#picklejar asks

[knowlesian]

neat structure before i get back to writing, because i just noticed the sheer economy of it and goddamn i love good writers so much 

izzy gets a perfectly crafted three scene motivation escalator to everyone’s doom, right out in the open of the finale without him even needing to know or say why exactly he’s doing this

the first scene

- the crew has done what currently needs to be done when he hectors them; he can’t even think of a chore to crawl up their asses about so he spits on the deck for lack of anything else to think of, and then has to go grab lucius because ed wants to talk to lucius in order to get something done, not izzy

the second scene 

- ed’s song, where ed makes it clear actually he’s cool with everybody using his name now (not just stede! meaning it’s not just that ed is transferring name privilege to someone else and thus usurping izzy’s role while maintaining the system still in place, but that ed is making it not a privilege at all) and then asks why they’re even being pirates anyway

the third scene

- which hilariously he’s not even in! it’s stede and the bar, in a blink and you’ll miss it moment where stede brings up the duel and the guys in the bar literally don’t even respond to the mention of his name, even when tied to ed’s (love that stede refers to him as izzy hands, blackbeard’s right hand man) and instead they just want to hear about ed

then we get the meltdown, obviously, but it starts with izzy staring at another one of the caricatures of blackbeard from stede’s library

so in terms of “what’s izzy telling himself” probably what he always does, that he knows best and this is for ed’s own good and who knows what else, man’s a mystery to himself but like… nobody else around him and certainly not to ed, wrapped in a nightmare wrapped in zero healthy coping skills, etc into forever.

but the narrative path leading up to that scene is establishing the fact that if ed drops the blackbeard mask and figures out who he is beyond those confines, izzy loses the things he has built his life around, both personally and professionally, and will have to figure his shit out again whether he stays or goes, likes it or not

so he loses his shit and screams BE! THE BLACKBEARD WHO I MADE MY LIFE AROUND AGAIN! I AM NOT A WELL MAN! I WOULDN’T KNOW HOW TO EXPRESS MYSELF PRODUCTIVELY AND MATURELY IF I TRIED, AND WE BOTH KNOW I DO NOT TRY

i appreciate good writing and solid characterization so fucking MUCH

he is making horrible choices and belongs in a picklejar, but it’s all so well set up!!! i just think it’s neat

#like as ever i think izzy is crucial to the narrative but my god what an asshole #is this an understandable impulse? of course! nobody would love their version of this situation #but oh my fucking god what he does with that impulse #like. jesus this show is just so neatly crafted i love it a lot

[nfornaomi]

Picklejar Lakes hike today with Ben, Carmen, Scott, and Michael. Verdict: this was so worth the 5:50am wake up call 😁😍.

Long weekend + COVID meant that parking would be a challenge so we planned to make it to the lot by 8:30 (and already had to park on the grassy overflow). The drive there was incredible - Highway 40 is probably the prettiest drive in this area and I also saw 4 bears, 3 of them cubs, on the way 😁. The hike itself was 12km with a ~600m elevation gain, and took us just over 4 hours with lunch and a dip in the water for some of the braver folks in the group. Varied terrain kept things interesting and we were motivated to keep moving due to the ridiculous plethora of flies buzzing around 80% of the time.

The hike is comprised of 4 lakes which arrive in pretty quick succession once you hit the first one. The only one enticing enough to swim in is the 3rd one as the rest are a bit murky, albeit still beautiful with the mountain backdrop. Overall, great views and great company - couldn’t ask for anything more 😊.

#hike #nature #mountains #lakes #kananaskis #hiking