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wolf-stark · 3 years

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You ask I deliver — both tfatws asks in one!

tfatws weekly ask 1

i finally saw ep1!! i wont be able to see ep2 until thursday at the earliest but i already have some Thots on this ep. here are the ones I remember

first is, and i'm so sorry for this, a grammar lesson. an appositive is when you stick an additional phrase in between commas, dashes, or the like. i actually just used one! the "and i'm so sorry for this" in the first sentence of this paragraph is an appositive. thing is, most english speakers don't normally use them when they speak, only in writing. so i'm always on high alert whenever i hear somebody in tv or movies use one. (it's generally a marker of bad screenwriting). anyway there was one right in the beginning of the episode. the white army guy yelling at sam wilson said "first lieutenant Torres, our intel officer, will be helping on the ground." yeah so. the writing of this series started out on the wrong foot for me. but the rest of the episode was obviously tons and tons better (every interview i see with malcolm spellman makes me love him more and more)

the contrast between the opening minutes (falcon action sequence) and the rest of the ep.... i would 100000/10 rather watch a series with just sam and bucky dealing with life. i dont give a single crap about the flag-smashers or any of that. i just want sam, sarah & fam getting their boating business back on the ground & yeeting racist dickwads, bucky going through therapy and making amends, sam and joaquin being bros, sambucky homoerotic tension, etc.

the cinnamontography! wandavision mostly used cinematography to signify era n stuff. tfatws doesn't have wv's premise to go off of, so here's some tricks i noticed:

with sam there's obviously all sorts of shots with the captain america iconography next to his face, but he hasn't totally claimed it. there's the mural of steve rogers in the background; there's sam staring into the shield like it's a spectre of steve's face; there's sam looking into the exhibit, the shield and sam separated by glass and a layer of camera focus. steve is a constant spectre, always there, an idea, a symbol himself. sam's relationship with this iconography is distanced. he is separated by glass exhibit walls. by painting canvases. he doesn't yet feel worthy to take on that iconography. this whole thing was pulled off quite well but also a bit on-the-nose if only in quantity. there's just sooooo much fancy iconography stuff

speaking of the exhibit, there's something that i get real pissy about. it's when like, there's an action going on you're supposed to be paying attention to but the cinematographer is like,,,, hey! check out this location! or this headline! or something! there was a lot of that in the exhibit. the camera was like, you could focus on sam and rhodey's convo (which was fine but could have been so much better with an extra like 10 minutes of deep character study talk) but noooo you want me to look at the symbol for the united nations and read all the text about bucky who hasn't even showed up yet. shut up i know the lore and ill watch the shot-by-shot breakdown yt vids you don't have to make the shot this long jkdsalcjklasejf

my fav trick was with bucky and the therapist. i had seen a clip of the scene with bucky and the therapist beforehand and i thought the cinnamontography was super obnoxious, but then i was like, oh duh. the shots frequently change the distance between the camera and its subject. sometimes it's uncomfortably close and sometimes it's really far. a clear allegory for the duality of therapy, esp for bucky! therapy is an invasive process wherein he is ruthlessly examined, picked apart, and berated for his trauma (this therapist is crap in every way btw, "mean therapist" works for greg house and greg house only). so the camera goes close. it makes the viewer claustrophobic like bucky. but when he's like "no i haven't had any nightmares" the camera suddenly goes really far. we see bucky as this tiny head in the center of the bottom of the frame. we are distanced from him. he has pushed us away. we cannot see him. he lies because he is vulnerable. so yeah, amazing work there. the therapy scene was hard to watch on purpose!

did bucky slip a note to yori inside the dollar bill? bucky stop making me emooooo. the suuper awkward fake smile has me 😭 (veteran trying to adjust!)

