevin Bigley (Sirens, The Moodys), Allegra Edwards (Briarpatch), Zainab Johnson (American Koko), Elizabeth Bowen (Fargo, No Tomorrow), William B Davis (Continuum, The X-Files) y Owen Daniels (Space Force).

Creada, escrita y dirigida por Greg Daniels (The Office, Parks and Recreation). Diez episodios.

Estreno: 1 de mayo

Bruh (BET+)

John (Barry Brewer, Games People Play), Tom (Mahdi Cocci, The Gifted, Sistas), Mike (Phillip Mullings Jr., American Soul) y Bill (Monti Washington, Games People Play) son cuatro amigos afroamericanos ya en la treintena que buscan guía y apoyo entre ellos mientras tratan de aprender a ser independientes, ya sea en temas amorosos o laborales. Con Chandra Currelley (Madea's Big Happy Family), Candice Renée (Bodied), Alyssa Goss (The Bobby Brown Story), Caroline Harris (Shook), Brandon Sutton, Angela Marie Rigsby (Too Close to Home) y Sarah Hudson (Bluff City Law).

Creada, escrita, producida y dirigida por Tyler Perry (Sistas, Too Close to Home). Veinticuatro episodios.

Estreno: 7 de mayo

The Eddy (Netflix)

Drama musical ambientado en París y centrado en un pianista (André Holland; Castle Rock, Moonlight), divorciado y con una hija adolescente (Amandla Stenberg; The Hate U Give, The Hunger Games), que se ha convertido en el dueño de un club y mantiene una relación intermitente con Maja (Joanna Kulig; Cold War, Hanna), una cantante que tiene problemas con la bebida. Les acompañan Tahar Rahim (The Looming Tower, The Last Panthers) y Melissa George (The Slap, The Good Wife).

Escrito por Jack Thorne (National Treasure, This Is England) y con música original de Glen Ballard. Dirigido por Alan Poul (The Newsroom, Six Feet Under). Damien Chazelle (La La Land, Whiplash) producirá y dirigirá dos de los ocho episodios.

Estreno: 8 de mayo

Estreno: 8 de mayo en Netflix España

Solar Opposites (Hulu)

Comedia de animación sobre una familia de alienígenas que abandona su planeta y se muda a un suburbio de Estados Unidos. Con las voces de Justin Roiland (Adventure Time, Gravity Falls), Sean Giambrone (The Goldbergs, Clarence), Mary Mack (Golan the Insatiable) y Wendi McLendon-Covey (The Goldbergs, Reno 911!).

Creada por Justin Roiland (Rick & Morty). Ocho episodios. Ya está renovada por una segunda temporada.

Estreno: 8 de mayo

I Know This Much Is True (HBO)

Miniserie que explora la identidad estadounidense siguiendo las vidas paralelas de dos gemelos en la segunda mitad del siglo XX. Protagonizada por Mark Ruffalo (The Normal Heart, Spotlight), Melissa Leo (I'm Dying Up Here, Treme), Rosie O'Donnell (SMILF, The Fosters), Archie Panjabi (The Good Wife, The Fall), Imogen Poots (Roadies, 28 Weeks Later), Juliette Lewis (Secrets & Lies, Wayward Pines), Kathryn Hahn (Transparent, I Love Dick), Guillermo Diaz (Scandal, Weeds), Aisling Franciosi (The Fall, Clique), John Procaccino (The Good Wife, Madam Secretary), Rob Huebel (Transparent, Childrens Hospital), Philip Ettinger (One Dollar, First Reformed), Michael Greyeyes (True Detective, Fear The Walking Dead), Brian Goodman (Chance, Rizzoli & Isles), Bruce Greenwood (The Resident, American Crime Story), Marcello Fonte (Dogman), Tom Stratford, Simone Coppo y Bethany Kay.

Basada en la novela de Wally Lamb (1998). Escrita, dirigida y producida por Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine). Seis episodios.

Estreno: 10 de mayo Estreno en España: 11 de mayo en HBO España

The Great (Hulu)

Comedia sobre el ascenso al poder de Catalina la Grande y la relación con su esposo. Protagonizada por Elle Fanning (Maleficent, A Rainy Day in New York), Nicholas Hoult (Skins, X-Men). Completan el cast Phoebe Fox (Close to the Enemy, The Hollow Crown), Adam Godley (The Umbrella Academy, Breaking Bad), Gwilym Lee (Jamestown, The Midsomer Murders), Charity Wakefield (Close to the Enemy, Wolf Hall), Douglas Hodge (Catastrophe, The Night Manager), Sacha Dhawan (Iron Fist, Mr. Selfridge) y Sebastian De Souza (Skins, Medici: Masters of Florence).

Escrita por Tony McNamara (The Favourite). Diez episodios.

Estreno: 15 de mayo

White Lines (Netflix)

El cuerpo de un famoso DJ de Manchester es encontrado en Ibiza veinte años después de su misteriosa desaparición y su hermana regresa a la isla a investigar. Con Laura Haddock (Guardians of the Galaxy, Da Vinci's Demons), Daniel Mays (Good Omens, Rogue One), Marta Milans (El embarcadero, Shazam!), Juan Diego Botto (Good Behaviour, Plenilunio), Nuno Lopes (São Jorge), Laurence Fox (Lewis, Victoria) y Angela Griffin (Turn Up Charlie, Ordinary Lies).

Creada y escrita por Álex Pina (La casa de papel, Vis a vis) y producida por Andy Harries (The Crown, Strike Back) y Cristina López Ferraz (La casa de papel, Vis a vis).

Estreno: 15 de mayo Estreno en España: 15 de mayo en Netflix España

Hightown (Starz)

Drama que trata la actual crisis de muertes por sobredosis de opiáceos en Estados Unidos y que se centra en Jackie (Monica Raymund; Chicago Fire, Lie to Me), una chica lesbiana de Provincetown, Massachusetts que trabaja como agente federal en el servicio nacional de pesca marina y tras encontrar un cadáver en la costa, se obsesiona cada vez más con resolver el asesinato mientras se enfrenta a su adicción. Le acompañan James Badge Dale (The Departed, 24), Amaury Nolasco (Prison Break, Deception), Dohn Norwood (The Sinner, Hell on Wheels), Shane Harper (Happyland, Awkward), Atkins Estimond (Lodge 49, StartUp) y Riley Voelkel (The Originals, The Newsroom).

Escrita y producida por Rebecca Cutter (Gotham, The Mentalist) y producida por Jerry Bruckheimer (CSI, Lucifer).

Estreno: 17 de mayo Estreno en España: 17 de mayo en Starzplay España

Snowpiercer (TNT)

Después de que el mundo se convierta en un desierto helado, los humanos que quedan vivos viajan en un tren gigante y en constante movimiento donde se mantienen la lucha de clases, las injusticias sociales y la política de la supervivencia.

