#would she have believed them without alec’s intervention?

[buffyspeak]

you’re not your own is like… really hard to watch! obviously! the thing is, it would be really easy to blame alec for this participating in ‘valentine’s’ execution when the inquistpr told him to either help or leave. and i will Never understand why he didn’t like… check in with magnus (aka valentine in magnus’s body) and try to figure it out after magnus in valentine’s body told him they’d switched. it would have been obvious, especially when he had already noticed magnus was acting strange!! so the writers really pushed an idiot ball narrative here just to keep the plot moving. but on the other hand: they live in this insane world and valentine is a master manipulator so it’s not hard to understand where alec’s coming from either, even though i wish they’d at least shown him trying harder to figure it out. (one conversation with jace and that was it??) and obviously this whole experience was horrifying for magnus. i straight-up have been whimpering every time he begs for the torture to stop and for them to believe him. it’s just wild because if alec HADN’T initially gone along with this execution plan, jace (being held captive by valentine) wouldn’t have been able to warn him and magnus probably would have actually died. so there are like… zero good answers by this point in the episode.

[dccomicsnews]

[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]

Writers: Len Wein, Tom King

Artists: Jason Fabok, Kelly Jones

  Summary

In “Talk of The Saints”, Swamp Thing struggles against a brutal, unending snow storm that cuts him off from the green to protect a young child from an unseen “snow monster” in pursuit. The unnamed child claims this snow monster happened upon his family and killed them before Swamp Thing intervened, but the muck-encrusted Avatar doesn’t remember any of that, let alone keeps track of the events of the previous day. Besides the cold, the creature once known as Dr. Alec Holland protects the boy from both a bear and an insane cannibalistic hunter, but no snow monster. Little by little, Swamp Thing starts to wither away, given the constant cold and disconnection from The Green. But what he discovers next will shake him, and the audience, to their cores.

In Len Wein’s plotted story – intended to be the first issue of a miniseries entitled Swamp Thing: The Dead Don’t Sleep – Solomon Grundy steals a baby from Gold Manor outside Gotham City. Marc Cable, in the hospital following his possession by Anton Arcane, informs a visiting Swamp Thing he is sticking around and contemplating a career in private investigation. Back in Gotham, Commissioner Gordon and the GCPD investigate the kidnapping at the manor. Batman consults with Gordon on the matter and swears to get to the bottom of this. Grundy, meanwhile, has taken refuge on a box car train and attacks hobos that happen upon him. The child, Cynthia, dissolves his finger as she grasps it; the appendage reforms upon her release of it. Back in the swamp, Swamp Thing gets into an altercation with fan boat sailors which is ended by the intervention of Batman.

Positives

Both stories in this annual work in terms of creativity and presentation. However, instead of in order, I would like to start with the final story; specifically, Len Wein’s final story. I remember a line of Marvel comic books back in the early 2000’s called the “Nuff Said” line. The concept was only visual storytelling in one month of their titles with no text. This left the reader to their own devices and imagination as to what the dialogue could be. This concept made it possible for this presentation of Len’s plotted first part. According to the editor’s note, Len had sadly passed away before he could provide dialogue, so collaborator Kelley Jones had only the plotted script to work from.

Given his role as regular Swamp Thing artist, Jones’ work doesn’t deviate from the main title in spite of it being a miniseries. The manner in which he conveys both the gargantuan brutes – Swampy and Grundy – shows Kelley to truly be Bernie Wrightston’s successor. With few surface details and distinctive line thickness, you can feel the weight of Swamp Thing’s mass and almost cringe when he snakes out of that potted plant and forms in Matt Cable’s hospital room. He keeps the surface detail to a minimum, but the linework on the neck veins and the basic head design taps into Bernie’s original concept.

Jones was a regular on Batman books back in the nineties, first as cover artist – he got the distinct honor of drawing the cover featuring that infamous back breaker from Bane during the Knightfall storyline – and interior artist later on. His style and composition evokes the right balance of noir and horror that made Swamp Thing the hit that it was at its outset and through the Alan Moore years. Without color, it would not lose its hold over the audience and yet become a brilliant demonstration in negative space. Any art student wishing to break into comics should take a look at these pages; this is the true test of any penciller specializing in sequential storytelling. The art has to tell the tales as much as the dialogue, and Jones does that beautifully. And he has not lost his touch on drawing Batman.

As to the main story, “Talk of the Saints,” Fabok and King craft a unique tale which feels very stand alone, also in the spirit of Alan Moore. There are no thought balloons, no real way to determine how long it’s been, save for the repetitive word “Later” in captions. Fabok’s design of Swamp Thing succeeds in incredible surface detail. The fact that he is also the cover artist and delivers a truly haunting image of Swamp Thing and the child draws you immediately in. You can almost feel every root or twig sticking out of him. King’s interesting demos of his abilities – tearing off his own hand to provide material for a fire, or growing edible berries from his forefinger – shows just how disconnected Swamp Thing is from his own humanity. There’s not one scream of pain or visible agony save for the starvation of his very environment.

Further, Tom shows how stoic the creature is to kill a bear and a trigger-happy hunter with the same speech. Not one sign of anger or outrage on the character, nor one exclamation mark or bold lettering in the dialogue balloons; it’s Tom’s desire to show nature at its most merciless by showing how emotionless and resolved Swamp Thing can be. Tom gave the Dark Knight a similar repetitive sentence directed towards his Venom-addicted nemesis in the “I Am Bane” plot in Batman. As to the snow monster that never comes, Tom builds your anticipation through the boy’s accounts of unforeseen, previous events, but then at the midway point you start to question the boy’s honesty as Swamp Thing simultaneously does.

Fabok’s decision to make the revelation a splash page reveal is powerful in its simplicity. Both figures are set against a snowy, barren wasteland with nothing deviating the reader’s eyes from the central focus on Swamp Thing, the boy, and Holland’s orange dialogue balloons. The shock value is not lost on the reader, nor is the final solution. The tears Jason draws in Swamp Thing’s eyes returns that notion of humanity to this withered plant man. For what is claimed as years, he’s tried to save the boy only to discover he’s been had, and must make a very difficult decision. Further, he feels that by sacrificing the boy he cuts away another part of him that was human. Anyone can identify with that inner conflict. That idea of us believing one person’s story, only for it to be revealed as a deception and the need to break away in spite of a part of us that wants to believe in that person. What makes this work is the boy is still crying and still insists Swamp Thing saves him; whether he knew what he truly was or was just as deceived as Alec Holland remains up to the reader. Brilliant writing and fantastic visuals overall.

Negatives

The only drawback to Kelley’s work on Len’s final story is all of the above details were only possible through the accompanying outline of the plot. You’re trying to make sense of what is happening or who Grundy is attacking without the benefit of captions or signs. There are times when your eyes are wandering to find some sense of direction and identification of some of the players. If you’re new to Swamp Thing, you only notice him first and not any of the other human characters, save for staples like Batman and Gordon. Also, James Gordon is depicted as a younger man in the comics these days, so the white mustache is out of place.

