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universitysunflowers · 6 months

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So how are we feeling right now? (TBB Spoilers)

Episodes 10 & 11 may be some of the darkest we've seen this season. We all knew the storm was coming but wow that was such a dramatic shift. I definitely had some thoughts and realizations after watching the latest release.

Okay first off lets talk about the elephant in the room: Tech. A lot of people thought that Identity Crisis would be about Tech and his struggle with having been made into the shadow clone CX-2, but it was actually about Emerie (I'll get back to her in a bit). Even though we don't know exactly who that shadow clone is yet, I do think it could still be Tech. In episode 11 (plus 6 and 7) we saw a lot of hints towards Tech as we knew him in seasons 1 and 2; things like the way he spoke, his leg getting crushed, his flying, and his use of Cid and Phee to get to the others on Pabu. One thing that really stood out to me when he was on Phee's ship is the way he put his hands on the flight controls while downloading her data, almost like it was second nature to him, something familiar he did without thinking (I know this is a stretch but it really jumped out at me as a parallel to the countless scenes of Tech flying the Marauder, it just felt like him again). However there is a dark side to all of this. If CX-2 is Tech that means that:

Tech destroyed the Marauder; the ship that was a home and refuge for CF 99, both during the war and after the Empire took over. It was the one real constant they had in their lives and he would be the reason it's gone.

Tech destroyed peace on Pabu; a place where he and the others felt safe and grounded for the first time since Kamino. It also means he would be at least partly responsible for destroying the lives of everyone who helped and supported them in season 2 (CX-2 was ruthless in ep 11, they made that very clear).

Tech used Phee to accomplish all of this; a friend who trusted and cared about him and rest of the batch.

Tech would be the one who hunted down and eventually captured Omega, whatever that may mean in the future.

There are a lot of people who think that bringing Tech back would make his death meaningless, which I completely understand. Some characters should die and stay dead as a way of furthering the story and development of other characters. However, in this case I do think that revealing CX-2 to be a brainwashed Tech would have huge implications for the narrative. It would mean that one of their own was responsible for so much of the destruction we have seen this season, and that just because Crosshair resisted imperial experiments, does not mean that the others have similar abilities/plot protection. It would also bring immense emotional conflict into the rest of the season (however they might do it) and could be a deciding factor in the rest of the batch's fate; would they realize what he's done and treat him as the enemy, or would they see him and hesitate, possibly losing even more than they already have. Revealing Tech as the shadow clone would be incredibly dark, especially after all of the cruel and deliberate things he has done this season that contrast to the mild tempered and caring persona we previously knew (even if he didn't always show his feelings outright). While I do think there is a possibility that he is dead and not coming back, I definitely would not put it past the writers to do something so drastic as a way of adding to the season's narrative value with a conflicting and completely jarring revelation that would have so many significant implications for so many main characters. I did not mean for this post to be so long but let's keep going anyway.

Some other more general realizations I had:

As of right now, Hunter and Wrecker don't know that Omega was taken again. That said, we might not see them finding out and the next episode could definitely jump ahead like they have done with other significant moments like Crosshair's return.

Crosshair could be blamed for letting Omega give herself up and missing the shot to put a tracker on the ship, especially if they never see her again (but I'm choosing to believe that won't happen). There is no way Hunter wouldn't have something to say about that, even after they have mostly patched things up over the last few episodes. This also contributed to the tone of the episode 11 ending; he missed the shot, meaning they have no way of tracking her and are no closer to finding Tantiss. It was a very bleak note to end on in general, not at all like some hopeful purpose driven endings we have seen previously.

Just because Omega gave herself up does not mean that the Empire is going to leave Pabu intact. She distracted CX-2 by letting him take her back to Tantiss but the other troopers were still there, and I doubt they will just pack up and leave without a fight now that Omega is back in their control.

There are only 4 episodes left; what if they don't reveal CX-2's identity at all, and just leave us guessing (I still think there could be merit to the possibility of it being Cody or a Crosshair clone but that gets less likely every time we see him). Or worse, what if they keep hinting at it to make sure we know who he is, but never give us proof; instead just leaving us with the knowledge of what happened to Tech, and what he has done, without any other closure.

Ok let's talk about Emerie. I was definitely not expecting her to be the focus of Identity Crisis, but I thought that was a really interesting twist. We haven't seen her in a while so it was nice to get her perspective, and to get a better idea of what project Necromancer is all about (though I am still not totally sure where they are going with that so I'm reserving my judgments until later). As the title implies, she is definitely starting to question her place with Hemlock and the Empire, and I am also wondering how she is going to react to Omega being captured again, especially knowing what she knows now. I definitely think Emerie will be more sympathetic towards Omega's independence and desire to help the other clones. We might even see the two of them working together on a future escape attempt? Overall I enjoyed episode 10 and I am glad Emerie is finally getting her moment to contribute to the plot, especially after her importance was so obiously revealed in Crosshair's escape attempt during season 2.

I'm sorry this got so depressing but unfortunately I think that is what we can expect for the rest of the season unless something really unexpected happens. Also if you read that entire novel then thank you I swear I didn't think this post would be so long when I was writing down my thoughts earlier but here we are.

#the bad batch #star wars #tbb spoilers #the bad batch season 3 #tbb #clone force 99 #tbb tech #tbb emerie #tbb omega #star wars the bad batch

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butterflydm · 1 year

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wot s2 trailer: detailed second look

Okay, that's a lie, I've watched it more than twice. But, yes.

Spoilers mostly for show stuff but also for relevant book stuff through around The Great Hunt.

I have sadly been persuaded that we will not get Rand In The White Tower. One of my earlier speculations (around a month ago), I did suggest the idea that Siuan might go to Cairhien, though it was in the context of "going with Mat" and Mat's plotline still seems so up in the air, so who knows where he'll be. But Siuan going with Logain does set up some interesting opportunities.

When I was thinking Siuan would go with Mat, I was thinking it would happen after the girls had been tricked to leave by Liandrin, but if she's going with Logain, I think it's more likely that her absence leaves an opportunity for Liandrin to pounce on the girls while she's gone. Especially if Siuan doesn't give them any information.

I am really excited by the idea of Rand and Logain having a conversation here, it sets up some interesting things for the future.

I feel like a lot of @markantonys's thoughts here are still pretty likely in light of what we saw in the trailer: https://markantonys.tumblr.com/post/720125468680060928/my-rough-guesses-2x01-a-taste-of-solitude

Maybe Siuan's trip to Cairhien is around episode 6-ish (making Siuan and Moiraine's reunion in ep 6 in both s1 & s2).

It really is hard to figure out where Mat's storyline is going because the covid change really did take him pretty far off-book (and since he's still in his Two Rivers clothes in Falme, that implies he's had no chance to get a change of clothes at any point).

I am also really wondering how action-packed the finale will be vs emotional beats -- will Rand reunite with his friends or will we be focused on the action?

So, we see wanderer Rand in one shot: with 'Selene'. I'm guessing that's right after she arranges for him to 'save' her from something dangerous. Then we have a few shots of him in plainer shirts or in no shirt. Then we have the blue robe-like overshirt. Then we have the fancy black emo coat that it looks like he wears for the rest of the season.

We have Moiraine in her traveler's clothes for a bit, including I think when she first sees Rand again. Then she takes a bath and changes her clothes, probably, and tries again with Rand.

We're probably going to see Egwene & Elayne in novice whites for pretty much the whole season after Egwene arrives at the White Tower. It looks like Nynaeve has a bit more variation but mostly in episode three (probably) when she has her Accepted Test. It does seem like we're going to have at least one flashback (Moiraine and Siuan New Spring'ing it up) so we may get more flashbacks for each of the characters -- Perrin's flash of happiness with that young girl might be a flashback.

So, attempting to place things in order --

Episode One: Perrin & co start on their Hunt for Horn and dagger; Rand wanders the countryside, Moiraine & Lan... maybe end up researching with Verin (and that's how we're introduced to her and how she works her way into the plotline?) or something else; Mat gets nabbed by Liandrin and taken prisoner; and Egwene & Nynaeve arrive at the White Tower (meet Elayne?). Nynaeve tells Alanna that she's not sure anyone should have as much power as they tell her that she has.

I suspect all the scenes of Moiraine & Lan at night with the Fade are episode one, since it vibes like Moiraine still looks like she did at the end of last season, so this is them leaving the Blight maybe, because Moiraine needs to process a lot of shit right now. The Perrin riding scene could happen here or in the next couple of episodes. This also might be when he encounters The Wolf Who Might Be Hopper that we see later in the trailer (or... etc).

