puts this on your list of things to do
Skcnwksks *adds another stone atop the mountain, and the world sinks another inch closer to hell
But okay fr. I actually read Knight Terrors: Robin today, and with the enormous grain of salt that I am working mostly with fandom osmosis, esp re: their established relationship, I think they alllllmost wrote something that worked. Almost. Long rambling nitpicks under the cut:
I think if they had about three more pages they could have established Tim and Jason's relationship and their problems with working together a little better; and either cut Babs out as the middle man who introduced their individual issues to the audience, or used her more effectively as a mediator.
They very clearly wanted to showcase two problems: Tim is working himself to death trying to save everyone, and Jason is suffering by insisting on working alone. Good! I like this concept. It's annoying to me that Babs is the one who tries to reach out to both of them about these issues, gets rebuffed, and then is never heard from again. I'd much prefer it if they tried to talk to each other on their own and it went poorly at first, only to be forced to open up in the nightmare realm. It would tighten up their combined arc if they'd had one single conversation before the Inciting Incident occurs.
Like, don't get me wrong. I am waffling about this because Babs is a good entry voice to help introduce our primary actors. She is the person they have in common, and by having her be the voice in their ear, we see that other people in their support networks are worried about them.
But man, why not just have Tim monologue to himself about being ready to wrap up his third bust of the night and consider hitting up Jason to see if he needs help on the intergang drug bust he's in the middle of. It could be on Tim's way to the next place he's going, demonstrating that he's stretching himself thin and looking for even more to do; even with people like Jason who he isn't all that close with. And then Tim and Jason have their own snarky conversation (with some veiled flirting) about not needing each other's help or each other's nagging, and that's when the nightmare mist hits.
Because the story is only tangentially about people other than Jason and Tim. They're both too wrapped up in their own problems to notice other people reaching out to them about their fucked behavior. So Babs could have been used as a yardstick for each of them - Tim dismissed her fears at first, Jason hung up on her outright - but only if she comes back.
If Babs had also been there at the end to check in with them, yeah, it might have lessened the impact of Jason's plea for help and getting only Tim in response, but it would have been the indicator that they were now ready to hear the worries expressed by their loved ones. A very *clear* indicator of what has changed in the narrative that justifies Babs' involvement in the first place. You could have her come in right as Tim and Jason are catching up after the initial plea, having just escaped her own nightmare (*editors note: see Babs' knight terrors issue, lmao). She could groggily direct them to someone who needs help. All three of them are working together now, Tim and Jason are on their way to opening up to more people; huzzah
And hell. If you want to justify why Tim knows stuff about Jason he shouldn't - or why Jason might know something about Tim that he shouldn't for that matter - a little extra time spent together in the nightmare zone is great for that. Make them see each other's worst memories. Make them see each other's defining moments. Make it the twisted, terrible, self-directed-blame version of events that exists in their heads, and then they can separately call bullshit.
You literally put them into a shared mind palace!! Why did Tim know that about Sheila? Because he just saw it in Jason's head. How does Jason know Tim has a savior complex too big to shoulder? Same deal. IMO, this would have made their insistence that the other person is better than they think much more natural. It's not an empty sentiment because 'I've literally seen what you think of yourself and I am telling you that it isn't true'. (They're in a shared mindscape. Why not imply that they are seeing what the other is seeing too. That they're having a shared experience and are privy to each other's thoughts, emotions, and memories? Easy to do. "I feel like I'm walking to class in the 10th grade...but when I was that age, I was 6 feet under." "And I'm positive I'm picking up ammo for a gun I don't own. I think it's safe to say we're sharing a dream.")
I'm also ??? about why the nightmare zone let them talk at all?? Maybe that's something that we don't have time to explain/ it doesn't need explaining, but if I were a terrible nightmare creature and I was menacing two people at once, I simply wouldn't let them exist in the same space. Isolation is key to breaking someone's will. If you let them talk to each other they could help each other. Fool. Buffoon. Literally the only reason to let them talk to each other is if you think they'll make each other worse lmao.
There was a clever visual trick in which Jason hits the void barrier and Tim sees the ripples he makes - but iirc that is the closest we get to an explanation of how they might be breaking through to each other. And it happened after they were almost done with their second conversation. Too little, too late, IMO.
Arguments could be made that they were able to break through because they were approaching a hard limit. Jason hears Tim again when he yells at his double to shut up, when Jason himself is just about ready to throw in the towel. The moment of deepest despair, the realization for both of them that they're not cut out to solve the problem with their current method. Something something, breaking the pattern - but why let them, unless the nightmare can't do anything about it? I do like a monster with a secret weakness, so I'm willing to let it slide now that I've talked it out lol but still. It feels like an unearned conversation when the only convo they had before was mostly exposition.