mark my worrrrds when sam asks someone y the govt picked john “white bread” walker they’re gonna say “we needed somebody everyone can get behind....someone uncontroversial, someone everyone can see themselves in” like that exact racist dog whistle

tfatws weekly ask 2

just saw ep2 so im taking advantage of the 2 seconds i can be on tumblr without worrying about tfatws spoilers before new episode drops

when isaiah said "your people put me in prison for being a hero" and bucky thought "your people" means hydra. 🤦‍♂️

speaking of racism, the interplay between sam being Black (anti-Black racism) and sam being the Falcon (negrophilia, "can i take a selfie w you as i deny you a loan?") and the intersection between the two (j*hn lichrally called sam "steve's wingman"! he takes the crypto out of crypto-racist in like 2 seconds!) !!!!!!!! a Black celebrity's Black experience, the separation of man and identity!!!! (thinking about vanessa bayer in snl in that skit "beyonce is black" telling her black friend "you're not black, you're...my girl!")

after sam gets racially profiled by cops we see j*hn standing in front of cop cars cinematic parallels turns out j*hn is racist who knew

this therapist sucks major ass but she got bucky and sam together in the same room and ready to collaborate...that's something ig. it was lichrally couple's therapy she said she used her miracle exercise with couples sambucky antis get blended

bucky says "he was wrong about you so maybe he was wrong about me"...that's not how people talk. when therapist asks bucky, the guy who doesn't talk at all about himself, "y do you hate sam", the last thing bucky's gonna do is actually connect his hatred of sam to his own self-worth issues. bucky generally refuses to talk about himself, so why would he talk about himself in the one context that nobody ever links back to their own neuroses: hatred of other people? one thing human beings hate most is admitting we're wrong. admitting you hate someone because of your own issues? that's a major therapeutic step. bucky would absolutely have to be prompted to do that. even like one or two lines of dialogue more would have set up that line better. but in terms of the actual thought? an amazing way to take the sam/bucky relationship. bucky bases his self-worth on steve believing in him, and if steve is wrong bucky has no self-worth, so 1) he has to develop self-worth disassociated from steve's assessment of him and 2) he has to love himself before he can love sam, and 3) he has to realize that sam giving up the shield is a sign of sam's humility not his unworthiness.

conversely, we don't get into why sam hates bucky? yeah sam has the right to hate a guy that has tried to kill him (albeit while brainwashed) multiple times, and now shows up in his life just to bash him but. everything happens so fast i cant follow their relationship

in fact i dont feel like i understood much of anything. like y did bucky and sam go on that mission together? how connected are sam/bucky/joaquin with the government? doesn't bucky just want to retire now? literally what is everyone doing/feeling and why???

if battlestar becomes a knowing commentary on the black best friend stereotype i'm gonna party, but i dont expect much of that

the interplay between man and symbol. captain america is obviously a symbol. the shield is obviously a symbol. but steve rogers? the. man behind the cowl? he too seems to become a symbol. a paragon of a good guy, so good he's unreachable. steve was just a guy stop idolizing him the last thing steve would want is to be idolized

as the resident musician/music nerd on mcublr, 1) that captain america rally music slaps, but 2) re: the song at the end of the ep, if you're just gonna rip off mozart's lacrymosa then at least play mozart's lacrymosa. we wont blame you the lacrymosa slaps (if you dont know what im talking about go on yt and search it up youll recognize it fo sho

look i love enfys nest as much as the next guy but if tfatws is gonna get erin kellyman to play another innocent little gurl blackmailed into the fakeout-villain position (her text seemed to suggest as such) then 😡 like why can't women just....be evil? young, freckly, innocent-looking women? girls are not untouchable pure objects but full of rage and resentment just as much as anyone can be

bonus ep1 comment: bucky says about that senator whose car he hijacked, "she continued to abuse the power i gave her." fictionaldarling on yt say that he says "i" because he can't disassociate himself from his winter soldier persona which begets endless and senseless guilt. like dude. can i not be emo for like 1 second.

OKay. First off, as much I enjoy your sending it to me, what made you decide to send me these??

TFATWS WA #1

Don't worry about getting this to me as early as possible. I usually don't watch the episode right away.

1. Cool writing lesson.

2. Everyone wants a comedy show [like Friends] about the MCU superheroes.

3. Cinematography is always a beautiful thing.

4. Sam definitely has to carve his own Captain America status for himself, outside of Steve's ya know everything.

5. They have to do that for people who was just now tuning in because they're in love with Sam Wilson or Sharon Carter.

6. I think the therapist was taking a 'tough love' approach for Bucky, because she likely has some very strong opinions about the literal assassin she's been assigned to give therapy too. She did not choose to talk to him, she was assigned that make that clear in the second episode.

