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youremyonlyhope · 3 years

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Thoughts on the Six of Crows Duology

Maybe it’s because this took place over a much shorter timespan than Shadow and Bone, but I feel like I could pinpoint all the plot points and the timelines of Shadow and Bone better than I can for Six of Crows. When I made my post about SaB, it was easier to remember the order that everything happened. I think that because SoC has multiple chapters covering the same period time from different characters’ perspectives along with lots of flashbacks thrown in, that it’s causing the order of events to be a jumble in my mind.

But anyway, Six of Crows was a dramatic and fun (well... not fun..) heist novel, while Crooked Kingdom made it its personal mission to destroy me emotionally. I loved every second of it but I don’t know when I’ll properly recover.

Obvious spoilers for Six of Crows trilogy, but also the Grishaverse in general. (Most of this was written at the end of June but not posted until now)

So I guess I’ll start with Six of Crows. Maybe I’ll do a paragraph for each part... I’ll probably give up on that pretty quickly but we’ll see.

I love that the series has Inej’s POV be the first of the Crows that we get and then she also gets to be the last POV of the Crows too. If I hadn’t seen season 1 of Shadow and Bone first, I’m not sure how I’d have reacted to Kaz’s ruthlessness or the world of Ketterdam in general. I also knew that the Kanej relationship would be insane amounts of pining and the pain of requited-but-thought-to-be-unrequited love, so I was sort of shocked that in one of the first chapters Kaz changes clothes with Inej in the room and she ponders “Am I the only one he lets get this close?” And he says in that same chapter “my darling Inej, treasure of my heart...” I was like, I know he’s probably teasing but oh my god... we’re just going right into it. Leigh’s teasing us already. I knew then it would be torture. Moving on. Matthais killing a wolf hurt my soul and I wasn’t even aware that the wolves were THAT sacred to Fjerdans. And I guess maybe I shouldn’t have watched the show first since Matthais trying to choke Nina did not shock me.

I give up on this one paragraph per part thing already.

Something I did not expect was Jesper sort of having a crush on Kaz too. Did I just not notice that in the show or did they decide to leave that out? I guess I shouldn’t be shocked but still, reading about Jesper’s little tiny thoughts of jealousy was interesting. Inez’s thoughts of how much she hated that her heart’s arrow seemed to aim for Kaz when nothing can ever come of it hurt me. AHHH and idiot Kaz saying “I always come back for my investments” to Inej when he’s carrying her just.. this idiot. Did he ever even say “I’m sorry” at some point in the books? I can’t remember, it’s a blur of emotions. Kaz, sweetheart, you’re CARRYING Inej, you can barely stand having someone touch your sleeve and you’re CARRYING her. How could Inej even question that he cared about her more than just being another investment if he carried her to safety? How could you question it if he feels comfortable enough to undress around you? The boy’s dumb, listen to his actions not the stupid words he says.

It’s funny, while double checking how many more Grisha books remained as I walked to my bookstore a few days ago to pick up Nikolai’s books, I saw on Leigh’s website that she has another book called The Ninth House. And it said “While the books of the Grishaverse can be safely explored by readers of any age, Ninth House is darker, more graphic, and intended for adults.”

...

Ok Leigh. Tell me in what world would the scene where Kaz stabs and pulls out the eye of Oomen then throws him overboard be considered a scene that can be “safely explored by readers of any age”?? That was a lot. I wasn’t expecting that level of personal violence this early. I was just as horrified as Wylan and Matthais were when they witnessed it.

Anyway. Nina wishing for one more day of Healer training back in the Little Palace hurt. Looking back through the book just now I laughed at Nina saying to Jesper, of all people, “Do you know how to find a Grisha who doesn’t want to be found?” I have so many thoughts about Jesper that I will have to save for later. And Matthais’ “I might have loved you too.” felt like a stab to my heart. Honestly I know I said earlier that Crooked Kingdom ruined me, but I guess SoC did too and I just forgot about it all until just now because Crooked Kingdom turned it up to another level.

The friendships they all have. I almost wish they never needed to leave that boat. Nina and Inej were adorable when Nina sang for her. Jasper and Inej bonding over questioning why they still follow (and love) Kaz while also knowing neither of them ever want to stop was amazing. Throw in Kaz thinking “Because I’ve been looking for an excuse to talk to you for two days” about Inej and it’s just a recipe for making Hope emotional.

People had told me the Nina and Matthais scenes of SaB season 1 were pulled straight from Six of Crow’s flashbacks, and they were not lying. A few differences here and there but it’s pretty accurate. I think the show’s pacing for those scenes was off though, sometimes it felt rushed and other times it felt too drawn out (especially since I had no clue how these two would fit into everything because I hadn’t read the books yet). Reading the scenes made me appreciate what they’d been through much more. And I do like how the show adapted the reason that Nina turned Matthais in as a slaver.

Slowly having Kaz and Jordie’s backstory unfold was traumatizing. I had wondered what made him so touch averse, and now I get it. What Kaz went through was terrible. I could barely read the words because it was so painful. Inej being so understanding while not knowing everything that happened, just knowing that Kaz needs her to not judge him for fainting or recoiling from touch, was beautiful.

The reveal that Jesper was a Grisha was sort of spoiled for me because 1) in the show one of the Heartrenders said “What are you? You’re a-” to him so that was a big hint. And 2) a YouTube comment I saw confirmed that that line referenced that he was Grisha. This is a trend, YouTube comments have spoiled me multiple times over the last 2 months. You’d think I’d learn, but nope, I just got spoiled for Rule of Wolves not even an hour ago because of a YouTube comment. I thought I was finally safe to watch SoC videos since I wouldn’t be spoiled. I forgot that people can discuss the other books too. Anyway, Jesper being a Fabrikator is a dream come true since that’d be my ideal Grisha power. Even though I knew it was coming, I still was sort of surprised by the way it was revealed, so I’m sure that it came as a shock to readers who avoid spoilers, unlike me.

The entire heist in the Ice Court caused me constant anxiety. How in the world could everything go so wrong in so many different ways and still work out? I felt like every single page there was some new blindside and yet the Crows (but mostly Kaz) managed to figure out a way out of it. I really didn’t think that it’d start to go wrong as early as it did with literally the first very first steps of the plan failing. Nina and Kaz searching the cells and getting caught, Inej finding out that the chimney was hot and ended up melting her shoes (I was so especially mad about the shoes being ruined). I was very surprised that Kaz was as reckless as he was to detour and find Rollins. It felt out of character, but proved how deep his hatred is if he nearly risked the entire reward just to make sure that he still has the chance to get revenge on Rollins later.

Nina and Inej pretending to be with the Menagerie was insane. Inej’s internal freak out when Heleen recognized her made me feel so scared for her, but I was 20 times more scared for Nina with Brum. Those few moments where I thought Matthais really had betrayed the Crows and sold them out to Brum made me so mad. I knew deep down it had to be a bluff to get Brum out of the way, but I was still scared it was real. God, I felt so much relief when Matthais let her out, they found Kuwei, and Kaz got them all out through the Sacred Ash.

The stealing and driving of the tank was borderline ridiculous, but I was just happy to be along for the ride. Nina using the parem though... and the pain she went through afterwards while in withdrawal. God that hurt me. I couldn’t even be remotely happy at Kaz admitting he wants Inej because I was so worried about Nina. I literally was like “Kaz shut up about your feelings, Nina’s body is literally falling apart in the other room.”

I should have seen it coming that the Van Eck deal was too good to be true, and yet I was still blindsided by the attack and the kidnapping of Inej. And then going straight into a chapter narrated by Pekka Rollins was like whiplash, but I just went with it. I didn’t really realize how strange it was to get Pekka’s POV, but I didn’t care because I saw all the remaining pages and wanted to see how they’d save Inej. Then that chapter ended and on the next page I read the words “I have a degenerative condition...” I was confused by the sudden use of first person, and realized I was at the Acknowledgements, which meant the book was done.

I looked from the last page, back to the acknowledgements, and back to the last page, then I literally said “WHAT” out loud as it hit me that the book had ended with the worst cliffhanger I think I’ve ever experienced. I legitimately tossed the book to the floor after I came to terms with the fact that book was done. I was so mad.

Onto Crooked Kingdom! Boy did I not know what I was in for. I thought I did. I knew Chapter 40 was coming but instead I got an entire book of emotional destruction.

First of all, I love maps. So I was very glad to get a detailed map of Ketterdam with streets! And actual places! I probably stared at it and studied it for 5 minutes straight before even reading the book. The more detailed a map is, the happier I am. This map made me very happy.

The biggest takeaway of the first section of Crooked Kingdom is that Inej still believes that Kaz only cares for her as an investment. Breaks my heart. But also, Kaz traumatizing a little girl in the first few chapters makes you wonder if he even deserves Inej (he does, but wow is he ruthless. He didn’t kill the kid at least I guess).

Colm. I have thoughts about Colm. He’s such a loving father. I will say more later when it’s more relevant. I loved that the rest of the Crows came to Jesper’s defense to create a lie for his dad, and that Colm adopted all of the kids. I can’t even read the word Colm without wanting to sob so I’ll stop with him for now.

I don’t know how I feel about us, as the readers, being left out of pieces of the plan. I’m not sure if this is something I love or hate about the way that Leigh writes the Crows novels. It’s fun for plot twists and usually does make sense when it’s from the POV of a character that Kaz purposefully leaves out of part of a plan, but that doesn’t always end up being the case. The Alys kidnapping was a complete blindside to me. Matthais sharing the chocolates he bought for Nina with Alys was sweet though, that he wants Nina to eat again so much that he’s ok with it just being sweets. I feel so bad that Nina can’t even eat that.

The Goedmedbridge plan with all the fake Mister Crimsons was an actual stroke of genius, if only the Shu didn’t come out of nowhere. Once again, everything going wrong yet the Crows finding their way out of it somehow. While Six of Crows felt like everything was going to plan until it wasn’t and then they were able to get back on track in a different way, Crooked Kingdom felt like constant blockages and blindsides and conflicts that came out of nowhere. The story and the plan and the plot changed so many times that it felt like I was on a roller coaster getting whiplash.

I’m scanning Part 3 and honestly, this feels like it all happened 5 minutes ago not like it was in the first half of the book. But oh my god, the line after Kaz and Inej stakeout the Van Eck house. “I would come for you. And if I couldn’t walk, I’d crawl to you, and no matter how broken we were, we’d fight our way out together – knives drawn, pistols blazing. Because that’s what we do. We never stop fighting.” Inej, my girl, how in the world do you think this boy doesn’t care about you? Oh my god... oh my god... I’d die if someone said something like that to me. Kaz, sweetheart, love, sometimes you say the stupidest things, but then other times you say the most violently romantic things I’ve ever heard.

And then Matthais saying Nina looked “Enchanting” in the Fjerdan clothing? This was just chapter after chapter of me squealing. And honestly, once again, meeting Zoya in the tavern feels like it happened in Part 5 not Part 3. I read this book so quickly that I really can’t remember the order of events until now that I’m scanning it.

I’m really glad that we got more of Wylan’s backstory and got to meet his mom. I wish he could have been better prepared for that, but there was no way. Hearing about Matthais’ wolf Trassel was the perfect thing to start breaking my heart. I said this last time with Hershaw and Oncat, I’m more sad when a pet is left behind by their dead/missing owner than when the pet themselves die. I nearly sobbed when Matthais thought about how Trassel must have been abandoned by the other Druseklle when he disappeared.

Matthais, Jesper, and Kuwei half-theorizing an antidote for parem was amazing. Also I love that Matthais is the one who kind of guesses that Jesper’s restlessness is the effect from him not using his power regularly. Matthais, you really had a knack for understanding the Grisha.

Ok. Here we go. Jesper’s backstory. When I found out that Jesper was half Kaelish and half Zemeni, I was beyond overjoyed. I am half Black half Irish, with the same parentage as Jesper, so that representation made me happy. I didn’t expect to shed tears though when we finally got his backstory and to get to know his parents a little. The love that his mom and dad had for each other was absolutely beautiful. The fact that Aditi died while trying to save a little girl hurt me so much. Jesper wondered if he had been older and more trained would he have saved her, but honestly, he probably would have just put the poison in himself and died instead. Colm saying “She was a queen, Jes. She was our queen” tore out my heart. The way that Jesper and Colm had to look after each other after that. Jesper trying to cook and burning the food but Colm still eating every bit. Them just having to try to be ok after losing her, and Jesper knowing he wasn’t meant for this life on the farm. All of it continued to tear my heart straight out of my chest and stomp on it.

Guys I’m legitimately tearing up all over again. I had to fight to not be a mess reading it the first time and I still shed some tears over it. This is why I can’t even type Colm’s name without letting out a sob. He loves his son and his wife so much. He always wanted what was best and was constantly worried for them because they’re Grisha. They’re Zowa. I couldn’t handle Jesper’s backstory. And every single interaction Colm and Jesper had after I read what they went through, I’d let out a sob or even shed a tear. I loved their relationship and the love they have for each other so much.

Everything going wrong in a billion different ways at once honestly made me go “Come on not AGAIN.” Dunyasha coming out of nowhere, Pekka Rollins sabotaging Kaz, the other Lions ambushing the Black Veil. It was honestly a miracle that they all got out of it. I was especially, ESPECIALLY, proud of Matthais coaching Kuwei and Jesper on how to use their powers to get them out of the situation. This boy went from killing Grisha, to helping lead them. This character development is amazing. And he’s still internally fighting the part of him that says “Unnatural” and is making the choice to ignore the hate that was trained into him. I love him.

Nina’s zombies though. At first I was like “Oh haha she can control bones, that’s fun” when she blew up the tavern windows, but that turned morbid, literally morbid, very quickly. Animating corpses. I mean. It’s a great power to have honestly. Disgusting and horrifying, but very useful.

“What do you think my forgiveness looks like, Jordie?” “Who the hell is Jordie?” When I say I gasped and my jaw dropped at that part... Literally, I couldn��t move past that line for at least 30 seconds. I just stared at the page and reread those two lines over and over again because I could not believe Kaz really slipped up like that. But also, oh my god, the implications of how much Kaz cares about Jesper if he’s mixing him up subconsciously with his brother, the brother who literally is the reason he has fought to become the feared gang leader he is and to bring down Rollins. He called Jesper Jordie. I still cannot believe it. And the way Kaz’s face looked frightened... I’m so excited to see this scene in the TV show.

Ok, home stretch.

Jesper and Colm finally clearing the air was yet another scene that made me shed tears over these two. The way that we found out that Colm didn’t want Jesper to go to be trained but gave him the choice anyway, and that Jesper didn’t go because he didn’t want to leave his father behind. God, my heart would have just broken if he’d left Colm behind. Oh no I’m going to start crying again. “His heart hurt. His head hurt. Guilt and love and resentment were all tangled up inside him, and every time he tried to unravel the knot in his gut, it got worse.” I felt that. I hate that after all of that, the conversation didn’t even get to get to end on good terms. Colm still doesn’t want him to use his power because of what happened to his mother, and Jasper says “I’m dying anyway, Da. I’m just doing it slow.” and it absolutely destroyed me. It’s like they put my heart back in my chest, only to rip it out again and shred it this time.

And then of course that led to Jesper kissing Kuwei instead of Wylan, which brings up some messy dubious consent stuff. I thought it was a little out of nowhere, but then I remembered the Kuwei did complain earlier “Why do you keep looking at him? I look just like him. You can look at me.” At that time, that complaint seemed strange, but it made sense when this kiss happened that Kuwei liked Jesper too.

But who even cares about Jesper and Wylan and Kuwei having some sort of love triangle, when the bathroom scene is coming up for Inej and Kaz. I don’t mean to push Jesper and Wylan’s relationship woes to the side, but oh my god. I swear, I was holding my breath while reading this bathroom scene. I felt like I was personally interrupting their moment every second that I was reading it, but also I needed to keep reading to see what would happen. Every touch was as nerve-wracking for me as it was for Kaz (ok maybe not, but still). And after all of that, after Kaz tells her the horrible things he did to the people who were in on Rollins’ plot that killed Jordie, she still sees the good in him. I cannot handle these two. Oh my god. These two are on a completely different level of pining. “If you ever cared about me at all, don’t follow.” Poor Inej, having to go from that intimate moment to watching Kaz be beaten and somehow win a fight with 20 people.

Sturmhond showing up made my life. The moment I read the words “fox-faced man” my whole body perked up. I was like “Hope. Don’t get too excited. Yes it’s probably him, but don’t get excited.” but when Kaz recognized him I actually squealed at the confirmation. Nikolai owns my heart. And so does Jesper now. So the little bit of dialogue those two shared made me actually kick my feet with joy. “Take me with you.” Honestly, these two together for a period of time longer than 1 minute would probably make the world explode. But oh, what I’d give for a Jesper and Nikolai buddy comedy...

When Leigh let us believe that everything was going wrong in the plan (Wylan telling Van Eck everything, the fake Council of Tides crashing the auction, Inez saying Kuwei has to die) only for us to find out that it was all really a part of the plan was just plain cruel. I was so upset. I guess it’s fitting, after all the things that really went wrong for them, they had to take a little bit more. But this is one of the few times that we the reader are completely left out of the plan, and it’s not just because we’re following the POV of someone who was left out of whatever specific part of the plan didn’t involve them. This time all the characters knew, but Leigh didn’t tell the reader.

The way that Van Eck’s story and lies all just fell apart bit by bit was beautiful, though. Masterful. Kaz pretending to take Rollins’ son was almost cruel, but he was lying, so it’s ok. I was going to be horrified if he really did it though, but I was also thinking “When would he have had time to do all that anyway?”

Chapter 38. I had been spoiled before even starting the books that Matthais would die. And I had seen a YouTube comment that said “I can’t wait to see Nina and Matthais’ actors do Chapter 40.” I assumed his death happens in Chapter 40. So when I started Chapter 38, I assumed this would be the last time I’d read a chapter in Matthais’ POV. I was wrong of course.

But Matthais’ death gave me nearly the same feelings that Owen Harper’s first death in Torchwood did. It came out of nowhere, right when you think everything is solved and all that’s left to do is go home. Our beloved character talks calmly to the person with the gun, relates to them, tells them they’re more reasonable than to shoot, and then gets shot point blank anyway out of nowhere. “You don’t want to hurt me. I know. I was like you once.” is what Matthais said. “We’re both rational men, scientists. I know you don’t want to shoot her.” is what Owen said as he protected Martha. The main difference is that I wasn’t spoiled for Owen’s death, so it really blindsided me, but he also got revived shortly after. I was spoiled for Matthais’ death right down to the chapter it happens in, but his death was finite.

And then I think we’re about to lose Kuwei, but Zoya’s able to save him. Matthais shows up, gives us a little hope that he might be ok (but I knew he wouldn’t), and dies in Nina’s arms. Nina attempting to resurrect him ALSO gave me Owen vibes, right down to the black eyes, but that resurrection didn’t stick. God. If I had known Matthais’ death would be so similar to Owen’s... no, I don’t know what I’d do. I can’t tell if I’d have been better off knowing how much it would remind me of Owen ahead of time. Maybe it’s better I didn’t know of the similarities since that made the death worse, despite me knowing it was coming.

Chapter 40 still being in Matthais’ POV, right when I had come to terms ahead of time that Chapter 38 would be the last time I read his narration, came as a real shock. He’s with the wolves in heaven. Ahhhhh. Help. The friends not even knowing how he died makes it even worse.

“We were all supposed to make it.” That’s when I started to let tears fall. I’d really been fighting it. I was like “Hope. You knew this was coming when you started this series. You are fine. You’re fine.” and then Wylan says that and I’m like “I’m not remotely fine.” And Colm telling them to say their goodbyes, and Colm being himself and making me cry with every other line he said anyway, just made more tears fall as they walked up and said goodbye.

I’m glad Nina got Matthais’ share of the money. It breaks my heart that she now has to go and bury him. I’m excited to see what she does in King of Scars or Rule of Wolves (or both, I know she’s in at least one of them) since she’ll hopefully keep up Matthais’ dream of helping the Fjerdans accept Grisha. I was beyond proud of Jesper to be like “I shouldn’t hold that much money right now” and Kaz saying “That’s the right move, Jes” in approval. And of course, Colm and Jesper saying goodbye did nothing but make me cry MORE.

And here we go. The chapter that made me actually cry. Before this, it was just shedding tears and choking a sob or two. Inej’s final chapter made me actually sob and cry so hard that I could barely read the pages through the tears. Kaz really bought her a boat and named it after her. “I don’t know what to say.” “Say you’ll return.” just tear my heart out please.

But what really got the waterworks going was Kaz having Nikolai find Inej’s parents for her. God. The last time a book made me happy cry was The Color Purple, and it was a similar situation. Celie’s sister Nettie returns to her, and I had to fight not to cry when I finished that book while on the train. When I saw the musical version on broadway a few months later, I sobbed so hard with happiness that I cried through the finale, through the curtain call, and kept crying as I walked up the aisle and out the theater. I couldn’t handle how happy I was.

Inej being reuinited with her parents was Celie and Nettie all over again. Now that is some HIGH praise. The Color Purple is one of my favorite books. I cannot give any higher praise to Crooked Kingdom than to compare Inej’s reunion to Celie’s.

And Kaz being a little concerned that he’d overstepped by doing it, then Inej insisting he come to meet them too was adorable. “Is my tie straight?” And her mom’s shock at finally seeing her daughter again, oh my god. I read this in bed last night at 3am. When that chapter finished, I put the book on my chest and just lied there and sobbed for a full minute. I couldn’t stop right away like I managed to do for the other cries. This cry had to come out and it had to take at least a little bit of time to run its course.

Of course, I’m glad that Inej got to ensure that Rollins never returns to Ketterdam, and I get that having Pekka have the last chapter is a parallel to Six of Crows, but I almost wish the book had just ended when Inej found her family.

I am at 4600 words and still not done, but it’s 2am so I’ll add more thoughts tomorrow evening.

...

That was all from late June. Fast forward almost a month, I’m finally adding to this post.

Something I was worried about when I first started reading Six of Crows was that there was colorism when casting Jesper. Reading that he was described as dark skinned and then looking at Kit Young, I felt a little bit... iffy about it. Because I know, as a mixed person, we get a lot of privilege in Hollywood and are often the only Black people in tv-shows and movies. We benefit from colorism, especially when it comes to mixed women, since light to medium skinned Black actors are often cast instead of dark skinned actors. I spent most of Six of Crows worried that they’d taken the Zemeni character of Jesper, who also happens to be the only Black character, and casted him with a mixed actor. I could tell while reading the book that Kit had played Jesper perfectly, which made me feel a little better, but I still had a bit of discomfort. I was worried it was Rue in the Hunger Games all over again.

However, once it’s hinted that Jesper’s father has some Kaelish heritage, and then we later meet Colm and he’s fully Kaelish with light skin and red hair, I felt much better. I actually felt overjoyed because Jesper was mixed exactly like me. I was relieved that casting Jesper with a mixed actor was not colorism, but a requirement for his character in order to be accurate. I was so relieved and also now I fiercely clung to Jesper as another example of representation for me. On that note, maybe they could have casted him with a darker skinned mixed actor, someone like Alfred Enoch for example, just to give dark skinned mixed people some more representation since Jesper is described as dark and Kit’s skintone is medium. But then again, Kit was definitely the perfect choice since he completely captured Jesper’s character and he said he really identified with Jesper’s mixed heritage being like his own. Basically, I’m very happy that Jesper is a mixed character played by a mixed race actor, and not another example of pure colorism in Hollywood (though that’s still a major issue). I really can’t even complain. I love Jesper and I love Kit’s portrayal.

Honestly, the casting in general for the show was really perfect. I might be biased since I saw the show first, but reading the book I was shocked at how perfectly cast they all were.

I am concerned though about Wylan. He is going to be very hard to cast. Or more accurately, Kuwei’s actor will be tough to cast and will have a very difficult job portraying 2 characters at once. And then I guess whoever gets cast as normal Wylan will have to just deal with barely appearing in Crooked Kingdom. Also, as for Wylan changing race to be disguised as Kuwei... I had some mixed feelings about it at first. I really was like “Leigh... what are you doing with this... be careful...” But then Wylan’s narrative showed him being unsure how to navigate the world looking like he’s Shu, having people come up to him speaking a language he doesn’t speak, and being treated differently because he looks foreign to them, especially since the Shu who were in Ketterdam didn’t have the best intentions. I appreciated that. I like that it opened Wylan’s eyes a bit more because he’d been so sheltered his whole life. Even after living in the Barrel and joining the Crows, there were still things he needed to be exposed to, like racism. So I’m glad the story went in that direction with his tailored face. I’m honestly more excited to see who is cast as Kuwei than who is cast as Wylan because Kuwei’s actor is going to have the more interesting performance.