Anyway. Tldr; if the writers had a few more pages and shown us Tim and Jason's conflict with each other rather than water it down via Babs (OR BROUGHT HER BACK TO TIE IT ALL UP WITH A BOW) it would have been a tighter & more interesting story.
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Though I'm unsure this will reach the right people, I need to speak my mind about the reaction to the Shubble situation.
I am overwhelmed with reassurance by how this community is supporting Shubble.
A part of me heals every time I see everyone continue to recognize that Shubble is the most important person in the room.
I am proud that we are supporting the victim.
But I do have to stress that we haven't stopped the support of the Abuser, Wilbur Soot.
While it's amazing to see the community come together for Shubble, and that we have already hurt Wilbur's reputation.
I am still afraid it's not enough.
Wilbur still has a fanbase, he still has reach. But most importantly: He has INFLUANCE.
Though I am already seeing the effects of this community's endless support of Shelby already reaching his fanbase, I can't ignore the people who haven't left.
I know that I can't speak for everyone, but it's hard to immediately cut ties with someone like Wilbur. He was someone that I used to look up to and admire. It was painful to let go of the comfort I found in him. But I still found a way to leave him.
Right now people are slowly learning more about the situation through videos on YouTube and posts here on Tumblr, but there are still people who are blindly supporting Wilbur.
As someone who doesn't use Twitter, which is where everything is taking place, I had to learn about the situation from Tumblr users fighting over Wilbur's innocence.
Which was two days before his apology was screenshotted and reposted on Tumblr.
Before Wilbur's shitty apology, there were only two videos on YouTube discussing Shelby's VOD and Wilbur's allegations, now confirmed, of his involvement as the Abuser.
With the only informative video being a quick summary of Shelby's VOD and all the main arguments for Wilbur being the abuser. Which, as I'm now making this post, the YouTubers who made those videos have yet to update the current situation.
Though there are more "informative" videos on YouTube now, they still lack both reach and current facts. With only one in particular having both requirements, xetn4's video which I'll link here: Why do my heroes become horrible people. (youtube.com).
But while xent4 has made a solid video that has checked these boxes without being clickbait, that video still only has 10k views (as of now).
Sure that's nothing to sneeze at, but that 10k compared to Wilbur's 6 million subscribers (as of now) pales in comparison.
And that's not even mentioning how his video is the only one that doesn't feel like people trying to hop onto the "Fuck Wilbur Soot" train before it leaves, using it as clickbait for views.
But even with how ungenuine those videos are they still only have a thousand views at best.
And while posts here on Tumblr have been reaching nearly a thousand notes overnight, they still don't have the proper reach.
Again, I cannot stress enough how little reach this situation has outside of Twitter.
Because while the support for Shelby has affected Wilbur's fanbase, I'm still afraid it isn't enough.
And with every day that passes my fear that this situation will be swept under the rug and forgotten only increases because I'm already watching the numbers fade with every day.
Because as long as the situation stays on Twitter, as long as people read Wilbur's apology without knowing it's about Shelby, the less people are going to know the very real threat Wilbur poses as an abuser with a fanbase.
And yes, to clarify the apology, people are going to shrug it off without knowing the heaviness of his words. Wilbur wasn't afraid to say Shelby's name, he was ensuring a safety net, a loophole.
Because if you read his apology without any of the facts, then it ensures that you stay ignorant and continue to support him under the guise of him "getting better".
And I'm not assuming here, because I've already seen it happen with my friends. Just showing them Wilbur's isolated apology multiple of my friends have asked me why it matters so much "he's already apologized and is getting better, so what's the problem?".
The problem is that Wilbur is dangerous.
And as long as someone can read Wilbur's apology without Shelby's name or the facts, then they will continue to think that everything's taken care of and that nothing has changed.
I can already picture that without Tumblr I would also be one of those people and would still be blissfully ignorant as I happily listen to Lovejoy thinking about Wilbur's next upload.
This is the very thing that is happening as long as we allow this situation to stay contained on Twitter. Because if we don't spread the facts and get the proper reach, we are allowing Wilbur to keep his peace.
His peace which was the exact thing that kept Shelby silent in the first place, hell it might even be the reason why the VOD was taken down to begin with!
Wilbur is dangerous and shouldn't be allowed peace.
Wilbur doesn't deserve a fanbase and we need this situation to reach the proper audience, his audience before it's too late.
Always Believe the victims.