Episode Two: Rand spends time with Selene (the cuddling shots). We may start with a cold open relating to either Ishy unearthing bloody Lanfear or something related to the Seanchan. I'm guessing this episode will cover basically the entire Rand and 'Selene' relationship, with them separating either at the end of this episode or the very beginning of episode three.

Episode Three: Nynaeve's Accepted test! All the shots of her in her shift and all bloody go here. Her surge of power near a house that looks like it's in the Two Rivers style goes here. I'm guessing that Lan on Mandarb in the woods also goes here. We will probably also get Egwene and Elayne building up their friendship in this episode. This is maybe the episode where we get shirtless Rand as he broods in Foregate.

Episode Four: Moiraine catches up to Rand (finds him in Foregate; he pins her; she and Lan have a conversation about Rand; I'm guessing she sends a message to Siuan that inspires Siuan to decided she needs to go to Cairhien with Logain, to help get Rand under control; has a Sad Bath; and dresses like a Cairhienin).

Episode Five: Perrin & co have their run-in with the Seanchan. This might be the episode where we meet Aviendha and have a run-in with the Whitecloaks as well? If Loial gets captured by the Seanchan at the start of the episode, then Perrin can run into the Whitecloaks later as he's trying to figure out how to help Loial. Has Fain given the Seanchan the Horn yet? I'm curious about how they'll pepper the Seanchan throughout the season. Siuan leaves the White Tower with Logain to travel to Cairhien.

Episode Six: Starts with Liandrin at the Darkfriend social and ends with her delivering the girls to the Seanchan (so all the damane capturing scenes & etc; "if our friends are in trouble, why would I ever stay here?" scene with Egwene and Elayne). Rand talks first to Logain (more casual blue robes) and then gets dressed in his fancy black emo coat that he'll wear the rest of the season and talks to Siuan. Might go off on his own at the end? This might be the episode where we get the New Spring flashback, see Moiraine & Siuan happy and young and then hear Gitara's Foretelling?

Episode Seven: Focus on Egwene in captivity, which I expect to be really brutal. We'll probably get a lot of Seanchan-related info in this episode. How long she is in captivity probably depends on how Rand is traveling to Falme (because I think this will be his traveling episode). Mat is also approaching Falme at this same time maybe? We have so little info to go on regarding Mat, lol. Perrin is already in the area. It's possible that this is when Perrin meets Aviendha, depending on how many episodes we have her for this season.

Episode Eight: Rand faces off against Turak. Whatever that explosion at that gate is happens. Mat stabs someone with a spear (that potentially has raven detailing). Probably lots of other (Horn-related and breaking-Egwene-out related) stuff happens too! I really hope we get some emotional moments of people realizing that Rand isn't dead, though (unless they find out earlier -- Liandrin might tell Egwene & Nynaeve that Rand is alive).

I am hardcore mourning that I can't see any place in this structure for my Randlayne meet-cute. Rand really isn't in an emotional place for meet-cutes. :-(

I am really curious to see how Moiraine and Lan's relationship evolves in this season. It looks like they run into some friction between each other and so I wonder if we'll get Lan offering Rand suggestions on how to face the Amrylin Seat and Moiraine disapproving (like happens in TGH), maybe because now that Rand is a person and not an idea, Lan wants him to have control of his own destiny?

There was no sign of Moiraine or Lan in the Falme-related shots, but we did get those still of them walking on a beach, with Moiraine in her Cairhienin dress. If she were traveling on her own with just Lan, I'd expect her to be back in her traveling clothes.

We're going to be getting Perrin losing himself in the wolf and getting scared of it, when he kills that Whitecloak. Pretty sure that the wolf we saw in the trailer is going to be Hopper. We didn't get any shots of Elyas but I think he's been confirmed for the season? We also didn't get any shots of Loial and we know that he's there because of that earlier still that was released. We know that he's the first of the group to end up in Seanchan territory, because Loial has been captured by the Seanchan as of episode five. I do still suspect that Verin will be in Perrin's plotline mostly, but there's a chance that we first get introduced to her via Moiraine searching for answers.

I think we won't get confirmation that Liandrin is a Darkfriend until maybe episode six, when she tricks the girls into going into the Ways. Maybe the cold open for that episode is the Darkfriend social? Either that or it's the cold open for episode five and the audience learns about Liandrin the episode before her betrayal of the girls (maybe this is when we see her up by the Flame of Tar Valon and the place where the rings are melted).

I'm guessing that Min will pop up in two or three episodes, maybe? She's not listed as a regular, I don't think, so she won't be in all eight. She's likely in Tar Valon and will likely go along with the Wondergirls to Falme, like she does in the books, so we may get her meeting Aviendha in Falme. It really depends on the pacing of the final episode and how much post-battle time we get.

I do feel like Rafe is invested in showing the realistic emotions of our characters, so I'm hoping we get some downtime where all the polycule all gets to meet each other and we get some reunions between the characters.

It looks like we'll be getting a lot of Egwene & Nynaeve's emotional beats from the show. We'll be meeting Elayne and getting introduced to her brothers and potentially Elaida. They'll probably spend five episodes in the White Tower and then head to Falme for the last three.

Mat remains our biggest question mark. We know he starts in Tar Valon, spends some time captured by Liandrin, and then somehow ends up free in Falme, wielding a spear. And that's pretty much it.

Here is all the detail I wrote out about each of the shots (so where I'm getting some of my guesses from):

Shot 1: Moiraine in Foregate. We know this is episode four because of the photos we got earlier of this scene. I'm assuming that this is her working on locating Rand at the moment. She's dressed up Cairhienin style, high and modest neckline and keisera.

Shot 2: White Tower from above, craning down to get a better look at the sides, where we see a bright blue dress. This might be part of what is likely a flashback that we'll get to later. I am guessing the Moiraine does not go back to Tar Valon this season at all, at this point. It also just might be another Blue Ajah Sister in a wide shot!

Shot 3/4: Moiraine is sad in her bathtub. I'm guessing this is in one of the first three episodes, but it might be episode four. I'm guessing this is the Bath of Sadness that will lead into her dressing up in her Cairhienin outfit.

Shot 5/6: Rand stands on a floodplain-ish area that I'm guessing is him approaching Falme (...I don't know geology). He appears to be alone in this shot but he also might be out of camera view of whoever he's traveling with. We see here that his fancy new emo black coat has a rising sun motif. I feel like we saw something in the promos about Aviendha having a rising sun thing somewhere? Is my brain making that up or is it real? Plus it also would connect to both Elayne & Moiraine for obvious reasons. And it's the opposite of Lanfear's moon motif. We do see Rand both from behind and from the front and he looks alone in both shots. Probably episode seven or eight.

Shot 7/8: These appear to be connected. Moiraine facing a Fade. This might be Moiraine and Lan leaving the Blight? Or just them traveling at night? But I think Moiraine is wearing her traveling clothes from last season in this shot, though the lighting is pretty dim, so it's hard to say. And she has the knife from last season too. So my guess is that this is from episode one.

Shot 9: Ishy looking kinda business-casual, just in a shirt, though it looks like he may have a tie-holder. Darkly-lit scene. He bamfs away, using... well, if you know, then you know. It goes beyond the spoilers I listed at the top. I think this is the same outfit he's wearing later when he's hanging with Suroth (which is different from the outfit he's wearing in the scene with Loial that we only saw a photo of).

Shot 10: Egwene... maybe in the Testing Chamber?

Shot 11: Liandrin staring forward. Might be the same place? She looks a bit like she's dressed for travel, though, so this could be the prepping to leave for the Ways.

Shot 12: Super quick glance at the Darkfriend social.

Shot 13: Nynaeve telling Alanna, I think, that "no one should have that much power". So instead of Alanna trying to be a busybody because she's interested in Rand and she's honing in on the girls by proxy, I think she'll be interested in talking to Nynaeve because she's so strong in the One Power. This is from one of the first three episodes, I would guess. Before Nynaeve does her Accepted Testing.

Shot 14: Ishy is in a different outfit than he was in Shot 9. He's got a jacket on and no tie-clip thing. This might be what he was wearing last season? He's doing something with the Power and the way it's shining is reminding me of the constrained look of the damane's flows that we see later.

Shot 15/16/17: We cut to bloody Lanfear (I'm guessing but I feel like this is probably Lanfear), with the implication that maybe this is Ishy waking her up?

Shot 18/19/20/21: Two damane are launching an attack on a village at nighttime. In the second to last of the shots, I think that I see Uno & his eyepatch, and I'm pretty sure that Perrin is in the last of the shots, so this may be when Perrin & co encounter the Seanchan and Loial gets captured.