Forman el reparto Jennifer Connelly (A Beautiful Mind, Requiem for a Dream), Daveed Diggs (Hamilton, The Get Down), Mickey Sumner (Battle of the Sexes, Low Winter Sun), Iddo Goldberg (Salem, Peaky Blinders), Sheila Vand (Undone, Argo), Lena Hall (Becks), Annalise Basso (Captain Fantastic, Slender Man), Jaylin Fletcher (The Female Brain), Sasha Frolova (Red Sparrow, Little Women), Steven Ogg (The Walking Dead, Westworld), Rowan Blanchard (Girl Meets World, The Goldbergs), Karin Konoval (The Good Doctor, Dirk Gently), Timothy V. Murphy (Quantico, True Detective), Happy Anderson (The Knick, Mindhunter), Sam Otto (The State), Stephen Lobo (Continuum, Travelers), Katie McGuinness (Hollywood, Roots), Miranda Edwards (Arrow, The Magicians), Susan Park (Briarpatch, Fargo), Manoj Sood (Salvation, Insomnia), Dylan Schmid (Shut Eye, Once Upon a Time), Mike O'Malley (Glee, My Name Is Earl), Andrea Ware (Van Helsing), Shaun Toub (Homeland, Lois & Clark), Jonathan Lloyd Walker (Continuum, Flash Gordon), Kelly-Ruth Mercier (Bates Motel), Roberto Urbina (Narcos, Recovery Road), Aleks Paunovic (Van Helsing, iZombie), Shaun Toub (Homeland, Iron Man), Kerry O'Malley (Shameless, Annabelle), Aaron Glenane (Picnic at Hanging Rock) o Fiona Vroom (Altered Carbon, The Man in the High Castle).

Adaptación de la película de 2013. Creada por Graeme Manson (Orphan Black). Diez episodios. Ya está renovada por una segunda temporada.

Estreno: 17 de mayo

Stargirl (DC Universe)

Courtney Whitmore (Bella & the Bulldogs, The Goldbergs) es una estudiante que descubre que su padrastro (Luke Wilson; The Royal Tenenbaums, Roadies) fue un superhéroe en el pasado. Además, recibe el poderoso bastón cósmico de Starman (Joel McHale; Community, The X-Files) y se convierte en miembro de una nueva generación de superhéroes. Con Amy Smart (The Butterfly Effect, Felicity), Trae Romano, Cameron Gellman (Heathers), Neil Jackson (Absentia, Sleepy Hollow), Hunter Sansone (Drama Drama), Yvette Monreal (Matador, Faking It), Christopher James Baker (True Detective, Ozark), Henry Thomas (The Haunting of Hill House, Better Things), Joy Osmanski (Santa Clarita Diet, Shameless), Neil Hopkins (Lost, Matador), Nelson Lee (Ten Days in the Valley, Sneaky Pete), Kron Moore (The Oval), Jake Austin Walker (Rectify), Meg DeLacy (The Fosters, Recovery Road), Anjelika Washington (Runaways, We're Not Friends), Lou Ferrigno Jr. (SWAT, How I Met Your Mother), Brian Stapf (The Purge, The Walking Dead) y Hina Khan (Hit the Floor).

Creada por Geoff Johns (The Flash, Arrow) y producida por Greg Berlanti (Arrow, Riverdale). Trece episodios.

Estreno: 18 de mayo

Estreno en España: 19 de mayo en HBO España

Dead Still (Acorn TV)

Ambientada en Irlanda a finales del siglo XIX, sigue a un conocido fotógrafo de cadáveres que investiga los asesinatos de los fallecidos. Estará protagonizada por Michael Smiley (Luther, The Aliens), Kerr Logan (Cormoran Strike, Game of Thrones), Eileen O'Higgins (Brooklyn, Mary Queen of Scots), Aidan O'Hare (Jackie), Jimmy Smallhorne (Clean Break), Mark Rendall (Versailles, Transporter), Peter Campion (Derry Girls, Brooklyn) y Martin Donovan (Big Little Lies, Boss).

Escrita por John Morton (People Like Us, W1A) y dirigida por Imogen Murphy (Red Rock; Can't Cope, Won't Cope) y Craig David Wallace (Slasher, Murdoch Mysteries). Seis episodios.

Estreno: 18 de mayo

Sweet Magnolias (Netflix)

Adaptación de la serie de novelas de Sherryl Woods sobre tres mujeres y amigas de Carolina del Sur que lidian con el amor, el trabajo y la familia. Con JoAnna Garcia Swisher (Once Upon a Time, Kevin (Probably) Saves The World), Brooke Elliott (Drop Dead Diva), Heather Headley (Chicago Med, She's Gotta Have It), Chris Klein (American Pie, The Flash), Jamie Lynn Spears (Zoey 101, All That) y Justin Bruening (Good Behavior, Grey's Anatomy).

Escrita y producida por Sheryl J. Anderson (Charmed, Detective McLean). Producida también por Woods. Diez episodios.

Estreno: 19 de mayo

Estreno en España: 19 de mayo en Netflix España

Control Z (Netflix)

Cuando un hacker empieza a revelar los secretos más íntimos de muchos estudiantes, se desata el caos en el instituto. Los más populares comienzan a ser acosados, los marginados ganan estatus y todos se convierten en sospechosos. Sofía (Ana Valeria Becerril; Las hijas de Abril, Muerte al verano), una empollona sin amigos, intentará descubrir y detener al hacker mientras sufre todo un proceso de autodescubrimiento. Completan el reparto Michael Ronda (Soy Luna, Como dice el dicho), Yankel Stevan (Papá a toda madre, Como dice el dicho), Rodrigo Cachero (Las malcriadas), Lidia San José (Paquita Salas, A las once en casa), Zión Moreno (Gossip Girl), Luis Curiel (Doña Flor y sus dos maridos, Como dice el dicho), Samantha Acuña, Andrés Baida (Los elegidos; Like, la leyenda), Patricio Gallardo (Silvana sin lana; Tony, la chef), Macarena García (Papis muy padres; Like, la leyenda), Iván Aragón (El Chapo, Enemigo íntimo) y Xabiani Ponce de León (Violetta, Esto no es Berlín).

Creada y escrita por Carlos Quintanilla Sakar (La bandida, Rosario Tijeras), Adriana Pelusi (Rosario Tijeras, Sin rastro de ti) y Miguel García Moreno (La candidata, La esquina del diablo).

Estreno: 22 de mayo

Estreno en España: 22 de mayo en Netflix España

Barkskins (National Geographic)

En Canadá, en el siglo XVII, ocurre una misteriosa masacre que amenaza con provocar una guerra en la región. Los colonos, de todas las clases sociales, que buscaban fortuna en el Nuevo Mundo se encuentran con bosques profundos y oscuros e indígenas que les reciben con desdén pero saben que necesitarán buscar alianzas con los recién llegados para sobrevivir. Con David Thewlis (Wonder Woman, Harry Potter), Marcia Gay Harden (Pollock, Mystic River), Christian Cooke (Ordeal by Innocence, Witches of East End), Aneurin Barnard (Dunkirk, The White Queen), Thomas M. Wright (Top of the Lake, The Bridge), Tallulah Haddon (Kiss Me First, Black Mirror) y James Bloor (Dunkirk).

