#very good sam episode also. this is just a really good ep

[castielcommunism]

davy perez is the only bitch who understands

#dean.txt #my caps #mary & dean #season 12 #STREAM 12x04!!!!!! #very good sam episode also. this is just a really good ep

[ashironie]

I don’t have a good feeling about Celia

I tried to post this earlier but it got deleted so fuck

But from so many standpoints she just irks me

-She has the same character archetype as Alice. Many have pointed out their similarities and while this by itself isn’t much (as is everything on this list) with everything else it makes me weirded out

-She just came out of the blue. We had no warning in the episodes before no build up. We were introduced to the concept she was coming and then she came with little fanfare.

-Her introduction to the rest of the cast is a lot different than Sam’s. A lot understated. Maybe Jonny and Alex just didn’t want to do the same thing again but it felt really rushed and weird.

-I cannot see how she can possibly contribute to the plot in any meaningful way if she is just another victim coworker. She was introduced too late to have her death feel like anything but fridging (when you make a character just to kill them for momentary character drama), once again she shares a character archetype with Alice so the only thing that they could give Celia could be given to Alice perfectly fine, and she once again feels forced

-Celia was also too comfortable too quick for me. She just instantly trusted none of her coworkers would report her for talking shit about their boss. She seemed too genuine about everything even though she was in a completely new environment. And she was just so laid back with everything, like sure she might not know the full scale of things but she seems like she’s been their for as long as anyone can remember (something that might be due to the fact I associate this trait with Alice who has been there a long time)

-idk if I’m reaching or going crazy with this one but Alice seemed off. She moreso just said “I’m Alice” and and Aliced all over the place. But as soon as Celia left she said ‘yeah’ sorta suspiciously? Maybe I’m crazy. Then she’s back to herself replying to Gwen, who we can assume is only less interested in what Celia has to say due to the situation she’s found herself in during ep 4 was it? with Lena. The only time we really get to know her thoughts about Celia when she isn’t in front of her is when she’s bugging Sam about his crush on her, and also literally all conversation she has with Celia she also has with Sam and shifts the conversation (aside from just meeting Celia) to Sam (imo). The only time we get her opinions on Celia away from other characters is the little ‘yeah’.

-We don’t see Colin’s reaction to Celia either, which would mark the third episode in a row where Colin is only mentioned (to my knowledge). Though we don’t have any mention that he’s been hostile to her. The only characters that truly talk to her and that we can see their reactions to her are Alice and Sam. One who I’m convinced is suspicious of her and the other who’s ’in love’ with her (I was completely caught off guard by this due to not even thinking about any of that in the very beginnings of a horror podcast, I’m autistic and demiromantic, and because I was half listening the first time I listened. I sense it more but it still feels like a stretch to me before Alice mentions it though makes a lot of sense due to Sam’s reaction to her mentioning it)

-I feel like I’d be amiss to not mention the fact this is the episode we truly have an Avatar in it. Needles is the first avatar we tma enjoyers know as an avatar (in Norris’s statement in ep1 we have the maybe scammer but it’s unclear weather that’s an Avatar, someone being possessed, or something else entirely). Thematically, this would be a great way to establish a connection with Avatar and Celia. She was introduced exactly when Avatars were. Also the episode name could also be a reference to the fact we are having our “introductions” to Avatars thought this episode, but that’s unrelated.

-People has also pointed out Celia is in Tma, same name and same voice actress (so no Michael situation or helen and Mel’s therapist situation [I think I remember them having the same voice actress and that being a problem] here). Although I don’t know what the could mean but that’s actually the reason I decided to rewrite this mini-notsomini-rant.

I could be wrong about all of this and am prepared to be wrong but still, needed to get this out there.

#the magnus archives #tma #the magnus protocol #tmagp #celia ripley #I personally think she’s an Avatar #but I may have just connected dots that aren’t there

[angelsdean]

okay continuing my critique on 1x09 Home and how it just fell flat for me narratively, despite having a really good concept in theory, I have to talk about Missouri and her interactions with Dean. To be clear, this is NOT a knock on Missouri as a character, but about the writing choices made throughout the episode with how she speaks to Dean in juxtaposition to how she interacts with Sam.

First off, this is a Kripke episode so, all my criticism is directed at that man !!! So, throughout the whole episode they made the choice to have Missouri be harsher to Dean than Sam. There's a lot of this "teasing scolding" thing she does with him, which I probably wouldn't complain about this in any other circumstance because it's clearly supposed to function as comedic relief, but in this episode specifically it feels tonally off and misplaced. Like, they're coming back to their old house where something very traumatic happened. The episode should feel heavy for them (which, the fact that it doesn't is something I've talked abt already and my main critique). Dean is the one with actual memories of that night and that house and Missouri would know that and would know that it would be harder for him to face that house than Sam, so I really do not get Kripke's choice to write her treating Dean harsher than Sam in this ep.

Like almost every interaction w/ Dean is some kind of teasing or dismissing comment. And again, a lot of them are harmless and wouldn't even bother me IF it weren't this episode where it's clear this is supposed to be hard and traumatic for them (but Dean specifically!!) Like just starting off with the "you were a goofy looking kid" and "if you put your foot on my coffee table i'll whack you with a spoon" like…tonally these comments just feel out of place. The goofy looking kid one just doesn't make sense to me since John went to Missouri just days after the fire, and 4 yr old baby dean was not ? goofy looking ? That's the sort of comment you make when you're talking about the awkward pre-teen stage or something, imo. The foot on the coffee table comment just seems unnecessary to me and once again trying to go for that comedic relief angle but it just falls flat for me in the context of this ep.

And then this trend continues with saying Dean's not the sharpest tool in the shed (reinforcing this perception the narrative has of painting Dean as the "dumber one") Dismissing him using an EMF reader and saying it's "amateur", despite the fact that the EMF works perfectly fine and does, in fact, alert to the presence of spirits. Every time Dean asks questions or voices an objection Missouri dismisses him or explains things to Dean in a patronizing way and it's notable because she doesn't act this way with Sam at all. Then later, when the house is a mess from the poltergeist, Missouri tells Jenny the mom, not to worry about the mess because Dean will clean this all up, and snaps at him specifically to get to work.

And again, it just feels really weird and misplaced. And I'm fully directing my criticism at Kripke and asking WHY. What was the reason? It also feels like a lot of these interactions were playing into stereotypes of the "sassy" black woman which is just very :/ Like idk I'm just not sure what Krikpe's reasoning was for writing these interactions and for the clear juxtaposition in how Missouri interacts sympathetically toward Sam but dismissive toward Dean. Especially in an episode where I feel like it would have made the most sense to make Dean the POV character / central focus since he IS the one with memories and trauma of that house and that night.

I think the choice to make this the episode where they introduce Sam's psychic powers really took away from a lot of what the episode should have been about: going back home after the message of "you can never go home" and Dean swearing to himself he never would, and confronting that trauma and literally seeing their mother's ghost !! That should've been the focus IMO. Like they should've introduced Sam's visions in a different episode. Then had those visions take them to Lawrence, let the focus be on Dean, with Sam seeking help / guidance from Missouri on his visions as the side-plot. AND THEN, have Missouri continue to show up as a recurring character helping Sam with his psychic visions and also filling a Bobby-like role as someone they go to for cases / lore / information. Missouri says, "Don't you boys be strangers" at the end of the episode and then they don't see her again for over a decade !!!! Kripke, I am once again asking, WHY.