Shot 22/23/24/25: Opening the door to the Accepted Testing chamber -- probably episode 3. We see Nynaeve revealed by the opening of the door and then switch to behind her and see the archways for the testing. There are three Sisters with her. Actually, it looks like Liandrin might be wearing the outfit from Shot 11 so that might actually be her reacting to Nynaeve's Test. I think the lady on the left is Sheriam but I'm not sure who the woman just behind Nynaeve is.

Shot 26/27/28: Perrin & co riding down a hilly area. Guessing that this is early on, searching out the Horn & dagger? This is Perrin in his new S2 outfit.

Shot 29: 'Selene' cuddles Rand, who is still in his wanderer outfit, so this would be early season. I really am fascinated by her choice to cosplay Moiraine here (someone mentioned Selene being in her 'Moiraine cosplay era' in the tag, and the thought definitely stuck). Unless that's just a blue cloak that she threw on and her actual outfit isn't blue. Lanfear looks way more into the touching than Rand does -- he's basically just standing there while she plasters herself against him (her hand is even around his back). At least it looks that way from this angle. She does fit pretty neatly under his chin.

Shot 30/31: Rand walks down a hall with arches. He's wearing the same outfit here that we'll later see in his conversation with Logain, so I'll place this around episode 5 or 6.

Shot 32: Tar Valon (?) at night, with lightning flashing.

Shot 33: Moiraine races away on a horse, during the night. A dark horse, so this is not Aldieb (who is a white mare).

Shot 34/35: Lan listens as Moiraine passionately explains that guiding Rand is the only thing that matters. Moiraine is dressed in her Cairhienin clothes here, so maybe episode four.

Shot 36: Siuan on her fancy throne that was probably just set up now, because this is likely all in Cairhien, tells Moiraine, maybe, "You can't control him" possibly talking about Rand. This might be after the conversation that Siuan and Moiraine have that we see later in the trailer, because Siuan has An Opinion about Rand. She's in her super-fancy Amyrlin clothes.

Shot 37/38: Rand is in a dark room, shutters drawn, and we can see him surrounded by yellow-red flows. He's wearing a plain shirt but it looks nice.

Shot 39/40/41: Perrin looks at a wolf. A wolf looks back. Hopper? Perrin's eyes shift to gold.

Shot 42: Rand pins Moiraine up against the wall of a room. By her throat. He looks very intense and I'm pretty sure I can see the black tendrils of the taint in the flows as they pass over his neck. It looks like Moiraine is in her traveling clothes here, so it could be that she doesn't change into her Cairhienin duds until after she's encountered Rand again for the first time. The subtitles says "Kill them all" here and you can kinda hear it if you concentrate. The first glimmers of you-know-who?

Shot 43: Egwene is in the collar and she looks WRECKED. Blood-shot eyes. Bloody cheek. Hair damp (with sweat probably). Either episode seven or eight is my guess for this one.

Shot 44: Nynaeve in her shift in the Testing room, covered in blood. She also looks pretty emotionally wrecked.

Shot 45/46: Panning shot of the dagger on a fancy table as Mat sits in a chair, with some great conflict on his face. This is interesting because it implies that Fain is in Tar Valon? I like all the emphasis on how all five of the ta'veren are going through these intense emotional journeys. It's not just Rand who is struggling with himself.

Shot 47: This shot is fascinating. Rand is standing in front of 'Selene' while the Power is flowing all around him. Very creepy vibes.

Shot 48: Rand tells Logain that he wants to learn how to control it. And he's wearing the same kind of robe-ish overshirt that he was wearing when he was walking down the hall in Shots 30/31 but which is very different than the formal clothes that we see him wearing when he talks to Siuan at the end of the trailer. Rand and Logain both in blue here.

Shot 49/50/51: Wide shot of Suroth & Co being domineering over a village, then going to a closer shot of Suroth sitting on the throne while her Voice and Ishy are on either side of her. I think Ishy is wearing the same outfit here that he was wearing in Shot 9. Oh, I think there are people actually carrying that palanquin! Yikes, that has to be so heavy. So maybe a ~procession~ of the conquered territory?

Shot 52/53: Turok opens the box for the Horn. It's interesting that he doesn't have the mask that Suroth has. His nails also appear to be more functional than hers, or less likely to get in his way. His costuming is actually pretty different from hers. I wonder if we're going to keep seeing different variations between the Bloods. Because she has that metal theme while his theme feels more... bone-like?

Shot 54/55/56/57: I believe all this is the capture of Egwene. Looks very intense. It looks like Egwene goes on the attack while Elayne runs. I can't see Nynaeve at all in any of the shots.

Shot 58/59: But we do transition from the burst of power over Egwene into one over Nynaeve, probably during her Accepted Test, because both her clothes and the house behind her look like the Two Rivers. So this is likely episode three.

Shot 60: I think this is the Whitecloaks riding towards Falme.

Shot 61: Liandrin stands at the Flame of Tar Valon and stares down at the big forge-bowl-ring where the old rings get melted and new ones made.

Shot 62/63: A child and Perrin playing together. Might be a flashback? He isn't wearing what we've seen him wearing in most of the S2-related material.

Shot 64: If it is a flashback, then it would pair well with this shot of Moiraine and Siuan kissing, because I feel like this is most likely a flashback as well, because Siuan is in blue.

Shot 65/66: Egwene (in her kitchen outfit) hugs Nynaeve (in her Two Rivers outfit). Are Egwene and Nynave going to arrive at the Tower separately (why would they do that? Hmm).

Shot 67: Nynaeve's Accepted Test beginning, as the Aes Sedai channel into the archways.

Shot 68/69: Egwene talks to Elayne - "If our friends are in trouble, why would I ever stay here?" So this is probably the conversation that leads to Elayne coming along with Egwene. Hmm, given that Elayne doesn't know literally any of the other potential players involved, I wonder if they're going to lean on the "friendship" angle or the "adventure" angle with why Elayne leaves with Egwene. In the books, Elayne already had a level of investment going on.

Shot 70: Moiraine walks out of a door at night. Maybe the same scene as Rand pinning her against the wall?

Shot 71: Moiraine from much earlier in the season, judging by her vibes.

Shot 72: Lan on Mandarb. I'm still guessing that this is from Nynaeve's Accepted Test in episode three, because Moiraine and Lan don't appear to be near any nice woodlands in their current travels.

Shot 73: Lan tells Moiraine: "You can't do this by yourself." Guessing it's part of the conversation about guiding Rand, because I can make out the pointed collar on Moiraine's outfit.

Shot 74/75/76/77: Aviendha veils up at nighttime, with Perrin in the background. Then she fights some Whitecloaks. Aviendha has a head injury here, some blood near her temple.

Shot 78: Nynaeve spars with the Warders -- we saw this back in the earlier teaser as well.

Shot 79/80: Lan fights a Fade. Guessing this is the same scene as Moiraine & the Fade from Shots 7/8.

Shot 81: Nighttime overlooking shot of Tar Valon. Maybe the same night as the one with the lightning flashing earlier. Maybe the night when Liandrin & the girls leave? /wild speculation

Shot 82: Liandrin with her red all covered up with a black cloak, walking through the streets at night. I saw someone speculate that she's on her way to the Darkfriend social and that would be a pretty great way to bring us into it.

Shot 83: Shirtless Rand stares out the window at maybe the morning light. This is another shot that we've seen before. Guessing Foregate because those shutters look like the ones we saw earlier in the trailer.

Shot 84: Nynaeve exits one of the archways in a burst of light, and we can see blood on her shift. More of her Testing.

Shot 85: Perrin kills a Whitecloak. It does not look like the same location as where we saw Aviendha fighting the Whitecloaks.

Shot 86: Egwene screams in the collar.

Shot 87: Rand is bound shirtless on a huge wheel in the desert (almost certainly in the dream world).

Shot 88: I think Liandrin is talking to Egwene here, though we can only really see her hair. "It's not always the most powerful who write history. It's the ones who survive." Same outfit that we saw on her before.

Shot 89/90/91/92/93: Rand in a plaza at Falme, in his fancy emo black coat (now covered with a brown cloak), about to fight Turak. Rand talks about being tired of being "a spoke in the wheel".

Shot 94: We go back to the shot of Rand bound on the wheel and then pull way back. It does look like there's something directly in front of him, but I can't tell if it's a person or if it's just... set up to look like a person, if that makes sense.

Shot 95: Someone kills a Fade with a flaming sword at night. On reflection... not Rand, I think? (which would make sense -- Rand still has his dad's sword). It might belong to the same scene as Moiraine and Lan facing the Fades?