Adaptación de la novela de Annie Proulx (Brokeback Mountain) publicada en 2012. Escrita y producida por Elwood Reid (The Chi, The Bridge). Ocho episodios.

Estreno: 25 de mayo

Love Life (HBO Max)

Comedia que sigue el camino desde el primer amor hasta el último. La primera temporada estará protagonizada y producida por Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect, Up in the Air) y nos mostrará a un novio distinto de Darby (Kendrick) en cada episodio. Con Scoot McNairy (Halt and Catch Fire, True Detective), Zoe Chao (Strangers), Sasha Compere (Miracle Workers) y Peter Vack (The Bold Type, Mozart in the Jungle).

Creada por Sam Boyd (In a Relationship) y producida por Paul Feig (Freaks and Geeks, Other Space). Diez episodios.

Estreno: 27 de mayo

Space Force (Netflix)

Comedia sobre la gente encargada de formar la fuerza espacial, la sexta rama que quiere crear Trump en las Fuerzas Armadas. Con Steve Carell (The Office, The 40 Year Old Virgin), Lisa Kudrow (Friends, The Comeback), John Malkovich (Being John Malkovich, The New Pope), Ben Schwartz (Parks and Recreation, House of Lies), Diana Silvers (Booksmart, Ma), Tawny Newsome (Brockmire, Bajillion Dollar Propertie$), Jimmy O. Yang (Silicon Valley, Crazy Rich Asians), Alex Sparrow (UnREAL, The Vatican Tapes), Noah Emmerich (The Americans, The Spy), Fred Willard (Modern Family, Eveybody Loves Raymond), Jessica St. Clair (Playing House, American Housewife), Don Lake (The Bonnie Hunt Show) y Owen Daniels (Upload).

Creada y producida por Steve Carell (Angie Tribeca, The 40 Year Old Virgin) y escrita por Greg Daniels (The Office, Parks and Recreation).

Estreno: 29 de mayo

Central Park (Apple TV+)

Comedia musical de animación centrada en los cuidadores que viven en Central Park y acaban salvando el parque y básicamente el mundo. Contará con las voces de Josh Gad (Frozen, Angry Birds), Leslie Odom Jr. (Smash), Tituss Burgess (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, 30 Rock), Kristen Bell (Frozen, Gossip Girl), Stanley Tucci (BoJack Horseman, The Hunger Games), Daveed Diggs (Undone, Ferdinand) y Kathryn Hahn (Transparent, Mrs. Fletcher).

Creada por Josh Gad y Loren Bouchard (Bob's Burgers). Trece episodios. Ya está renovada por una segunda temporada.

Estreno: 29 de mayo

[orionsangel86]

12x11 Episode Review - What a Ride That Was!

Having just completed my second watch of this episode I have to say I am slightly stunned. I guess the best way to put it is ‘not what I expected’. But then what did I really expect? I was expecting pain, heartbreak, drama, interspersed with some humour and a big “no homo” scene to counteract last episode. I was expecting some dudebro Dean to appease certain types of viewer, along with a nice helping of deep subtext into Dean analysis for us to eat up that would go straight over that type of viewers head. I was certainly not expecting… Larry.

I haven’t looked at tumblr yet, except to glance at my askbox. I assume that you are all suitably going mad over Larry. Over the implications of Larry. Over the sheer insanity of the episodes biggest innuendo fuelled moments and probably laughing about it. I expect a hundred gifsets. I want to reblog those gifsets. I am also sure that Larry has already been meta’d to death… But what’s the harm in a little more meta to add to the massive pile gonna do? Because I wanna meta the FUCK out of Larry.

But there is a lot more to this episode than just Larry. We did get heartbreak. We did get drama and we did get some really nice character moments. Rowena particularly was amazing this episode (who am I kidding though she is always amazing) and I loved learning more about her thoughts. Overall I think it was entertaining, though not one of the best episodes, but that could be because the writing was a bit sloppy and sometimes the story didn’t make sense. I’ll get to why in a bit. Let’s just say that Meredith Glynn isn’t my favourite of the new writers by any means. I didn’t even review The One You’ve Been Waiting For because I didn’t feel particularly inspired by it at all.

But having said that she gave us Larry, and for that I will forever be thankful… even if she didn’t intend for us to take it the way I have (and I am guessing most of you reading this have too).

Anyway, main points to take away under the cut:

Regarding Dean

Obviously the main point of the episode was to delve a little further into Dean’s head and explore a very unconventional and unexpected fear. The fear of losing ones memory is actually horrifying. It is even more horrifying because this is something that the majority of us will have had at least some experience being first hand witnesses to. I am of course talking about dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. My grandmother had it, and in the later days when she didn’t even know who we were it was completely heart breaking. The fact that this is something that many of us fear as we get older is something that certainly wouldn’t be lost on the creators of this show, and with many many references in the later seasons to Dean’s getting older (including one in this episode) it is quite a fitting topic to explore. What if he doesn’t go out with a ‘bang’ the Hunter way? What if they do both end up in the Lebanon retirement home where Mildred currently hangs out enjoying sunsets? What if Alzheimer’s becomes an actual legitimate fear for them? This is most definitely the episode that Jensen talked about at a recent con that explores a very big fear. Because this fear is huge and very prevalent in society. It also makes me think of the film The Notebook and how that story deals with a loved one having to watch the person they care about most in the world forget all about them. (FYI I have never been able to sit all the way through that film without crying even though I usually despise sappy love stories).

Dean’s whole existence in this show revolves around his love for his family. The found family that he keeps close by that is. Sam and Cas and now Mary are his world, losing that would utterly destroy Dean. It is why that scene in front of the mirror is so so heartbreaking to watch. Next to Larry, it is the most memorable moment. Though I do think that the deeper themes and meanings to this particular MOTW story were a bit lost in all of the lighter humour. Hence why I said I wasn’t a huge fan of the writing. It could have gone deeper, it didn’t quite reach the impact that Yellow Fever had even though it tried very hard to pay homage to it.

Starting at the beginning then, Dean wakes up after being wammied by some mysterious witchy guy with a bunny rabbit by his side. I don’t get the point of the rabbit at all. I’ll be honest. It was completely non relevant to the plot. I thought at first that maybe the witch had turned himself into a rabbit but it was literally there for us to all “aww” over. For that reason though, have a pic:

Awwwwwwwwwwwww so CUTE!

It was interesting that this scene came so shortly after the “then” sequence which included a young and much less gruff voiced Dean saying ““Why does a rabbit always get screwed in the deal? Poor little guy”. Have we had many other rabbit references in this show? I don’t think so… except maybe Bugs Bunny in Hunteri Heroici which immediately brings Cas to mind “So we are dealing with some insect-rabbit hybrid?” Though this episode does also feature a character happily watching cartoons so maybe the connection there is totally valid. Rabbits are also a symbol of fertility, spring, new birth and most obviously sex. In an episode absolutely chocablock with innuendo. That is also an interesting point. Though I have no idea how to connect it to anything else so I am just throwing all this stuff out there for you guys to pick at. By all means tell me if you have any ideas!

