#anyway you might be asking 'gabriel. how in the goddamn are you going to apply machiavelli to this | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

statusquoergo · 5 years

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Credit where credit is due, Gabriel did a nice job directing this episode. He had more screen time that I’m used to from actors pulling double duty, and he seems to have handled the extra workload well.

That’s not to say the episode was flawless. Yeah, by Season 9 standards, it was pretty good overall, but I mean. Season 9 standards.

We start off at home with Louis and Sheila having a terse exchange over tea as I wonder, yet again, why they’re together at all if they’re always so goddamn pissy about everything. Louis bemoans his demotion as Sheila irritably directs him to drink his rooibos and asks him what the big deal is, being that he didn’t even want the job in the first place (true). Louis parries that he only said that because Donna offered it to him the same night he found out about Sheila’s pregnancy (true), but at any other time in his life, he would have taken it (false). On the contrary, you may remember this fairly unambiguous exchange from “Pecking Order” (s08e02) between Doctor Lipschitz and Louis: “As I recall, you accepted Harvey becoming managing partner after Jessica left.” “That’s when I realized I didn’t want to be managing partner.” I suppose I’ve never accused this show of internal consistency before, why bother starting now?

Louis then delightfully compares himself to a ball-less cat and laments that though “the job wasn’t sunshine and rainbows, [he] was getting really good at it,” and excuse me but what? Forget that disastrous hearing that summoned Faye to their doorstep, his most recent acts as managing partner include trying to bully Professor Gerard into letting him be the keynote speaker at Harvard’s Ethic Conference to talk up his failing firm, and going completely off the rails trying to fire the poor IT guy for failing to digitally break into the New York State Bar Association. Louis sucked at being managing partner.

Next up is a reminder that I need to be careful what I wish for as Donna and Harvey discuss his reflexive support of her impassioned but quite incorrect argument against Louis trying to fire Benjamin, and how much she didn’t appreciate it. Turns out it wasn’t so reflexive; he did it because she thought she would like it, which is its own magnificently flawed concept—thinking she’ll get mad at him for disagreeing with her doesn’t say much for his respect for her integrity—but then Donna realizes that he’s afraid she’s going to leave him if he doesn’t unconditionally support her, and you just know the writers thought they were being real clever with this. (Wait, isn’t one of Harvey’s defining character traits his ability to read people? “You read books, I read people” was actually one of the first things he said to Mike in the pilot… Gosh it’s been a long time.)

As I was saying about this show’s internal consistency, two things about this whole exchange: One, all through Season 7, Harvey had no trouble calling Paula out when she was being ridiculous and disagreeing with her about all kinds of shit. Two, as recently as “Everything Changes” (s09e01), Harvey cooed that “[he’s] finally where [he’s] supposed to be” when he’s with Donna, to which Donna replied “We both are,” and like, are they a match made in Heaven right out of the box or what? His trust in their relationship is wildly inconsistent. Unless he wants to forfeit his autonomy for some reason? I don’t know, it’s weird and I don’t like it.

I also take issue with Donna’s dismissive “Oh, my god. Of course. Harvey, I’m not gonna leave you.” This has been an issue for him since forever, as she well knows, but rather than ask him what’s wrong—is he really afraid she’ll leave him over something so small?—or point out that he needs to go to therapy (if she wants to be tactful, she could ask if he wants to “talk to someone” about this), she treats it as an endearing character quirk, and someone needs to save Harvey from all this shit yesterday.

