#How to Get Away with Murder Season 3 Episode 13

[mostlywhump]

The wildest ep of the Macgyver reboot

Sometimes I think fondly about Macgyver (2016) season 3 episode 13 Wilderness + Training + Survival....and how absolutely batshit this episode was. If the creators had decided to confidently maintain these chaos levels, I think the show would have been better and had a longer run in general (but that's just my opinion).

Some random insane details that got fully brushed over but make me lose my mind every time:

Mac actively choosing to bring no emergency supplies out of pure god complex.

That time the bad guy leader tore Mac's beanie off and grabbed him by the hair sexual-style. Absolutely no other character has thought to grab Mac by the hair in the original show or the reboot like wtf

EDIT I've been reminded by some friendly reblogs that hair-pulling happens in a couple other episodes. Regardless, it cracks me up every single time. The guy seems to do it out of pure frustration and that is so funny to me.

Riley wearing acrylics into the wilderness

The bad guy just up and massacred his entire squad so he wouldn't have to share the money. Like he just shot them all in cold blood. That's some GOT shit.

Mac getting shot in the thigh from like two inches away and not having his entire femur shattered.

Riley and Bozer running into a clearing scattered with dead bodies?? With Mac bleeding out (?) in the middle?? No questions asked.

At least two of the bad guys were SEVERELY injured and they just got left to die in the absolute middle of nowhere after all that emphasis on how dangerous the wilderness is lmfao

RILEY WEARING ACRYLICS INTO THE WILDERNESS

Bozer being totally confused by the word yarrow implying that he did literally none of the reading.

That one guy who was blinded by burning poison oak and left to die in the woods

Mac doing math and science word problems outloud while a group of murdering criminals stare at him in confusion

Why did he have a random hillbilly friend in the mountains

Why did he suddenly have a pickup truck for the occasion

anyway i miss Macgyver and i wish it would come back RIP ok bye

[i-smoke-chapstick]

Okay I think I’ve finally come up with a plot for that jervis story I was telling you about. This is pretty long- I’m sorry 😭

Basically could follow the same plots as the ‘come on Eileen’ story with an age gap but obv themed for Jervis’s character. For the sake of everything, since this could be already dark-ish, instead of Alice being his sister, she’s his coworker. Very similar story tied with the btas version. Anyways continuing that, let’s say reader is Jim and Barbara’s kid all the way from episode 1 when they were still in there couple era (I miss it 😔). Jim had custody over reader when Barbara was sent to Arkham but once she’s out and running the sirens club, her and Jim come to an agreement for the sake of the reader to co-parent. Reader is about 10-13 during that time and then jumping to like season 3 with jervis being introduced, reader is around 17-19 (I’m not sure if this is the realistic time jump but whatever). During the first episode with how Barbara introduces tabby to jervis, imagine that same scenario but with reader also present. Jervis realizes how much reader reminds him of the book version of Alice with their curiosity, ambition, etc. I’d like to imagine Barbara finds it cute in a way similar with that one fix you did when jervis was leaving stuff for the reader while tabby is like “Stay away from the baby 😡”.

Now when Alice gets killed, we know jervis makes him go through all these games of killing and stuff and then he has to choose the one he loves. Instead of Val, it’s reader. As much as Jervis doesn’t want to hurt his current crush, he tries to be nicer about it and shoots them where the bullet won’t damage them as bad?? Idk where else I’m goin with this lol. I’ll let you come up with whatever else you wanna do. Be creative if you’d like.

I’d say basically it follows the plot of season 3 but without Alice and reader is present.

Thank you Cupid 🙏🖤

'DON'T BLAME ME, [PART ONE]

-GOTHAM!JERVIS TETCH X READER-

⋆ 𝐒𝐘𝐍𝐎𝐏𝐒𝐈𝐒 ; Everything's always the same in Gotham. Hard to imagine things changing.

⋆ tags/warnings. GOTHAM!jervis x female reader. SLOW BURN!!! Not sure how many chapters this will be yet! LOTS OF PLOT SET-UP!! AGE GAP ROMANCE! (reader is Jim and Barbara's daughter) Readers got trauma. Reader's also a cynic and dissociating. She fell first, he fell harder. Writing this kind of artistically and as character studies for everyone. Jervis being an obsessive freak, per usual. Jervis and reader are soulmates, not just in his head but in real life! More about reader is revealed as the story goes on. I'm taking canon out back and beating it with a stick until it stops twitching.

⋆ tag list (tell me if you want to be removed!) @adalwolfgang @jervis-tetch-my-beloved @honestmrdual @moonlightnyx

⋆ 'PART ONE, - 'PART TWO, - ‘PART THREE, - ‘PART FOUR, - ‘PART FIVE, - ‘PART SIX, - 'PART SEVEN, - 'PART EIGHT, - 'PART NINE, -'PART TEN, - 'PART ELEVEN, - 'PART TWELVE, - 'PART THIRTEEN, - 'PART FOURTEEN,

Special thanks to @adalwolfgang for giving me the idea for this fic <3 really really excited to make this multichapter !!

♫ “Echoes of your name inside my mind / Halo, hiding my obsession.” Don't Blame Me by Taylor Swift

You feel like your ten again, staring into space, watching the passerby's from inside a Gala. You're mother used to take you there, when you're dad wasn't available.

You sometimes miss it, even though you used to complain. You hated just sitting there, hours on end, seeing rich people dance; like there weren't people being murdered on the street two blocks down. Maybe you took after your father in that aspect. It was a curse.

Your mom used to do your hair. You remember the way she finger-twirled your curls, gasping as she looked in the mirror. Eyes wide, she always said the same thing.

"Look at you, you're gorgeous!" You'd laugh and hit her on the shoulder, young and innocent. Sometimes, you'd make a mess of her lipsticks and bronzer. You'd try on her dresses which were far too tall for your young stature.

The sound of yelling rips you away from your thoughts.

This place isn't a gala. It's a club. And you didn't get ready with your mom, you got ready in the morning, waking up alone in your dads house.

You watch the two men argue from across the bar. You're cradling a drink; unsure what to do with it. Selina had stole it for you, somehow. You didn't ask questions anymore. You'd known her since you were eleven and she was eight. You didn't really like to drink. She knew that. You don't know where she ran off too.

Mindlessly stirring your glass in your palm, you can't help but squint under the bright blue lights. This place...it's not your first choice of where you'd like to be right now. Never is.

You hear a feminine voice calling you to the front of the club, and you can already guess who it is. You haven't seen her in a little over a week, not that it matters.

You decide to down your drink anyway. Who cares.

Pushing your way through the crowds of Gothamites, you notice the stage light up. Your mother and Tabitha stand in grand dresses. Tabitha's resting, one arm on the bar, looking effectively bored out of her mind. Your mother, on the contrary, looks utterly pleased. You fight the urge to snort.

There's a man on the stage. Long hair, cat-like smile. Your eyes follow the contours of his cheek bones. He's spouting something about waking up from an animal-identity. You're frankly lost, staring into his dark eyes. They look pitch black.

Sounds of clapping arise from the back. You simply suck your teeth. Someone new comes into the club everyday with a different act. This guy certainly wasn't any different.

"A magician? Really?" Tabitha asks, interrupting your thoughts. She sounds displeased and confounded, unsure what to make of Barbara's smile.

"Hypnotist." Your mom answers, correcting her. Ah, so thats what he is. You think. Couldn't hypnotize himself to have a better act? You almost make yourself laugh. Barbara mistakes it for agreeance.

"See! I like him! Y/N likes him!" Barbara chimes, smile lighting up to be a bit more genuine at your laugh. "Like mother like daughter. Plus, the place is packed. Be happy." She waves her drink around. Tabitha still looks peeved.

You want to correct her, but the words 'like mother like daughter' make bile rise in your throat. You don't speak.

"Just a taste, ladies and gentlemen." The man purrs, pulling your attention to him. That dark stare of his never once leaves the crowd. "But now...let us venture into something more arcane."

His eyes drift to you in the crowd, and it feels like a jolt of electricity. You wonder if he feels it too. He must have, since he cocks his head, pausing in his words for a little too long. His brows furrow, until the crowd begins to murmur. It's awfully intense.