Dean losing his means of communication means reaching out to people in other ways… A lady with a pram comes by and rejects him as a bum. Gives him money instead of even trying to listen. A guy comes along with a dog (our famous white dog whose name I can’t remember) and gives Dean his attention… before doing some stretches, jogging on the spot and wiggling his hips. (I found this guys movement kinda um… suggestive when considered in the context of the rest of this fucking episode). Without going into too much detail here, I just thought I’d point out that Dean is rejected by the woman and child (traditional family) but accepted by the guy with the dog. Because of course he fucking is.

The waffle house brings us our first promo scene, but knowing the context now makes it so much clearer. I was guilty of making assumptions. Just like Sam does. Thinking that Dean went out, got drunk, had a one night stand… he did no such thing. The promo mislead us and I think it did so deliberately. It is getting clearer and clearer all the time that that version of Dean that Rowena so kindly spells out later in the episode “manners of a Neanderthal and the dining habits of a toddler” the “season 1” version of Dean, if you like, just isn’t the guy we see on our screen anymore. We aren’t getting these moments anymore. Have we even seen the Asian porn yet this season? Personally I hope it never makes another appearance.

Sam’s comment “Dean, you’ve had a good run, but maybe lets pump the breaks a little bit I mean you’re not 20 anymore…” is pretty much what I was thinking the whole promo. The waitress is far too young for him, that kind of behaviour fooling around in bars just isn’t really any kind of behaviour for a man his age, and in an episode with a heavy underlying theme that could easily be compared to the worst potential problems that come with growing older I don’t think it was accidental.

“I would be dead okay, I wouldn’t be Dory.”

“Dory?”

“Not gonna apologise for loving that fish. Not to you, not to anyone”.

I love that we have yet another thing to add to the list of things that Dean Winchester loves that don’t fit in with his macho image. This is wonderful. Dean likes Disney films. This is canon. If he can admit to loving that fish, this means that at times he will go out and watch Disney films and get excited about them and actually have strong feelings about them. Now I am totally headcanoning that he forces Cas to watch them with him and I BET that Cas’s favourites are The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. Why I hear you ask? Because they would resonate with him. If you don’t get it, rewatch those movies from a destiel perspective.

“smooth like a Ken doll” This is the second time the show has compared Dean to a Ken doll. Probably just a tease at Jensen Ackles very perfect features, but I keep thinking about Ken from Toy Story 3 and after the Finding Nemo/Dory reference a moment ago I think it is valid. Ken in Toy Story 3 had a very... um... loud personality.

The cowboy bar… How do I even BEGIN to meta the cowboy bar? All I can say was this seems like the kind of place that Gabriel would send Dean in fanfiction to work on his gay panic before ultimately hooking up with Castiel.

The third place they come to (and I’ll talk about Sam’s lack of Dean knowledge a bit later) and the first thing we see is a shot of:

Well that’s a rather large phallic object hanging over the Winchesters heads! Yeah this is totally Dean’s kind of place. He does have a cowboy fetish after all. This sign also caught my eye:

Because Chuck is certainly off having some “R&R” right now with his sis… It also seems to be the kind of place that Chuck would have hung out in his stint living on earth… ya know, playing his music, since there is clearly a stage set up with band equipment, picking up girls… and guys. Like we are ever gonna forget that GOD in the Supernatural universe is bisexual.

Lets talk about Larry

Consider this a sub point to my “regarding Dean” point because it all technically falls under the same category.

“he’d ordered burgers to go, it was gonna be a minute, we were slammed, then you knocked back four shots of tequila? Put some “sick jams” on the juke and then you hit the bull.”

“oh yeah, you had the hots for larry as soon as you walked in”.

Now, there is innuendo, and then there is this line. Why give the mechanical bull a guys name? Specifically so you can make this into one big innuendo. This entire scene is about Dean riding dick. I’m sorry, deny it all you like but that’s the joke. That’s the bottom line (pun unintentional until reread then found hilarious). On checking my ask box yesterday once I first watched the episode this is what I got:

Thanks guys by the way for sending these. I am with you. Consider this review your asks answered if that’s okay (I’m being lazy because I still have a load of asks to answer and I have no idea when I’ll get to em). So Dean rode Larry. Haha. It gets brought up again later in the episode by Sam when he is trying to tease Dean about it. What I am interested in is Dean’s reaction. When Sam first asks “You rode Larry?” Dean hesitates, but he isn’t embarrassed. Yeah he’s still hexed at this point and regressing but he doesn’t get defensive about it. Just asks if he was good. This is then revisited later on once Dean is cured “I can’t believe you rode Larry” and Dean’s only defence is “I was awesome on that Bull… like a God.” Which is also a call back to Chuck again, in the bar that had a Chuck sign and really did seem to be Chuck’s kind of place… Is Dean like God? Well yes. For one thing they are both bisexual.

Perhaps mechanical bullriding isn’t seen as homoerotic in the kind of places where you would actually get mechanical bullriding. It could even be considered as a very macho thing to be able to “tame the bull”. But the way the episode frames it… the way they shove the innuendo at us over and over again. It is intentionally played out to be a gay joke. What I can’t decide is whether or not this is the creators joking along with us or whether they are doing it to take the piss. There is a level of regression here back to the pre carver era spn where the gay jokes were rife and not ever really taken seriously. Dean’s subtextual bisexuality used to be a joke in the show. It hasn’t been framed as a joke since pre season 8 and yet I can’t help but wonder if this new writer hasn’t yet got with the programme. Because Dean’s bisexuality is not a joke. Especially when this episode is framed by two very Cas heavy episodes, the first of which was loaded with destiel subtext that was deep, meaningful and very very serious. Looking at the promo for next episode, I have a feeling that we are only going to get more of that. So why sandwich a Dean episode full of gay jokes in between two Cas episodes full of serious destiel heavy storyline? If their intention was to make it into a joke again, they have failed. Because when taken with 12x10, the humour is stripped away and what is left is the viewer wondering whether Dean really does have a hankering for dick? Specifically Castiel’s. I know that my language here is very blunt. I also know that the chances are this review could find its way to some antis who would like to take the piss out of this… but seriously? Go ahead. Try. With the show playing up to the things we like, and with very little “no homo” moments to counteract it, I don’t see how you can view this any other way than the way we do.

Dean left Sam, went to this specific bar, had some Dutch courage and rode the bull. He also flirted with a waitress but that never went very far. His main concern was how good he was with Larry…How good his riding skills were… and spoiler alert… he was awesome.

(yes nonny - Dean could totally ride dick like a porn star. This is now true. Since we have seen him in action with our own eyes. Its not like most of those ‘Larry riding’ shots at the end even had the bull in them. It was all Dean from the waist up just having the time of his life and going up and down... up and down... like this wasn’t subtle. This totally wasn’t subtle.)