#like. i have headcanons for why missouri is treating them differently. primarily tied to my dean killed john AU #which i'll talk abt more in another post #but idk why in canon kripke made these choices #anyways if ppl have thoughts / opinions on this juxtaposition i'd love to hear them! #vics spn rewatch #spn 1x09 #vic.txt

[zmediaoutlet]

Hiii Liz! I forgot to send this on Wednesday so I'm sending it now instead: do you have any favorite protective!dean moments, or vice versa?

it is nice of you to send me a thing even if I'm slow to get to it <3

moments I love as they occur to me:

a lot of weechester stuff, but specifically not fake headcanon things like Dean being wildly over-the-top protective -- like, we know that he just abandoned Sam at Chuck-E-Cheese, lol -- but just the... way that he is, with Sam. They're brothers and it's important that he give Sam noogies and call him a dweeb, but we see him repeatedly look out for Sam's feelings when it matters, too. He checks in on Sam being okay that they're moving to a new school; he tries to make Sam feel better the night Sam finds out about monsters; he tries to give Sam a Christmas that was fun. That kind of protectiveness goes down to the bone.

very specifically, the thing where he'll lift Sam's face to look into his eyes and judge if he's okay: during the Gordon kidnap episode, during the Bloody Mary broken mirrors episode, during the Werther Box ep. And Sam lets him because he knows Dean needs it. It's still protective even if you couldn't stop the harm in the first place.

and vice versa:

Sam watching out for Dean's feelings is also good but he was pretty clumsy about it in earlier years -- that said, the specific scene in Love Hurts when Dean confesses his fears about Amara is one of my top five canon scenes, full stop. Sam's so careful and cautious and nonjudgmental and makes this entirely safe space for Dean to be afraid and 'weak' and honest. Beautiful. One of the kindest moments in the whole show.

opposite of that: I like when Sam gets really abruptly violent and dangerous in Dean's defense, e.g. slamming that one bartender's head into the bar when he lied BRIEFLY about Dean's whereabouts, or pulling a gun on the encampment when Dean was with Metatron. He goes from neutral to the red zone very quickly when he needs to, and it's all the better in latter seasons when Sam's mostly mastered his anger and put it aside. For Dean he'd do whatever it took.

#answers #happy wincest wednesday

[broodingheroine]

tmagp 9 thoughts

rolling with it........ idk transportation? hair rollers? I'm bad at guessing

pen scribbles :3

ONBOARDING PAPERWORK....... SAM STOP FILLING IT OUT WHAT ARE YOU DOING

refuse to give "it" the satisfaction of giving up. sam don't give it sentience.

IF ITS DELIBERATELY WEIRD DONT FILL IT OUT

negative emotions. no stop.

why zero to seven.

JUST WHY????

okay they're flirting now. not in front of my salad.

sam humming to himself lol

CHESTER

MAGNUS WHAT??????????????? STOP

"STATEMENT" FUCK OFFFFFF

artifact storage moment

haunted game sounds interesting though.

oooooo wait the dice are haunted........

it's giving the card game with death episode of tma

divination dice 👀

SCARS?

turning gambling into a horror story is so creative though.

nah I'd probably roll the dice to be honest with you

oh this dude was on the way to Becoming huh

oh this is definitely like the Death episode of tma

oh fuck not the snake eyes

lol end of that one final destination movie

INTERRUPTION?

DECLARED DEAD??????

first assignment

"I don't watch television" lena ur so hot

hm tv ppl.

TEDDY!!!

back in the crypt lmao

alice jealous moment???

teddy u sneak I love u

alice the lady doth protest too much

BIG FOOTS A GOOD LAY HAHAHAHA

NO. NO DO NOT GO. DO. NOT. GO.

SAM. SAMMMM NOOOOOO.

YOU HEARD A CASE FILE ABT A GUY GETTING HIS EYES PRESUMABLY RIPPED OUT AT THIS PLACE AND I DECIDE YEAHHHHH LETS FUCKING GOO[?????

alice. alice uve been adamantly against any kind of investigation this whole time and now ur just like. sure whatever??

I'm so stressed right now.

I have a bad feeling about allll of this.

so the mention of some big name TV guy is very reminiscent of web statements so I'm a little wary of that

I'm assuming that lena is blackmailing ppl? can't really think of a reason why some tv guy would actually be involved with anything Horrors related considering he'd be in the public eye pretty frequently.

unless he is and it's the guy who burned the hilltop charity shop down and the envelope is another job? but I doubt that

presumably lena is the one handing out "hits" now vs being handed them. maybe "killing" klaus is what got her the position?

I'm lowkey nervous abt teddy reappearing? what if it's true that you can quit but you always get drawn back? teddy is seemingly the only ex employee anyone has any contact with soooo

I LOVED the case file today. dice are cool as shit. wish I could remember the episode title of the tma ep with the card game to become death but alas.

also hey! even more evidence that fr3-d1 is listening instead of just recording. computer has sentience let's gooooo.

I don't want sam to go to the institute but also I really hope next ep we get to see the institute.

sam filling out the paperwork presumably for no reason 🤨 he's being compelled 🤨

overall I'm STRESSED right now

how are we doing folks

#tmagp #the magnus protocol #tmagp 9 #tmagp spoilers #the magnus protocol spoilers #im having a fucking DAY man #hearing “statement of” in jons voice was far too much for me today

[mylittleredgirl]

finally, m*a*s*h update!

season four disc two! ("quo vadis, captain chandler" to "dear ma")

there is a LOT going on in the frank and margaret department

i kind of tipped my hand here when i posted about my new obsession, but even if you are not circling the drain on this doomed ship... the Unresolved Breakup Tension is fuckin WILD in this disc

she literally punches him in the face!!! how was that not a breakup!

but then he buys her something or does something to charm or impress her, and it works! then he blows it again!! rinse and repeat!!!! i am 👀🍿

sam and diane from cheers are still theeee platonic ideal of slap-slap-kiss but these clowns definitely walked so they could run

i literally jumped off the couch when his wife found out, aaaaa it's so juicy

I'M SORRY i realize this doesn't speak well of me as a person, but those long close-ups on her face as she voluntarily eavesdrops on him dismissing their relationship (twice!!) and her heart gets fully crushed??? i could eat popcorn to this all day.

this is the kind of dysfunctional relationship that my artist friends would choose in our youth so that we could Suffer and Make Art, so i really hope margaret is writing terrible poetry about it

anyway, we're peroxide-roots deep into GIRL WHY??!??

and then bj very gently explains to radar that well, see, frank and margaret both kinda suck and we're in the middle of nowhere, so they're all they've got

and i had to spend three or four days staring at the ceiling about it, because YEAH. it's not just that they're each other's only rank-appropriate source of star-spangled orgasms

(and they both care far more about military hierarchy than they do about marital fidelity)

but they are so consistently unkind to everyone around them that they have no other choice for any human connection full stop.

i'm not even talking about their ongoing bullying war with hawkeye and trapper or bj, because that's dirty pool on both sides, but i could count on one hand the number of times either of them have interacted with a subordinate nurse or enlisted man without threatening them. like they literally would not have anyone else to talk to.

but the reveal that she still wants to MARRY HIM? oh god. ohhhh honey. noooo.

that fake proposal prank was so genuinely mean. mostly because they ruined her hot date! 👏 let 👏 margaret 👏 fuck 👏 random 👏 dudes 👏

"isn't general barker the one who wanted you to spank him?" lmaoooo

OKAY i swear i can talk about other things:

hawkeye continues to just NOT pull without trapper here. the nurses are fully dismissing or ignoring his efforts, and honestly is he even trying that hard?? have we seen him get even one date?

i've been trying to come up with an "intricate rituals" joke about hawkeye and trapper but where the rituals are... girls. you get me.

i re-watched the pilot and the desk ep (for frank/margaret reasons DON'T JUDGE ME), and hawkeye and trapper LITERALLY end the pilot handcuffed together, and in the next episode talk about sharing a nurse. how am i supposed to take this???

speaking of nurses, you know that little 🙄 you have to ignore in 2024 whenever the women on m*a*s*h get called honey and sweetheart and baby on the job (though tbh i worked on a construction site and an ad sales office in the 2010's and got the same treatment -- but in the modern day it's done ironically babe)

BUT when potter calls margaret "good girl" after he gets shot??? total opposite feeling. i literally had to pause and take a moment. he's her dad now.

also when he tucks radar in???? everyone's dad actually

in loving memory of radar's other dad though, two important points:

how proud would henry have been of drunk & disorderly radar??

and henry's "i've always wondered if i might be radar's dad" bit is genuinely 900% funnier now that we know radar's mom looks EXACTLY like him.

i don't think i have ever circled back to talk about klinger, who became so so so awesome

it's so funny that in klinger's very first appearance and 30 times since then, he has been told straight up that wearing women's clothes will never work to get him out of the army. there's no explanation for his commitment to this particular form of passive resistance except that he genuinely loves it

the swamp rats built a still and klinger got a sewing machine and learned a craft. he's so good at it!! his looks are 🔥

i feel uncomfortable when i see him in fatigues tbh. it happened a few times in this disc and i would like it to Stop actually

also precious baby father mulcahey... Protect Him.

i LOVE that everyone showed up for his church service when the grand poobah chaplain was in town. they love each other!!! (also the life magazine jeep shoot!!!)

