#maggie really is a pro at foreshadowing

[valleys-lily]

Another small thing i realized while rereading trc:

Kinda in the middle of trb, Adam says about blue she builds her relationships like a cycle, and because of a "strange spell" it feels like she had always been searching for Glendower with the boys. And these quotes might not be that interesting on themselves, but what did we learn in the later books? Time is a cycle. It does not happen in a straight line. So these feelings Adam has about Blue are actually true and accurate, because time is an ocean and their friendship is a circle and they have searched for Glendower before and will continue to do so. So these quotes foreshadow the time is a circle part which becomes more important in the later books

#maggie really is a pro at foreshadowing #the raven cycle #trc #adam parrish #ronan lynch #blue sargent #gansey #trb #tdt #bllb #trk

[uncleasad]

This was written from notes jotted on or about January 10th.

“We lose — because we won.”

It was a slap, but it felt like a gut-punch.

But first…all of the political commentary this episode was spot-on, from the silly joke about only two parties, to the blistering criticism of the “values” and campaign methods—blaming immigrants and others—of the Know-Nothings, through all the double-entendres of the young ladies’ discussion, the perfect spearing of the modern Republicans by means of the original values of that party (RIP, Party of Abolition, of Lincoln, and of Reconstruction). So, too, was the nod to the youth—and young women in particular—and their engagement with politics, and what they might do with suffrage, as we have seen over the past decade.

It never ceases to amaze me how many times parts of our own past serve as highly-polished mirrors to our present, even today, how the past is never really past.

Now back to the plot itself: Austin knew Emily would be upset if he won with her poem, we knew she would be upset…and she was (and not just because he put a lame title on it and claimed he wrote it for Sue—at least he had the good sense to commit Emily’s verse to memory, or his attempts at passing her work off as his would have been even weaker than his railroad poem). That was a lose-lose situation for both of them, and yet they went ahead; Emily persisted, and Austin (like Edward sometimes) couldn’t say no to her.

The fallout from Emily’s faked illness continued in the episode’s first(!) shocking moment; Emily and Sue are horribly broken, and I don’t know how they find their way back. Things don’t get any easier for Sue, who then finds herself horrified by Austin having the Beecher baby dug up as they sit there and watch 😳 (Pro tip: if your fiancée is traumatized by the combination of childbirth and death, perhaps having her watch as your gravediggers dig up a dead baby is not a great idea.)

Poor Sue has to endure one more Dickinson yet this episode, alas. Mrs Dickinson is as tactless a “mother” to Sue as to her own children, and, like a double-edged sword, is in the same moment—giving Sue her heirloom housewife manual—cruel to both Sue and her own daughters, as she implies that neither daughter will ever be married, despite Lavinia’s earnest desire to be so.

Ah, the Fellowship of the Freaks! We see a bizarre manifestation of Emily and Ben’s connection and shared interests…and now know the truth about Ben, or at least Emily’s subconscious’s version of the truth.

After Edward’s rage—blaming Emily for his (near)failure in the election, and assaulting her—the shot of Maggie was perfect. She’s horrified by the “men of decency”—in that moment, Edward is no better than the Know-Nothing thugs who beat her brothers for being Irish. Maggie, like Henry in episodes prior, serves as the conscience—both the “disadvantaged” holding a shining light on the failings of our values of equality, of liberty and justice for all.

Moreover, the former congenial tension between Emily and Edward is no more, and it seems now foreshadowing of a darkness to come?

#musings #Dickinson #Dickinson 1x07 #Emily Dickinson #Edward Dickinson #Austin Dickinson #Sue Gilbert #Emily Norcross Dickinson #Ben Newton #Maggie #Know-Nothings #history #the past is always present

[wolfwhiteflowers]

10x16+, Connie, and NM thoughts

We got spoilers from DearTVshow about the finale...or ep 16.

So #TWDSpoilers ... about Caryl, *NM*, Connie, etc.!

*pro Caryl post.

ok yeah I have a lot more thoughts from the TWD news and spoilers. okaaay. 

So from DTV, the source said Connie is alive but only audience knows and it’s real quick.

--“I’m told that no one knows Connie is alive when the viewers first see her. Also, Carol & Daryl make up, with a hug, but no canon. And New Mexico is mentioned once again.”

--“Caryl has a big reunion hug on par with ‘No Sanctuary’. Daryl asks if her revenge is done. And she says "Well, I’ll never have what I want"

Daryl then says: "You have me...and New Mexico is out there still." And then Carol says “they have some things to do first”  

Ok my first thought is that I was surprised to learn Connie was alive and was thinking what are the writers are doing with the Connie/Magna cave plot and what will they do with Connie later on. Long ago, I made a post that I’m like in the middle of what I want with Connie. Still am, I guess, I hope writers write Connie like a Sasha than like a Beth. Sasha is more like a her own character and isn’t propping for a ship. Anyway I hope it means we get more sister bonding with Connie and Kelly. Idk what s11 will be like but just want smart and respectful writing. 

So, with that C/M cave plot, it then makes me worried about Magna and other fans are worried about Kelly (kill off sister pairing trope). But in the finale spoilers/pictures, it seems they’re also both safe too!   I think so...I think Magna is safe. There’s a promo pic of her after the horde moment. I think that instagram pic from GN of walkers eating a person is Beatrice(Oceanside lady). I think I saw someone pointed out she got the same bright blue shirt on. Anyway, yeah that crazy cave-plot is done with and is dumb. No one died from it..from TWD a horror show lol. It’s all really ends up being a plot to make Caryl/Carol angst, which the s10 is mostly about.

Like I thought, if Connie is alive it would be a short scene based on filming tracking. And therefore it’s a short scene for Connie reveal. I’m surprised only fans will learned about it. Maybe she's at Commonwealth idk and in 10C or s11 the comic plot of Michonne reuniting with her daughter will play out but with Connie and Kelly. I guess that’s what will happen but sigh ..it’s like down playing the comic version. Plus ..they kinda ruin the surprise too..? (Sorry.. it’s just comic Michonne’s story and that plot was everything. But I guess TV Michonne will do something like that too. Whatever.. from the comics it was so meaningful for comic-Michonne!) 

Anyway, the more I think about Connie’s alive reveal the more it’s like meh. It’s like writers just...still ..write her like a minor character. Idk if they could’ve done more or not but meh. She’s alive but no one knows...so ... no one cares? We get closures from characters, we get Caryl forgiving each other, but they don’t know about Connie. It’s like it doesn’t matter Connie lives or not, character’s stories are fine. I also think ..to think of s10B of Connie’s story, she doesn’t have that good ending in s10. It’s like half there and meh. Maybe other characters will mention Connie in ep 16, it would be a nice lil wrap up for Connie fans. I’m just saying it’s kinda crap writing for Connie fans. But whatever, she’s alive and there’s 10C. Eh. I hope the real reveal scene on the show will be better..like she’s at Commonwealth so then it’s like moving the plot forward. 

ETA. spoiler from instagram, Connie is revealed alive and wakes up and sees Virgil ..in time to save her I guess. That’s it...I guess. I’m glad there’s more to move the plot. But Idk where Virgil and Connie will go to..or when? Maybe they show up in ASZ later. Oh I guess we won’t get mentions of Michonne in ep 16. It would be later I guess when they’re in ASZ to talk about Michonne and the plan on finding Rick. eh wish it was on ep 16. So about Caryl. I'm so glad Caryl will talk it out and he mentions NM!  Even when they don't know about Connie being alive. It's a real forgiving scene between them. Someone said that he was mostly upset in 10b because of Carol’s actions and it’s proves..that it is what is about. Seriously s10 is so Caryl - season. Daryl is all about Carol this season. omg. shoo haters. (haters are weird..can they be real and if they don’t like how it’s going ..i mean if it’s me, I would’ve quit the show.) Anyway, I’m like LOL at the haters. I just omg like from the spoilers, Caryl forgave each other, made up, had a great hug, Daryl saying “you have me ..and let’s go to NM.”, all while they think Connie’s dead. sheesh. It really doesn’t look good for DCon shippers. whatever. 

I’m curious how the Caryl scene will go and all and how s11 will go. :3 So yeah they got stuff to do first = which makes me think of how s11 is the final season and writers got stuff to do. Wrap up character stories and stuff. Idk what they will do with them and Grimes kids and whatever the main story/Rick’s story will go. Also s11 is a long season and idk what they’ll do. Plus s10C lol. I can’t speculate.  

They mentioned NM again! My thoughts on “New Mexico”. Since we learned about the spoilers and the spin-off show, the moment is a clear foreshadowing moment. Like for real, they will run away together. It’s not some end of the series idea wishful hopeful moment. idk the word. Like they’re legit leaving ASZ. 

So the more I think about it and I’m just wondering why “New Mexico”? It just seems oddly already answered or so. Like ok here’s a plot and let’s go. I wish there’s some reason or build up to it why NM. Idk. Maybe Daryl will explain more why he wants to go there.  I also think, unpopular opinion?, maybe they won’t go to NM but it’s the idea~~ and that NM means they will travel away together. I’m speculating about the overall story of TWD/Rick movies ..., so maybe the writers want Caryl to travel and help out in some way for Rick/’s plan, in the spin-off show. Maybe part of CRM is in like Texas, so Caryl is like well ok we’ll do it, we’ve been wanting to travel so let’s go to Texas.   Or, it’s in s11 finale when Idk everyone kinda knows about Rick and CRM situation, maybe like Michonne will say (idk) we need someone to find supporters for Rick against CRM elsewhere-NM or Michonne will say Rick is out there in the west somewhere, we need someone to search for him in the west, Caryl is like let’s go to NM first.