You tear your gaze away to look at your mom, wondering if she was who he was looking at instead. It would certainly make more sense, given they must've been around the same age. But as soon as your gaze leaves his, the man clears his throat, and goes right back to speaking.

"The hell was that?" Tabitha whispers to me, and my mind goes blank.

"...No clue."

We watch the rest of the act, intrigued. He makes a man stand on the back of a chair, which definitely does not obey the laws of physics whatsoever. I can see why some people might find this amusing.

Your mom does bring up a good question though.

"So you could get him to do anything you wanted?" She asks, abet too excitedly. You want to roll your eyes. When you were younger, she would've made fun of this guy with you.

The man looks between the two of us, and you squint your eyes.

"Did you have something in mind, Ms. Kean?" He asks, and her gaze darkens. You feel a little sick.

As the act finishes, the man takes one too many bows, but the crowd eats it up. That blinding blue light still bounces off his face. Something about it is...unsettling. You notice it more as he stalks towards the three of you.

"Very impressive, Mr. Tetch." Your mom compliments. Mr. Tetch, huh. Well, you finally have a name for the man. "You have quite the gift. But you didn't answer my question. Can you make people do anything you tell them to do?" She speaks, slowly. Mr. Tetch looks flattered at the praise.

He clicks his tongue. "Only things they secretly wish to do," he remarks, eyes falling on me once more. "It's surprising what people will wish for," His eye contact remains on you, voice getting quieter. "Secretly. Deep down." He repeats.

Your mother makes a sound akin to a pleased hum. Tabitha looks between the man and you, and she looks less than amused.

"True," Tabitha speaks, pushing you to the side a bit. You watch as his gaze leaves yours, and snaps up to her. There's a ghost of a scowl on both of their faces that suddenly makes you confused. "You must be a very popular man."

She takes a swig out of her drink as she says the words, a bit sarcastically. Mr. Tetch, or whatever his name is, doesn't falter in his resolve. He instead offers a polite chuckle.

"Oh, I wish. Parties like this help pave my way, so, thank you."

"And you're new to Gotham?" Your mom asks.

"Yes...just arrived from up north."

"You have a place to stay?" Tabitha asks, head cocked. You begin to feel a bit embarrassed, heat rising in your clothes. They're asking the guy way too many questions. And he's a new comer. Poor man probably doesn't know a thing.

Before the man can answer, you butt in.

"Let the man breathe." You huff, and all three of them look at you in unison. Eyes-narrowed on you, the man blinks. Barbara looks at you, surprised, and Tabitha glares daggers.

Silence surrounds the four of you, and you shiver uncomfortably.

"Just saying." You mumble. Barbara raises an eyebrow.

"You'll have to excuse her. This is my daughter, Y/N."

Jervis's face lights up in realization.

"Ah, I see." He remarks, taking your hand. Tabitha instinctively steps close, watching the way he takes it. He presses a soft kiss to your knuckles. "Pleasure to meet you, Ms. Y/N."

"Thank you," You say, softly, looking into his eyes. It really does feel like time stops. You can understand why people are hypnotized by him.

Tabitha finally steps in between you two, as Barbara watches the interaction with vague intrigue. He drops your hand with some reluctance. You don't blame him.

"I think you should get going." Tabitha says, firm. The man simply nods.

"Very well. Enjoy your night." He speaks. "Ms. Kean, Ms. Y/N." He bids one last nod of goodbye, before turning on his heel.

[joulex]

From left to right who i think are the girls in the shot in the pilot

Ignore the text, the closest picture that i found is this one (spoilers from the recent episode)

So first its natalie, then taissa (i think this one is kind confirmed bc of a video of jasmin wearing a costume that its basically the one we see here), then, i think its either mari or lottie, but im leaning more towards mari. Shauna is the antler queen, 80% sure its her, THEN its probably lottie(? Bc of the height she the tallest not counting antler queen (but i think shes sitting somewhere taller than the rest), then travis, then van and then we know that misty is the one with the food.

You could say that the 8th survivor is melissa, but mari has been somewhat relevant in all 3 seasons meanwhile melissa just got screen time (relevant screen timw i mean) , and i dont think that if she were to be the 8th survivor, she wouldve been more present since the beginning of the show, so PERSONALLY i think that either mari, or even akilah would be better choices for the 8th survivor

(Even tho i think its mari)

Pit girl is probably gen (now confirmed dead in ep 7), my gut tells me its her, i dont think hannah the scientist is going to spend enough time with the girls to get through not only the beginning of the winter, but deep deep winter. Also these go along with a theory of mine that they get rescued very very shortly after this scene, i mean like a week, if not a couple of days. I think at this point the huntings are very frecuent, so thats why in a couple of months they go from like 13 people to 8, so they eat pit girl and very shortly after they get rescued and the wilderness is "at peace for now" so maybe in return they get rescued bc (if you believe its supernatural) the wilderness has been so integrated within the girls that even if they physically leave the woods, the wilderness or the idea of it, stills lives within them, which we see in the adult timeline that it keeps hunting them. The wilderness lets them go (like if you think as to how they girl would percieve it, aka lottie) bc it wants blood, and if the girls keep eating eachother eventually the wilderness its not going to satisfied,bc theres not going to be anyone left to hunt and kill so, if they leave at this point the wilderness gets what it wants and can use, lottie (for example) as a kind of vesell to keep people feeding its wants of murder and blood.

Got carried away, i just love yapping, anyways we will see!

[baiwu-jinji]

I'm so very late to the party but finally finished listening to TGCF audio drama season 1, love how intense the last two episodes are :3 Here are some incoherent thoughts about some of the episodes I haven't talked about:

Episode 12: It occurred to me when I'm listening to this episode that the ghosts of Ghost City are always so lively and bubbly, always laughing and flirting and teasing, when most of them must've had a tragic life story with unresolved misfortunes that caused them to turn into ghosts in the first place. Their high spirits feels incongruous with their tragic past, but maybe it's because they're happier as ghosts than as humans?

There's a ghost called 红粉骷髅 (literally "skeleton of beautiful woman") in this episode that finds afterlife much more liberating and satisfying than life itself, as she recites the following poem when she's dancing: "I danced for others in life, nobody buried my bones when I died; I sing for myself after death, my beauty moves the netherworld."

(The name 红粉骷髅 actually comes from a Buddhist story where the Bodhisattva Guanyin turns into a beautiful woman to make love to men but would suddenly turn into a skeleton in the process, scaring the men into realising that the most alluring beauty in the world is but ashes and bones and ghastly in death, and that they shouldn't give in to temptations.)

Episode 13: Hua Cheng tells Xie Lian that he doesn't look at the wishes of his believers and just throws them away because he doesn't care about being worshipped. This just shows the difference between Hua Cheng and Jun Wu: although they both desire power, Hua Cheng only wants power in himself and over his own fate, while Jun Wu wants power over others. The conversation between HC and XL is as follows:

HC: It's better to help yourself than ask the help of others. If you want to climb out of the abyss, what use is it to look to others? Others won't come to save you every time.

XL: That's why you need gods.

HC: But if everyone counts on the god, what about the god? Wouldn't the god get tired?

XL: But you must have many believers. If you turn a blind eye to their prayers, won't they consider you to be ineffectual?

HC: I didn't ask them to worship me, they kneeled before me without my permission. Besides, only those who happen to have their wishes granted would dare to talk about it - those who don't wouldn't dare to complain.

Episode 17: Xie Lian tells Lang Qianqiu that he named his sword technique which he uses to break up a clash by diverting all the harm to himself "wuming" (meaning "nameless") - a fitting name because the technique is about the negation of the self, and sacrificing oneself to endure it all. "Wuming" is also the name Hua Cheng took when he followed Xie Lian after the fall of Xianle and eventually sacrificed himself to protect Xie Lian.

Episode 18: When Xie Lian worries that telling Lang Qianqiu the truth would make Lang Qianqiu question everything XL taught him and cease to be the courageous and honourable person that he is, Hua Cheng asks XL to trust in LQQ's innate moral strength. I like what HC said to XL about LQQ:

"If you value him so much, then why can't you trust him? Trust that since he's the one you chose, he won't lose himself in hatred and will eventually do what he should do, even though he once wanted to destroy the whole world out of hate."