The interruption to this…reconciliation isn’t quite as cringy as the can opener bit from the last episode, but I’ve gotta call it out for being just some truly lazy storytelling. Gretchen appears out of nowhere to tell them they “need to go see Louis,” on account of his demotion, and Donna’s deer-in-headlights response is “Oh, my god. We need to go to him right now.” Yeah, no shit, that’s what Gretchen just said, except this framing affords Harvey the opportunity to mount his noble high horse and declare: “No. You go to him. I need to go see Faye.” Which he does, dramatic music and all, declaring that “dammit, not everybody has to do everything by [her] book,” and I must point out that she demoted Louis for trying to fire the employee who he asked to perform an illegal activity that he failed to perform only because he was caught; in what book is that okay? He then asserts: “You want consequences, I’ll give you consequences,” which is delightfully reminiscent of that old classic, “I’ll give you something to cry about,” in that it makes absolutely no sense, and Harvey, you adorable impetuous dumbass, if your goal is to convince her to leave, I think you might be going about it in a little bit the wrong way.

Roll title crawl! (No seriously, that was all just the cold open.)

Anyway Donna does go to comfort Louis, already treating herself and Harvey as a unit when she assures him that “if [he] ever [needs her] or Harvey during any of this Faye bullshit,” they’re there for him, and dropping the much more interesting detail that she has a much older sister she doesn’t want to talk about who “turned every man she was ever with into an emotional doormat,” which I don’t have time to fic right now but I feel like might explain a lot. Then Alex and Samantha have an endearing little exchange wherein Samantha proposes doing something to help Louis and Alex clarifies that it has to be ethical, and it’s nice to know that at least a couple of people around here aren’t completely insane.

Speaking of things being insane, I won’t fault Gabriel for this because the direction itself is fine, but from a writing perspective, the narrative construct of this next scene is terrible. Harvey shows up at a meeting with Some Guy whose nondescript company is apparently, thanks to his board and the company’s lawyers, being taken over (by someone) against his wishes, and the only hint of context for any of this is that “the people” orchestrating this takeover are “related” to Faye. The obvious conclusion to this exchange is that Harvey is going to help this guy, who is apparently the CEO of this random organization, sue the company by acting as a shareholder rather than a C-level employee, and I still have no idea what the fuck is going on.

Back at the firm where I do kind of know what’s going on, Susan the Associate approaches Katrina with a problem she found in the VersaLife case Katrina’s working, and as soon as they gave her a name in the last episode, I know she was going to be important. More to the point, it looks like Katrina’s got herself an associate! (Remember when senior partners were required to hire their own associates? It was a whole big thing back in Season 1, I think.)

Next up, Louis is having lunch with an old friend, Saul the Judge, who informs him that some other judge is retiring or being fired or something, and offers him a judgeship, and there is so much wrong with this scene that I don’t even know where to begin.

Yes I do. Since when has Louis’s lifelong dream been to be a judge? This is literally the first time he’s ever expressed any interest in it, at all. And another thing, that is not how judicial selection works.

In New York State, judges, depending on the court, are either appointed by the governor and confirmed by the State Senate, nominated by a commission and approved by the governor, chosen at a partisan nominating convention and elected by the voting public, or appointed by the mayor. Qualified individuals can apply to be considered, such as by the Mayor’s Advisory Committee, but there’s no one-and-done offer/acceptance transaction between someone currently on the bench and his lawyer pal, so either this guy is offering Louis a job that doesn’t exist or, more likely, the writers don’t know shit about the New York City legal system.

Moving on. Harvey shoves a recusal form in Faye’s face as he informs her that he “got” a case against her old firm, and he’s “taking it,” as though he didn’t go way out of his way to hunt it down in the first place. He then throws a stupidly juvenile hissy fit, claiming he’ll use whatever he fucking has to to “win,” and prove his system his better than hers, but he won’t have to cross any lines because she de-balled (second reference, just as charming as the first) the guys at her old firm so much that “they’re shaking in their boots” at the mere threat of lawsuit. This whole exchange is basically a showcase of Harvey acting like a spoiled child, and I know he’s a passionate guy but I gotta say, I’m getting tired of this whole act.