I also wonder how spin-off is the Caryl spin-off show is. Will it only be Caryl-shippy? The Dixons-with Lydia and Dog? or Caryl and Grimes kids too? Caryl and others from s10-not so shippy/drag on slowburn? So far I’m leaning toward Caryl - shippy and (maybe Lydia, Grimes kids and Dog) will be there. I actually want Caryl with Grimes kids and Lydia and Dog. But idk. sigh TWD overall planning there... What about the kids?

Idk. It’s all whatever writers want to do with Rick’s story, s11 and the spinoff show. It’s all hard to predict and kinda hard to not get hopes up ahh.  I can kinda imagine Daryl giving Dog to Connie in s11 if Dog is not included in Caryl spin-off show. I think Grimes kids could stay with Maggie, Aaron, or others at Commonwealth or ASZ. Idk about Lydia, maybe she stays in ASZ or Hilltop. 

#caryl #twd spoilers #anti d0nnie #twd caryl #caryl and nm #c0nnie twd #*twd #twd speculations

[paperclipninja]

Younger post-ep ramble 7x01

I joked in my finale ramble at the end of season 6 that the episode was called ‘Forever’ because that’s how long it would feel between seasons...well joke's on me because now, after 587 days, we are FINALLY here. The Younger drought has been a tough one, but we have been generously compensated by getting the first four episodes all at once, which is both exciting and also, turns out, incredibly overwhelming. As usual the thoughts and feelings are many, mostly feelings (read: I am NOT ok) but let’s start off with a delve into the premiere episode, ‘A Decent Proposal’.

The episode picks up within minutes of where the season 6 finale left off, with Diana and Enzo not wasting any time to hot foot it out of their wedding reception and into their happily ever after (Arrivederci bitches!). Of course I’m very happy for Diana and her happiness but there’s only one couple’s happiness that I am on tenterhooks about now that Diva is sorted and that is Charles and Liza, as they watch their sprinklers fizzle out in some sort of awkward, symbolic, anti-climax. 

You may recall that mere moments earlier, Charles had popped the question on the dancefloor before the two were separated by an obligatory conga line, and Charles quickly assumes that Liza’s lack of enthusiasm to shout her answer across the reception of another person’s wedding is an answer in itself. As anyone who has read my rambles before knows, I unapologetically fly the Team Charles flag, and let me tell you, despite her supreme stalling techniques (you’re not divorced yet, we should probably speak to the children blah blah), hearing Liza say, ‘my answer is, I love you’, my jaw hit the floor. I’m sorry, did Liza Miller just declare her feelings openly and directly and with absolute certainty??? We’re 33 seconds into the new season and I AM SHOOKETH DARREN. 

Speaking of declaring feelings openly and directly, I love absolutely everything about this opening scene. The music choice was perfect and really helped build the moment, as Charles told Liza he understands her hesitation before un-asking her to marry him (so that when the she’s made her mind she can pop the question - I kid you not, this has always been my dream...). The music cutting out and just hearing the crickets as Liza asks if he’s really withdrawing the proposal, his quip about her having to make the next move, assuming he’s still on the market (I love/hate this foreshadowing btw), it is Charles/Liza banter at its best and my sappy heart was soaking up every morsel. Throw in some CGI fireworks and the observation that they are sign (which may or may not play out at a later date) and you have yourself a pretty darn near perfect start to Younger’s final season.

Speaking of talking openly and directly, one of the staples of the Youngerverse, the Maggie morning debrief, is back as our way to gain insight into the thoughts, feelings and ponderings of Liza. Straight off the bat I am very pleased that Maggie has fully committed to ‘Chaz’ for Charles and I’m even happier that we actually hear these two talking about what’s going on because honestly, the last couple of seasons the Maggie/Liza convos, which we traditionally rely on heavily to know where Liza is at and to hear Maggie’s sage/sometimes terrible advice, have been skimmed over or felt rushed. We are also reminded that Liza has indeed seen Charles’ goods (the Empiriconda, she’s meaning the Empiriconda) and that the sex is hot, because we need to have all the information on top of the declarations of love to highlight how their relationship is pretty much perfect so that what transpires is even more painful.

Other things that are painful include the fact that Diana will be decidedly absent for most of the season (to be fair scheduling/covid are pretty legit reasons and in ep 1 we can chalk that up to her honeymoon, so more lamenting on that later), but early on it provides some pretty fab Lauren Diva-worshiping. Donning a baroque print Moschino suit that would’ve made Fran Fine jealous, Lauren is clearly distracted by the responsibility of her interim role at Empirical, as her mother frets about the theme for her 30th birthday party over face-time.

Keeping up the chaotic energy, we also discover that Kelsey has to go and let Quinn know she no longer needs her money (these characters’ ongoing relationship with the woman who has tried to ruin all of them at some point really needs unpacking with a good therapist at this stage) and Josh is in full frantic dad mode because he thinks Clare is trying to kidnap Gemma (lol that Lauren straight up calls her out on it later). Two quick points here:1) love seeing this side of Josh and 2) love Kelsey’s calm, measured reassurance that of course Clare would want her family to meet Gemma. I will say though, Josh meeting Rob for the first time when he’s about to go with Clare and Gemma to Ireland and hearing this guy he doesn’t know from a bar of soap exclaim, ‘I’m just in love with your daughter’ was super unfair. Not cool Clare, not cool. 

Kelsey keeps her cool as she breaks the news of her change of heart to our fave resident villain, who comes complete with a bowl of fortune cookies she ominously encourages Kelsey to consult while also enjoying her own fortune, ‘a new love will come into your life’. It’s all very OTT and ridiculous in it’s obvious foreshadowing and I am here for every minute of it because I sincerely love to hate Quinn very much.

My love of all things over the top is further fed by Lauren entering Diana’s office and making her way to the desk - the music, the way Lauren looks at the framed picture of Diana and Enzo before relegating it to the drawer, any moment I was expecting her to utter ‘my precious’ as she became more and more entranced by the power of the neckwear, before Liza abruptly broke the spell by asking what she was doing and warned her off her consideration of claiming Diana’s office as her own. Very much appreciated the continuity later in the episode when Liza is very distressed that Lauren has gone full-Trout with the chunky baubled ornament around her neck, though Lauren is less Invasion of the Body Snatchers and more Nancy Drew at this point, as she has caught wind of Charles’ proposal while reviewing video footage from Diana’s wedding which she decided, for some reason, to show Josh, who was ‘still not interested’ (we hear your words Josh but your face says otherwise). I am very on board the Liza/Lauren dynamic and their ‘circle of trust’ as Liza asks that Lauren keep the proposal to herself (we really haven’t seen the friendship between these two much) and Liza’s gratitude, ‘Thank you...Di-va’, is hilarious, as is the response, ‘my pleasure, Queen’.

We get many fine moments in the office this ep, the first meeting when there are formal announcements and speeches made welcoming Kelsey back...to a conference room of Charles, Liza, Lauren and a random guy we’ve never seen or heard from before and never will again it seems. It makes me laugh that every person in the room except the dude we’ll never know already knows everything but hey, formality is important I guess? The pitch for ‘Little Women in Space’ by an author played by an actress who is friends IRL with Sutton Foster and they were in the musical Little Women together is honestly too much but also just the right amount and this show does meta so well (not to mention Lauren’s excited outburst upon realising her party theme plus her making sure Liza knows that she knows about the proposal. Subtle as a sledgehammer is our Lauren). 

One not-so-fine moment is the extremely out of left field resignation of Zane followed by the completely douchey moment of him breaking up with Kelsey via face-time with the line, ‘I love you Kelsey, take care’. I’m sorry, what?? On the one hand, I get it that CMD wasn’t available for the season so in some respects better to deal with it swiftly and move on, but it was very abrupt and strange. I had zero investment in the pairing so it doesn’t overly affect my viewing, but any fans out there shipping those two, are you ok? Because that was a brutal way for a pairing to simply cease to exist.

So we have I love yous being thrown around by Kelsey and Zane as they break up because that makes sense (in retrospect I should’ve seen what was coming because these words clearly mean NOTHING *breathes deeply, exhales slowly*) but thank goodness Liza is there to comfort Kelsey, whose statement that she really doesn’t care would be a lot more convincing if she wasn’t crying inconsolably. We get a beautiful transition from Kelsey’s office to Charles’ with a sweeping aerial shot across the autumnal canopy of Central Park along with the gentle music adding to the relaxed pacing of the episode. Liza doesn’t want it to be weird between her and Charles now that the proposal is out there (well actually, its 100% in her court but yes), so he reassures her it’s not weird at all by planting a kiss on her that almost triggers the sprinklers because friends, it is HOTTT. Cue super cute exchange about pro and cons lists, lovingly looking into one another’s eyes and then, another ‘ I love you’ from Liza to Charles followed by Charles responding, ‘I love you too’, and despite my deceased status at this point, it was magical. But also WHAT. IS. HAPPENING. 

These two are so enamoured with one another and it’s as though it’s something they just say to each other all the time, but this is literally the first episode we’ve heard any kind of expression of feelings to one another since the season 6 premiere and even then it wasn’t this direct; Liza ran away and Charles told her he didn’t mind not being at the office because he did it for the woman he loves followed by a cute story about how he can do maths because he’s had feelings for her for 16 years. Don’t get me wrong, the entire scene this episode was perfect and it was SO well done in the way it captured the best parts of their dynamic (damn you Darren Star for being so good at what you do), but it also felt like we were being shown the dream version of what could have been before it’s all snatched away.