"quo vadis, captain chandler" was really good. i'm still over colonel flagg's whole deal but i now understand why everyone loves sidney freedman, and the guest actor they had playing not-jesus was incredible

bj continues to be the best little brother hawkeye could have asked for

also he maybe invented cpr?

i didn't say much about him here but I LOVE HIM and also his off-screen wife

forward and onward!!!

#it's about time i watched m*a*s*h #mashblogging #if anyone wants me to @ them in the notes when i do these let me know <3

[chainofclovers]

Ted Lasso 3x11 Thoughts

I have to write my thoughts down right away this time.

[Please don’t hate me if calling TL a rom-com is your favorite thing but] I’ve always felt like Ted Lasso isn’t a rom-com in the traditional sense where a protagonist finds love with an “opposites attract” kind of person and it ends right as they’ve decided to be together. Because the rom-com structure can be brilliant for what it is, but it’s all about the build-up, the whirl of questions and magic that gets you to one perfect moment of clarity. Ted Lasso is a kaleidoscope of people, all learning from the light reflected off the others. People within its world fall in and out of love, but the “movie” isn’t structured entirely around a single love story between two people. And I like that, as much as I have strong feelings about the potential for romantic love in this universe. Because a lot of times, when I watch a rom-com, I can’t quite picture what will happen to the characters who have fallen in love now that they’ve cracked the code of getting there. But, of course, what if Nora Ephron wrote a sports film? (—Jason Sudeikis.) As soon as this ep ended, my wife said she loved that this very Ephron-filled episode rather aggressively tied up a lot of loose ends all at once, with a lot of rosy moments and schmaltzy dialogue and the kind of magic that exists in a romantic comedy, revised to be about sports. Which are actually about life. Or whatever.

I appreciate that structure a lot, but even more than that I appreciate that the Ephroniest episode of this show is the penultimate one. I assume—or at least, I very much hope—that now that they’ve tied up so much and hurtled these characters so rapidly towards the close of the scene, the finale will have some breathing room to be a bit more real and more messy. I hope that it still feels like closure for this story, but I also hope that it’s open enough that we not only trust that all these people will still have lives, but will actually be able to imagine them.

It’s kind of funny how much the ending to this one felt like a cliffhanger even though I’m certain Ted is going to tell Rebecca he’s going to need to leave at the end of the season. A neat trick for the rom-com ep, cutting off the two protagonists right before their moment of clarity. Because of course Ted is already clear. And I would have HATED Rebecca’s so-self-aware-the-fourth-wall-was-quivering speech about the truth bomb if it weren’t for Ted so clearly having something to say, and if it weren’t for how casual and almost careless she is about being down in the office simply because it’s on-schedule. I mean, this woman was in no way able to handle it when Higgins merely suggested rethinking Ted’s role when the season was going badly; I’m really curious how shaken she’s going to be when he tells her, and how quickly she’ll get to acceptance. 

For all that I loved the flirtation with rom-com structure, and the big sports movie messages, and all the very intense interpersonal dynamics (Ted and his mom! Beard and Nate! Roy and Keeley and Jamie loose in Manchester! Even the ten seconds of Bex and Ms. Kakes showing up at Rebecca’s doorstep!), there’s also a big part of me that’s just aching, though, because I just love Ted and Rebecca and Ted&Rebecca and Ted/Rebecca so much. And even though their connection would never be a rom-com romance to me—because their connection is forever, and their connection has already taken so much good work, and that’s as it should be—I would love to watch them fall in love in a romantic way (if not a rom-com way). That still of them watching the movie together was sooooo lovely and soft and framed with such perfect movielight that I just feel wistful. But Ted is right about You’ve Got Mail not quite being his favorite story. It’s Sam’s rom-com, and I would have even liked the little glance between Sam and Rebecca as Sam feels his own wistfulness if it weren’t for how much I just wanted to see that promo still come to life.

(The absolute bullshit of shipping wars notwithstanding, I feel like even among the sensible non-warring people there is a camp of seeing no romance between T/R and a camp of seeing romance in everything between T/R, and I’m just. In neither place. I have seen a lot of their connection points this season as full of the potential for some kind of realized love, and I think many of the things they have said to each other and done for or with each other have a comfort and familiarity that could flip nearly instantaneously into a romantic and sexual love. Also, aren’t rituals kinda kinky anyway? And their whole relationship is based on rituals? 

It’s so weird; I don’t think I’m delusional, but I could still see them having a huge moment in 3x12 and in fact am certain there will be one, I just don’t know what it will mean to them. But I will never be like “I’m clowning again” when it comes to this shit because the ingredients are literally all there, and I guess they can make whatever cake they want, and I’ll unclownily respect it while continuing to see what I see.)

Other stuff: 

Ted’s mom added some cutesy pillows and kitchen stuff to Ted’s flat, right? I think it’s interesting that her ultimate message was that Henry misses Ted and that he can’t be scared of parenting him, but in the lead up to that truth she was doing stuff to populate his living space in London more fully. I’m curious if that was the equivalent of the cute animal videos he referenced in s1, when she’s trying to work up the courage to talk about something real, or if it was something about a parents’ desire to make their children more comfortable even if they screw up, or if it portends something more complicated on the horizon w/r/t Ted’s relationship to “home.” 

I loved Becky Ann Baker’s performance so much, and I thought Jason Sudeikis played off her incredibly well. There is nothing more irritating than being irritated by someone whose worst qualities are the exact same as your worst qualities. And when Rebecca and Beard and Higgins and the entire team just adore Dottie, it’s just so…of COURSE THEY DO. It was so good.

I think this show has something very frustrating to say about forgiveness and I think maybe there needs to be a different word for this concept they keep invoking?! I’m certain there are interesting philosophical and theological beliefs about forgiveness and how it’s not really about willfully becoming okay with someone who has hurt you but more about freeing yourself from how horrible it feels to be trapped by how that person made you feel. And I think that is what Ola advises Sam to do when thinking about the bigots who trashed him publicly and trashed his restaurant, and I think that is what Ted advises Jamie to do when he suggests how Jamie reframe how he feels about his dad. I don’t think either conversation is intended to minimize the horrors of what has happened, and it feels like the intention/vibes/overall care for the person receiving the advice/outcome in each situation is “correct” in that both Sam and Jamie end up finding the conversations helpful. But something about forgiveness as a concept just feels like they needed to invent some new word or contextualize the old word better or something.

When Jamie’s mum takes his side about his hair being walnut haze OH MY GOD.

Genuinely thought Keeley and Roy were fully back together last episode and I think Rebecca also thought this, LOL. I am unsure what I even want to happen at this point. I mean, obviously Jamie/Keeley/Roy should ride off into the sunset together. So I guess I do know what I want to happen.

Beard backstory! Ted and Beard backstory! I am so, so glad the Ted and Nate reunion didn’t happen in the Ephron ep. I am so, so glad Beard showed up and gave something of himself and grew as a human being a little bit. I’m glad that Nate did not send anyone any groveling tomes, and that this continues to be a story about forging and reforging connections rather than the economy of redemption. 

I’m sure there’s more, but I’m fuckin’ exhausted. Until next time, so long, farewell. (HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.) 

#ted lasso #ted lasso meta #meta by me #ted lasso s3 spoilers #ted x rebecca #hot dork club #ted lasso 3x11

[total-drama-shark]

Do you have a favorite romantic relationship from each season?

Yoo it's been a while since I've been asked for my td thoughts :) I answered an ask this before that you can check here but I’ll provide additional info in this one.

TDI

I have to go with Duncney in this one, their dynamic is strong and their storyline is very well handled IMO, Gwent was a more long term and endgame couple for this season but the issue with them is that their relationship status always seemed to reset every episode regardless of how much development they got in individual episodes, so it felt like it wasn’t going anywhere when it should, they liked each other since ep 1 but by the start of ep 16 they were still at that exact same status. With Duncney though the development they get in an episode carries on to the next, making it all cohesive and neat :)

TDA

I don’t think I was a big fan of many canon couples this season, Duncney was very hit or miss, Gwent broke up, Bridgeoff was hitting constant bump in the roads. I’d say Lesharold but I’m not sure if they count given they weren’t an official couple, and I preferred them in TDWT even though they had less screen time there. So I guess that really leaves us with Nizzy, but again I prefer them in TDI and TDWT. Guess TDA just isn’t my season.