And, Bucky isn't lying when he said it wasn't a nightmare. It wasn't a nightmare, it was a resurfaced memory. So, technically he wasn't lying - and yes, the camera does move away because while he's saying he didn't have a nightmare, he's not expanding on what actually happened - so, he's still pushing the therapist/us away.

7. Bucky, and Steve, have/had a TON to adjust to.

8. Yeah, I agree that will be the bullshit line they give. If they ever actually talk about it.

TFATW WA #2

Yeah, always got to take advantage of avoiding those spoilers lmfaoo.

1. Honestly, that line was double meaning. Both about White people and Hydra [which is made up of mostly white supremacists/nazis] So, the line is gesturing to both White People in general and Hydra assholes together. I think the terminology is “double edge sword”??

2. This whole paragraph structure confused me, ngl - so I'm going to answer it the best I can. I do like that they're not ignoring the fact that Sam being Black is 1000% the reason he's not the Official Captain America - because the gov't is racist as hell.

I also like the little lines about how they point out little things about Sam's Falcon persona, like that kid calling him 'Black Falcon' specifically and Sam's response show the split between Sam and Falcon itself.

John is a dick for calling Sam the wingman of Steve Rogers. Sam was a hero all on his own before Steve asked him to join up again. [Side note, it's lichrally??]

3. Exactly, the parallel of Sam being profiled and surrounded while just on the street and John being surrounded by fans and being able to spring Bucky with apparently only a few sentences shows a Loooooot

4. Honestly, at this point I wonder if she's not actually a therapist and is just an agent assigned to assess Bucky outside of an Official Building. I do know, however, that her 'look at each other and speak' exercise is actually a real therapy practice. It's just a little slower.

5. Actually, I think he would've blurted that out. That whole line. I don't think Bucky hates Sam. I think they could've done the scene better, but I think that had Sam prodded him/the therapist been more annoying Bucky would've lost control of his emotions and blurted out the whole "If he was wrong about you, he was wrong about me" but I feel like the writing for this show is just... not there. Sometimes you blurt shit when you get overemotional and I think that was what Bucky was supposed to be like.

6. I don't think Sam hates Bucky, I think he doesn't trust him though. I do wish they'd talked about that though. The whole 'talk to each other' scene should've been a LOT longer and a LOT slower.

7. Sam and Bucky's relationship is being fast tracked because they don't really know how to work the relationship out, writers-room-wise. Bucky is technically retired, but I feel like he's trying to live up to Steve's expectations and doing what Steve would've done and we all know that if Steve was there, Steve would've jumped on that plane with Sam. It looks like Sam/Bucky/Joaquin are a side-team based from Military services but as Sam says they're all free agents so...?

8. Sadly, They seem to just be propping up to be another stereotype.

9. Captain America is a symbol. Steve Rogers is a man. But now Steve Rogers is an idol because of all the shit he's been through and honestly, it's not a bad thing he's become an idol for people - it's using Steve as a reason to make White Bread Walker the next Captain that makes Steve's idolization so fucked.

10. I don't know anything about music so I have no opinion here, sorry.

11. Enfys?? Also, I think they did the whole Innocent Girl Thing as side commentary for Bucky lowering his guard about seeing a young girl rather than a guy.

12. Bucky is the Winter Solider. The Winter Solider is Bucky. That is how Bucky will always see it because although he was brainwashed, it was still him and he remembers all of it. When you have constant memories of something 'someone else' did, you tend to not be able to pull the two personas out of each other. I want Bucky to take up the title, White Wolf instead of Winter Soldier. Honest.

This is all my opinion, I’m honestly a little disappointed with the writing of TFATWS so far so... I’m not really optimistic about this.

#Asks

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drunklander · 7 years

Text

Drunj!Der Yells About Outlander

Thoughts on Ep. 305

That’s it. That’s my thought. I have nothing more to say about this episode.

Obvi kidding. BUT SERIOUSLY, THE END OF THIS EPISODE!

