#but the luther-diego dynamic still gets developed and that's pretty cool

[jellybeanium124]

I NEED A “LUTHER CARRIES A BEGRUDGING DIEGO” SCENE IN SEASON 3 RIGHT NOW

#tua #the comics generally have less character moments/development in the show #but the luther-diego dynamic still gets developed and that's pretty cool #luther hargreeves #diego hargreeves #tua hotel oblivion

[number5theboy]

so i know that you have a theory that klaus and five are twins, but hear me out... what if it’s vanya and five?

so your klaus/five twin theory sounds actually very valid, but see, let’s face it, vanya and five are the two most powerful out of the entire group. if they were able to combine their powers together they would be unstoppable.

plus the two look more alike than any other pair of siblings, and that seems valid for twins. and they’re also a lot closer than any other pair, and vanya is definitely five’s favorite sibling haha.

it could totally make sense, just think about it.

Anon, I would love nothing more than Five and Vanya being the twins, and I’ve definitely thought about it. Sadly, that possibility is pretty much out for canon, as we saw Vanya’s birth at the very beginning of the show, and there was most definitely no second baby around there. However, I’ll indulge you, as Five and Vanya are definitely up there in my personal top three favourite sibling dynamics in the show.

They have these amazing contrasting yet similar character set-ups in Season 1 (the child prodigy vs the powerless outcast, superiority vs inferiority complex, one with the self-assigned destiny of stopping the world vs the other with the destiny to bring Armageddon about, emotions unleash her powers while they stifle his, the presence of an abuser using them for ulterior motives, to only name a few) and yet there is so much kindness between them (him being gentle to her, calling for her in the apocalypse, the peanutbutter and marshmallow sandwiches, her not wanting to lose him again after just getting him back, Five apologising to her for running out on her and her apologising for not being able to be the person he needed in that moment, him keeping her book close for 45 years and using it as notebook even with notebooks at his disposal, the clear implication that he is the only sibling she doesn’t resent for her childhood, underlined by what we see of her book, where she says that he was the one she could talk to, the one she would show her music to, Five’s refusal to entertain the idea of leaving her behind and taking her with them, even though she is essentially the cause of his 45 years of suffering), and having all of that pay off by the revelation that they were twins all along??? It’d be so cool, in the sense that these two overpowered walking messes who love each other being twins is just. A cool concept. Like, I don’t want them being twins be a justification for their connection or their friendship, I just want them getting that information somehow and it just. Clicks. Makes sense. I don’t think the revelation of them being twins would cause that much upheaval in their relationship. They still love each other. I think with Five it would be the case of ‘if I had to be biologically related to any of you, it’d be Vanya’.

But post-reveal twins Vanya and Five??? (I think them being twins from the get-go would have completely deteriorated their relationship. Bad enough being the only powerless sibling of six, but being the powerless twin of the one who is wicked smart?? Yeah, I don’t think that would have worked out well.)  They would totally try and fool the others by being like ‘we have found out a way to do twin telepathy!!’. It’s just them staring very intently at each other and trying to glean what the other one means. It usually is not what the other one was thinking, but they’re not going to say that, are they?? The other siblings correctly think they’re fucking with them, but there is always a single smidge of doubt in their minds. Vanya totally convinced Five to throw his dignity out the window and go as the creepy twins from the Shining for Halloween. Klaus is very delighted to see Five in a dress, and it becomes very obvious that Vanya had a good idea there over the course of the evening, because she can exude sweetness and innocence and Five can radiate creepy for two. They’re incredibly unsettling even though from one look they should be ridiculous. One sibling, I’d say Klaus, definitely gets them ‘Thing 1′ and ‘Thing 2′ shirts for the next Christmas. It doesn’t fit with either of their clothing styles, but they cherish them anyway. There are Christmas family pictures featuring these shirts, Allison has one of them framed. Diego and Luther definitely pilfer the shirts at some point on Christmas, but they’re too small for them, so now there’s a picture of the two of them having the respective shirts tucked into their necklines. Allison has that one framed too. Sometimes, Five and Vanya sit together and talk quietly about their mom. Whether she’s still out there. How it might have been if she’d never given them up. How their powers would have affected it all. They’re ultimately pointless what ifs, and what ifs neither of them really cared about before they knew they were twins, but suddenly their biological origins do seem to matter a bit more. Five is very convinced that no matter what, they would always have been a good team. Vanya doubts it, just a little, how could she not after the life she’s lived, after he just disappeared one day, but she wants to believe it. They try to develop their powers together, Vanya terrified of hurting him, of losing control, but Five turns out to have more patience than expected and becomes more and more adept at zapping out of the way of Vanya’s energy waves. They also 100% try to come up with some cool team twins power moves, it does not even look remotely cool and instead looks very dorky, because their powers really are not that complementary regarding combination attacks.

Twins Five and Vanya do have a very soft spot in my heart.

#they'd be neat #Replies #Anonymous

[rappaccini]

tua season 1 re-rewatch

1x08 | the far more detailed one

0:00

the episode opens with 'stormy weather' covered by emmy-raver lampman, allison's actress. aside from the levels of meta at play here, allison being a great singer is brilliant. it's another talent totally based on her voice.

makes me kind of want a version of this story where allison's a pop star instead of an actress. oooh or maybe allison starred in musicals instead of romcoms. that'd be neat!

0:45

we still haven't even seen claire in the comics, so we don't know how old she is. here she seems around 4-6. so she happened after luther was in his coma. i get the sense that's the case in the comics, since luther doesn't even know she exists until the funeral.