I also need to point out that all this happened before Dean got hexed. This was all Dean Winchester. This wasn’t performing Dean. The Dean who puts on a mask which half the time seems to be specifically for Sam. Nope. This was Dean as himself, the same Dean that owns booty shorts, likes ballet and has a thing for Dr Sexy.

The moment that the waitress says “you were…amazing” can be taken as the “no homo” to the Larry narrative of course. The way she says those words can easily be taken to be a comment on Dean’s sexual prowess. But its only there to cover up the underlining sexual nod to Dean’s “amazing” ability to ride the bull. The bull being called ‘Larry’ and therefore along with all the other phallic references this is, as I said previously, all one big “Dean rides dick” joke. And I can’t actually fucking believe the show did that.

Actually that’s a lie. I fucking well can. They have been flirting with this idea of Cas being a top and Dean being a bottom for AGES but THIS takes the biscuit.

So Dean rides dick. Thanks for confirming bottom!Dean show. Great job.

I wonder if even this went over poor ‘innocent’ Jensen Ackles head… Is he Charlton Heston? REALLY? Or is he 100% on board with this because how can you possibly act this out. INCLUDING THAT RIDICULOUS MONTAGE AT THE END and NOT see it? You do realise how fandom is gonna take this Jensen? You do realise this will probably DOUBLE the number of destiel fics where Dean is happily riding Cas’s dick all night long?!? (as a disclaimer here that is not what destiel fic is all about but there is still a lot of smut out there so I feel like the show is only encouraging this) (on the other hand I expect to find 20 12x11 coda’s on my dash where Dean goes home, finds Cas, tells him about Larry and how he wants to “show Cas his skills” *nudge nudge wink wink* and Cas will be like “oh. yes please!” and yeah... that happens. That totally happens.)

The other takeaway from this scene so loaded with meta potential is the waitress’s explanation of what happened. Because it seems weird and makes no sense. The question I’m sure a lot of people will be asking is Did Dean sleep with the waitress? But when you consider her explanation of what happened, how could he possibly have?

Ooh I actually got an ask about this too:

She said they were slammed, Dean had to wait for his burgers, hence he had time for 4 shots of tequila and a ride with Larry. So how did they get talking and “blew off some steam”? Because she didn’t even see him leave, it was her bartender that saw him run out of there like his pants caught fire (liar liar)

Is that the hint? Liar liar pants on fire? Was she lying about fooling around with Dean? If so why did she slap him earlier? She must have been insulted that he didn’t remember her and didn’t meet up with her later but it still doesn’t make any sense. How did she have time to fool around with Dean somewhere if they were slammed? If the place was slammed they surely wouldn’t have been able to find a quiet space to actually do the fooling around either? This whole thing smells like a lie and when you consider Dean’s later line “first action in I don’t know how long and its like it never even happened” seems to me that the writer wanted us to consider that maybe all is not a it seems. The only action Dean got in that cowboy bar was from Larry.

Consider another ask answered! Dean did not have sex with the waitress! They possibly squeezed in a kiss when she was on break but there is no way they had time to properly fool around.

Another thing I liked about this scene was the way the waitress then apologises for possibly taking advantage of Dean when he was “roofied”. After the mess and drama of the Amara stuff last season this is refreshing. Dean gets an apology for being sexually harassed, which from a meta perspective could also be the writer apologising for the Amara situation. I dunno if that’s really the case but I like the idea of it so I’m sticking with it.

Back to Regarding Dean

Once the Winchesters start tracing Dean’s steps into the forest Dean loses more memory. We have another call back to season 4 and Yellow Fever with the flashlight moment and Sam has to remind Dean what they do since he has now forgotten all about witches and monsters. The difference between his reaction to being a monster hunter here and in yellow fever is huge though. In yellow fever he thought they were both insane, horrified at the thought of actively going after these dangerous supernatural beings. In Regarding Dean he is excited about the idea, finds it awesome and calls them both “heroes”. It’s nice to know that without his memories of the horrible things they’ve done Dean is able to accept that he does something good and is able to be happy about that.

Another call back to season 4 with the mention of the Siren “Siren’s aren’t all hot chicks?” Nope. Sorry Dean some of them are hot guys who are totally your type. To bring up the Siren (an episode absolutely full of homoerotic subtext) in this episode (an episode absolutely full of homoerotic subtext) seems like another subtle nod to Dean’s bisexuality. Like a ‘hello! Remember this? Dean’s siren was a dude come on guys catch up!’ At moments like this I feel like the show is specifically trying to tell the audience what we (as fandom) already know. Dean is bisexual, like last episode they were trying to tell us that Cas is in love with Dean. This is all extremely promising.

THEN right after we are reminded of the Siren, but right before Dean totally randomly brings up Cas we get this:

I mean of course I was gonna bring up the handprint! Although I admit I have been lacking in my watchfulness lately for any hand or hand print symbolism in the show. But this is definitely meant to pique the audiences interest. Because why is it there at all? Why bother with the hand print if they are gonna find the sigil shortly after? It doesn’t seem to add much to the plot except to be there to ping a memory in Dean’s mind. Of Castiel.

“And our best friends an angel! Whaaaaatt!”

This is another season 4 callback after all. Season 4 being the season of Cas’s handprint. When their ‘profound bond’ was formed. There is no way this handprint isn’t supposed to invoke the memory of that most famous of handprints. Dean remembers Cas fondly. Even when he doesn’t remember him he still thinks he is awesome. This makes me so happy. As Cas fans we are so used to Cas just being forgotten about in MOTW episodes, but like I have been saying for ages now, Andrew Dabb is the biggest Cas fan and he won’t let our angel be forgotten about at all now that he is showrunner.

Moving on and Rowena shows up a her awesome self and Dean is nice to her. His base nature is actually to be nice to people regardless of who they are. Its something we don’t see very often from our very grumpy and deeply traumatised monster hunter. “your hair it’s all so bouncy” he says. Noticing the smallest things. Its cute. Its so very un-dean-like and yet at the same time it is exactly the kind of thing Dean would do. We know he likes to take care of his own appearance, his room, and often teases Sam about his hair and Cas about his trenchcoat. These are more in-sights into how Dean’s mind works.

Dean is sat down to watch an episode of Scooby Do whilst Rowena and Sam talk about the curse, firstly thinking he gets to watch porn. Nope. Instead we get this:

Which… in an episode full of sexual innuendo is *ahem* something I’m not going to comment on. Yes my mind did go there. No I am not specifying where “there” is. Look at the picture and figure it out for yourself. Flowers and dogs also have specific symbolism in this show. Maybe this wasn’t intentional but with everything else? I think it is. I am partly laughing and partly crying at how obvious this is to me at least. But like I said I ain’t going there. LOL.