Speaking of displacement, if this is the Rebirth era, why does Jones draw Batman in his New 52 uniform? You can tell by the kneepads and the lines connected to the chest emblem in that final shot. Did Len intend on making it a tale told in the past? As to the longer story, there’s very little I can say that’s bad about it. It’s a true testament to the spirit of Swamp Thing and Len Wein’s legacy. The only complaints I have begin with the fact that we never find out exactly what that boy was, or why the radio broadcasts were relevant bookends to this story. Also, you can’t exactly tell how many years Swamp Thing was in that snowy wilderness, or how far the weather extended. It shares the same flaw as the second story in that it feels very time displaced.

Verdict

In spite of some notable flaws, both stories bring out the best in the character and honor the legacy left by one of comics’ most brilliant writers gone too soon. I sincerely would’ve loved to have read that miniseries. Thank you, Len, for Swamp Thing, for Wolverine, for your run on The Incredible Hulk, Fantastic Four, and every relevant title for both Marvel and for DC. You will not be forgotten and can never be replaced. Your legacy, and especially a certain muck-encrusted mockery of a man, is left in capable hands.

  Review: Swamp Thing Winter Special #1 Writers: Len Wein, Tom King Artists: Jason Fabok, Kelly Jones Summary In “Talk of The Saints”, Swamp Thing struggles against a brutal, unending snow storm that cuts him off from the green to protect a young child from an unseen “snow monster” in pursuit.

[malecsecretsanta]

Merry Christmas, @lightwoodbanemlm!

Happy holidays to you Lightwoodbanemlm! :) I decided to go with a fic because the prompts you gave me were all so great I had to utilize them all (somehow), and what better way than a fic to do that? The only problem is, I had too much fun with the writing and ended up way past the words limit, so your gift is the self-contained first-half of a bigger story! I'll post the whole thing in a few days if you wish to check it out!

I hope you enjoy reading this fic as much as I did writing it!

Read on AO3

*****

Snowball Effect    

Alec woke up slowly, lazily blinking the sleep out of his eyes. He furrowed his brow when a particularly strong ray of sunshine assaulted him. Not only was he waking up gradually and not in a startle like he often did, thanks to his phone going off at ungodly hours, the sun was already up which was an accomplishment all in itself. Alec, never the morning person, groaned and turned his face away from the window that chose to irk him this morning by displaying how sunny it already was. The brightness outside was made even worse, thanks to the snow that kept on falling the days prior and draped the city in a white coat.

Trying to shield himself from the light, Alec turned around and found the perfect hiding spot in the crook of Magnus' neck. The warlock was laying on his side, features soft in his sleep and an arm extended in his direction, welcoming him to draw closer and refill the empty space between them. Careful not to wake Magnus up, Alec slipped back in the place that was rightfully his. They usually fell asleep snuggling and never drifted too far apart during the night. As if on cue, Magnus' hand shoot up and rested lightly on Alec's head, securing him in place and making the Shadowhunter smile ever so slightly. Sighing contently as Warlock’s warmth surrounded him, Alec closed his eyes, only to open them a few minutes later, when he felt agile fingers caressing his hair, untangling knots and slowly massaging his scalp. A smile spread on his lips and he mumbled something in Magnus' neck. The skin under his lips vibrated slightly as a small chuckle escaped the Warlock whose hand let go of his hair to rest upon Alec's shoulder.

"Didn't quite catch all that, Darling."

Alec lifted his head to get a better look at Magnus. Vertical pupils swimming in a golden sea meet his own round ones and Alec blinked. He was getting accustomed to see Magnus' unglamoured eyes and yet there wasn't an instance where he wasn't amazed by the sheer beauty of them. To think that the Warlock felt the need to shield them away from anyone's view but a few people always made his heart ache. Instead of dwelling on the unpleasant feeling for too long, Alec drew back to reposition himself and laid a kiss on the corner of Magnus' lips.

"Did you wake up long ago?" He asked, voice small and raspy, "You should have woken me up."

"Nonsense Alexander, I'm always happy to serve as your pillow. Plus, how could I miss the opportunity to see you drool on such priceless fabrics?" Magnus smiled joyfully, unguarded and at ease "At least you weren't snoring this time."

With a smile to rival the Warlock's, Alec lightly taped Magnus' shoulder. "Don't lie to me. You love it."

"Only because it reminds me of a purring cat."

Alec laughed softly at that and Magnus was reminded of how much the Shadowhunter grew in the last couple of months they spent together, practically living under the same roof. No longer was Alec embarrassed at the mere mention of him doing something slightly inappropriate for the acting head of the New York Institute. Here, in the safety of Magnus' loft, he finally allowed his personality to shine. Magnus smiled fondly at his lover, his hand sliding from his shoulder to rest on his forearm.

"I'm serious Alexander, you're lucky I love them so much." Magnus added, not quite ready to let go of the easy banter. He snorted at the look Alec shoot him and finally gave in "You're so rarely on vacation. I'm not waking you up unless there's an absolute emergency."

"I still can't believe they gave me a whole week off."

"I'm sure they can cope a week on their own. As long as they keep a close eye on Biscuit and your Parabatai, I'm sure everything will be fine." Alec nodded, wholeheartedly agreeing with Magnus. Jace was prone to run right into trouble after all. Magnus waved his free hand, dispelling Alec's worries "Shadowhunter business is always slower in winter. Demons usually prefer terrorizing the city when it's not freezing cold outside. You deserve this Alexander and I'm sure the Inquisitor knows it as well."

That, and Magnus knew from reliable sources that Izzy, closely followed by Jace, got up close and personal with Imogen and demanded her brother to be allowed a break when Magnus texted her that Alec passed out from exhaustion on their couch for the third night in a row. The most fashionable of the Lightwood siblings insisted that no one was to tell Alec about her little confrontation with Imogen, fearing that Alec would feel bad about his siblings basically threatening the Inquisitor just so he could take a few days off. Magnus didn't feel this way and was certain that Alec would beneficiate from knowing just how much his siblings cared about him. It was only a matter of time, fortunately: knowing Jace, he would let it slip soon enough.

"Right..." Alec murmured, unconvinced, before focusing back on Magnus and letting go of his worries. "Well, since I'm not sure this isn't a onetime type of deal, we better make the best of this."

"And how exactly are we going to do that, hum?", Magnus asked, his thumb rubbing small circles on Alec's forearm.

Alec shook his head lightly, a fond smile painted on his lips and reach for the Warlock's hand, tugging slightly at his wrist to draw him in for a kiss. Alec had had months to get accustomed to the feeling of Magnus' lips on his own, yet he couldn't help but marvel at the feeling he experienced every time they kissed. The rightness of it all was overpowering and the Shadowhunter always felt like he could spend hours simply enjoying Magnus' company, hands trailing lightly on his skin in a touch so feather-like it never ceased to amaze him just how quickly fire spread in his whole being.

A knock came from the door, popping the cloud they were currently sitting on.

"Alec! Magnus! Are you guys up yet?"

Both men froze and glanced at each other. Frowning, Alec turned his head towards the door. Mixed emotions were playing on the Shadowhunter's flushed face, fondness winning by far over the slight annoyance that furrowed his brow. Magnus sighed loudly in mock exasperation.

"Doesn't your brother sleep in, like any normal child on vacations? I can't believe you Lightwoods sometimes."

"Max thinks sleep is a waste of time." Alec said slowly, gauging Magnus' reaction before quickly adding "Mom had some business to attend to, and dad is barely home. He would have been alone for the holidays and..."