1:10

tua s1 really did such cool things. including a whole animated, comics-style sequence all about the kids. god i want a tua animated show.

also, allison romanticizing her missions for her daughter says a lot about how she processed it. she's not nearly as over it as she says she is.

2:00

and the eiffel tower mission is canon (but happened after they were 13). we just didn't see it for budget reasons.

2:30

we don't know what caused allison and patrick's breakup in the comics. here, it's clearly her rumor that did the job. you lose em how you get em, allison.

because yes, that's how she got him. that little "i heard a rumor that you love me?"

well:

constant: allison always rumors patrick to love her.

yes, that's who she's rumoring in that flashback. just because you hate a ship doesn't mean it has to be toxic.

4:00

look it's weird af that vanya never saw or questioned that mailbox. someone should've caught that.

6:45

in hindsight, luther having a dubconny encounter that's played for laughs and treated as funny for being dubconny was foreshadowing for the writers thinking that lila tricking diego into fucking her and then drugging and kidnapping her is a-okay.

am i overthinking it? yeah. but swap the genders and we all know both storylines would have been written and received differently.

speaking of, those two + allison getting her rumoring of patrick swept under the rug... this show has a bad double standard about female-on-male abuse and sexual situations (and... given how much toxic shit vissy get away with, female-on-female, so it's really just 'female-initiated instances of at-best-toxic or at-worst-abusive behavior in intimate settings'). fucking incinerate that before the reboot please.

9:00

constant: klaus can conjure spirits

variable: in the comics he does it easily, in the show he hasn't done it since he was a preteen. i like the change-- more development this way! klaus is pretty flat in apocalypse suite, which works because it's a six-issue comic with not enough time to give all seven characters extended arcs-- but in adaptation into a tv show that doesn't fly. going this route with klaus not only keeps him busy for the season, but makes him dynamic (and sets up the vanya twist, what with how his powers are affected by his substance abuse). i love it!

also shoutout to lauren schmidt hissrich and sneha koorse, the only female writers on the s1 crew, for penning this episode all about allison and vanya, centering them and their struggles. and shoutout to hissrich for escaping tua to showrun the witcher and taking koorse with her. you made it ladies. wish you coulda taken these characters with you.

14:35

i've neglected discussing the hazel/cha cha plotline for a while bc it's all show, all here to pad the runtime, all here to keep them as long as possible. i'm fine with it, just little to say other than 'k' and 'dang you fucked up by making them have no romantic chemistry since their relationship breakdown is because of romantic jealousy on cha's part.'

also, i feel like allison chasing after vanya finally makes sense here. honestly this should've been the first time she does it. we need to mark changes in her behavior over a season, and thus far allison just does everything perfectly for only the purest of reasons. which is boring.

15:05

okay. copwatch again.

so in the buildup to season 2 i recall emmy mentioning in an interview that allison comes from a present-day world where ~difference is celebrated~ and... man tua decided to go with a racism-is-solved future, didn't they?

i think allison, after growing up in such a specific, sheltered environment and then immediately leaping into fame, having this kind of reaction feels about right (and it builds that sense of absolute culture shock when she lands in the past and actually has to deal with what she's been shielded from by her fame and her power with no protection whatsoever). but i don't think the cop would be that friendly to her before he knows who she is.

anyway. allison palling around with a rural cop sure was a choice. i like seeing her manipulate her way around, but i think it'd be so much stronger for her to just have to figure shit out on her own.

also, cheddar namedropping sandra bullock is interesting from the prespective that allison, a romcom/feelgood movie queen referred to as a 'sweetheart' is on her level star-wise.

just to reiterate the importance of that particular term when describing allison as a public figure... hollywood puts its women in boxes, and the 'america's sweetheart' box is the wholesome, lovely woman that women want to be and men want to take home to their mothers. you have to be beautiful, sweet, charismatic and squeaky clean. mary pickford, debbie reynolds, mary tyler moore, meg ryan, julia roberts and sandra bullock are the actresses allison is in conversation with (the latter literally). and the 'america's sweetheart' box is, to this day, one that no actress of color has successfully occupied, because the box was designed to keep them out of it.

since tua s1 is set in that we're-gonna-pretend-racism-was-solved conceit, they don't really go into depth as to what that really means. allison achieved a level of success and mainstream adoration (a cop in the sticks instantly recognizes and adores her, and the public adores her even after her messy divorce and custody battle) that no black actress has achieved even today (like... zendaya'll probably be there in ten years, but still). the fact that she used her rumor to attain it is so fucking interesting and yes, allison did it because she wanted attention, and not because she cared about the art, but the fact is that she made it there. and she was probably the only black actress to do it.

man it would've been interesting for allison to discuss what that was like in s2-- especially given that allison definitely did not care about that or think about the implications at the time, i'd have loved to see her really realize how important she actually was and how much she could have helped if she hadn't been absorbed in her own ego-- but no, apparently not. apparently, allison needs to learn that peaceful protest is the only way! ~honor and dignity, kids~

also.... yeah i am realizing that the namedrop was foreshadowing for how the show would totally scrap the alternate universe. instead of leaning into the made-up world, they bogged it down with real celebrities and then abandoned it completely.

god. what a waste.

17:00

god diego's plot is bad. it just exists to get cha-cha's gun onstage so it can be used on vanya and like... you can get any gun there in any way.

18:46

a change to vanya's character in the show i love is how she practices violin continuously. in the comics, she does it as a kid, gives up at eighteen and doesn't touch it until she's thirty. here it's her occupation, her dream, her hobby, and her comfort mechanism. a wonderful evolution. it needs to stay.