TDWT

Aleheather my beloved, we love an enemies to lovers and a WT Heather W (Heather’s win is canon to me). While I admit the writing wasn’t perfect when it came to consistency, one episode Alejandro flirts with Heather to tease her while another he doesn’t want people to think he like her, it’s our first properly well done endgame relationship in a season IMO. Seeing their constant complicated conflict is an absolute treat and it’s one of my favorite canon couples period.

TDROTI

Sometimes I wonder if I like Zoke because they’re cute or I can project so much onto them, that doesn’t matter though because my fave this season is Samkota! Dakota’s development learning to be less superficial in her judgement, learning to care for people, and finding someone in her life who not only actually likes her and cares for her as a person, but loves her? My heart <3 Sam starting out awkward messing up while trying to compliment her or finding things they have in common to being able to successfully swoon her is also adorable :)

TDAS

Unpopular opinion? I love Scottney, both how the season started presenting it as sorta like a Duncney 2.0 with Scott being the bad boy to Courtney’s uptight good girl, but also how they later go about it with Scott actually just being a mess with no experience in romance and Courtney somehow still being charmed by him despite knowing just how pathetic he is at trying to be romantic. It’s cute, it takes me back, I wish it last longer.

TDPI

Jashawn is considered the saving grace of Pahkitew by various people in the fandom, and while I enjoy the season more than your average td fan, I do admit it’s a highlight. They’re sweet and cute and it’s an a character screwing up and having to reevaluate their life viewpoints and priorities to be able to truly learn how to love someone and make up for their mistakes is a great development and one I don’t think we’ve seen before! The best we’ve seen the show handle couples having interpersonal conflicts I think.

TDIR

Rajbow is an obvious one here, like even if I didn’t love them what other couple was there? Chemma? Hah, no. But luckily I do love them! I’m glad TD’s first queer characters/couple are mlm, since in the earlier seasons the mere idea of queer dudes was the butt of a joke rather than actual representation, it feels like this is making up for that. Bowie’s confidence and smarts contrasting and bouncing of Raj’s himbo energy and his still discovering his sexuality is very nice to see and very enjoyable. I hope to see them develop this couple further next season :)

Thank you again for the ask anon! I love answering asks like these :D

#total drama #duncney #Aleheather #samkota #jashawn #rajbow

[dwreader]

IWTV Episode 6 Podcast Transcript

Special Guests: Levan Akin and Jewelle Gomez

"Lestat made him [Louis] a vampire. He became in a way his everything. He became isolated from his family and his friends. He has nothing. It’s classic abusive, toxic. He’s isolated Louis." -Levan Akin

“Recording a song with your side piece is not an apology”

Naomi: First, in this episode, there’s a heated discussion of whether Emily Dickinson was a vampire. What other historical figures do you think could’ve been vampires? 

Levan: Good question.. I would say Tesla. He could be a vampire… I don’t know maybe I’m just thinking about was it David Bowie who played him in a movie. Maybe I just got that image in my head… I don’t know what do you think? 

N: I’m not used to having the tables turned on me… Bowie and Iman. 

L: And also Grace Jones. 

N: Can you tell me when you first discovered Anne Rice?

L: I’d heard about her and then I saw the film I think when I was 14. 

N: Wow, formative. 

L: I remember that screening very well. I loved vampires and I saw that film. I was a little gay kid and there was a lot of subtext I could pick up. And then I went to the school library and found The Vampire Lestat so that was the first book I read and that was a gamechanger for me. I was obsessed… 

N: Do you remember your parents having a reaction to you reading these books?

L: The thing is they didn’t really get it. My parents are from Georgia, former Soviet Republic. They had no idea about pop culture or anything. 

N: You’re live with us from Sweden. Correct me if I’m wrong but IWTV is the first time you’re directing a US TV series?

L: Yes.

N: Tell me everything, how does it happen? How are you out here working in Sweden and like get me on the AR show? 

L: I did a film called and then we danced, and that opened some doors. I got agents. I read from an AR fan I follow on facebook and heard they were doing a series and I told my agents, get me on that show. And then finally I met Rolin Jones and luckily Rolin thought why not give this guy a try. He’s a risk taker. 

…

L: I also got to do the scene where Louis meets Molloy in San Francisco. I can’t believe it. 

N: You directed ep 5 and 6 which are the most tumultuous episodes in the show and the most tumultuous time in their relationship. What is the core of the conflict, how would you describe it? 

L: You know those two episodes, its essentially the darkest days. Everything comes to the end. When I was reading ep 5 I was thinking, how does Lestat ever come back from this? And then I started reading ep6, and how he slowly tears Louis down and talks his way back into their lives. And I thought it was brilliant but also you know frightening. I always tried to approach the material with like what’s the reality of this situation? You know it is a toxic relationship. It was interesting approaching these scenes as an adult, having read these books as a kid. 

N: When you read these romances, its like I want someone to love me that much. And then when you’re an adult, you’re like this is sick this is twisted. We have to have boundaries. 

L: Yes, of course. 

N: You see the relationship change, for all the fantasy of it, the emotions are real, regardless of the time. How we stay in the truth of what the feelings are. As you said this is a tumultuous time, the darkest of days and we see Lestat begging for forgiveness over the course of years and trying to win Louis back. And he has a messed up way of apologizing. Can we talk a little about as a director, getting into the mindset? When you’re talking to Jacob and Sam, do you get them in the mindset of okay its been 6 years, you swam the Mississippi, bring me that energy. 

L: Yeah, again how do you find the truth in that scene. Its at its core.. Lovers reuniting but also there’s so much frustration coming from Louis in that scene. He’s been having this stalker slowly nudging his way into his wife. I remember talking to Jacob about it over lunch, it feels as if that scene also he’s had enough. He knows he’s never going to be free of Lestat. He might as well relent. Its very sad later in the episode he says what difference does it make. 

N: I want Louis to realize he can do better.. 

L: Me too. But you know Lestat is his prison. Its like him trying to get over a bad breakup and he’s still a hundred years later you’re sort of still trying to understand and deal with what happened in this relationship. 

N: And you see here in 2022 and he’s still mad. Relatable. 

L: Of course, of course. Lestat made him a vampire. He became in a way his everything. He became isolated from his family and his friends. He has nothing. It’s classic abusive, toxic. He’s isolated Louis. 

Voicemail from listener: I did watch the first episode, I was very intrigued but I did not read the book. I was a little confused about why Louis’s brother killed himself and then I thought maybe Lestat had gotten into his head because he wants Louis so badly but he wants Louis to come to him. So what better way to get someone and get into someone’s head when they are in mourning for someone they loved and vulnerable. I just wanted to know if that was why Paul killed himself that Lestat put that in his head so he could get to Louis. 

N: You’re asking the question that Louis asks in this episode! I thought this was such a huge moment, have you been sitting on this for 30 years? Have you been with this person wondering this all this time? Can you tell me your thoughts on this question? He says no. 

L: He says no, but as you said, him having this question for 30 years and never asked before, what does that mean? Does that mean he had his doubts but he didn’t want to ask and didn’t want the truth? But now theyre standing at this threshold so he’s like Im gonna ask this question but I think Lestat did not have anything to do with it. I think he’s telling the truth.. What do you think?

N: Its tricky to me cause we know Lestat is a manipulator, thats what he does. On one hand, the way he responds, I believe that but he did get in Paul’s head at the dinner table. 

L: But if he did do it, he’s irredeemable in a way. Which is why I think he did not do it. 

N: Why do you think Lestat is telling his story NOW?

L: To me, its cause he know he has to give him something. It’s purely tactical. He’s very earnest when he tells it, its very down to earth and grounded and direct. 

N: Was that something you and Sam talked about? 

L: Yes, we talked about it and we said this has to be different. It has to feel different for you to sort of lay that final punch toward winning over Louis for real. Without doubt. I don’t want the audience to feel Louis is an idiot. You have to understand Louis like he’s finally giving me something real something vulnerable. 

N: Speaking of sort of this intimacy and this toxicity of this relationship, do you think Lestat deserves forgiveness? 