I REALLY enjoyed the Six of Crows duology. I sped through the two books in about 3 weeks (I think I read Crooked Kingdom in probably only a week). Honestly, I’m not speeding through King of Scars that same way. It’s a combination of my work life being very chaotic for the last few weeks, and me being so devastated that Nikolai’s back to having the shadow monster that I almost don’t want to read on. I was beyond devastated when that happened in Ruin and Rising, I thought he’d never be ok again, then I was relieved when it went away. Now that it’s back... I’m just incredibly sad every second that I read this book. I’m nearly halfway through the book though, after the same amount of time it took me to read both Crows books, so we’ll see where it goes.

But I could not put the Crows books down while I read them if you paid me. Literally. I read during every single lunch break at work and was probably a few minutes late coming back because I’d want to finish the page. I stayed up late reading and reading and reading the books. I read on the ferry, I read in the car, I read during times that I’d usually spend watching TV shows or movies. These books were amazing. They destroyed me emotionally, in both happy and sad ways. I can’t get over them. I can’t wait to see them brought to life in the show.

#six of crows #crooked kingdom #grishaverse #shadow and bone #help this post is literally 5800 words i couldn't stop writing #posting now before it sits in my drafts for another 3 weeks

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lydia-yougowith-stiles · 4 years

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My Top Ships of 2019!

My favorite time of the year is back yet again! This year I had to expand my top ships to 15!!! I know, but 12 just wasn’t enough. Making this list I didn’t realize how many new shows I started watching in 2019 and how many of my favorites came to their conclusions. They were some pretty great picks that brought about some of my favorite ships. Hope to see them develop more in 2020!

15. Poldark: Ross and Demelza

While I did not overly love the last season of Poldark and had many episodes culminate on the DVR, I have to put Ross and Demelza on this list. Their overall relationship is one of the strongest parts of the show and I do like where they ended up at its conclusion. They rely so much on each other and Ross left Demelza in charge of so much at home as he went to London, which many other husbands at this time would not have done. They experienced much with each other over the last five seasons to get them to this point. The first season will forever be my favorite because of watching their early development and having Ross notice his love for Demelza and how he needed her over Elizabeth. They said this a couple of times in the show, but without Demelza in his life we wouldn’t have the show. It was beautiful to watch the love they had for each other grow. I definitely see myself going back and watching this show from the beginning in the near future. I’ll probably just skip a couple episodes here and there.

14. The Walking Dead: Jesus and Aaron

This ship is so bittersweet because the show did not give it enough time to develop and it could have been amazing. I know Tom Payne was leaving the show to pursue another project. Bingeing the show allows for a few spoilers to come here and there so i knew Jesus would be dying. BUT I did not expect for it to happen like that! It was so sudden that it took a couple of minutes to sink in. I really wish he could have stuck around longer not only for his personal character development, but for him and Aaron. This was another spoiler that I remember encountering and I honestly thought that meant the two would have had more screen time. It was not enough! They would have been great. The few scenes we had between them, while not enough, were beautiful and that is why they are on this list. Aaron describing the amount of loved ones he’s lost and including Eric and Jesus right after each other show how important Jesus was to him. If only we could have gotten more.

13. Pandora: Jax and Xander

The CW’s summer show Pandora seriously needs more love. This Sci-Fi show might have felt jolting at times (and by this I mean that there were times where I felt like I missed an episode because a lot of time had passed or they referenced something we hadn’t been introduced to), but despite this I still really looked forward to it every week. I am SOOO HAPPY it got picked up for a second season. Can’t wait to see where the story is headed as it left us on a great cliffhanger at the end of season one. Jax had several love interests this season (as did many of the characters) and while I liked her with several of them (as I seem to be doing with more entries to follow on this list), I was always drawn back to her and Xander. So, I was very excited to see their relationship get explored more in the second half of the season. It contains some of my favorite tropes like a forbidden match, hate/love banter and keeping secrets from one another. The episode they pretended to be a couple really sealed the deal for me as they started to come to terms with their true feelings. What I liked about their relationship was that they weren’t always the center of the plot, but certain lines that were said reminded you of their interests for one another. With the expected drama for season two, it should be interested to see where their romantic story line is headed.

12. Stranger Things: Nancy and Jonathan

Stranger Things was an early binge for me at the start of the year. Immediately I felt that Nancy and Jonathan needed to be together-even while she ended season 1 with Steve, which I will still never understand. (I love Steve. Don’t get me wrong, but it just didn’t feel right. Plus, I feel like he really grew as a character without her. But that’s for another post.) I always love how Nancy and Jonathan got paired up in their own story line before joining everyone else at the conclusion of the season. Their personalities compliment each other well and they can see each other’s true self. Their off-screen relationship is extremely evident in their chemistry on screen. After seeing the end of season 3 and how they will be separated I can only hope it is not for good as these two are meant for each other.

11. Jane the Virgin: Jane and Michael

The age old question: Team Michael or Team Rafael? Up until moments of season 4, I was Team Michael all the way. Another show that I came in as a binge-watcher at the earlier parts of 2019 I knew a lot of spoilers (or let’s say some of the MAJOR spoilers involving Michael). As a telenovela, there was always a lot of back and forth who Jane would pick. Again, as I came into the show later, I knew she’d be with Michael, but I still felt on my toes watching. (This show was so great and I’m so upset the final season aired this year.) Michael was my favorite because of the history he and Jane had. They cared so much for each other and supported one another. I think I was also more Team Michael at first because I enjoyed his personality. However, despite all of this I was not a fan of his return as Jason. I feel like they were pulling straws at what to do for plot-lines and decided to bring him back for the final season. I felt we were in a good place with Jane and Raf and didn’t need it. Michael was a major part of Jane’s life, but she had moved into a different part of her life. I know when I watch this show back I will still be Team Michael in the early seasons. It’s sad his character was lost so early, but I did really like how they adapted the show without him.

10. Derry Girls: James and Erin

Would this list be complete if I didn’t include a pairing that is not an official couple (...yet) that have not alluded to any romantic feelings, expect for me reading too much into things? No it wouldn’t be. :) DERRY GIRLS is one of my TOP shows of 2019 and I am so happy that we were not graced with one season, but TWO this past year! I am still mad that there are only six half hour episodes per season when there should be more! And I’m also upset that season 3 (which could be their final season) has not started filming yet. But while I complain about all of that (because I love this show so much), I’m crossing my fingers for James and Erin. The wee English lad is often shown standing (or sitting) very close to Erin and early on I felt the two would be adorable together. In season one she hopes he won’t sleep with an Ukrainian and in season two James decides to not go to a Doctor Who convention in order to take Erin to the prom. Tell me this isn’t building up to something more. While watching season one I couldn’t find any fan postings about them and then once season two aired I found a bunch. I love watching a ship grow!

9. Legacies: Hope and Josie

Last year when I made my Top Ships of 2018 it was too early to pick which my favorite ships for Legacies were. They were so many options and honestly I still feel like I ship many people together and wouldn’t be overly upset if one became canon over another. As season one progressed I became more and more team Hosie (or Hope and Josie). Then I discovered the large fan-base for the two of them and fell more in love with them. There were many moments in season one that strengthened the fact the two would be great together: the moment above, the dream episode with Lizzie when she experiences different realities if Hope never came to the school, etc-there are some key moments between Hope and Josie that showed they would work and have feelings for one another. This season, Josie was experiencing a lot at the Salvatore School making her not my favorite character as she often is. She seemed to make up with Hope, but now that Landon has chosen Hope I am unsure what will happen to their relationship/friendship. However, this season Hope did let it slip that she once had a crush on Josie too. I really feel like Julie Plec might give us some Hosie in upcoming seasons. Personally, they feel like an endgame relationship that we will have to wait a long time for (each will get involved with other people-you know how these shows are.) But I’m here for anything that comes my way.

8. Legacies: Hope and Rafael

Another Legacies ship-What a Shock! :) It was very hard for me to pick which one to go first, but ultimately I picked Hope and Rafael because of this season. When Hope came back and no one remembered her I could have sworn that Rafael’s werewolf state would have been immune to Malivore’s power and he would have remembered Hope as she took the spell off of him. While this did not happen, we did get some cute scenes between them. I like how he immediately still liked her even though he didn’t remember their past. I like how he looked for her at the dance and hung out with her afterwards. Of course, it was super ironic when Landon wanted to be his wingman, but it was nice seeing Rafael happy as he’s not often. Then once the truth was uncovered he went back to avoiding Hope. This is a relationship that I am surprised they are already exploring. As I mentioned with Hosie, Hope and Rafael felt like a potential relationship, but that would be developed more later-not already in the first season. I am very surprised how many love triangles are already emerging and it’s only season two, which begs the question how long Hope and Landon will stay together? You know you have a good show on your hands when you can ship so many people together and be happy with multiple pairings and alternatives. (Although I would prefer Hope with either Josie or Raf over Landon for sure.)

7. The Walking Dead: Rick and Michonne

Aww, another ship with a devastating ending. Seems to be a common thread with some of these. Rick and Michonne were two people that complimented each other nicely throughout the earlier seasons and just made sense when they officially became a couple. They had similar personalities and were like a little family living in Alexandria before they actually became a family. Rick had a few different flames before Michonne, but none were as right for him as she was. Watching the past one and a half seasons without him on the show feels different, and I really miss seeing the two of them lead Alexandria. Michonne, Judith and RJ are keeping him alive, but it isn’t the same as seeing him there. Despite all of this remorse, I really did enjoy seeing them together on the show and I think it came at the perfect time. They had a bond, but were able to act on something more once they reached more stability. I know Danai Gurira wants to leave Walking Dead soon. I just hope there’s a way she can see Rick before she does.

6. Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Jake and Amy

Last year I got to be introduced to Jake and Amy and watch their relationship develop from “hating” each other to something more. Now in the latest season as the show moved to NBC I got to see more of them as they took their honeymoon and Jake stood up to Amy’s parents. While it feels like a very long time ago that I watched this season (and I am very happy to see it is all available on demand so I can catch up before the new episodes), I can remember really enjoying the episodes and this couple even more. I know I’ve said this before, but I really enjoy the kind of ships that don’t always have to be around each other, but you hear them talk about each other or state something that remind you that they are a couple. Those often feel like the realest ones to me. I honestly think Jake and Amy can go down as one of my favorite ships of all time. (That’s BIG I know.) I am so excited that we are going to get more seasons of Brooklyn Nine Nine because it is what they (and we) deserve.

5. Single Parents: Will and Angie

A slow burn that feels like it might be coming to confession time.... That’s just an inference from reading next week’s episode description. A classic plot device: people assume they are together and they have to “pretend to be a couple.” We ALWAYS know how these story-lines end up. Will and Angie have always had a connection since season one. They were the two that I thought would be together, so it was a bit of a shock when Douglas and Poppy became the first ones in a couple. (Although I really enjoy the two of them as well.) I don’t see the show pairing up two of their major couples at the same time, so while I don’t want Douglas and Poppy to break up I REALLY WANT WILL AND ANGIE TOGETHER. This season they have become best of friends; as they often call each other. Almost like they are rubbing it in our faces! Before the mid-season break there were quite a few moments alluding to something more happening between the two of them. I mean Will’s girlfriend called out Angie during Thanksgiving. I think that might have caused some realization for Angie. I have a strong feeling Graham’s dad is going to come back into the picture and ruin things. Either way you know I’ll be watching this Wednesday and hoping for something monumental to happen!

4. Jane the Virgin: Jane and Rafael

I know it’s SHOCKING! As someone who was so Team Michael at the start I have placed Jane and Rafael so far up on this list. Well, after Michael’s death and watching the two of them get so close before becoming romantically involved again made me grow to really enjoy them together. I really love the fact that they were endgame. I seriously got worried there when Jason came back into the picture, which made me not a huge fan of the first half of this last season. Luckily, the second half of the season was fantastic as Jane won back Rafael and they officially became husband and wife. The more I write about this show the more I want to add it to my ‘Want to watch again list.’ I feel it will be different because now I know what’s to come, but I can still enjoy all the great moments.

3. The 100: Bellamy and Clarke

Yes, I’m just about as shocked as you are (again) that Bellarke is not my number one pick this year (yet again). But I have to keep you on your toes and I don’t want to seem too predictable. I had to evaluate these last couple very closely. If you are on this page you know of my LOVE for Bellamy and Clarke. Number One Bellarke fan, right here. So every season that Jason Rothenberg gives us a little more I am a happy girl. As a Bellarke fan you train yourself for this. Well, this season, despite Bellamy still being in a relationship with Echo, we got several monumental Bellarke moments. From Bellamy recognizing that Clarke was still alive and helping take down Josephine, the CPR scene, more head and the heart talk (I’m dead btw) and more and more hugs. With only one season left I am praying to the gods that we will have them become endgame. This will be our last chance and you cannot tell me that everything we witnessed in this last season was PLATONIC! I’m sorry, but no. These two are meant for each other. Their love is so strong, that Eliza and Bob got married in real life. (Which can we just say how I still have moments where I’m like did this happen???) Such a good year for them. Cannot wait for the last season.

2. iZombie: Liv and Major

I called it! I hoped these two would be endgame, but as the final season progressed I was getting more and more worried. Liv and Major would have scenes together, but they were strictly business. I could always feel like something was still between them, but we were running out of time and didn’t know how they would conclude it all. Well, I am extremely happy that not only did they wind up together, but they are in a place where they can have a family and be together forever. I know I haven’t spoken about this couple much, but I have always liked the characters together on the show. While their time romantically together was pretty short overall, their characters drastically changed from season one episode one. There were times when I liked their new love interests, but I always hoped they would wind up together. Happy to see this ending.

AND NUMBER ONE GOES TO........

1. Anne with an E: Anne and Gilbert

Shirbert for the win!!! While season three has just been released on Netflix, I have seen MANY spoilers thanks to YouTube for the third (and sadly final) season. Could I have avoided them? Of course I could have, but I didn’t have the will power. I only watched a couple, but they were some big moments between these two. As a fan of the books and other adaptations of the beloved classic I knew Anne and Gilbert were meant to be even with all the back and forth/will they won’t between them. Just like any good movie or show, just knowing the outcome doesn’t make it true and they extended this slow burn nicely. I cannot wait to watch the full third season on Netflix this month and experience all the romance again. These two are meant for each other and I am just upset that we won’t be able to see more of their story.

Shirbert forever!

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daresplaining · 4 years

Note

So, in one of your posts you mentioned that you could write a lot about the different contexts in which Danny introduces himself as Danny vs. the Iron Fist. Is there any chance we could ever read those thoughts. Thank you so much for running such an amazing blog; I love it.

I want to preface this with a general statement and apology:

This blog has slowed down a bit in the last… year? Ish? Possibly longer? And this is because life has gotten much more hectic for a variety of reasons. My wonderful co-blogger has been busy enough that she doesn’t really have time to blog anymore, and my life has been fairly chaotic as well. There are messages in the inbox that have been there for a really long time (this one included), and I want to assure you that they will be answered, and that this blog does, in fact, still welcome questions! Thank you all so much for your patience, hello to any new followers, keep on Daredevilling, wash your hands… and now, let’s talk about our boy Danny!

(Context: The post being referenced is this one.)

MCU Danny’s overall story arc orbited around concepts of identity. The entire first season of Iron Fist is an identity quest– Danny returns to Earth, has his identity as Danny Rand stripped away and fights to reclaim it, has his identity as the Iron Fist challenged and fights to defend that, and then is faced with the question of how to balance both of those identities– his adherence to the honor and duties of being the Iron Fist, but informed by his sensibilities and past life as Danny Rand. At the end of the season, he makes the wise choice to return to K’un-Lun to continue his training, to focus more on his role as an Immortal Weapon, only to discover that… something horrible has happened to his home. The truth of what actually happened to K’un-Lun was a mystery that was never answered, and remains for me one of these shows’ most frustrating cliffhangers. But regardless, this discovery is a bomb dropped in the middle of his identity quest. He believes his home was invaded, and it’s notable that his traumatic nightmares of his parents’ deaths are replaced by nightmares of K’un-Lun’s destruction. He feels he cannot fully claim the title of Iron Fist anymore because he has failed in his duties. He has failed his family, his home, the people he was supposed to protect. But he also clings to that identity more tightly than ever as he commits every moment of his life to righting that wrong, to fixing this unforgivable mistake. He is angry and grieving when we see him in The Defenders, his identity a painful, mixed-up thing, and this fact has to be taken into account as we look at the ways Danny introduces himself in that show.

Overall, my feeling is that I’m thinking a lot more about this than the writers were, but hey, it’s still fun to examine. Let’s take a look…

[ID: A screenshot of Danny Rand and Colleen Wing in a dark, green-tinged tunnel, kneeling next to an injured man (Shaft, a member of the Chaste).]

Danny (subtitle): “My name is Danny. I’m hunting members of the Hand.”

This, his first introduction in the show, is a telling one. He is here in a professional capacity as the Iron Fist, doing strictly Iron Fist business (hunting the Hand), fully embodying that identity, yet he doesn’t introduce himself as such. Instead, he’s just “Danny”. (Note: not “Danny Rand”. Danny’s association with the name Rand is another complicated topic that I’ll get back to later.) This is in spite of the fact that he has reason to assume, given that Shaft knows about the Hand, that he would know about the Iron Fist legacy as well.

This can be taken a few different ways. It’s possible that he’s using Danny as just as shorthand; it’s more personal, and he may want to put Shaft at ease by using his civilian name. Or, at this early stage, having now suffered yet another failure of being unable to protect Shaft, it could be reflective of the fact that he doesn’t feel worthy of the title. He is shocked when Shaft recognizes him as the Iron Fist– maybe because he didn’t think Shaft would be so informed, maybe because he is embarrassed and ashamed to be addressed as such.

[ID: Screenshot of Danny standing in Colleen’s dojo, arms folded, looking intensely sincere. He is speaking to Luke Cage (off-screen).]

Danny: “I’m the Immortal Iron Fist.”

And here we have the exact opposite. The above scene with Shaft is very intimate, personal, emotional. Danny is avoiding his Iron Fist identity, downplaying himself. Everything is very quiet and desperate and genuine.

Here, though… Danny is wearing a mask. He is introducing himself in a succinct, summarizing way; projecting an image, providing information. His personal feelings about his identity are completely absent from this scene, because no way in hell is he going to reveal that vulnerable side of himself to someone he barely knows and doesn’t trust (yet). He is also reacting to Luke’s behavior, which up until this point has been dismissive at best, violent at worst. Luke is a sore spot here: a person who Danny initially thought was working with the Hand, and who he struggled to beat in a fight. If Danny was ashamed before, he is extra humiliated now, standing in front of Luke and being scoffed at (“Oh, this is a joke. Come on”).

And so he presents himself as the powerful, in-control Iron Fist he doesn’t actually believe himself to be (“I can answer myself” etc.), throws down a Clif-Notes version of his backstory so Luke can understand who he is, what he was doing when they first met, and why he is a trustworthy ally/asset, and introduces himself with the most formal, intimidating version of his title. Danny is recovering from a bruised ego, and wants the unpleasantness out of the way so that he can continue with his mission– and if Luke is capable of helping, then he wants to make that connection with as little angst and fuss as possible. He needs Luke to know that he is the Iron Fist, even if he doesn’t feel like he actually is.

[ID: Screenshot of Danny strolling into the lobby of Midland Circle, wearing a business suit.]

Receptionist: “Name, please.”

Danny: “Daniel Rand, of Rand Enterprises.”

Having seen one mask, we now get to see the other– this one much more fabricated, though he pulls it off with STYLE. (That swagger! I love this scene.) This is Business Danny at his Business Danny-est: Daniel Rand of Rand Enterprises, wearing a tie and everything. Danny is not a businessperson, as he himself says. He has never been a businessperson. He has never wanted to be a businessperson. And, as he also readily admits, he is not a very good businessperson. But it’s a mask he tried on in IF Season One for identity quest purposes– to tether himself to the Rand name, his civilian identity, which was his sole remaining connection to Earth and which the Meachums were trying to rip away from him– and it’s a mask he now dons again, this time as a weapon against the Hand. His introduction here is just as much of a necessary facade as his introduction to Luke was in the previous example, but this one lacks the emotional baggage.

[ID: The same scene as previous; Danny is smirking coldly at the Midland Circle receptionist.]

Receptionist: “Are they expecting you?”

Danny: “[Chuckles softly] Not like this.”

Okay, sorry, I always say this when discussing this scene, but… DANG. Get ‘em.

[ID: Screenshot of Danny standing in a white-walled Midland Circle conference room, hands folded in front of him, his back to an open door. A whole bunch of people in suits are sitting at a long conference table in front of him, watching him speak.”

Danny: “My name is Danny Rand.”

The charade continues (though note the switch from “Daniel” to “Danny”. He is being just as formal and fake here, but he’s never really been a “Daniel” and it’s possible he says it without thinking). I talked about this moment in detail in the original post, regarding Danny’s strategy and the challenges he faces as his plan starts to go awry, so I won’t repeat myself here, but I will point out that Danny keeps this mask on for as long as he can, even after revealing that he knows they are the Hand, even after Alexandra shows up and starts behaving condescendingly toward him. He embodies the Danny Rand of Rand Enterprises identity for as long as possible, so that they don’t see him as a physical threat until he wants them to, and so that when the moment arrives, it can be as impactful as it needs to be. He wants them off their guard, unsettled, frightened.

[ID: A close-up of Danny from the shoulders up, same scene as above. He is resolute.]

Danny: “I am the Immortal Iron Fist, weapon of K’un-Lun.”

I think this is genuine. Yes, it’s a shock-and-awe tactic to tell the Hand who they’re really dealing with, but I also think that in this moment, Danny rediscovers some of his confidence. He believes that, after all of his shame and failures, he has found a plan that will work. He has finally tracked down the Hand, he has breached their defenses in a way they were not expecting, and he believes that he can now destroy them. And then he gets emotional. This is about honor and vengeance, and they need to know who it’s coming from and what they are paying for. “I am the Immortal Iron Fist, weapon of K’un-Lun”– he is retaking his ownership as defender of his city, because he needs to, because he believes he finally can. He has conviction in his identity as the Iron Fist for the first time since the last few episodes of his solo show. And man, it hurts so much to find out that he is wrong.

[ID: Screenshot of Danny, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, and Matt Murdock (in civvies with a grey scarf tied over his face), standing in a tight circle in a dimly-lit room (a restaurant). Danny is talking to Jessica.]

Danny: “Hey, I’m, uh… I’m Danny.”

Jessica: “Jessica.”

Here is our final scene of Danny introductions: the team dinner, in which he introduces himself to Jessica, and tries to do the same to Matt (who is being grumpy and incognito and therefore is unreceptive to introductions). This one doesn’t have the emotional complexity of the previous examples– Danny is super cheerful and endearing here, delighted to meet these other superheroes and to have found more allies, and he introduces himself with a healthy, informal “Danny”. The beginning of the team-up is the start of the breakdown of his character arc, but it’s a very cute scene regardless– a glimpse of the happy, well-adjusted (or at least adequately repressed) Danny that we had not seen in the MCU at this point since the beginning of IF Season One.

[ID: The same scene. The four of them are standing around a plate-laden table. Matt is leaning intently toward Danny with his hands on his hips, listening to him speak.]

Danny: “Sworn protector of K’un-Lun.”

Part of Danny’s relaxed-ness comes from his belief, again, that with these new allies, his revenge quest is achievable. He is also clearly relieved to have help. He introduces himself as just “Danny” initially– using the most informal and least baggage-laden version of his identity, forming a personal connection with them– and then introduces himself as the Immortal Iron Fist, “sworn protector of K’un-Lun” later, when he starts explaining his role in the fight against the Hand. He is very relaxed about referring to himself in this way here, partly because– again– his sense of self and security has been bolstered, he is feeling good and hopeful, and also, it’s just necessary context that he knows he needs to provide. Specifically, he refers to himself as such to Matt, because he has gathered at this point that Matt has Chaste connections, and therefore assumes that he knows about the Iron Fist legacy. Little does he suspect that overly-emotional Matt failed out of Chaste School before learning any of the important backstory, and is therefore clueless.