19:25

i love how the show bothers to go in-depth about what exactly had reginald decide to turn against vanya and hide her powers. we never get that answer in the comics, and it being that she wouldn't let him control her, and was capable of harming him, is brilliant.

and sigh remember when vanya's powers made sense and were consistent? remember when she couldn't make it snow or fly or bring children to life or pass her powers on for the hell of it?

24:10

'your powers are tied to your emotions' yeah of course they are, this is a dark phoenix story, and in dark phoenix stories, women who are too powerful for their own good have to be put down because their emotions make them too dangerous.

(and no they're clearly not because vanya can consciously control them by thinking it through)

this being said i like that vanya gets to actually explore and train with her powers. in the comics she never gets a chance, in season 2 she doesn't either. i think it's really good for her to get the opportunity to learn her abilities.

also, not me realizing that the episode written by the women makes it clear that reg imprisoned vanya and got rid of her powers because he realized she could stand up to him, and one episode later, the one written by the men goes 'actually vanya was a KILLER and THAT'S WHY he locked her up' which is the impression the audience leaves off on (even though chronologically speaking, it absolutely was that vanya proved she could stand up to reginald). the foreshadowing for the butchering of her character in season 2....

30:15

god i wish allison just did this herself. i think it's interesting that her habit is to just have people do things for her, whether rumoring them or using her fame, and that she is profoundly manipulative... but she really. needed. to do this herself.

(god i wish s2 showed the contrast between allison routinely having people do shit for her and her having to struggle to get the hang of ordinary life.)

“you’re a cop. you gotta protect me no matter what. right?” “it’s my sworn duty.” 😬 😬 😬 😬 😬 😬

and for what it's worth, vanya's power leaping out of her and being used to kill people, and leonard using that to draw her close to him? i love it. let's keep it.

36:55

remember when vanya simply thinking she was being abandoned by her lover sent her into a panic attack so intense she awakened repressed memories? the vissy plot sure doesn't when her lover does abandon her, literally because she's repulsed by who vanya really is!

and tua x phantom: a Special Mirror awakening our heroine and being the key to a dark cavern where she is trapped by a madman because of her musical ability?

37:45

i love the addition of the anechoic cell. it's terrifying, it makes perfect sense, and it's a great setting. wonderful expansion of vanya's power being repressed. let's keep this always.

also, because it's one of the abuse symbolism things i brushed on in the first watchthrough, but no one discusses it (or if anything tries to act like klaus was the one who went through it): okay. so. tua uses allegory as a way to discuss issues about abuse. allison's rumor being her repeating her father's abusive practices on her daughter, grace's roboticism with being a battered wife, all the hargs being overgrown kids.

so. there's one more thing: so, we now have imagery of a grown man taking a little girl under his guardianship into a secret corner of the basement he set aside just for her, where the only piece of furniture is a bed. where she is kept, until he takes the other young girl (to reiterate, just the girls) down there to convince her to do something to her that will traumatize them both forever, and turn them into a frumpy, sexually repressed young woman who hides herself in layers of covering clothing, and a people-pleaser who fucks up the consent in every single relationship she ever consummates.

you see what i'm getting at, right?

42:00

variable: allison rumors vanya into forgetting her powers.

i love it. the show really does solve that comics-issue of how exactly vanya forgot about a power that strong. and the exploration of how the sisters were turned against each other is so gripping.

but i really feel like we missed out on an opportunity for allison to know everything and consciously choose not to tell vanya because she's afraid of the consequences.

it feels too convenient that she Suddenly Recall It All Right Now, and it robs us of the intrigue of allison slowly unearthing these memories over the course of a season, or even just this one episode.

and i really feel that allison being so nice and apologetic to her since episode 2 was a mistake. this is when that turning point should come: when allison realizes just how responsible she is for vanya's condition. and just how terrible an effect her rumor can have.

45:14

“and then he asked me to do something i never understood until now” 

bad phrasing. makes it sound like allison totally knew the whole time, which she didn't. wording matters.

and allison... had to be mean to vanya. because that moment where vanya instantly assumes allison did it intentionally needs to make sense. and if all we ever see is allison being dismissive, catty and cold to vanya, and leonard being gooey, charming and handsome, we would totally understand why she'd believe that.

as it is, vanya isn't making much sense because all the audience has seen is allison being kind to her and leonard being creepy.

47:00

and the rumor itself... needed to be executed better: either make it a panicked impulse, or make allison so angry that she does it anyway.

as it is, it's a little dumb: hey why don't i do the worst thing i could do in this situation?

that aside, the look in vanya's eyes is incredible. it all comes together here. this is maybe the one scene in which it really feels like page captured that rage at the heart of vanya's character. he has it here, but idk where it went for the rest of the show, esp the climax.

anyway. this is how angry vanya needs to be. she needs to be livid and she needs to be frightening.

constant: allison always tries to rumor vanya, and vanya always slits her throat to stop her.

in the comics, it happens at the climax. it's a cold, petty, battlefield decision on both their parts.

in the show, it happens here. it's a spur-of-the moment, emotional, bloody choice.

i like it better like this. what a gut punch it is on a first viewing, what a damn-near-perfect moment in hindsight (but man do those little fuckups shine through. a few tweaks to the conversation, and a change in the buildup through the season and this could be perfect).

also, the unfortunate implication talk: quite a few people hated this scene specifically because of the racial subtext. and while it would've always happened no matter what the characters looked like, yeah, on paper it absolutely is a white woman slitting the throat of a black woman who is just trying to help her, literally robbing her of her voice and her power, and leaving her for dead. and in one episode said black woman is going to be made by the narrative to say 'ah yes i was the one in the wrong, i have no hard feelings, and am immediately forgiving you. it's all about you, vanya!' and that's not good.

the show should not have had allison do that in episode 9. as for the rest, .... yeah. again. woc vanya. would've built on so much of the subtext, esp with how the sisters were pitted against each other, and would've gotten rid of so many of the implications.