Don't support the abusers.
Support Shubble.
Stop Wilbur Soot.
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favourite succession episodes?
My favorite episodes are—naturally—the ones that cause me the most pain. Either they tear me apart emotionally or they terrify me with their spot on sociopolitical commentary.
It's hard to watch a democracy crumbling in such plausible ways when you take a look at what's happening around the globe, you know?
Anyway, my top 10+1 episodes are:
All the Bells Say (Season 3, Episode 9). The back-to-back epic betrayals and tragedy (Shakespearean, Greek, Roman, Jacobean — you name it) have bewitched me body and soul and I love them. And the cinematography? Some frames look like Renaissance paintings.
Connor's Wedding (Season 4, Episode 3). Honestly, this episode is why I watch television. Now excuse me while I sob.
America Decides (Season 4, Episode 8). Give Kieran all the trophy awards for managing to make Roman so loathsome and disgusting when 5 episodes earlier he had me crying like a baby because of how pitiable his character was. "Succession" had always made it clear that these characters are awful yet human. That being said, I love how this particular episode focuses on how complicit they all are (Jess, Greg, Hugo, Gerri, Karl, Frank, the dude that takes the "pending call" decision) and how it makes you hate the Roy siblings for damning an entire nation. Kendall? Unlike Roman, he knows right from wrong and how terrible of a father he is, but when it comes down to it, he's a spineless coward. Shiv? Believes that she cares for the world (democracy, misogyny, racism), but is actually a huge hypocrite. When her country is about to succumb to fascism, the first thing she can think of is to double down on her deal with another amoral and abusive billionaire. She cares more about sticking it to her brothers more than anything else.
This Is Not for Tears (Season 2, Episode 10). Everything about this episode is perfect: the music, the script,the direction, the acting. I'm a Shiv stan, but Tom's "I wonder if the sad I’d be without you, would be less than the sad I get from being with you" absolutely breaks me. Logan mentioning the Incas and Kendall Judas kissing him before fucking him over? [chef's kiss]
With Open eyes (Season 4, Episode 10). Sad to see you go, happy that you chose to keep your legacy and not drag, beloved show.
Church and State (Season 4, Episode 9). Please respect my privacy while I cry. There was Roman's heartbreaking breakdown of course, but what really got to me was Marcia touching Kerry's hand and then telling Shiv that Logan hurt all of them. Hiam Abbass is there for 5 mins and unsurprisingly manages to steal the show.
Nobody Is Ever Missing (Season 1, Episode 10). When the series turned from capitalist satirical drama to tragedy of the highest caliber was when it really won me over. "You're my number one boy" indeed.
What It Takes (Season 3, Episode 6). Like Shiv said about Jordan-Peterson-meets-Trump Mencken, it's terrifying to watch a “YouTube provocateur” whose vibes are “aristo-populism … ‘rape is natural, it’s all red pill, baby'" gain power.
Chiantishire (Season 3, Episode 8). Dickpicgate, comedy gold. Hearing your mother tell you that it'd have been better if she had had dogs instead of you and that you'd make a terrible mother too? Harriet Walter, the actress that you are.
Tern Haven (Season 2, Episode 5). I love season 2. I love the Pierces. I love Rhea. I love Nan. Holly Hunter and Cherry Jones should have been regulars is all I'm saying.
Dundee (Season 2, Episode 8). "L to the OG" way before "R to the IP" took place.
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Honorable mentions:
Tailgate Party (S4E7). That Tom/Shiv balcony scene... Give Snook all the awards.
DC (S2E9). When Shiv manipulated and silenced that victim of sexual harassment and abuse, showing us her true colors. When Rhea proved that she had something resembling a moral backbone after all. “This doesn’t feel right" indeed.
Rehearsal (S4E2). Because the last thing that Logan said to his children was, "I love you, but you are not serious people."
Honeymoon States (S4E4). Had not expected this episode to be so funny and yet.
Too Much Birthday (S3E7). Always a pleasure to watch Kendall fall apart and the 3 siblings backstab and be awful to each other.
Which Side Are You On? (S1E6).
Safe Room (S2E4).
The Disruption (S3E3). For Snook's acting after Kendall interrupts Shiv with Nirvana's "Rape Me" and Kendall's cowering in the server room after Shiv published that letter about him. Jeremy Strong's acting says so much even when his character doesn't utter a word.
The Munsters (S4E1). Greg's "Where are your kids?" was pure savagery. Logan should have been given some aloe vera for that burn. No, but how dare Brian Cox make me feel bad for the fallen king? It's "Breaking Bad" all over again.
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