L: It’s an interesting question and I was thinking about it, cause when you read the books and you read TVL/QOTD, its told from Lestat’s POV and he’s manipulating the reader and you love him and you’re inside his mind and he motivates all of his bad decisions and the bad stuff he does. When you see him objectively from the outside, it becomes more complicated. And this is Louis’s retelling of Lestat. The real question to me is does Louis really forgive him? I’m not sure he does, he takes him in again but is he totally open to him or has he locked off some places? 

N: You gotta lock up some places with Lestat. 

L: You can see that in relationships. People who have been together too long and you wonder should they really be or is it just comfortable its easier like this to keep going. 

N: Lestat will not let him go and we also see he won’t let Claudia go. I HATE HIM! WHY why won’t he just let Claudia go? The thing I don’t understand is he never wanted Claudia, he made her to appease Louis so I’m like why wouldn’t he let her go so he can have Louis all to himself again? 

L: Yes, cause he knows he’s never going to be enough for Louis. He knows that Louis is going to be depressed and thinking about Claudia, he doesn’t want to rock the status quo of the situation, he just wants to keep it as is. Cause its going to be trouble for Lestat. 

N: I feel like Lestat is his own trouble. If he could just be nice and stop having side pieces. Cause this is what kills me, when he mentions the Bruce thing adn knowing what we know of Lestat and how vengeful he is.. Why didn’t he go kill Bruce? 

L: yeah that’s a good question. 

N: Oh so you knew all this time and we know you love killing people just for fun, could you just go kill Bruce for the family please? I was mad.. 

L: Me too. 

N: One of the things too is the idea of enduring. As Lestat says, we endure each other. In some ways, Louis is just enduring Lestat like what can I do, so I’m just gonna stay with him. Is enduring something to even be proud of? Doesn’t sound great to me. 

L: I agree, its a way of suffering. I see it almost as a duty to go through these things and to endure. Being a vampire and living forever is an endurance. In this context, Louis is saying what else can I do?  He doesn’t have anyone else,  he doesn’t know any other vampires, why not just endure this and let this pass? Cause you see time differently when you’re a vampire, like it’s gonna be 10 bad years but then things are gonna change. 

N: 10 bad years.. What’s one bad decade?

L: Yeah cause they don’t have what we do which is like its now or never. I’ve gotta get my shit together now. Hustling to try to fulfill all your dreams. He’s like whats the point? And try to make the best of this, cause this is what we have and the cards we’ve been dealt. 

N: That brings me to Molloy in present day when Louis offers him eternal life and Molloy says no so quickly when we know that was not the case in the 70s. I interpret it as having heard this story, he’s like no I do not want to be a vampire now knowing what he knows hes like no thank you. 

L: Also I think being older and seeing what an effed up place the world is and its all going to hell and its the middle of the pandemic and climate change and wars, I think Molloy is like I don’t wanna stay here. 

N: This episode ends with Molloy having a dream? A memory? I love a camera pan and he’s there. 

L: I freaked out when I was reading it too... This series is everything I wanted as a fan, there are so many cool things you’re going to see in the series from the book. And a lot of things Rolin has planted now that you will see later. 

Horror Author Jewelle Gomez

N: Episode 6 did not leave me feeling good, coming off the heels of 5, it was another pummeling in a way. 

J: Louis has gone through the ringer and its not that often you get to a see a vampire who has to recover. Usually in TV/movies its like bada bing bada bang and injuries are gone. This is a knitting back together and its an emotional thing to watch. 

N: It’s been years, it takes like 3 years to get back to who he was like walking around. This is an episode about the family dynamic and how it is changed by what Lestat has done. What do you think is different about a vampire family? Should they even be a family? Are they forcing something not right? 

J: We’re thinking like mortals, like they can get a therapist to work it through. I think it’s valuable to try to make something but it has to be as Louis say no lies and I dont think Lestat is ever capable of being fully present and fully honest even when he says he’s going to compromise or be honest I don’t know if you can trust him in particular. And then you add in Claudia who is in many ways superior to Louis and Lestat, she’s got a really strong mind a strong intellect… 

N: They’re like she’s a sweet little girl, it will be fine. Have you never met a teenage girl? 

J; WRONG. 

N: It’s funny cause I don’t think of her as smarter but she is colder. Louis he is bound by this love of Lestat, he’s in his thrall. Then Lestat is driven by power and control. Claudia just wants to be free… she is the one who is the least attached in this trio which enables her to see clearly and this dynamic is not right and I dont have to stand for it. 

J: She’s coming into her own as she goes out into the world and sees women. She’s never going to become one in the traditional scene and it engenders her anger. She is definitely chillier than Louis and that’s a surprise to them. She’s not as wedded to the value of mortals cause she’s never lived as long as a mortal. She’s chilly and ruthless. 

N: Absolutely, a bit theme of the series is ht eidea of freedom vs repression and she says to Louis lets leave and go to Europe lets life our own life. But do you think you can really be free as a vampire? Do you think a vampire is any more free as a mortal?

J: Usually its the stuff you take into your vampire life before you were a vampire, but if you were not taught how to create family or what freedom really means, it would be very hard to be free of someone like Lestat. I think that’s a significant element of who Claudia is trying to be free, what it creates for her is assault. She takes that into how she feels about Louis and Lestat. Its stoked by this incident by Bruce, its something they do not understand, even reading the diary you can’t really understand what it means to a woman to have that experience. It’s a very valuable part of the story for us to understand claudia and why she wants to be free why she will go to any lengths to be free. 

N: She thinks the only way to be free is killing Lestat. What are the vampire rules against killing your maker? 

J: It’s like how mortals views patricide or matricide. It’s like the worst crime other than killing your child. It sentences you to death in the vampire world. 

N: Can she ever really be free? If she thinks the only way to freedom is to kill Lestat but to do so would put a target on her back… there’s no way out for her? 

J: The only way for her would be if Lestat turns over a new leaf and just lets them go on their European tour but what’s more likely to happen when he finally does understand Claudia is serious and powerful. The possibility of him killing her is not that slim. He might just be done with her and is not worth the hassle. She’s not in love with him the way Louis is. 

N: We’ve talked a bit about Louis being in love with Lestat and in his thrall but Claudia says we’re slaves to Lestat and Louis is like that’s not true. Why does he not see do you think? 

J: I’ll tell you, when she tells Louis we’re slaves to Lestat, Louis knows what slavery looks like in real life, he does not feel its true for him in this moment. Even though slavery comes in different shapes sizes and forms, he’s like little girl you don’t know what you’re talking about. He doesn’t take in himself as a slave but he’s unable to see himself as a slave but someone who treats him the way Lestat does is not healthy. We cannot underestimate he is in love, he takes the position of the battered spouse who keeps forgiving. 

N: Its Claudia who gives the strength to Louis, when she says we don’t have to be like this anymore, you deserve better, we deserve better, we can start over. The young person who sees all the opportunities vs. the older person who was never given that opportunity. 

J; And that gives you hope that things can change but she’s also a young person who doesn’t know the past so she doesn’t know what Louis’s been through to get where he is. So its a double edged sword in some ways, but the hope part of it is most valuable to Louis at this stage of this story. 

N: If you’re vampire, where would you live and when? Preferred time period and location where you would feel the most free?

J: I would live between London and NY. London in the 1800s - number 1 the clothes, the outfits, I’m a corset queen and bloomers on your bicycle and you could go to the theater every night of the week and see something different. As a person of color I wouldn’t be invited to a lot of the salons, that’s alright I’ld have my own vampire salons. 

#vampterview #rewind the tape

[canonicallysoulmates]

J2 Jaxcon Gold Panel 2023

How has working with women in the SPN group of actors affected them in a male-dominated society?

One of the things Jared is very proud of, and thinks SPN did very well, is that it pointed out how strong you are and can be no matter what you look like, your gender, or your sexuality. So, having done the show from age 22 to 38 it was awesome, not just in the way the characters were written but to meet people like Kim Rhodes, Briana Buckmaster, Felicia Day,  G, and D. He adds that being on a set, male or female or however you wanna identify as, it’s difficult. It’s not that they all go play pretend and then it’s lollipops and candy canes, it’s shitty hours. He shares a story about how when they were filming Bugs it was raining torrentially, and they were filming outside and Kim Manners, who was directing, gave them umbrellas.