HC is asking XL to have faith in LQQ the same way that HC has always had faith in XL.

There's also something I wonder about the situation between Xie Lian and Lang Qianqiu. LQQ's parents were murdered by the resentful ghosts of the people of Xianle, and XL took the blame for the Gilded Banquet massacre because he didn't want LQQ to think that he tried to save those resentful ghosts in vain, that LQQ's good will towards the resentful ghosts was met with hatred and revenge. But has it occurred to XL that his own supposed "betrayal" would've hurt LQQ equally much? Would LQQ really feel better if instead of the resentful ghosts, it's his teacher whom he admired and respected so much that had betrayed him?

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

What you say to this

Let's debunk all the lies:

1 - "Kataang is one-sided" We literally hear Katara talk about how he gives her hope in the begining of EVERY SINGLE EPISODE, she canonically starts thinking of him as potential boyfriend instead of just a friend right in the middle of the first season (and after it we never see her having a crush on another boy like say Jet), the kiss on the cave at the start of season two is HER idea and she clearly enjoyed it, she is visibly upset when he's pulling away from her after Appa's kidnaping, her rage at his death is a clear parallel both to Tui and La as well as Oma and Shu, she is jealous when he's paying attention to other girls and flirting with him, she clearly liked the kiss during the Invasion even if she didn't see it coming, she threated to murder Zuko if he ever hurt Aang again, and even in the Ember Island fiasco she full on says to Aang that what her actress said about her only seeing him as a little brother is not true.

2 - "The age/maturity gap makes it weird" It's literally the same age gap as Zutara. It's TWO years, not twenty. Katara likes having fun and goofing around just as much as Aang does. Aang steps up and embraces his responsibilities just as much as she does when he discovers what the Fire Nation did to the world, and his people. Honestly, despite being older, Zuko is the least mature of all three - hell, 16-year-old Zuko is less mature than 13-year-old Zuko, which makes perfect sense because his abuse and banishment made him double down on all of his flaws, mainly his stubborness and tendency to lash out in rage.

3 - "They spent the second half of book 3 always fighting and disagreeing" They literally were only in conflict during The Southern Raiders, Ember Island Players, and then on the first episode of a four-part saga. Three episodes out TEN. Katara and Zuko meanwhile spent 5/6 of the entire series being enemies, AND she only forgave him when there was only ONE more episode left until the finale.

4 - "Zutara doesn't have any real red flags" Ya know, besides the fact that Zuko's nation and family commited genocide against Katara's people, and that he believed that was 100% okay, and that he chased her and her friends all over the world being openly hostile and violent, and he once hit her so hard it knocked her out cold, and he constantly calls her a peasant because he's very classist AND racist to the point of not recognizing her father's authority/status, and he attacked her when she offered to heal his uncle and then again in Ba Sing Se after she thought they had bonded, him helping Azula in battle was why she got to murder Katara's best friend and then he also sent an assasin after the Gaang to finish/repeat the job, and after all that he still felt entitled to her forgiveness after he was accepted into the group. Once again: this is why no one takes zutarians seriously. They love bragging about their ship being "complex and intriguing" then try to completely negate canon because for all their talk about "calling out abuse in Kataang/Maiko", they are, at their core, enablers.

5 - "Zutara was part of Ehasz's vision for book 4" No, it wasn't, and the man said so himself. He liked Mai and Maiko, and wrote lots of Kataang episodes. He has repeatedly let everyone know that the supposed interview in which he talks about how Bryke forced Kataang to happen at the last minute is FAKE.

6 - "We didn't get book 4 because Bryke wanted a movie" Bryke didn't really WANT the Shyamalan movie, but Nickelodeon, their bosses, wanted money. They literally walked out on the production because they were unhappy with it. They were OFFERED to make season four, but didn't feel it was necessary and stuck to three - and while I don't think that was the best choice, it still worked and it was a decision fully divorced from any movie deal or ship war.

7 - "People get angry at mention of zutara despite there being nothing wrong with the ship itself (besides not being canon)" Literally no one is obligated to like a ship just because YOU think it's perfect, and that kind of entitlement, the "I'm better/smarter than everyone else" complex, combined with all the lies, is exactly why people tend to hate the SHIPPERS and by extension the ship itself.

Admiting that zutara has always been pure fanon and that it isn't for everyone doesn't mean you have to stop liking it. Quit acting like a spoiled child, go enjoy your ship in peace, and respect other people's right to be indifferent to it or actively disliking it. Their personal preference is not a personal attack against you, stop treating it as such.

[physalian]

As much as I love LOST, I fully appreciate how fucked it became.

But looking back, this was a show that dropped while Suvivor was peak reality television, and it was the first of its kind in a lot of ways to be a network television show filmed at this scale. The large cast, filming on location, the whole premise beyond your standard drama.

I don’t think the writers trusted that unique premise as much as they should. LOST’s character drama was most compelling when it was essentially a retelling of Lord of the Flies. They were issues regular society doesn’t have to think about, blown up into crises, like:

We gotta find safe shelter out of the sun and the elements, but if we do that, we lose our signal fire

We gotta find a sustainable source of freshwater for 108 survivors, but that water is in the Murder Jungle

We need to do complex, life-saving medical procedures and all I have is bamboo and whatever TSA allowed through security

We thought we’d be rescued already so we didn’t ration the airline food and snacks, now we gotta figure out how to hunt, when we’re all (mostly) civilians

People are panicking at the low resources and are throwing suspicions and wild accusations around and now somebody’s dead

There’s language and cultural barriers at play and we don’t have the Internet to translate

The structure of the first season, too, with the 13 core characters each getting their own flashback “how did we get here” episode.

I personally loved the creative design of how they constructed their beach camp toward the middle of season 3-ish, with the giant bamboo pantry, the various tents made from plane wreckage. If you were flipping channels casually one night, and you landed on an episode of LOST, you instantly knew that was an episode of LOST in visuals alone.

I would have been fully on board with four full seasons that didn’t get all tangled up in the time travel nonsense and vastly trimmed down the rabbit hole of the Others and the Dharma people (or the ‘we all died and were in purgatory the whole time’…thing), and really dug into trying to survive without the modern comforts of society, but long term. Kind of like a dramatic version of Swiss Family Robinson, just with a Murder Jungle.

All of LOST’s copycats focused on the plane element, not the idea of isekai-ing a random grab-bag of civilians into an environment that they are not equipped to handle, and watching what successes and failures unfold. And there hasn’t been one since that compares.

You have post-apocalyptic shows, yes, like Walking Dead and Last of Us, but until Fear the Walking Dead, you were working with characters who’d already cut their teeth and figured out that things are not going to get better, some time after the world ended. You don’t have “in a civilized world one second, and then literally falls out of the sky onto a Tropical Murder Island still convincing themselves this is temporary, and only their world has ended”.

I did not care about the love triangle nonsense, I cared about Shannon’s missing medicine kerfuffle that, without any policing authority system in place, devolved into torturing a man with bamboo only to find that the medicine just got washed away in the ocean. You can have a love triangle in any environment, in any show, but you could only have that drama on this show.

A story is, to me, at its most compelling when the issues the characters are facing can only be faced by these characters in this story. Otherwise, why am I watching this instead of something that did it better?

I miss LOST, okay?

[whimsicallyenchantedrose]

Season 3 Rewatch Drabbles: 3x22 There's No Place Like Home (Part 2)

Summary:  A series of 100-500 word drabbles to accompany my    rewatch of season 3 of Once Upon a Time.  There will be a drabble–either a deleted scene, a “fix it” fic or a character musing for each episode of the season.  Focus will be on Emma, Henry, the Charmings and Killian–with an emphasis on Captain Swan’s epic love story.

Word Count: 493

Other Chapters: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) (15) (16) (17) (18) (19) (20) (21) (22) (23) (24) (25) (27) (28)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Notes: I knew there was no way I could stick to just one drabble an episode for the CS movie, so I didn't even try. There will be 2 drabbles for 3x21 and 4 for 3x22. They are all written, so the plan is to post one per day until they're all posted.

Note #2: Thanks to @jrob64 and @snowbellewells for the prompt!