Shot 96: Mat stabs someone with a spear. He's still wearing his Two Rivers clothes. Given the earlier photo we got of Mat, I'm guessing this is Falme.

Shot 97/98: Hard cut to that explosion. It's actually a top-down view at first and it looks like someone is exploding the door to a gate. Maybe fireworks but maybe channeling? It looks like Falme, though, either way.

Shot 99/100/101: Siuan tells Rand that he's the water that turns the wheel of time. He's in his fancy black emo coat here.

#wot #wheel of time #wot on prime #wot speculation #wot season 2 spoilers #wot on prime spoilers #wot book spoilers #wot spoilers #the great hunt #butterfly watches wot

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aegons-queen-rhaella · 3 months

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So, I watched HOTD ep. 1... My thoughts:

My first thoughts about the ep are...it was fine. Just fine.

Getting into specifics: team green, B&C, sex, and some team black dynamics will be talked about. If you want no spoilers, scroll (This was a lengthy post. Sorry).

Team Green was somewhat disappointing and I'm not surprised. The first scene we see of Alicent and Sir Cole is them having oral sex. Why? Why are the even fucking? They shouldn't be doing that cause it makes them look like hypocrites. It makes them lose their values. It undermines their characters in a gross way. The character assassination is heavy in this first ep. The show runners did this on purpose to make them look bad. Honestly think about it, with all the shit that is going on why is now the time to show them having relations that they didn't have in the book? They did this for the sake of getting a sex scene. Disappointing!

The dynamic between Aemond and Sir Cole is one of friendship, maybe father & son dynamic. I like to see it. What I didn't like was hearing Aemond trash his mother and if I remember right, he trashed papa Otto too. I don't believe he would do that. He was fiercely loyal to his family even though he had ambition. I also like how Cole tried to defend Alicent from Aemond's ridicule.

Aegon. I loved him this ep. I love how they showed that he cares for his kids. He took his heir to the council. That is something that old man Vizzy never did with Aegon. I love how they showed how he was trying to be a good, fair, king to his people. He was trying. His humor was nice tension relief when needed. From what we saw of his dynamic with Helaena, it gives very much still a sibling relationship. They didn't want to marry so they don't act like loving spouses to each other, just siblings. I want to see what else TGC will deliver of Aegon throughout the season.

...I have to talk about how this show did Blood and Cheese. I thought they would have stuck to the book more. Them having her say "I have a necklace, a very expensive one" to me down played the terror of this event. She could have said "take me instead but leave my babies be" I was pissed that they cut so much of this horrible event from the show. This was supposed to deeply effect Alicent and Helaena. They were supposed to share this experience. Helaena was acting like this was no big deal and gave up her son quickly. Then she just walked into the room while Alicent is riding Sir Cole (again a pointless scene). I guess it was her being in shock but, damn was there no emotion. It should have been heart breaking to see, instead it was bland. Nothing like the book. They should have just did what GRRM wrote.

Now for team black dynamics. I'm going to keep this short but, us seeing Rhae grieve was good. I'm glad they showed it and it made me feel something for her character.

Jace and Cregan Stark having conversation on the wall was interesting. I'm a bit annoyed that we didn't see their pact and we didn't see Jace at the Vale. We missed out on how Jace was handling his emotions through the rest of his quest.

Rhaenys blowing off funky ass Daemon was great to see. He was trying to command a woman he has no power over. What a clown.

Anyway, let me know how y'all felt about the ep! Enjoy the Aegon gif!

#house of the dragon #aegon ii targaryen #aemond targaryen #alicent hightower #team green #helaena targaryen #sir criston cole #hotd season 2 #otto hightower #hotd thoughts

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imagionationstation · 2 years

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Okay, so…

As I was in the mist of ✨emotions✨, my explanation skills were barely sub-par, and I gave a lot of people misconceptions to my thoughts on the episode “A China Town Ghoststory”.

So let’s try and fix that.

The episode itself is okay as a fill-in ep that doesn’t have anything to do with the season plot-wise, though it’s existence didn’t really seem necessary, other than an early acknowledgment that ‘impossible spiritual powers do exist so be ready’, which set me up to accept explanations on the unexplained and impossible, like Vision Quest and Leo’s Healing Hands.

Spiritual insanity simply exists. There’s no more to it than that.

And I appreciate that they introduced it without a clichè, “by the way they suddenly have magic as a big plot-point even tho it hasn’t existed at all until now! Why? Oh, I dunno, it’s in their blood or something I guess.”

We got a casual introduction by a villain that only ever comes up once more in all five seasons. Respect. 3/4 out of five stars.

The one aspect that always boils my blood when it comes to this episode, however, is the fight scene between Donnie and his brothers. The first time I saw this episode, I did not understand how they went from trying to kill Donnie, to- Oh, look, let’s go get some pizza! (As my new-to-turtles mind interpreted it).

I was extremely confused, and continued to be confused for the next few watches. Then, at one point while doing research, I saw the scene from Donnie’s eyes, and not from the eyes of a viewer. And I was even more mortified by what I saw.

The way this scene plays out really feels like (note: I’m saying ‘feels like’ and not ‘definitely is’) the brothers were choosing pizza over Donnie. The episode was kinda insulting, the way they go through this whole insane battle, throw him out of a tornado, and then just… Go bicker over pizza? Really?

It makes sense when you lay it all out. The brothers are acting as brainwashed guard-dogs. Donnie is a danger to what they’re guarding. The only way for Ho Chan to keep control is for the brothers to not recognize who it is they’re hurting. The spell makes them see him as a danger, and they don’t fully comprehend that they’re about to end a brother’s life while serving an evil sorcerer.

There’s nothing dangerous or threatening about pizza. It’s something they love, and something they’ve been known to bicker about. If the brothers are in there subconsciously fighting back, it would make sense that they would give into the urge to go after the pizza pies and stop serving their ‘master’. Use the brainwashed aggression to fight over pizzas, or assault the brother who wants to help the captives that you’re guarding. Easy choice.

No matter how you look at it (whether they have some control or they have zero control), it would make sense that they’d go after the pizzas.

Still.

This must be horrific to witness from Donnie’s POV. Super-powered brothers all banning together to fight you to the death, and every instinct in your being is like “well, I can’t kill them!”- so you’re forced on defense the entire time. One wrong move and you’re dead, and it’ll be at their hands- and it doesn’t really look like they’re fighting back. They’re hurting and chucking and attacking you, seemingly willing to kill you without a second thought, and it’s like they don’t even care-

And for this big brain boy and his canon insecurities, Donnie is going to be overthinking this one moment way more than he should be for a long time.

The way that he still hasn’t picked himself off the ground when Casey reaches his side, and then has to lift him up to snap him out of a shocked stupor- well, that says something to me.

I feel like this episode could have and should have played out differently, but I know many people wouldn’t agree.

To summarize:

…..

I KNOW IT’S A CARTOON AND SUPPOSED TO BE FUNNY AND ALL

I REALLY DO

BUT FROM A REAL PERSPECTIVE THIS IS TERRIBLE

WHY THE WRITERS HAVE TO JERK AROUND HIS EMOTIONS LIKE THAT, HMM?! 🥺

My rewrite of this scene is here

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leofiat-bunny · 1 year

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Random notes from rewatching

Creating a cut means rewatching some scenes a lot (I suffer for my "art" 😇). So this is kind-of-sort-of liveblogs for the series, but not really?

Vaguely in order

2023 - the year we all forgot (or pretended to) 😅

(well, the "forgetting" starts in 2019 but the show's released in 2023 so 🤫)

Cayenne Auto Shop

10/10 naming, no notes ♥

I adore sleepy classmate with puppy plushie

Ai Di's never looked so fragile as after that kiss 😭

Costumes

Xiao Jie: poor packhorse 😂. Sorry, but Ai Di is too pretty a princess to help out 👑 (I've decided Xiao Jie is aroace. Because someone always has to be)

I want to see the other costumes he got. I think we deserve a fashion show epilogue. Petition anyone? 📝

And he chose Red Riding Hood a few months(?) after Zhang Teng mocks him with the name 👑😎💅

"It's rare for me to dress up so cutely"

I can't emphasise enough how I adore that the feral kitten has 0 issues being cute when that tends to be the purview of the ostensibly tamed

"You are not like him"

I don't think Chen Yi would appreciate us calling Ai Di a feral murder kitten/feral murder bunny (feral murder fluffball?) 😅

"Bai Zonygi, let him go"

Anybody else not keen on the script and direction in this scene? The actors are doing great but what's happening doesn't make sense?