But the next day the dailies went to Kripke and told him that Sam and Dean hunt what goes bump in the night they don’t use umbrellas so for the next 14yrs no matter rain or shine, sun or snow, they didn’t use umbrellas. They got used to it but when they would have someone over for an ep or more they would be ask, “why don’t you have umbrellas?” and he'd tell them to ask Kripke. He’ll speak for both he and Jensen, the way they were raised with strong women in their family, mothers, and sisters they never doubted the strength of women and furthermore having seen their wives go through childbirth it becomes very clear they (men) are the weaker sex. And that it was an honor to work with amazing people.

Jensen says Jared is right, and he will say the set they worked on was on for so many years that it didn’t matter who walked through the door, where they were from, what they looked like, how they identified or any of that stuff because they were already part of the team. They got to play together and create together, and some people rose above others and those are largely the ones you see on con stages. Guys and girls, and the ones who stick around, and still speak about this do so for a reason, it didn't matter if it was a male-dominated show or a male-dominated society, it wasn’t something they necessarily noticed they just saw a teammate coming on to set and they got to play, and some were really fun to play with and they're still doing it today. x

How many seagulls would they have to find in their house before they started getting suspicious that someone was putting them there?

Jared says one. He lives inland in Texas, he hasn’t seen a seagull in 38yrs.

Jensen says 14 cause if it's a flock of seagulls, like 6 or 12 of them, if the door was open maybe they could have gotten in but if there's 14 somebody is up to something. x

Next fan has two questions: Did they enjoy their whiskey? And does Jensen have a favorite song of his? Whether it's a collab he's done or something with Radio Company.

The question about the whiskey is because the fan had gifted them like a seven-gallon Canadian Club Whiskey which Jared says they had not tried just yet. 

As for Jensen's favorite song first, he says he doesn't know but then one of the fans mentions Angeles and he says that he likes Angeles because he thinks that’s probably the first time he put himself out there in that way which was a little scary but he had some good encouragement from some good friends so it does hold a special place for him.

Jared says remembers that day vividly because Jensen did that on set in the same place they would do their voiceover. Jensen explains that Don Painchaud their sound mixer on set had a soundproof truck that they would do their voice-over recording in while filming so they’d be on set, take a break, and hop over to do voice-over work for an episode that was previously filmed. So Jensen told him he had a buddy coming over and they were looking to lay down some vocal tracks for a song and asked if they could do that in the truck and Don agreed, and also got them a fancy vintage recording mic and set it up because he's an avid collector of vintage mics. 

Jared asks Jensen if he remembers who filmed the scenes inside the truck and Jensen says 'you'. This is such a cute moment, it's clear they both have a soft spot for this song and music video.

Jared says it was a small space and if you even breathed it picks it up because it picks up everything so he’s trying to do cool shit but his keys are jingling in his pocket- Jensen says Jared is effectively a moose in a china shop. x

Have they had any supernatural experiences themselves?

Jared tells a story about how when he and G went to Edinburgh a couple of weeks back they were staying in a refurnished castle and their room was haunted. While they were unpacking G went 'I think our room is haunted', and he replied that he knew; they went out to dinner, came back and the curtains were opening and closing, lights were turning on and off, the bathroom light started leaking water so they’re in bed, and Jared says out loud 'hey we see you, we hear you, we know you're here, can we talk tomorrow?' and it all stopped until the next day. 

Jensen says their house in Austin was built in 1920 and they’ve been doing some refurnishing and remodeling and stuff with it, and they had some of the workers quit on the job without saying why, the project manager said they had to do some work on another project but then they found out they had seen some things on the third floor. In the 50s it used to be a multi-unit and there was an apartment on the third floor so they had reportedly seen something or someone. He says D got a medium to come over, he was out of town, but allegedly the medium went over and when she went to the third floor she said that there was bad energy and that's where he had hurt her. He starts to say something about the drywall being down to the studs but immediately after he says the word studs he tells Jared 'don't say it' because he knew Jared was going to jump on the chance to make a joke and he was right 😂

Anyway, the medium makes this rice mixture and she does some incantations and they put the whole thing down on the porch and it's supposed to make the spirits leave the house. The next day it was all gone. x

If they had one song they could listen to over and over again for the rest of their life, no other music, what would it be?

Jared says it probably changes on a semi-regular basis but he’s gonna go with Hey Jude. Jensen says Stairway because there's so much going on it's an epic tune. x

Were there ever discussions about doing a Bobby and Rufus spinoff?

Jared says he would watch that. 

Jensen answers he thinks there were discussions of doing something but he doesn’t know if it was a full spinoff or adding another story arc to focus on them but a lot of ideas got tossed around. 

Jared says much to the credit of the writer's part of wonderful storytelling is everybody gets to imagine what happens when the cameras aren’t rolling. That’s one of the magic parts of this 15-year journey he and Jensen went through is we all get to imagine what it's like when we don't see the characters for a while; but if Jim Beaver and Steven Williams decide to share a screen together he's tuning in. x

What would be their favorite skittle flavor?

There is context behind this question, the reason for it is due to Jensen’s Soldier Boy cameo in The Boy’s spinoff Gen V.....I'm gonna let y'all look that one up.

Jared answers musk....you know if you keep the reference in mind....I'm not gonna say anything I'm just gonna raise my eyebrow and move on 🤨

Jared's explanation for his answer is that it'd be like the Harry Potter jellybeans. I say this with affection, Jared you are into some freaky shit cause musk, musk would be your favorite flavor...not even scent, flavor....

Jensen says he’ll be honest there's not a specific flavor but the wildberry Skittles pack beats them all. x

J2 Gold Panel Jaxcon '23

#j2 tinhat #j2 #non iwtv #mine

[crazykuroneko]

The Newsreader S2 Ep 6 (Finale)

A well-written, well-acted, and well-produced season. Anna and Sam showed their range. The whole cast is such a treat to see when they're all working together for a bulletin. Love how they wrote other characters/relationships to be a foil to Helen, Dale or their relationship, especially Rob/Noellene. The set and the fashion are impeccable. My only criticisms are I wish we could see more of how Charlie/Helen crash and burn in more than a montage and a scene and the score, which could have been better imo. Anyway, this should sweep AACTA idc idc

My unnecessary note on the episode under the cut

Sam is such a great actor, because we see Dale's acting like he's okay all smiley etc but you know he's breaking inside

Geoff looks sincere with his speech about Kay, but I bet it's Evelyn's idea to put that on the news. Idk I'm still sceptical about those two

GOD DALE he's really doing everything he's been dreaming of as if that would make him feel better about himself

that montage of Helen and Charlie doing drugs is insane. Especially when you remember their relationship started right after she covered a drug addict news

ugh yes Rob we know you're homophobic thanks

"He's turning into Helen" well more like Geoff

Oh fuck you Lindsey. he's the one without any principles at all and alway takes/turns anything into personal. He and Evelyn are my big villains UGH

Okay, Rob proposing her in Korean is sweet. A sign he's willing to learn

Don't forget Rob is someone who refuses his promotion even when he gets it because he's too comfortable in his place. OF COURSE he won't understand Noelene's ambition to develop her career. I'm so sorry Noelene. i wish you didn't fall in love with a loser

At least The Walters know when they have to pay back a favor

Helen really said don't talk about my bisexual almost-husband! She's so real for that. But I do wish we saw how the relationship with Charlie crashed and burnt in more than just two scenes.