[ID: Screenshot of Misty Knight looking over Luke’s shoulder at something that clearly upsets her.]

Danny (off-screen): “You got a chair?”

Please indulge me for just a second: Am I bitter that we didn’t see Danny properly introduce himself to Misty? Am I bitter that their relationship was almost entirely neglected in these shows? Yes, just a little.

Anyway…

Overall, Danny’s emotional arc in this show suffered for the sake of the team-up, and I feel like there is not as much significance in these introductions– these shorthands for Danny’s identity struggles– as there should have been/would have been if this were his show. That said, I do think they are important, and I loved digging into this. Danny’s journey is one of my favorites out of all of the Netflix Marvel protagonists, and I love taking it apart and examining it.

Again, I’m sorry this post was so long delayed, and thank you for the question!

#apple-grass-and-smiles #Netflix Defenders #Iron Fist #Danny Rand #Asks #Commentary

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cantgetoutofmyheda · 5 years

Text

Clextober 2019 - Scary Stories

Anon Prompt: “Just… hold my hand for a bit.”

---

It wasn’t that Clarke didn’t like camping, it was the fact that the weather had changed over—the warm summer sun was now replaced with a cold breeze and crisp air. She wasn’t thrilled about this weekend adventure, but she felt compelled to come for the sake of Octavia. The brunette and her boyfriend, on the other hand, were both very outdoorsy—the couple had just become serious and wanted to bring their set of friends out for a little weekend fun.

“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” Clarke huffed, carrying the bulky air mattress to the tent that Raven had set up for them, “it’s supposed to be nearly freezing tonight.

Raven couldn’t help but laugh, “Aw, come on, Griff. It’ll be fine. We’ll get toasty by the fire and get a little toasted with some tequila.”

Clarke shook her head, “I’m going to need a few drinks to keep me warm tonight, I’ll probably be sleeping in my coat.”

“Don’t worry,” Raven smirked, “I brought a double sleeping bag. I’m sure Lexa’s going to keep you nice and warm.”

“Lex– what?” Clarke shot her eyes away from the air pump, up to Raven’s, “What? You and I are sharing a tent, Rae.”

“I don’t know,” the brunette shrugged, “Anya’s been giving me eyes and we’ve been a little flirty over text. Might make a swap later on.”

“I’ll kill you,” Clarke rolled her eyes.

“Come on, Griff, be a team player,” Raven said as she walked away, making her way to the group setting up chairs by the fire pit.

---

The sun had set, and bellies were full from dinner. Raven was right about what she had said earlier, it was clear that there was definitely something between her and Anya—Lexa was thankfully aware also, the chestnut-haired girl was making an effort to get to know Clarke a little better, likely to avoid an awkward tent-sharing moment later in the night.

She had just returned to her seat, handing Clarke a drink she had mixed for her, before Lincoln spoke up, “Okay, now that we’re all back, how about we go around and tell some scary stories.”

“What is this,” Anya scoffed, “like some ‘Are You Afraid of the Dark’ shit?”

Lexa shrugged, “I think it could be fun. ‘Tis the season, right?”

“Ha,” Raven let out, “watch what you say, Lexa. Clarke over here spooks easily. You might be the one dealing with that later.”

The blonde rolled her eyes, “I’ll be fine, it’ll all be a bunch of made up stories, anyway.”

The group went around the circle, telling stories of “a friend that knew somebody’s cousin who went to college with a girl who’s boyfriend’s sister” swore that she saw a ghost, or witch, or anything else of the sort. The few stories they went through left the group in laughter—it wasn’t the vibe Lincoln was going for.

“Hey,” Anya turned her attention to man—it was his turn next, “Have you told Octavia about what happened to Echo?”

Clarke’s ears perked up, “Your guys’ friend Echo that we met at happy hour that one time?”

“Yeah,” Lexa softly let out before turning her attention to Anya, “Is this really the time or place for that story, Ahn?”

“We’re telling scary stories—it’s perfectly appropriate,” Anya shrugged, before looking at Lincoln.

“Are you going to tell the story, or are you three just going to sit around and go back and forth about it?” Octavia rolled her eyes, taking a sip of her drink.

Raven looked to Anya, “I want to hear it.”

Lexa looked to Clarke, the blonde didn’t seem to be fazed by the conversation, but she couldn’t help but recall what Raven had said earlier, “It’s pretty creepy, actually. We can go take a walk or something if you want.”

“How chivalrous of you,” Raven laughed at her attempt.

Clarke shot her friend a grimace before softening her expression and turning to look at Lexa, “It’s okay, I’m fine. But thank you.”

Lincoln looked around the circle, putting another piece of wood on the fire to keep the flames blazing. He rubbed his hands together and started to recount the story, “You guys know, Echo—she’s a freelance photographer for a few blogs and magazines. She was on assignment for some nature photography site and decided to take a solo trip to get the shots she needed.”

He looked around the circle again, all eyes were on him. He received a few nods, signaling for him to continue, “She was in the national park an hour or so from here, doing a short backpacking trail. She only brought her camera, what she needed to sleep in, and enough food and water for the trip. She’d hike a few miles every day, making the stops she needed to get the photos she was supposed to, set up camp somewhere different every night, sleep for a few hours, and repeat.”

“Sounds like a blast,” Raven said dryly.

Anya rolled her eyes, “Let him finish.”

Lincoln laughed before he continued, “Just wait. So for this particular project, she decided to shoot with her film camera—something about the authenticity of film versus digital, I think she was trying to be one with nature or something. Anyway, the trip was over and she was feeling really good about it all. She holed herself up in her studio to develop it all—that’s when she called the three of us and said we needed to come over immediately.”

He took a breath, “Lex, you want to tell the rest?”

The brunette looked at Clarke, the blonde didn’t seem to be scared. If anything, she was on the edge of her seat at the cliffhanger, “Sure.” Her eyes wandered to Octavia and Raven, both sharing the eagerness of the blonde’s, “So I was the first to get there—these two were stuck at work still. I opened the door and she was sitting outside the entrance to her dark room, holding her knees to her chest, taking the biggest breathes I’d ever seen anyone take. I asked her what was wrong, tried to see if she needed anything, but she just kept saying ‘The pictures, the pictures,” over and over.”

Raven’s mouth was agape, “What the fuck was in the pictures?”

“Oh my God, I bet there were ghosts in the background of them,” Octavia chimed in.

“She finally scooted over so I could make my way into the dark room,” Lexa started again, “and when I walked in, I saw all the photos that were hanging—there were photos of Echo sleeping at every stop she made. Some from the outside of the tent, some up close to her face, but there were pictures of her from every single night of her trip.”

“What?” Clarke’s jaw had dropped, leaving her mouth agape.

“I came back out of the room to where she was sitting and she said that she was alone, that there was no one else out there with her. She grew up camping, spent a lot of time in the woods, even in that national park. She said there were no signs of anyone around her those few days.”

“What the actual fuck,” Raven let out.

Anya nodded, “By the time I got there, Lex had managed to calm her down a little. She said that she hadn’t shot with film in a while, and each day it felt like she was getting less and less content with each roll of film—now she knew why.”

Clarke looked between the three friends that shared the story, “I think I need another drink.”

---

It was cold, but at least that hadn’t come as a surprise. Another thing that hadn’t come as a surprise was that Raven ended up in Anya’s tent, and Lexa ended up with Clarke. The brunette laughed, watching Clarke put on nearly four layers of clothes before she crawled into the large sleeping bag.

“You know,” Lexa laughed, climbing in right after her, “all you really need is one dry insulating layer, and then something thicker on top to keep the warmth in, and you’d be fine.”

“Huh?” Clarke asked, clasping her hands together to keep them warm.

Lexa reached over and zipped up Clarke’s side of the sleeping bag all the way up, before doing the same on her side and settling into the bed, “Think of it like a sleeping bag. As long as your body is warm and you’re closed up in something to keep the outside air from, the material will keep in your body heat and surround you with that temperature.”

“Oh. Yeah, that makes sense,” Clarke replied.

Lexa turned over, “You okay?”

“Yeah,” Clarke nodded, “just cold and kind of creeped out.”

Lexa raised a brow and joked, “Creeped out that you have to share a sleeping bag with someone you hardly know?”

“No,” Clarke smiled, “I’m glad you’re in here. I need you for your warmth and protection.”

“If you don’t mind,” Lexa started, “we can get a little closer. It’ll warm you up faster, I’m like an oven when I sleep—you’ll probably end up outside of the sleeping bag from overheating.”

The invitation from Lexa was all Clarke needed to hear. The blonde immediately moved her body closer to Lexa’s, pressing her back against the girl’s side, “Jesus, you are warm,” she let out as she shifted once more to get comfortable, “Night, Lexa.”

---

She wasn’t sure how long she had slept for, but it couldn’t have been very long—from what she could tell, it was still dark outside and the brunette next to her was still soundly asleep. The sounds of crickets and leaves rustling were soothing earlier, but other than that, she found the silence to be irksome. She closed her eyes, trying to get her body to relax, but the sounds of twigs snapping around the tent sent a jolt through heer body and she was immediately sitting upright.

“Lexa,” she said in a loud whisper, “Lexa, wake up.”

The brunette next to her stirred awake, grogginess was apparent in her voice, “What? What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“There’s something outside,” Clarke managed to get out.

Lexa slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes, “It’s probably just a small animal. Raccoons romp around the sites at night looking for food that was left behind, don’t worry.”

The brunette laid back down, “Lay down and try and sleep, there’s nothing to be worried about.”

“Okay,” Clarke said in a defeated voice as she followed the brunette’s instruction.

“Here,” Lexa turned so that her front was against Clarke’s back, draping her arm over the other girl’s waist, “Better?”

��Yeah,” said, relaxing into the other girl’s embrace. She brought her hand up to where Lexa’s laid resting on her side, taking a finger to trace the other girl’s, “Could you maybe… Could you just hold my hand for a bit?”

Lexa nuzzled her head into the back of Clarke’s neck before gently grabbing the blonde’s hand, “Of course. This okay?”

“More than.”

#clexa #clextober #clextober19 #clextober2019 #clexa au #clexa modern au #clexa prompt #clexa ficlet #clexa drabble #send me the prompts #send me the asks #send me the headcanons #ask #asks #anon #Clexa fic rec #clexa fic #13daysofclexa #day 11: scary stories

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calzona-ga · 5 years

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There was a lot to unpack in Grey's Anatomy's return.

Picking up exactly where we left off in the finale, the season 16 opener, titled "Nothing Left to Cling To," addressed all the biggest cliffhangers -- the most notable being Jackson's (Jesse Williams) whereabouts. Thankfully, we didn't have to wait long, as the premiere revealed that he didn't disappear into the fog to abandon Maggie (Kelly McCreary), but was instead helping a wife save her unconscious husband. That aside, Maggie and Jackson were forced to face the harsh reality that their relationship was very much on its last legs, and Jackson broke up with his girlfriend in the most brutal way possible, calling their relationship "broken" beyond repair.

In classic Grey's fashion, however, their breakup led Jackson to find solace in Station 19 firefighter Vic (Barrett Doss), who, by the way, is still grieving the death of her fiance. And that wasn't the only major move from the episode: Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) is sentenced to hundreds of hours of community service, with her medical license now in jeopardy. Amelia (Caterina Scorsone) discovers she's pregnant with Link's (Chris Carmack) baby. Richard (James Pickens Jr.) and Alex (Justin Chambers) are now working at a low-rate, competing hospital following their firings. Teddy (Kim Raver) is stuck between a rock and a hard place with an unconventional love triangle with Owen (Kevin McKidd) and Tom (Greg Germann).

"The biggest challenge was figuring out how we were going to follow through on the firings," showrunner Krista Vernoff tells ET. "Having Bailey fire Richard and Alex and Meredith -- one of the originals firing the other three originals was a pretty bold move and we wanted to make sure that we played it through with real consequences and dramatic stakes, and I think we've done that successfully."

With another season of Grey's officially up and running, ET spoke with Vernoff about the biggest moves from Thursday's premiere, from Meredith's dangerous new reality to Maggie and Jackson's devastating breakup to the surprising new romance between Jackson and Vic to Amelia's surprise pregnancy.

ET: Right off the bat, there have been a lot of changes on Grey's Anatomy. In the aftermath of Bailey firing Meredith, Alex and Richard, how is Bailey handling the new Grey Sloan? And how are Alex and Richard adapting to working at Pacific Northwest? Krista Vernoff: I'm always looking to keep the show fresh and alive. That is a complicated challenge, 16 seasons and over 300 episodes in. When we came up with the idea of Pac North Hospital taking our doctors [Alex and Richard,] and letting them be the fish out of water, they're big fish in a small pond. They're highly skilled, talented surgeons who are used to working with the best support staff imaginable at a well-funded, great functioning hospital. Now they find themselves in a really crappy hospital that needs to be turned around. That felt like a real challenge both for the characters and for the actors. It lets them play something new and it's been joyful to have Jim [Pickens Jr.] and Justin [Chambers] working together this season in that capacity.

How has Alex and Richard's working relationship changed in this new environment as they face new situations? Alex is once again Richard's boss, which is a strange dynamic considering the origin story of the show. It's a very strange thing for Richard to have to answer to Alex and yet, they're in this together. Alex offered him a new opportunity to create a new legacy: Help me turn this place around. So, they're really working together in the early part of this season to do something that feels unimaginable and unachievable, and yet they're unstoppable because they're so determined in their own way to prove Bailey wrong for firing them.

The Jackson cliffhanger was reconciled relatively quickly, but led to Maggie and Jackson's breakup. Was this a long time coming for these characters? I feel like it was a long time coming. I felt like Maggie and Jackson had a fight that very nearly broke them up in [the seventh] episode [last season]. And so, by the time they were having that fight in [the finale], it felt to me like they were saying things that they couldn't really come back from. I love both of these actors and I love their work together as a couple, and I'm loving their work together as a couple with a bad and difficult breakup. It's all exciting.

When Jackson is breaking up with Maggie, he says, "What's broken is us." Do you think they are beyond repair? Maggie and Jackson, they've had a really painful breakup. It is painful to break up period, but when you break up when your parents are married to each other, which means you've got to stay in each other's sphere, and you work together in the same hospital, which means you've got to see each other every day and one of you has jumped immediately into something new, that is not easy. I'm not going to pretend that it gets easy anytime soon.

You mentioned one of them moves on very quickly. There is a bit of a time jump in the episode after the breakup, but Jackson shows immediate interest in Station 19's Vic. Why did you want to introduce that potential new romance so soon? I think that it's human behavior. Often we comfort ourselves with something new when we've been through something painful. It happens with great frequency and I'm interested in exploring the edges of human behavior. I'm interested in exploring people not behaving well all the time. People prioritizing their impulse over someone else's feelings, I think is human and makes great TV.

What can we expect for them moving forward? It's a little bit of a slow build. The decision-making around it was a gut feeling. It was just a gut feeling. I knew that it was time for Maggie and Jackson to break up at the end of last season. I took over Station 19 and was looking at all the moving pieces and I just had a feeling about these two. And so, we tried it and the whole storyline is exciting to me. The complexity of it all is really interesting. It's been a long time since Grey's had a break-up this messy.

Moving on to Meredith's legal limbo. She sort of gets off with a slap on the wrist after committing insurance fraud. Why did you decide to have her avoid jail time? I see. That's what you mean by a neat bow, that she didn't have to go to jail. Well, this is Meredith's story. For the first third of our season is dealing with the fallout of the decision she made at the end of last season. She got several hundred hours of community service. She didn't get a cushy clinic gig, she got picking up trash on the side of the road, and now the medical board is coming after her license. So, this definitely gets more complicated for Meredith -- who is not a rule follower -- before it gets any better.

Does this affect DeLuca's standing at Grey Sloan? Definitely. DeLuca and Meredith are a couple at this moment, and Meredith has been fired from the hospital. Everybody has different feelings about that and they don't necessarily have access to Meredith to discuss those feelings. It definitely puts a little bit of conflict between DeLuca and Bailey, and complicates his job.

Amelia also discovers she's pregnant with Link's child. She has a complicated history with pregnancies and losing a child. What are you excited to explore as she embarks on this new journey this season? I love the character of Amelia. I love her really complicated history. I love her emotional intelligence. I love her recovery and I love that she's always trying to grow and learn and expand and change and evolve as a human being. And I love throwing obstacles and growing opportunities in her path. For her to have decided that she wants not to go all in with someone, but to slow-roll a relationship and to take it slow and get to know a person and do something differently than she's done before... And then for her to discover in that same episode that she is pregnant, felt messy and exciting.

How does this complicate things for Amelia and Link? This is a complicated, complicated thing. They were dating and having fun and now they're taking a very different journey than the one they thought they were on.

Alex proposes to Jo again after she gives him an out in their relationship, due to the fact that their marriage isn't legally binding because they never got their license. Are they looking to go through with tying the knot officially? That's the promise of the proposal scene, isn't it? There's possibility to explore their love anew and explore their marriage anew.

You've hinted that you were working on getting a former cast member to return this season. What's the status on that? It's an ongoing effort and if I can make it happen, it'll be exciting and if I can't make it happen, we have other exciting things happening.

I'll just throw out some guesses. Is it Sarah Drew or Kate Walsh? I will never tell you! (Laughs.)

Lastly, Taylor Swift is a big Grey's Anatomy fan. She wore a Grey's pin on a magazine cover in May. Have you ever talked to her about having a guest stint on the show? I mean, I haven't. But if she came and did it, my daughter would definitely come to set that day.

#grey's anatomy #ETonline

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sparda3g · 5 years

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Attack on Titan Chapter 121 Review

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The truth hurts. The truth will not set you free. It goes without saying: this series is full of surprises. At the same time, the actuality made a lot of sense. The next anime season can’t come any sooner; the reactions will be jarring. I believe so, because I was floored by the revelations. This chapter had me in one crazy emotional roller coaster; the cliffhanger was the cherry on the top and that’s one sundae I don’t want to have.

Going in to the chapter, I was expecting Eren to try to convert Zeke’s opinion with the rest of the memory trip. Technically, I was right, but not the exact outcome I was expecting. Zeke summarized the last chapter well by stating Eren wasn’t manipulated by Grisha. His life was all lively and well until the wall was tore down, of course. The point is, Grisha has nothing to do with Eren’s influence. So why Eren backstabbed Zeke? Why not end the war? What is his agenda? Life truly began with Eren saving Mikasa. Remember the image of Eren and Armin happily hanging out. The tone is going to get heavy.

The scene with Eren’s first visit with Mikasa now carries more weight than simply Mikasa’s turning point, let alone a defining development. It speaks for Eren’s character to be a boy who will grow up to be a man who will fight for his freedom. If there are men that intend to steal his freedom, he will steal theirs. The shot of the worrisome father trying to calm his furious son let out a troublesome feeling.

The way I see it is, Grisha didn’t want to see his son to go to the path he made a mistake to take. When you recall the last chapter, life was going to be normal with not following Krueger’s order. However, this moment was the beginning of a path that will ultimately set the story straight. Eren’s pride denies Grisha’s desire to restore Eldia. In a twisted way, Eren should be thankful for Grisha’s actions to open his eyes, which means the father is the savior of the world. Wrap your head around that.

I do wonder what is up with Eren’s expression when he watches his young-self wrapping the scarf around Mikasa. It’s a look of guilt if anything. I don’t want to interpret as a pairing moment, but I do believe Eren owes her an apology after that act of heartbreak. It was seriously messed up; hate is a strong word. Hopefully, they patch up their relationship and well, we’ll see where we go from there.

I recall fans were confused on why Zeke, who has the Founding Titan’s power in control, would go to this memory trip to help Eren. I called it, he did it to save him; not going to abandon him. I like the fact he referenced Tom; clear indication of what he considered family. Eren is the only one Zeke has left and despite not being the little brother he wished for, blood is thicker than water. I also like more of the collage of Grisha’s moments, including the famous basement; leaving the note for the story’s great advancement. Then, this is where the chapter unfolds the craziest revelation to date.

Shifting back to chapter 1 left me feeling a good kind of nostalgia. However, that’s not the intention. It builds up the moment when Grisha leaves the house with his family alive and well for the last time. The tone I’m feeling is morbid because we know the downfall begins on that day. The panel paid close attention to Grisha’s expression as Eren argues with his mother about joining the Survey Corps. It’s all going accordingly, but then shocking part number one comes in.

The scene when Grisha promised Eren to return with secrets waiting to reveal is seen much differently. In fact, I was horrified. The truth is, Grisha was in fact staring at adult Eren when he made that promise. I couldn’t shout, “What” any louder. The scariest part is, the scene wasn’t altered; it’s like that in chapter 1. It’s not like Isayama went out and retcon the position. It was designed that way from the very start. It’s most likely just me, but it’s downright eerie to see Grisha watches his family one last time with only Eren being happy and joy. After all, the path will be favoring him from this point on, and Grisha can’t escape the inevitable. Massive foreshadow for the major revelation.

The confrontation with Grisha and Frieda is an emotional roller coaster that I won’t forget for a long time. This is the moment where the series took the course of the story we know today. As we all know prior to this extended scene, Grisha invaded Frieda and the King of the Walls’ HQ, and killed them to devour the Founding Titan. My first impression was Grisha was a murderer that would do whatever it takes to fulfill his destiny. After the last chapter, I assumed he had no choice but to kill them because of the invasion; awakened his old mission to fulfill and carry forward. Now, I am lost with words.

Right from the start, Grisha announced his heritage and plead them to save his family and citizens of the walls from the titans. This completely destroyed the thought of him killing them from the get-go. The fact he begged them first gives me a better impression of his character. He was no longer the old self who was hell-bent to save Eldians; he wanted to avoid hell at all cost. I felt bad for him before, but now, my sympathy is growing more. It doesn’t stop there.

Frieda turned down his pleading, because of her belief. She believed this is their sins and judgment day has come. They can’t afford to use the Founding Titan and fall to the wrong hand. They must accept the price they made. In short, Frieda told him to deal with fate. I guess it’s not a bad argument on falling to the wrong hand, but it does irritate me to think maybe the conflict could have been prevented. I find it funny how Zeke thinks he and Frieda will get along well. They might as well, considering how their train of thoughts are quite similar. The sensation gets worse.

Grisha begged them again, but now it’s making me sad. His expression screamed pain, agony, and broken apart. Frieda, on the other hand, started to frustrate me. Maybe you don’t find her wrong, but it’s mainly due to how Grisha was suffering from a possible solution. If it wasn’t for the last chapter, I wouldn’t be this sympathetic. It’s not to say she’s the villain, but two different belief don’t collide well. No matter how much he cried for help, she stick to her words and let them perish as they felt they are rightfully judged. Eren’s face is filled with anger. I got chills. Now, this is where the chapter begins to drown me in a pool of revelations.

Grisha finally gets to the part where the fans know exactly what happened: genocide. Not without a shocking reveal. We all know that each Shifting Titan has its own perks. Attack Titan was interpreted as a fighter, hence the title, “Attack.” But, was that really it? The real perk is the ability to receive the message from the future successors; in other words, foresee the future. Many have guessed it, but it’s great to have clarification now. I’ll explain more on the reveal later.

The amazing part about this reveal is the contrast. Attack Titan revolves with the future as the Founding Titan revolves with the past. It’s practically the future versus the past. It gives the name “Attack” more meaningful when you include the mythology, let alone the fitting nature for Eren. Isayama, you are a sly man. Grisha was ready to shift to Attack Titan and begin to kill them all for the greater good; well, at least in story viewpoint. I think. Then, a big surprise happens. The scenery led me to believe this is the moment. It was, but something is different. Grisha refused to kill them. I was downright confused.

I thought we have a multiverse in our hands. I thought I needed sleep. Part of me believed he gave up now, only to rebound later to kill them. But, it wouldn’t be necessary for Isayama to write this. It was depressing to watch him cry and refused to kill children, which again, gave me a much better impression of his character. However, if the timeline is fixed for him to kill them, how can he recover?