Then, once Sam has explained to Dean once again what is happening we get this beautiful scene:

Honestly Jensen killed it. The fear in his eyes, the horror and confusion. “My name is Dean Winchester. Sam Winchester is my brother, Mary Winchester is my mother, and Casti- Cas is my best friend” This was beautiful and painful to watch. My heart breaks for him. Amongst all the humour and silliness of Larry and Rowena and Sam’s squabbles, this moment showed the truth. That the situation is dark and terrible and frightening. I wish they had given us more moments like this than all the humour to be honest. Because this was real. This was Dean vulnerable and terrified. Once again a scene where he faces his reflection and struggles with what he sees, though this time for a totally different reason. Dean has never had a good time with mirrors in this show. Ever since Bloody Mary they just tend to be bad luck for him. This moment is no different.

As Dean continues to forget more and more Rowena leaves him to go and save Sam (how awesome is it that Rowena is technically saving them now?!?) and leaves Dean in the Impala surrounded by notes. This is where Dean really has forgotten everything and yet his hunter instincts still kick in.

We get another moment where Sam denies the use of the grenade launcher. Three times and it’s a pattern. I would bet money on Dean getting to use that thing by the end of the season.

Dean finds his way to the witches mansion and is able to save Rowena and Sam by firing the gun and killing the witch. Proof that hunting really is in his blood, part of his soul. He will always be a hunter. No witches spell can take that away. In a way it is quite sad because it kind of implies that however this show ends, it won’t be with Dean giving up hunting. Even with the talks of retirement in previous episodes, I can’t see Dean doing it. Its who he will always be.

Once the witches are dead and the spell reversed, Dean admits that he wouldn’t be better off forgetting all their crap, because he would have forgotten everything else too. No matter how happy he might have been.

“Was it nice to drop our baggage? Yeah maybe, hell probably, but it wasn’t just the crap that got lost it was everything, what we do, all of it. So, that’s what being happy looks like, I think I’ll pass.”

Of course Dean wouldn’t choose to forget everything. Like the previous scene proved, Its in Dean’s blood to be a hunter, and he wouldn’t ever wanna forget his family. The people he loves. Forgetting the people who love you is not happiness in any way shape or form.

I feel like maybe this episode was lacking an emotional final scene. This was short and sweet but it didn’t seem to have the satisfaction that I thought it would, regarding Dean’s memory loss and fear and dependence on his loved ones. But it was still a great analysis of Dean’s character nevertheless.

Sam Winchester isn’t looking hard enough

This episode was predominantly about Dean, but there was a lot of stuff about Sam in here too. Specifically how he doesn’t really seem to notice much about his brother. I don’t mean this as a dig, but it’s honestly quite surprising. When we compare episodes where Sam has been changed somehow, it has taken Dean no time at all to realise something is wrong. Sam however, seems to shrug it off as Dean being a dumbass, or Dean being drunk, or Dean doing something to make Sam roll his eyes again. It seems like Sam has got an idea of who Dean is in his mind and it is so deeply ingrained that he is kinda blinded by it. He has his expectations of his brother, and he has got it so so wrong. Sam judges Dean. He doesn’t mean to, but the problem is that Dean has been building on his ‘character’ on his ‘performing Dean’ persona just for Sam for his entire life. Sam sees the performance, he doesn’t see what’s underneath. Its episodes like this that make me question all our fics with “shipper!sam” because I sometimes doubt if that’s the case. Does Sam actually see it for what it is? Or is he so blinded by his version of Dean that he cannot see the truth? Clearly Cas and Dean’s tension makes him uncomfortable, as last episode all but proved. But does Sam really understand what is going on here?

If he can be surprised that Dean loves Dory, what else surprises him? How much of Dean does he not know about?

What I found really striking in this episode is how Sam doesn’t find it easier to track Dean’s movements of the night before, because if it was the other way around Dean would have figured Sam out straight away. This was shown to us back in season 4 (again with the season 4 references in this episode!) when Dean was able to locate Sam based on how well he “knows that kid”. If Sam had truly known his brother well, he would have known that the cowboy joint was the first place he’d go. Sam knows that Dean has a ‘cowboy fetish’ and therefore it make the most sense? Dean wanted to ride the bull, but Sam was so surprised that Dean rode Larry that he “couldn’t believe it.”  

Even the end scene, Sam admits that he was kinda jealous. For him, forgetting everything they have done is a weight off their shoulders. Something he would like to experience. I think this is also a hint towards Sam not entirely accepting that hunting is his life. Whereas Dean is generally happy with what he does, because it is in his blood Sam doesn’t feel that way. I know we have seen previous episodes where Sam has seemed to accept it. But he only accepts it if he can do it with Dean. The co-dependency is extremely strong with Sam at the moment. Sam also always seems to be looking for something more. I don’t just mean relationship wise, though he did admit this in 11x04, but something more than just hunting.

We have always known that Dean was more like Mary. Mary’s family are the hunters. Dean is one of them. Sam though? Sam was all John. And John might have taken to hunting once his revenge had consumed him, but hunting was not in John’s blood. Nope, John’s blood is all Men of Letters. This is the path that Sam seems destined for.

What also seems to encourage this theory is that it is usually Sam who is paired up with Rowena in any of her episodes. It is common in this show for most side characters to develop a better relationship with Dean than to Sam. Dean is charismatic like that, but Sam has ‘bonded’ with Rowena if you wanna call it that, far more than Dean has, and it is always Sam who calls Rowena in to help. Is Sam attracted to magic? This is something that we have been speculating for a while. The Men of Letters use magic this we know, even their grandfather Henry was able to “harness the power of his soul” to cast spells. It was Sam who spoke to Lily last episode about how she developed her power. It is Sam who finds all of that stuff very interesting, and it is Sam who holds on to the Grimoire at the end of the episode. Will we get witch!sam in the future? I think it is still a possibility, but if nothing else he will become a true men of letters eventually… that I am sure of.

I said I was slightly disappointed with the end of this episode as it seemed to brush over the deeper, more meaningful conversation that could have been had. Another moment of missed potential I think was this one:

“Brother. Witch”

Isn’t it all a bit too easy? What if the witch had turned around and said “no! I’m your brother! He’s a witch!” and it could have got confusing for Dean. I think this moment could have really been great for Sam to have to convince Dean somehow why he was indeed his brother… revealing something about himself and their relationship? It would have been nice to see that moment of doubt from Dean followed by pleading from Sam to believe him rather than the witch. It’s an old TV cliché though so maybe that’s why they didn’t do it.

The next great Sam moment was this one: “Who’s this hippy?”

Sam looked broken here. For a moment he was really worried that his brother had forgotten him… that is the moment I was talking about earlier about the horrors of Alzheimer’s. Thinking that your loved one doesn’t know who you are is horribly painful. Jared did really well to capture that moment, even though it turned out to be Dean joking around. I’m with Sam here, that wasn’t funny Dean. That was mean.

Rowena’s future

Rowena was totally awesome in this episode. We first see her playing poker with some shady characters and cheats her way into winning. I’m so interested in what Rowena is up to off screen. First the rich businessman who Crowley blew up, now this. She is clearly completely done with other witches, but she isn’t quite ‘out completely, and still comes to Sam and Dean’s aide even though she could easily tunr them down. Like Crowley, could Rowena be starting to care for the Winchesters?