Why does Bai Zongyi need to let go right now? You haven't tried to address FJR's injuries from the other side, and I doubt you're worring about spinal injuries being exaccerbated here.

If you just want to pick him up, there's MORE room on the other side of A'Ruei and that would be easier…

Maybe I'm missing something but this doesn't seem sensible, it just kind of leaves me confused rather than emotional

Keeping Bai Zongyi in the shop

The sympathetic pain my babies must be feeling for Bai Zongyi - knowing your soulmate is hurt and you're being KEPT FROM HIS SIDE on top of their own pain for their friend. My babies 😭

(And poor Bai Zongyi I guess 😝)

Interesting that Ai Di explains to Chen Yi

Obviously it's exposition for the viewers but Chen Yi's reaction is decidely "this is news to me" not "Ai Di is muttering complaints at me"

I can well believe that in general Chen Yi is the paper person and Ai Di is the people person.

That's why they agreed that the bar would be Ai Di's to manage.

Ai Di is eye catching, wild, loud, and brings the party and is unashamedly himself. Chen Yi is dependable, restrained, organised.

Petty was on the money that Ai Di colours Chen Yi's world, and Chen Yi supports Ai Di (matches his colours).

The extra : Leave before Chen Yi comes

When I first saw this on my dash I was - predictably enough - focused on the implications of possessive Chen Yi seeing Zhang Teng with Ai Di backed against a wall.

Now I've watched the full scene!!!

From the moment FJR shows up, Ai Di doesn't provoke at all.

He doesn't back down of course, but on rewatching I saw: he's not saying or doing anything that could escalate things.

His next words are when Zhang Teng is lingering "What are you looking at? Get out." and almost before he does:

"Where's Chen Yi? I sent someone to call Chen Yi. Why did you come?"

Because if Chen Yi heard that the guy who had killed one of his people was now selling at his bar and Ai Di was confronting him...

He'd be there.

Except he's been told and he's not there.

Something happened to him.

(Except no, FJR was arrogant enough to just not tell him, so that suppressed panic attack was for nothing.)

AND I WASN'T EXPECTING THAT MANY FEELS IN THIS SCENE DAMMIT! 😭

Not ep focused

My loyal feral murder kitten

A'Ruei told you to run quickly, and you really ran

If my words can kill him, I will die with him, okay?

Why do you want him to take the fall? We should let our people take the fall. It has nothing to do with him

Imagine a newbie trying to manhandle Ai Di the way Chen Yi does

Post prison someone who joined after Ai Di left tries to pull Ai Di off someone he's beating up… ends up on the floor suffering until Chen Yi arrives (called to the scene by one of the others) and has to watch as Chen Yi does what he did to the complete opposite reaction (yeah, he's complaining but he's not doing anything about it)

Has to have it explained to it that Chen Yi is the Keeper of the feral murder fluffball.

Everyone else is to respect the wild beast for their own good

#kiseki: dear to me

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miss0atae · 7 months

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Random thoughts about Playboyy the series ep 12:

This episode was so much easier to watch than the previous one. I don't know if it's the editing or the pacing but I appreciated it more.

▪️First and Soong are back together and they want to take care and stay with each other. Some people complain about them speaking English to each other while they are supposed to both speak Thai but I find it endearing because I used to do the same thing before with my previous partner (granted, we never were fluent in the language of the other one). We may have sounded funny as them. Anyway, I'm glad they are happy because they were the first couple I was rooted for. They deserve each other. I don't think anyone else could handle First. He is a real handful. Only Soong seems to be able to bring the best of him.

▪️Zouey and Nont were still investigating. The found the name of a Hotel where Nant may have come. They went over there and got some Intel from the front desk lady in an unconventional way: make her admit the truth by tickling her. (Isn't she the first woman who saw in the series?!) They learnt Aob was following Nant. Everyone became a suspect in this series at one point.

▪️Nont wants Zouey to patch things up with First and Captain but it's not working. I used to think they were really good friends but Zouey doesn't seem close to them anymore and doesn't seem to regret them. Of course, Captain and First are not Saints and they have a very different mindset as Zouey. In this episode it was really shown how fragile their friendship is. I found that sad because it was one of the best points of this group. At least, Nont said to Zouey how he views him as a friend.

▪️Zouey and Teena got some NC scenes and I felt something was off with Zouey. To be honest, he seemed really weird and almost hiding something.

▪️Jason Lee is still upset about Porsche having a relationship with Jump and he wants to find them. Jason Lee is not a great villain. He is mostly comical and has a bad temper. He is always talking it out on someone, mostly Aob.

▪️I felt pity for Aob. He is still working with his ex sugar daddy, killing people for him but still trying to protect his loved ones. He is taking care of Puen after he gets expelled (Captain had his revenge and revealed to the headmaster of their school that Puen was a prostitute. Even though the real person he should have gone after we're the rugby team). It was also shown before how he cared about the ex-members of the Playboyy. It seems, he can't let go of his ties with Jason Lee.

▪️Nont showed again his unhinged side when he went after Aob. He is after the truth about his twin and it doesn't matter how he gets the answer. Captain and him made a plan to torture Puen in front of Aob to make him talk. Aob's friends went to save him, but it didn't work because some men in black came to the scene, threatening them with guns and forced them to perform sexual acts. It wasn't easy to watch it. I guess those men work for Jason Lee.

▪️Nont, Captain, First and Zouey (who came after) fled when they realized they were helpless and couldn't do anything to save Teena, Soong, Jump or Aob. I didn't expect them to flee. I know they are not fighters and they had no power, but damn, I wish they had tried to do something.

▪️On the other hand, Phop was waiting for Nuth (who had been called by Nont at one point when he was trying to get info from Aob) and scrolling on his computer where he found a video. It has to do with Nant but we never see it because it was the end of the episode. I found the acting brilliant in this scene because at first Phop was smiling and you could see on his face how he found Nuth sweet. He had a file on his computer with pictures of Phop. they were not all flattering but the fact he kept them is to show how attached he is to Phop. However, when he found the video all these good emotions left his face. It was like all these feelings were switched off and only wrath remains.

Next one promised to be sad and tough to watch again. I hope no one is dead because the trailer makes it seem like Puen is not in good form. Jason Lee is still trying to kill Jump and Nont will feel guilty because he believes he is bringing just bad things to his "friends". It's almost the end and the mystery remains about Nant. We still have two episodes and then it's going to be the end 🥹

#my thoughts #thai series #thai bl #bl drama #bl series #random thoughts #playboyy the series #episode 12 #playboyy spoilers #Will it be terrible if I say I never really like Zouey?#There are worst characters than him but I don't know why I could never connect with him.#I didn't talk about Prom and Nont scenes because nothing really happened. They kiss and share intimate time but that's it.#Nont is the most stylish among everyone in this series. I love his outfits.#This episode was better than the previous one.

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blaqueswanzaghouliishiilikeda · 1 year

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This may be my personal reading but I think Claudia very deliberately riled up Lestat in that chess scene so she could expose everything to Louis and get him to leave with her. I never saw Claudia for one second believing anything Lestat promised, but she likely went along with letting Lestat back in cause she knew that Louis needed to be shown without a doubt that Lestat was full of shit before he would actually agree to leave. Cause in that first chess scene its not like Lestat is saying anything provocative or aggressive towards anyone, for all we know, he's playing his part really well yet she pokes at him with very sensitive jabs (Nicki) to get him to expose himself, which he does and that helps to push Louis closer to leaving. She knows at this point Lestat isn't thinking about her much more than as a means to keep Louis so she turns that against him as now she becomes the means to get Louis away from Lestat.