Adult Eren approaches to Grisha; screaming at him to get up and kill. Like Zeke, I was completely lost with words. Eren shouts at Grisha in tyranny tone and words that are painful as stabbing. It’s not even encouraging; it’s purely manipulative. He pressured him on and on, until he finally made his move. This is the story he started. The scene is far worse than before, and that’s saying a lot. I couldn’t comprehend on what just happened, but it’s actually what it was shown: Eren manipulated Grisha.

HOW IS THIS SHOUNEN?!?!

My brain isn’t processing well enough to continue. Our hero is the main villain. Well, not really, but the action is incredibly twisted. When you have to fight, you fight. Eren has stuck to the code since the beginning and this is where it led him to. It’s not to say he loves to kill, rather had no choice on the matter to advance to freedom. You can tell by his reaction towards the mass killing. It’s “whatever it takes” gone horribly disturbing. This is madness. As for Grisha, I’m astounded. First, he came off as a villainy character. Then, a redeemed character. Now, I can safely say, he’s the most tragic character of them all. That is unholy.

It’s incredible how Isayama can decipher a character that is more than meets the eyes. I haven’t changed my opinion on a character this many times before, but here we are. It’s hard to watch him cry; wondering if this pleased Eren. He also begged to see the rest of the future. Attack Titan was tearing him apart. Although it’s more than black and white, Eren comes off as a villain to his mind. The son manipulating the father; that’s messed up. Grisha’s life is suffering.

To add more weights to his character, he can finally clearly sees Zeke in the current time. The following scene is really heartbreaking. I didn’t expect Zeke to receive a closure under this circumstance. The way how it was written made it seem like Eren is hell, but Zeke is the son he wants to communicate. He tells him that Eren’s future is chosen and Zeke won’t have his. Once he sees him clearly, he embraces for forgiveness. It hits me in the feel with Grisha hugging his first son, and Zeke calls him, “Dad.” That’s powerful. Family is family. Before closing out, Grisha has one last words: stop Eren. It seriously paints Zeke as the protagonist.

In case this is too confusing for anyone, Zeke summarizes the whole revelation. I like the detail on Zeke calling Grisha dad, only to revert back to calling his name. The embracement affected him dearly, and understandably so. It’s the fatherly love he wished to have, and he got it. Long story short, Eren foreseen the future through his future-self’s memory, which led him to manipulate Grisha to set the path we’re journeying through today. Eren learned about everything four years ago; the moment when he held Historia’s hand. How rewarding.

Let’s discuss about the reveal on time messaging. Some speculated that they can travel through time. The reality is, they can only receive the message from the successors as well as see their presence, based on Grisha’s early turmoil. This eliminates actual time traveling, and it’s probably for the best. The series could get really messy when one can actually jump through time and alter it at will. By that, I mean changing a timeline multiple times alas multiverse. It narrows down to one timeline to focus on with the use of possibly multiverse visions.

It’s kind of hard to explain. I like to think of the series Orange. In there, the story involves with students that received messages from future selves in order to correct their mistakes. There’s no time jumping, no other multiverse to explore, aside of one for characters’ purposes, and it only focus on one timeline. In short, what we see is one timeline that has been “invaded” by the future. It doesn’t mean they will jump time now; the damage is done. This is the path.

As for Eren the Mastermind, it made tons of sense. It’s no wonder Grisha appeared in miserable pain prior to passing down the Titans to Eren. Now I get why he told Shadis to not get involved. He was manipulated by that point and his destiny was to fulfill Future Eren’s future. It connects far back to Krueger with his confused statement about Mikasa and Armin. Maybe there will be more towards it, but since Eren is the mastermind, it’s no wonder those two names were brought up. It’s incredible when you look back and see the pieces coming together.

As for Eren’s character, it’s believable to think he has changed when he saw the memories. The only part that is missing is whether he can see everything or only certain pinpoints. It’s addressed more or less at the end, but we’ll get to that very soon. The reason to be concerning is due to how Eren has been plotting and reacting. It’s not said the future is pre-determined, but perhaps it’s why Eren has been trying to change something.

Once he saw the memories, his focus changed drastically; wanted to take down the world for freedom. What I want to know is, does he know every outcome, including Sasha’s death. He was frustrated when he heard the news; was it a reaction to his future fate unchanged? Connie did say he laughed as well. Did he laugh because of an act of a villain, or was it a reaction towards his destiny to be inevitable. It’s clear that Eren is trying to change the journey, but the destination is locked in. This is merely a speculation. There’s a chance for Eren to elaborate his memory trip in depth. We know he has, but we don’t know what he has seen.

One of my predictions has Zeke converting to Eren’s side alas the good side; if you can even call it that. Honestly, it sounds pretty damn silly. Reminds me of Naruto in its worst days; which is why I hope it doesn’t happen. Fortunately for me, Zeke resume his first and only intention and force Ymir to enter the PATHS to end the Eldians. You would think Grisha’s forgiveness will change his mind. Instead, it encouraged him; now, against Eren and favor for Grisha. What a crazy round about.

Zeke does bring an interesting point though. If Eren becomes desperate to stop Ymir, wouldn’t that mean he didn’t see this coming? Can he only see certain destination? My guess is, he has seen everything, so he is trying to change its journey, but the destination remain the same. That or it’s gotten worse. It’s hard to say, but regardless, if Eren fails to stop Ymir, the future doesn’t belong to his.

This chapter was quite something else. It’s remarkable with its execution and paneling. I couldn’t do justice on describing the impact of these panels, especially the last scene with Grisha and Frieda. The artwork has come a long way from chapter 1 and it’s fortunately presented really well here with deep and sorrowful expressions. The revelations were mind-blowing, yet the puzzles fit in place. It ended on a hell of a cliffhanger; probably worse than the time Eren lost his head. This is it; the path to end all. We’re in the endgame now…

#attack on titan #shingeki no kyojin #chapter 121 #review #spoilers

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douxreviews · 5 years

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The Magicians - ‘The Serpent’ Review

“Some God of War. He only liked them when they were too weak to fight.”

Library’s become ever-more fascist, Alice splits in two, and big revelations are made, but not on-screen.

I’m going to be honest: I didn’t feel great about this episode after I watched it the first time. And then I watched it again and found I was better able to understand it and appreciate some of what it was exploring. But I still don’t feel great about it.

Here’s what I liked: the Alice on Alice conflict. From the moment she split I was excited. It’s like taking Gestalt’s empty chair technique and making it literal, and the psychology student in me was living for it. Even better, the execution was pretty great. It allowed the show to directly with Alice’s main conflict, which is that there was a part of her pre-niffin who was sheepish and kind and scared, there was a part of her post-niffin who was arrogant and dominant and selfish, and each part hates the other, blames the other for everything that’s gone wrong. But the thing is, they’re all Alice and all to blame. And she needs them both. She needs to be selfish to survive, but she needs to be cautious to avoid blowing stuff up. Both her arrogance and her fear can put everyone in danger. But she can’t lock either part of herself up and manage, and even if she could she wouldn’t be able to survive long.

It’s an interesting issue to explore, because it’s probably come up for a lot of us. It would be nice to be able to erase or at least lock up the parts of ourselves we don’t like. It’s harder to admit we’re more complicated than that and the whole of ourselves is the source of our problems and our triumphs. So we need to learn to better the parts of ourselves we don’t like, to see the good and bad in them, and, at the least, try to cope with them. But what I like best about what the show does with Alice is that she doesn’t really figure out how to do any of this. Both parts of herself work together to finish the spell, but that’s not because of any real epiphany. She (they?) just realized she didn’t have much of a choice. Alice still has a lot of growing to do. And, really, don’t we all?

While this is going on Zelda learns more about the Library—namely, that it’s devolving into a fascist regime. I didn’t appreciate this plot much the first time around. I thought Zelda finally realized the Library was corrupt after the Library kept the killer deweys in circulation and that the revelation that Everett was her mentor was revealed too late. I still somewhat feel that way. But after my rewatch I do feel more interested in the Library’s continued corruption. Throughout the season we’ve seen this grow slowly. They were meant to keep everyone safe by carefully distributing magic. But they unfairly favored trained magicians over hedges, manipulated people into the Library in exchange for magic and education, rewarded people who posted magic-monitors in their homes, the list goes on. Manipulation, indoctrination, invasion of privacy. And finally, faking a terrorist organization to create fear. The Library wants power, it will do anything to fuel that.

This whole idea of obtaining power by any means necessary isn’t new. What’s more interesting is seeing people why people might trust the Library, believe in its cause and believe that cause is just or that helping it would be a good option (Zelda, Fogg). Seeing Fogg struggle with when to cut ties with the Library, whether that would help or hurt, if that’s cowardly or selfish. Seeing Kady and Alice forced to make ethically-questionable decisions while trying to help those harmed by the Library (using Harriet’s vulnerable position as leverage). And seeing the harm that not only fear, but also apathy can have. When considering what to do about the terrorists, Kaylee Frye the Librarian asks if the terrorists are even the Library’s problem. She doesn’t care about the safety of the hedges, it’s likely few librarians do, and that makes her much more likely to go along with whatever the Library has planned regardless of the cost. And then there’s fear itself. While remembering The Monster’s destruction, The Monster insults Enyalius for going after souls too weak to fight. The same can be said for Everret. It seems Everret fears the hedges—he needs their submission to raise the Library up—and he uses fear to keep them down. And maybe this is—in part—what war is.

In Fillory, things go down with the prophecy. But also, not really. Fen doesn’t want to overthrow Margo, Margo has her eyes on Fen for all of a minute before asking (forcing) Fen to dethrone her so she can go off and find something to save Eliot. It’s all resolved pretty easily. That said, I did appreciate that Margo and Fen didn’t act out of character or that just enough information wasn’t kept from them to make things more dramatic. But I just didn’t understand why Margo had to ask Fen to dethrone her at all. The only explanation I can think of is that Margo had to leave Fillory to go to the desert, and that’s not allowed for kings. But I don’t remember being told the desert was out of the realm. And I also don’t know that leaving Fillory is still not allowed. Ember and Umber are dead and Fillory is a quasi-democracy, do the rules even apply anymore? All this confusion messed with the story’s emotional beats. Not entirely—I’m not a monster—I still felt for Margo losing the crown she worked so hard to get for the realm she cares so much for. But enough.

Finally, there was The Monster stuff. There, we almost get information about Julia’s “transition”, but then we don’t; Alice finds the binder but doesn’t open it up. And then we almost get information about The Monster’s plan, but then we don’t; Eliot tells Penny 23 the plan off-screen, Penny 23’s just about to tell Julia and Quentin the plan when the show ends. It all kind of feels cheap, especially the final cliffhanger. The Magicians has ended episodes—entire seasons—in cliffhangers before without it feeling cheap. But something about the multitude of not-reveals, the show looking away at just the right moment, and ending the episode almost mid-scene was too much. I wish the episode ended right after Margo’s last moment instead. Seeing her walk out to the desert listening to 80s music would be a fitting lead-in to the musical in the desert. And it would’ve felt way less cheap.

Bits and Pieces

-- Kady got to use her mad punching skills, which elevates any episode. Sucks for Alice, though.

-- Zelda gets a back-story! She was a hedge, her mom died, she was found in an ally. Zelda’s right, it does sound dramatic.

-- It was great seeing Harriet and getting her back, but I wish she and Marlee Matlin had more to do than just struggle to communicate with Alice while Alice deals with her stuff and share new plot information. Hopefully she’ll be on again.

-- I feel (maybe unreasonably) defensive of Julia. Zelda says she trusts Kady because she was able to try to understand the woman responsible for Penny 40s death (which must be Julia, right?). But that wasn’t really Julia’s fault, both Kady and Penny 40 agreed to help take down Reynard, Julia never asked Penny 40 to go down to the poison room, and it’s not her fault Reynard was evil and raped her and killed most everyone else. And, even so, both Julia and Kady summoned OLU in the first place. It just felt victim-blamey to me and I didn’t appreciate it from Zelda (I wouldn’t from anyone). End of rant.

-- Speaking of Julia, I found it interesting seeing how quickly she offered to shift the focus from her god problems to The Monster problems. Her story has been moving along pretty slowly (probably because if she powered up she would be hard to keep on the show) and maybe this an in-show reason why. Her issues always fall second to The Monster or even the Library issues, because those are life and death.

-- I also liked seeing Penny 23 advocate for Julia (suggesting they try to research the binder while working on The Monster stuff) and Julia advocate for Penny 23 (trying to keep him from putting himself in danger with The Monster, etc.). And they almost kissed! But The Monster cock-blocked them. Maybe now that he’s alive they’ll have that dinner he promised her.

-- Margo found out Eliot’s alive! And immediately had sex with Josh. Fen’s facial expressions were amazing.

The Monster: “Are you aware that there is big money for psychics who are in actually big giant fakers?” I actually did know that, Monster! John Oliver just did a whole segment about it.

Ru, Queen of West Loria: “During the feast you will order the castle doors open where upon my men will enter and chop off—” Fen: “Enjoy the desert course.” Ru: “Did you really think I was gonna say that?” Fen: “Hoped.”

Margo, about Fen: “That false-toed bitch!”

Margo: “Wait! I curse Fen’s name, but if I were you I’d listen to her! And wait! Be nice to her! Your grandkid’s grandkids will fear me!”

Three out of four fascist libraries.

Edit: Thanks to Percysowner and late-ish night reflections I now understand that Margo needed to be dethroned so the Fillory-hating people of The Foremost would agree meet with her.

Ariel Williams

#The Magicians #Alice Quinn #Margo Hanson #Eliot Waugh #Quentin Coldwater #Julia Wicker #The Magicians Reviews #Doux Reviews #TV Reviews

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bobasheebaby · 5 years

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I did this three times before but apparently I can’t stick to just a few series and keep adding. So here is the full breakdown of all my Choices series. It’s long cause my crazy ass has too many series so under the cut will be the breakdown complete to series masterlists. If there is no link it’s still being planned but I decided to put it anyways.

I start fairly mild, well maybe not mild, I go full smut with Poly and mlm and develop In Their Hearts which started my love for crack pairs with Dramien.

I move on to adding a pinch of drama in the form of a love quadrangle. I add a handsome older Duke to the mix to try to take Athena away from Liam. Jealous Liam, angst, I actually get fluffy, and of course glorious smut including slash in What Almost Was.

Which feeds to wedding drama in Following Her Heart and poly drama with the sister series Starting Over, Together.

Then I get my first inspiration for causing drama based on exactly what’s going on in TRR. Although I admit I go a bit off the rails. Betrayal takes us through MC cheating on Liam and Drake confessing his feelings, ouch.

Then I go dark, like really dark. I take our dear sweet Liam and turn him straight up evil, read From the Wolves with caution, it’s dark. It deals with depression and Liam is EVIL! So my penchant for twists and turns and dark drama has started.

Consequences of a Fling is my second foray into taking something from the books and bringing the drama. This time I take the fling and make MC pregnant-but that’s not enough for my drama loving heart, not only could she be carrying Drake’s child instead of Liam’s she still has feelings for Drake, or does she? Then I kinda get influenced by a few people and my dark and twisted mind goes off the rails again. This series is full of cliffhangers and twists and turns.

I’m back at it with crack pairs, a full series for my new favorite pairing: Baslivia—Bastien and Olivia. I know it seems odd but they work. It starts smutty, and then we go to pining because they won’t make it easy. Falling For You also has Ellie (MC) who is Olivia’s person how can you not love two tough snarky woman becoming best friends?

One shot turned mini series, Maneater follows Addison and she is far from kind to our boys. There once again is cheating, I think it will be contained to two chapters, they are mentioned in the Masterlist if you want to avoid cheating. Full of smut.

Harlow was my answer to Addison. Addison started as a Bastien x MC request and I hated how I was hurting and using Bastien so sweet Harlow was born. Harlow realizes early on in the social season her heart belongs to Bastien and not Liam, Made For You is a mini series.

I got a request for a MC x Rashad story where MC leaves at the end of book one and falls for Rashad and Liam had zero chance getting her back. I answer that request with Law of Love and Lennox and Rashad. Flashbacks, heartache and a bit of fluff.

My third Poly series came from a talk about the fling in Vegas in which I turn it into a threesome in Vegas Skies. Something More will follow Drew, Liam and Drake trying to figure out how to handle things after the fling.

Reclaiming Destiny, evolved past what it was supposed to. It was meant to be a Bastien x OC series following Bastien coming out in the guard and somehow twisted itself into a Poly series with Bastien, Olivia and my newest OC Caleb. Something More & Reclaiming Destiny will be interconnected and the next chapter will be a full crossover and posted in both.

I have always hated that Liam couldn’t stand his ground and still say MC at the coronation ball, so Side by Side will fix that.

A Mobster AU called Crimson Rain. It’s got two MC’s and Bastien & Liam are essentially rival bosses. There is a grudge and serious baggage, let’s see how dark I go with mobsters. Tons of twists, and more to come! Contains character death and pregnancy loss as well as depression.

The Rise is a full on crossover AU. It’s a zombie apocalypse so please proceed with caution. My penchant for crack pairs will be revisited in this crossover series. So far the books are Endless Summer, The Royal Romance, Bloodbound, and Perfect Match, I have plans to add in both Open Heart and Nightbound. There is going to be lots of character death, please block the tags #choices zombie au or #the rise to avoid if you need to.

I blame a rattle, yes a rattle did weird things to my brain. The cover art for The Royal Heir did some seriously weird things to me and we ended up with When Fairytales Break. This series contains cheating, depression, feelings of being trapped, and smut. This is a Liam x MC, Bastien x MC story and goes to a different place than my initial thought.

I have a few more things I’m working on cause I just can’t help myself. Impossible Choice will be spinning into a series called Learning to Breathe. Right now I’m fighting my muse because of the pairing she wants and I’m not sure. This will deal will moving on after loss and maybe some depression.

Only You, the more I think about my poly stories the more I think of Driam’s start and it’s always the same. I will be moving It Started With a Kiss from In Their Hearts to its new home that will be an early Driam story that will work as canon history for all my poly AU’s.

I have two non TRR series, the first is a Red Carpet Dairies series called What a Way to Say It’s Over. The final chapter of RCD2 had me wondering what our LI might be thinking if you suddenly dropped away from them. I almost always thot (very few books am I faithful) and I had chosent Matt only to drop him for Hunt in the last chapter. As I was playing I kept asking myself how he’d react. It was only going to be a one shot but now it’s a series.

I fell instantly in love with Sienna Trihn in Open Heart and need her as a LI. Moving On With You follows Dr Camila Maitland and Dr Sienna Trihn after Sienna dumps Wayne. I was thrown by Danny but more is coming.

Jeez, my mind really went there with some of those. And some the drama is coming. And through most of these, Liam gets hit-sorry.

So I guess if you want drama and twists of any level you know where to go, me. Lmao. Just be sure to buckle your seat belt some of these rides are mighty bumpy. Your heart will likely hurt after many of these.

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jbuffyangel · 6 years

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Selfless: Arrow 6x23 Review (Life Sentence)

Arrow delivers an emotional, but unsurprising finale. There isn’t much we didn’t see coming, but thankfully Stephen Amell and Paul Blackthorne, in particular, brought their A games and made me feel all the feels.

And oh yes, you can bet your sweet bippy we’ll be discussing the whole Oliver-didn’t-tell-Felicity-he’s-going-to-prison-for-life situation.

Let’s dig in…

Preface

Arrow Season 6 is similar to Season 4 in the sense there were certain tent points the writers were trying to hit. It resulted in pushing the story a certain direction rather than letting it develop organically. For example, the Olicity break up was easily avoided just like Oliver going to prison is easily avoided.

However, if Olicity breaking up was the only possible outcome then lying was the lesser of storyline evils. We have to suspend logic for prison to become the only possible outcome like we did in Season 4. Does it make great writing? No. It doesn’t, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles with Arrow sometimes.

The primary issue with Season 6 is the Big Bad. Arrow lives and dies with their Big Bad, since 75% of the story is built around stopping this person. Ricardo Diaz is easily Arrow’s worst Big Bad ever. Supposedly, it’s impossible for Oliver to stop Diaz on his own because he’s always two steps ahead and has the city on lock.

Umm… no. There’s almost nothing in the way Arrow has built or presented Diaz that makes him a viable threat to Oliver or the city. He’s a poor imitation of a gangster who screams a lot. The only reason Diaz is a few steps ahead is because the other characters reacted illogically or stupidly to him. Oliver should have been able to take this guy down long before 6x23. Hell, Diggle should have taken him down in 6x06.

We have to believe Diaz’s is an unstoppable Big Bad, which requires Oliver to ask the FBI for help and make this deal.

Unfortunately, this is just not true. If this was Adrian Chase as Prometheus then we can absolutely understand why Oliver would go running to the FBI.

Diaz? Not so much.

The intent of this preface is to acknowledge I see the Grand Canyon sized plot holes.

Yes, prison is easily avoided. Yes, Ricardo Diaz is the worst and can easily be taken down without all this extra “help.” Or if “help” is required then get it from someone who doesn’t demand 25 to life.

Olicity

No beating around the bush. Let’s dive right in. Oliver has secured everyone immunity (Yeah!!!) and spends the better part of the episode casually dodging Felicity while he goes on a farewell tour with the other characters. Felicity picks up on it because 1) she’s Felicity and 2) Oliver is ridiculously obvious about it.

Felicity wants to know what Oliver gave Watson to secure immunity for everyone. Rather than patiently wait for Oliver to fess up like she normally does, Felicity offers a guesses - Oliver agreed to give up the Green Arrow. This guess conveniently gives Oliver the opportunity to lie without really lying. He sidesteps the truth by answering, “Sort of.”

Sure, giving up the Green Arrow is all part of life in prison, my forever gumdrop. Anything else you’d like to know? Of course, Oliver should have fessed up immediately. Lies of omission are still lies and we danced this dance all of Season 4 and Season 5 Oliver Jonas Queen! Learn fool!

Felicity’s reaction to Oliver giving up the hood is something we should make note of.

Source: @callistawolf

We can insert this gif for every stupid decision Oliver has ever made.

What irritates me about this scene is an argument snowballs on false pretenses. Oliver doesn’t tell Felicity what they are really fighting about. He is giving up being Green Arrow because HE IS GOING TO PRISON. Oliver no longer believes in becoming his best self because HE IS GOING TO PRISON. Watson isn’t stopping Oliver from being who he is because it was OLIVER’S IDEA TO GO TO PRISON.

This is like picking a fight over laundry when you are really arguing about money. Stop talking about detergent when you’re really throwing down over the 401k. I’m also having trouble wrapping my head around prison being Oliver’s idea,

but of course it was because 1) Oliver is the stupidest to ever stupid and 2) he is that selfless.

We are led to believe Oliver is just about to tell Felicity the truth, but they are interrupted by Curtis because he insists on annoying me every single episode.

Watson officially arrests Oliver while he waits in the hospital for news on Quentin with the rest of the team.

He explains to everyone (primarily Felicity) he’s sorry he hasn’t explained what’s going on, but there just wasn’t any time. Umm… how about those few minutes you’ve been sitting in a waiting room with your wife, Oliver? Seems to me there was plenty of time to fess up.

Me: Yup, that’s right. Look away in shame you big, dumb, guilty oak tree!

Also me: My poor-honorable-yet-misguided-selfless-cupcake-in-perfectly-accentuated-leather-pants.

Oliver didn’t confess because he didn’t want to confess. Telling Felicity makes it real. Telling Felicity means Oliver has to face everything he has given up. He’s kept it together as he hunted down Diaz and said his goodbyes to Diggle, Quentin, Rene and Dinah. But now it’s just Oliver and Felicity in a room. He has to tell his wife goodbye and Oliver can’t keep it together anymore.

Felicity is ready. She has a plan and promises Oliver she will break him out of prison with Diggle’s help. Oliver explains he’s being transferred to a supermax. A breakout is impossible.

Source: oliverfelicitygifs

Felicity argues Oliver kept his identity secret because he wanted a life beyond the Green Arrow. This confession, this agreement, sacrifices that dream. It sacrifices a life he was so close to living. Oliver understands that.

He wanted to save the city more. He wanted to protect Felicity and William more. Without them there is no dream. There is no life. He would have nothing. Oliver would sacrifice anything to keep his wife and son safe, including his freedom.