This episode, for me, is like last year’s finale in that I liked it, but it made me dislike the Claire stuff in the prior episodes even more by comparison. Like from now on my own personal headcanon is that Claire’s story goes from ep. 213 straight to ep. 305 and I feel like I wouldn’t really be missing out on anything super important. Except I *do* feel like I’m missing out on super important stuff, but what I feel like I’m missing can’t be found by watching the previous episodes.

Everything in this episode feels like the culmination of things the show chose not to go into. So like we get the destination, but without the depth and meaning that would have come from seeing the journey.

Like Claire and Joe are obviously awesome friends. But we know literally nothing about Joe except that he’s Claire’s friend. We can infer a bunch of stuff about him and their friendship just based on the fact that he’s a black man becoming a surgeon and she’s a woman doing the same, but that’s not the same thing as actually investing in and building that relationship, and showing how they’ve become so close that he’s the only person Claire will talk to about Jamie. Geillis and Mary and Louise all got to be more fully formed characters in prior seasons in addition to being Claire’s friend. And I’m really bummed we didn’t get the same with Joe.

We see Claire being badass as a surgeon, but like none of what it took to get her there. Healing is at the core of who Claire is. To jump over her reaching the peak of her calling seems like a wasted opportunity to really get into how fully embracing that part of herself gave her purpose in her 20th century life when she didn’t feel like she had any.

Bree and Claire have some really intense conversations and we see them bond and Bree manages to not make me hate her. But we are missing 20 years of their relationship. What was it like between them when Claire was in med school? What was it like between them after Frank died but before they went to Scotland? Bree has said she noticed that Claire had walls up or was distant, but we don’t see that as Bree is growing up because we really don’t see Bree growing up.

So yeah. Overall I liked the episode (seriously, the end of it is basically perfect!), but I feel like all the pieces leading up to this episode are missing. And that makes me a bit sad. But what’s aired has aired and fanfic exists so I guess that’s what I’ll be diving into during the week off before ep. 306.

Rambling and nonsense under the cut...

I am so here for crafty!Claire. Like this woman makes ornaments for her daughter’s first Christmas! She makes Halloween and pageant costumes! Claire is not someone who has been into crafts before, but it’s clearly something she does for her daughter because she loves her. It’s adorable and shows just how great a mom she is. *side eyes a certain other parent who implies otherwise and is wrong*

I know there’s more to being a parent than making ornaments and costumes but shoosh, let me love that Claire made all these things for Bree.

The surgery scene is great not just because it’s awesome to see Claire in her element, but because it shows so much about her as a character. She’s meant for this shit. This is who she is. And she’s damn good at it and knows what needs to be done and is confident enough in her abilities to do just that even if it’s risky and others wouldn’t make the same call. Fuck yeah Dr. Claire!

The history lecture could probably be shorter, but I’m a Masshole who loves history and lives along Dawes’ route, so I’m here for on the nose story time.

Bree’s professor is literally the one dude in this whole season (excepting Joe and Roger, of course) who isn’t a complete piece of shit. Like he’s literally doing the bare minimum in caring about Bree as a student and the daughter of a friend, but comparatively it makes him seem awesome. Like high fives for recognizing and validating Bree having earned her spot at the school and knowing there’s clearly something going on rather than just being like oh hey, a lady student is failing. Because lady brain.

Bree remembering Frank when she gets back to the house and is smelling the pipe and looking at the pictures and stuff is like the perfect amount of Frank. In that Frank’s not even there and yet we get everything we need, haha. Like look how much comes across with no dialogue. It’s clear she loves and misses him, and that they had a close relationship. And since he’s dead now and doesn’t matter anymore, that’s really all we need to know about the two of them. And Claire’s side of that marriage is also pretty clear from what we’d already seen outside of eps 301-303. So like yeah, Frank should have been in some of the earlier episodes, but it was kind of a waste to spend as much time on him as they did at the expense of the relationships with people and things who aren’t dead and irrelevant by a quarter of the way through the season.