“Am I saved to your contacts now? Tell me, have I got my own ringtone?” Lol. So Rowena is flirting with Sam. Which is fun but also reminds me of 10x19 and Sam’s hallucination of Rowena that got all flirtatious with him. That was Sam’s mind remember so is there actually something in this? Oh god do we need a ship name for this now? We had Drowley now we have Samena/Sawena? Eek I dunno about this! Though I might just go with it purely for the look on Crowley’s face.

Anyway I just love Rowena and Sam’s banter okay?

Then she turns up at their door and as much as Sam brushes it off as Rowena having her eyes on the Loughlin’s book, partly I think Rowena actually enjoys their company.

“altruism isn’t exactly your style”

Isn’t it though? Because she seems like she is also putting on a performance of villainess when really it’s not who she is at all. Like Dean, it’s all a performance.

“You’re a killer, Dean Winchester”

“But, though you may be a stubborn pain in the ass, with the manners of a Neanderthal and the dining habits of a toddler, everything you’ve done, you’ve done for the greater good.”

“Oh and that’s supposed to make it okay?”

“I wouldn’t know. You help those other than yourself, but me? I’ve done horrible things. I told myself it was fine. It was the price of power and powers what matters right? Then I meet god and his sister, the two most powerful beings in the universe, wasted on squabbling with each other. I thought if they can’t be happy or at least satisfied how can there be any hope for me?”

This is such a fascinating insight into Rowena’s mind, how she thinks. For ages it was all about getting power but since God and Amara she has given that up. It’s not about power. She still wants money so she can support herself, but like her son what she is missing is love. This is why I think she helped the Winchesters. She likes them, even if she acts like she doesn’t. They are technically the only people she really knows and I can see this being part of her storyline that she tries to build on a relationship with Sam and Dean. As an ally at first, but then at some point a friend.

After all, when she hears Sam is in trouble, she goes to rescue him. She doesn’t flee and decide it’s not her problem. If she didn’t care, she wouldn’t have put herself at risk for Sam. She doesn’t even get the book in the end. So what did she possibly risk her life for? If not to save Sam. This is a huge turning point for Rowena. She made a decision to save Sam’s life. So much for being a villain.

When Rowena does face Catrina, her story is horrible and sad, we are starting to learn more and more why Rowena is the way she is. Though nothing has come too close to her speech to Crowley in 11x10. Rowena hated being weak, being at the mercy of others. Her experience with the Loughlin’s shows just how awful it was for her. The way she was treated does not excuse the horrible things she has done, but it seems as though since meeting God and Amara she is trying to make up for some of that. She is not unkind or uncaring at all. She has always cared maybe too much. Otherwise she would have easily left both Winchesters to die.

This goes back to her speech to Crowley. “If I didn’t hate you, I’d love you. And love, love is weakness.” This I think is the theme of Rowena’s arc. For her to learn that love is not a weakness, that to have people who love and support you only makes you stronger. It coincides with Cas’s arc as well, where he is constantly being told that his weakness is his love for “humanity”. Castiel already said himself that “my friendship with Sam and Dean makes me stronger”. Rowena just needs to learn this too.

Overall

This episode wasn’t one of the strongest but it had some very good moments. I didn’t like the villains. I found them rather boring, but then they weren’t the focal point of the episode. The writing was sloppy in places and some of the plot didn’t quite make sense, but ultimately it worked. Just, what the hell was the end montage? I get that it was supposed to be another call back to Yellow Fever but seriously? The song was kinda fun. About innocence lost by the sounds of it.. but seriously? I was suffering from a bit of second hand embarrassment I’ll be honest. I think they just really needed an excuse to put Dean riding Larry into the episode for real. 

This makes me think that we totally missed out on a booty shorts dance from Dean at the end of 11x04.

Main takeaways from the episode?

Meredith Glynn binge watched season 4 and used it for all her references.

Sam really needs to pay more attention to what Dean isn’t telling him.

Sam may be tempted by witchcraft.

Rowena cares. A lot.

Dean likes to ride dick. (but then we already knew that.)

:P

[brio-burton-blog]

Get To Know Me Tag

So I attempted to make a YouTube video doing this but it turns out that, as I predicted, I am much more confident behind the camera. I don’t tend to enjoy showing my face all that much. I thought that a pretty cool alternative was to write instead. So here we go I guess. 

1. What is your middle name? 

I happen to be a deprived child as I do not have a middle name. But I do get what seems to be a pretty complicated first name but I’m not sure that that’s much of a luxury. It makes things difficult in Starbuck’s haha. 

2. What is your favourite colour? 

My favourite colour is like a dark emerald/forest green. If I have fellow nerds reading this, then you will probably understand me when I say the best way for me to describe the colour is to call it ‘Slytherin green’. (FYI, I’m not a Slytherin, I just love that sort of dark green.) 

3. Who was your first best friend? 

Her name was Rachel. We went to the same childminder and when we were very very young we used to argue a lot. We grew out of that stage and we were best friends for many years. Unfortunately, I’m not in contact with her anymore.

4. How tall are you?

I literally just went to measure myself for this question. I’m exactly 5′4″. To be honest, I’m pretty proud of that as my family are all either short or average height, so to fall under average is a privilege with my genetics. 

5. Cats or dogs? 

Cats. 100%. Don’t get me wrong, I love dogs. They are pretty energetic though and cats are pretty chill and therefore much more on my wavelength. Not as much as tortoises are though. Those guys are awesome. 

6. Funniest moment throughout school? 

Okay so I presume this excludes College which is a shame because I’ve got some really awesome moments from College. So if we are talking high school and primary school, I’m kind of at a loss. I didn’t have a particularly happy childhood, but that’s a whole other story. If I had to pick, I’d probably go with my maths lessons. I was in set 1 so people assumed that our classes were boring and hard work, but actually, in year 9, we had the most awesome teacher. We’d basically spend the entire lesson gossiping and the teacher would tell us some funny stories about herself. The one I remember best was about her irrational fear of rice. (I don’t even know aha.) Also, when I got diagnosed with severe depression, she was super supportive. Turns out that she struggled with it herself, so she completely understood. What a legend, I hope she’s doing well. 

7. How many countries have you visited? 

Okay so I’ll have to count. I live in England and I’ve visited Wales, Ireland, France, Spain, Ibiza, Minorca, Majorca, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Zante, Crete, Italy, Germany, Japan and Switzerland. I think that’s it, although I have visited some of these places multiple times. So I think that’s 15 altogether. 

8. Are you in/have you been to College? 

Well I’m using the English definition of College which is generally further education for 16-18 y/olds. But this can differ depending on your educational background. So I’m starting College in September. I’ve just finished school which is an odd and kind of sad thing. But I’m doing a course in TV and Film production which is very exciting! 