Source: oliverfelicitygifs

Marc Guggenheim explained in an interview the reason why Oliver did not tell Felicity about the deal he made with Watson is because she would talk him out of it. I agree this is true. I cannot imagine any circumstances in which Felicity Smoak would agree to her husband spending life in prison. Can you?

Look at her reaction when she thought Oliver was only giving up the hood. Felicity almost had Oliver convinced then and she didn’t even know what they were really arguing about.

Felicity would have convinced Oliver to forego this lunacy because he doesn’t want to make this sacrifice. Oliver wants to go home, make dinner for his family, play a video game with his son, put William to bed, and then make love to his wife. Oliver doesn’t want to go to prison. He’s holding on by a tether. One slight push in the other direction and his will would break. It’s not difficult for Felicity to change Oliver’s mind because he wants her to change his mind.

That doesn’t make what Oliver did okay. He absolutely should have discussed his plan with Felicity prior to making a deal with Watson. Felicity would have argued passionately against it and Oliver would have either listened to her (likely) or did it anyway (less likely, but he can be a stubborn mule, so possible).

However, my husband doesn’t get a free pass to lie to me simply because he knows I am going to disagree. That’s not how marriage works. This is Felicity’s life too and Oliver made a monumental decision for her rather than with her. I simply understand why Oliver did it. Both things can be true at once.

I suppose my Buffy/Angel history is coloring my opinion.

Angel became human once, but chose to become a vampire again by the end of the episode. I’m still mad at him over it and it’s been 20 years.

Angel sacrificed the one thing he always wanted, a happy and human life with Buffy, to save her life and the lives of other.

Unfortunately, Angel didn’t discuss the decision with Buffy beforehand. He made a life altering choice for her rather than with her. Why? Because Angel knew Buffy would change his mind. Where Whedon succeeds is where Guggenheim fails. ANGEL TELLS BUFFY THAT.

“I couldn’t do it if I woke up with you one more morning.” (Angel, “I Will Remember You”)

See? It’s so simple.

One line explaining a character’s thinking rather than relying on an interview post airing to explain it. It doesn’t mean Buffy shouldn’t have a say, but it made Angel’s choices a lot clearer. At the very least, Oliver needed to explain why he didn’t discuss prison with her. Oliver needed to say he feared Felicity would change his mind. We needed a line like, “I couldn’t do it if I woke up with you one more morning.” Hell, just plagiarizes it.

Despite Stephen’s assertions this was the most emotional scene ever between Oliver and Felicity, I didn’t feel it.

Maybe it was the way the scene was shot. Felicity kneeling, rather than sitting across the table and holding Oliver’s hand, felt awkward. Stephen Amell tends to like the scenes where he’s allowed to emote more. The airplane scene in 3x20 is a great example of this. I thought Emily and Stephen’s acting was wonderful, but something took me out of it. My issue was probably with the dialogue – not with what was said, but what wasn’t.

My frustration with Marc and Wendy’s writing is there’s often things left unsaid. We are so close to the characters saying what needs to be said, but ultimately they fall short. I needed Oliver and Felicity to have their “I Will Remember You” fight, but the scene didn’t even come close.

Maybe they will pick up this fight/discussion when Arrow premieres in Season 7, but I believe the time for Felicity to voice her anger over Oliver’s decision was in 6x23. Arrow is constantly putting Olicity discussions on hold because of storyline carryover/cliffhanger shenanigans and it gets frustrating. It seems odd for Felicity to say six months later, “Hey remember that time you made a life altering decision for me, went to prison for life, and left me alone to raise our son? That sucked.” But that’s Arrow for you.

I don’t view this lie in the same lens as the lie about William.

I know I know, but I have reasons. Samantha gave Oliver an ultimatum and I wouldn’t have much respect for the man if he walked out on his child.

However, there was something selfish in Oliver’s lie to Felicity. He was able to spend time with his son and maintain his relationship with his fiancé without dealing with any consequences. The lie allowed Oliver to have his cake and eat it too.

There is no cake here. There isn’t even a can of frosting.

Source: olivergifs

Oliver is giving up everything and everyone he’s ever loved. The very definition of selfless is putting the needs and wishes of other’s above one’s own. The William lie exposed trust issues, Oliver’s guilt over Robert Queen’s death, his never ending need to self destruct, and a refusal to let Felicity all the way in. I don’t see any of that present now. This is good because it would unravel all the hard work Oliver did in Season 5, particularly 5x20.

This isn’t about trust, or being afraid of the darkest parts of himself, or self destruction, or refusing to let Felicity all the way in, or unworthiness. This decision is 100% about falling on the sword and protecting those he loves. Okay, let’s agree it’s 90% about falling on the sword and protecting others. The other 10% is Oliver “Everything Is Always My Fault Even Though It Really Isn’t” Queen. Guilt is absolutely playing a role in Oliver’s decision.

Oliver: I had to look at the way I’ve been doing things. It’s not working. I lost my city. I lost my team. There’s a penance for that.

What’s so sad is Oliver truly did nothing wrong. What happened with the city and the team was mostly out of his control. His team abandoned Oliver primarily because they all regressed to a toddler like state and threw a never ending tantrum. Oliver offered apologies long ago that were refused. The newbies, and Diggle, chose to leave and that choice was outside Oliver’s control.

But Oliver always looks inward rather than place the blame on others. He’s much more comfortable holding himself accountable than he is holding others to the same standard. This is why Oliver is more than a hero. He’s a martyr.

I do not believe Oliver is hitting another self destruct button on his life like when he slept with Sara and brought her on the Queen’s Gambit or when he lied to Felicity about William. The darker parts of Oliver’s soul are not driving his decision - his light is. Oliver’s protectiveness, self sacrificing, and honor led him here. He’s not running from who he is. Oliver is being the very best version of himself. This is what a hero looks like.

Source: arrowdaily

But that doesn’t make it any easier on Felicity.

Source: oliverfelicitygifs

I went back and reread some of my 5x20 review and landed on this:

If Felicity gave it time, if she let things continue the way they were, then she’d fall right back into his arms. It’s so easy to love him. It’s so easy to lose herself in him. Felicity couldn’t do that because she didn’t want to wake up twenty years later, with her marriage crumbling around her, because Oliver Queen abandoned her again to another lie or another choice that didn’t include her. Felicity doesn’t want to become a ghost in her own life.

But isn’t that exactly what happened? Didn’t Oliver abandon Felicity to another lie, another choice, that didn’t include her? Didn’t he leave Felicity on an island all over again?

Yes, that’s exactly what happened. I expect Felicity will express some anger towards Oliver when Season 7 premieres. She sure as hell is entitled to it.

However, it won’t be a deal breaker like it was in Season 4. Felicity isn’t walking away this time because she knows exactly what she walked into with this marriage. We already know Felicity’s stance because she told us or, that is, she told William in 6x11.

This is probably the most important monologue of Season 6. Even though Felicity is talking about Oliver the scene isn’t really about him. This scene is about how Felicity views loving Oliver, marriage, and making peace with the life they’ve chosen.

Felicity knows, without equivocation, what it means to be married to a hero. The fear of losing Oliver is what kept Felicity from marrying him.

She thought if they could just keep the status quo and not rock the boat then she would never have to face losing him again. And Felicity has discovered there’s many ways to lose Oliver Queen.

However, she remembered life is precious.

Felicity would rather live knowing everything can be taken from her in an instant, while holding on to Oliver, rather than live life without him.

But Felicity recognizes Oliver’s imperfections.

He’s made many mistakes that have torn their relationship apart. Oliver swore he would never lie to Felicity again and yet… here we are.

Felicity predicted this day in her break up with Oliver and Felicity Smoak is never wrong. Back then it was a knowledge Felicity couldn’t live with. It’s the reason she walked. She couldn’t be married to a man who at any point would leave her on an island. She couldn’t be married to a man who would exclude her from decisions. She couldn’t be married to a man who would lie to her.

Or can she?

The truth is we all have pieces of ourselves that are hardwired a certain way. We all have imperfections that creep up no matter how hard we work on them. Those imperfections rear their ugly heads in our relationships and, for better or worse, we argue again and again over them with our partners. There is no perfect human being. Love is about dealing with the bad in our partner as much as it is about loving our partner for all the good.

For all of Oliver’s faults, and there are many, what remains hardwired is his protectiveness. Oliver Queen loves deeply and there are no limits to the lengths he will go to protect those he loves. Oliver will make sure that he is the one to fall on the sword because there have been too many times he’s watched loved ones fall before him.

I joked in my 6x22 review it was almost as if Oliver and Felicity were competing over who gets to die for who. This is a competition Oliver will always win. He will lie, cheat, beg, borrow, steal and, yes, even kill to ensure Felicity’s safety. There is no line Oliver won’t cross.

Felicity danced with her darkness in Season 5, but she still didn’t come close to Oliver and that’s the way he’s determined to keep it. He will sacrifice his light to save hers. The only thing more unbearable than going to prison is Felicity going to prison. Oliver doesn’t fear his own death, but the deaths of those he loves. This is what will always drive him. There is no changing this. This is simply who Oliver Queen is.

What happened just before Oliver went to Agent Watson? Felicity almost suffocated from smoke inhalation. Oliver was carrying her lifeless body in his arms. She was prepared to die to stop Diaz and almost did. So, there are no limits to what Oliver had to do to make sure that didn’t happen again. And yes that includes lying.

Does it make lying okay? NO OF COURSE NOT.

I’m saying this is an imperfection in Oliver. He has a God complex. All heroes do.

Felicity told Oliver post coital in 5x20 if she could understand why he lied then maybe she could find her way back to him. Felicity understands why Oliver lied then and she understands why Oliver lied now.

He is imperfect, but it comes from a pure place. His choices are not always good, but his intentions are. Oliver Queen is an imperfect heart trying to love perfectly.

Source: oliverfelicitygifs

Felicity knew there would come a day where Oliver would sacrifice it all for the greater good because that’s what this life requires. That’s what it means to be married to a hero. Oliver Queen is selfless.

Source: oliverfelicitygifs

That selflessness means sacrifice for Felicity too. It means there will be times she is alone on an island. Felicity said I do anyway because an imperfect life with Oliver Queen is better than a life without him. Oliver’s selflessness is what Felicity loves most about her husband… and what she hates most.

Derek: I promised that I’d love you –

Meredith: Even when you hate me.

Derek: Even when I hate you. (Grey’s Anatomy, 8x03)

Felicity allows her husband to be who he is. She loves Oliver for who he is and in spite of who he is. She shares this man with the city he’s sworn to protect. Felicity understands Oliver will never entirely belong to her or the life they’ve built together as long as he’s Green Arrow. The mission will always come first.

But Felicity chose this life and Oliver Queen. She will go into witness protection, with her son, and face this island. She won’t be entirely alone. Felicity will have William and he will have her, but that’s a cold comfort to what lays before her – a life without Oliver.

Source: oliverfelicitygifs

This will be a long, dark, lonely and painful journey for Felicity. A journey she wasn’t given a say in. As angry as Felicity will be at Oliver, and she should let him have it, she will also understand why because she would do the same. Felicity would do anything to protect her family and city. Her sacrifices are equally selfless as Oliver’s. It’s why they are a perfect match. They are both heroes.

Source: gothsmoak and olivergifs

Quentin Lance, Black Siren and Oliver Queen

Quentin finally dies for his fake daughter due to his overwhelming guilt over his real daughter’s death. A few therapy visits would have helped immensely and would have been far less costly Q, but go off I guess.

Arrow failed to write any meaningful storylines post L*urel’s death for Quentin. I had hope when he dated Mama Smoak, but that went nowhere. He was reduced to a prop for Bl*ck S*ren this season and I’d rather see him gone than used like that.

Arrow keeps flip flopping back and forth between Bl*ck S*ren being Quentin’s daughter to Bl*ck S*ren not being Quentin’s daughter so much I have to take migraine pills.

Sadly, the flip flop is all they have with the character. This push/pull with the redemption arc is all Bl*ck S*ren has going for her. If they settle on evil then it renders Quentin’s sacrifice pointless. If they settle on good then the writers are back in their LL writing box and I firmly believe they’d rather eat their young than go back there.

So we flip flop. Sometimes Bl*ck S*ren is acknowledged as Quentin’s daughter. Sometimes the other characters go out of their way to point out Bl*ck S*ren is NOT his daughter. Sigh. I just don’t care anymore.

Let’s be clear that BS is an absolute waste of character space regardless.

Source: katie-mcgraths

The entire reason Felicity and William are going into witness protection is because she decided to use her Canary Cry against Diaz for the first time all season and at exactly the wrong moment.

Did BS really believe the fall off the roof would kill Diaz? It looked like she pushed him off a waterslide. I guess we can add stupid to the long list of unpleasant characteristics.

The only upside of that scene was seeing Oliver’s crazy angry eyes. I’m gonna abuse this gif.

Source: katie-mcgraths

He wanted to throw her off the building right along with Diaz. Have at it, big boy. God bless.

Before Quentin runs off to save Evil L*urel, he and Oliver reminisces about how long they’ve known each other and how far their relationship has come. Yup, we get it Arrow. Quentin is going to die. No need to hang a neon sign.

Quentin not so casually mentions his pacemaker to Oliver (Ha! Remember that 2x23-3x01 plot line that was never spoken of again until now?!), so Felicity is able to track Quentin’s and thereby zero in on Diaz. It’s one of the few times Quentin’s crazy actually made sense and proved useful. Way to out on a high note Captain.

Unfortunately, he’s a moron because he jumps in front of the bullet meant for Evil L*urel. He just stayed put and BS moved a little to the right we would have a mortal wound. A girl can dream.

Quentin’s willingness to put it all on the line for his fake daughter leads to a very nice goodbye scene with Oliver.

Source: @olivergifs

Both Stephen Amell and Paul Blackthorne brought their A game. Oliver tells Quentin he’s like a father to him and it made me feel all the things. Yup, I was a sobbing mess.

See? Oliver didn’t need to marry LL for this father/son relationship to develop between these two men.

That road began in 1x23 when Felicity defended The Hood to Quentin and he began to see the vigilante in a different light. Oliver and Quentin managed to carve out a relationship that had absolutely nothing to do with L*urel and it’s one of the series best arcs.

All Oliver Queen ever wanted was to earn Quentin’s forgiveness and respect. It was a long, difficult and painful road, but they eventually arrived at a place Oliver never dreamed possible.

Not only did Quentin forgive and respect Oliver, he loved him like a son.

It’s easy to forget Oliver Queen is an orphan. Quentin was Oliver’s foster father in more ways than one. Everything Oliver said to Quentin was true. One of the primary reasons Oliver is a good father to William is because he had Quentin Lance as an example. One of the reasons Oliver is the man he is today is because Quentin Lance was in his life.

So this is goodbye Quentin.

I believe it was time to let the character go, but I will miss his snarky yet on point remarks about the ridiculousness of Arrow and his sage wisdom.

I’m sorry Arrow didn’t give Paul Blackthorne more to do because he is an acting rock star who had the power to make me cry whenever he felt like it. We’ll miss you Paul, but I am excited to see what he does next.

Source: sirenfrost

One thing I am super ticked off about is Sara didn’t get a goodbye scene with her father, ya know, his ACTUAL DAUGHTER. The real one who is alive and standing in the hallway!!!!!

What was the point of having Caity Lotz on the show if she didn’t get a scene with Paul Blackthorne? I’m a big Sara/LL fan, but that little chat with BS in the hallway could happen anytime. Rene rated a goodbye scene with Lance, but nope, not his daughter. Honestly, this show makes absolutely no sense sometimes.

John Diggle

Oliver makes up a second Green Arrow suit (I want to know who makes those. I feel like this is an important character we are not meeting) and offers it to Diggle during his farewell tour. Diggle turns it down because their “disagreement was never about the uniform.”

This is true. It was about Diggle’s mid life crisis.

Diggle: I really thought I wanted this mantle. It means something. You’ve made it mean something. When our city looks at it – it gives them hope Oliver. It would be diminished if there was more than one.

So now Diggle doesn’t want to be Green Arrow? Or he wants to be Green Arrow if he’s the only one? My head hurts. Can we just move on from this ridiculous storyline?

Put on the Spartan suit Diggle and come home. As far as the Green Arrow giving hope to the city – we are talking about the same city prosecuting Oliver right? The sentiment is nice, but Diggle doesn’t exactly have his finger on the pulse on the will of the people.

Oliver became almost everything Diggle ever asked him to be. He was a husband, father, mayor and vigilante all at once. Oliver becoming the best version of himself caused Diggle to spiral. If John is not counseling Oliver on how to beat back his demons then where does that leave him? John Diggle’s mission was Oliver Queen, but the student became the teacher this season and John couldn’t handle it. Diggle lost his way when Oliver found his. He no longer knew what his purpose was. Diggle couldn’t see that even though Oliver may need him differently it doesn’t mean he needs John any less.

Hopefully, Oliver selflessly going to prison for everyone on the team and securing them immunity, will remind Diggle who Oliver Queen is. He is a man worthy of John’s respect, admiration, friendship and love. Prison will present a huge emotional challenge to Oliver and he’ll need Diggle’s guidance more than ever.

However, when Oliver emerges from the darkness of prison and finds his way back to the light of heroism, I hope John emerges from dark as well. Hopefully, John is able to move past his mid life crisis and find a purpose beyond Oliver Queen. Maybe Diggle will realize being Spartan is plenty of purpose. Maybe he’ll discover something new like Felicity did with her company. I want Diggle to find whatever he’s searching for because Oliver Queen casts a long shadow. Oliver’s light should illuminate the man Diggle helped mold rather than blind him. Diggle will see Oliver clearly again when he sees himself clearly again.

The Newbies

Does anyone understand why Oliver is apologizing so much? What in the sweet mother of freaking Moses did he do that requires this much apologizing?

Source:olivergifs

Dinah and Rene finally cough up a sort of apology and admit to admiring Oliver, but only after he apologies to them for what feels like the tenth time. Why did it take so long to get here? The simple answer is a 23 episode season and there couldn’t be “peace” until the final episode. But there is very little difference between Oliver’s apology in 6x10 to his apology now.

The newbies acted like entitled, whiny and violent brats for the better part of the season. Suddenly flipping the off switch to their petulant behavior and offering Oliver a couple measly compliments doesn’t get it done for me.

There wasn’t even a conversation with Curtis, which can be viewed one of two ways. 1) He’s not a blip on Oliver Queen’s radar screen and the character doesn’t rate a conversation or 2) The writers are blind to Curtis’ abhorrent behavior and think he has nothing to apologize for which is INSANITY.

These people do not deserve Oliver Queen’s selflessness, but he didn’t do it because they deserved it. Oliver did it because the newbies needed protection. It says far more about Oliver’s character than it does theirs.

My sincerest hope is they feel an extreme amount of guilt and realize what jackasses they are. Their finger pointing, fits, and fighting all contributed to Oliver ending up in jail. Rene’s betrayal is the primary reason the FBI zeroed in on Oliver in the first place. The newbies have a massive uphill climb to redemption and I remain skeptical the damage done to the characters can be repaired. Time will tell.

Stray Thoughts

Oliver giving up his happy life with Felicity and William, a life without the mask, just sets up his endgame even more (or what I think will be his endgame).

I’m hoping there’s more to this “deal” Oliver made with Watson. Maybe some undercover work like my buddy @callistawolf suggested.

Anatoly’s excuse for missing the raid is Big Belly Burger. That is all kinds of awesome. Never change Anatoly.

Longbow hunters mention! Hello Season 7 villains!

Quentin should list L*urel as “Evil L*urel” in his phone to help him tell the difference BECAUSE THERE IS A FREAKING DIFFERENCE.

“Or L*urel dies a second time.” YOU CAN ONLY DIE ONCE YOU TWATWAFFLES. THIS WOULD BE THE FIRST DEATH FOR THIS L*UREL BECAUSE SHE IS A DIFFERENT L*UREL.

“I gotta say they are a lot easier to operate when they aren’t being hacked.” I love this perfect cup of fruit salad.

Rene did make me cry with that goodbye call to his kid.

How stupid are you FBI agent? You don’t stand there and look at the fire as it comes blazing toward you. WE CALLED THESE GUYS FOR HELP? WHY????

“From what Oliver tells me she’s not even your daughter.” Don’t you love how on Oliver’s “I was wrong about everything” tour he sticks to “BS is not L*urel and she is evil.” Awesomesauce.

“Would you be taking this risk with our L*urel or was this the kind of risk that got her killed in the first place?” Quentin needs to rewatch Season 4 because it was time for LL to go.

Oliver stops Diaz with a few measly punches and IT SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED WEEKS AGO.

The FBI didn’t help very much. Oliver and Felicity figured out a way to get the list of all Diaz’s city officials. Watson brought some man power to the raid on the precinct, which Oliver could have gotten from the many superhero shows he’s launched. Furthermore, I thought the whole point to expanding the team was so that Oliver had help. So, why are these dingbat newbies around if they can’t take down a couple cops?

Sara & BS scene only bolstered my belief that BS belongs on Legends of Tomorrow.

Disclaimer: Any gifs on the blog are not mine. If you would like a gif removed from my reviews, please message me. 6x23 gifs credited.

I have a couple polls up that I would love your feedback on! Please check them out and VOTE!

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solitaire-dreams · 5 years

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11 in Episode Number, Not Quality: A Promised Neverland/Kaguya Sama Ramble

Hey, I didn't plan on writing this post, I just decided to make on as a “spur of the moment” thing after seeing Kaguya-sama's latest episode (episode 11). This season, I personally been watching 3 anime: Promised Neverland (which lead me to read the manga and become a big fan), Kaguya-sama: Love is War, and Mob Psycho 100 Season 2. I haven't been watching Mob Psycho because I want to save the last few episodes to binge watch, so the only episode 11s—or the last episodes before the finales of Winter 2019 12 episode anime—were TPN's and Kaguya-sama's. I've enjoyed both shows fairly well, but I couldn't help but notice these installments fell...flat.

Which was really strange considering the episodes before these were pretty solid, and they aired some extremely great episodes recently. So, I just wanted to ramble about my thoughts and see if I could figure out the cause behind the horror of mediocrity.

I apologize if this post seems less organized then most of my others. I already have like a good 10 other topics I could post about but I'm doing this. And I still haven't done any work today...

Before I fall too deep into the well of questioning and regretting every single life choice I made, let's discuss the episodes.

BEWARE: SPOILERS FOR THE CONTENT OF THE FIRST SEASONS

To best understand the potential of the shows, I would like to discuss the climaxes of the early/mid season plot conflict. For Kaguya-sama, this was episode 9 (the episode that actually convinced me to binge read the manga); and TPN reached it earlier in episode 8.

These climax episodes were both done really well and grabbed the attention of the viewer.

Kaguya-sama episode 9 adapted manga chapters 33-35 (Kaguya Wants to Offer; Chika Fujiwara Wants to Visit; and Regarding Kaguya Shinomiya, Part 1). This episode marked a change in the series, not just through its ending but on how the three parts of the episode were connected. The series adapts an average of 3 manga chapters per episode where each chapter is a different skit/situation and then tended to be isolated from one another. When the series began, it did not matter much which order a person viewed it in, but this episode marked a turning point.

All three skits in the episode are actually connected with one another and tell a narrative that expands across the 22 minute run. Kaguya Wants to Offer sets up Kaguya getting soaked from the President riding his bike through a puddle and getting sick. Chika Fujiwara Wants to Visit is where it is determined the President will visit Kaguya to deliver her homework; originally desiring to go because Chika says she is really cute when she is sick, however the President begins to realize that him biking home may have gotten Kaguya sick. Finally, Regarding Kaguya Shinomiya, Part 1 brings these plot threads together by having the actual visit play out and the President (attempting) to confront a Bakaguya if she was waiting for him when she got splashed.

This was the first time a narrative was intertwined so neatly in a single episode, so it certainly increased the quality by giving viewers their comedy and romance, but also with a sense of plot progression. Although, if you have watched the episode, you probably know I haven't talked about the big climax yet; which undoubtedly provided the cherry on top for the episode.

[I'd break it down, but just go quickly watch the scene for yourself using this link (www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7eVjTp-DTg). It's way funnier than I could ever explain it.]