So even though we don’t know anything really about Joe, he *is* basically what Claire needs in this episode. Claire until this point has been like doing nothing but trying to please other people for the past two decades and she’s going to be making a huge decision that’s something *she* wants to do and kind of needs that validation that this doesn’t make her a selfish or bad person. So yeah, I wish we had more of their relationship, but I’m always and forever going to be #TeamJoe.

The change in Claire’s face in between “as Scottish as they come” and “as serious as it comes” kills me. Like she’s openly talking about Jamie! And smiling about his memory! And then look how sad she gets because of what she lost and what she might never have again! *throws awards at Balfe*

*debates getting fuck fate tattooed somewhere*

But yeah. The three convos with Joe throughout the episode are almost like therapy for Claire. (Which like, don’t treat your friends like your therapist. Get an actual therapist.) But show!Joe doesn’t seem to mind, so I’m still here for any screen time they’ll give him. But as he keeps asking Claire questions, it’s clear he’s asking because he cares, not because he feels like he’s owed an answer. Unlike some other character we’re acquainted with. *side eyes Frank’s ghost*

And Claire opens up a bit more each time as she gets more and more committed to going back. Because like it’s becoming more real and talking about Jamie is no longer something that she can’t do like it has been for so long. Like how fucked up must it have been for her to be friends with this dude for 15 years and never be able to share such a massive part of her life with him? I want that story. I want to see them becoming friends and Joe sharing about his life and the toll it takes on Claire to really like this person but never fully be able to open up.

Hey, it’s Roger! Oh man, $2.50 won’t get out out of the Logan taxi pick up zone, haha. I swear it’s like almost a $50 cab ride from Logan to my apt so I am jeals of Roger’s fare. (Not that I really take cabs over the T, but still...) Moving on...

I get Roger not wanting to tell Claire or Bree what he found before he came, but like, dude. A small heads up probs would have been a good idea. Just sayin’.

I feel like the fight over Harvard would work better if they were fighting over Bree *wanting* to withdraw and move out. Because she’s already done it and found a new place to live when Roger shows up. But the fight itself seems like something that would have happened earlier in the process? Unless finding an apartment in Boston is infinitely easier in 1968 than 2017? I get Claire’s reaction though. Like Bree, you’re clearly struggling. That’s ok. But dropping out of school and moving away is maybe not the most healthy way to deal with it? Like maybe just take a semester off to figure some stuff out?

Although bonus points to Roger for suiting up for the occasion. Barney Stinson would be proud.

I love Roger’s scenes with Claire, although compared to his scenes with Bree it defintely feels like he’s much more on Claire’s level than Bree’s. As much as I love show!Roger, they still haven’t sold me him and Bree together.

Basically I just ship Roger and whisky. A ship which is basically canon, tbh.

Excited puppy!Roger is adorable. Like look how his face lights up when he’s telling Claire about Jamie. You’re a good pupper, Roger.

Ok but then look at Claire’s face when she’s absorbing this news. Like holy shit. She goes from like omg this is real, I could see Jamie again, I can allow myself to hope, this could be my life again to holy shit that would make me the worst mother on the planet how could I possibly do that to Bree in like 2 seconds. *throws awards at Balfe*

And when she does speak, I just want to hug her. Because like there are two super powerful things going on. She’s obviously not actually being harsh *at Roger.* (I mean, she is, but that’s not the point of the scene.) She’s basically admonishing herself for ever having been open to trying to find Jamie because that means she was also open to leaving Bree. And if that didn’t give her pause, then she’s not the good mother and good person she is. (Not perfect by any stretch, but good.)

And even looking past just having to leave Bree, with the exception of med school, every choice Claire has made in the past 20 years has basically been about trying to make other people happy. Frank. Frank’s boss. Frank’s coworkers. Bree. And all the while she’s been told that she’s a bad mother and a selfish person and that she isn’t doing enough. And that’ll fuck a person up a bit. So like when presented with this choice, she sees that going back to Jamie is the best choice for *her,* but with all of her baggage, she also sees choosing Jamie as selfish and she feels guilty for considering it.