"Alexander, I was joking. I offered to take him in for the week, didn't I?" Alec merely nodded at that, making the Warlock smile in return. He hated the fact that such a kind soul had grown to always put his needs last. Hell would freeze over before he let Alec think that his sibling was imposing on him. "You don't need to justify yourself. I'm quite fond of Maxwell, remember? Plus, I bet he'll get along brilliantly with Madzie. The girl needs a friend her age."

"Is she still coming today?" Alec asked hurriedly, all trace of doubt gone from his voice at the mention of the young Witch.

"Of course. Catarina said she will bring her for a visit early this afternoon."

Alec didn't have time to reply. Another knock, stronger than the first, interrupted the Shadowhunter.

"Come on, it's past nine already! I'm hungry!"

Magnus snickered when Alec groaned under his breath.

"We'll join you in a minute!" The older Lightwood shouted.

"Please do!" Max shouted right back without missing a beat "If I starve it'll be your fault!"

Light footsteps echoed in the living room, announcing Max' departure. Magnus was frowning, mentally debating if Alec would mind if he conjured a plate full of raw vegetables on the kitchen table right now, just to get back at Max for his comment. He finally decided against it, in fear of Max actually attempting to cook something and setting fire to the kitchen. As brilliant a Shadowhunter as he was, the youngest Lightwood was as bad a cook as his sister.

"What is it with your siblings and the need to interrupt us, anyway?"

Alec snorted at that and kissed Magnus' furrowed brow. "At least this one knows how to knock."

"Don't remind me." The Warlock groaned "One day I'm going to portal right in Jace's room, see how he likes it."

Once properly dressed, the couple emerged from their bedroom, only to be greeted by Max rounding a corner, certainly heading back to investigate what could possibly take them so long. The youngest smiled brightly at his brother when he ruffled his hair and quickly said hello to the Warlock standing beside him. Magnus didn't take it personally. Max hasn't hesitated before accepting his offer of staying with them but the boy was still a bit wary of him. He may be in a stable relationship with Max' older brother, but Warlocks weren't painted in a good light at the best of time and while he might turn a blind eye on the rumors surrounding his love life, he knew Max was a curious kid and must have heard his fair share of stories surrounding the High Warlock of Brooklyn. Magnus hoped this week would help Max get a better picture of who he was and just how much he cared about Alexander.

"What do you say we go out for a drink?" Magnus asked. "Nonsense in staying in now that we're all dressed up."

"Mom doesn't want me to drink alcohol." Max quipped in, throwing a questioning glance at his brother when he curtly said his name.

Magnus to his credit simply smiled, ignoring Alec's intervention in favor of tilting his head to the side. "And she is absolutely right about that, young Shadowhunter. I was thinking more in the lines of hot cocoa with a spoon of whipped crème, and maybe some pastries?"

"Oh... yeah. That would be awesome!" Max nodded, a small smile spreading on his lips.

"Then go get your coat, we're going to Switzerland!"

Max stared wide eyed at the Warlock. "What, really?"

"Well, where are we going to get the best cocoa, if not in Switzerland?" Magnus asked matter-of-fact "Go on, grab your coat, we'll wait for you here."

Magnus watched fondly as the boy rushed to his room. He started heading towards the entrance to grab his own coat but was stopped by Alec's hand on his shoulder. Turning around questioningly, he was met with sorrowful eyes. Of course Alexander was going to take his brother's remark at heart. After all, he knew how vulnerable Magnus felt when one addressed his penchant for drinking. The Warlock might like to joke about it; it was something else entirely when it was thrown in his face.

"Hey. Sorry about that."

"It's quite alright. I agreed to take him in for the vacations, didn't I?" Magnus said "Speaking of which, I really should start charging you Lightwoods with fees, my place is more of a guest house than an office at that point."

Alec shook his head, his hand leaving Magnus' shoulder to gently cup his chin, thumb brushing over his cheek. "Magnus. I'm serious."

"So am I." Magnus replied slowly. "Your brother has no filter, Darling, but he's only a kid. I hear far worse than that from adults on a daily basis, believe me."

"You shouldn't have to."

The Shadowhunter was staring at him with such intensity that Magnus momentarily forgot how to breathe. The devotion he could decipher in his eyes was even more painful than the quick jab Maryse's youngest son took at his bad habit. Alexander wore his heart on his sleeve around him, trusting and tender and oh so loving. Magnus couldn't help but smile at his lover's words. He knew the simple statement wasn't going to change the way Shadowhunters saw his kind, but he appreciated the heat and fervor behind the words nevertheless. Then Alexander managed to surprise him once more, kissing him softly before drawing back and locking his eyes on his.

"I love you. You know that, right?"

"I could use the reminder from time to time." Magnus joked before sobering up. "As could you. I love you too, Alexander. Never doubt that. Annoying siblings and all."

As if on cue, Max came barreling in the hall, a backpack under his arm.

"Speaking of the Devil." Alec sighed, looking over Magnus' shoulder at his little brother. "What have you got here, Max?"

"Sorry, sorry! I was looking for my wallet. Mom loves Swiss chocolate so I thought that, since we are going in Switzerland, I could buy her some." Max explained and looked eagerly at Magnus, waiting to see if the Warlock would grant him his request. He blinked when he saw that neither Alec nor Magnus were wearing their coat. "Wait, you two still aren't ready?"

Alec fought the urge to roll his eyes and picked his coat, followed by Magnus. The smaller man agreed to Max' plan and the boy thanked him profusely.

"I see the need to bring back gifts to loved ones also run in the family." Magnus mused, securing a scarf around his neck. Alec merely grinned at that.

Once everyone was ready to leave, Magnus created a portal in front of them. Max clutching his brother's hand, and Alexander's hand in his own, they stepped through it for a well-deserved breakfast.

They got back home a few hours later, Max clutching a large bag of Läderach chocolate in his hands and Alec's wallet lighter by quite a few dollars, the older Lightwood insisting on paying for Max' gift. What was originally supposed to be a small breakfast turned into more of an unhealthy brunch when they stopped by the famous chocolatier to pick something for Maryse and Max concluded he should at least sample what he was planning to offer. Alec didn't find it in him to hold his brother and Magnus back, enjoying the way Max would listen intently to Magnus as he patiently translated each label to help Max pick the chocolates he wanted to try and the ones he'd rather avoid. Without Alec's supervision, they ended up eating way too much chocolate for a single day and skipping lunch altogether.

Once their coats were hanged, Max vanished in the kitchen to put his box of chocolates in the fridge, stating that it would be a shame if something so delicious melted. Alec and Magnus went straight to the living room and plopped on the couch, waiting for Max to come back. As soon as their heads hit the backrest, a crackling sound startled them upright. The tension in Magnus' body melted away once he recognized the familiar magic of Catarina and a wide smile broke on his face when a little girl emerged from the freshly made portal. Madzie waved a hand behind her, the magic dissipating, and she ran straight in Magnus' open arms.

"Magnus!" Madzie smiled from ear to ear as she wrapped her tiny arms as well as she could around the Warlock. Magnus smiled back at her, happy to see that her smiles were slowly becoming less rare and more pronounced. He returned the hug so willingly offered and nudged the small girl, prompting her to look up and spot the second occupant of the room. She didn't quite let go of Magnus but she smiled shyly at the Shadowhunter that was looking at her fondly.