49:30

see writers? you didn't have to kill patch to make this shit dramatic.

and jesus christ who edited this scene. just pick one take, don't slam us through them all.

also, constant: luther has the strongest feelings about this.

so in general this is an episode that is so close to perfect, but can't get there because of a few missteps and a lot of failed buildup in the episodes prior. i wrote a whole essay on that in the og rewatch post, and don't like repeating myself.

but from an adaptational perspective, this is the best the show's done on its own. taking a few scattered concepts from the comics (vanya slitting allison's throat + answering how vanya got her powers repressed) and whipping it into something wonderful. and letting vanya get a taste of her power too!

vanya and allison have no real interactions in apocalypse suite, so i love them getting those here. but i think it's a massive missed opportunity to not spend that time cooking the pressure that'll explode in 108. the show handles them with kiddie gloves and coats their scenes with sugary ~girls supporting girls~ shit and that's... absurd when you think about what they do to each other. let them be angry, so when we diffuse that anger and have them grow into a kinder relationship it actually means something.

101 | 102 | 103 | 104 | 105 | 106 | 107 | x | 109 | 110 | overall

#tua s1 rewatch #tua tv #tua comic

[vanveronicango]

if you don't mind me asking, what aspects of s2 did you dislike? bc for me, although i liked it a lot better than s1 (mainly for the increased focus on sibling dynamic scenes). i also kind of realized that it had kind of a Lot going on, that although i appreciated, didn't get enough equal attention? idk

i agree that the dynamic scenes this season were pretty great. we got some great interactions between characters that didn’t have much last season (personal fave being klaus/allison/vanya and every individual combo in that trio). 

i personally love reading other peoples’ opinions on shows/movies, even if they don’t match my own, because a lot of the time they open my eyes to some stuff i haven’t seen, and i love to see work affecting others the same way it does me, even if it has a different outcome. 

so, i know  i said i wouldn’t, but since you asked, under the cut i’m going list out some of the stuff i wasn’t a huge fan of, and some of the stuff i really liked. 

(edit warning: this shit is LONG. but please don’t take this as me absolutely hating the season - I didn’t. there was some genuinely enjoyable stuff. but, in my opinion, it didn’t have the spark and intent that s1 did. it wasn’t the caliber of the season i fell in love with. i think it’s still rewatchable though, unlike a certain godawful season of a certain hit netflix show...... coughstrangerthings3cough)

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

1. not enough characterization/development in most of the characters (this will be the longest point, so I’ll get it out of the way first) - for one, the siblings - save maybe vanya & allison - really... did not develop much this season, and weren’t explored as heavily as in the first season. hell, even in vanya and allison’s cases, i still think s1 did a better job at delving into their characters and psyche, even though they still had a bit of it in s2. but especially in the other siblings cases, i feel like SO MUCH of this season leaned into trivial things the fans liked, that it either (at least) took time away from or (at worst) was an active detriment to the characters’ development and plots. they said oh you like banter? we’ll give you unnecessary arguing and jokes that go on for 20 minutes too long when we could be delving deeper into these interesting situations we saw on the surface. here’s some fart jokes and forgettable music when we could be seeing more of how these characters are coping with the literal end of the world/being sent back in time/facing the prospect of never seeing their families again. 

in s1, we got luther’s immense internal struggles in living up to his “name” and only existing to please his father... diego finding his relationships through his jaded nature towards his siblings and himself, and grappling with feelings of inferiority... allison’s coping with the effects her powers have had on her life, and trying to become someone without rumoring everything into existence, which is a new feeling altogether that she isn’t quite sure how to cope with... klaus going through intense development as a simultaneously self-obsessed and self-destructive drug addict that gets thrown into a gruesome war for a year, only to watch the person he loves most die, grappling with his ptsd from war & his abusive childhood, and discovering new powers... five coming back home after decades of solitude and then being used as a weapon, trying to reestablish himself within the group while dealing with an eating feeling that he doesn’t belong in his body or in this group.... vanya, oh vanya, with her depression, anxiety, feelings of loneliness and betrayal, feeling invisible and utterly ordinary, gripping to whoever makes her feel special (and dealing with that fallout) before suddenly being slammed with unbelievably powerful abilities that she can’t control.

in s2... yes, we get lesbian!vanya who becomes truer to herself, and - through intense struggle - finds a way to harness her abilities so she isn’t so out of control and can finally feel extraordinary herself. but much of the latter was given up for a vast majority of the season bc she literally didn’t know who she was (there was a positive in that though, which i’ll list in my positives list), and so we lost a LOT of potential coping and learning time, which easily could have mingled with her sissy storyline! allison’s storyline i actually dug, i don’t have too much gripe with it except that i wish her throat injury didn’t just kind of magically heal, and they could’ve addressed it more. the end of ben’s story was interesting, but still lacked depth imo. as for the other siblings.... it all just felt like a TON of jokes that were funny at first, but quickly became stale and had me wishing they would take the story a bit deeper. that said, a lot of the gags, jokes, and quips were great, but they could’ve been incorporated WAY more intelligently, and allowed for characterization at the same time. loads and loads of banter, not being balanced with poignancy like s1 did very well.

we could have seen luther’s descent into the criminal underworld, and why he felt the draw and obligation to go that route. a more detailed look at klaus’ beginnings and relationship with the cult, his motivations (which s2 kept super shallow), more of diego’s life inside the asylum and even beforehand. but no, we got five and old five farting.