And then there’s the “I could have lived the rest of my life not knowing.” stuff and saying she wouldn’t be able to go through losing Jamie again. This is the reasoning why I eventually bought into her initially calling off the search. Because she knows what a precarious position she’s in emotionally. And if she takes that leap and it doesn’t work out, then the half-life she’s built for herself, that she’s convinced herself is good enough, will be shattered.

Seriously, Claire bear, you need a hug and some whisky and for it to be the end of the episode already. Because girl, you’ve had it *rough.*

Roger also needs a hug when he says “How can I help? What can I do?”. His face. Look at it. Hugs for everyone. And more whisky.

I like the shot with the pearls and I’m headcanoning it that that’s when she actually makes up her mind that she’s going to go back and the rest of the episode is like her trying to find validation in that choice. Like she knows it’s what she wants to do but she needs to know that she’s not a terrible person for doing it. And that’s very human.

Not gonna lie, I wasn’t really a fan of the bit with the bones in the book, and I’m still not really a fan of it in the show. Like yes, it’s Geillis. And we’ll see it play out at the end of the season. But like, I don’t really care? The mystical healing powers stuff isn’t really my jam so setting that up kind of is meh to me? The reveal at the end of the seaon isn’t cool or exciting or important enough, in my opinion, to merit funtimes with skeletons? Idk.

But points to Joe’s for not judging Claire *at all* for Bree not being Frank’s. Like he’s just like oh, yeah, this makes so much sense. Of course this is how things are. Zero judgment. All support. You know, how friends should behave. You go, Glen Coco.

“Do you still love him?” “I never stopped.” HE NEVER STOPPED LOVING YOU EITHER AND YOU’LL SEE HIM AGAIN SOOOOOOON!!!

The Dark Shadows thing is a bit too on the nose, show. Like I’m rolling my eyes at you a little bit. Although as a fan of garbage TV, I’m here for Roger being into garbage TV.

“Look at these cloister things! They’re an iconic Harvard thing except for, you know, not existing at Harvard!” (Seriously, they couldn’t have found a location that vaguely looked like Harvard? I mean, it still doesn’t really bug me and I’m just being a dick for the sake of being a dick, but it’s just *so off*.)

“But hey! Fun fact: I never actually liked history! Luckily I hear there’s a different school a few T stops away where I can do this architecture or engineering thing I seem to be so into and measure things in smoots!” (And yes, I did hit the googs to make sure smoots would already be a thing in 1968. And the original smoot’ing was in 1958 so we’re all good. The bad joke stays in.)

For real though, it’s good to see Bree actually excited about something. Like Bree! Instead of dropping out of college because you don’t know who you are, you just switch majors or transfer and start doing the thing you seem to actually love. I feel like that could help you find your own identity. Just a thought.

Ok. I hate this scene at the ceremony. Fucking. Hate. It. With the passion of 1,000 fiery suns. Seriously. What the actual fuck. Why is this bullshit in here. Just fucking let Frank stay dead. Why the fuck are you wasting time in the one episode that’s actually about Claire by having her go to a thing for Frank. Is the production team’s Frank-boner really this big? Of course it fucking is. Uh, guys? If your Frank-boner lasts this long, you’re supposed to seek medical attention BECAUSE WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU SO OBSESSED WITH AN INCONSEQUENTIAL CHARACTER WHO IS AN EMOTIONALLY ABUSIVE JACKASS.

Seriously. This scene is just a giant fuck you to Claire as a character. Like we already got three fucking episodes of Frank and his bullshit and this is supposed to be about her and her choices and her emotional journey but no. Frank needs to make a fucking appearance even though he’s fucking dead. THIS IS THE FUCKING WORST.

And also fuck Frank’s girlfriend. She sucks too. She gets zero sympathy from me. (And this is probs going to get me some angry anons, but whatever.)

First of all, Frank would absolutely have *loved* seeing a room full of people jizzing themselves over how great he is. That’s like his fucking recurring wet dream. And if you don’t know that, you’re a fucking idiot.

And you’re seriously going pull this shit with his wife in public like this? Super mature, lady. Go fuck yourself.