I always wondered why in those 6 years did she not leave NOLA? We see that Louis is physically perfectly fine by year 3. She must've known with the non-stop gifts from Lestat it was only a matter of time before Louis was worn down.

im gonna push back on this hard. i want you to know that i’m not like mad or angry or shutting you down. im just VERY passionate about children especially black children.

before i get into it we do not see a louis who is perfectly fine ever. there is not a single episode when louis is in anyway stable. this is a assertion that does not take into account the beast of PTSD. that shit showed up with flashbacks in Dubai. He was not okay. and Claudia knew that.

also before i get to whats really driving me to push back. we are disagreeing in Lestat playing his part well. Louis is in love and bonded (the real actual definition of trauma bonded, not like how its been wildly misinterpreted) to lestat. He is not going along with this because Lestat is playing his part well. He is manipulating Louis. He is trying to manipulate Claudia. Lestat is the one who broke their relationship it does not matter that he’s not being provocative or aggressive in this scene. the last ten or so minutes ep 5 is enough of a reason for her to NEVER trust him again. What does it say that ANYONE should expect her to over look that alone and play nice because in this moment he’s not doing anything that is a take i cannot and will not agree with.

but ep 5 is not a stand alone. he been provocative and aggressive from the beginning.

but im gonna have to push back on something that has been bothering me. Claudia is not without emotion. and she is not without feeling. in fact locked up at fourteen she is MADE UP of emotion and feeling. she is NOT just a plotting monster. i thought i challenged this take enough in my rewatch but imma have to get into it more. maybe she doesnt feel the ramifications of her actions. maybe she isnt burdened by guilt bc of her age. maybe shes more ruthless bc of her age. why should i not attribute emotion to that. this is where i think ppl like to refuse the full breath of children’s humanity. kids seek nurture and care. they’ll do anything for it. they don’t have an full understanding of everything. but they are not these unfeeling cold monsters that just go about being destructive and not caring. a friend of mine told me onetime he took i think it was a jelly fish or something from the sea and put it in the bathwater bc he wanted to keep it. he didnt understand that would kill it. when it died he was so fucking anguished he cried for the rest of the day especially when his parents told him it happened bc he put it in the bath. that it belongs in the sea.

he didnt do that bc children are cruel monsters. he did that because he didnt understand the variety of life and the particular needs of that animal. but he is full of emotion. it was love that made him pick up that animal. it was love that made him want to keep it. it was love that crushed him when he found out what he had done.

now. i see to much that y’all wanna only allow the monster piece in claudia and it drives me up the wall. and her childhood is often used agaisnt her. shes more of a monster bc she didnt get to live a full life she let go of her humanity bc she didnt have all the years of humanity loustat did. except she had 14 years of humanity. in 14 years she lived a life. and i refuse to take that away from her. she is angry!! she is angry and sad and lonely and frustrated and isolated and alienated and reaching for connection and she is time and again denied her personhood. That is the humanity in her. she also fed the fuck up!!! and how she chooses to go about getting her ass out of there does not take away her humanity.

she is also curious. she also is loving and wants love in return. she is also nurturing and wants to be nurtured back. she is also gentle and wants gentleness back. ALL of this drives her ruthlessness for fighting back. her ruthlessness for killing. her ruthlessness for surviving. and her ruthless for doing what needs to be done to get out.

she also dragged louis out to algiers bc she loves him. bc it hurts her to see him. why do you think they included that little walk where they were talking about Emily Dickinson? they were happy. they weren’t perfectly fine. but they were happy. they were relaxed. they were at peace. they were each others. they werent constantly under the threat of abuse and mistreatment and fear. Louis traded that for his relationship with Lestat. I can understand why he did that and also stand with her on her anger about that. that fucking HHURTS! it hurts children when the abuser comes back home. it hurts them. she was hurt. so no i dont agree that she just did that to plot against them. hating and loving are often times not mutually exclusive. sometimes you hate because you love. and eventually with enough signs it wont get better hate can eclipse love. but thats where it was born. at least thats what i see was elevated in their relationship with the amcverse.

#mw asks #claudia is a full person #a whole person #she’s not only just doing things to further the plot to me #shes a ruthless vampire bc times were ruthless and the trauma that turned her was ruthless and the hell she endured wasruthless and the #one conducting her hell was ruthless #iwtv #this was in my drafts i thought i posted it.

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eliza1911o1 · 1 year

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The possibilities that have just opened up from Din being captured has me REELING

On one hand, and by unpopular chance as it should be, we might even Din rescued this season. We might have to wait for whatever machinations Favreau and Filoni are getting up to, maybe drawing out interactions with Boba and Fennec or them not being able to find or get to Din (similar to how Din rescuing Grogu in s2 took a few episodes). It’s unlikely, but the thought is unsettling enough that I have to give it credit

On a different level, the parallels this draws between him and Grogu is so emotional. We really haven’t gotten a lot of father-son interactions this season and it was a smart move to give us their chaos earlier in the episode because it made their separation all the more painful. These two characters have been taken from each other in an assortment of ways over the past two seasons and yet have come together no matter the forced pulling them apart. But the forces are stilling pulling apart and all I can say is they just deserve a break. Din was so upset and vengeful when Grogu was taken before (alsoby Moff Gideon, no less) and him having to watch the same of Din is heartbreaking. And interesting. Because Grogu has been given a lot of independence this season, even from episode where he gets Bo to save Din, so him finally saving his father with his own —excuse me, IG-12’s — hands is kinda beautiful. No, it does not mean the trauma is worth is, especially when they already showed us how tragic Grogu’s backstory was and how so many people have been killed and taken right in front of him, but Grogu being able to finally save someone feels like it could be a really empowering and poetic choice

There’s also the option of Din going absolute badass and busts his way out like one of our favorite episodes The Prisoner from s1. As much as I love clumsy Din, I personally feel there hasn’t been enough action from him, especially scenes where he shows his impressive combat and problem-solving skills. Din is smart, Din is talented, this isn’t just my mantra it’s been proven by the show and some of the coolest scenes have been him absolutely throwing down in his clever way in fights. I think the way he has to focus more on outwitting others to make up for lack of grace (as opposed to Bo, though she is also smart) is part of what makes his fight scenes intriguing, too. That’s why, for the mess it as, I still liked ep 6; it showed the way Din utilizes his knowledge (when he talks to the Ugnaughts) and himbo-ness (when he straight up just starts kicking droids). While I believe Grogu and maybe Boba/Fennec and Bo will end up saving himC Din busting his way out would be so fun to watch and I’d be willing to condone the narrative choice is they gave him a semi-logical way of escaping. They’ve really just had him falling and beaten down so much with this season with very rare moments of action spotlight (not supporting moves), so a chance to see the slick bounty hunter we saw s1 and s2 would be appreciated

And last is the most dreaded possibility, most soul-crushing choice the writers would make: Din’s helmet is forcibly removed. Even writing this, there are so many implications from this scenario that it’s going to have to be its own post. It’s cinema.

#mandalorian #the mandalorian season 3 #din djarin #grogu #mandalorian and grogu #din and grogu #mando and grogu #the mandolarian #mandalorian spoilers #the mandolorian s3 #mando s3 #Mando

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moki-dokie · 5 months

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I'm..... torn on that Shogun ending. it was VERY satisfying in a VERY unconventional way that i appreciate the more i sit on it. but i was left very unsatisfied with other elements of the story that i think they could have done just a hair better with.

one, i would have liked a little more indication of how much time had passed between events. i legit have no fucking idea how long anything took except the overarching story itself. there definitely wasn't enough time spent on some important bits nor enough time for the audience to really sit with and absorb some of the more powerful moments. i was left wanting so much more in that regard, and had a very hard time being emotionally invested in the things i should have been.

secondly, the romance was just eh. i think it was well done, especially in the context of this time period, but again the lack of time spent on people and in certain moments really hindered that. i need to read the book tbh i'm sure there's so many little things throughout it we simply didn't get to see. but there just weren't enough.... influential moments between them to sell there was more than a bit of lust and fondness. and then when the big moments did happen that were meant to sell it, i couldn't buy into it. idk how to explain it other than nearly the entirety of the show it felt very shallow and more like they had a crush on each other and then ep 9 comes in with a wrecking ball of some hella deep emotion and love out of nowhere. i can tell they meant to build them up for that particular moment to hit as hard as it was intended but it just completely missed the mark for me. but, again, i think that ties into the way time was handled and not so much the way the romance itself was.

I'd have liked just a TINY bit more action. Just a smidge. a crumb more. and not even necessarily in the sense of fighting. A scene of anjin being a clumsy but serious oaf trying to learn how to use his katana properly after that scene with yabu and buntaro for example, would have been great. hell, get mariko in on it to correct his form and turn up the heat between them a little more. sure, her weapon is a naginata but she's still know the basics he doesn't. and it bothered me immensely he was never shown to be WTF about her being a Very Skilled Fighter when, yknow, european women are not, at all. Or, idk, let this master pilot of ships actually have more chances to show off his skills they talk up for the duration of the show. idk, there just needed to be like two or three more small scenes of something else happening.

for all the ways lady ochiba was built up, she ended up being such a letdown and boring as hell. they could have cut about 80% of her screentime and still had the same outcome honestly. i saw that ending twist coming the minute she accepted the proposal but the whole damn time i was expecting her to have her own cunning agenda and games to play. but nope she's just. there. serving looks.

and then there's mariko. i haaaaaaaaaaaaaate the trope she ended up being in with such a burning passion. dear god do i hate a classic fridging. the only redeemable part of it is that it was, essentially, what she wanted. that said, i don't think it could have been pulled off any other way since she was based on her real life counterpart. buuuuut, then they go an skip her funeral entirely??? yeah now that pissed me off something bad. it's one thing to fridge the girl but then just brush past it like nothing was just an unacceptable way to have handled that. I'm also miffed to find out she was supposed to be much more toranaga's advisor than what she was in the show. why the choice to downgrade her to just a translator?? why do such a vitally important character who carried the story such a disservice? idk man, THAT alone almost ruined it for me. it was just poorly handled. period.