2. the music - man, the s1 soundtrack was iconic, was it not? effortlessly cool scene/music combos, countless iconic music moments, brilliantly and thoughtfully done. this season felt like they said “music? oh ok throw music EVERYWHERE” and it was just. not. good. instead of music that intertwined with each scene like it was a character itself, amplifying the tone and adding a new layer (like in s1), the music this season was mostly just distracting, forgettable, and felt like they were this close to just making a bunch of music videos. i even found myself hating a couple of their choices (the rest i just kinda... forgot). i did like the vanya/allison/klaus dance scene, but other than that.... eugh.

3. the handler - I HATE. HATE HATE HATE. when shows/movie franchises do shit like make a big deal of killing off a villain or lead and then just being like “hehe jk uwu” and bringing them back with some totally bs reason that they lived. a metal plate? really? and she magically awoke... how long after? not to mention how unbelievably lazy and lame it is. they could’ve done so much more with carmichael and the swedes, but they had to bring back... the villain we already had? don’t get me wrong, i LOVEEE kate walsh, but come on. it’s season 2. give us something fresh.

4. the swedes - in s1, cha cha and hazel had personalities, wants, desires that were all explored. we knew their motivations, their doubts, their fears. we liked to watch them. then the writers threw in the swedes... who were completely devoid of any and all characterization (they could’ve gone in my #1 point too heyo), personality, backstory, anything. it was so painful that when each one died, it was clear that we were supposed to feel something for the others, but did any of you really feel anything? no. because we didn’t know these characters at all. they were walking guns, pretty much. nothing substantial.

5. ben & klaus - being someone who loves these two characters so, so much (hellloooo, my old url?), this one breaks my heart. i was so unbelievably disappointed with them this season. all either of them were was horrible to the other. in klaus’ case, he just decided to keep ben’s presence a secret, not even telling the group ben loved them, or that he was there. he called him his ghost bitch, he used him as a personal pet, he lacked sympathy or compassion. we saw a glimmer of hope when he allowed ben to possess him, but that’s where ben’s issues start. seriously, possessing your brother past his breaking point, fighting him out of his own bodily autonomy, until he is in a state of complete exhaution? then saying he “regrets nothing”? and then the show playing it off as ~comedy~ bc that’s almost all they cared about this season... no... there was nothing in their relationship this season that compared to last’s. no moments of tough brotherly love, where ben tries to help klaus through his drug/alcohol desires or ptsd flashbacks, no moments of teamwork (besides the brief moments of consenting possession before that was ruined), no tender moments between brothers in general. all just REALLY FUCKING LOUD “comedy”, anger, resentment, bickering, and cruelty, all played for laughs. not about it son

6. “we’re not blood related!” - and, once again, getting played for laughs... for a show that became uncomfortably self-aware with trivial fan desires (but not the deeper stuff...), they sure do lack a lot of common sense of realizing what we don’t want

7. hazel (& agnes) - they went through the trouble of saving hazel and agnes just to have agnes die off-screen before the season started, and for hazel to die five minutes into his only appearance? lame. lame lame lame.

8. plot pace - i don’t really recall any moments in s1 that i thought “this scene doesn’t need to be here”, “this is moving so slowly”, or “this is being really rushed”. there was plenty of all three of those in s2. s1 was constant, everything was either towards the main goal or was filled with private and fascinating character moments. i love just watching characters live and do their thing if it’s done properly... but those scenes this season really weren’t very entertaining (save one or two), didn’t really seem to serve a purpose or hold weight, and didn’t give us any character insight.

9. klaus - the reason he’s listed specifically even after i mentioned him in the first point, was because of how personally saddened i was by his “arc”, if you could call it that. i know, him being my favorite (along with vanya) in s1 isn’t an original thought. but the writers, directors, and robert created a character so entertaining, charming, layered, and multi-faceted that it was hard not to fall in love with him. for all his goofiness, he then got a shit ton of characterization and development in the war, in dave, in his ptsd and discovering his power. his poignant moments were so powerful because of how different it was from his typical outward appearance. and fuck if he didn’t develop! this season, klaus felt... shallow. the cult stuff had no depth, no real reason to be there at all (the show really wouldn’t be much different without it, besides it being how five and allison found klaus), and it was kind of a throwaway point anyway, just another tool to get - shocker - more laughs. those touching, serious klaus scenes were completely absent in s2... he was just the ~quirky~ and/or ~high/drunk~ guy. there was literally no depth to his character at all this season. yeah, he crawled from behind the desk in e9.... and what else? nothing. robert did all he could this season, but something tells me even he was probably disappointed by just how one-dimensional klaus was. he was really no different at the end than he was at the beginning of the season, which is a no-no. 

10. klave - this is kind of an expansion of #9, but i was so disappointed by it that it needed its own spot. the only stuff that was supposed to be serious in klaus’ story - the klaus/dave stuff - was really not good. the moment the shopkeeper said “david?” in the store, i literally gasped bc i was so excited... but that was the last of any excitement i felt for the two, which, if you know me, is BONKERS considering how much i adore s1 klave. but this new young actor had ZERO chemistry with robert (fuck if rob wasn’t trying, though. it looked painful for him, but this guy really was just not well casted) (cody and rob were phenomenal together and had a fraction of the screentime this new actor had), and klaus being 30 and this actor/character being a kid was just... weird to watch. plus... so many white actors look the same, they really couldn’t find someone who looked like cody ray thompson? c’mon now ...... also, was there any point to it? at all? dave just wound up going anyway and there was literally no differences made in that situation. i think the writers thought they were catering to the audience by adding dave, but you need actors with chemistry (cody! cody!!!) and a good plot to do so.