Back to that clusterfucking disaster of a judgeship offer, Louis fesses up to Sheila but admits that he doesn’t want to accept the drop in salary with a kid on the way, or leave his friends in the lurch, and she in turn fesses up that she asked Saul to make the offer in the first place because “being a judge has always been [his] dream.” (SINCE WHEN?) Louis is incensed until she tells him that it was basically Saul’s idea, but that if he doesn’t take it now, he’ll never get the change again, which… Why? Well, I guess they haven’t pointlessly manufactured any tension in awhile. Anyway, Louis promises to sleep on it.

Elsewhere, Samantha proposes committing conspiracy to get Faye out of their lives and Alex shuts that shit right away, and I’m actually really enjoying their dynamic right now. Susan asks Katrina what she should do about a smart, funny paralegal she clicks with; Katrina, having “seen that before,” recommends finding a new paralegal, and I’ve never had this question before but is Katrina anti-Machel for some reason? Doesn’t matter. Susan proposes reaching out to opposing counsel, who just so happens to be an old family friend, and Katrina wisely tells her not to, but somewhat less wisely starts and ends her rationale with “Because I know,” which I’m sure won’t motivate Susan to act in any sort of way.

Now, I’m no dream theorist, but luckily this show has all the subtlety of a Liberace action figure, so it’s not too difficult to figure out what Louis’s subconscious mind is trying to say: He wants to humiliate Faye (for demoting him and taking over his firm), he wants to bang Donna (and maybe also Alex), he thinks of Harvey as his peer but also his inferior (who he wants desperately to impress and probably also to fuck), and his confidence is mainly derived from the approval and admiration of others. Also he wants to have sex with basically everyone. Maybe not Gretchen. But everyone else.

Dr. Lipschitz, to whom Louis was evidently relaying the events of this dream, finds the whole thing quite amusing, but points out that if Louis takes the judgeship, he won’t have his friends around him anymore. Double-edged sword and all that.

Part II

#suits usa #season 9 #s09e03 #analysis

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violetwreck · 7 years

Photo

Plaster

A commission for my friend Pigeon. Art by @lowmidnight.

Read on AO3.

It’s more muted than he would’ve guessed.

From his perch two buildings over, he sees the windows shatter and glass go flying. Smoke billows out thick, and nearby, a driver slamming on their breaks causes a domino effect of accidents.

It’s all sort of slow motion. Jesse’s immediate thought is that his target never came out of the building. His second thought is that Gabriel didn’t either.

Maybe it’s because of his altitude, or maybe it’s because the city is so loud on it’s own, or maybe it’s because his heart is racing, but the sounds are all muted. He registers, late, that he’s already running down the stairs and that he left his gun on the roof. His brain will catch up with him eventually, he reckons. For the moment, he feels a strange sort of disconnect, something he recognizes from training, from Reyes teaching him how to keep his wits about him.

First, Gabriel’s in there.

Most people on the streets are running in the opposite direction or just standing around in shock. A brave few have taken to assisting those caught in the blast; from the street, there are some survivors stumbling out of the building already, coughing and covered in soot.

Second, if he runs, it’ll take him three minutes to reach the doors.

Jesse hates the city. He despises it, always has, always will. There’s too many people to have any kind of breathing room and shoving his way through crowds rushing in the opposite direction isn’t helping his nerves any.

Third, there’s a possibility that Gabriel might be dead.

He steels himself for it. There’s a sharp ache in his chest that he pushes down for the time being. The last thing he can afford to do is panic, and just the thought of it makes him feel like he can’t breathe.

He feels like it’s been more than three minutes by the time he gets close. A rescue squad won’t arrive for another half hour at best, guaranteed. Jesse doesn’t consider what their ETA would be at worst. He ties his bandanna around his face as he runs.

Fourth, either someone else tried to take out their target, or someone tried to take out Gabriel.

It’s probably the first option. He wants it to be the first option, at least. Jesse doesn’t like thinking about people coming after Gabriel specifically. He hates it when Gabriel goes on solo missions too. Funny that this time, when Jesse’s with him, is when he’s put in the most danger.