She was in shock.  There was no other way to explain her current state of calm after what had just happened, after what she’d just witnessed. 

After escaping the Evil Queen’s cell, with her innocent prisoner in tow, Hook had filled her in on what she’d missed.  Snow White had sent them a way to get into the castle, but she hadn’t met back up with them, and they were concerned she’d been captured.

When they’d reached the large, circular window overlooking the courtyard, they discovered that their concerns were more than founded.

Emma would never forget the horror of looking down to see her mom tied to a stake, surrounded by wood and with the Evil Queen preparing to hurl a fireball in her direction.  She’d been desperate to move, to act, to do something to stop what was about to happen, but without her magic, she was completely powerless.

As the Evil Queen let the fireball fly, and as her mother’s writhing form was consumed, Hook pulled her to himself, and she clung to him.  Needing him, needing his comfort more than she ever had before.

They’d watched in horrified fascination as the fire quickly did its job, leaving nothing but ash in its wake.  She couldn’t look away.  As horrific as it was, she couldn’t look away.

Finally, as the guards and the Queen turned back toward the castle, Hook had reminded them that they would accomplish nothing by being captured themselves, and they’d stealthily left the castle, returning to the fire her dad and Killian had built while they waited.

“After my brother passed,” Killian said almost hesitantly once the two of them were again alone, “all I could do was relive that final, terrible moment. Don’t do that to yourself, love.  All we can do at times like these is to try to live in the here and now.”

She appreciated his attempts to help her through this, but it would take some time before she could close her eyes without seeing her mother murdered before her eyes and her completely powerless to stop it.

They had failed, and failed so profoundly, nothing could ever be right again.  Her mom was dead, and with her gone, Regina would never be defeated, the kingdom would never be saved, her dad would never have true love, her baby brother, who’d just been born, would never exist.

Would never exist.

Suddenly a ray of hope pierced her darkness.

“Here and now,” she said, brow furrowed.  “I’m still here.  How is that possible?  We saw her die, which means I would never be born.”

Killian’s eyes widened as the implications of her words hit him. “You should have faded from existence.”

“Exactly,” she said.

“Well then, perhaps–” he began slowly.

“She’s still alive!” Emma said, knowing that somehow, some way, against all odds it had to be true.  She hadn’t lost her mother after all, not yet anyway.  There was still hope!

NEXT CHAPTER->

[longlivefiction]

Jeremiah, and how he's so.. Jeremiah.

This is quite long, so get ready..

Never believed there's an insanity Jeremiah was scaping at all. more like putting inside a box his dark nature and closed the door. The gas was just a key for it. In simple terms, the gas changed nothing, didn't alterated his mind or gave extra things.

The problem with Jeremiah is that he was a contrasted character, on one had, he hated the idea of being ordinary:

- He was the smart kid of the circus who got away to go in a elite family.

- He was the guy who graduated of college at 13 or 17.

- He was the man who lived in a maze bunker during 6 years.

- He would be the man who made a revolution on the engineering science.

We all believed he was adopted by Wilde family, but maybe Wildes doesn't exist at all, and Jeremiah created Xander Wilde alias to completely separate of his family, for the sake of his megalomania: This, genius mastermind mysterious legendary figure behind the new era of evolment.

The problem is that precisasly in his desire to be special, he can't support the idea of be like Jerome cause that will means he's not unique at all. That's why he never allowed himself to be just as extravagant as Jerome.

I am sure Jeremiah killed alley cats, by beating them up or something, while believed Jerome was just a funny imaginative innocent kid, different to the weird exotic prodigical guy he was. When discovered that Jerome kill alley cats as well, Jeremiah just can't toleate it.

So he made up lies on him, betrayed him and sending to a path HE KNEW that would make him even worst and in the end causing Jerome to desire to hunt him.

Jerome admits that as a teenager he wanted to kill everything in sight, however, the fact is that Jeremiah left the circus at age 8, so even Jerome's murderous desires could very well be a consequence of Jeremiah's actions.

"Teenagers, am I right? Oh, I remember those days, you just want to kill everything you see."

- Jerome Valeska in season 3.

Until I know, teenage years starts at 12. Meaning Jerome suffered at least 5 years of abuse at that point.

Now, why I believe Jeremiah WANTED Jerome to get to him like they're are in some game or something?

Mandatory Brunch Meeting:

Jeremiah wanted Jerome to get to him, so he could capture him. So he deliberately endangered his uncle Zachary Trumble, and his boss Allan Heyes. For the first one knew about St Ignatius and the second one knew about the address of Ecco.

Once Jerome is captured, it can be seen by the condition of the room he is in that Jeremiah intended to starve his brother to death as he watched.

Let's be honest, the only reason Jerome could scaped was because Crane and Tech; see Jeremiah is SO narcisist that he believed that Jerome could be the only menace that mattered and valued the effort since he is his twin, do you get that?

That's entertainment:

Once Jim Gordon, Lucius Fox and Bruce Wayne arrives, with Gordon telling him the situation, even before, aware of the possible consecuences for Gotham people Jeremiah decided to stay, not like he cares on some few people suffering. Yeah, he didn't stop Jerome before and all, but in this case, was different cause Jer puted a conditional, he was the way to avoid mayhem.

Game's over, maybe he can try to kill Jerome next time.

Until Jeremiah Valeska meets Batman-

Yes, I didn't writted that wrong. He met BATMAN.

In the conversation he had with Bruce, about hope and fight fear, Jeremiah realized that was something inside Bruce that was comparable to the darkness he felt every day of his life, so mysterious and profundently violent that was like watching to the abysm. As we know, Batman manifistated to Bruce some episodes ago before, doing the bond between the bat and the man more strong. Is BATMAN who with Jeremiah felt in love with, just that he can't determ a propial name to Bruce's madness so he just interprates it as Bruce himself, not so far of reality.

He feels fascnination at encontering someone not only intellectually similar, that share his own utterly unbeatable conviction for his goals, and even shared the same level of madness he hiddes, a level of madness not even Jerome got after all those years.

This is how his obsession begings.

When Jerome's followers kill the polices upside the buildings, Jeremiah just look up indifferently, he cares a shit on people dying around him, and just show anger when Jerome calls him.

When Jerome brings him up on stage and proceeds to tell everything he went through because of his lies, Jeremiah rolls his eyes, not caring about the damage he caused.

Even with the excuse that Jerome is telling it in a humorous way, reacting so indifferently to a horrible situation for which one himself is perhaps directly responsible is still quite inhumane.

When Jerome shows the knife to Jeremiah, despite briefly having doubts, he screams in anger and attempts to kill him on the spot, despite having failed, the desire was there.

He doesn't even care about Jerome's death. In fact he "wipes his tears" only after Jim Gordon watches him approach the corpse of his brother, indicate that his sadness was just an image he showed to Gordon in order to avoid any suspicious of his previously mentioned crazy tendencies. The most near to a dissapoinment feeling is perphaps that he couldn't kill him by his own terms.

After recieve Jerome's special gas, Jeremiah listens a recording of Jerome while the gas is making effect, Jerome confess that his days were numbered, and at Jeremiah hears this, he gives a delighted smile.

[im-out-of-it]

part 2 of season 2, episode 8 continued “love is a devil” I CANT QUIT THINKING OF POOR ALEC

10. Luke: bitch shut up already

11. Luke is right- that is not clary and jace’s choice to make. they act like they’re doing what is right for the downworld. not telling them that Valentine has a sword that he plans to use to murder any downworlders that come near them is insanely messed up. they deserve to know so they can take precautions, shelter, like why should they expect the shadowhunters to save them? they only help downworlders when it serves their purpose and aids themselves

12. because let’s just have clary and jace assume that jace is that demon. “there’s no explanation” “it was a demon I never saw before” so if jace is this supposed demon, then shouldn’t he recognize himself? why doesn’t anyone find it odd that they’ve never seen jace turn into a demon the way Sebastian does? honestly clary and jace are so dumb and then they make Magnus and Luke look almost as dumb for believing them

13. Alec: sis can you stop

14. Alec: I’m not entertaining this, bye

15. aw max is here!!!!!!