Not unlike Millennial, which is like naming a business Boomer Print according to the table of boomers at the investor meeting who blindside Kelsey and Charles by voting to restore the name Empirical (head boomer has clearly had it with millennials, indicated by his statement, ‘who gives a shit about millennials any more?’) and so it is done and Kelsey is officially having a very bad week. It is while enjoying a quiet bourbon in the bar that evening that Charles is joined by Quinn, who is allegedly on her apology tour to explain to investors why she dropped out of the Senate race, but also offers Charles what seems to be a sincere apology for treating his company like a toy (prediction: nothing is ever as it seems with Quinn). I have a confession to make and believe me, I don't like it any more than you do - they absolutely nailed the set up of tension and a little bit of a spark between Charles and Quinn in this scene IMO and I...I *whispers* I liked it.

What I liked even more was Lauren’s completely in character entrance to her own birthday party, omg it’s so ridiculous and perfectly her and Denise telling her daughter, ‘fix your crotch, good girl’ had me chuckling. I feel like we’re getting Kelsey’s set up for the season at this party too, as she’s feeling unsure of what defines her now, and the conversation about defining things carries over into Josh and Liza’s chat when he asks her if congratulations are in order. This exchange between the two of them is just lovely, with Liza clearly feeling a little awkward talking to Josh about Charles, but Josh reassures her that he does like him, for her, and that it brings him joy to know she’s happy. They agree that their relationship doesn’t need to be defined, and that they'll always be in each others’ lives no matter who they’re with. It feels very final for their romantic relationship and I would be celebrating the end of the triangle had I not clocked Josh’s fallen expression as Liza walks away. I really do hope that Josh finds someone he loves and who loves him the way he wants to be loved this season. Josh’s words gave Liza some clarity of her own and so we find ourselves at the magnificent Seaglass Carousel, home of Liza and Charles’ first proper date, once more.

Charles is clearly full of hope and expectation as he meets Liza and they remember the time he and the beard we try to forget about brought her there and it’s all amazing and beautiful and...*collects self*...Liza tells him that she just wants to keep riding the perfect ride. She once again tells him she loves him (we’re up to three times in one ep now for those of you playing at home), that all she wants is his heart and that she wants to be happily unmarried to him every day. To say this does not go down the way she is expecting is an understatement; we learn that Charles doesn’t want a ride, he wants to get off the carousel and not live in a fantasy. He believes in marriage whereas she believes they are now finally free and folks, this is why you talk about your stance on marriage in a relationship BEFORE you pop the question out of nowhere at someone’s wedding. 

You can see on his face, as Liza says she doesn’t want to define their relationship by the rules and obligations of marriage, that he’s hearing that she is not all in (whether that’s true or not) and he thanks her for letting him know what’s in her heart. You know the bit that actually plunges the knife into my heart? Charles shaking his head as Liza says his name, clearly overcome with emotion, before he kisses her on the head looking as though his world has just come crumbling down around him. That knife just gets twisted even further as Liza is left there in disbelief, (we are all Liza in that moment honestly), trying to process how her own declaration could be so easily rejected. You know, I knew it was coming, but it didn’t make it any less painful. I can see it from both perspectives and I have no doubt that these two characters have a lot they need to address and work through as a result of their own failed marriages if they’re going to have healthy relationships moving forward. 

I tell you what, after so long with no new episodes, this first episode of the season was concurrently beautiful and heart-breaking and one thing’s for certain - this final ride ain’t gonna be smooth. Now if you’ll excuse me I’m just going to go and regain some composure so we can start on ep 2...

Season 6 ramble collection can be found here

#youngertv #younger tv #7x01 #reiew #ramble #liza miller #charles brooks #kelsey peters #maggie amato #lauren heller #younger season 7 #tv show

[nellie-elizabeth]

The Walking Dead: The Tower (10x15)

It looks like the finale of The Walking Dead has been postponed because of COVID-19, so this is where we will be leaving these characters for a while. How does this episode hold up as a finale? Let's dive in!

Cons:

I think Daryl and Judith are adorable and I always like seeing them together, but their scenes in this particular episode didn't really work for me the way I think they were supposed to. Far too sentimental, if I'm being honest. It just felt like Daryl was making a declaration that "I'll never leave you... but I can't promise because we don't know what's going to happen," specifically so people can be scared he's going to die. Now, I don't think they'll kill Daryl off. I think he's one of the last things holding this show together, honestly. But that whole moment with Judith seemed designed specifically to tease the potential of him getting hurt or dying or disappearing soon. I hate that kind of plodding, heavy-handed foreshadowing. And Judith was a little bit too "kid on TV" for me this week, with her pathetic little voice saying she doesn't want Daryl to leave her like Michonne did.

Also... Negan telling Lydia that he tied her up to keep her safe is such malarkey. It makes no sense that Lydia was ever tied up in the first place; it was so clearly just done to fool the audience about Negan's loyalties.

Pros:

One thing I did kind of appreciate about Judith and Daryl was that moment when Judith admits that Michonne is going off to help some people that she met, but she doesn't mention Rick. It's interesting to me that she kept that information back, even as I was dying to know what Daryl's reaction to the news would have been.

I liked Kelly and Carol spending some time together. You'd expect Kelly to hate Carol for her role in Connie's very-probable death, but in fact, Kelly says she understands Carol. She knows that she's always been the person who needs to handle things in her own way. And she gets being in denial about the right thing to do. I also loved how Kelly talked about sign language. As she has started to lose her hearing, she's been scared about what that means - but her Deafness is actually her super-power, as everyone around her starts to learn some ASL to be able to communicate with her. That's such an incredible and empowering message, and now I'm really hoping that knowing sign language is going to be a key skill in a vital moment. Maybe the gang can pass messages to each other discreetly without alerting Beta and the others? We'll have to see!

Beta has completely lost it, and it is honestly kind of fascinating to see. He has taken control of the Whisperers, but he bristles at the implication that he's the new Alpha. He remains Beta, and woe be to anyone who says otherwise. As the episode ends, we see the hoard closing in on our gang of intrepid heroes, leaving us on one hell of a cliffhanger. I want to be annoyed about this, because Alpha's death didn't actually really change much in terms of the Whisperers being a threat... but also, I think Beta is going more for an all-or-nothing strategy, while Alpha might have taken her time and tried something a bit more nuanced and clever. Also, we weren't meant to be left with this cliffhanger for long, and I can't exactly blame the show runners for the real-life pandemic that has put a temporary halt to the fake one in The Walking Dead.

My favorite part of this episode was the story with Princess! At first, I kept wondering if we were going to find out somehow that Princess was the person who had been talking to Eugene, luring him here in need of companionship, but that's not the route we went here. Princess really is just a loner trying to survive in a crazy world. Her isolation has clearly started to affect her mind. When Yumiko, Ezekiel, and Eugene meet Princess, she seems erratic at best, insane at worst. She scares away their horses with gunfire, and seems not at all self-conscious about the creepy Walker tableaux she has set up through town.

But she also wants to help. So even as Eugene is anxious to move on and reach the rendezvous, they follow Princess in search of promised vehicles. She leads them into a mine field, apparently just an accidental detour, but at the end of the day her loneliness and despair really endear her to the gang, and Yumiko, the most suspicious and cold from the start, extends her an invitation to join them on their journey.

I love Princess. She is an instantly invigorating presence on the show. She's funny, she's erratic to the point where you can't ever feel quite safe with her, which adds an interesting element. I loved the parallel between Princess and Eugene, as well. He too has lied to people just to keep them around. That's how we met him on the show, when he was pretending to have government information so Abraham and Rosita would keep him safe.

I liked that this whole plot thread sort of felt like a wacky detour, but also introduced a new character, who could be quite interesting, either in the short-term or as a more permanent addition to the cast. I'm also desperately wishing I could see Eugene meet his radio friend now... I can't believe we have to wait to find out more!

So there you have it. This episode was obviously not intended as a finale when it was written and shot, but I think it works pretty well nevertheless. We'll see how long we have to wait before we see the conclusion, and Maggie's return!

8/10

#review #the walking dead #the walking dead review #walking dead #walking dead review

[amwritingmeta]

14x05 First Impressions

I love Maggie!! Poor Maggie! :/

Sam as uber-leader! Here I thought it would be a gradual process but he’s organised and clever and innovative and concerned and delegating like a fucking pro! Hell yes! How long has he been thinking about this? About the good they could do if they started working together in this way, and pre-planned and went in strategically? The strategy is making me salivate!! Go Sammy go!

Oh Dean!! He’s out and moving around the bunker and taking the backseat. Shiversss! Love that they’re working together too. Feels like they’re extremely on equal terms atm. Shiversss!

I love these new fake identities they get to strap on. Insurance, historic society. Keep going, please. Set up for hilarity because I really really really would love for an actual reason for Dean and Cas to pose as... colleagues...

Bobby CAP Singer and Mary TRENCH Winchester. This cap and the clear Dean/Cas mirror. Hmh. @dimples-of-discontent tagged me in a post yesterday and I’ve yet to read it because I’m only now getting to watch the ep, but I saw the title. That Dean is a sleeper agent for Michael. Intriguing.

Sasha. Alright, I always love it when characters aren’t just immediately on board. :P

This case ain’t a milk run! :P I’d love that Milk Run ep that Jared pitched! XD

Bobby!!! Noooooo! SAM’S FACE!

Oh Sam! Oh his self-doubt. Oh god. Yaaaaaaassssss!! Mary Winchester! It is what he was born to do! God I love Mary!! Oh.

Oh my God.

Hahahah hahahahahha MEREDITH GLYNN!! Oh my god the Dean/Cas mirror gets even stronger holy fuck. This is... is this actual... wait is this foreshadowing for... Okay, no. Horses held. Oh they are HELD, my peeps.

Oh the talk about John. I spent all day yesterday on Davy meta and John is part of that so this was nice af to hear, because yes of course, John changed after Mary died. And now we know that she knows he did. Leaps and bounds with the missing info here!! Gah!