"Alec! You're here too!" She looked surprised to see him but not unpleasantly so. Alec was usually working late, so she would only get to see him in passing when she visited Magnus.

"Hi Madzie. How are you?"

The girl pondered the question a moment, tugging at one of her braids. She didn't get the chance to answer however, as Max joined them in the living room, drawing everybody's attention to him. The young Shadowhunter stared blankly at Madzie and the Witch stared right back at him. Max blinked, finally catching up with what was happening, recalling his brother telling him about the visit of one of Magnus' friend and the little girl she was taking care of. He slowly walked up to the group, stopping by Alec's side. The Shadowhunter took it upon himself to introduce the newcomer.

"Mazie, this is Maxwell, my little brother."

Said little brother groaned at that. "Not you too! Call me Max! Only Magnus calls me Maxwell. Or mom, when she's angry."

"Max." Madzie repeated, blinking at Max' runes "You're a Shadowhunter."

"And you're a Witch." Max stated the simple fact with ease, pointing to Madzie's neck. "Cool gills."

Madzie offered Max a crooked smile, her eyes darting from one Lightwood boy to the other. Alec smiled sheepishly, remembering his first encounter with the young Witch.

"So, can you breathe underwater?" Max asked without missing a beat, beaming when Madzie nodded her head "That's so awesome! You know Magnus can't even use his Warlock mark to see in the dark?"

"No...?" Madzie responded, clearly taken aback by Max' eagerness to speak to her.

Magnus and Alec stepped back watching intently as each kid got to know the other.

"Is your brother determined to chew me out today?" Magnus asked Alec under his breathe when Max told Madzie she already was way cooler than Magnus.

The older Lightwood smiled apologetically and brushed his hand to the small of Magnus' back as a way of comforting the smaller man. The Warlock leaned in the touch ever so slightly and hummed quietly, watching the children exchanging quiet words. Max was in dire need of a friend his age and Madzie needed a friend, period. Both were outcast in their own way and would benefit greatly from spending time around another kid. Magnus’ small smile turned wicked when he heard Madzie agree that her Witch's mark was indeed more useful than his, and he clapped his hands, startling both the kids and his lover.

"Okay, that's it. I've had it with you diminishing me today." He said, voice booming and all his attention focused on the kids "I'll have you know that, as the High Warlock of Brooklyn, I can't let such impudence go unpunished."

"Magnus, what..." Alec murmured, confused.

The Warlock waved his hand, conjuring a layer of warm clothes on everyone including himself. Alec's question was cut short as he ended up staring blankly at his now gloved hands.

"That's why I've decided to challenge you both to a snowball fight."

"A snowball fight?" The kids parroted back, looking dumbfounded.

"Yes." Magnus said seriously. " We'll fight on equal ground, no rune and no magic allowed. And since you're both so much cooler than me, I'll be teaming up with Alexander to at least have a small chance of winning. Isn't that right, Darling?"

Alec shook his head fondly at Magnus' antics and nodded his agreement. Max, always one to rise to a challenge, was quick to accept those terms. Madzie looked more reserved, but Max' enthusiasm managed to coax a curt nod out of her.

"It is decided then. Let’s see which team truly is the best."

For the second time today, Magnus created a portal before inviting his guests to follow him into the white wilderness on the other side.

Alec snickered, mouth crooked, as another one of Max' snowball hit Magnus square in the back. The Warlock looked affronted for a second before trailing his gaze on his supposed partner and eying him in disbelieve. It was the second hit in less than five minutes and this was just getting ridiculous. Magnus knew his rich red coat wasn't helping him one bit in staying low, but his boyfriend had assured him there was no way the kids could get to them from that angle. It took all his self-control not to blindly throw the snowball he kept clutched in his hand behind him on the off chance he might catch one of the kids by luck.

"Weren't you supposed to have my back?" Magnus asked, raising his eyebrows.

"I really didn't see him this time." Alec assured, his mirthful eyes betraying the truth.

"Really?" Magnus replied, spotting movement in Alec's back but making no effort to warn the Shadowhunter. "You'd think an archer had a better vision than that."

Distracted as he was, trying really hard not to laugh at Magnus' grumpy remark, Alec didn't sense Madzie tip-toeing her way behind him. The young girl, aiming for his head, managed to hit him in the shoulder, startling the Shadowhunter. Alec turned around quickly enough to see a dash of blue disappearing behind a line of trees and blinked as he realized Madzie was the one to get him. He ducked his head before turning to face Magnus so that the kids wouldn’t see his expression. He grinned at the Warlock, brushing away the remanence of snow on his shoulder. The girl hadn't looked as thrilled as Max when the game had started and only seemed to target Magnus for a good portion of it. It was heartwarming to see that she was getting more daring as time progressed.

"Let's go all out, catch them off guard." Magnus proposed, gesturing to the little flag sitting atop their ridiculous fort. "If we get theirs first, we can still save faces."

They had spent the better part of two hours defending their truly awful construct, a ridiculously small pile of snow that looked more like a melted snowman than an actual fort. The worst part, without a doubt, was that they truly gave it their best, but the small time frame they agreed upon at the beginning of the game wasn't nearly enough to build something big enough for the two of them.

Contrary to the adults hell-bent on stocking up snowballs to make up for their disastrous fort, the kids used their time more wisely, altering between throwing as many snowballs a minute as possible in their general direction and hoping for the best, and consolidating their fort, resulting in a pretty solid hiding spot for them before stepping up their game and actually starting to target them properly, leaving their fortress one at a time to land a hit on either Magnus or Alec.

Motivated by Max' competitiveness and Magnus' will to somehow bring these people together, what had started as an awkward and stilled game had quickly evolved into something more interesting. Magnus and Alec soon discovered that they didn't need to hold back as much as they initially thought and that, without the convenient help of magic and runes, it was more of a fair fight that they anticipated. Both men were big enough targets as it was, but Madzie was pretty light on her feet even in the snow and Max had always been quite fast and a decent shot. It's not to say that it would be an even match if Alec decided to utilize his years of training, but both adults had their fair share of proud moment when the kids managed to truly get them off-guard or do something imaginative and surprise them. Alec still couldn't believe that Max managed to get him square in the face.

What was supposed to last an hour top blew to unconsidered proportions and, had it not been for the spell Magnus casted, keeping them warm, they would be chilled to the bone as of now.

Squeezing Magnus’ gloved hand in his briefly, Alec smiled brightly. His gratitude went unsaid, but Magnus quickly caught on, winking playfully. He really couldn’t have imagined a better way to spend his day off than here, simply enjoying the company of the most precious people in his life.

[sapphicalexaandra]

Oceans Between You and Me

Pairing: Jace/Alec

Rating: T

Summary: Post S2 Finale. Jace's death has brought unclear consequences, and the parabatai bond might be affected...

Notes: Let's just say canon is hurting me right now and i had to put down what/why exactly through angsty angst. This can be read as either romantic or platonic...just PARABATAI, basically.

We hide our emotions 

under    the    surface

and  tryin' to pretend

And just as it had started, the pain stopped, abruptly, definitively.