Sure, we have Kaguya finally admit some of her vulnerabilities to the President, but the big thing that got people screaming was the President getting dragged in with Kaguya. Nothing actually happens, but it is safe to say that compared to the previous episodes where the endings were ones like the President trying to say Kaguya's nails were cute. This ending blows all of them out of the water.

In fact, the reason I started to read the manga is because I assumed things would only progress faster from there.

SPOILER ALERT: They haven't really.

Regardless, with a diverse pool of comedy that would allow many jokes to land, clever strategies, relationship development, plot progression, and a spicy ending to leave viewers on; this episode would leave Kaguya-sama lingering in viewers minds for all the right reasons.

On a completely different side of how to have a good climatic-before-the-final-conflict-of-the-season episode lies Promised Neverland episode 8, which adapts chapters 23-25 of its manga source material.

The episode doesn't do anything revolutionary with it's pacing—though the three episode adaption rate is better than some—but one of the two key points of the episode was its snowball effect. Throughout the episode runtime, from the opening scene to the final one, the impact of the scenes all bleed into one another; growing the snowball into one that knocks the viewer out by the standard end of episode cliffhanger.

The other was its consistent tone of “Everything is going to sh*t and all our main characters are fricked.”

The deeper into the episode we go, the farther things get out of hand and the plan the trio has come up with shatters before their eyes. The episode starts off with a letter delivered from Isabella stating Krone is being transferred to Plant 4 to become the Mom there. However, Krone is suspicious of this occurrence because it is all too convenient (her suspicion is elaborated on better in the manga). It turns out that her gut feeling was correct, because one she arrives at the gate Krone is killed by a demon to the background images of her sympathy drawing backstory.

So, major character death, that's pretty bad. Don't think they can top that so where does the episode go from here...wait...Isabella told Ray about Krone. And he's freaking out! Oh crap, and now Isabella is letting him go while admitting she knows he was a traitor! “Control directly.” Those words don't bode well, especially not during an inspection. Oh snap, it's a confrontation. This is bad, but we've already had our daily dose of things going wrong, so nothing too bad will... [Emma's leg snaps like a Kit-Kat]. AHH! Okay, that's the really bad climatic ending for the end of the episode and the new challenge the trio has to deal with. At least things won't get... “Congratulations, Norman. Your shipping date is set.”

We. Are. Screwed.

That is a rough idea of how things went down this episode, and the domino effect of the trio having all their plans toppled over add the sense of dread and tension that the series needs to hook viewers for their final episodes. Plus, Isabella pulling the strings now builds her up as a more intimidating opponent, with glances of her mental and physical capabilities; and finally receiving her standard antagonist monologue to reveal her stance on the cattle children.

All in all, the episode provides intense moments and gives some payoff for the loose threads the plan had left dangling, in a package baits the viewer in for the rest of the season run.

What both these episodes shared in common was that it provided the biggest climaxes witnessed in the series thus far, and changing what we knew about the series and characters going forward; with a presentation that avoids the pacing and fluidity issues and delivers on the shows core genres.

TBC

#yakusoku no neverland #ynn #the promised neverland #tpn #kaguya-sama wa kokurasetai #original #analysis #ramble

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sieben9 · 6 years

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“siege perilous” impressions

{Quick request to anyone reading: I’m watching OUaT for the first time, and I want to avoid spoilers. So, if you want to discuss something spoilery, I’d be grateful if you could start a new post for that. Thank you!}

Alright, before I can get into anything else...

I have great concerns for this man's safety. Belle, please go and pick up your husband, because he is stuck in a cave with an unfriendly Dark One and I think he'd like a ride home.

...well, I'm sure he'll be fine.

Ahem.

More under the cut.

In other ""news""": Arthur is not a good guy. Wow. What a shocker. Never would have guessed. I cannot contain my utter disbelief about this unexpected turn of events. ...seriously, I don't blame the actor, but that douchecanoe-vibe was so strong that it should have had its own episode billing.

That said, apart from the fact that it was about as unexpected as the average sunrise, I really liked the way the reveal was handled. I absolutely believed that Grif had committed the theft on his own accord, because he was sick and tired of being Arthur's squire. I mean, if I can tell the guy's a douche after a whole five minutes, I doubt the fact has escaped his knights. And the bit with the poison? ::shudder:: Yeah, let's say it was very effective in showing just what kind of bad guy Arthur is going to be.

Oh, and I was surprised that Guinevere was involved in the whole thing. Still seems weird to me, especially since the end of her relationship with Lancelot isn't explained at all. I'm quietly hoping for "secret double agent", because it would be awesome, but we'll see.

In happier news, Lancelot is actually back. As in, not just in a flashback!

::excited waving:: missed ya, buddy!

I didn't actually dislike this episode, but of the season so far, it is my least favourite, simply because apart from the end, it just wasn't very gripping. Sure, we had soulless lake knights and magic toadstools, and a pretty neat little mystery plot in the present-day, but nothing really stood out. Like I said, not a bad episode, it just suffers in its company.

did adore the cup trick, though. sneaky!david is someone i'd like to see more often

The two standout-moments were 1) the aforementioned poisoning in the sheriff's station, and 2) every time Dark One!Emma interacts with the Rumple in her head. I admit, I wasn't sure about this dynamic, but it's grown on me since the first episode and it's great. The worse parts of their natures play off of each other just as well as the more "normal" ones and it is fascinating to watch.

Also, Emma swinging for the annoying sparklelizard in her head the stone with a dwarf pickaxe was just generally a highlight of the episode.

listen, i love the guy, but if i had to deal with that 24/7 with not even a chance of sleep, you can bet i'd hit him with something pointy, too

Oh, and while I'm on the topic of Emma: I was rather surprised about her conversation with Hook on the ship. Not by her, because... yeah, she's behaving pretty much the way I'd expect of a newly "minted" Dark One, but by Hook, who actually admitted that he was the asshole in that confrontation with spinner!Rumple all the way back. Just... that's a level of self-awareness I wouldn't have credited him.

also, please put the coat back on, emma. that dress is worse

It's also weirdly fascinating to see how much of her behaviour reminds me of Rumple. With "lying to your loved ones in very specific ways" being just the tip of the iceberg. It's almost like carrying around a curse of darkness-made-material with you messes up your moral compass or something. I also wonder how much of this was her trying to get the sabre, and how much was her genuinely reaching out to Hook and looking for some way to hold on to normality. Because I don't think it was just the one or the other.

The Robin/Regina/Zelena subplot was messy and painful and just generally unpleasant, and I hope that baby doesn't get burdened with too much of the family bullshit, is all I'm saying. Moving on.

As for the actual main plot... well, like I said, not my favourite, but not terrible. I did like how the flashback portion highlighted David's competence as a tactician and warrior, while the present-day showed how he adapted that into the modern world, and how he can supplement his fighting prowess with subterfuge. It's just a really neat character study, even if it's not exactly new material.

...i don't know if i want him to button up his shirt, but he probably should

While I do like the cliffhanger a whole bunch, I have to say that I’m more than a little disappointed that Belle played so small a role in waking up Rumple. Yes, I know, Emma was supposed to kidnap him, but couldn’t she have done that afterwards? It’s not like anyone will think it wasn’t her, so why not let them have a few seconds together before things go downhill again? Why not have Belle save Rumple? ::annyoed muttering::

So, yeah, that was that. To close out, have a little screenshot collection of the last 4 minutes or so, because for some reason I have a disproportionally large number of those. ...look, I never claimed to be unbiased, did I?

he. will. be. fine.

(Also: there’s goes my absolute favourite crack theory that the apprentice took out Rumple’s memories of being the Dark One along with the curse itself, so that he’d walk around with no powers, a life he doesn’t recognise, and no idea what happened in the last 200-odd years. It would have been great. But alas... probably too much on top of the usual amnesia plots, I guess.)

#ouat #once upon a time #siege perilous #sieben watches ouat #sieben talks #ouat writing critical #mostly some griping near the end #nothing big

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bushybeardedbear · 6 years

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So Season 7 of Voltron Legendary Defender... Oh Boy...

I had so much spoiled before watching it. Thanks email alerts. So after seeing so much spoiled already, I started lurking in Tumblr again. By the time I’d actually got round to watching the season I felt like I’d already watched most of it and was primed with all the various thoughts and opinions people were sharing online. In the days beforehand I was up and down like a yoyo on a rollercoaster. Hopeful one day, thinking it’s not even worth watching the next. Hovering my finger over “delete” on both this blog and my fics at points... Even contemplating that right now if I’m honest. Maybe I should have been Bushy Bearded Drama-Llama?

In any case, having finally sat down with rock bottom, possibly even sub zero expectations and watched, here are my thoughts now season seven is over... Well... In short, I think it suffers a lot from being so rushed. And before you say it, no, going in with low expectations wasn’t a self fulfilling prophecy. Psychologically speaking the opposite is true. If we go into something with low expectations, we tend to have a better opinion overall than we would have if we went in with sky high expectations. And whilst it may seem like I hated it so far...? Well, no. I didn’t hate it. There were some parts that didn’t gel with me, but to say I hated it would be an insult to everyone involved. But that doesn’t make it free from criticism. If you care what this bear’s about to growl about, strap in, it’s not a short one. Not kidding. This is long. But I guess I needed to get my feelings down and hopefully have someone patient enough to read it and see that I’m not completely insane. And, thought I shouldn’t have to say this... None of this comes from a place of hate. No, I don’t think regardless of how you feel about this season that hatred to the creators is ever acceptable. If you feel you must, then voice your grievances calmly, rationally, but the second you resort to hate you have already lost. Though what I would suggest is to just accept this season as it is and move on. Moving on is partly why I’m compelled to write this post. Maybe if you are going to read this monster, bring some caramel to counteract the salt...

The Season Itself

So within the first episode, I’m already full of mixed emotions. Yes, the Plance moment was great. Yes, the dynamic between Hunk and Romelle was cool. Coran was great, supportive Crolia, the none too subtle dig at Prometheus as Lance and Pidge ran from the grass... (Don’t think we didn’t spot that you writer rascals! Run at an angle!) I remain in Sheith Limbo trying to reconcile they met when Keith was literally a child and relationships can grow and develop with a worried dash of will people misinterpret this as grooming if they got together...? But a lot of it was by the by. Honey I Shrunk The Paladins was a great fun start to the series interspersed with great emotional character building for Shiro and Keith. It fleshed them both out in ways I wish we’d seen sooner and as others have pointed out drastically reframes a lot of the protective over Shiro moments in the context of his degenerative disease. And yet, it doesn’t make Shiro a victim, nor Keith a white knight, it keeps them both flawed yet strong heroes. Tiny cute paladins, Lance’s cargo pilot reference. As always the design of the planets is gorgeous. Lance sharpshooting. The attention to detail with little things like in scale surface tension! I can’t overstate how much time, effort and thought has gone into this! The narrative parallels of the speeder bikes. Honestly, there is SO much to unpack in just one episode that could easily be overlooked as silly and/or filler. But it’s so much. Keith’s growth is such fun to watch, confirmation of certain fan theories is great yet so sad at the same time...

It allowed Romelle to actually have a character that wasn’t just “Lotor Plot Delivery Service” and her interactions with Hunk were pretty adorable. “Are all ancient Alteans like this?” Was a great subtle piece of world building as well. And yeah, pretty sure I saw @hailqiqi mention this already, but Hunk and Romelle are so the audience surrogates. The one and only thing that bugged me, given the fact that so much of Voltron has had to be rushed or cut for time... Did we really need the flashbacks in this episode shown twice back in the quantum abyss episode...? Couldn’t that time in the QA been used for something else...? But that’s a very minor gripe. Overall, I massively enjoyed this episode but I’m still nervous given the priming from the fandom going forward... But that last hug? Saving Shiro with his voice / quintessence maybe?

The Road home starts off well, though the idea that still nobody knows or comments on Katie’s name being such did disappoint me a little... The space road trip starting up was so cute, even if Lance’s logic of passengers is lost on me...aside from maybe cutting Pidge some slack. Let me Headcanon that little touch of unconscious favouritism, yeah? Though his taking charge in the battle here, being the right hand man, was really nice to see here. From the audience perspective, he may be stating the obvious, but in canon, that’s what we call battlefield awareness. Imagine season 1 Lance doing this? Nah. Buthe’s had no growth, so people say... “It’s super dangerous, it’s perfect!” Wonderful! And Keith’s leadership! Great stuff. (Almost) Everyone getting a chance to shine in the cave combat was also awesome. Full on frenetic energy, a little flourish of comedy from time to time, great characterisation, calm before the storm leading to a sudden yet satisfying cliffhanger? Full on Voltron to a T.

"I will help you look for that passage.” Is a cute Plance moment that others are overlooking I feel. Coran’s memoirs are something I would personally read the hell out of. I don’t know about the rest of you. But seeing the entire saga retold through Coran’s eyes...? I’d love to see it. I’m also kinda happy to know how “Acxa” is pronounced! The slow reveal of the time skip up until the reveal at the end is nice, though honestly not as mysterious as the show seemed to think it was. Maybe it was just that I got spoiled? Evil power couple were great as well and it was nice to see the ice pop mystery solved. A return of Altean shapeshifting was nice to see. “Sweet on that one with the flippity hair” and “your favourite paladin” “never wanted to kill him” “true love”? Seems a little out of left field. Unexpected? Maybe not, just rushed? Axca and Keith seemed a little sudden. To me felt like they just needed to pair a spare and keep Kieth and Allura apart. Which, I get into later. Keith being able to transport his bayard seems...fine...? Why are people complaining about this? Paladins summon their bayarads all the time. He just did it from a few extra feet...? I do wish Coran had a chance to play to his strengths though. Aside from his courage. He has brains and feels like he needs to use them more or be written in scenarios where he can use them. The three year time skip, when revealed, seems like it was just a convenient way to avoid the immediate aftermath of Lotor losing the throne. It works in that regard I suppose. But by the end of this episode I wasn’t really sold on it.

Nice new haircut though Axca. Really sells the redeemed rebel former baddie archetype. And thank goodness for your exposition. Tell don’t show, am I right? One of the ways we can see the show was rushed I feel. Though again, maybe just being picky...

The Game Show Episode. I was expecting this later in the season honestly. It was good for comic relief I guess, so it served it’s purpose. Seeing the first family of the Galra along for some comedy was great if only for Neil Kaplan having such fun. But it felt like it was missing something. I can’t quite put my finger on what. It was nice to get insight into how the Paladins feel about each other but again, it felt like a way to get those ideas and characterisations out into the open without having to, y’know, show them in natural narrative progression. It’s probably the weakest of the comedy episodes so far and it felt a little like it was all just happening until it eventually stopped. It didn’t feel like the little hints of “tv flickering” implying something artificial were necessary. In fact, as soon as I saw the concept I thought “so, all powerful being captures them for reasons?” and that’s pretty much what we got. It was...ok. Just ok. And y’know what...? After seven seasons, maybe we do need to drop the “Lance is the dumb one” joke? I mean, yes, he’s not as smart as the rest of the team. No doubt. But if he’d been given a chance to shine on his own terms, with his own abilities, if they’d subverted the goofball archetype rather than doubling down on it I think this would have made for a more interesting episode. Just because it’s comedy doesn’t mean it doesn’t have to be compelling. The Voltron Show for instance literally dealt with Coran pushing himself so hard to help the Paladins that he was willing to resort to what was essentially a mind altering drug and forcing himself to kick the habit. Where was the actual plot in this episode? Funny moments need a framework and this kinda lacked a framework in my opinion.

Really episode 5? A Kobayashi Maru scenario...? Indeed, running a simulation when the lions are running on fumes...? Ok, you do you I guess... Little self referential humour from Coran was nice, but a little on the nose. And honestly, I think these episodes are starting to feel like, I dunno, filler material? Like, nothing is really being furthered in terms of the massive plots they still need to deal with. Did the journey back to Earth really need to take so many episodes, or could these have been more efficiently used to deal with countless plot threads that remain unresolved...? It’s a strange thing to be feeling at this stage, but maybe there’s more to come...? And...it felt like another clip show filling out the backstory of the three years of Voltron being missing... Maybe it’s just me, but if you have written yourself into a scenario where the only way out is repeated massive exposition dumps... Maybe you need to rethink your story just a touch...? The fact it was also told from an unreliable narrator also means it wasn’t just exposition...it was literally pointless exposition that was likely mostly a combination of lies and half truths. And I’m sorry but, were people really clamouring for a rematch between Keith and “That One Nameless Druid...?” Really? You won’t hear me denying it was cool fight scene, yes indeed, but the set up wasn’t exactly great in my opinion. As for how Keith managed to win? Ok, sure, I guess summoning the Bayard from a few feet was a build up to something else, something even more special that may or may not get resolved this season. I’m writing these as I go. Or will it be one more plot point that will need to be resolved in the next season with limited time and episodes to do so? Keith and Krolia’s goodbye was sad. I do hope for a reunion, but honestly don’t expect it. I imagine she’ll die off screen for shock value. Sadly, I already know the fate of Altean colony and why Haggar has forsaken her druids, so, no real hook for me there.

So the halfish way point. Lost in space, desperately trying to force plance out of every interaction... And ultimately, just getting bored. I mean, yes, I get that they need to reconnect with each other... But there are countless ways it could have been resolved other than this. It didn’t really feel like there was need for this particular journey into the darkest cave. It also feels a little forced that after saving countless realities by working together, they now all get forced apart...? Hunk saving the day, saving the team, great. Really wonderful stuff. He’s been overlooked for so long. But the idea that they needed to become friends again...? To reconnect...again...? I don’t know that it felt necessary. If after all these years, literal years together there isn’t already a profound connection...? I just can’t really buy that. And again, it felt like a filler episode. And Hunk Priming the audience for the concept of passing the torch? Yeah, that didn’t go unseen. Maybe it’s just me, but after six episodes where it was already established that they can travel at crazy speeds to be told “yeah no, it’s not that the lions were drained, it’s just these people who’ve literally saved the universe together aren’t quite best friends enough...”? That just feels silly. And yes, I know “silly” is relative when we’re talking about a powerful group of robot magical cat things that are powered by love and freindship. BUT what I feel was silly was the idea that their friendship was strained at all. It felt as though the season wanted there to be this divide between them but...the comedy episode just a little while ago established they’re all willing to sacrifice themselves for each other....

That’s just....fundamentally contradictory. Are you guys barely even connected as friends or are you willing to die for each other? You can’t be both... It makes the whole “struggle” of getting back to Earth feel false because it’s predicated on the assumption that they’re a fractured team this episode yet there’s been literally no sign of that until now... Still, as always, the visuals were cool. The Space Angler Fish is a great concept. The music was great. The voice acting was on point. Everything was so SO good except...the writing... The writing in this particular episode in the context of everything preceding it just felt... Bad. Rushed. Forced. Contradictory. Drama for the sake of drama. Artificial... What’s going on guys...?

So a multiparter? Let’s see. Ok. Seeing how awesome Sam Holt is, fine. Seeing him reunite with Colleen. Also fine and dandy and cool. And it tugged at the heart strings... But do we really need him to literally tell us everything we already know in a power point presentation...? The audience doesn’t need to be caught up on the events.We don’t need a massive chunk of the episode’s run time devoted to playing catch up. We have the time for this, but apparently - according to the spoilers - we don’t have time to establish that Allura is getting over Lotor and Falling for Lance...? Not even a throw away line, or a glance, or a suggestion of that fact that needs establishing after her season six reaction to the mice... But we do have time for the events of the show to be repeated to us...? What!? I am literally bewildered at this choice. Flabbergasted. Gobsmacked.

The worst thing about this so far, is that under all the EXPOSITION there’s a great story that wants too be told. I think we’re only seeing fragments of that story. Sam and Coleen struggling to find their children again and fighting against political nonsense. But real talk... This was all stuff that could have done just fine implied. The Paladins arrive on Earth, they see the new ships piloted by their inevitable replacements in the new series they seem to want to make, Lance asks, “What are those?” Sam responds, “A fusion of Galra, Altean and Olkari tech. The culmination of months of Earth’s greatest minds working together. It was a struggle, but we got them made in the end...” BOOM. Done. Efficient use of what is obviously painfully limited time. Did we NEED the power point, the montages, the backdoor pilot for the new team...? Did we - good as they were - even need the Holt Family suffering...? Couldn’t Coleen’s transmission to everyone on Earth have been enough to get the point across that they’re awesome...? In my opinion, we didn’t need this. Not like this at least. It could have been done so much more efficiently, so much less padding. But we did get to see snippets of the messages back home. That was nice. But it doesn’t change the fact that the majority of the first episode felt really... Unnecessary. But that’s just how I feel after part one... So, the first half of the second episode? Superb. Can’t fault it, good heroic stuff, Sam stepping up. A realistic invasion of Earth, ie, we lose that’s rare to see in most media. Can’t fault it. Then the second half kicks in. The four archetypes we’ve been barely introduced to, go on a mission that narratively speaking is utterly unnecessary. I know that the Atlas gets built thanks to spoilers. But even if I didn’t, what function does this part serve? We may not be able to build a thing. Later on, that thing will be built. Do we need to into the minutiae of how the supplies were gathered...? Well, I suppose we do. But not because of how it serves the overall plot of Voltron Legendary Defender, but how it sells these new kids to us for the new series they obviously assume they’re making. But if it wasn’t for that?

Then it defaults to more exposition... More information that could have been relayed to the audience in much more engaging ways.

This could have been, rather than a messy and kinda redundant two part episode with occasional brilliance, it could have been trimmed down to a truly brilliant single part. I’m not invested in these new characters. Let me get there or not when I see them in their own show. And if they’re literally just there as homage to the sequel series from the 80′s...then they don’t need this much focus. The actual paladins and their interpersonal dynamics do. Rift creatures do. Lotor’s fate does. Why are we wasting the limited time that remains on this unless it’s a back door pilot? Why should the current series suffer just to promote the next one...? It’s just exhausting and disappointing. By the end I was agreeing with Keith. What are we waiting for...? The continuation of the series we came here for. What kept us waiting was either an advert for the next series or a massive misstep in pacing.

And now, finally back to the real story and after two episodes establishing that Earth is screwed over, Earth can barely contact other parts of itself, Earth is on the brink of collapse, Earth is holding on by a thread... In the first scene we have Earth, somehow, triangulating a jamming signal into the outer edges of the solar system and remaining undetected as they do so...? Even assuming they are “just” sending commands to satellites and installations elsewhere in the solar system, The Galra would detect that command signal. And given how much we’ve had it stated, overstated, hammered home that Earth is in such bad shape...that feels like a real ass pull.

I am being nitpicky, yes, but this is the second time this has happened on such a large and frankly contradictory scale. So I’m calling it out again. First The Paladins are willing to die for each other, or at least be trapped for eternity, then they are barely friends. Then, Earth can barely contact it’s own countries, but sending an undetectable command signal to at least three satellites in the solar system is fine...? Why not just have Voltron get the signal sooner!? Why not have Pidge send a jamming signal...?

And in terms of introductions to the new team? What we got after the drone attack? Perfect. It didn’t need to be an entire episode of establishing them because it isn’t their story. But the Paladins meeting their families? The reconciliation with Iverson? Shiro grieving for Adam. Where was all this before now? Why hasn’t our focus been where it belongs. On the Paladins? Now, I don’t really want to get into the whole debate about unfair representation of LGBT characters. I can see both sides of the argument as being valid. Shiro remains a strong canonically gay character even if the man he once loved is gone. Adam, though dead, is not immune to tragedy just for being gay. What we did see though was a man openly crying for his lost love. There’s plenty to be critical of the series for. But personally, I don’t feel the treatment of Adam and Shiro is “queerbaiting” so much as it is a couple unfairly separated by the horrors of war. A canonically and unambiguously gay couple. That’s representation. Just it may not be precisely what everyone wanted. But don’t let me stop you writing out impassioned critiques, don’t let me stop you airing and venting your grievances. I’m doing that right now, aren’t I? Just please please please don’t send any more hatred at the creators...