Oh god Sam!! Don’t kill yourself. It makes sense though. He worries about others more than himself and, of course, takes every mistake squarely on his own shoulders. Oh bub gotta learn to delegate the responsibility along with those tasks!! This is good and needed room for growth!

Hunters. ://

Hehe dusty!Dean. (why is it always so hot?)

Oh freaky with the dark room and the scare!

Lets it’s dinner go AWOL. Oh my god Sasha’s face!! XD

Callback! Fred Jones!! Epicsode! Love that Sam puts it together.

Ohhhhhh now we get to the meat of it! Textbook workoholic with textbook narcissistic tendencies. Sounds familiar to me. :D

Oh my god I see patterns. But I gotta post the Davy meta first. *tomorrow*

Dads. Dad correlations. My head is exploding. Exploooooooooodiiiiiiiing. No sorries. Worship idealisation aaaaahhhhhhh MEREDITH!!!!! Aaaaahahhahahhahahhah!!!!

LET IT GO!!! Jesus DEAN!!

Yeah you do. You DO TRY!! Oh my FUCKING GOD!!!

MAGGIE!

Oh Sam. :’)

More daddy issues! A soldier beating up his father, who is dressed as Michael, stabbing him with an angel blade and they crusified him oh my good lord what is haaaaaaaappeniiiiing this narrative is so pretty!! Oh wow oh WOW OH MY GOD IS THIS NOT FORESHADOWING THEN I DO NOT KNOW WHAT IS.

But.

It’s almost too obvious. >.> Exactly what we want. >.> Pretty much what we expect... Hmmmmmmmh. I smell red herring possibilities. They’ll plant this obvious foreshadowing while planting something subtler that will make just as much sense... Then again, maybe they won’t and we’ll get Dean breaking free because Cas’ life is threatened. Wouldn’t that be something???

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!! A callback to Hunteri Heroici AND What Is and What Should Never Be this episode?? I mean holy hell with the feels already and THIS IS AMAZING!!

Oh Michael! The hunter of the hunters.

Oh wow. Oh WOW.

Tell him what’s in his head.

Yessssss.

Oh god PLEASE let Michael still be in there. Let him be hiding or what you’d call it in that damn scar. Like it shields him somehow so Cas can’t sense him. Honestly I WANT it so bad. Where the hell did he go?? Who is he possessing? He let his sword go?? The thing that makes him omnipotent?? The fact that we still don’t know makes me narrow my eyes Cas style. Also the most strategic thing Michael can do? Infiltrate the fucking nervous system of the group he’s attacking! Are we getting a Tyler Durden moment when Dean realises he’s losing hours when he’s off as Michael doling out orders and souping up monsters with angel juice?????

Huuuuuuuh?????

(Fight Club is my deserted island movie)

Anyway. Maybe we’ll get an answer soon!

Oh Dean!! Supportive brother!!!

“You can talk to me.” :’)

Damn, Bobby is a good John mirror and there are just... threads for the tapestry and ohhhhh. I like this. Condemn John’s behaviour, but not the man behind it. There was so much good there too but circumstances brought out a side to him that did what it had to. And I’m not excusing the abuse btw. I wrote about all this yesterday so will have thorough thoughts up tomorrow!!

Oh God. This is what I... Cas needing to be the one to say something because he’s the one who uses his words. And deep down Dean is so scared and feels more than ever that he doesn’t deserve it.

Bobby and Sam!! Yes Bobby!

Aw they’re going to heal.

BE HAPPY!!!!!!!!!

Agsgsgdhsgagsghdhdhhsgagfagsgdhdhshagsggsgsdhdhdhdhdhdhshshsggafafaghdjfj

FUCKING DEAD!!!!!!

GARTH!!!!!!!!

Starting to feel like myself again. Almost. >.>

Dean needs a reason to EXPEL Michael!! Instead of like with Cas, who had Lucifer ripped out of him and was left adrift and still suffering that depression, we have a Dean who is now trying to let go of the past and keeps getting confronted by echoes of his past and once he CAN let go, then he’ll be strong enough to see through Michael toxic masculinity representative and Dean will TRUST THAT HE IS STRONG ENOUGH!! He’s drowning in his own self-doubt and self-blame ffs. Aaaaaahhhhhhh!! Please please please please.

And once expelled Michael won’t be as powerful. Come on come on let him still be in Dean!! It’s all about the inner workings of Dean Winchester and his internal struggles and I’m just... I’m just...

THIS SEASON IS SMASHING IT!!

“Be happy.”

*cries in a corner in all the corners in the fourteen corners of the fourteen circles of all things right and good in this world*

#spn 14x05 #first impressions #spn s14 spoilers #meredith glynn

[him-e]

Cersei, the prophecy, the walk of shame & redemption

Under the cut: a criminally late reply to some Lannistercentric questions @pips69​ sent me weeks months ago (sorry, I was taken hostage by the show, and then real life issues)

May I ask how different you think Cersei might be if she never visited Maggy the frog? I know it's a pretty big "what if" but it really bothers me when some people down play just what a large effect the prophecy had on her, especially during discussions about her mental state of mind and if she deserves sympathy. I'm wondering because I loved your thoughts on what Cersei might have been like as a man but I noticed the prophecy wasn't mentioned.

I completely agree with what Lauren says in this post about Maggy’s prophecy being a late addition to Cersei’s story (if not a complete retcon). If you’re looking for a Cersei who never visited Maggy the Frog, look no further than AGOT-ASOS Cersei. That is, a Cersei who clearly has no time to worry about little valonqars jumping at her throat; a Cersei who is rational enough to understand that Bran was not a direct threat to her or her children (and isn’t happy that Jaime defenestrated him, though not because she feels compassion for Bran, but because that created a whole other set of problems); who thinks Sansa is obnoxious and pathetic and stupid but never acts like she feels threatened by her potentially being the YMBQ; who wants Arya’s hand in punishment for hurting Joffrey even though she has no real reason to suspect her either as the YMBQ or the valonqar; who doesn’t seem one iota worried that Tyrion might wrap his hands around her pale neck, but still profoundly detests and treats him like shit; who orders Robert’s bastards to be massacred simply because she won’t risk people to compare *their* looks to Robert’s *legitimate* children and do the maths, and so on.  

From a meta perspective, it’s hard to incorporate Maggy’s prophecy into Cersei’s character since the beginning, because it’s painfully evident that GRRM came up with it only later (or it would have been built up/foreshadowed better). 

This is why a lot of meta writers (including me) won’t necessarily bring it up to discuss her personality. Because Cersei’s character doesn’t need a prophecy to be explained. Note that GRRM makes sure that some of Cersei’s worst traits, like her abusive behavior towards Tyrion or her classism, arrogance and contempt for "lesser” beings, manifested well before she met the witch. So I don’t think the prophecy is meant to excuse Cersei’s crimes or even inspire sympathy in the reader. I think the narrative purpose of the prophecy is:

give Cersei a secret trauma to be tortured over in her internal monologue (similar to Jaime re: Aerys’ murder); 

facilitate/accelerate her descent into paranoia (that in the original five years gap plan was probably meant to happen more gradually and, in any case, off page); 

boost the Evil Queen vibes in her narrative, making them more explicit to the reader (because a big part of why Cersei’s narrative is tragic is that the reader KNOWS how it will all end, so it’s important to wrap her story up in a familiar fairytale envelope); 

introduce both a “mystery box” and a magical element in Cersei’s narrative, which so far has always been primarily political.

Having read the rest of your reply, I certainly agree with you! Especially with how GRRM writes Cersei, just the way he does so really gets under my skin. Compared to how he writes his male villains. And then you have the walk of shame. Some people have said that GRRM wrote Cersei in her most sympathetic light during her walk (with her feeling guilt and such) but I don't know, it's just...lets say Cersei dies in the end anyway (which we know she will) can you see any of the male villains being put through something so humiliating first? Roose, Ramsay, Walder? No they will likely all meet death and I would have been just fine had Cersei been tried and executed with the respect & dignity fitting a queen. But no she had to be horribly humiliated and shamed first, have every bit of power removed, and to top it all off her death will likely be horrid as well! I just hope Jaime is the one to kill her rather than Tyrion, with what he's said he wants to do to her... I don't know it just seems like GRRM really, truly hates Cersei and that really bothers me. Much like the huge amount of hate she gets in the fandom. Does it bother you too?

This ties in with the redemption discourse, and how Cersei is denied it by the author.

The WoS thing is one of those instances in which GRRM gives the readers what they THINK they want, showing them how HORRIBLE it actually is. Like with Ramsay’s abuse of Theon, with Joffrey’s choking to death, with the complete character annihilation that Lancel undergoes, with Jaime’s maiming, with Vargo Hoat’s terrible death... the reader wanted Cersei to suffer for her crimes, and the author turns that expectation against them, making it so UNCOMFORTABLE to read that you go “nope, this isn’t what I asked for, please, STOP”. This is GRRM forcing us to exercise our empathy muscles the hard way (it’s easy to inspire empathy for good characters; the real challenge - from a writing standpoint - is inspiring empathy for bad characters, because they’re human too. And the fact that even “bad” characters are human is such an integral theme to asoiaf, because newsflash, our heroes will defend THEM too from the Others. All of humanity, the good and the bad). 

So the first thing to remember is that, while the WoS doesn’t represent the beginning of an upward arc for Cersei, GRRM is certainly NOT endorsing the sexual humiliation directed against her. Rather, he’s exposing the High Sparrow’s (superficially pro-smallfolk and pro-human rights) ideology as violent, misogynistic, reactionary and populist, in short, as a villainous one.