16. LOOK AT THIS BEAUTIFUL FUCKING SMILE

17. Alec is the proudest brother

18. I love how Izzy and Alec are all smiles and Maryse shows up and they look so vexed lmao (poor max knowing Robert won’t be at his ceremony)

19. THE FAMOUS EYE ROLL I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR WEEKS TO RIGHTFULLY POST AND THANK YOU FOR TELLING ME THE EPISODE BECAUSE HERE WE FINALLY ARE (an eye roll a day keeps the devil away!)

20. Alec and Izzy calling bullshit

21. the good old I was following orders. I remember that in history 😬

22. I know Maryse is really shifty and shitty in the beginning but honestly, she’s just hurting so much. and she does have tremendous growth throughout the show so that counts for something? and it’s not an excuse for how she treats Alec and Magnus. it just shows how much Alec and Izzy are like her that they hide their pain so they can get through the day. they aren’t as nasty as Maryse (well when they’re in a mood) but they hide their pain and sorrow often. I really don’t care about jace’s treatment because he hasn’t once actually tried to be there for Alec. and why is it that a parabatai bond is noticed, it’s always Alec noticing jace is hurt and never Alec? interesting, right?

23. but anyways, Maryse is in and Robert is out

24. CAN WE TALK ABOUT ALECS HAIR? it looks so fluffy and perfect

25. Max: I don’t care as long as you’re happy big brother

26. I love how all the lightwoods (max, Alec, Izzy, Maryse, Robert) are all so dramatic and extra 😭 MUST BE SOME GENE

see y’all later for part 3 and this one is going to be hella long and I’m not sorry THIS IS AN EXPERIENCE SO ENJOY IT

[ncisfranchise-source]

NCIS: Origins is coming! And with the show, which will focus on the origins of one Leroy Jethro Gibbs (played by Mark Harmon in NCIS and Austin Stowell in NCIS: Origins), set to premiere on CBS on October 14, it's worth revisiting the question of what we already know of the backstory of such an iconic character. Gibbs was, after all, the lead character on NCIS for almost two decades. CBS might be launching a whole new show about his roots, but we already know a fair bit about him.

And what we know we learned over 19 seasons of NCIS. In NCIS: Origins we will meet Gibbs as a newly-minted NIS agent under the tutelage of Mike Franks (played by Muse Watson on NCIS and Kyle Schmid in Origins), a role he begins right after the death of his wife and daughter. But we've already met Franks and gotten the backstory on the murder of Gibbs's wife and daughter on NCIS. So, before NCIS: Origins digs deeper into the story of Gibbs, we've compiled a list of the episodes it might be a good idea to re-watch to get a sense of who the man really is.

"Yankee White" – Season 1, Episode 1

Sasha Alexander, Pauley Perrette, and David McCallum, NCIS Paramount+/Screengrab

The series' first episode, which follows the backdoor pilot on JAG, sees Gibbs basically explain to the audience what NCIS is about and why it's important, as the team investigates a mysterious death on Air Force One. It's also the episode that sets the groundwork for Gibbs' famous rules, which we're likely to revisit on NCIS: Origins. Among the famous rules are Rule #6: "Never say you're sorry," Rule #12 "Never date a coworker," Rule #18 "It's better to seek forgiveness than ask permission," and Rule #91 "When you decide to walk away, never look back."

"One Shot, One Kill" – Season 1, Episode 13

This Season 1 NCIS episode explores Gibbs' Marine Corps past, which is likely to be something NCIS: Origins explores much more deeply, particularly as the show picks up right after Gibbs has left the service and is just starting with NIS. In the hour, Gibbs goes undercover as a Marine recruiter while he tries to track down a sniper targeting Marine recruiters. Gibbs is a former U.S. Marine Corps Scout Sniper, and this NCIS episode is the first to really explore how his military service translates to his leadership at NCIS.

"Hiatus" Parts I & II – Season 3, Episodes 23 & 24

Perhaps the most important episodes in understanding the character of Gibbs, "Hiatus" Part I & II see the character survive a terrorist blast and relive moments from his past as he's unconscious. The episodes also serve as an introduction to a character who will play a central role in NCIS: Origins, Mike Franks, Gibb's mentor. He was played by Muse Watson on NCIS and will be played by Kyle Schmid in the prequel. "Hiatus" Part II is also the episode where we find out about the death of Gibbs' wife and daughter. NCIS: Origins is set to pick up right after their deaths.

"Requiem" – Season 5, Episode 2

Mark Harmon, NCIS Paramount+/Screengrab

It's not until Season 5 that we get to explore Gibbs's family again, in an episode where Gibbs helps a childhood friend of his daughter. The hour, which was meant to be the show's 100th episode, but ended up being the 101st, sees Gibbs hallucinate his wife and his daughter and get some closure by their reassurance that everything is fine. Of course, this is also the episode where Tony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) has to save him and said friend of his daughter from a sinking car, in one of the most action-packed moments in NCIS.

"Judgment Day" Parts I & II – Season 5, Episodes 18 & 19

Mike Franks returns to NCIS in "Judgment Day," which makes this two-parter another essential watch before NCIS: Origins premieres as a new, albeit younger, version of both Gibbs and Franks is introduced to audiences. The two-parter also sees the death of NCIS Director Jenny Shepard (Lauren Holly), who dies protecting Gibbs, and the first appearance of Leon Vance (Rocky Carroll), who is still in the role of Director in NCIS Season 22.

"Heartland" – Season 6, Episode 4

NCIS: Origins is set to introduce us to a younger version of Gibbs, and one of the biggest influences on him is his father, Jackson Gibbs, played on NCIS by Ralph Waite. "Heartland" introduces the character as Gibbs investigates an ambush that leaves one Marine dead and another one injured, as it turns out he shares a heartland – Stillwater, Pennsylvania – with the remaining victim. This episode establishes that Gibbs and his father haven't spoken in 16 years and reveals how Gibbs met his first wife, Shannon.

"Life Before His Eyes" – Season 9, Episode 14

Mark Harmon and Clare Carey, NCIS Paramount+/Screengrab

A life-or-death situation leads Gibbs to reflect on the most important moments in his life in this episode, which includes flashbacks to the character leaving home, joining the Marines, meeting his first wife, witnessing the birth of his daughter, fighting in Desert Storm, finding out his wife and daughter are dead, meeting Mike Franks, and becoming an NIS agent. If there's one episode you need to watch before NCIS: Origins, it's this one.

"Honor Thy Father" – Season 11, Episode 24

NCIS pays tribute to Ralph Waite, who passed away during NCIS's eleventh season, in an episode that sees Gibbs find out that his father died from a stroke and has him return to his hometown of Stillwater, Pennsylvania. The hour mostly focuses on Gibbs reminiscing about his past, with the episode revealing that when Gibbs was young, he built a small wooden boat with his dad that they named after his mother. NCIS: Origins is set to feature a younger version of Jackson Gibbs, played by Robert Taylor.

"The Arizona" – Season 17, Episode 20

Widely considered one of the most emotional NCIS episodes, "The Arizona" sees Gibbs help a 95-year-old Pearl Harbor survivor, played by Christopher Lloyd, verify his identity. This causes Gibbs to come to terms with his military service, at one point even confiding in McGee that when he came home after his service, he felt like half a person. Considering when NCIS: Origins picks up, this is surely something that will be revisited in the prequel.

"Great Wide Open" – Season 19, Episode 4

Mark Harmon, NCIS Paramount+/Screengrab

The last episode for Leroy Jethro Gibbs on NCIS sees Gibbs follow a case to Alaska and then decide to stay there and enjoy the peace he's found – a peace he hasn't felt since his first wife Shannon and daughter Kelly died. It is, in many ways, the end of Gibbs' story, except it isn't. We will see, and hear, Mark Harmon again in��NCIS: Origins. It's just that we will see him in the past, telling us the story of how he became the man we met.

[causetheturtle]

Thoughts while rewatching season 3 of Riverdale:

1. K why did Alice’s farm style slay so hard? Like she looked so great

2. Love how Archie is literally in this prison FOR FUCKING MURDER and still nobody is scared of him - they saw this man in his nice little shoes his rich girlfriend gave him and were like “yeah this man is ducking useless”

3. VERONICA STOP BUYING YOUR BOYFRIEND NICE THINGS WHILE HE’S IN PRISON! He’s just gonna get this shit stolen your dad was in jail how do you not know how a prison works?