Jesse steps over broken glass. Smoke immediately makes his eyes sting. Dust is still settling, and small fires burn among piles of debris. There’s cracks along what’s left of the ceiling, and he quickly sidesteps falling plaster. He can see bodies and pieces half buried, and he looks away sharply as bile rises in his throat.

Fifth, Gabriel has a scar between his thumb and his index finger.

That point isn’t particularly important, and the scar isn’t exactly visible until proximity allows it to be. Still, it’s the first thing he thinks of when he sees Gabriel’s arm, or what he prays isn’t Gabriel’s arm, sticking out from beneath a pile of broken concrete and crumbled plaster.

He gets close and catches sight of Gabriel’s sleeve. His stomach lurches.

Jesse squeezes his eyes shut, prays like he means it for once. He’s never been religious, but he thinks about the cross that Gabriel wears around his neck and hopes it was good for something.

Organizing his thoughts suddenly doesn’t feel so effective. Jesse crouches and reaches for Gabriel’s hand, half hoping that he won’t see a scar when he smears away the dirt. The moment he touches his hand, Gabriel’s fingers twitch.

Jesse jumps and snatches his hand away by reflex. His breath catches in his throat. Under the rubble, he hears Gabriel call for help, voice hardly more than a dry whisper.

“I’m here,” he answers quickly, touching Gabriel’s hand briefly before moving to lift away debris. Most of it comes away with minimal effort, and Jesse’s relieved to eventually see Gabriel’s face.

He tries not to look at the blood on Gabriel’s mouth or think about what that means.

The last slab is the heaviest, and his metal arm helps, but Jesse still can’t do much more than slide it over smaller pieces that fell by Gabriel’s side. It creates a crevice big enough to pull Gabriel out, and Jesse tries his damnedest to ignore any sounds of pain Gabriel makes.

“I got you,” he reassures, hooking his hands underneath Gabriel’s arms. “I got you. One, two-”

Gabriel’s cry comes out raw, and Jesse cringes as he pulls. He pauses, lets Gabriel catch his breath, counts again, and drags him the rest of the way out. His stomach lurches; there’s a growing dark spot of red on Gabriel’s hoodie. It’s terrifyingly close to his heart, and Jesse wonders how Gabriel’s breathing with what may be a punctured lung and all this goddamn smoke.

“Easy,” he murmurs. Gabriel bites his lip hard as Jesse scoops him up, a scream cut short. It’s admirable, really, though Jesse can’t help thinking it’s stupid to try to keep quiet for his sake.

He treads careful, quick as he can in all this mess. He wants to pretend he’ll be heroic and go back in for the people he passes, except he won’t and he knows it, and he can’t bring himself to care.

First, Gabriel has maybe thirty minutes till he bleeds out, if he’s lucky.

Fresh air has never tasted so good. Jesse crosses the street to get Gabriel as far away from the smoke as he can while still being close enough to get to any approaching ambulances. He presses his back against the wall of a store and slides to the ground, settling Gabriel in his lap, then yanks off his bandanna and applies pressure to the wound. Gabriel’s fingers tighten on Jesse’s sleeve. He’s gritting his teeth.

“You’re gonna be fine,” Jesse says. He doesn’t expect his voice to waver as much as it does. His eyes flit over Gabriel’s face. Underneath all the ash and the blood from a nasty cut, he spots a purpling bruise on Gabriel’s cheek.

He’ll have a concussion, he thinks, and it sounds like Angela, for some reason.

Second, he doesn’t know how far it is to a hospital. It could be an hour before an ambulance arrives in this traffic, or worse.

Gabriel’s leg looks a little funny. Probably fractured. The blood from his ribs is still spreading. Jesse’s bandanna is getting soaked. Blood smears on his fingers, gleams against metal.

Third, Jesse doesn’t know what he’d do if Gabriel died. Gabriel was supposed to be a constant sort of thing.

The street is still a little chaotic. Jesse thinks his ears must be ringing because he can’t really hear any of it. Some brave folks are still running back inside to get others. Jesse wishes he could give a damn about them.