And all this bullshit you’re spewing? NONE OF THIS IS ON CLAIRE. THE ONLY PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR FRANK NOT LEAVING CLAIRE TO BE WITH YOU IS FRANK, YOU COMPLETE WASTE OF SEVERAL MINUTES OF EPISODE RUN TIME. If you had these issues with your relationship with Frank, you should have fucking TAKEN THEM UP WITH FRANK WHILE HE WAS ALIVE.

Like I don’t care how much “poor me, look how much of a martyr I am” bullshit Frank fed this woman or what parallels the production team was trying to force or what “people perceive things differently” nonsense they thought they were going for. Whatever her name is went into the relationship knowing Frank was married. Knowing that he wasn’t going to leave his wife, or at least not until like years and years later. Like, you went into that situation with your eyes wide open, honey. Just like Frank doesn’t get to be a piece of shit to Claire when Bree finally turns 18, you don’t get to be a piece of shit to Claire here.

Frank was the love of your life? Congratulations, you have tremendously shitty taste in men. Seriously though, this fucker didn’t leave him after the bullshit at the graduation party? Because most women would have been like bye, Felicia for being so fucking disrespectful to everyone involved.

My Frank-hate aside, the *only* thing this scene even accomplishes is to have Bree ask about Frank’s girlfriend so she and Claire can have the talk about loving Bree. Like you could have easily figured out a less fucking obnoxious way to pull that off, show. Fuuuuuuuck it’s the fucking worst.

This had better be the last time you make me rage about Frank, show. Because I thought I’d already ranted my last Frank rant and then you pull this shit.

Ok. Deep breaths. Moving on...

Claire’s really good in the convo with Bree though. Like the difference in parenting between her and Frank is so striking. Claire’s like reassuring her daughter that no matter what was going on between her and Frank, Frank loved Bree more than anything. Meanwhile Frank went out of his way to undermine Claire as a parent. Ugh, fuck that guy.

Also between the plaid skirt in the scene at the beginning of the episode and this pirate shirt and plaid cloak thingy, it seems like part of Bree’s method of processing her identity crisis is to cosplay her mom with that Hot Topic line of Outlander clothes, haha.

Slash thanks for not sucking here, Bree. Because Claire wouldn’t go unless she was *sure* Bree would be ok.

“How do you take a trip like that, and come back to life as you knew it?” Well that *is* the question, Joe... I really do like this bit with the moon/astronauts though.

For real though, the music and her staring up at the moon made me feel things.

Oh Claire, don’t worry, you’ll get to see Bree’s wedding and kids and all that jazz. Super duper up close and personal. But I do like her just letting it all out there.

And I think Bree really knows that she needs to explicitly tell Claire she wants her to go. Which makes me warm slightly to Bree. Like way to be receptive of what your mom is clearly feeling.

Slash fuck yeah Bree finally appreciating how awesome Claire is. I am always here for people who appreciate Claire.

“What if he’s forgotten me? What if he doesn’t love me anymore?” Ok so like Claire *knows* that Jamie loved her as much as she loved him. And she *knows* how she still feels. And she *knows* that if she were to find him, he’d probably feel the same way. But 20 years is a long time, and those little insecurities don’t listen to rational thought. So for me it played like a really vulnerable, human moment.

“I need a second opinion.” “What’s the case?” “I need to know if I’m still hot.” (Sorry.) I like this convo for a couple reasons. Like it’s cool that Claire is apparently such good friends with Joe that she can ask this and he can answer and it doesn’t make it weird for either of them. And then there’s the fact that it shows just how different this Claire is from the Claire we left at the stones at Culloden. Claire has spent 20 years basically putting on a mask for people with the right hair and the right make up and “looking pretty when she meets the boss” and with Frank’s added bullshit about not being a good enough actress, she has had it ingrained into her that she’s not good enough. And now that she has the chance to be back with the one person who loved her for who she truly was, she doesn’t think that she’ll be good enough for him. Which is heartbreaking.

Seriously, I will never understand people who don’t realize how badly Frank fucked Claire up.

Casual jokes about witch trials when the show has committed to just calling her a witch on the reg... Made me chuckle for the wrong reason.

I love that Claire immediately knows that the necklace is Bree’s birthstone. It’s probs the least clunky way to drop the gemstones tidbit in? Still clunky but at least they brought up the ring?