Do I think GRRM went a little over the top with the WoS, and does it have some uncomfortably voyeuristic implications? Yes, just as I think he should have toned down the sexual violence / abuse perpetrated on women in general in the books.

That’s why, while I would generally appreciate GRRM pulling a redeeming twist on Cersei in any other circumstance, I’m actually happy it didn’t happen with the WoS as a catalyst, because the profoundly sexual (and sexually punitive) nature of it would be a TERRIBLE way to start off a female redemption arc. In fact, although Cersei hallucinates at some point the faces of Ned, Sansa etc. judging her, this doesn’t really inspire any real soul searching or self-examination in her, and the humiliation she suffers does NOT extinguish her arrogance, but rather fuels it. Once she’s safe from the crowd, Cersei is even more determined than before to unleash hell on her enemies, which now include the population of King’s Landing as a whole.

I think this is a good counterpoint to other narratives in asoiaf (particularly Theon’s, but not only) that do have a problematic subtext of abuse being depicted as a hard lesson, a necessary step to atonement, or a chance for growth. In Cersei’s narrative, enduring this sort of savage and humiliating abuse does not produce any positive change in the character, in fact it makes the situation worse.

Sorry if I've asked this before but when it comes to our main Lannisters personalities (Tywin, Cersei, Jaime, Tyrion) do you think pride lions or mountian lions suit them better? Personaly I'd choose mountain lions for Tywin & Cersei while Jaime & Tyrion are more of a mix but lean a bit closer to pride lions. What do you think?

I’ve never thought of any of the Lannisters as mountain lions, tbh. The Lannister sigil is pretty straightforward, and if I’m not mistaken the asoiaf equivalent to mountain lions/cougars would be shadowcats (though they’re not exactly the same). In terms of personality… idk, the only thing that comes to my mind is that cougars, unlike pride lions, are solitary animals, which means the one who I MIGHT associate to them is Tyrion, because he’s always been isolated even in his own family (then again, he craves for love and sincere relationships, so…). Tywin and Cersei? they’re totally gregarious animals, like the rest of their kin. They want to take control of their pack and rule it, but they absolutely need a pack to thrive. The kind of power they seek is inherently social, so I don’t see them doing great on their own.

#got asks #pips69 #asks #got for ts #//// #lannisters** #cersei** #abuse tw #rape tw #maggy's prophecy #the walk of shame #redemption

[twdmusicboxmystery]

8x05: Plot Analysis

Okay, so what did everyone thing of last night's episode? I actually really liked it. Lots of interesting tidbits. Like 8x04, there weren't tons of TD symbols, but what's happening in the narrative is super-important and I really like where this seems to be headed.

So let's talk most important first and then we'll move out from there. 

*Major spoilers for episode 8x05: The Big Scary U. Don’t read until you’ve watched! You’ve been warned!*

Rick and Daryl's fight:

In my FB group, a lot of us are kind of pro-spoiler, so we've been discussing this up and coming fight most of the week. Why is it important? Because a break between Rick and Daryl is super important for Daryl's development. It's what will make him "go rogue" as Norman keeps putting it. It shows more of his brutality. Not only is he working against Rick, which is odd for him (in the past, even if he didn't totally agree with Rick, he still mostly backed him) but he's advocating actions that might get innocent people killed, which we've really never seen from him before. 

It also shows where his head is at. I thought it was interesting that when arguing with Rick after the dynamite blew up, he said, "we have to win." Rick agreed, but they have different ideas of what winning entails. And this line goes back to what Maggie said to him in the cellar last season. She said she wanted to string the Saviors up too, but "we have to win. Help me win." So as Norman said when he was on TTD a few weeks ago, Daryl's just determined to win and will just bull through anything in his way. You can see how that could be a very destructive mindset.  

I'm honestly starting to wonder if Daryl will mirror Sasha, in that he'll go on a one-man mission to kill Negan, fulling expecting to die doing it. Not only is he willing to sacrifice himself for his family, but he's not really interested in living anymore. He's ready because he doesn't have much to live for at this point. But just before that happens, Beth will appear. That would make total sense.

Other things we've discussed where this fight is concerned:

1. Again, we're in a 180-degree opposite place from S4. Especially 4x16. Think of it this way. In 4x16, Rick and Daryl became "brothers." Since then, this is the first real rift we've seen between them. Yeah, Daryl was kinda snarky to Rick back in 5b. He was obviously pissed at him for some reason that was never actually explained in the show (*coughs Beth*). But he still had Rick's back. He still sacked Nicholas when he and Glenn fought. He certainly wasn't punching Rick in the face over it. Annnd remember that 4x16 is when the sheriff's hat was put on Beth. Just saying.  

2. How alone Daryl is. This is something that definitely reaches back to Beth and S4. In Still, Beth called out Daryl for his greatest fear: being alone. She accused him of not letting anyone get too close because he's too afraid of the pain of losing them. He pretty much confirmed what she said on the porch later. She said he'd be the last man standing and that obviously disturbed and upset him. ("You ain't a happy drunk at all.") Since then, losing people he’s become close to is pretty much what Daryl's entire arc has been: loss. It started with Beth, of course, and her monumental loss, and how it affected him. But each time he started to move forward at all, such as befriending Denise, or trying to bring others into the community (Dwight), life just stomped all over him again and again.

We've even discussed how his wardrobe change is symbolic of his character development. Since S2, his vest has been associated with him. Same with the sleeveless shirts he always wears (wore). Now his wardrobe has completely changed. Not only does he not have his vest, but he's wearing a very out-of-character shirt. Sleeves and all! We think that's to show that this isn't the Daryl we know and love. He isn't himself right now. He's undergone a 180 degree change from who he was in S4. Everything has been systematically stripped away from him, from friends and family to his bike and vest. There's almost no vestige of who he was. Him putting away Beth's knife shows that he's lost all the hope and positivity she instilled in him. And as she said, "If you don't have hope, what's the point of living?" So you can see how this is going to end up being a very destructive path for him.  

Then, last season, when he hugged Carol, he was essentially saying goodbye to her. Given what we're seeing from Daryl this season, that was obviously very purposeful. His last true, close loyalties are to Carol and Rick. Though they're both still in his life, in terms of emotional solidarity, he's broken with both of them. 

He's truly alone now. Which means the title of 4x13 was actually very symbolic and foreshadowed stuff that would happen seasons in the future. The two groups highlighted in the episode, Alone, were Bethyl and Maggie/Sasha/Bob. Sasha and Bob are gone now, but Maggie actually really thrives when she's on her own. She had to learn to lean on friends and family, rather than trying to do everything herself, but in a lot of ways, she's hopeful enough to thrive more on her own than when she had Glenn to lean on. So that episode was a foreshadow of her being without Glenn in the future. Then there's Daryl. He loses Beth in that episode, and he's so afraid of being alone that he falls in with a group he knows is toxic, because It's better than being alone. That episode was extremely symbolic of things we didn't actually see until S7 and S8.  

So all of this is just to say that we're seeing symbolism being fulfilled here, much of which stemmed from S4 and Beth. So we ARE moving toward seeing her in the narrative. Just slowly.

3. Daryl's leadership role. We're really seeing him make his own decision here rather than falling into line with Rick. Don't get me wrong. We love when he and Rick are simpatico and do a symbolic fist-bump, but we've also thought for a long time that Daryl would eventually lead, independent of Rick, and we may be seeing the first steps of that here.  

Not to mention, remember my sheriff meta about how 4a was one great big foreshadow? (HERE) Remember that when Rick stopped leading at the prison, Daryl stepped up into a leadership role. So again, we may be seeing a fulfillment of that here. Or at the least the beginnings of it. Again, this is the first time since 4x16 that Rick and Daryl have NOT been in sync, and that's a very important development in their relationship.

The Helicopter:

THAT was interesting, and something spoilers didn't mention. There was some talk on TTD of whether or not Rick hallucinated the helicopter.  

I think it was real. Nothing has happened in the story that would make Rick lose it. He lost it after Lori died, and other things might make him lose it later in the season, per the flash forward from 8x01, but we have no reason to not trust his sanity at this point in the story. I don't think Daryl hit him THAT hard. ;D

But then who does the chopper belong to? It's a mystery, because we haven't seen helicopters associated with any of these communities. Could be that one of them (like the scavengers for example) has one and we just haven't seen it before. But it's an interesting element to introduce at this juncture. I know TDers will want to hope Beth is on the helicopter. I actually don't feel like that's super-likely. Of course it depends on how the helicopter fits into everything else.

But it's the symbolism of it that I'm really side-eyeing. Let's refresh, shall we?

We saw a helicopter is S1 right after Rick left the hospital, so we've always seen it as a big part of the Beth/Rick getting shot/sheriff parallels.  

We also saw a helicopter in S3, right before the Governor/Woodbury was introduced. And we could read a lot into that. In 3x01, the helicopter crashed, and then Merle (again, who disappeared for several seasons and was presumed dead) appeared. We could also connect it to Michonne, who traveled on the road alone for a long time before stumbling upon TF, and to Andrea, whose scars Beth has, as they were both focal points of that episode as well. But the resurrection of Merle is the big cheese there.

We also saw a helicopter crash on the roof of The Big Spot in 4x01, just as Beth's arc kicked off. All important details. So for them to randomly show us a helicopter now, when it feels like Beth is so close and Daryl is headed for a seriously bleak precipice? Yeah, that helicopter is definitely making me happy.  

There were actually two major callbacks to Merle in this episode. 

The first was the helicopter. The second, of course, was when Rick and Daryl fought and Daryl put Rick in a choke hold. That was callback to S1, when Shane put Daryl in one. Rick even took Daryl's line: "Chokehold's illegal, asshole." But that fight was about Merle and the fact that they left him behind in Atlanta, so to replay it now is really interesting.  