BUT, as a whole? beautiful and amazing and fun and very very intriguing. I think the rather anticlimactic ending is kind of gorgeous in a strange way. and the weeaboo nerd in me enjoyed the fucking hell out all the meticulous attention to accuracy. I'll probably rewatch it a few times just to watch things in the background and admire all the detail they put into everything lmao i think it's definitely worth the watch even with my disappointments. i really hope we get some cut scenes released too cause i'm sure there's a hell of a lot that didn't make it in the show.

#shogun #shogun spoilers

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austinswhitewolf · 1 year

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Blue Eyes Baby Pt. 8

Gabriel was running around, getting things set up to start filming for the day and making sure that everything would run smoothly. The first time she saw Austin after she had started for the day, they were filming some of the shots inside Graceland. The sets always took her breath away. When she did see him, she froze mid-step, luckily no one was behind her or they both would have ended up on the floor. There Austin was, in that pink lace button up shirt. And of course he was laid out on the piano bench. She quickly stepped to the side so that if he did look up, he wouldn’t be looking right at her. She didn’t want to cause a disruption in filming if he froze like on Thursday. So there she stood off to the side, behind a few cameras and boom operators just watching her soulmate work his magic. The emotion coming from him was staggering. The thought of anyone feeling like this was wrong. She didn’t realize they had called cut to reset the scene when she heard her name called, causing her to jump. Austin was sitting on the piano bench looking right at her, a smile on his face. He motioned for her to come over and her body listened without hesitation. When Gabriel reached him, her hands slid over his shoulders while his curled around her waist, his chin on her stomach as he looked up into her eyes. “Hello Dove.” He murmured, puckering his lips wanting a kiss. Gabe leaned down and kissed him happily. “It looks like it is going well. You were amazing just then, hun. I could feel the emotion where I was at.” Her words caused a proud smile to grow on his face. And a soft blush covered his ears. “Thanks love, sometimes it is really rough to keep going, knowing what I’m feeling can only be a small part of what EP was feeling.” His words were soft and slightly sad. “You are doing him right. You are giving the new generations out there the gift of knowing this amazing person that Elvis was. He would be so proud of you.” “You really think so?” His eyes watered slightly and he had to clear his throat softly. His arms holding her tighter.

“I know so. I should go so that you all can continue. I just had to stop and watch for a few moments. And from the small amount I just witnessed, this is going to do him right.” Austin didn’t want to let her go. Her words ment so much to him, he didn’t know he needed to hear them until she had said them. “Now, dry those eyes, and go give more life to this man's story my love.” She said, gently wiping the tear that was just starting to fall off his face, so his make-up wouldn’t need to be touched up. “We will have lunch when you guys are done with this block. Let me know what you want and I’ll have it delivered or have catering make it.” She leaned down and kissed him once more, though as she pulled back, Austin followed her face with his and stole one more kiss. “You have no idea how much I needed this.” He whispered before letting his arms slide from around her as she stepped back. His blue eyes watched her until she disappeared from sight and then took a deep breath. Within a minute they were all back to their marks and Baz called for Action.

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It was maybe two hours later that Austin texted Gabe.

~We should be done in about an hour. Could we have PB&J for lunch?

When she read it, her heart clenched. Her fingers were quick to type back.

~Of course Aus,. I’ll meet you at your trailer with them. <3

His response was immediate.

~Thanks Dove <3 <3

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About forty five minutes later, Gabriel was back at his trailer with wheat bread, grape jelly and smooth peanut butter. There were two bottles of water as well. As she was finishing up a second sandwich the door of the trailer opened and in stepped her tall, handsome soulmate. He made his way over to her right away and buried his face in her neck, hugging her tightly. Austin sighed before placing a kiss over one of the marks he had left over the weekend. Shivers ran down her spine and her stomach heated a bit. If they had time, she would have turned and kissed him with all the pride she had for him right then. But since they didn’t have that time, Gabe smiled, turned her head and kissed his forehead. “Did everything go well after I left?” Austin nodded and murmured a yes as he slowly lifted his head. When he saw that she was making the sandwiches, his smile grew. “Go sit down, I just need to make one for me then I’ll be over.” She motioned to the table with the knife she was spreading the grape jelly with. “Yes ma’am.” He gave her a small salute before moving to the table. A laugh slipped from her lips as she cut both of his down the middle and then quickly made her own before grabbing the bottles of water in one arm, and both hands taking a plate each. When she set the plates and bottles of water down, Austin pulled her to sit next to him.

“Missed you.” He murmured as he kissed her temple. “I missed you too. But we have the rest of the afternoon until the night shoot for Beale St. I’ll be there in the background for Club Handy.” A small almost squee sound left Austin as a huge smile filled his face.

“I am so happy you will be there.” He gave her a kiss before turning to the sandwiches and picked one up. As he took a bite, his eyes slid closed and he hummed. After a few chews his eyes opened up and there were tears building. “This is just like mom’s.” Gabe’s stomach clenched and bit her lip softly. She didn’t want to upset him, not what she had set out to do. Her arm slid over his shoulder, rubbing softly. Worry and uncertainty filled her eyes. He turned to look at her and quickly set the sandwich down, swallowing the mouthful he had.

“Hey, that is nothing bad. It brings back wonderful memories for me. You are the only one who has been able to make one just like her. Whatever you did, these are perfect.” With another smile from him, she took a breath and smiled gently. With that, they both ate their pb&j’s. When done and everything had been cleaned up, they moved to the bedroom in the back. Planning on napping for a while, the shooting tonight would be late.

Austin changed out of the outfit, so as not to wrinkle it for that night. Once under the blankets, Gabe laid her hand over his heart, head on his shoulder. His breathing was so soothing to her. It didn’t take long for both to fall asleep.

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Once Gabe’s hair and make-up were done, having to cover the marks Austin had left on her, she moved to wardrobe. They put her into a nice pale yellow dress that fell to her knees. Paired with her lightly curled hair with a hairband in, she looked the part perfectly. She got to the filming spot a bit early, when the other extras were supposed to show up. They were always needed earlier than the main cast so that they could be run through what they were supposed to do during the scene and how they were to react with Austin/Elvis. When they were let go so as to get into places, Austin and Kalvin, who played BB King, were off to the side talking while Alton was moving around, getting ready to sing Tutti-Frutti. Soon enough, Baz called for everyone to be in their places, Austin slipping into the purple Cadillac just out of sight.

The moment he pulled around the corner to park, people started to move. Crowding around him like they were supposed to, clamoring and calling out ‘Elvis!’ and holding out paper for autographs. As he waded through the crowd, his eyes were scanning before hearing Kalvin call down ‘EP!’ He looked up and waved to him, ‘BB’ shaking hands with people as he passed them. When he was just outside the entrance to Club Handy, he was signing a few more autographs before they bundled him into the club doors.

Cut was called and everything was reset for another take, different camera view this time. It went on like this for three more resets until they had all the camera angles they needed. “All right everyone! Take five! Then it is on to the interior scene. Thanks to those of you who helped with the street scene. Wardrobe will check your outfits back in and let you go for the night. Those who are going to be inside the club, be back in five.” Baz called out before people started to scatter, a handful sticking around just to catch a glimpse of Austin in the pink lace shirt he had on. Gabe was here for the interior scene, having waited off to the side until now. As she moved towards the entrance to where they would be filming the club scene, a woman’s voice caught her attention.

‘Oh my god Joy! He is so built, those abs are sexy as fuck. That ass though, I’d eat off that.” A giggle followed from the woman talking. Her friend looked slightly uncomfortable at what she was hearing. “Did you see he found his soulmate over the weekend Vic?” “Who cares! Not everyone sticks to just their soulmate. Maybe he’d give me a ride.” Her eyes were full of lust and a smirk on her face. “Besides who could keep a man like that satisfied by herself.” Gabe’s blood heated up to lava, her anger at this woman’s words were beyond anything she could ever have thought she would feel. She took one step towards this woman, her fingers curled almost like claws before she heard her name from behind her. That voice soothed some of the fire in her blood. She saw the two women quickly turn towards him when he spoke and the one’s grin grew. Spinning around, Gabriel started towards him, her movements almost as smooth as those of a tiger stalking its prey. She would show that bitch that he was completely taken care of and satisfied. Austin’s blue eyes dilated to almost complete black, something about the way she moved was sexy as fuck to him and he licked his lips. The moment Gabe reached him, she slid her hand up his shoulder to the back of his neck, fisting in the hair there and pulling him down into a passionate kiss. Within moments a lustful moan rumbled from Austin’s chest as his hands gripped her hips, turning and backing her into the wall. His lips parted from hers and he started to nip along her jaw to her neck where he bit, though making sure to not leave a mark. His hand cupped the back of her neck and tilted her head to give him better access to the smooth skin there. A moan slid from her lips, her eyes opening and connecting with the two women still standing there. The one who had spoken about her soulmate like that, her eyes were wide and mouth open wide in shock. The friend, though, was smiling.