Jace blinked, once, twice, finding himself kneeling on the ground, barely able to recollect the previous moments when he had collapsed onto it, clutched into the arms of a consuming, white-hot agony.

As he fought the constriction in his throat that made breathing freely impossible, his heart pumped wildly into his chest, threatening to burst out. His thoughts were a jumble of pure, unadulterated panic.

He knew it, he had known it, it was only right…you don’t bring people back from the dead without consequences. You just don’t.

Was he about to die again? Was this only a small grace granted by the Angel to have him make his peace and say goodbye to the people he loved? Or would he live, after all...forever slave to the anguish of his body, longing to be returned to the land of the dead?

Neither option was appealing. Either way, he was doomed; he had been doomed since the moment Valentine had plunged a knife into his heart. His life as he knew it was over, no matter how much he wished it wasn't. Valentine was dead and the war was won…yet, he didn't seem destined to ever truly enjoy it.

A bitter anger took ahold of Jace. He was furious with everything in the world that had made his life so…unfair, even if that made him whiny and pathetic. That feeling was too much of a strangling plant coiling around his heart, stabbing its thorns into it, for him to simply ignore it. His eyes were burning...but he couldn’t let the tears escape. He wouldn’t let it get to that. He got up instead, taking in his surroundings as if he were seeing them for the first time.

It was a blessing he had done that, because a moment later Clary got out of the Hunter’s Moon and came up to him, a smile in place. Before she could notice anything was wrong with him, Jace rubbed at his face and turned around, smiling back at her.

“There you are! I couldn’t find you anymore,” Clary called out to him.

Jace cleared his throat. “Yeah, I was just…I needed a breath of fresh air. So many people in there.” He hoped he only sounded tired, like he would have any right to be.

Clary regarded him. “Everything okay?”

Jace looked at her face, so unguarded, open, loving, the face of the one who had saved him…and he took her hand. “Yeah, everything’s alright.”

Clary’s smile only brightened.

They got back to the Institute together, hand in hand, and Jace was almost able to forget. When they reached the door to her room, it was only right that he followed her inside.

“Are you sure?” Jace had to ask her.

“Never been surer,” Clary said, firm, intense.

And he kissed her.

If those were really his last moments, they weren’t bad ones to have; love was still a strange concept to him, but he thought they managed just fine.

Later, he laid in bed with Clary hugging his chest, while he stared at the ceiling of her bedroom unable to fall asleep.

How long do I have?

Shadowhunters were raised to expect death at any moment, and to embrace it. He more than anyone had been willing to lay down his life for their cause. But like this? A betrayal, a defeat, a divine intervention by someone else’s request? It wasn’t honorable, it didn’t have a purpose or benefitted anyone. It just sucked. That’s why that question couldn’t help but be his only – persistent, gripping – thought.

Until it came again.

He opened his mouth, gasping for breath, as that same rush of something inexplicable started forming at the center of his being. He got out of bed without waking Clary only by miracle, he put on some clothes as his limbs were all about to spasm, and he could only manage to reach the bathroom before collapsing on the floor for a second time that night.

He couldn’t explain, not even to himself, what it was that gripped his body like that. It was a pain he had never experienced, that alien, hissing something that burned under his skin overwhelming his consciousness, until he ended up looking from the outside at the contorted figure on the ground that was supposed to be himself, but that didn’t feel like it.

The cold bathroom tiles beneath him were the only other thing that he could feel, as he twisted on the floor in a silent scream for he couldn’t tell how long. Clary never woke, never found him like that; he hoped she never would.

Because, if he called her and had her comfort him out of his panicked state, she would realize that what she had done to help him hurt him like this, and she’d most likely blame herself, her well-deserved happiness getting tainted as a result. She loved him, and he loved her, they had just made love for the first time...so, even if she was the only one who knew about his death, thus the only one he could confide in - if he didn’t spare her that kind of pain just to wail about his poor, unfair struggles, what kind of selfish person would he be? He couldn’t do that to her.

Besides, deep down, he knew who he really wanted – needed.

Why hadn’t he told Alec that he had died? His parabatai had felt his soul die, he had seen the rune disappear…so why had he denied, twisting Alec’s perception of the happenings of their bond?

It was just that...when Alec had arrived at the lake and Jace had looked at his shocked, confused, stricken face, he hadn’t been able to bear bringing up his death to him. If he knew the truth, Alec would waste the rest of their celebrations worrying about him, watching over him, researching other similar cases that would help his...no, he couldn’t have done that to him, either. Plus, in all honesty, in that moment Jace had wanted to forget himself that he had died and pretend nothing had happened or changed and that everything was just as it had always been. He had hugged his parabatai then, burying himself into him, reveling in the comfort that his unwavering, immutable love always provided, all the while hoping beyond hope that their connection had truly come out of it all unbroken, unfazed. Unlike me. If he lost the solidness and certainty that was Alec…he would be lost.

But that was also the reason why, right then, there was no other person that he wanted near him, as his future became more and more unsteady in the form of an incomprehensible phenomenon. Alec would say Everything will be alright, we’ll figure this out as he looked him firmly in the eyes, and Jace would believe him. Alec would hold him, and Jace would breath more easily.

When the pain subsided again, Jace spent the following moments trying to slow down his breathing, collecting himself as best as he could. Then, he retrieved his phone from the pocket of his pants.

He clicked on the contact Alec. He stared at it. He stared at it some more.

He hadn’t seen Alec at the party anymore, at some point. He hadn’t seen Magnus either. They had probably gone home together. 

And, suddenly, Jace realized that he couldn’t tell what Alec was feeling. He could sense his presence, pulsing and throbbing at the other end of their bond…but he couldn’t tell anything beyond his own apprehension. It was probably taking up all the space in their connection, and Alec’s time with his probably-boyfriend-again was getting spoiled. What would he say, if he interrupted them? Please, Alec, stop what you’re doing and come here and hug me, cause I lied and actually died, and I might be dying again, and I need you now more than ever?

Alec would rush there in a second if he said that…and Jace couldn’t have that, no matter his own need for him. The word Alec on the screen seemed to be staring disapprovingly at him.

Ignoring the knot in his stomach, Jace turned off the phone with a swipe of his thumb, and went back into Clary's room, laying down on the bed. He let her circle her arms around him again, and resumed his staring at the ceiling.

It         feels        like

there's           oceans

between you and me

Alec had dozed off, but he suddenly woke up to a sense of nausea pooling up in his stomach, the latter twisted in a way that he couldn’t explain on the beer he had drank earlier. It felt more like a state of anxiousness, as if something bad was happening…or about to happen. Despite the comfort of the bed, Alec had to remove Magnus’s arm from around him and get up.

His eyes still stuffy, he put on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, picked up his phone, and entered the living room to get to the balcony.

Once out, the chilly air helped him clear his head just enough that so he'd be able to examine the sensation better.

Dread. Every breath he inhaled, every breath he exhaled, he felt a dread that brought him to close his eyes...but that was a mistake, because the ghost of the blinding agony he had endured that day rushed back into him.

It’s – Jace, he had said, the word strangled out of him, since in that moment the name had been the last thing he would’ve wanted to associate with that kind of pain. Yet, it hadn’t been Jace…somehow.  