4. It’s so sad that the normies got hold of the “epic highs and lows of high school football” line because it really is such a perfect Archie line - this man is naive and kind hearted enough to believe a game of football is all that’s needed to fix the structurally broken prison system but if you haven’t watched the show and don’t know anything about Archie then it’s obviously gonna seem ridiculous

5. Riverdale relationship drama is so funny cause it’s like “Betty had a stress related seizure due her mother and sister joining a cult and didn’t tell Jughead” or “Veronica isn’t sure of the best way to help Archie through his time in prison”

6. Kevin asking Moose if he’s embarrassed by him of course he is Kevin have you met yourself? Your literally the worst

7. Organising a musical number and cheerleading routine for her boyfriend while he plays a game of football in prison is actually the most normal reaction Veronica Lodge has ever had to any situation ever

8. Realising I talk about Riverdale the same way all of the G&G players talk about G&G

9. Imagine being an adult in Riverdale and hearing that a new bar opened up under Pop’s and going for a night out to check it out but you get there and it’s just a load of teenagers doing musical numbers and drinking mocktails

10. Why is FP’s immediate reaction to any situation ever to just grab his son’s face and yell at him? Begging for this man to have a normal non-abusive reaction to something just one time

11. Will never stop thinking about the Midnight Club. It was the first episode of Riverdale I really watched and it’s still one of my favourites. Like the way all of the parents tried so hard and came so close to breaking their moulds and forging their own paths but they never did and just fell into exactly what the world and the people around them wanted to be AND how their kids are all in the same situation now? The narrative, the cycles, the generational trauma! This episode has everything

12. Knowing now that Sheriff Keller actually WAS into guys the whole time and it was just that he didn’t want to be with Moose’s dad makes the whole situation so much funnier

13. The idea that they were all booking out the bunker for certain nights a week is so funny - like did they have physical a schedule? Who kept the schedule? Did it just sit in like the offices of the Blue and Gold?

14. I fucking love Archie and Josie together and have fully convinced myself that Josie is somehow California Women

15. It needs to be studied what exactly the Heathers episode did to my brain because that one episode of TV completely rewired my brain chemistry and changed the trajectory of my life

16. It’s so sad that the happiest Polly ever got to be was when she was part of a cult. It’s also sad how much everyone’s farm fashion went off cause they all looked so good during that era

17. It’s actually a miracle it took so long for Fangs to actually die there were so many attempts on his life

18. God Veronica running multiple businesses at age 16 and none of the Riverdale adults batting an eye and just respecting her as a business women will never not be funny to me

19. The plot twist that Alice was actually working undercover to take down the farm actually makes her being so awful to Betty make less sense. Sure, she was doing it for the greater good I guess but like she didn’t have to give away her college money or sell their fucking house leaving Betty with the options of homelessness or moving to a cult to get it done

20. FP maybe if you need to get your teenage son to regularly come and help you with your job as sheriff then you shouldn’t be doing it? Although on the other hand Jughead would’ve gone to those crime scenes anyway so like maybe it’s a good thing FP was there as adult supervision

21. GOD the cult break out and scavenger quest are such amazing finales for this season. Everyone nearly dies about ten times, Kevin and Fangs no longer have kidneys, the core four staggering through the woods in formal wear close to death together, Cheryl and Toni coming to save them all with the power of gangs and bows and arrows, it had literally everything you could want!

22. Love how Hal Cooper is canonically one of the worst serial killers ever and every woman he’s been with tells him this to his face

[ivormybeloved]

This is honestly bringing up more questions, and I'm honestly starting to feel a little bad for making lists with like twenty questions, but hey, that's what you get for making a good AU.

How does Ivor react to knowing Romeo taking Jesse's identity? Does he try to kill him for trying to ruin his son's life?

Does Soren know about Ivor's little murders?

How does Jesse eventually tell Axel and Olivia?

Is your OC still present in this AU?

How does Jesse get Ivor in jail? Does he trick him? Does he lure him in somehow?

Does Jesse at least visit him in jail? I would love to see him

Do the townspeople become wary of Jesse after knowing his dad murder a bunch of people? Do people even know Ivor is Jesse's dad?

Is sparkles still dead?

Does Ivor's bat try to break him out of jail?

How did Ivor react when everyone accused Lukas of being the white pumpkin?

Does he enjoy murder now?

Does Jesse appreciate Ivor still wanting to be in his life and giving him hints on sticky note where he can find more adventure?

Does Jesse know Ivor's his father when they meet in season one?

ANDDDD those are all the questions for a while.... BUT if you ever find any plot holes, I can help :D

Thank you ilysm 😭

1. Ivor is pretty p!ssed about it, but he complies with Romeo's wishes so that he at least gets to meet Jesse again. I mean, he DOES help defeat Romeo like normal. It's just more like Petra and Jesse do NOT trust him-

2. Soren does not know. He ran away in season 1 and has not been seen since a fan arc I made (I call it TV Arc bc y'know the evil guy has a TV head lol)

3. He doesn't. Ivor tells them himself

4. No, sadly. Everyone in episode 6 (including me and my friend's ocs) are dead except for Stampy and Dan.

5. No he pretty much goes willingly. He basically does everything Jesse tells him (except for "STOP KILLING INNOCENT PEOPLE" and then just "but Jesse.. she didn't like my lava tower :'[")

6. Jesse does visit him from time to time.

7. No the topic just never came around. He never really said outright that Ivor was his dad. Though, if the people didn't dislike Jesse because his dad made the witherstorm they probably won't dislike him if his dad has MULTIPLE accounts of MANSLAUGHTER

8. Nah Sparklez is still dead.

9. Buttercup does try, but Ivor doesn't want to go yet. So he just stays where he is. His motives are.. still unclear.

10. His face was literally just: >:0 (but in all seriousness he got pretty upset about people even THINKING about accusing Lukas- like- LOOK AT HI-)

11. Yup. Think of it as like an alcohol addiction. He tried it once and now is obsessed with it.

12. Jesse is suspicious, but he's happy Ivor's still trying to be there. Though Jesse's tryna get Ivor to stop killing people-

13. No, actually. He doesn't remember Ivor at all. Ivor doesn't really recognize him at first because he slowly started to forget what people looked like. Though Soren kept pictures, so he was just like "wow Jesse you've grown a bunch :0" and Jesse's like "..wha-"

[starlightrows]

Hello and welcome back to Krax Watches. Tonight I am binge watching The Bad Batch Season 3, Episodes 10-14.

Episode 10 — Identity Crisis

• The little kids being imprisoned made me cry. Like immediately. I’m on my period okay? Leave me alone

• Why haven’t they killed Nala Se?

• I was hoping we would have more info on Emerie by now. Like is she really a clone? And if she is, is she a female clone of Jango or a clone of someone else?

• I know it’s already been established that Cad Bane is a known child abductor, I hate looking at it with my own two eyeballs every time. ITS LITERALLY A BABY

• I’m so glad Boba Fett murdered Cad Bane like 35 years later.

Episode 11 — Point of No Return

• The second she put down Lula and Tech’s nerd goggles, the ship was toast

• I hope someone kills Sid. Snitches get stitches and also fuck you

• Hunter really fell from like a hundred feet up and just swam his ass back to shore

• I hate that this season has made me go back on my hatred of Crosshair. I still think he’s a crusty dusty musty asshole. But god damn am I weak for sibling tropes, especially older brother tropes.

• You just know he is beating the ever loving shit out of himself for losing Omega to the Empire

• Mystery masked guy, that is definitely Tech, really just allowed Omega to be loose back there behind him while flying at the end there… I know this is still sort of a kids show and they would never actually do this… but Omega could totally bash him in the back of the head while he’s flying. Or garrot him or something. Maybe even yank off his helmet.