Now, this whole section of the Altean enhanced tech...? Why is this being reiterated again? This could stand on it’s own as an introduction to the concept of Earth meets Alien tech. Why are we being shown the same things twice, first in the two parter in depth and again now...? Why do this when there is so much else that needs addressing in ever dwindling episodes...? Though aside from that, Hunk and Keith connecting is great. Hunk finally having a dedicated arc to save his family also great. Hunk being the outsider to the Garrison Trio dynamic and spending time with Keith again? Also great, wonderful even. So where was all this previously...? But even this, even this has to be if not overshadowed then frankly hijacked by the new characters they want to sell to us. It’s getting tiresome. I don’t want Hunk’s moments overshadowed, his spotlight taken... But damn, if he doesn’t still stand proud regardless. This is the Voltron I’ve been missing for most of the season.

I was going to post the image of him crying, but couldn’t do it... So here, Happier Hunk.

Don’t know how I feel about Hover Hand. I get they’re setting it up for the final conflict with Sendak, so that Shiro will be his literal and visual antithesis...but...hover hand looks kinda goofy. And being the counterpoint to your nemesis doesn’t need to be so literal all the time. And again, the new characters forcing their way into the story with a half baked excuse to sell you them. I think from now on I’m just going to comment when Team Replacements don’t force themselves in...Even the fact one of them was Veronica felt a little frustrating, because Lance’s family dynamic with her is overshadowed in my opinion by her being part of the new forced team of replacements. Allura giving up her crystal tiara for Shiro was a nice moment.

Okay, now imagine the whole infiltration section without Team Replacements. Just the Paladins, doing their thing. Let’s assume their resident tech genius has a way to stop the sentry drones sending out distress calls.

What did they contribute other than a few quips? Are we really expected to believe our paladins, the protagonists of the story need these people...? No. It was just written that way to force the new guys in. What we need to wonder is why and the answer is most likely... Back Door Pilot. Over multiple episodes. That undermined the series I was already watching. And finally, despite it being the supposed new canon ship in town, we see our first indication that Lance and Allura might be interested. Or do we? No, we just see Lance checking her out and being teased. Then immediately afterwards we see Pidge implementing Lance style silliness and even a Lance style distraction with her own spin on it. But no, let’s focus on the blushing and the eyeballing. I’m not salty. I’m dead sea levels of salty. But I’ll put that aside for now... And roll my eyes at the Wilhelm scream... Ok, so I was all ready to be excited about the plan, but then the super forced Allurance twin blush happened. Was it...was it really supposed to hit home when there was no build up to it this season...? Or was checking her out through the sniper sights enough to replace any hint of them coming closer or Allura setting aside Lotor...? Sure, she’s bound to do it in time, but all I’d want is something to suggest as much on screen. Just a throw away line or two... Is that so much? Cut a scene or two with the Replacements and give us more Paladins.

As the paladins all fly to their thematically and elementally appropriate battlegrounds, I want to agree with some posts I’ve seen arguing that Pidge doesn’t just look concerned, or in the zone as the other paladins do. For at least one shot she looks sad. Troubled. Maybe I’m reaching. Probably reaching. Almost certainly reaching given the almost immediate Allura calling to Lance moment... The sequence of connecting with the lions though? And Lance protecting Veronica? Pretty much resigned to die before being saved by red...? Yeah, heavy and cool stuff.

But Admiral Asshole somehow getting in touch with Sendak? Betraying the entire planet? No. Just no. She can be a thorn in their side and an antagonist without being so utterly stupid. At this point she’s gone from concerned alternative view but essentially a good person trying to save the planet in her own way, to being pantomime levels of stupid. What a daft choice. What a needless choice. You know what would have worked better...? Sendak baiting the Paladins. It would play into his military genius archetype. He didn’t need intel from Admiral Asshole if the entire purpose of the planet killers was just bait for the paladins... We didn’t need admiral asshole to make a faustian pact with the people responsible for planetary genocide. Some of the choices this season just bewilder me.

Well, at least no combining sequence before the Big Zapper Cannons hit. That’s something. I guess they can occasionally cut unnecessary scenes for time.

The Paladins are asleep and it’s time for the replacement team to take centre stage again. Even with their own repeated launch sequence animation. Guess they can waste time after all. Admiral Asshole...

...yeah. Who would have thought that the mass murdering alien wasn’t to be trusted...? Except anyone written with an ounce of sense. I won’t deny, I completely and utterly lost interest during the Team Replacements moments. If you like them? Great. They were kinda written to be made valid off the back of the existing series so, I guess it worked for some, just not for me. I might even have been more keen on them myself ha they been secondary characters. But this season, they have so far felt like the focus. Yet also, they felt so undeveloped that they were like filler. They took up far too much focus that should have been on the Paladins. The characters I’ve been watching for six previous seasons. The characters I’m invested in. Even the launch of the Atlas - is it supposed to be a reference to The Gotengo in ship mode? - being powered by the Castle Crystal felt like a passing of the torch moment. There’s still a season left guys, can we wait until after this series ends maybe...?

Can we do The Paladins justice in their own series and make them the focus in their own series? Can we do the replacement team justice by making them the focus of their own series...? No? We’re going to try to do both at once and ultimately make both the worse off for it? Great, ok. Seems like a plan... SIGH

Soul-riding the lions? Now that’s a cool extension of the lore. That’s a cool new addition. That’s building more upon and actually watching Voltron again. Have I mentioned that it sometimes feels like I’m not watching Voltron any longer this season? Because, yeah, that. But during the parts where I was watching Voltron, it was great. Shame I couldn’t care more about Admiral Asshole’s sacrifice. They went beyond the pale with her outright betraying Earth. Noble sacrifice for an act of stupidity was just...meh. Didn’t feel like she’d be any additional motivation for the Paladins that earth already was.

But damn does Shiro look good as the captain of a starship. Kudos where it’s due. The artists did a damn good job.

So, the final episodes... Great set up for a final confrontation. Yet within the first half of the first episode. Oh no. Voltron has been pinned. Oh no. The Atlas can’t do stuff. What will we do? Oh gosh I hope the new team of plucky do-gooders can save the day. Whatever would we do without them? I hope we can buy their toys soon. Stop it. Why won’t they just stop it...? Stop making them such a major focus. This isn’t their show...or yeah, maybe it is now. Maybe the Paladins are the side characters now? Sometimes it feels that way. They spent a lot of time out of commission, damaged, pinned or otherwise unable to act except in montages.

“Lance, I’m coming to help!” Yes, because Allura is just there to support and look shyly away from lion glances. Sigh. Can we have Allura who didn’t need to be defined by a love interest back please?

Then again, Shiro had some time to shine which was really appreciated. The Sendak/Shiro fight was...ok? I mean, it had a lot to live up to after the Kuron / Keith fight. And it just fell short in my opinion. And much as Keith saving Shiro is kinda the default... Given how they were building Shiro up to be the anti-Sendak, it felt like the final blow was robbed from Shiro just a little.

Then of course, we get The New Robeast. More powerful than anything they’ve dealt with before and utterly unannounced. Ok. Well at least they didn’t just go to sleep for a bit and let the new guys do everything. But they still found a way to force them in even now. Wouldn’t have shocked me at this point though if the new group had just beaten the robeast. The twin swords are cool, but sadly a Plance moment it wasn’t. Maybe it would have been in old Voltron. Formed by a stronger bond between the two. But not so much now. Just a thing that happens. Like Pidge’s new gun thing. Thing that happens. No build to it really, just happens. No lesson, no moment of clarity, no greater connection, just, happens. How does the Atlas have back up generators that can make it functional when it’s already been established the only thing that can power it is the castle crystal? It was a pretty big plot point. Until it was just forgotten about. The Atlas mech formed by Altean magic was pretty cool. Shiro has a lot of moments with Allura leading to it as well. More than she had with Lance even. I’ll come back to that. Fake out Pala-deaths was cheap. And if they only reason they put the focus on the new guys was for that fake out...? Screw that. What a waste.

Seeing Hunk and Shay reunited was nice but too brief. Nice to be wrong about Krolia, but I’m not expecting she’ll last the next season. Shock factor you see. Watching Earth change and develop in flash forwards and montage now makes me wonder why that couldn’t have happened earlier. And my answer is, probably to sell the new team. And that sucks. I’m not really looking forward to another season of the Paladins taking the back seat. I do kind of expect it though. In fact, I expect it will only get worse.

And of course, now in a mere 13 episodes we have to wrap up Lotor, Haggar, the rift creatures, any and all ships, don’t forget set up the new team, because I think there were a few subtle hints there’s a new team they want us to care about. How about that new team guys? New team! And do all that without it feeling like a giant rushed mess. Heh. Won’t hold my breath.

Overall? Season Seven as others have said for many reasons, is Voltron Legendary Disappointment. Now to be fair, the art, the music, the animation, the voice acting - even given some guff lines, kudos to Josh Keaton for making “Their very home” not sound stupid... All of that was great. All of those staff members involved? A plus, amazing. But the writing...? Oh my good gravy the writing is all over the damn place. Yes, I just write silly fanfics and they’re professionals so what do I know? Their paycheck invalidates my opinion, right? But to be frank some of the mistakes and I do mean mistakes are elementary continuity gaffs. Redundancy. Repetition. Over reliance on exposition. I mean, if this is considered professional then standards have dropped... That’s not to say there weren’t moments of great writing. Moments where it felt like I was actually watching Voltron again rather than an advert for the new guys. But for the most part...? It was odd choice after odd choice. Daft move after daft move. Mess after mess. Forced and contrived plot point after forced and contrived plot point and if I was judging the series solely on the writing... I’d ask why nobody proofread the first draft.

But to literally everyone else involved in the show from the voice actors to the background artists to the intern fetching coffee...? You all did an amazing job with the mess you were given.

The Obligatory Over Long Shipping Bit

It’s not all about the ships, but... To some extent, it kinda is a little. Maybe even a very BIG little... At it’s most basic, a story, any narrative, has three parts.

The Beginning: The Status Quo, the ordinary world.

The Middle: A Challenge To The Status Quo, conflict, introduction of the special world.

The End: A New Status Quo, conflict resolved, special and ordinary world merge or become aligned to create a new standard.

And ships? Well, they’re an aspect of both the conflict in the middle and the New Status Quo at the end. Ships matter. The connection we feel to two or more characters and the connections they gain with each other? They matter. They are the story. So when I bang on about ships beneath, keep that in mind. Keep in mind that watching characters grow and grow closer is an integral part of narrative, romantic, platonic, whatever. Watching dynamics develop and shift between characters matters. That includes ships. And, I’m not calling the show bad because ships. The show itself is flawed, but overall still good. still very good in fact. All I want to do here is share my disappointment and frankly my confusion at the way that all the ships seem to be playing out right now.

But to start... Allurance.

Let me say, emphatically state, that if you enjoy this ship I have no beef with you. I am not against you enjoying it. I am not trying to tell you you’re wrong. If you and I having different opinions on this is enough for you to unfollow me, then fair enough, goodbye and have fun elsewhere, no hard feelings. However, my opinion remains as it has done from the start. Whilst this could have been a solid canonical ship if things had been written differently, as it stands... I can’t support it and feel it’s the worst outcome for these two characters.

Now, I’ve seen the argument that “maybe it all happens off screen” and that I addressed in a post here. The long and the short of it, I want to see characters develop on screen rather than off screen. That is literally what I watch for. The On Screen Developments. Not off screen assumptions. On screen this season, Allura had more bonding moments with Shiro than with her supposed new love interest. Does that make sense to you? Because it doesn’t to me. Then there’s the argument that Lance’s feelings have grown and matured and changed. But honestly, on some level, if Allurance becomes canon, it feels like they haven’t. Let’s go through it on a very basic level.

Allura and Lance meet, he hits on her. - Lance wants to be with her. They work together. He continues to hit on her. - Lance wants to be with her. They keep working together. He hits on her and is jealous and possessive of anyone who even comes near her. - Lance wants to be with her. Lance tones it down a little. Starts to be supportive. You’re the heart of Voltron etc. - Lance wants to be with her. Enter Lotor. Lance remains jealous and possessive, but plays it off to Allura as a joke. “You need a third wheel?” But to everyone else, including the mice, he makes it very very clear this makes him unhappy. - Lance wants to be with her. He makes that speech to the mice about wanting to be a better person, how he’s unworthy etc. etc. etc. - Lance wants to be with her. Allura finds out about this, seems less than pleased. - Lance wants to be with her. Allura breaks up with Lotor after finding out the man who changed her life is a genocidal space vampire. - Lance wants to be with her. Lance does the supportive hug scene. - Lance wants to be with her. Some stuff off screen presumably and Allura is suddenly over it. - Lance wants to be with her. Dual blushing scene, soft gazes lion scene etc. - Lance wants to be with her and suddenly Allura wants the same thing.

Now, to me at least, I never felt like Lance’s feelings for Allura changed. What changed were his tactics in pursuing that desire. The ultimate ulterior motive of wanting to be with her at no point altered. To me, that severely undermines his and Allura’s growth together. It re-frames the supportive friend hug in season six into the only possible on screen moment that she fell for him and to me that makes Allura seem weak willed, flighty and frankly weak as a character to be rushed into needing a new man so soon after Lotor. It makes Allura into the opposite of what she has been all along. It reframes Lance as being a creep who’s not being entirely honest and is just hanging on to get some Altean Action. It’s unwittingly supportive of the concept in toxic masculinity of No Doesn’t Mean No and I think that’s a dangerous message to be sending these days. We should know better. No means No, it does not and should not mean pursue them like an object you want to possess. In reality, that attitude being normalised can lead to obvious and dangerous extremes. In a story, the pursued partner loses their dramatic agency and is reduced to a prize or else wants to be possessed and is thus framed as less capable. I think the idea of Lance and Allura shifting their dynamic to “genuine romance” between seasons and off screen is cheap. Overall, I feel it devalues both of them rather than enriching them as a ship and an end to two character arcs should. Maybe, like resurrecting Shiro / Kuron early being down to executive meddling, the same is true here? Maybe the plan was for Lance to break the mould of the stereotypical nice guy waiting in the wings? Maybe Lotor being bad was also executive meddling? Or maybe that’s just the scapegoat for the roads we missed out on? The potential lost...

Now, the weird thing is, I’ve seen the argument made that you wouldn’t say that about allurance if allura was a guy. Well...yeah I would. Because if nothing changed except Allura’s sex and/or gender but the events were otherwise identical then it would have exactly the same narrative issues. It would still be undermining both character’s growth and arcs. Chasing someone who isn’t interested is still toxic behaviour regardless of who does it to whom. But if you want to assume that I’m just saying this “because Allura’s a woman” then I guess I can’t stop you, but I hope you take my honest statement that it’s not the case as far as I’m concerned. On the other side of this argument of well if x was y you wouldn’t z, well, that’s just you creating and answering a hypothetical question. Let’s say someone shipped, I dunno Keith and Cosmo. And the defence was “well you wouldn’t call it bestiality if cosmo was human.” And yeah, I suppose if something was changed so drastically there wouldn’t be a problem. But Cosmo is a wolf in Canon. And Allura is a woman in Canon. Maybe nobody would be saying Allurance has problematic elements if Allura was male or maybe the would. I feel that I certainly would see the issue regardless. But that argument is purely hypothetical and anyone who makes it has no way of proving it or supporting it.

There is however another issue in Canon that nobody seems willing to address. Alteans live for centuries. Centuries versus decades of lifespan. That kind of relationship will have the functionally immortal one watching the person they love ROT before their eyes. It will have them mourning their true love for CENTURIES or else callously moving on. It will, if they have or adopt kids, leave the functionally immortal one, watching their own descendants die. The functionally immortal partner will see their love reflected in their descendants eyes and faces. Forced to relive their loss generation after generation. I don’t want to contemplate that end for characters I care about. But that’s what would happen between Lance and Allura. I don’t want to think of Allura watching generations of hers and Lance’s kids and great grand kids dying like flies and thinking of her reliving that loss every hundred years or so as their next batch of descendants die in front of her. Maybe you see it as romantic? I see it as horrifying. And if the issue of Human vs. Altean ages is never dealt with on screen, I’ll assume the creators either didn’t think about it or assumed the audience wouldn’t care. Well I’m sorry, but you made characters that we love, they are part of a lore that we paid attention to. We do care and it does matter.

What I will admit is that maybe, just maybe the way I’m interpreting things isn’t what the creators intended. As much as I am a proponent of Death of the Author, I won’t disregard authorial intent. To those of you who don’t know, Death of the Author essentially states that; all media is a collaborative experience between audience and creators. That no one interpretation of a text is more valid than another. That interpretations can shift and change based on the time and context through which the text is viewed. That interpretations the author never intended are valid. Now, a lot of people seem to have this idea that “Death of The Author” means audience interpretation matters more than that of the author and completely overlook the idea of shared meaning and no one true interpretation. I’m coming at this from the point of view not that the audience owns the text but that we all, audience and author, equally share it and it’s infinite valid interpretations.

So that said, the authorial intent may well be that Lance and Allura’s relationship isn’t and was never meant to be a creepy guy being persistent. That it wasn’t meant to suggest that despite being rebuffed, he should carry on chasing. Maybe it wasn’t meant to seem like he was dishonest, swooping in after a break up to pick up the pieces. Maybe we’re supposed to ignore the ulterior motive to get into her pants that never changed from season one episode one? It may well be their intent was to show a relationship developing healthily and organically but they were rushed and it ended up feeling incomplete? But, that less positive interpretation is just not how it comes across to me and many others. Intent or not, we can only interpret what we see. We don’t hate the idea of these two characters being happy, we just feel like the way it’s portrayed so far doesn’t seem strong enough or doesn’t make it explicit enough that there has been sufficient growth and change on screen to really make us buy it. You may disagree. That’s perfectly valid. The authors may disagree. That’s perfectly valid. I disagree with those opinions and that too is perfectly valid. I don’t hate any of you for feeling the way you do or for reading the text the way you do. Everyone interprets media differently. Please do me the same courtesy and don’t hate me for my interpretation. We can both make valid points yet still disagree. There is not one true and absolute interpretation.

I suppose that leads me here. At this point, given the way that almost every ship possible has been hinted, teased, alluded to or given time onscreen... I wouldn’t be shocked if there aren’t any canonical ships by the end. Just hints. Forever hints. Because if nothing else, the Allurance shippers don’t deserve to be baited and switched. Even if I disagree with the way it’s been portrayed, even if I feel it was rushed and needed time on screen to develop, those shippers deserve a decent payoff if the show is going to tease it so damn hard and so damn obviously. The Sheith shippers have had plenty of hints as well. Kallura looks on the cards half the time. Hunay, Hunelle, Hidge/Punk all got hints at the possibility this season. Keith and Acxa, I was thinking they’d pull that as soon as Keith found her in the weblum. Plance, I may or may not have strong feelings about. Who can say?

But given that the series so far has given so many contradictory hints, even assuming the caveat of multiple interpretations, how could anyone be happy by the end? I mean, if Plance happens and I still believe it makes the most sense for Lance and Pidge’s journeys and character arcs... Well what about the Allura / Lance dual blush moment...? The Allurance fans will ask that and rightly so. Why even include that if it isn’t going to go anywhere...? Chekov’s Gun. I can’t even deny myself that if the plan really was for Lance to move on, this would have been the season to explore that to make it feel organic. If Lance ends up moving on in the next season, then that will suddenly feel forced as well. The amount of ship baiting going on is a little frustrating. I can’t see how it could end in a satisfying way for every baited ship. So, maybe they’re just going to have nobody end up with anybody canonically? At this stage, part of me would rather have that than have my OTP confirmed in canon. Because if what has happened so far is anything to go by... I’m just going to be disappointed at it feeling rushed and artificial. Unearned and pulled out of left field at the last second. With all the build up to Allurance, whether I think it hit the mark or not, it feel like it would be cheap and rushed to have him suddenly move on in the next and last season. Plance might end up feeling not organically developed, just, info dumped into existence for time constraints. I’ve been seeing hints between Lance and Pidge since episode one. Waiting for them to change their dynamic for all that time and seeing hint after subtle hint, seeing how perfectly their two stories align. They literally and narratively complete one another. And yet, if it comes down to it that one line or one half baked scene or even one future still image in a montage at the end of the series, is the confirmation of them hooking up...? Then even I won’t feel like my ship was worth coming true in canon. I’d rather have it never come true than have it come true as badly, as forced, as potentially interpreted as toxic, as contrary to the narrative and as ultimately unsatisfying as Allurance seems to be right now. I have no issue with Allurance being the end game. I would just have wanted to see it done justice and right now... It just isn’t. Don’t agree? Ok, well...

Compare and contrast... One person in this series, Allura creates - using Alchemy - a means to be whole again. A weapon capable of overcoming a nemesis in visual dramatic parallel. Having learned Alchemy through tainted means from her Evil Ex, she’s now able to put it to physical tangible use for a new person. Not only that but she sacrifices her crown, her symbol of office, one of her last remnants of her dead home world in order to make that creation whole. She has shown this person nothing but respect and kindness otherwise. Another person she barely interacted with aside from telling him to shut up then in the space of one episode they’re all blushy because reasons.

I’m being a little facetious, but let’s be honest.... What this shows is that Allura literally has a more meaningful and narratively significant set of interactions with SHIRO than she does with Lance this Season. Shiro’s arm represents her turning the bad experience with Lotor to good. Her giving up her symbol of Altean Royalty shows she’s willing to sacrifice anything for him. And through that bond, she grants him the power to turn the Atlas into a giant robot. Where she created the Sincline out of a dishonest partnership, the Altas-Mecha is formed by honest...well, it looks like LOVE to me. Now I’m not saying I ship them. But if you showed me this season out of context with any of the rest of Voltron, I would be shipping Shiro with Allura even though he’s Gay. Because frankly, in the story told on screen this season that actually makes way more sense than shipping her with Lance. Even out of context, even assuming no Lotor, no previous issues, Lance and Allura being hinted just seems...out of nowhere this season.

Maybe I should just wait for the sequel series where everyone ends up with total randoms off screen that nobody is happy with? Maybe the ships that make the most sense and have been hinted at the most will be forgotten or end up with off screen unhappy marriages as some vague and irksome attempt at being “mature”. Yes, I’m still salty about Toph/Sokka as well as Kataang, what of it? Sometimes you just want the characters you have grown to love and adore to have a happy ending together. Is that too much to ask...?

So, season 8 predictions...?

After a heartwarming episode that teases Coranecker, Lotor will finally get his redemption arc. And by arc I mean, episode. There will be an entire episode devoted to info dumping how he wasn’t really a space vampire the whole time and Romelle got the wrong end of the stick. This episode will tease Lotura again as well as hinting at Hungar, Huntor, Hunlia and Huray, the Polyship of Hunk Coran and Shay. Haggar, having now established herself as the dark queen of the Quantum Abyss will send wave after wave of Altean-Robeasts at Voltron, before the series finally ends in, you guessed it, another big battle with another new big robot. There will be a “we won” montage, Sendak will somehow be resurrected or a void creature will emerge from Daibazol to set up the Big Bad for the sequel series. Maybe both. Nobody will end up with anyone and the next series and/or movie will be hinted at. We might end up with a cliffhanger to tease the sequel series. And we’ll all go away a little disappointed and a little happy all at once. Oh and Black Paladin Kaltenecker of course.

Salty semi-joking aside, at this point given how rushed the series has obviously become, I really would not be shocked if Lotor DID get a redemption plot that was dealt with in a single episode. Or a single sentence. Just like the way he was turned into a Genocidal Space Vampire in a single episode, I’m sure they can turn him into the Space Pope in a single episode. Maybe blame it all on a rift creature? Or maybe save that plot thread for the next series, given that in 13 episodes there’s no way they can cover everything they want to AND cover it as well as they want to. Or just never mention them again. It’s not like they were set up to be majorly important or anything.

Also, if the whole of Voltron Legendary Defender is now going to be a backdoor pilot for Voltron The Garrison Guys or whatever, that seems disappointing more than exciting. Voltron Legendary Defender should be it’s own show first and a sequel should organically follow based on success or failure. If there was always a plan to have more seasons as a sequel series then...

USE THOSE EXTRA SEASONS TO GIVE THIS STORY THE ROOM IT NEEDED!!!