Also interesting to note that Daryl took Shane's roll in this sequence. More evidence of how destructive he's become. He totally went "full-Shane" on Rick. 

I definitely do feel like this is a fulfillment of the weirdness we saw in 6x03. 

I know I've harped on this a million times over the past year, but Daryl's behavior in 6x03 was just so weird and unexplained. He heard gunshots through his walkie and left Sasha and Abe to help Rick. Sasha was kinda pissed at him for that. Then we see him searching for Rick and being very worried because Rick isn't answering and he doesn't know where Rick is. Then he takes off, and it seems like he's still searching for Rick...except that instead he just goes back to Sasha and Abe. No explanation of his thought process or why he suddenly changed his mind. And going with Sasha and Abe, despite the fact that Rick needed him, led directly to him meeting Dwight.  

Now in this season, despite Rick needing his help with the plan to overthrow the Saviors, Daryl takes off by himself on his bike, on a very visually-similar road to what we saw in S6. And we know from spoilers (sorry, very minor spoilers follow) that he and Dwight will spend some time together later in the season. So symbolically S6 is being rehashed. And remember that it was only after Daryl came off his bike in 6x06 and met Dwight, that Glenn was revealed to be alive. So we may be looking at not seeing Beth until AFTER the Dwight/Daryl stuff.  

Okay, I think I’m gonna stop there for today. This was the TD-heavy stuff that I saw. The Negan/Father Gabriel stuff was super-interesting, and gave us a lot of insight into Negan's psychology and background, but I'm not sure it had much to do with Beth.  

So tomorrow I'll do a Details post which will include TTD (not much from TTD this week, but one thing in particular that stood out). Then for the rest of the week, I wrote up a bunch of theoriess over the weekend I'm excited to post. They aren't episode specific but are more about how much of the narrative is really coming together for us now, including Morgan/Beth entanglement, Terminus, and more on the Heron painting we saw in both Still and Mercy. Stay tuned!

How did everyone else like 8x05?

#beth greene #beth greene lives #beth is alive #beth is coming #td theory #td theories #beth is almost here #team delusional #team defiance

[chestnutpost]

Hannity questions 'garbage compromise'

Before President Trump’s rally in El Paso, TX — his first such gathering of the year — on Monday night, CNN’s Betsy Klein spoke with a source about what to expect at the rally. When she asked about Trump’s repeated usage of widely debunked stats about violent crime in El Paso, the source sarcastically responded, “LOL.”

So that’s where we are, two years into the Trump presidency. Some people laugh about his politically expedient lies. Other people suffer.

For the record, Trump stayed away from that particular falsehood on Monday night, according to Daniel Dale, but he repeated many other lies — even about the size of his crowd. Read Dale’s incredible fact-checking Twitter thread here…

>> “Where are the fact-checkers?” Trump said at one point. “You know, some of the most dishonest people in media are the so-called fact-checkers.”

The Hannity veto?

Minutes before Trump took to the stage, this news broke on Capitol Hill: “Congressional negotiators say they have reached an agreement in principle to avert a partial government shutdown at the end of this week.” Here’s the latest from CNN’s team.

But there’s already some conservative criticism of the deal. “Any Republican that supports this garbage compromise, you will have to explain,” Sean Hannity said Monday evening. Charlie Sykes called it “the Hannity veto…”

>> Trump is not endorsing the deal: “A lot of things have changed, and we’ll see what happens,” he told Laura Ingraham in an interview right before the rally…

>> CNN’s Manu Raju tweeted: “One thing is clear” from this deal: Trump is “not getting $5.7B for the wall as he’s been demanding for weeks and that led to the government shutdown. The question is will he sign off on the emerging deal and try to act administratively to fund the rest of it — despite the risks…”

The difference between Fox and the others

Monday night’s cable news coverage was really revealing. “El Paso, Texas is a major American city with a population the same size as Boston. It is more than big enough to hold two competing presidential campaign style events at the same time, and it did that tonight,” Lawrence O’Donnell said on MSNBC.

Indeed, Beto O’Rourke’s counter-rally was a big deal. Trump repeatedly brought it up. But MSNBC’s liberal prime time lineup only showed short snippets of his rally. CNN discussed the city’s anti-Trump march, but didn’t show Beto’s speech. On the flip side, Fox News showed virtually all of Trump’s rally live — even though it lasted more than an hour. The next time someone claims Fox and MSNBC are mirror images of each other, just cite Monday night as an example of the difference…

How the El Paso Times is covering the dueling rallies

One of the paper’s top headlines on the website is “Trump says 10,000 at El Paso County Coliseum rally; Fire Department says not true.“

For full local coverage, click here…

Trump’s messages

“The wall’s being built, it will continue, it’s going at a rapid pace,” he told his fans on Monday night, despite the political walls he’s up against.

Watching his speech, I was struck by his rhetorical usage of “we” and “you.” He said “WE have suffered a totally dishonest media, and WE’VE won, and it’s driving them crazy. It’s driving them crazy.”

And: “I didn’t save our country,” he said a little while later, “YOU saved our country…” And “the world is watching…”

Cliff Sims sues Trump

This is a novel lawsuit… potentially forcing a real legal proceeding over Trump’s non-disclosure agreements… and it was foreshadowed two weeks ago when “Team of Vipers” came out.

Trump cited Cliff Sims’ NDA, and then a Trump campaign aide threatened to sue, prompting multiple lawyers to say, in effect, “I dare you.” Mark Zaid said he would take up Sims’ case “pro bono.” (I quoted Zaid in this story.)

Now Zaid IS Sims’ lawyer. “The U.S. Government is intentionally and unconstitutionally engaging in a subterfuge effort to use a private entity, Donald J. Trump for President, Inc., to do its bidding to silence Mr. Sims when it is really the intense powers of the Presidency coming down upon a sole individual,” Zaid asserted in Monday’s suit.

Per CNN’s Kate Sullivan, “the lawsuit requests a court ruling that Trump ‘may not enforce, whether directly or through non-U.S. Government cutouts, any nondisclosure agreements that seek to unconstitutionally infringe upon his First Amendment rights.'” More here…

Another reason why this lawsuit matters

Maggie Haberman, who broke the news about Sims’ lawsuit, tweeted: “The suit gets at the heart of what the president has attempted to be simultaneously over the last two years – both a private citizen and the holder of the highest office in the land…”

FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE

— Zachary B. Wolf’s latest: “Trump’s racist Elizabeth Warren taunts have entered a new phase…” (CNN)

— Poppy Harlow will moderate CNN’s second town hall of the 2020 season, with possible presidential contender Howard Schultz, Tuesday in Houston… 10 p.m. ET…

— “Frontline” and the WSJ are working together for the first time… “Predator on the Reservation,” a joint investigation, premieres Tuesday… (PBS)

Today’s Bezos updates

Monday’s main development was a scoop by the WSJ: The National Enquirer’s parent company American Media (AMI) “sought advice last year from the U.S. Justice Department over whether the publisher should register as a foreign agent.” The DOJ’s response letter, available on the web, all but confirmed it. While American Media’s name is redacted, the details match up perfectly.

Think back to the spring of 2018. Michael Cohen has been raided. American Media has been subpoenaed. The company, wanting access to Saudi financing, has published a fawning pro-Saudi publication. And news outlets have been asking questions about this curious piece of propaganda on supermarket checkout shelves. THAT’S the backdrop for AMI’s outreach to the DOJ.

The government concluded that AMI did not need to register as a foreign agent because, even though the publisher “sought out comments” from a Saudi advisor before publishing, there was no financial deal with the Saudis. The open question: Did AMI publish the brochure with the hopes of striking a deal later?

If so, it didn’t work. Pecker’s lawyer, there was never any Saudi $$ deal. And AMI said in a new statement on Monday that it “does not have, nor have we ever had, any editorial or financial ties to Saudi Arabia.” Here’s my full story…

What will AMI’s investigation find?

After the Bezos allegations against Pecker hit last Thursday, AMI announced that its board of directors had convened and ordered an immediate investigation. Many of us scoffed at the idea of the four-man board investigating itself. But VF’s Joe Pompeo reported Monday night that the board “has retained an outside firm to conduct the probe,” per a source “familiar with the matter.” AMI declined to comment…

Two theories of the case

On “Erin Burnett OutFront,” I outlined two theories about Bezos and Pecker, fully acknowledging that we don’t know if either is what really happened.

#1: Bezos was the victim of a blackmail attempt and a complex, politically-motivated plot that may involve a “Saudi angle” and the Trump White House. His photos and texts may have been obtained illegally. His blog post began to expose the geopolitics and grudges that are involved.

#2: Bezos fell in love with a woman with Hollywood connections and the Enquirer found out, because that’s what tabloids do. His security chief’s probe and the Enquirer’s panicked reaction enabled Bezos, through a blog post, to reframe the story — making him out to be a journalistic hero rather than an embarrassed tech exec.

In this Monday night tweet, the NYT’s Edmund Lee said it more concisely than I can. “There’s still a lot about the Bezos-Enquirer saga that hasn’t been explained,” he wrote, “and I suspect a lot of the theorizing bandied about (including in Bezos’s) own blog post will remain theories. I think Occam’s razor will hold.”

FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO

— Alex Weprin tweeted: “Per its latest quarterly 8-K filing, Meredith Corp. says it expects to ‘finalize’ the sales of Sports Illustrated, Money and the ad tech company Viant by the end of the fiscal year, which will be June.” (Twitter)

— The back-and-forth between Gannett and its unwanted suitor, Alden Global Capital’s Digital First Media, continued on Monday… Kimberly Chin has updates here… (WSJ)

— The Post has a big new story about a specific part of Alden’s “mercenary” strategy: Buying and selling newspaper buildings. Check it out… (WaPo)

— Read more of Monday’s “Reliable Sources” newsletter… And subscribe here to receive future editions in your inbox…

— No one understands this world like Ken Doctor. Read his brand new piece about the “consolidation games” here… (NiemanLab)

Lowering expectations about Mueller’s end game…

Or merely resetting out-of-control expectations? Here are three examples of something I’m noticing a lot these days:

— USA Today’s Kevin Johnson and Bart Jansen: “As the inquiry grinds closer to its conclusion, there are signs that the public might never learn the full extent of what Mueller has — or hasn’t — found..”

— Jeffrey Toobin in this week’s New Yorker: “The Watergate scandal was like Shakespeare—a drama that built to a satisfying climax. The Russia story is more like Beckett—a mystifying tragicomedy that may drift into irresolution. Did Trump collude, and did he obstruct justice? Mueller may never have the answers.”

— ABC’s “The Investigation” podcast debuts Tuesday with Kyra Phillipsinterviewing former Trump lawyer John Dowd. He told her: “I will be shocked, if– if anything regarding the president is made public, other than, ‘We’re done.'”

The post Hannity questions 'garbage compromise' appeared first on The Chestnut Post.

from The Chestnut Post https://www.thechestnutpost.com/news/hannity-questions-039garbage-compromise039/

[oreasa]

Inconceivables: Supergirl S2E18 “Distant Sun”

Siren

Hit: Bacon Hit: Mon reads LOL: Househusband, Mon Miss: Random ex-girlfriend trope Hit: Mon isn’t completely stupid. Miss: I don’t believe them at all. Hit: Stapler Miss: Maggie was a cheater. I don’t like this trope. Question: Where did she get Kryptonite? Miss: I don’t believe her again. Real Talk: We know who wears the pants in the royal family Hit: Alex breaks it down. Hit: Mon tries to be annoying enough to get them to send him back. Doesn’t work. Hit: One flawless calculation. . . Hit: Stormtrooper Hit: Winn hacks alien tech like a pro Real Talk: I think I know why Winn wasn’t in Invasion. The tech crew would have been so over-powered if they allowed it. Miss: J’onn is using the spear instead of just shapeshifting and knocking them out. Hit: Nice shot Mon Miss: Too many Romeo & Juliet references Hit: I still want Rhea’s tiara Oh Shit: She stabbed him!! She needs to meet Prometheus, they would be a fun couple.

ManENames

Hit: Mon makes breakfast. Miss: Kara's still jobless. Real Talk: Mon's parents still on Earth. Hit: President Lynda Carter Miss: This episode's really going there, Alex meets her girlfriend's ex. This won't get awkward at all. Hit: Cool, there's a bounty on Kara. Real Talk: I hope that wasn't an obvious foreshadowing, Mon's mom. Miss: Maggie's Ex doesn't show up. Hit: Wynn mentions his dad. Question: Did Mon El just flew? Miss: Wynn tricks the alien to surrender with a stapler and it worked. Hit: Takes a psychic to fight a psychic. Hit/LOL: "Come at me bro" Miss: Well someone's not being honest to Alex, and there's the sound of the ship sinking. Miss: Mon reads Romeo and Juliet. Hit: Kryptonite Sais Hit/Miss: Discount Elektra Hit: Mon's mom is bit of a bad ass. Question: Did Mon just moved real fast? Miss: You know it's serious scene when booze is involve. Hit: Alex speaks truth. Real Talk: It's not like Mon's in danger, Kara. Hit: Mon wants to build a better system. Hit/Miss: Star Wars reference. Hit: Fooled you! Real Talk: Something tells me Mon's mom won't take this likely. Question: Serious, who/what the president is? She doesn't look like a White Martian. Miss: KEVIN SORBO, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Hit: Mon's mom is a much better villain than Discount Zod....I mean Astra.

#supergirl #Possible spoilers #Distant Sun #Review #inconceivables #This is late I know

[nataso03]

Musicals: Screening Our Last Lesson :(

If I Were A Boy - Janice Zhai (Director), Natalie So (Editor), Zoe Lau (Actor)

Pros:

Good flashback, it shows the events that happened before

The shots (bathroom) were really creative (close up)

The lighting (sun in the playground while holding ball)

The songs could show character progression and it fits the plot

Hoodie was on, and it was off to show character progression

Transitions weren’t smooth, can be seen as foreshadowing

Nice montage

Very emotional

Cons:

Don’t you have anything better to do than just stare at me? (Jump Cut)

Audio Cut Out (B4 Bird Set Free)

Shaky pan, audience dizzy

Saying Birds Set Free lyrics before singing

Transitions weren’t smooth 

Duncan’s character was confusing - was suppose to be Natalie before

Improvement:

Duncan’s character was confusing - maybe cross dress the actors

Our Take-Aways:

More character progression and backstory on Duncan, cross-dressing?

Maybe scene as Duncan going in the bathroom as Duncan, and coming out as Natalie

Use more of the tripod for steady paning and shots

Holding Back - Jade Emsley (Director & Editor), Sanya Hui (Actor),  Jonah Ng (Actor)

Pros:

Nice variety of shots (close-up, medium shots)

The sound effects (calling)

Little Do You Know song is very suiting to the scene and the events

Sanya says little did he know after the song

How Sanya slowly walks down the stairs and leans against the wall in ‘One Last Cry’

How Jade ran down to Sanya in the end and the shot where they both looked at Jonah

When Sanya was sad,

Sanya usually wear black and white clothes to show how she is sad

Jade usually wears bright clothes to show her happy personality

Cons:

Transitions were a bit jumpy with the audio

Match up the song and mouthing a bit more

Some of the clips are not edited

Tripod was in the background in the last scene

Glass is reflective so you can see the actors even if they were out of frame

Moongate running scene has costume change

Jade was mean in the beginning, and then suddenly was Sanya’s best friend

Improvement:

Glass is reflective so you can see the actors even if they were out of frame - Be careful and keep walking to make sure the character actually gone

Jade actually plays two characters, so I think she could have worn a wig or have a huge difference in the costumes

Time Management

True Friends - Maggie Hsu (Director), Emma Cao (Editor), Chris O’ Sullivan

Pros:

Music plays before the singing

Good action for Chris

Chris has formal clothing shows how he wants to impress people and it also shows how he is different from the big group of ‘populars’ in the start

Emma had casual clothes which tend to be dark colors to show how she would rather stay away from the crowds

There were footstep sound effects which show detail editing

How Chris sings and different clips of them are showing

Both of the actors actually sang their own parts

In one of the final scenes, Chris has more of a bounce in his walk to show how he is happy with how everything turned out in the end

Steady camera work

Cons:

Music is a bit too loud in relation to the singing

Better mouthing

The scene with Chris and Emma talking has a bit choppy clips

There is loud wind in the scene where the both of them are sitting on the bench and talking

More props

Improvement:

More character progression - The clothing changes maybe when they get closer

Framing and Composition - Make sure that both of the actors are in frame also maybe change how the audience don’t see the back of their heads

[nellie-elizabeth]

Grey's Anatomy: I Want a New Drug (15x14)

This was one of those "event" episodes that Grey's Anatomy does sometimes, where one centralizing catastrophe is supposed to tie most of the plot threads together. But it actually didn't end up going at all where I expected.

Cons:

So, like I said, this was an "event" episode, like with a hurricane or a ferry crash or something like that, where the hospital is flooded with patients all there because of the same catastrophe. This week, it was a mass drug overdose in a park. But the weird thing is, only Amelia and Owen's plot thread with Britney and Leo actually connected to the big hospital thing. Everybody else's subplots were pretty separate. Sure, people were interacting with the patients in the OR, but the central plot wasn't feeding the smaller stories, if that makes sense. For the most part I'm okay with that, but I thought it was odd to give so much pride of place to discussing the epidemic of drug addiction in this country, but then not give it the entire episode.

There were these two brief scenes between Link and Amelia where they comfort each other after this hard day of seeing all of these kids fight for their lives. Amelia is obviously extra upset because of Betty/Britney. I didn't hate the scenes in and of themselves. It gave some added dimension to Link's character. But it felt like they were foreshadowing some sort of romance there, and I'm just not about that. It has taken me a very long time to get on board with the idea of Amelia and Owen as a couple. If they honestly try to threaten that now, I'm going to be really frustrated.

Pros:

I'm glad that Owen is giving up Leo without a fight. I was a little surprised at first, but it makes sense. Owen really loves that kid, and he wants to do what's best for him, no matter what. In general, I just love how supportive Amelia and Owen both were with Britney's parents during this difficult time. They're about to take in a baby, their own grandchild, and their daughter has overdosed and might never wake up. There could have been hostility between these two couples who both love the same children, but instead they were brought closer through adversity, and decided to focus on the kids, which is what really matters.

The story with Linus, Britney's boyfriend, was just so, so, sad. That kid really did adore her and wanted to be with her no matter what. But he was also sick, and in the end the sickness stole him away. I hope we get to see more of Britney and how she handles things moving forward. I understand that her parents want to care for her, but I think Amelia could be a really helpful influence if she is allowed to be a part of Britney's life. I thought Amelia's character was really strong this week, and I hope that trend continues.

There were a few smaller subplots in this episode that added some good shape to certain characters and relationships. First up, Jackson is excited to take Maggie camping, while she dreads the process. She later cancels because she needs to be there to support Amelia through this difficult time, and Jackson is disappointed but understanding. He then decides to gift all of his camping gear to a patient of his that needs help healing his feet, but who has been living in a park. I thought the moment when Jackson handed over the stuff was really powerful, because for this homeless man, that bounty was overwhelming, and for Jackson... it was just the stuff he had in the trunk of his car. It's difficult to fully appreciate the magnitude of wealth inequality in this country, and I think it's important that we keep checking in with Jackson as a character with immense wealth. It's something he can, and should, be thinking seriously about.