Claire getting sassy about her sewing skills is my everything.

Also, the Batman music is cheesy af but I kind of like it?

Well played in that one interview though, Balfe. Well. Played.

Ok so Claire looking at herself in the mirror is like such a nice inversion of her looking at herself in ep. 301. In the premiere she was trying so hard to look like someone else. The someone she was “supposed” to be. And here all she wants is to look like herself. Specifically the version of herself she was when she could be most fully herself.

Although with the hair dying thing, are we going to be blessed with Claire’s roots slowly growing out over the course of the rest of the season? Somehow I doubt it, haha.

Fuck yeah dresses with pockets. Dresses with pockets are the best ever. Everyone should have a dress with pockets. #TeamPockets

Slash I’m so glad they changed it to have Claire like actually put thought into her outfit. It kind of bugged me that in the book she was like yep, this chintzy off the rack dress is totally the best thing to go back in. Like I actually yaaas’ed at Bree’s line about Claire making it out of rain coats. Because in the book there’s definitely a line about how Claire wishes she’d had her cloak or something made with a waterproof layer and I was always like uh, Claire? How did you *not* do that? So good job, show.

And I kind of love that she’s taking Bree’s pirate shirt back with her.

Smooth exit, Roger, lol. But so sweet.

The line about her experiences going through the stones is beautiful.

It makes me feel things that Bree referred to Jamie as her father when she tells Claire to give him a kiss from her. Because her “my father”-s had usually been about Frank.

Ok I really have nothing but flaily fangirling left to say from here on out, lol.

The pearls bit was lovely.

Roger seriously needs to quit his job and just run a whisky bar. You know you want to, Roger. Embrace your true calling.

Gah, Claire touching her lips to say goodbye to Bree just like she did at Lallybroch when she was trying to start saying goodbye to Jamie. Kill me, show. Kill me why don’t you.

I’m still not that invested in Bree and Roger as a couple. But this was Bree’s strongest episode and I love that Roger bought her a copy of A Christmas Carol because he remembered what Claire said about their old traditions.

(Slash lobster rolls are such a summer food in my head that it’s so weird to see Roger eating one at Christmas.)

I usually don’t like the prologues to the books, but I do really like the use of this one as the transition.

Everything about the end of this episode is perfect. Fucking perfect.

Like the second Claire steps out of that carriage and looks around at the bustling 18th century street, you can see the weight of the past 20 years lift. Like look at the change in her face compared to how she was in Boston. She’s finally home and it’s fucking beautiful.

Carfax Clooooooooose. It’s so clooooooose. You’re almost there, Claire!

For real though *throws awards at Balfe* again for the scene of her walking up the stairs. The excitement and nerves and relief and anticipation and joy and all the emotions. How the fuck does she do that. It’s fucking amazing.

And her checking her hair before she goes in is just such a perfect, small detail.

Seriously, everything about this is perfect.

OMFG HER FACE WHEN SHE HEARS JAMIE’S VOICE. LOOK AT IT. OMGGGGG.

AND HER EMOTIONS AS SHE WALKS OVER AND SHE SEES HIM AND OMG HER FACE IS MADE OF MAGIC AND FEELINGS AND *THROWS AWARDS AT BALFE*

AND JAMIE STRAIGHTENING UP JUST A LITTLE WHEN HE HEARS HER. BUT NOT TURNING AROUND UNTIL HE HEARS HER SAY CLAIRE. BECAUSE HE’S AFRAID IT MIGHT BE A VISION AGAIN.

AND THEN IT’S HER AND HER FACE AND HIS FACE AND JUST FUCKING LOOK AT THEIR FACES OMFG I’M DYING. I AM DECEASED.

And I’m glad they had him faint now. Because in the book it kind of like interrupts the flow of things because they talk and then he faints and idk, I never cared for the fainting. Like I would have been fine if they cut it all together. But at least by having him faint here before they actually get into things, in the next episode we can just dive in and be murdered by feelings in the best way possible.

AAAHHHHHHHHHH THEY’RE FINALLY BACK TOGETHERRRRRRRRR

#*#drunj!der yells about outlander #outlander starz #outlander 3x05

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