Make VLD the best it can be before assuming we need a sequel series at all. We wouldn’t have half the problems we have now of story lines feeling rushed if, get this the story lines had more episodes to not be rushed! We could have had more Past-Paladins. Keith’s backstory could have been explored as a full episode or two not spoon fed to us by time flashbacks. Allurance could feel less forced and artificial. Lotor’s betrayal could have been given more than a single episode info-dump. We could have actually explored Allura’s feelings and hr process of getting over one of the most important relationships in her life turning to shit. Give this story the time and space it needs to breathe and grow. Let THIS story be told in a well paced way rather than being forced to rush to hit the deadlines for the sequel series. If VLD ends up being less well received owing to bad or rushed writing, we may just end up with zero interest in the sequel series anyway. It’s self defeating!

Don’t have entire episodes devoted to characters who show up, info dump and then are mute for the rest of the season. Don’t have entire plot threads be rushed and resolved in time less than they deserve! And if you can’t do that...

THEN TRIM THE FAT!!!

We can probably all point to a bit that felt “rushed” or “forced” or “out of left field” and that all comes down to a single fact. So far, there has been far too much story to tell in far too few episodes. So certain plot threads end up suffering as a result. Not being fully realised. Not being given anything more than flashbacks and montages rather than full episodes examining in greater emotional depth and deeper narrative exploration.

I would rather see a simple story well told than a complex story rushed for time. What we seem to get in seasons 6+ of Voltron are attempts to tell the entire story they wanted but being forced to cut it short for time. Sadly, what would have been better than telling the full story badly would be telling as much of it as you can save well and discarding the rest. Maybe that’s already happened? Wouldn’t shock me.

Lotor deserved better. Allurance if it becomes canon, deserved to have been built upon to make it seem more deserved, less creepy nice guy. Allura deserved to have on screen time to adapt, grieve and move on from Lotor. Matt could have had time to develop his relationship on screen. Plance if it becomes canon deserves time to shine, because for many fans out there if it does becomes canon in season 8 then for them it will seem rushed, sudden, forced. Or worse, Pidge will always seem like Lance’s backup girl... As Said before, even me as a hardcore Plance Shipper feels like it can’t possibly be given the time it deserves to feel earned when we have just one season left to tie it all together.... So again, maybe all they can do at this stage is shrug and only ever give hints as to whom ends up with whom in this massive cast...? And then just spew out the sequel series. Because we gotta sell those new toys.

I cared and invested in the VLD characters. I wanted their story to be their story and not just a vehicle to sell the next series that, to be honest, I’m probably not going to be remotely interested in.

The Salt Floweth To An End

There is SO much potential in VLD that was squandered by things being rushed, compacted, cut and yet also being massively bloated despite this. Then there’s the obvious executive meddling that can’t have helped for a second... It just ends up making everything messy and unfocused. This season was a mess. Entertaining, yes, compelling, yes and damn good overall but with so many moments that just hit shy of the mark the creators obviously were aiming for. Almost all of it down to the writing. Because the animators, musicians, actors and all the other cast and crew did an amazing job. But the writing was...just a totally confused mess.

Overall, it ends up being Great rather than Exceptional which breaks my heart. Because the first 5 seasons? Exceptional. Every aspect. Especially the writing. But from Six onward? Everything seems to just crack and fray around the edges, the polish wears thin and the whole thing feels just slightly less like everyone involved gave 100%. Maybe a solid 90%, and some still went above and beyond... But things, in my opinion, shifted. Sometimes in service of “surprises” and sometimes just because they needed to rush. Whatever the case, it feels like somewhere along the line the writers stopped caring as much. If at all. Will I watch season 8? Sure. But I’ll always know it could have been so much more if they’d been given more time and more room to let the story flourish. At this point I doubt it’s possible given the already obvious lack of focus in the writing, that we’ll see every plot thread tied up to satisfaction. I’m not even going to kid myself that they’ll do it all well because that’s just not going to happen. I’ll be shocked if they manage it at all. Frankly I’ll be shocked if the last season doesn’t focus more on the new team again... I am not looking forward. It feels like a chore now. Will I watch the sequel series if there is one. No. Probably not. I wanted Voltron Legendary Defender to be given all the time it needed to be exceptional. I didn’t want to watch an advert for the next series and the next group of characters and toys. Especially if we’ll just end up seeing them all wasted, rushed and never allowed to live up to their potential as well. I was invested in VLD and it sucks that my investment is used as a marketing ploy for a potential new show before being discarded. Ah well. There’s always fanfics I guess... Though even that tastes a little bitter now... Like I'm just another part of the Voltron Hype Machine and not even getting paid to do it... Sucks and it taints what I plan to do and what I already have done... I do want to continue supporting the show and the ship I love along with all the fans out there in The Garden, but right now... I’m left feeling so conflicted. In two minds about how much I enjoy this show and yet despite that, how often and how glaring some of the errors, missteps and plain crazy choices they seem to be making along the way... It’s hard to feel 100% positive, but I did make this post and I stand by it. If the Voltron writers won’t give us the reality that makes the most sense? We make it ourselves. I did make these three posts and I stand by all of them as well. Even now as it seems like the writer’s minds are falling apart like chunks of wet cake, I still maintain that Plance makes the most sense in the story for those two characters I loved. Will it still make sense at the end of the series? Honestly, yeah. I’m sure it will still make more sense than whatever the writers eventually decide to churn out. Here’s hoping Season 8 is...something...

#vld season 7 #voltron spoilers #voltron season seven #voltron season 7 spoilers #spoilers #salt #bear writes a dissertation on a cartoon #voltron legendary disappointment

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takaraphoenix · 6 years

Text

Let’s talk about character death for a moment.

Because I’ve been thinking about One Piece all day long. And for me, personally, One Piece will always be king of character death.

But before we go into that, let me clarify some things about character death.

I’m not a fan of character death. I don’t want to see characters I love die. That being said, The Thing (show/movie/book/whatever) does not exist to please and make every viewer happy and feel fuzzy. Especially when it features heavy action elements, character death is kind of a very important element and tool.

Nowadays, character death is kind of... a joke.

No one stays dead anymore. When a character dies, the viewer very often isn’t even under the illusion that this character might be dead in the sense of “gone forever”, which death kind of should imply. Instead it’s more of a “Well, how/when are they going to bring them back?”.

In Shadowhunters, for example, Jace dies for a full three minutes of screen-time before being brought back from death. They could have milked this for some suspense and feelings by killing him off in a cliffhanger for the season - not EVERYBODY has read the books before watching the show, you know. You could have pretended that he stays dead by killing him off in the season finale and waiting with the “Oh, I’d like to have him back, please” for episode one of the next season, to keep the viewers on their toes as to how and when the character will be brought back.

Sebastian. Killed off, immediately summons his mom who promises to bring him back.

And even on the slim off-chance that a character is killed and actually stays dead - Jocelyn Fray - it is not really... handled.

She’s been dead for a little more than a month now. That is no time at all. Yet when Clary had the angel summoned, bringing back her mother and only good relative doesn’t even cross her mind. It’s not like Jocelyn’s death has been years ago and she is well-settled with never seeing her again. It’s only been a handful of weeks now. I find it highly unrealistic that she got over losing her mother that quickly.

Luke too. The supposed love of his life died a bit over a month ago but he’s already flirting up the next woman. Like. Where’s the grief-period...? I’m not saying he ought to wear black and mourn for the rest of his life, but... more than two months, maybe?? You spent twenty years loving this woman. Somehow, I feel like that should have a longer grief-period and a harder impact than chatting up a woman after not even two months.

Not to mention the part where the show just opted to completely ellipse the grief-sharing between father and daughter. Luke and Clary addressed Jocelyn’s death in passing.

And it was mainly just used to fuel a tiny bit of Alec angst - but really only a tiny bit because he literally completely stopped being guilty about it right after he tried to kill himself over it. And while the suicide attempt was mainly the demon, it still rooted from his deeply seated guilt for having killed Jocelyn. But after that, it was kind of just... done.

Jocelyn’s death was all in all completely horrendously handled.

And horrendously handled death is kind of what brought me to this topic, as I had just recently ranted about Kevin Can Wait and how they just fridged the female lead because they didn’t know how to further the plotline but also added a time-skip of a year to assure no grieving will happen and we can move on to the “fun part” again.

That’s the two big bad Hollywood ways of handling character death.

Either you avoid handling it by just... bringing the character back to life.

Or you avoid handling it by simply not having the characters grief and deal with the death.

Both of those are awful options.

Look at Marvel. Avengers was kind of a movie you walked into expecting no real major stakes - there was just NO WAY they would actually kill off an Avenger during the very first team-up movie.

But they killed off a secondary character very effectively.

And by Coulson not actually being a character anyone was close to, you got to avoid the grieving process. Yet still the movie made that death impactful, gave it meaning and an appropriate reaction.

...I am still intensely salty that they fucking retconned it out of existence by whatever the fuck they did to justify that TV show. Like. I genuinely don’t care for it and it absolutely ruins the rewatchability of the movie for me because now when Fury goes drama queen over Coulson’s death, I just shrug and go “Meh”, knowing full-well he is still alive.

Prior to the retconning bullshit, it was a really good and effective way of adding stakes and feelings.

And that is what character death should be.

It adds stakes to a situation. Knowing that your protagonists are not invincible. That something can actually happen to them. The “no one is safe”-principle.

It’s why I absolutely adore the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.

It had stakes. I spent hours crying over the final book, because Rick Riordan put the effort into making you grow attached to characters like Ethan, Charles, Silena and Luke. You cared about them, their deaths were not throwaway lines, they were impactful on the reader, the story and the characters in the universe.

He gained a shit-ton of respect from me for that book. Genuinely.

Granted, he lost all that respect with the sequel-series where he did the literal opposite and just did not kill anyone. Oh, yeah, nameless, never-before-appeared characters in throwaway line-mentions, a failed comic-relief death for Octavian and the “No worries, we spent the whole entire fucking book setting up the Death Cure”-death of Leo. It was pathetic and insanely boring.

There was absolute emotional detachment toward the final battle, while in the original series, I could not put that book down reaching with bated breath as some of my favorite characters died or risked their lives respectively.

After Beckendorf blew up, when Silena sacrificed her life, all bets were off. I could not stop reading. I had to know. Had to know if Nico and Clarisse and Thalia and Percy would make it out alive of this series. What other twists would come. It was incredibly engaging, both plot-wise and emotional.

That is what character death should do. Make a situation feel real. Make it feel emotional.

It’s one of the many, many reasons why I love and always will love Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Oh yeah, sure, this show is like the OG sinner of “Oopsie daisy, brought back from the death”-protagonist and it was ridiculous on that behalf.

But even Buffy’s death had impact.

Dawn, who started stealing and acting up because she did not know how to deal with her feelings and her frustrations. The utter... loss.

Spike fucking a robot, because the woman he loved was gone. But also Spike working with the Scoobies, Spike being an anchor for Dawn and being there for Buffy’s orphaned sister.

The utter despair of Willow trying to bring Buffy back.

Literally the only plotline of an entire season is them dealing with Buffy’s death. Buffy included. It’s not just “Oops, dead - aaand we’re back online!”. There is grief, heartbreak, confusion, the... “What now?”.

Even as real consequences as how to pay the fucking rent with the “woman of the house” dead.

And it’s not even just this “We will literally dedicate a whole entire season to this character death and it will ACTUALLY work and be brilliant”.

The Body remains one of the best episodes in TV history to me, as it deals with the death of Buffy’s mother, because it is... mundane. It’s a normal, human death and it’s... normal, human griefing.

Or... even smaller things. Kendra. She was only in literally three episodes. She wasn’t a big character. Yet even seasons later, Buffy still had Kendra’s stake, the stake that meant so much to Kendra and you were reminded that Buffy is still thinking of this dead friend. It wasn’t just a one-off character who was shrugged off and discarded.

That’s how you should handle character death. That’s how you make it work.

And now back to where all of this started.

One Piece.

Because there is actually a third option available on the “Death doesn’t matter” scale, aside from bringing them back from the dead and just not having characters deal with the death.

Simply not killing anyone off to begin with.

It’s usually the anime go-to thing, but also typical for cartoons. Generally, the animated medium where violence is hilarious and did you see how this Normal Human just walked straight through a wall and should technically now be dead? Hahaha.

Yeah. That.

One Piece used to be one of those.

In fact, One Piece went out of its way to show you just how ridiculously many characters survive ridiculously deadly situations in the Impel Down arc. We were reunited with so many characters that I genuinely had thought had just died an off-screen death in conclusion to the prior battles.

And then my favorite character died.

Died and stayed dead.

In conclusion to a story-arc that literally reintroduced a handful of characters I thought had died, making me feel even surer that this all would be fine. That Luffy would be on time to save his brother’s life, that they would leave, together, reunited.

And then they killed Ace off. Actually, on-screen, fully. Dead.

I cried for months over this death. It was intensely impactful.

For one, due to the world-building so far that has set it up that no one really dies. All actual character deaths laid in the past - being shown in flashbacks. But no one ever actually died from a battle-wound. Crushed by an entire fucking building? Shrug it off, dude.

This... inversion of an “avoiding death”-trope can make a character death intensely effective, because it really does hit you out of left field then.

But it wasn’t just that.

Luffy’s reaction to it was so intense and real and deep and argh, I cried so much. So, so much. And I was so angry about this. Stopped watching/reading for a solid two years of grieving period for myself.

I’m not good when you kill off my favorite character.

And I gotta admit, I have never really managed to get back into it since Ace’s death. I think that’s less due to the death and more due to the time-skip. I didn’t like that at all.

But yeah, it was hella effective and well-written.

So, in overall conclusion, what I want is for them to stop with the cop-out deaths.

If you don’t have the balls to actually kill your characters off, then don’t fake it either, because it’s uncreative, uneffective, boring and annoying.

Kill them off or don’t, there can’t be an in-between, the in-between has become an overused trope at this point.

And when you kill them off, fucking deal with it and have your characters deal with it too.

#Character Death #Phoe's Random Show Rants #Writing

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ivanoconnorhorrorbooks-blog · 6 years

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Despite many able to argue that attempting to rank the talents of Stephen King in a 'Best Stephen King Books' type-article is a foolish battle, I am going to give it a go as it's a great excuse to get my King collection out. First time King-readers will also hopefully benefit from this, as let us remember that the great Stephen King has published over 60 books by the age of 64, and with the inconsistency that inevitably brings - reading the wrong novel first might put you off King forever. And oh what a crime that would be! Here goes - My personal 13 best Stephen King books.

The following best Stephen King books list is based on a broad number of criteria, including the number of sleepless nights caused from the nightmares that swiftly followed reading the books...

13- Misery

Misery was one of the first King stories that I got my hands on, and I remember reading it from start to finish over the span of no more than three nights. It makes for a fantastic introduction to Stephen King's writing and I thoroughly recommend it as a potential first King novel to read. Misery is the chilling story of an author named 'Paul Sheldon' who has spawned a series of popular stories about a woman known as only 'Misery'. Paul Sheldon decides he wants to write about something new, so he kills off the character known as Misery. On his way back home he has a car accident which overturns his car, leaving him knocked out. He then awakes to find he has was saved and being looked after by a strange woman named 'Annie Wilkes', who also happens to be his number one fan. Annie is not impressed with Paul's decision to kill off Misery, and so Paul, who once wrote to make a living, is now writing for his life. A truly fantastic story, which admittedly should be avoided if you are weak at heart, as there are some tremendously vivid and terrifying gory scenes.

12- The Green Mile

The Green Mile is a highly acclaimed novel that was originally published over six short separate instalments, each being released a month after the other and ending in a nail-biting cliffhanger. Those were the days...

Many have you have probably seen the movie-adaptation in which Tom Hanks stars, need I really say more? Unlike many other movies based on books, the movie is a loyal and strong interpretation of the book accompanied by remarkable acting. However, despite being a great movie, the book is still king (pun unintended) thanks to the many twists and sub-plots that did not make it into the movie. The story is set in the 30′s and tells the emotional tale of the experiences of prisoners on death row and the guards. The green mile is wonderfully well-written - you feel part of the fictitious world that is full of oppression and segregation that leads to multiple memorable thought-provoking and moving moments. Who said Stephen King can only write horror gems?

11- Bag Of Bones

Bag of Bones is possibly King's most ambitious attempt at having a love story. Similar to The Green Mile this is another of Stephen King's novels that doesn't strictly follow his early horror style of writing, and as such is not as popular as some of his other work. Which is a shame, because if given the chance, this is another truly wonderful ghost story full of twists and vivid characters. The main character is, as you've come to expect with King, a writer called Mike Noonan. Mike's wife suddenly dies and causes him to have a severe case of 'writer's block'. In order to get over his writer's block he returns to his summer house, where he discovers that his wife was on the trail of something highly sinister. With countless twists and turns concluding to a haunting ending, you will undoubtedly be left as breathless and mentally exhausted as I was. Great read...

10- Firestarter

Firestarter is perhaps one of Stephen King's lesser known novels and doesn't often feature in lists of the Best Stephen King Books. It might have something to do with the underwhelming reaction people had after seeing the movie-adaptation - many people see films and then read the book if the movie was any good. Whatever the reason is, a lot of King fans are missing out on a very good story which they would surely love. Firestarter is the tale of a father and his young daughter with pyrokinetic powers, who have to constantly be on the run from a government agency trying to capture the young girl to use her powers for their own gain. The plots are cleverly connected and the likeable characters make you genuinely care for their well-being. Recommended.

9- The Dark Tower Series

The Gunslinger is the first entry of King's The Dark Tower series and follows the protagonist, Roland, on his quest to the Dark Tower, but before he can get there he must locate his enigmatic antagonist that he kindly calls 'The Man in Black'. King took twelve years to write this book, but came up with the epic first line while still at University: 'The Man in Black fled across the desert, and the Gunslinger followed', gripping start for sure and there's a great deal more of it as you discover how Roland is capable of extreme violence, yet somehow still manages to come across as kind. A great start to a great series and a must-read for any Fantasy/Western book-lover.

8- Pet Semetary

Pet Sematary (purposely misspelt) is one of King's most enthralling and chilling novels. I read it for the first time when I was 14 and the disturbing nature of the story hindered the quality of my sleep for weeks (months?), I wasn't able to pick it up for several years, and for that reason I would wholeheartedly recommend this novel to every horror-lover. The story starts out when the Creed family, a happy family of four and a cat, decide to move house. In their new home, unspeakable evil things start to happen and are certain to keep you on the edge of your seat. Thoroughly frightening and definitely not one for the faint-hearted.

7- It

It is the story of a sleepy town in Maine, called Derry. Every three decades, mysterious and unspeakable evils occur, first come the rare sightings that are quickly followed by a series of murders of young children. The local residents refer to the being that causer of these acts as It, and not much is known about It, apart from the fact that it can shape-shift and appears to each person as a combination of their worst fears. A group of outcast teenagers decide to take a stand against the ultimate evil, and as adults return to Derry three decades later to fight It. The beauty of this book is in how King sets the mood of the story, by making It live in places within our very own homes that we take for granted, such as drains and sewers and the strong chemistry between the main characters as they are naturally gravitated towards each other due to their outcast status.

6- Different Seasons

Different Seasons is a collection of four different stories that saw one of Stephen King's first attempts at writing something not strictly-horror, however do not despair, there are still plenty of gory moments to keep the hardcore fans satisfied - Starting with Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption (Hope Springs Eternal) which tells the story of an innocent man in prison convicted of murder, plotting his escape. With fantastic characters and a gripping story, it is a great start to the book. Many people will be aware of Frank Darabont's adaptation of the book into a movie which revels in the brilliance of the story - Shawshank Redemption, however this should not be the only reason to pick up this book, the rest is just as good. The second story in Different Seasons is called The Apt Pupil (Summer of corruption) and is about a seemingly normal teenager who discovers that a local resident is a war criminal, and causes him to develop a morbid curiosity about Nazi death camps. The third story is called The Body (Fall from Innocence), which is the touching story of four teenagers who are dared to go into the woods to confirm the existence of a dead body, and ends up becoming a coming-of-age story. Finally we have the macabre The Breathing Method (A Winter's Tale) which tells of an unmarried and pregnant woman determined to give birth, no matter what... All four stories are severe page-turners and will have you go through a range of strong emotions. Highly recommended for a rainy day.

5- Carrie

Carrie, as you are probably aware already, was Stephen King's first novel and kick-started his incredible career. It is hard to believe that this masterpiece was a writer's first published work, and the popularity and cult-status that it created still remains intact to this very day. Carrie takes you into the world of a lonely and tormented teenage girl who has problems both at home and at high school. Unable to connect with anyone, Carrie finally snaps and unleashes her rage using violence mixed with her telekinetic powers, causing havoc in the usually quiet small town.

4- Salem's Lot

Salem's Lot was Stephen King's second novel, following the hit that was Carrie. It was released in 1975 and immediately became another massive hit by terrifying even the most hardcore of horror readers. The protagonist is author Ben Mears, plagued by personal demons, decides to move to an old mansion in Jerusalem's Lot in a bid to rid himself of them and write a new book. However, Ben quickly discovers that things are not as they seem, and that his home town are under siege by the dark forces of evil. This is a vampire novel, but unlike the recent wave of romantic vampire stories around, these vampires are not friendly or charming at all, they are pure evil. The characters are, as expected, well-developed with believable back-stories that will keep you engaged and highly interested.

3- The Dead Zone

The Dead Zone comes in at number seven on this Best Stephen King Books list and is a book that I personally was mysteriously put-off reading for a very long time, I still do not know why that was, but I was very mistaken to not pick it up sooner. It was King's fifth published novel and is one that Stephen King himself later admitted to being one of the few novels that he plotted and actually liked. The Dead Zone is a fast-paced story about a man called Johnny Smith who after a terrible accident is left in a coma for several years. When Johnny finally awakens, he quickly discovers he has obtained the unique ability to limitedly see into the future of people he touches. With this new power and strong desire to use them for good, he unwittingly foresees terrible events. What makes The Dead Zone so special is that the writing is controlled and well-paced, but above all the character development is fantastic.

2- The Shining

The Shining is a chilling story that follows the dysfunctional Torrance family with a sickening past plagued by alcoholism and abuse. The father of the family, Jack, was a teacher until the day he spotted some of his students damaging his car and ended up punching them. After losing his job, the family are forced to move to a far away and isolated hotel, as that was the only place that would offer Jack a job. During a terrible winter the Torrance family are snowed in and forced to look after the hotel on their own, initially things seem under-control, but as the iconic 'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy' statement, all is not well... There are not many characters outside of the family of three, allowing the novel to provide vast amounts of information and back-stories to all them, leading to stand-out character-development, which must rate among Stephen King's very best.. One of my favourite novels ever written and an absolute must-read for any book-lover - even if you have seen the critically-acclaimed movie starring Jack Nicholson.

To conclude our Best Stephen King Books list, I leave you with the book that marked me the most and despite giving me countless cold-sweated and sleepless nights, I read at least four times. A true premier horror classic that will remain in every horror and King aficionado's library forever:

1- The Stand

The Stand is a book that most readers are familiar with. Initially I thought that having to state a number one for a best Stephen King books list would be a tough task, but after remembering The Stand, it was the easiest one of the list. The story starts in the early 90′s in the California Desert, where a deadly mutated flu virus created by the U.S government manages to escape from a biology testing laboratory through a contaminated guard by the name of Campion. Unwittingly, this panicky character sets off a domino effect where 99% of the world's population is rapidly killed off by the deadly virus. The only survivors are those lucky (or unlucky) ones that happen to be naturally immune to the virus, but they are terrified and forced to survive in the depressing and desolate landscape. What follows is an incredible story of desperate struggles filled with humanity and real depth. This is possibly the best horror book I have ever read and if you have not read it yet, what are you waiting for?

That concludes this Best Stephen King Books list, and I wish I could have included many more, a few notable absentees that I'd like to mention are: Skeleton Crew - A collection of stories, The Long Walk - 100 boys meet for a race, if you break the rules you get a warning, exceed three warnings and what happens is truly terrifying and lastly Christine - The story of a teenage boy who falls in love with Christine, a rather 'special' woman.

Stephen King's vast imagination is one to be jealous of. King's delicious talent for story-telling makes his novels tremendously engrossing, and his ability to weave and connect his worlds with the vague perceptions we have of our own is remarkable and causes us to have strong feelings and even desires that these tantalizing worlds could actually exist in an alternate universe somewhere. If you have never picked up a Stephen King book, I couldn't recommend strongly enough to research the one that might initially suit you best and let yourself become absorbed by the incredible worlds of the King.

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