He didn’t know what exactly had happened at the lake, since Clary and Jace hadn’t said much about it, but Alec had sworn to himself that he’d gauge something more from them, once everything had truly settled. For now, however, they had all chosen to take a break…so he had resigned himself to only have Clary’s, I killed Valentine, nothing else weird happened, as an explanation. The party had been nice, after all; a hard-earned celebration that had everyone drink around and be merry with each other. And everything had turned out for the best, apparently, with Valentine dead and everyone safe.

That was why he had felt it was time that he put an end to his strain with Magnus; Alec had never wanted to hurt him, and he was glad he had taken him back, despite the mess he had made. Balancing command of an Institute and a boyfriend was harder than he had thought, and he would have to be more thoughtful in the future...because, no matter the good intentions he'd had to save the Downworld, he knew he had probably deserved the cold shoulder from Magnus. Sometimes good intentions are simply not enough, if they're not met with the right actions...he understood that now. After all this, at least, he hoped he and Magnus had learned a lesson and they'd come out of it stronger, able to face other eventual conflicts without imploding.

For now, though, spending the night together had been enough.

Still, it’d take more than parties and kisses to truly take in the fact that the war was over, and that they could, in theory, relax. It didn't help that every time he thought of the blank, suspended moments in time that he had lived thinking Jace had died, the need to collapse on the ground and never get up again came back to him all over again. Those moments had truly felt like walking the Earth untethered...and his insides were already quavering uncomfortably at the reminder.

Alec hadn't been able to believe his luck – he still quite couldn’t – when it had turned out his parabatai was alive. The solidness, the warmth of Jace when he had hugged him had felt as real as the bow he gripped in his hand until his knuckles became white, so he couldn’t have imagined any of it. Jace was alive, and he hadn’t disappeared even after they had - eventually, reluctantly - broken apart. Yet, something weird had happened, he couldn’t skirt around the issue. The pain he had felt, the parabatai rune disappearing…it couldn’t be nothing, even if Jace claimed he didn’t know what could’ve caused it. They would have to investigate it, whether Jace wanted to or not; their bond might depend on it.

And Jace must sense that something was wrong, that something had gone down beyond their comprehension, because that constricting sensation in his stomach could only come from him. It came from Alec as well, without a doubt, but he was pretty sure that that nauseating feeling in particular wasn’t his. And the fact that he was only pretty sure about it…didn’t help quench his fear about the strangeness surrounding the parabatai bond.

Suddenly, an irrational thought filling his entire being, bile rose in his throat, and Alec had to raise his shirt…but the rune was still there, sharp and bright as ever before. Alec’s heart was in his throat nonetheless. Even when he placed a tentative finger on it, and he sighed at its warmth, the dread from his own side only doubled ten-fold.    

Because the truth of the matter was...he hadn’t felt it return, he was certain about that. Jace was indeed there at the other end of their connection, he could tell that now, but he felt afar, faint, as when he had literally been in another dimension. The rune was clear and the same as it always was, but his parabatai…wasn’t.

Alec had to make sure everything was alright: if only he could hear Jace's unmistakable voice and turn out to be wrong about his fears...

Taking his phone from the pocket of his sweats, he went to Jace’s contact. Alec stared at the name on the screen, his thumb hovering over it, as another thought suddenly occurred to him.  

Jace’s smile and demeanor at the party had looked fake and forced, Alec had noticed it with painful clarity…but Clary had been at his side through all of it. They had rekindled their connection, Alec knew that, he had seen it, and he could also tell how much Jace cared about her. He could be happy with her, she would ease his fears and discomfort better than Alec ever could. The two were probably together in that very moment.

What would a nosy and stressfully worried parabatai do for Jace right then? Hey, I just wanted to check in if you were doing alright. At 4 a.m. Interrupting you and your girlfriend…

Right.

Alec blinked once, twice, the light of the screen burning his eyes…then he swallowed down his idiocy, and turned off the phone. He went back inside.

“Everything alright?” Magnus asked him groggily, as he laid down in bed facing away from his boyfriend.

Magnus went to place an arm around him again, and Alec nodded. “Yeah, I just went to the bathroom.”

He didn’t really sleep.

I                want                you  And   nothing  comes  close  To  the way that I need you  I  wish  I  can  feel your skin  And         I          want       you  From      somewhere   within

[the-burning-tiger]

Thoughts on 2 x 12

So here we go…thought I’d add in my feelings after watching the episode again … You know what I actually really really liked this episode but I think the reason why is to do with my perception of it. 

For me the power of this episode is that it sets up so much potential for the story to grow. Would I have liked to have seen more of Magnus and Alec in the aftermath, honestly yes but I am total Malec trash so that’s a given. Ok so for me I saw this as a set up episode …setting the course for the rest of the season. Let me explain. (I warn you..long post ahead )

I realise this may be an unpopular opinion but I actually liked the Climon sections. Now don’t get me wrong I’m no fan of this particular ship and totally ship both of them with others but I do appreciate that Clary is with Simon not just because she can’t have Jace. I liked Simon and Izzy working together and bonding as it felt like a lead into Climon falling apart because they BOTH (simon and Clary) realise that whilst they love each other it is more platonic as their feelings emerge for others. 

 Did I like what Simon did to Raphael? oh hell no but I did note his comment about how he now felt for the guy. I truly hope that they follow through on that insight and that helps Simon to understand a little more about why Raphael does what he does.

 I think the Sizzy scenes were also important as it led Izzy further down her path of recovery. I was definitely not a fan of the yin fen arc but I often find that in TV shows addicts are portrayed as overcoming their addiction on their own with sheer force of will or if you’re lucky with the help of a couple of people. For once it’s nice to see a show talking about group therapy and the need for help to overcome addiction and Simon’s interactions with Izzy have opened up that possibility which, for me is so so important. I do hope she realises that her approach to downworlder problems is completely wrong

 Ok so now for my main focus which is always Malec…. 

Watching what happened to Magnus was brutally painful and certainly didn’t make for easy watching. It does however open Magnus up to deal with his past in a way that he himself admitted in the show he never has before. For centuries he’s tried to forget those things and now he has to finally deal with them and hopefully come to terms with them. Surely this can only be a good thing. 

 Did I want Alec to work out what was going on..of course but realistically with what he’d seen it made sense that he had his doubts. Valentine had played similar games with Jace (pretending to be Clary) and Alec has had limited interactions with him in the past so it made sense that he would listen to Jace who had up close and personal experience of Valentines games. Yes he noticed that Magnus was acting weird but given the situation he would chalk it down to him trying to keep Alec away from Azazel. You could clearly see that he was struggling when Imogen tried to kill Valentine/Magnus and even without Jace's intervention I genuinely do believe he would’ve stopped her. 

 Do I wish that we’d seen more of the aftermath? Honestly yes and no..I’ve said elsewhere that I think this is too important to talk out in one episode. It makes sense that Magnus has closed off for a while to process, I know for sure in his position I wouldn’t be ready to talk things through for some time. Beyond the obvious though I think two things come out of this that I’m hopeful about. 

 Firstly Magnus having to confront his past will, I hope, lead to him talking things through with Alec in a way he’s probably never done with any previous lovers (with the possible exception of Camille) and that can only make them stronger, and more importantly help heal Magnus for possibly the first time ever. 