11. s1 fallout - there really was none. that’s it. you’d think there’d be more after the explosions in the relationships of these siblings, but everything was just kind of glossed over.

12. sparrow academy - mostly here because... does this mean 7 more characters? meaning MORE time taken away from our og siblings, who already (mostly) didn’t develop well this season? i’m not gonna lie, i’m worried/

WHAT I LIKED

1. the chestnuts - i absolutely loved ray, loved allison, and loved their and their group’s work this season. the issue of race is so important all the time, but in the 60′s the tensions were so high and it would’ve been a joke if the show hadn’t addressed it or just kind of went with little racist remarks. these two had some of the most touching scenes of the season, and the sit-in scenes/every police scene had me incredibly anxious. that was well done, imo. which is proof that they still know how to do a good storyline, which makes me even more upset that the show was overall lacking that this season. i’m also so glad they didn’t go the “oh sry ray i still love luther’ route bc i literally don’t know if i would’ve kept watching. ANYWAYS im gonna miss ray sm :(

2. vanya & sissy - lesbian!vanya is all i want and more. vanya/sissy was all i want and more. these two, much like the chestnuts, breathed so much life into an often-dull season. so in love!!! vanya connecting with harlan even in just the most human ways!!! sissy finally standing up to carl (and carl d*ing god bless).... little found family oh my GOD!!! super devastated that sissy didn’t come back to the future with vanya, but because of harlan’s ending, something tells me we haven’t seen the last of them. oh and i am so conflicted about vanya’s amnesia, bc while i think so much more development could’ve happened without it, i also don’t think a lot of what happened with her and sissy could have happened, at least as quickly, if vanya was bogged down by guilt, anger, and lingering feelings of self-hatred and anxiety.

3. sibling dynamics - okay, this one is a contradiction, kinda sorta. i know i said the ben/klaus relationship was horrid. and i didn’t dig absolutely everything with all the siblings.... but they had some REALLY strong stuff this season. i know i’ve already mentioned it multiple times, but vanya/allison/klaus was everything to me this season. i knew i wanted klaus/vanya stuff happening, but adding allison to the mix gave it a whole new layer and they all just worked SO. DAMN. WELL. i just kind of wish it was vanya with her memories getting that bonding time, because i feel like the trio really could’ve gone in with how they all related to each other, their struggles, etc. but still, just some Happy Time was much appreciated. in addition to them, i really did dig a lot of almost every sibling dynamic this season. not every relationship got the attention it deserved, but it wasn’t too bad, it would be really hard to get all of that into 10 eps. plus, the fact that almost all of them grew so much closer was everyyyything. it’s odd, because good dynamics usually come with good development but uh..... nvm im keepin this section positive

4. the humor - another kind of contradiction, maybe. for some of the humor, i thought it went too long, was extremely heavy-handed, often took away from the plot, and some of it even degraded certain characters and situations (see examples throughout my points above). however, the stuff that didn’t fall into these categories was so, so good. some favorites: olga foroga, “think of batman, then aim lower”, “you look like antonio banderas with that hair” “thanks man”, i’m t h e  d a d d y  h e r e, “not everyone here likes you” “sounds ridiculous but go on”, klaus’ little pop culture quips to his cult, “being smart doesn’t make you interesting” “neither does that beard”, klaus calling ben to manifest and ben being like ”...nah”... there are plenty more, but these were the first i could think of in 60 seconds off the top of my head. some of it really was laugh out loud funny, which can be hard to do, especially consistently. if only they didn’t lean into it so damn hard, and put in WAY too much heavy-handed humor that it dampened the experience

5. old five - although i don’t love all of the stuff in the five/old five scenes, old five’s actor was fantastic! he got aidan’s mannerisms down really, really well. it’s always cool to see actors do that kind of thing when they play a character at a different age, or a character’s sibling, etc.

6. time period bigotry - i’m really, really glad they didn’t gloss over the intense racism and homophobia of the era. it was mostly brought up with allison, vanya, and klaus, and all three actors did a great job in their respective roles when expressing their reactions to the hatred. the scenes were really hard to watch, but well done.

7. pogo/grace/reggie - don’t get me wrong, i still hate reggie with a burning passion. but i actually found his scenes with these two really interesting, and it gave us great insight as to why pogo was always so loyal to reggie, and how grace was more than just a face on a robot to hargreeves. (which actually makes lack of development in our mains even more infuriating... they clearly knew to put some in there, where is it for the rest of the sibs who got nothing this season!!!)

alright, i’m gonna stop here. i’m sure i can think of more for each section, but i’ve been thinking this out and typing for an hour (holy shit) and it’s 2am and i need sleep xoxo

#anon #ask #tua2 #this is the most i've really sat and analyzed the season since it came out #feels good

[valkerymillenia]

Umbrella Academy

season 2, episode 4

New episode, new post!

This was the other post I had written out that got accidently deleted so I'm writing it all again.

1993? And Lila was 4? TOO MUCH COINCIDENCE! I still stand by my theory that Lila is one of the 43.