“Hey,” Gabriel says, and Jesse hates the way he shakes with the effort to speak.

Fourth, the hospital must be closer than he thought. He’s not sure how long it’s been since the explosion, but he thinks he can hear a siren in the distance.

“Thanks,” Gabriel rasps.

Jesse blinks. Gabriel’s features blur.

Fifth. He’s crying.

When Jesse wakes, Gabriel is staring at the ceiling. Jesse bolts upright in his chair, trying to remember when he fell asleep, but the past two days are nothing but a blur of smoke and hospitals and the smell of disinfectant.

Gabriel’s gaze drifts to him lazily. “Morning, cowboy,” he says. His voice sounds thick and a little dry. Jesse blames the painkillers.

“Hey,” he says, scooting his chair closer to the bed. “How’re you feelin’?”

“Peachy,” says Gabriel. He smiles, despite the fact that he’s most certainly not peachy. “Doc says I’m lucky.”

Jesse swallows. Lucky means alive. Lucky does not mean fine. “But are you...you gonna be alright, Jefe?” he asks. There’s a little tremor in his voice, and he hates that. Gabriel’s all full of stitches and sports a cast on his leg, and Jesse hates that too.

“All that shit they pumped into me has to be good for something,” Gabriel laughs, and winces right after. It takes Jesse a moment to figure out that he means the enhancement serum.

“Good,” he replies. “Good. ‘Cause I thought-” Jesse pauses, swallows, almost cringes as his voice shakes. “I wasn’t rightly sure you were gonna make it, boss.”

Gabriel’s features soften. “Come on, vaquero,” he chides. “I’ve been through worse.”

“I don’t much like thinkin’ about that, sir,” Jesse says frankly. He blinks twice, then drops his chin and quickly swipes at his eye.

Gabriel frowns and falls silent for a moment, features solemn. After a moment, he murmurs, “You saved my life.”

Jesse laughs, watery and with little humor, blinks back tears and hates that he couldn’t stay put together for more than five minutes. “Naw,” he says.

“Sure you did,” Gabriel insists.

Jesse shakes his head. “Anybody worth a damn woulda. I ain’t a hero or nothin’ like that.”

“Not everyone’s worth a damn,” Gabriel says matter-of-factly.

“I left a bunch of people,” Jesse says quickly, so there’s no time to let his voice waver.

“You could’ve left me,” Gabriel points out.

“Naw,” Jesse disagrees, shaky again. “You sign my paycheck.”

Gabriel shifts against the pillows, breath hitching faintly as he aggravates his wound. For a moment, he’s quiet, thinking, then says observantly, “You sure hate thinking you might’ve turned over a new leaf.”

Jesse laughs again, but it’s a little forceful now, and his initial reaction gives him away. “Aw, Reyes, now you’re just spittin’ out shit-”

“You saved my life,” Gabriel says firmly, not quite authoritative but leaving no room for objection.

“I left my gun on the roof,” Jesse says honestly.

Gabriel snorts and winces right after. “It’s fine. A bomb went off less than three blocks away. Nobody would be surprised to find a gun. You’re not the first to have to ditch one, anyway.” He pauses, softens, offers Jesse a smile. “Thanks,” he says.

Jesse bites his lip so he won’t cry and ends up crying anyway. “Thank you,” he replies.

Gabriel looks amused, tilting his head and raising a brow. “For what?”

“Not dyin’ on me.”

“Old soldiers are hard to kill,” Gabriel muses. He grins. “I owe you a bandanna.”

Jesse laughs that off, genuinely this time, exhausted and relieved all at once.

Gabriel ends up having a terrible lot of downtime while he heals. After a few weeks, he does Jesse one better than a bandanna.

#tw: blood #platonic mcreyes #jesse mccree #gabriel reyes #overwatch #blackwatch era #commission #fic #art #my fic #my post #mcreyes

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