 Alec, meanwhile, has just had an up close and personal experience of what the Clave really does to people. I know he’s seen their harsh ways before, but like it or not, it does have more resonance when it happens to someone you love. I hope that this leads him to a better understanding of what it’s like to be a downworlder and what the Clave is really like. Secondly I hope that it teaches Alec that he really needs to trust his instincts more and not be so keen to just trust in the Clave.

 Other than that Jace finding out he’s a Herondale was done very well and Sebastian working his way into the institute. On a side note Sebastian asking out Clary..yep ick..but I’m choosing to believe he knew she had a boyfriend (let’s face it he seemed to know pretty much everything else) and was expecting her to say no but was just using at as a way to ingratiate himself. 

 So to sum up…for me it was a great introduction into future story arcs and, as long as they follow through on their promise, I’m excited. 

 In fact the only thing I really didn’t like was the distinct lack of Luke throughout…he’s so under utilised and I really really want to see more of him.

 Phew…so I think that’s it..I needed to vent and also I may have had too much wine…congrats if you made it this far through my rambling and I do get why some people are complaining. I guess I’m just trying to be more positive in general.

[bookshelfbaby]

LORD OF SHADOWS by Cassandra Clare

I remember starting on Lady Midnight, Book 1 of The Dark Artifices, with a lot of hesitation, because back then I was already getting Shadowhunter fatigue. I came in with very little expectations.

Well, let me tell you, I just finished the second book, Lord of Shadows, and I am shaking with anger, devastation, grief.. I think this series may well top the emotional scars that The Infernal Devices left me (believe me, those were numerous and deep).

Spoilers after the cuts. Also, I may have gotten too carried away, sorry for the essay.

My fave character in this book is definitely KIT. Such growth! I wasn’t sure what to make of “Woohoo, another Herondale!” in the story, and the clueless-newbie-in-the-Shadow-World trope gets tiring (after Clary and Tessa) but wow, I love this kid. I love that at last, we finally get someone educated by mundanes who can SLAP these archaic Shadowhunters out of their stupidity and all the things they can actually learn from mundanes.. He knew immediately that Ty is on the spectrum and I appreciated it that he knew how to deal with him and he understood how he feels. It’s beautiful. Also mundane history?!? SLAP THEM, KIT! It’s bittersweet now but I loved his dynamics with Ty and Livvy. I know we all shipped #KitTy after LM ended but I love how their relationship developed here.. It was deep, touching and sad. I laughed at all the Sherlock Holmes references.

I’m happy that Livvy, Kit, and Ty got a bigger slice of the action this time. I hope we get more of Dru in Book 3, her POV was so heartbreaking. I also loved the new team we have with Cristina, Kieran and Mark. I echo Emma in approving of this weird friendship. 

While I liked Kit in this book, my fave character in this series so far will probably be Julian. If I wasn’t already waxing lyrical about my admiration for him after LM.. well, let me control myself. It’s not that he’s perfect, he’s just so well-written. Julian is very different from the many Shadowhunters we’ve met through the centuries. I looked forward to his POVs, because they were very poetic and emotional, but THEY ALSO TORE MY HEART APART. His love for family and Emma, and how willing he is to let the world burn as long as they are safe. His selflessness, how his brain works and how much of a masterclass tactician he is. It’s great that the book tore his plans apart, though, or else he’d be too scary. After what happened here, I am so looking forward to how changed he will be and what his next actions would be. Knowing Julian, I’ll probably end up shattered into many tiny pieces, but it’s ok.

While I was eager to know what would happen to Emma and Julian’s forbidden love, I’m glad it wasn’t that central to the story. I cried over their few happy moments. It was so sweet and sad at the same time, I could feel how much they loved each other. Sometimes I even pity them. I really have no clue what will happen-- I have a feeling the curse may take over..

(Was that the reason why Emma was able to kill the Rider and break the Mortal Sword?! I have a feeling it’s not just because of Cortana.)

That Nephilim meeting in Idris broke me. It just broke me on a different level. I had that familiar feeling of everything going well, with actually-reasonable solutions to everyone's problems, and everyone praising Julian for his cunning, and I JUST KNEW something very terrible will happen. I knew it.

I definitely did not see Robert Lightwood, and freaking Livvy, to be fatalities in this book. I should've known, I should've, but I didn't. It broke me. I thought Magnus would die, but no, freaking Robert?!? With his painting of Alec in his office and we all knew the massive ups and downs their relationship has had through the years, and now he finally found acceptance and his life is going well and he even has grandchildren, and I am just so, so sad.

And wtf, Livvy! LIVVY! I was so so certain all the Blackthorn children would escape this book unscathed. I was keeping my fears for Book 3. BUT NO. Oh God. I feel so horrible like I'm part of the family. WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO TY?! AND KIT DOESN'T KNOW!! And of course, poor Julian, this would break him. I knew that Julian's scheming and planning would go wayward in the end, but oh god, not like this.

Those shocking deaths aside, I wanted to freaking SLAP EVERY SHADOWHUNTER in that room. It reflects so much of what's happening now and urgh, KIT GO AND SHOW THEM SOME WWII DOCUS. Downworlders helped them against Valentine and Sebastian. How could they do this. How could they reject even Helen and Mark who ARE Shadowhunters, and Magnus who has saved them all a million times?? It’s so frustrating that I’m starting to think it’s a negative point for the writing, haha.

Zara and her gang of mean Centurions, the Dearborns, and the Cohorts are such cliche cookie-cutter YA villains. But I hate them still and I want to skin them all alive! Seriously, they’re very caricature-ish at times that I can’t help but roll my eyes at them. I mean, WILL HUMANS EVER LEARN?! I guess I only have to look around to know WE HUMANS WON’T but it is so frustrating, urgh. 

So for Book 3, A Queen of Air and Darkness aka ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE! I want to know mostly how the Blackthorns will deal with their loss. I know they will never be the same again. What would happen with Emma and Julian’s little problem (do you think they will truly resort to ending all parabatai?!) What’s up with the warlocks? Also, the Unseelie King has Annabelle and the Book, right? (Is that title referring to the Seelie Queen, because I don’t trust her one bit.) 

I want to see the Shadowhunters pay for their stupidity, but it sucks that people like the Blackthorns, Emma, Clary, Jace, Magnus, Alec, Simon and Izzy would probably suffer too. 

I have a feeling Clary will indeed die. I am sad because I don’t know how Jace and Simon will take it, and I feel like this is an afterthought since this isn’t her series anymore, but I know if she does die, she’ll probably die a hero. (And hopefully no angelic back-from-the-dead intervention please, side-eyeing you Feyre and Rhysand) 

There will be a war, and Shadowhunters would be without magic.. Urgh, it will not end well.

Anyway, now I am throwing all my hesitations out the window and can I say, I am excited to meet the gang from The Last Hours. Sorry for the long rant!

PS: NO JEM AND TESSA, I AM NOT OK.

ETA: So many feels, I forgot about Diana’s reveal and AAAAH I AM SO PROUD OF HER <3 I know Gwyn of all people will not judge. I want her to be happy forever and away from the mean Shadowhunters. Go, ride with the Hunt bb.