Alex and Jo have become such a solid, dependable aspect of this show for me. I'm sure that at some point in the future, their relationship with have drama in it in some way shape or form, but for now we know that the Karevs are in a good place, and they support each other no matter what. One of the patients who was taking drugs in the park has a little boy. While Jo tells this woman's husband that she's sick and needs help, Alex is much more concerned with protecting the child, which prompts him to tell Jo that when he was six, his addict father abandoned him in a parking lot. I love seeing how far Alex and Jo have both come, not just with each other, but as individuals. Alex has a lot of trauma in his past, and it makes sense that sometimes that trauma would come out to bite, but he also has a good career and a loving support system.

Nico and Levi are precious and adorable. I love that Levi is just all in with this relationship, being open and honest about how amazing he finds Nico. He's so demonstrative and clear with how much this relationship means to him, and you can see how much he's gained in confidence, partially as a result of this new love.

Meredith gets the meatiest of the subplots. She's working on a surgery that is taking her over 24 hours. She is very close to beating the record for the longest single surgery in the hospital's history. In fact, she does end up beating the record by the time the episode ends. One thing I really liked about this plot thread is that while at first everyone was determined to be there to witness and support Meredith, as the episode goes on, there's very clearly more important stuff to be worrying about. Alex is sad he can't be there to support his friend, but he's got a hospital to run. The residents are all excited to watch, but they have to help out with the overdoses when the patients start flooding in. And Meredith just quietly finds herself breaking a record, with DeLuca by her side. Andrew was adorable, wheeling the sleeping Meredith into a quiet room and covering her with a blanket after the long surgery. We haven't had a chance to see much of their relationship yet, but I'm still definitely on board.

That's all I've got for now. Apparently next week, Grey's Anatomy will officially become the longest running medical drama show ever. I can only guess that ER is the current record holder. I'm so excited for Shonda's accomplishment, and I'll cheerfully keep watching this show for many more years.

8.5/10

#review #grey's anatomy #grey's anatomy review #greys anatomy #greys anatomy review #grey's abc #greys abc

[wolfwhiteflowers]

ranting on TWD s9 again. :] ... other rants in #*twd or #*twd s9h

uh this is more about recent news, recent filming spoilers. Also FTWD deaths. -Carol, shows, pro-Rick. 

‘wait and see’ is hard. I guess I just want TWD AU to be good too and hoping/waiting is hard.

i guess i go rant till next year lol.

vvvv

Lately im just waiting for more info on Carol. I wanna know what Carol will be like in s9, TWD AU or the fumbling dead...BUT the filming spoilers tho...it’s like rubbing salt in my wounds about TWD’s potenial runied/AL leaving over and over.

It’s all just a bummer. I should not read into the filming spoilers that much. ..and omg avoid forum drama.

 Like I wanna see spoilers and I can’t help but hope for good Carol spoilers. Like getting spoilers about Caryl (and answers about C/E), Carol & Henry, and Carick/TF. :((( But then I get sad again and again. Idk what’s going on. I guess I assume there’s no good Carol spoilers and no Carick. :((((  Actually it’s just seeing any Rick spoilers is just sad. Also this whole Rick (and Maggie) dying/leaving the show thing is like dragged out rubbed in our wounds all till like when the ep airs their death/leaving. Like November or December.  Ugh. I just wanna get it over with it and to know what’s canon. Cry and move on. :\ So then we can make TWD AU fanarts..or do it now. ......I think it’s good to know what’s canon so then we don’t wonder and worry about avoiding it. It doesn’t mean to watch the show live but just reading it and know it and then just let it go and then make fanarts. xP

I was gonna not watch s9 anyways but dang just learning about s9 or what is canon ...is hard. sigh. but in time we will be alright. ...

------------------

TWD s9 speculations ~

so some filming spoilers coming out sounds like the gory comic death scene will happen. The heads on the pikes, killed by Alpha. They’re gonna film a zombie herd soon and whisperers may be part of that, I guess. i think of FTWD s4A and the deaths of Nick and Madison and how it seems like cheap deaths. I guess Rick and Maggie will go out like that... boring. not moving,imo. Doesn't impact the story or..............I’m just bitter. I just really want a good ending for Rick (thee main character). Like he saved his people and he dies and everyones lives without walkers as a threat and they’re safe in a community forever. 

  Travis’ death was meh (k it was really bad. wtf). ..I know I just won’t like whatever will happen with Rick and/or Maggie. For some reason, I feel like some characters got a good death scene for the overall story. Like Glenn, Sasha and Carl,imo. Their deaths were like they brought a new chapter to the story/show. Idk I liked Sophia and Merle’s deaths too. Anyways, their deaths changed the story. ..Or I guess they changed Rick characterwise in his story.  sigh.

Dang it’s like three weeks and AMC still didn’t confirm it or anything about AL leaving news. It makes me think AMC/writers wanted it to be a surprise that Rick dies/leaves the show (like how Nick and Madison died). ugh that’s even more lame. 

Dang it’s like AMC/showrunners? doesn’t let fans to trust them or get them excited at all for the story. It’s like some writers/AMC don’t care about the story’s core story and the fans.   So blah. I know some fans were disappointed that they were ‘spoiled’, but like that’s way to hard for me to handle that. I’m glad it was leaked and for me to know ahead of time...though the waiting and the dread sucks. 

UGH Skybound mailbag thing makes this hiatus worse by dragging the unknown..rubbing the salt..with their vague spoilers. And saying it in a troll way too. It’s cos we don’t know what’s up with Carol and writers made it that dumb way on not making it clear in their lackluster s8 finale (s8 finale shouldve been like s2 finale foreshadowing timeskip and next arc-Michonne/prison). I just wanna know if C/E happens or not, or Caryl be endgame, or will Carol ever have romance, will Carol interact with TF/Rick/Henry, in this TWD AU. geez. ...I want spoilers. I want confirmations and then leave the show-canon alone.

Carol speculations in s9.

- uh it seems like Carol is in Kingdom and just hanging out with Henry and Kingdomers in 9A. idk about Carick but we got a lit bit of something from filming spoilers, in 9x01. meh. :\ Some Caryl moments but how Skybound answered it, idk it depends on how I see it (on tumblr). As long as Caryl still be soulmate-y. Sigh I miss Carol or I miss what the show used to be and the potential. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------

AMC is having a bad year/June, huh? lol ..partly their fault, anyways. wtf TWD shows are like destroying itself and then now the Hardwick (TTD) news of him being an abuser. sigh. Damn we really got BTS drama. :\ With the shows losing their leads, is it part of the lawsuits and diverting away from Kirkman’s story or something? idk.

I just wanna say, poor FTWD fans who watched recently. Writers/Gimple/AMC? litterally just scraped off the original storyline of the Clarks family for to focus on newbies, Morgan. So it’s a spinoff show within the show. ( It’s like TWD in s9 will be doing...with changing to Daryl’s) Anyways that’s really awful to the FTWD fans to suddenly to change the storyline. That’s like ..probably something I would just quit the show ..It’s something to feel like I won’t the trust the writers. Gotta have trust in the writers and the writers gotta gain your trust.

---------------------------------------------------

I was thinking about fandom stuff..and reading some posts. i guess i let it slide that the TWD show was going downhill early on. idk when. most say s6 is when it got worse. i always say that TWD was not the best but it was just a fun drama ensemble show for me. Well thats what fandoms do..they want the very best of the show/media. Also fandom is all opinions...it’s best not to read into it too much.

s2 is my fave season...even when I didn’t feel the TF love like on other shows or when I got annoyed with Shane/love triangle. (why is everything relate to OUAT wank. I learned a lot from that show/fandom. maybe just being deep in the fandom. it hurts more.) Ok like s2 or other seasons compared to s6-8 is different.. Different style and stuff-writers/showrunners.., idk. There are some good moments. It’s also like based on the comics’ story. Most say s5 is the best is what comic fans say is loving the Hunters arc. (s3 and the prison arc-tho i dont like this season). So yeah ..kinda depends on the comics and it’s all show business. Kinda hard to compare or not idk, Kirkman’s comic story may be better because it’s original and flows better naturally. There’s more personal intimate moments with like 5 main characters but the show got other good parts too. (better medium story telling) idk. like the show has Carol and other plots went better, but lack TF moments and many dull characters. Also Kirkman isnt the best writer either so...idk what im saying. TWDG telltale game has the best storytelling. tho super depressing but also got realistic moments.

Just idk Oh well. I watched TWD for the main characters, Caryl, Carol. But lately things are not happening like I want or like it was in s5-6. There’s Less TF (like how the comics are..tho s9/after AOW was hopeful but AL and LC wanna leave.)Caryl and Carol/ TF interactions or Carol part of main plot haven’t happened since s6 and Idk if we come back to that. Like will Caryl’s relationship grow and does Carol and TF moment return-like will we have Carick moments? SIGH Waiting and hoping. It’s tiring. do whatever you want. I’m still a fan of Caryl, Carol/TF/Carick, Richonne.

Idk I’m just bummed and having a hard time with s9 and yet Rick and Maggie are leaving. Yeah ..I just wish I have an ending to just end it but I don’t have one. There’s no end...Idk it’s hard to make an ending to stop and to not hope or expect more. 

I want to not watch s9 yet I want/hope this TWD AU to end it right..blah. I guess till I get more info ..wait and see...

Whatever this rollercoaster ride continues and I probably rant again soon. :P

#carol peletier #*twd s9h #*twd