"Just do your work" also "Do nothing" in the previous episode. Insanity

Poor Dale, no one can back him up. It hurts that Tim won't help him but it's very understandable after how Dale has been using him after all this time. Plus Tim is in a different relationship with his sexuality than Dale. He's not out, but he has embraced it and doesn't want to hide it anymore. Meanwhile that's impossible for Dale if he still wants a career in front of the camera with a good pay in that era. Which is why I don't see them get back together anymore. In my eyes, it's more like infatuation than love between them, with/without the internalized homophobia. And Tim does deserve to live free from all this drama

14 hours plus on the desk? it's insane. Dale is turning into a robot wtf

Dale Jennings disappointing the whole queer community. Where did that come from? Yes, season 1! Upon reflection, I don't think Gerry did it, but it's definitely someone from the gay club. Someone who saw he's dancing with Tim before. Could be that stranger he slept with. There's no way he didn't know who Dale was. Anyway, Dale feels like the community has betrayed him, so now like a naive child he's getting back at them. (He's still my baby though ❤️)

Oh Noelene was definitely going to say no even without Helen's problem. Of course she was. 💔

Could we unalive Lindsey pls? Like he's the epitome of a white man who only knows how to scream and take advantage of any situation. A lot of people's temper would be improved

Okay, maybe Rob does deserve some rights. The fact he has achieved his peak in sport really helps. I guess that's why he's so chill about his news career

I guess the only person Lindsey really appreciates is Dennis cos who would manage everyone if not him? Lindsey can only scream and scream. He'd really be nothing without Denis and Noelene

Dale has definitely been looking up to Geoff. So it's insane when Geoff, who has sacrificed his career for his daughter, is now congratulating Dale, who has sacrificed all of his relationships for his career. It's like the passing of the news desk trap

Why is it with this couple and believing marriage will just solve all your problems? No, I understand they know that they're the life raft to each other, so when they're in a dire moment, they want to make sure they'll have each other always. Forever. And it's insane. And it's so heartbreaking that the moment Helen realizes that Dale has always been fully committed to her and fully supported her is the moment Dale got a confirmation that he really has It to be the king of news, and he won't sacrifice that. Not right now when he's finally had it in his hand

You know, when you think about it, Dale's rejection protects Helen's principle. Because here she's about to use their potential engagement to placate the gossip writer to not publish Dale's story, which would lead to them having to feed her stories on their relationship forever. Which Helen has said before that her private life is not something she would trade. In the end, Donna only gets Dale's life.

It's insane how this episode starts just like Ep 1 and ends just like how season 1 ends.

Also, this is very unnecessary, but please know I worship Sam's and Anna's acting. They're insane throughout this season.

#the newsreader #the Newsreader spoilers

[sleepy-seal]

Welcome back to another week of: TMAGP & Treats!

This week's treat: Blood Lemon Poundcake

A fitting name for the subject of the 4th episode. Ingredients were baking mix, water, one egg, and melted butter.

And without further ado, here is my notes and thoughts that I have for this episode:

- started preheating the oven to 350 degrees

- i'll be using baking mix this time so the quality may not be the greatest

- SAM BUDDY WHAT ARE YOU DOING

- ACCESSING RESTRICTED FILES????? STOP PLEASE THAT'S WHAT THE NARRATIVE WANTS

- ahhhhh "the magnus protocol" it all makes sense

- I FUCKING KNEW ITTTTTTTTTTTT AGUSTUS WOULD FINALLY TALK IN THIS

- ALSO WAIT WHO THE FUCK IS AGUSTUS

- PETER LUKAS?????????,

- WAIT JONAH

- JONAH JONAH JONAH JONAH

- is this a will?

- violin violin violin

- OH THANK GOD WE HAVE EGGS I WAS WORRIED THEY DIDN'T BUY ANY

- UH OHHHHHHHHH

- WEEWOO WEEWOO WE HAVE A MURDER LETTER MURDER UP AHEAD I CAN FEEL IT

- i'm gonna be honest i wish i sifted the baking mix beforehand so maybe there would be less lumps in it

- you don't control me

- batter is pretty stiff so i'll shovel it into the pan and put it iDEATH???????

- DUDE WHAT???????

- OH MY GOD

- OH HE'S FUCKING DEAD

- OH HE'S FUCKING DEAD TOO

- what is it with these people and describing their life stories to strangers

- put in the pound cake for 40 minutes! should be enough time to listen And relisten if needed

- OUCH OUCH OUCH

- pain violin. violin that bites you and hates you so so much

- thank you so much agustus we really needed a symphonic performance

- violin wants blood mmmmm yummy yummy yum

- I KNEWWW ITTTTTTTTTT

- VIOLIN NEEDS BLOOD

- KILL MAIM DESTROY VIOLENCE VIOLENCE VIOLENCE VIOLENCE

- ohhhh so the violin makes you kill other people by music alone

- HEY LENA????? WHAT DID YOU DO

- GWEN WHAT DID YOU SEEEEEEEEEEE

- GWEN

- GWENN

- GWEENNNNNNNNNN

OKAY FINAL THOUGHTS:

one:

i was so right in my assumption that agustus would start speaking in this episode. i was surprised though with the fact that it was not elias' voice actor this time. for a bit i was convinced that it might've been peter lukas for a little bit, but it didn't make sense at the moment. it then hit me in a moment of brilliance and subsequent horror that it was most likely jonah's voice. not elias' voice, jonah's. it also fits well with the usual magpod formula. jon/martin usually read more statements, with jonah/elias occasionally reading something of his own, likely something very old and historic. very fun, i like it.

two:

Guys I Am So Worried For Sam. he is poking into places he shouldn't already, and it's only been the 4th episode. we've all seen someone who keeps digging further than they're meant to, and we've seen what happens to them. nothing good. it's a good thing that alice is trying to dissuade sam from prying further. i trust her when she says that he should stay out of it and stop looking into the magnus institute and "the protocol". as the saying goes, canaries should stay above ground.

three:

what was in that video holy shit???????? what did gwen see???? i'm having a hard time wrapping my head around what might've happened. whatever it was, it was enough to put gwendolyn off. possibly something violent, maybe even worse? it sounds like, what Did happen, either involved lena trying to hurt klaus, or hurting someone else. maybe she was even trying to destroy something else, something that would disturb ms. bouchard. and what was that about klaus disappearing again? who is klaus? just some food for thought to chew on until all is revealed later.

it just dawned on me that the video may be correlated with what lena said in ep 1. "Unfortunately, I know what climbing this particular ladder entails, and you don’t have what it takes." perhaps this is tied to the video. maybe what she had to do was much uglier and grim than expected.

four:

lastly, and the most important thing i feel is, i have a feeling our good pals chester, norris, and agustus have a bigger hand on things than i initially thought. i'm sure people have said this already (which i have yet to see), however i feel like people have a point in saying that freddie is doing things on purpose. even colin said that the computer was doing things On Purpose. it might be a little crazy but hear me out.

with the security notification, it's a weird thing that it got directed to alice and not the IT guy, right? well, what if the programs intentionally redirected the notification to alice and not colin? i'm sure that chester and norris are familiar with someone going down a rabbit hole and went too deep to turn back. i think they might have sent it to alice because they want sam to stop looking, and he needs to hear it from someone he trusted.

another thing that points to me believing that freddie may be more in the know than we initially thought is the video sent to gwen at the end. but the real reason i have is not if they're doing it, but why. why would they send her this video? what kind of message are they trying to send? could it be that they're trying to warn her? that lena kelly is not someone to be trusted? or maybe they're giving her an answer to a question she had in her head, the reason as to why she hasn't been promoted yet and still the subordinate of mrs. kelly. or maybe, just maybe, they're telling her what it takes for her to get what she wants. maybe it's giving her the key to a position she's wanted for years.

overall, this episode is very good and got my thinking cap on real good. the blood lemon poundcake was also a real treat. have a good day, cheers!

#tmagp & treats #tmagp spoilers #tmagp

[mai-komagata]

Season 2 rankings

1. Subspace rhapsody — musicals aren’t everyone’s cup of tea but they are mine. Lots of people got hella characterization. A great uhura ep. Good technobabble.

2. Those old scientists. I mean. Again — lots of character dev and world building for a lot of characters. Enterprise mentioned. No notes.

3. Lost in translation: I’m sensing a theme that uhura eps are my favorites. Excellent sci fi story on communication efficiently told. Hemmer plot call backs. Great Sam and Jim moments. And Kirk and Spock meet.

4. Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow: look I love city on the edge of forever and I love a good retcon fix it. Hilarious and heartbreaking and good La’an episode.

5. Ad astra per aspera: would be higher if there weren’t other bangers this season. Great una character study and great symbolic plot. Also I’m a dress uniform slut. And lesbian una of course. Bonus pike in away clothes.

6. Charades: look I’m never gonna like the spapel plot line but I loved the insights into human and Vulcan stuff, I lived Amanda, and human Spock was fun. I laughed a lot. And I liked the aliens. Chapel is smart and put asshole Vulcan in his place. Pike and tpring as dad were a joy. And any episode with mindmelds deserves a shoutout.

7. Hegemony: very solid season finale with some weak points in the whole Cayuga saucer plot line being a bit contrived. Scotty and the to be continued make this episode great however. And it’s the first time I’m really sold on Marie’s character. Good ortegas moments.