[aion-rsa]

Perry Mason Episode 7 Review: Chapter Seven

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This Perry Mason review contains spoilers.

Perry Mason Episode 7

Perry Mason, episode 7, “Chapter Seven,” steers out of control to a very unexpected crossroads. There are deals with the devil happening in this installment and none of them are specifically satanic. Perry Mason (Matthew Rhys) tries to exorcize demonic truths from the Assembly of God Church, while its leader plays god, and not just on the radio.

In “Chapter Six,” Sister Alice (Tatiana Maslany) remarks to her mother, Birdy McKeegan (Lili Taylor), that she’s been remembering quite a few things, lately. The new installment brings up a memory, though it appears it is one of many. “Chapter Seven” opens with Sister Alice as a young girl. She and her mother are stranded, out of gas on a remote highway. The kindness of strangers gets a little out of hand with the first traveler to pass their way, and there is an understanding over the Christian thing to do. Young Alice is in a state of reverie in the field beyond the road, but after the entire scene unfolds, it looks like it might be dissociation. The look on Birdy’s face also hints this isn’t the first time this scenario has played out.

When Alice recoiled, in “Chapter Six,” so intensely from her mother’s slap, it told a history. Tonight’s depiction of it shows it was an ongoing thing and hangs over the rest of the episode. The faith Emily Dodson (Gayle Rankin) finds in her belief in the Sister’s powers also carries the scent of post-traumatic stress. “I’m not going to lose him twice,” Emily tells Mason at the midway point, and lets him know he may not be among the forgiven when her child is resurrected through divine intervention.

The legal minds of Mason and Della Street (Juliet Rylance) know this is far less than a guarantee, unless she’s going for an insanity plea. Robert, the man who was healed in an earlier episode, comes back but not on his own two feet. He is guided to Alice’s radio broadcast by the money lenders themselves. The miracle healing only lasted for a few hours, Robert tells Alice and all her listeners, and it appears he has uncovered some grande scandal. No, the evangelist has a cure for that. It failed because he lacked faith, she says, and finds her voice again. The radio station scene is very exciting, and its resolution only adds to the overall ambiguity of both the spiritual and legal proceedings.

Perry’s opening is walking through a property with Jim Hicks (Todd Weeks), the man with the gun who closed out last week’s episode.  “Sun Root Services convinced themselves they’d make a killing but look at them now,” the man says as he tosses the gun to Mason, proving he’s not going to kill him over it. Not only to the lawyer, but to the audience who sees  He was a “drunkard, a liar and a thief,” he admits, and Mason confesses he can match him on all counts. They are two men looking for redemption. This is why, on the stand, the man with the gun has all the answers. It is also why Mason takes his case so personally he changes his team mid-stream. Mason’s on-again but always slightly off girlfriend Lupe Gibbs (Veronica Falcón) finally buys the farm and will make good on her plans to turn it into an airstrip. He should have seen that coming, but it shows how focused he is on the redemption he will find by saving the life of the defendant Emily Dodson. Just like he didn’t see he was pushing Peter Strickland (Shea Whigham) too far until he was long gone.

It’s fun to watch Mason with a new partner. We don’t get an introduction. Officer Paul Drake’s (Chris Chalk) just starts working the case in the scene after Peter walks out. But he’s not going to eat any shit. Drake’s scene with Miss Nina is fun, and she’s right: he does look better out of uniform. He has great repartee with the Lady of the house who is having a ball right back at him. He’s chasing a bad man with a badge, and Miss Nina knows he’s black and blue enough already. The thirties patter comes off easily, and the set passes pretty well for a dance dive with a jazz trio.

Drake shoots down Mason’s plan A immediately, and counters his plan B by just ignoring it. It is actually a fun give and take between the two, similar to the dynamics of Mason and Strickland, but entirely new. Mason still doesn’t have the upper hand here. And it is hysterical that Drake waits until after Mason gets a beating on his way out of the club before he gets involved. It is exactly the kind of punch line the drama needs to drive the point home to Mason. The scene has action, tension, the faint promise of sex, and everything comes crashing down.

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Perry Mason Season 2 Confirmed by HBO

By Joseph Baxter

TV

HBO Max New Releases: August 2020

By Alec Bojalad

Rhys puts up a good show as far as macho masochism goes. He takes a licking and keeps on ticking. And to his credit, he looks like it hurts and that he’s just able to take punches. He brings that across. Mason never looks like he would be very good at hitting back, even the one stomach punch he successfully throws in the cemetery looks like a lucky shot. Perry looks like he’d be as effective as Bill Murray was against Warren Oates in Stripes. But we completely believe he would stick until the last round. To be fair, Chalk does make it look like he’s at least a little surprised to find Mason on the wrong end of a chain link, but he also looks like he knows he’s going to enjoy it in retrospect. We all are. This is what Mason gets for shaving.

Throughout the series, Rhys’s acting in the fight sequences has been as subtle and effective as during his courtroom battles. Whether he was being kicked by Chubby in a phone booth or is getting stomach-punched out of a brothel, after each wallop you can almost see him say, “Is it over?” His eyes never ask if that’s all anyone’s got. They know there’s always more to come. They just want to know when the pain is going to stop, and honestly believe each punch is the last. He does get his licks in in court, though. He counters a sucker punch from the prosecution by asking DA Maynard Barnes (Stephen Root) what the picture of the dead child has to do with the objection he is raising. It makes him a contender.

It’s interesting how Mason gets accosted by an autograph hound who specializes in celebrity killers. But the lawyer’s revered status is immediately quelled by the greasy garbage dumped on him by one of the zealots. They will also make their appearance in the courtroom. The sewn up eyes of the baby-dolls are more mocking than horrific now, possibly because we’ve seen them enough to have developed an immunity.

Detective Ennis (Andrew Howard) really goes at it in his getting-rid-of-the-witness scene. His knife is flying through splattered blood in a beautiful ballet of justice disrupted. “What we did to that baby,” the churchman says, and gets an amen. “Yeah, nobody wanted that to happen,” Ennis replies. It sounds honest, but as he is driving the knife in over and over and over, we begin to wonder whether Ennis wanted it to happen. Howard is very good at this ambiguity, he knows whether Ennis wanted this or not, and he’s giving us signs. He likes whatever violence he’s got to do. He wouldn’t do it without pay, mind you, but it is an on-the-job satisfaction.

Sister Alice is wondering about bigger sins than Emily’s case. She wants to know if she should sell her soul to Old Gold Tobacco, knowing full well the temptations of shilling face creams and toothpaste. Perry Mason is doing a good job of keeping the mysteries of faith mysterious. Emily completely believes in Sister Alice’s powers and Sister Alice wants to know why? They are as much hidden from her as they are from her follower. She has no idea she can resurrect Emily’s child, but she has to believe she can. Maslany brings both. Sister Alice is fully committed to failure, if that is the lord’s will. If only because it will end the penance of the sins of the opening scene.

The actual resurrection is the circus it has been promised to be. There is a moment though when Mason looks over with interest, and it appears he is actually expecting the miracle to happen. Everything about the series is upended and the rot at the center of the church is exposed. It doesn’t exonerate Emily but it doesn’t condemn her. “Chapter 7” brings a very different kind of cliffhanger to Perry Mason, the kind which can only lead to a leap of faith in a final episode.

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