Episode 12 — Juggernaut

• Omega looking at Emerie… hello traitor

• Kinda forgot that Crosshair and Phee haven’t met yet

• Phee still refers to Tech as brown eyes, cute! But don’t all of them have brown eyes… ya know… because they’re clones

• …. What was Admiral Rampart arrested for again? I remember hating him… but I can’t remember anything else about him

• Phee is cool as fuck and I love her

• Rampart is racist… alienist… whatever, fuck that guy

• Wouldn’t it have been a wild connection if Rampart was in a work camp or work facility like the one Cassian was in?! Way harder to get him out, but would have been a cool connection

• Wooooooo! Jail break!

• Playing chicken with a tank!

• Lmao throwing Rampart like a sack of potatoes

• I kind of can’t figure out what it is they are trying to accomplish with Omega and the other high M count kiddos. Maybe I’m just dense

Episode 13 — Into the Breach

• It makes me intensely sad thinking about the fact that Omega has spent the majority of her little life in captivity

• They’re making the children take care of the literal baby

• Echo my boy! You’ve returned!

• I like how Omegas legs are almost too big to fit under the table, she’s groaning up 😫

• She’s so devious and crafty, I love Omega

• They stripped the paint off their armor. Why does that feel so foreboding???

• Rampart is cranky because he hasn’t gotten dick in months, damn shame

• Even with the paint stripped off their armor, they look wildly out of place

• Wrecker playing is playing Candy Crush, scrolling space Tumblr, swiping on galactic Hinge, reading fanfic on space AO3

• I want to cuddle that owl baby so bad

• I love bitchy little R2 units

• Crosshair saying, Relax, Echo’s on it, makes me emotional

• Literally can’t believe that fucking worked

Episode 14 — Flash Strike

• Howmst the fuck did they know that it was Clone Force 99 and Rampart? They didn’t get caught by anyone

• I feel like Wrecker hasn’t gotten to do anything or have any personality this season :/ he’s kinda just there

• This bitch with the bangs is going to be an ongoing problem. I hope the children kick her shins until she croaks or something

• Lamo what does Rampart sound like that?!

• Echo really needs to get a prosthetic hand at some point his little screwdriver nub is a dead give away

• Did they leave Batcher on Pabu? I didn’t realize she was missing until now

• Rampart have ZERO self preservation skills. There is almost nothing preventing the batch from killing him

• Inventory droids always have a stick up their ass

• Thanks for the hand! Oh my god 😂 I was right!!

• Please let the monster eat Rampart, PLEASE let the monster eat Rampart. PLEASEEEEEEE

• What the fuuuuuck? I forgot about the Zillo Beast

• I was such an anxious child. I would have been so worried about Omega I would have thrown up

• Omega’s poker face is iconic!

• Let’s go Emerie! You have exactly one opportunity to not fuck this up

The final episode next week is going to be chaotic as fuck. I have no idea what to expect. I feel like there are waaay too many loose ends to tie up. Which further leads me to believe that there’s going to be another spin off about Omega or about Rex or something.

[trashbud]

How to watch/read Black Buttler (Kuroshitsuji) while seeing as much of the anime as possible (No Spoilers)

Special thanks to the wiki’s contributors without the info on the wiki this would have been a lot harder to make.

Edit: I'm editing the guide as I rewatch/reread kuroshitsuji to make it more accurate

Guide

Chapter 1 of the manga and/or S1 Episode 1 of the anime (1)

S1 Episode 2 and 3 of the anime (2)

Chapter 5 (3)

S1 Episodes 4 to 6

Chapter 14 (3)

S1 Episode 13 (4)

S1 Episode 14 BUT

When Ciel goes into Soma's room and says "who knows..." in the dub and "Maybe I would've..." in the sub switch to manga chapter 19 and read until Ciel's vision of the past ends

THEN

Watch the rest of episode 14 until it pans out to a scene with a lot pots with food

Read chapter 20 to 23 of the manga

Book of Circus Anime

Chapter 37 (3)

Book of Murder OVA

Book of Atlantic Movie

Chapters 67 onwards

(1) Episode 1 of the anime is loosely based on chapter 1. They have very different vibes and purposes, but you can do either or and be fine or better yet watch the episode and skim Chapter 1 for the differences if you are up to it.

(2) The order is flipped in the manga, but it honestly does not matter or change much. (I like anime order better.)

(3) Transition chapters between arcs.

(4) A throw away line about a dog won't make sense its anime original stuff just ignore it

FAQ

Why even make this?

Short answer:

I couldn’t find one when I wanted to show it to my sister in hopes she’d get into the manga.

Long answer:

Black Buttler (or Kuroshitsuji) is an excellent manga with a very poor season 1 and 2 of anime which consist of about 70% filler that not only doesn’t add to the story but manages to muddle the lore at times and creates some less than stellar anime original finales.

That being said, getting people into reading a manga is much harder than getting them into an anime and some episodes do closely follow the source material, therefore I made this guide to help people who want to read as little of the manga as possible while still enjoying the original story as it was intended by the mangaka.

2. Why does the guide not say anything about season 2 of the anime and jumps straight to season 3 (Book of Circus)?

Season 2 is 100% anime original, so I didn’t include it in the chart. Its quality is up to personal preference honestly (I dislike it, but some people enjoyed it or at least characters from it) but regardless I’d recommend for those who want to see it (or the filler episodes of season 1 for that matter) to do it after at least Book of Circus to avoid muddling the actual lore in their heads.

3. I watched all of season 1 (and season 2) but I want to be able to follow the manga’s story line from now on. What should I do?

You can just see the canon episode synopsis on the wiki instead of watching them again, just to situate yourself on what has happened in the manga and what was just anime filler and otherwise follow the guide as it’s written.

4. What about the new thing coming out?

Not a lot of info is out but we expect it to cover the Public School Arc of the manga and if that’s true than it will probably adapt chapters 67 to 85.

Anime episodes to manga chapters

Not in the season 1 of the anime from the arcs adapted:

Chapter 1 (Loosely adapted)

Chapter 5

Chapter 14

Chapter 20 to 22 (VERY VERY LOOSE ADAPTATION)

Chapter 23

Chapter 37

Chapter 66 onwards

[cannoli-reader]

Watching the Wheel of Time show, Season 3, episode 3

Originally posted on readandfindout.com on 3/18/2025

In a dingy basement or undercroft, a man comes down a flight of stairs.

01:15 Looks like Gaebril skulking around.

It's Gaebril and then Lanfear, for a prearranged meeting. A man in a uniform emerges from a portal, whom Gaebril identifies as Sammael. Lanfear approaches Gaebril and noting lipstick on his neck, asks if he is already sleeping with a Queen, calling him Rahvin. She seems surprised, because he's only been free a month. He responds that everyone thinks they've been in love for over a decade, which she attributes to compulsion. Sammael is impatient, saying they can sniff each other's asses later, asking where the Dragon is, but Lanfear says they have more urgent problems.

02:14 Since they’re going with immersion-breaking modern profanity, Sammael’s vulgarity is rather in character. And for the record, I am not even going to bother looking up what era of social & technical development they would have started calling lip color “lipstick”.

Sammael mocks her use of Rand's current name, and her past feelings for Lews Therin. They square off with ominous music until Rahvin laughs, and rebukes them for forgetting how in the past they fought each other more than the Dragon and it didn't go well. Lanfear called the meeting about Moghedian. Sammael scoffs, but Lanfear warns that she's smart and will pick them off, starting with Sammael, the weakest, and working her way up to Lanfear. She can only hope to be "Nae'blis" if all the others are dead. Sammael asks why Lanfear isn't in charge if she's so strong, suggesting that the Dark One isn't thrilled with her. Rahvin summarizes that Lanfear is proposing an alliance, and offers to let Graendal and Semirhage know. Lanfear is surprised, not wanting them in on it, but Rahvin has used news of the meeting to turn them against her. Lanfear urges he consider herr somewhat unspecific proposal, because it makes sense, before theatrically portaling out. Sammael says nothing as he backs into his own portal

04:13 So Sammael (canonically stronger than four of the six named surviving Forsaken) is the weakest of the Forsaken, except possibly Moghedian, while Lanfear is the strongest, when ITB, she was tied for ninth place.

I don’t know British accents, I think Sammael’s is Scottish or northern English, and I am wondering if there is a military association? It seems a popular accent for tough guy types. (Regional stereotypes of other countries are also not my forte)

Moghedian emerges, having been spying the meeting, asking Rahvin if he's considering Lanfear's proposal. She says she's not repeating her past mistakes, because she doesn't want to end up imprisoned again, but with more words and squirrelly mannerisms.