Yes, she has a father but that could just be her mother's husband. It's just too coincidental that the show would make her exactly the same age as the Hargreeves for no reason.

Ah the red heels. Hi Handler. These heels are really pretty though, very wicked witch with the ruby slippers. Even that outfit kind of screams wicked witch meets Cruella de Vil 😏

Kill parents, adopt child. Interesting MO, Handler. Like an evil Bruce Wayne (does this make Handler Owlman? I know, I'm not funny).

Oh, Handler pulling a Reginald with Lila!

Except, you know, she actually gives Lila positive reinforcement and affection, unlike Reggie. But her training seems just as brutal and inhumane for a child (and possibly even more violent) as Reginald's...

It's curious and interesting, a nice foil. Handler succeeds where Reggie fails- creating a loyal and effective soldier will into adulthood- because she was willing to give the kid affection and compassion. Reggie saw himself as some sort of hero creating heros but he failed at the most basic and human thing that even the villain understood.

-The filmography in these training scenes is brilliant.

-Ah, that prom look is the same as half of my classmates when we graduated 🤣 down to the blue makeup.

I'm guessing Lila's "prom"/"graduation" was her first solo assassination?

Wait, Handler wants to protect Five...? What the hell is she up to now?

Talking about killing people like it's a fun hobby 🤨

Oh, so the Swedes are triplets? I suspected but I like the confirmation.

Oh, Handler is lying ~~~~ 🎶

She's definitely following her own agenda here and she's leading Lila into danger. The question is if she's going to undermine the Commission for revenge of if she wants to prove her ability to get promoted back into administrative ranks of the Commission.

Either way, this will not end well for Five.

Lila is going to end up having to choose between Diego and Handler, isn't she?

Five stays in the car to give Luther space... No matter what Five says he actually cares about his siblings' feelings, doesn't he? He's the most overprotective of them all and always has been. It's sweet.

Ah, Luther and Vanya bonding over Five being an asshole. ☺️

"very warm and cuddly father" 🤣

Of course Vanya figured out Five was sparing her feelings, because she's not dumb

Oh, thank you for the honesty, Luther! Gotta love that.

I'm actually really happy to see Luther owning up to his mistakes instead of trying to act like the flawless leader. I think he grew a lot after accepting that Reginald wasnt perfect and I'm glad to see that growth still happening as he learns how to be an independent person. I just hope his guilt doesn't turn into even more self-hatred.

"you had kind of a bad childhood" -understatement of the century, Luther!

Luther, you have pissed off the mobster, you moron. You're on big trouble now.

Dramatic wall punch! 🙄

"when you get angry shit blows up" 😂😂😂

"you're our sister and a member of the umbrella academy" - oh, now you want to include her? The irony of this is that it's the one thing Vanya wanted for the first 29 years of her life and if anyone had said it then, the apocalypse would probably have never happened.

🖕🙊🖕

"I wonder if it's too late to be un-adopted" -ah, you know you love them, Five

Honestly, Allison actually keeps her cool really well, if I went through that phone call I would have broken something.

Why the hell does Klaus want menudo first thing in the morning?? Ew...

Klaus butchering "the frog and the scorpion"... You were doing so well but ended up completely missing the point of that story, dummy.

Diego's stab wound is healing really quickly...

Wait, he's healing quickly and Allison doesn't have a neck scar... Plus Klaus is immortal... Hmm, I wonder if quick healing is an ability they all share? Though that would put Diego's scars (and maybe Ben's death) into perspective...

Does Diego wax his chest? Those pecs are real smooth for someone who spent over two months in a 60s mental institution. 😆

"we've all had the urge" 😂 and Diego's sarcastic laugh 🤣

Who's the 12th of the Magestic 12? Oh, I WONDER WHO THAT COULD BE??? Maybe a certain monocled asshole?

"Mamie pink" is Klaus's new nickname, I don't make the rules.

Klaus, you are freaking the boy out with all this new information...

Oh no, the homophobia 😡😡😡

You know what's more heartbreaking about this homophobic disaster? Dave is likely in the closet and this whole situation here and the hate his uncle is showing must be so painful to him, it would probably bury him even deeper in the closet...

Klaus... The punch... Oh, baby... 😢 Oh no, I'm going to cry 😭😭😭

Is Raymond really implying that Allison is a spy? Damn...

Just tell him the truth, Allison! How do you marry a person without telling them something so big about yourself??

Oh, so Klaus has been sober for 3 years... Interesting.

No, Klaus! Don't start self-destructing again! 😢😢😢

It must be so painful for Ben to watch this and not be able to stop it...

Oh shoot, the cult found him.

"prophet"? "holy wanderer"? Interesting.

Poor Klaus just wants peace.

They seriously couldn't get a suit for Five too? Is he not allowed to wear anything else?

Five is onto Lila 🎶

Luther, are you stress eating? Well, at least you're not going on a bender again.

Awww, Luther- Allison reunion. Cute. Please don't make it weird.

Oh God, the awkward small talk is back 😩

I'm glad Luther is being so mature about this. I like this dynamic better.

"Vanya is on a farm. And happy" and Allison finds the happy part weird. Diego in the "nuthouse" and Allison doesn't find that weird at all, even does that 'yeah, ok makes sense' face. Klaus "cult leader" and Luther isn't surprised at all, that little "eh" was so funny.

Lord, this family is mess.

"Doomsday" *awkward chuckle* -you guys are getting way too used to this.

"Diego, try not to do anything too stupid" 😆 ah, brothers.

Lila in red heels, like mommy... 😏

Reggie taught them ballroom dancing? And Handler had the same idea?