9. What was your favourite/worst subject in high school?

This is a fun question. My favourite(s) were always Physics, Maths, Art, Music and Drama. I hated the acting part of drama but coming up with ideas for productions was always super fun and interesting for me. My worst subject(s) were always English and P.E. Thank the lord above that I don’t have to do those subjects anymore. I love writing and I love reading but I hate being told what to write/read. And I think if someone ever asks me to analyse text again I’ll run away to the north pole and live as an eskimo. We won’t even get on to the subject of P.E. I don’t want that pain to be brought to the surface. 

10. What is your favourite drink? 

Coffee. Yes! I love it more than I love myself. Soy lattes. Honestly so amazing. But I do like the odd smoothie, tea, and sparkling water. 

11. What is your favourite animal? 

Essentially all of them. But if I had to pick I’d probably go with Pigs. But I do love Cows, Goats, Degus, Bearded Dragons, Tortoises, and Cats. Ooh also Gorillas. I really want to hug a Gorilla. Probably one of my life goals. I clearly have high expectations of my life. 

12. What is your favourite perfume? 

I do love the Strawberry scented one from The Body Shop. And Si by Giorgio Armani smells lovely and reminds me of my mum which is nice. Also Eccentric from Victoria Secret smells heavenly. 

13. Tea or Coffee? 

Coffee would be my first choice most of the time but tea never fails to cheer me up when I’m down. So I want to say both. But I think I’d find it harder to live without coffee than tea. 

14. What would you name your children? 

I haven’t really thought about it. I’d maybe say Alistar, Belle, Luna, or Tom? I’m sure I’ll find more names that I like though in the future. 

15. What sports do you/have you played? 

I’m not a massive fan of sports to be honest but I enjoy swimming, diving, biking and badminton occasionally. I went through a very sporty stage where I was in the Basketball, Football, Netball and Badminton team. Ah the days when I had energy and was productive. How far ago they feel. I also LOVE dancing but I mainly do it when I’m home alone as I’m possibly the least coordinated person on Earth. I can’t even run without it looking like I’m on some form of recreational drug. 

16. What is your favourite book? 

Reasons To Stay Alive by Matt Haig. Matt is a brilliant writer and a lovely guy. I met him a few weeks back. It was a privilege. There are very few people that I feel comfortable around from the get go, but he was one of them. In this book he talks about mental heath. It’s incredibly moving and always makes me feel incredibly lucky to be alive, even though I don’t always feel that way. If you don’t know him, check his work out, follow him on twitter etc etc. (@matthaig1) He also writes novels and I’m currently reading his latest, ‘How to Stop Time’ It’s shaping up to be extraordinary. (Have I sold him enough yet?)      

17. Who are some of your favourite YouTubers? 

I have many, many, many of those. I shall reel off a list. Amy Ordman, The Bakeey, Chris Klemens, Alexis G. Zall, Rose Ellen Dix, TheRoxetera, WiseHufflepuff, Hannah Witton, emmablackery, BriaAndChrissy, Cammie Scott, LukeIsNotSexy, UnsolicitedProject, JaackMaate, Ash Hardell, Banana Warrior Princess, James Aspey, nowthisisliving, The Vegan Activist, doddleoddle, Stef Sanjati, TheRealAlexBertie, MissFenderr, MilesChronicles, Ally Hills, Kristina Schiano, Vegan Geezer, Evan Edinger, Tessa Netting, Rob Chapman, Mayin Bialik, MyHarto, Lucy Moon, Savannah Brown, Jake Edwards and Alien in a Box. 

Note: I am also subscribed to various BuzzFeed channels, various band accounts, Watch Mojo, TheEllenShow, The Graham Norton Show, Pottermore and other YouTubers that I’m not a fan of as such, their channels and topics just interest me. 

18. What is your favourite movie? 

Ahh. How am I supposed to choose?! I am such a movie nerd. Okay. My top 5 are Girl Interrupted, Fight Club, Sweeny Todd (the one with Johnny Depp), Pitch Perfect 2 and the live action Beauty and The Beast. (I would feel mean picking one and not all of the Harry Potter Movies.) I’m going to have to choose the live action Beauty and The Beast simply because it’s fun, uplifting and so beautifully made. (Also the soundtrack is heaven.)   

19. Are you single or taken? 

Single. 

20. What’s your idea of an ideal first date? 

Maybe coffee and a posh night out in London. Like a jazz bar and maybe a theatre performance. Honestly, I doubt that would ever happen, but I suppose a girl can dream. If I get to choose who the date is with could I opt for Anna Kendrick? Kind regards. 

21. How many boyfriends/girlfriends have you had? 

Excluding my primary school boyfriend, 4. There was someone I met in hospital, someone I met at school, someone I met online through a mutual friend, someone that lives round the corner from me. 

22. Favourite memory from childhood? 

Erm... I’m sure there’s something... Well I do always miss being young and innocent and waking up early and walking to school with my parents. The birds would tweet and the sun would shine and I’d have lovely chats with the teachers and my childminder. And my dad would pick me up and we’d bike home and I would watch 64 Zoo Lane and eat Ice Cream. Ah the good old days. Ooh and Christmases and trips to Cornwall. Not gonna lie I still enjoy all of this stuff. I guess childhood wasn’t too bad. Well, for the first 7 years at least.

23. Do you speak any other languages and how well? 

I don’t. I can do the odd phrase in Spanish, Italian, Greek, French, German and Japanese at a push. I won and award for my French around 5 years back. But I’ve slept a lot since then so I don’t remember all that much. Also I had a terrible French teacher a few years back who put me off the subject for life. Let’s just say she wasn’t my biggest fan. 

24. Do you have any siblings? 

I have a step sister. But that’s all. She’s pretty amazing though so. Also she’s currently living in Japan which means I get cool stuff because it turns out that Japan are way ahead the UK in creating top notch backpacks. 

25. How would you describe your fashion sense? 

Band merch/Harry Potter tees, jeans and hoodies, pretty much. I also own the odd flannel. Doc Martens, Converse and Vans are the footwear of choice. Beanies are pretty cool too. For colder days denim jackets and ‘leather’ jackets are my jam. So basically the casual lesbian look is my style. Way to fit the stereotype, Bri. 

26. What is your favourite restaurant? 

Okay, I have three. YoSushi, Handmade Burger Company and Bella Italia. All three have amazing vegan options. Also they all hold really happy memories for me. 

27. What are some of your favourite TV shows? 

Ooh, I like quite a few. My number one would have to be The Big Bang Theory. I also love Sherlock, Orange is The New Black, Miranda, 13 Reasons Why and Stranger Things. 

28. PC or Mac? 

Mac all the way. I have nothing against PC but I recently invested in a mac and it is my life. I find it easier to use and I much prefer the layout. 

29. What phone do you have? 

I have an Iphone 6S in rose gold. (With a really cute cat case, just saying.) 

30. What is one of your bad habits? 

Biting my nails. I’ve done it for my whole life and I can’t, nor do I have any intention to stop. 

That’s all for today, thanks so much for reading! I’m definitely going to try and post much more often from now on. 

Lots of love, Briony.