8. Under the cloak of war : very strong m’benga and nurse chapel episode. I just don’t like the serious episodes as much. Ambiguous ending done well. Good exploration of ptsd and how people fail at dealing with those around them that might be hurting.

9. The broken circle: a fine episode — strong chapel and m’benga moments. Loved Klingon interactions with La’an and Spock. Hungover Spock. Nothing too remarkable. Bit too spapel-Ly for my taste.

10. Among the lotus eaters: weakest episode this season. I hadn’t bought into pike/batel yet (especially so soon after ad astra per aspera) so the love plot line there was weak. Good tos feeling sci fi episode though. Not bad just not amazing to me. Also you left behind ortegas!

Being low on the list doesn’t mean I didn’t like it. I liked all the episodes. But yeah. Clear uhura supremacy this season.

#snw #strange new worlds #saw people doing rankings on Twitter #I’m on a plane I’m killing time. #star trek strange new worlds #strange new worlds season 2

[mittensmorgul]

okay, so there was no new winchesters tonight, but I HAVE been listening to the @endofthebookpod episode from the last new ep last week (go listen!). I haven’t had a chance to hear the whole episode yet, but i wanted to type this before my brain let go of it... huh, memory magic

SO. Anyway, point being, the discussion around Lata learning memory magic, and the comments about how it wasn’t really a big part of spn canon so wondering how it was going to be used... my VERY first thought when Lata offered to remove Roxy’s traumatic memories was of Cas in s6 taking all of Lisa and Ben’s memories of Dean (ostensibly to protect them and to unburden them from the horrific trauma they experienced because of their association with him-- only partly for Dean to protect them from being used against him again, but because he HATED what he’d done to Ben, having to watch his mother killed (or near as), and Ben both wanting to become a hunter like Dean and then having to confront what that actually means as Dean carried his dying mother to safety and Ben had to shoot someone (yes, a demon, but still, a person-shaped thing).

Okay that was a lot of words to say that DEAN HIMSELF had made that choice for someone else in the past, and here’s Roxy confronting all the suppressed traumatic memories and CHOOSING DELIBERATELY TO KEEP THEM. (I already wrote a bit about that here)

But memory magic was also like... a core staple of Heaven’s power structure. Cas spent several seasons dealing with the aftereffects of heaven’s torture, which largely involved brainwashing quite directly. Not only can most angels Obi Wan humans (these are not the droids you are looking for level stuff, or even the level that Zachariah used on Sam and Dean in episodes like 4.17 It’s A Terrible Life), but Naomi had a specially built device to specifically dig into angel main programming and tweak the internal dials-- everything from behavioral correction to what we will learn in later seasons involved deleting specific memories of things (like the fact Cas was a participant in several biblical atrocities like the killing of the firstborns, etc.).

Sure, Naomi needed specially constructed tools to achieve that level of mental manipulation-- which Crowley and his demons were then able to duplicate to use on Samandriel and eventually Sam/Gadreel-- but Cas? Well, he had a Particular Specialty with memory magic himself. It was a major plot point in s13. Not just in 13.14 Good Intentions when he confesses to Donatello that he had a special ability that he swore to never use on anyone without their consent, but that he deems it too urgent not to use it on Donatello, for the sake of the world. He feared the corruption that Donatello suffered because of the Demon Tablet, and he needed the information Donatello refused to give about the alternate universe gateway spell.

This power was supposedly unique to Castiel, like many other angels were “specialists.” Specifically we know Uriel’s specialty was smiting towns, Zachariah’s specialty was... lets call it giving unique experiences to people directly. Whatever. Cas’s special power was not only reading people’s minds (something we saw him do a good number of times before this-- like tapping Rowena’s forehead and knowing the one person she felt love for, Oskar), but also specifically stripping those memories from people’s minds.

Which is kinda what we saw him do to Lisa and Ben. And what he did from Donatello here. Literally removed the memories so he could sort through them all himself.

Is that what Lata is learning to do now, whether from Tony or some other source inside her dreams? To access other people’s memories and then selectively strip those memories away from the person?

Because that’s like a Cas Special.

(even the broken AU Castiel was called in to use that special talent specifically, to strip the information the angels wanted directly from Charlie and Ketch’s minds... if that was a standard angel power, they wouldn’t have needed to call in Cas specifically, and I always felt that was a MAJOR reason that version of Cas was as broken as he was, that being forced to use that power is what damaged him, since Our Cas had REFUSED to use the power until it was the only option they had left...)

(I won’t even mention The Empty and the Entity’s interesting power to just... flip through Cas’s memories in 13.04... okay i mentioned it, but I don’t know what else to do with it yet lol, other than to suggest that whatever is happening in The Winchesters is adjacent to or being affected by the Empty... I wouldn’t be shocked if the Akrida turned out to be agents of the Empty actually so... off point mittens, get back to the point now...)

but then that also made me wonder... did Cas hold on to all those memories he stripped from Lisa and Ben? Did he flip through them when he was feeling sad? did it actually make him feel WORSE about everything that had transpired leading up to 6.22 and the choices he made afterward? his determination to obliviate himself into Emmanuel even? or to stay in purgatory? heck... i just made myself very fucking sad...

Okay. I just needed all this on record. Memory magic is a HUGE part of spn, and whatever it’s leading up to in The Winchesters feels very, very relevant.

And also very, very connected to Cas.

#the winchesters #spnwin s1 spoilers #spnwin 1.10 #spn 13.04 #spn 6.21 #castiel winchester

[panelshowsource]

yes on the 28th!! i'm excited because ALISON HAMMOND!!! every day i'm like whyyy do we not have her on more panel shows she is everything!

victoria spoke about it on her episode of taskmaster the podcast :)

all i know is she's been looking fly as ever — like always! but if she's changing things up a lil then good for her 😌

i would like to anon but they didn't rly have that many moments together on the show, like of substance that make a good gifset 😩 i did do these two! do you have another moment in mind?

omg YES LMAO

richard is so hilariously subtly shady, i love when someone makes the most wrong guess ever (usually during tablet games like the rich list and i'm terrible at dating) and richard does a very obvious scoff-chuckle and goes "yeah? [raises eyebrows knowingly] well [stifled laughter] you never know! let's see if that's right [stifled laughter]" like it just cracks me up — because somehow he's not smug at all despite being mr big brains and someone who teases others a lot

one thing i love about hog is how much richard loves hog — like, that's his baby, he loves doing that show, and he is so obviously having the most fun every single week, which makes it even more fun for us imo!

wow great question!

i have a lot of nostalgic love for comedy world cup — i love david tennant, he's so affable and very funny and a lovely host, and i think that format had legs even if it didn't make it in the end. also from around that time i remember liking mad mad world on itv, which was suddenly cancelled mid run? with paddy mcguinness, rhys darby, rufus hound... —

sorry to digress for a second but remember on some recent podcast ep when sam campbell was like "what's rufus hound up to" and i think it was ed gamble who laughed his ass off lmaooo i feel like there's rufus hound tea out there but idk what it is. anyways

— ...i would love to check it out again but i can't find it! i'll work on that 🤔 then, of course, you have been watching hosted by charlie brooker. it would not have been as strong a format if it wasn't for charlie writing the show and clearly having many topics & rants he wanted to go in for, but i loved that series and saw quite a few comedians/personalities, including vcm, josie long, holly walsh, and peter serafinowicz, there for the first time :')

looks like i had a lil trip down memory lane!

i think it's great! i'm not crazy about dylan llewellyn — i am not super into derry girls, and i felt, at times, his acting was lesser than the others' in a distracting way? is that just me? — but it hardly ruined the show or anything. the cast has GREAT chemistry and jon pointing is a standout (though he doesn't pass for his 20s at all lmao), and i love seeing izuka hoyle who i loved in boiling point and is so(!) gorgeous. tv comedy lives and dies on its editing, and big boys really understands its structure and its beats. i'd also say it strikes a rare balance in its absurdity and its sincerity, which is some of my favourite ever kind of film & tv. god, i just love sad boi comedy. or sad anything. i'm a "let's watch this and cry🤩" kind of person no matter my mood LOL

btw did you see victoria coren mitchell also loved big boys?

sure anon i put it on google drive here :)

i'm not going to host this one but you can request it here and someone will definitely have it to share with you asap! sorry for the inconvenience but lmk if you have any questions :)

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