Um.... Ok, so new theories! Do Handler and Reginald know each other? Could Reginald have been in the Commission? I'm going to be thinking about this for a while...

Just let the girl lead, Diego. Stop being a little bitch.

GRACE?!

So mom!Grace is either a cyborg or she was modeled after this woman... Makes curious about Reggie's relationship with this lady.

Diego going through the universal horror every kid goes through when realizing that mommy and daddy are "together". 🤣🤣🤣 "I can't picture it on my head. That's nasty"

She didn't tell him her name was Grace but apparently it is.

Am I the only one getting weird desperate and co-dependant vibes from Sissy?

Oh no! Save the baby!

Holy shit! HOLY SHIT! Vanya's powers are incredible! The special effects in this scene are unbelievable!

Save the child!

How did his lips get blue so quickly?

THE RETURN OF THE MAGIC ALIEN LIGHTS! AAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Ok, I need to pause to gather my thoughts... Ok, things I hope don't happen-please don't magically "fix" the disabled boy, and please don't make the powers transferrable (that's just lazy writing, don't rehash "Misfits").

However, other than that I'm just very curious what those lights will do to Harlan. Will they just save his life? Will he gain powers? Will he have some weird connection to Vanya now? I'm dying to find out!

Anyway, back to the ep.

Baby boy is ok!

Luther, did you think pissing off the mobster would end well?

Elliot just starting up at Luther in awe and visibly fighting not to poke him. 😆

HELL NO, LUTHER! NO DRUGS! DON'T YOU REMEMBER THE LAST TIME?? YOU GOT YOUR BROTHER KILLED!

Oh, Sissy... Poor woman.

There going to kiss, aren't they?

Melancholic music kicking in. Sad emotional talk. Sitting way too close. Yeah, they're going to kiss.

Aaaaaand there's the kiss! ☺️

But now I need to pause and digress again...

Yeah, Sissy's feelings for Vanya are not healthy at all. In fact they mirror Vanya's feelings for Leonard- she's unhappy with her life and clinging to the first person that gives her attention. She wants help, she wants to be rescued, she's touch and attention starved. She's co-dependant and emotionally manipulative.

I'm not saying Sissy is a bad person, she's not, she's a sad person stuck in an unhappy marriage, terrified of being abandoned (almost paranoid) and exhausted under a lot of pressure dealing with a disabled child. And then in comes Vanya, who is perfect with Harlan, so loving and kind and has nothing else to pour all her attention towards. Of course Sissy sees salvation in Vanya and is desperate to keep her.

I'm not saying Vanya and Sissy can't have a beautiful healthy relationship, they can, but not like this. Sissy is clinging too tight and using Vanya to make herself feel better and make her life easier. They both deserve better than that and I hope they get it.

I'm starting to think that all relationships in this season might be doomed to fail:

-Sissy and Vanya have a co-dependant and emotionally unhealthy infatuation and Sissy is married to a man that, while not great, still clearly loves her;

-Raymond and Allison have too many secrets between them that are causing a major rift, they can fix it but there's also the chance that Ray might not be able to accept the truth about her;

-Lila is a double agent using Diego to get close to Five, she seems to be developing feelings but the fact that she's lying about who she is and working for Handler is obviously toxic;

-Klaus is pining over a person that Dave has not yet become and while he only wants to save Dave's life, it's obvious there's too big an experience and culture gap between them for a relationship to flourish;

-Luther and Allison have become one-sided and less innocent and puppy-love than before, now it really is just creepy and unhealthy (whereas before it was understandable because they grew up together under an emotionally unavailable father and isolated from the real world, naturally they became attached and confused their feelings, their attachment wasn't healthy but it was justified and almost innocent... Not anymore though);

-we have no concrete proof yet, but it seems Ben MIGHT be pining over a girl that might not even see him, he's dead, it might be an interesting dynamic storywise, but it's not going to happen, it's unhealthy and unfair;

Some of these couples might still survive and become great, it's still really in the season after all, but they have a lot of growing to do before they get there.

Anyway.... Back to the episode.

Oh Klaus... Off the wagon...

Allison being a good sister and taking care of her brother. My heart ❤️

Luther, you idiot... Well, at least you're getting high in a safe environment.

Luther and Klaus are self-destructing, my poor boys.

"you are super weird" - Luther, you have no zero right to call anyone weird, have you looked in the mirror??

"the woman I love loves someone else" -the woman you love is. your. SISTER!

I really like poor Elliot, I hope nothing bad happens to him.

Jesus, that's creepy, Luther.

Didn't I say Reginald was the 12th? 😏

Roswell? Reggie probably has a vested interest in that.

Blink out of there, Five.

I love that Five's main move is always 'teleport onto their backs and go for the throat'.

Wait, why did Five's teleportation glitch???

The music!!!!

Wait, did Diego's aim just glitch too???

Could these power glitches be connected to Vanya's magic lights going into Harlan? Or could it be something about the Swedes? Or about Reginald's presence, seeing as he dodged Diego's power before? Hmm...

Oooh, Lila has to choose between Diego and her mission already? Interesting... Of course she chooses to save Five.

Badass Lila is amazing!

So she could have helped Diego after helping Five but instead she just walks away? Huh, unexpected.

Diego, you adrenaline junkie. Good moves though.

The ancient Greek is a surprise! I really want to know what Five said to Reginald!!! What did he say? I need to know!!!

Another great chapter!! Very emotional too!

I want more!!!

#tua #tua s2 #tua s2 spoilers #reactions #live blogging #theories #spoilers