“Serves you right Vic, you don’t talk about peoples soulmates like that.” She hissed before giving Gabe a small wave before guiding her friend towards the wardrobe trailer. Austin couldn’t fully think straight, his whole body was on fire and she was the only one who could put it out. “Aus, I know, I feel the same but you need to film shortly.” Her voice was breathy and uneven. She rested her hands on his shoulders to try and help ground him back in the here and now. He rested his forehead on her shoulder and groaned. His whole body was curled around her, and he would not be able to move for a few more minutes without giving people a slight show. “How can I, with what you just started.” His voice was pure gravel and whiskey, hips pressed against hers. It took a moment or two for his fingers to loosen and let go of her waist before moving to rest on the wall on either side of her head. He moved to rest his forehead on hers.

“I promise when we get done for the night, I’ll make it up to you. But Baz is gonna be looking for you shortly.” Gabe brushed her fingers over his cheek. Taking a few deep breaths, Austin nodded before pulling back a little bit. Slowly his eyes returned to their beautiful blue. A smile overtook her face, fingers moving up to brush the strands of hair over his forehead to the side a little bit. He was breathtaking, her stomach was in knots full of love and lust. “Well I need a minute or two. Can’t go in there like this.” He chuckled softly while motioning downwards. Gabe laughed softly and wrapped her arms back around his shoulders. The two of them stood there for a few more minutes before they could hear someone asking around for Austin. Sighing he pulled back from her, laced their fingers together before leading her into the club set.

#Austin Butler #Austin Butler Elvis #Austin Butler Imagine #Austin Butler Fic #Austin Butler FanFic #Austin Butler FanFiction #Austin Butler Story #Austin Butler Fandom #Austin Butler x OC #Austin Butler x OFC #Austin Butler Fiction #Soulmates #Love #Fluff

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alpona · 1 year

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Revice character analysis *Incomplete*

( this isn't even half of what I was supposed to write, it's a totally incomplete analysis, I started writing but never got the chance to finish properly. It's been sitting on my notes, but finally with some courage, and inspiration from @scoups4lyfe , I'm posting this.)

George Karizaki:

starting with my favourite, yes I'm biased. First, let's just celebrate the fact that I even HAVE a favorite this time? Because despite popular belief, I don't always give out 'fav' title in every season. Even when said seasons are very good and full of good characters.

... But looks like I don't have to write a thing. someone already did a breakdown, of the main question, of Juuga arc. Who? Oh no, not just any random fan.

The actor himself, Hamao Noritaka. He wrote it all! Explained everything!!

When you don't write breakdowns for years, and only come back to find out actors themselves took up the job. 🙄🤣

This actor is a fan himself, and truely so. Well, Nori-chan (yes, I'm using this name) Mainly explained why George went berserk in 47-48, I have something more to say. But He pointed out some things I didn't think of either. Makes sense, as my main clues are from actor's subtle expressions, of course the actor himself should know better!

So at first glance, George Karizaki is... Pure entertainment 🤣. Yep. End of discussion.

He's insufferable, a manchild, pain to work with, also incredibly lonely. In a chill mode most of the time, always having fun, but also uses this persona as coping mechanism.

Has no idea how to deal with serious emotions.

Wants to appear to be in Control, not showing weakness. Tries to act cool and unattached.

...........

Relationship with father:

Goerge clearly had a sweet relationship with his father in his childhood, loved and respected him, masumi was also such a nice and encouraging father. Crystal clear from flashbacks.

Also from the very 1st episode, before any flashback, we see how George looks up to Masumi, and still misses him. Yes, the scene of fenix ceremony. When George was talking about visstamp history, after saying "my father made those..." There was a little pause, then he said 'but he died' with very faint, bittersweet expression.

He also regularly attends Masumi's death memorial, as seen in ep 21/22?

So yah, he respects and misses his father, but came to accept and live with it for all these years. But then eeeverything crashes.

And isn't it funny how he figured this all out in the background ? Unlike main characters typically in such situations, he didn't get a grand revealation like 'whaaat! Daddy you're aliiive!!' he pieced together clues, investigated, and came to this conclusion by himself.

Without any emotional support to handle this grave situation.

Even before knowing the fact about inner demon transfer thingy, I saw a bit of 44 when George refuses to visit his father. Thought of another simple psychological state.

Denial. forced detachment.

He lost his father once, it was definitely sad enough then, plus at such young age. Definitely came to adjust and accept this loss over the years, as normal.

But to find out he's actually alive and then lose him soon AGAIN? For 2nd time? 'I'd rather not care, I'd rather not feel.' tried to deny, and not care, to not feel hurt again.

This idea wasn't exactly true, but still not totally invalid. SO many factors and emotions played roles in this case, ultimately resulting in the breakdown.

Ep 28. Scene- first time facing his father,

"Why didn't you tell me you're alive?" Then his father kept talking about defeating Giff, the world, etc.

But in that moment, with every step George kun took, he couldn't hear the 'world' or giff or whatever. His mind was filled with resentment,

'I'm facing you after ALL this time, and you keep talking about missions, you're not even explaining yourself, I have So many questions, and yet everything else comes first to you, before me? just answer my obvious simple question! How could you? How could you?!!Why? Whywhywhy...'

Masumi was dying, and made it his life's goal to redeem himself of the vail incident, spent his last moments engrossed in it too. Very logical and understable, but to George? It hurt.

'Why couldn't you focus on ME, our time more, and a bit less on the world' , as illogical as it sounds. Also resentment about all the mistakes Kari-chan papa did before, they're separated in the 1st place because of those, and had to spend the entire time fixing those.

He felt abandoned, and used.

Juuga arc:

why didn't it happen sooner and longer??! Lol.

Going berserk and totally unhinged (and suuuper cool! )

Was, in simple words, Goerge's strange way of dealing with grief. Dude has no idea how to deal with such emotions.

Despite everything, did you notice how incredibly lonely this guy is? How he barely deals with serious, real emotions?

Now, a big problem here is that I'm missing some info right here, the summer movie takes place right at this time, so might be missing some important piece of info. Also chic, his father's transferred demon , we barely know any info about that. chic is a villain in the movie, released from George. So gimme info!!

If George's behaviour was indeed influenced by chic, that would change some explanation.. but right now I'm describing things mostly without this effect.

I might have to update this part after the movie comes out.

(*later Update: Summer movie came out, and no, no explanation on this whatsoever. A surprising lack of, I'd say. Chic was one of the main villains there, but George didn't even have a proper talk! Chic is definitely interesting, everything demanded a proper face off or conversation at least, between these 2! Like come on!

And the movie doesn't even transition well from chimera special, I mean George's mood is nothing like in chimera. He's not supposed to be the usual peppy Kari-chan, he was already unhinged in chimera special!)

Someone from FB noted that transfer of Masumi's demon gave George 'imposter syndrome'. It happens in real life, when you doubt your own achievements as someone else's influence.

If all this time he had the part of his father, not sure how much chic influenced him, so everything he did, achieved, invented, was it his own doing, or was it just because of his father? Who am I? He thought he's been controlled, as clear from the lines "in the end I've been dancing in daddy's palm" and "he transferred his demon to control me".

Character development -

Why you became kinda nice later, George- kun? 😝

He slowly started caring for the igarashis, particularly, Daiji's wellbeing. The change seemed sudden at ep 26, when he was genuinely concerned about daiji vs kagerou situation.

But the reason is, from 25, after learning about the igarashi secret and his father's involvement in this whole thing, experimenting on Genta was the reason why the fam, the siblings are in this mess. So that... Kinda gave him a sense of responsibility and guilt? (From This guy, yes!) That's the point when he visibly became more caring. Probably.

......…..

(more observations, theory and questions coming up next!)

#kamen rider revice #George Karizaki #karizaki george #karizaki masumi #kr revice #revice rant #revice analysis

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