04:57 I like Moghedian getting a little more respect, but this is not close to actual Moghedian. Of all the Forsaken, she was far and away the most grounded, normal, and sensible. She wasn’t some twitchy, quirky weirdo on the Screenplay Spectrum. She wasn’t the Forsaken anyone wanted to be, but if forced to be honest with ourselves, she is the Forsaken most people probably would be, if they found themselves plunked down in an advanced world with great power, and no empathy for the inhabitants thereof. We’d probably do exactly what she did – use our powers to game the financial system for quick cash, and if forced to operate in a hostile world, with your own team all being murderous rivals, lie low, and only shoot when positive it was going to be absolutely safe, and when confident of your superiority, absolutely crush weaker people who inconvenienced you.

All that said, this was not the worst way to show viewers the backstabbing dynamics of the Forsaken, at this point in the game.

06:26 Liars!

A woman doing her part to combat the proliferation of an impossible Hollywood ideal body type on screen sits on a stone floor, weeping, as Verin informs us in voiceover that she is Black Ajah, captured by Siuan (one of those who nearly caught her with the belfry before Moiraine intervened in the first episode). He see her bald compatriot sitting in a better lit room, with an improbable amount of torches, and a more dignified bearing. Verin is telling this to Nynaeve & Elayne, naming them Joiya and Amico and saying that they know what the others are up to, but the refuse to talk, despite being stilled. She says that Siuan thinks the girls might have more luck than Verin and her associates. Elayne & Nynaeve think they might do better on their own, because they can lie, unlike the sisters. Nynaeve also wants to question them separately, and still seems pissed at Elayne.

The bald one notes that Elayne is Accepted. Nynaeve tells her that the first one to confess gets to live, asking if there are more Black sisters still in the Tower. She scoffs, asking if they really think they can succeed where sisters failed, so Elayne says to get Amico, making this, presumably, Joiya. Amico is having trouble getting into a sitting position in her own cell. She claims not to know if there are more Black sisters in the Tower, saying no one knows more than her heart. She mentions Liandrin found out something, but Nynaeve interrupts to ask about the term heart, so Amico explains that it's a group of three Black sisters, who operate as a unit, with each one only knowing the identity of one Black member outside her heart, and Amico's was Liandrin. Nynaeve asks where Liandrin is, but Amico says she doesn't know and has told everything she does.

08:38 I’d think the obvious question would be “Who are the other two in your heart?” (Or did Amico take up all the room? ). And while I might be prejudiced on this matter, since I already know what a heart is, I think Nynaeve should have let her finish saying what she was about to say about Liandrin.

By the way, a thing to remember that I’m not sure the writers do, is that Amico was stilled ITB when they were interrogating her, while Joiya was not. Because stilling removes any Oath Rod effects, Amico was capable of revealing Black Ajah plans, and Joiya was not. Hence why Mazrim Taim never went about a rampage of terror and why the whole rest of the crew who had been with Amico & Joiya was found at the location Amico gave. The writers have not been great at using the Three Oaths to this point, so it will be interesting to see how they handle this, since they are both supposed to be stilled. And they reminded Verin of the Oaths right before the interrogation.

Nynaeve says she's useless, Elayne affects suspicions, but says Joiya already talked, so they should just kill Amico. They stare at her until she reveals that Liandrin is going to Tear to help the Forsaken steal Callanor. Back with Joiya, she protests that Amico is untrustworthy and used to habitually lie to her terminal patients, but Elayne points out that she's talking which means she values her life. For some reason, this gets Joiya to say that Liandrin is going after Mazrim Taim in Saldaea. When they question her honestly, she states she was a Gray sister who was good at analyzing situations to figure out how to negotiate in them, and she believes that the girls will kill her.

10:20 So Joiya is more or less telling the same story as in the books. Not looking great.

Elaida's bracelet is jingling, because her hand is shaking as she sits at her dressing table trying to hold it still. She ends up sweeping everything off and calling for Alice, presumably a servant. Instead she gets Min, who says that Alice left with Morgase, and offers her own services instead. Elaida agrees, saying today is important.

11:00 Was the trembling Elaida trying to shake off Rahvin’s compulsion?

Nynaeve and Elayne make their way through the streets debating which sister was telling the truth. Nynaeve believes investigating Liandrin is the key and leads Elayne to the house where her son lived, but it's empty. She had been hoping to find clues among his possessions. Elayne believes Nynaeve liked her, and Nynaeve says that although Liandrin was trying to corrupt her, she thinks she was also trying to help her and she loved her son. She notices something under the bed, which they slide away, revealing a symbol on the floor which Elayne says was painted with chalk and salt.

12:45 I guess Aes Sedai have charms or magic circles or whatever.

Elaida encounters Leane and Verin on the balcony where they have spoken with Siuan before. She wonders what Verin is doing in this part of the Tower, and Leane asks her the same. She wants to see the Amyrlin, invoking her right to do, so but Verin pedantically corrects her that only a Sitter has the right to request a private audience or a vote. A vote? Gee, I wonder if that will be relevant going forward? Verin disingenuously suggests Elaida is out of touch, and the Red warns her that she won't forget it if Verin crosses her. Leane tells her to come back with a Sitter and she'll consider the petition for a private audience. Elaida smiles and curtsies and we finally have an actor on the show who is capable of smiles that don't touch her eyes, and staring daggers at someone.

Elaida enters the Red quarters followed by a novice carrying a small chest. She approaches the black woman with short hair who has been more or less the most prominent of the Reds this season, and addresses her as Highest. She has brought gifts, offering one she calls Galina, a container of Andoran wild strawberries, which she is known to like, from Morgase's royal forest.

14:30 Ugh, the Pervert Trio has been vindicated by the writers. It was Galina they were barring from entry into the Hall during the battle. That might explain why she survived Jane’s attack from behind. Actually, I wonder if she was supposed to be Jeaine? And, for the record, ITB, Galina was the Highest & Tsutama was in exile, recalled when Elaida took the Amyrlin Seat, and chosen to replace Galina after she disappeared at Dumai’s Wells.

Elaida offers the black dark-skinned sister, Tsutama, a necklace. Tsutama initially appears impressed, but reconsiders with a look at Elaida, telling her to keep it, as it is too gaudy for her and it suits Elaida better. Elaida sends the novice off with the rejected gift. She tells her sisters she wants to see the Reds restored to their former prominence, that they had enjoyed when she herself had been Highest. Tsutama smilingly says times are different and their position is too fraught to press, after Liandrin's exposure. Elaida contends that they have to, because the Dragon has been Reborn as a man, and they are the only ones who can handle this. Galina asks what she proposes, and Elaida wants to have the Hall vote to send 8 sisters to find Rand and cage him.

Tsutama demurs, saying they need to regain their standing in the Tower, and Elaida is making that more difficult. She indicates Elaida should leave, but an exchange of glances between Galina and Elaida suggests she's not speaking for everyone. They start to busy themselves, but Elaida turns at the door to point out that Siaun locked the Red Sitters out of the Hall, but Elaida blames Tsutama for not pushing back harder to keep their position. She leaves with a flourish.

16:28 Is there something in the water in this fictive Caemlyn that makes the writers actually handle the politics somewhat competently when the people from that city get involved? While the backstory is a bit shaky, we have to remember that Moiraine is a lot older than her book character, so Elaida could be as well. Especially given the actresses’ age gap. So we can accept that years in the past, the Reds were riding high, under Elaida, which, in turn, could have led to her contending for the Amyrlin Seat against Siuan, as the dialogue last episode implied, contra the books, where they were simply names considered by the Hall, and they were not competing for the office. Now we know that in that nebulous 20-year-old past, Siuan was in the Tower and rather unambitious, possibly changing her approach after hearing Gitara’s Foretelling, while Elaida was at Morgase’s side in Caemlyn. So, the Amyrlin election has to be more recent than that, which means her book issue, of being preoccupied with Andor costing her the Amyrlin Seat, could still be in force. I wonder if she still had her Foretelling, that caused her to step down as Highest, to pursue her Andoran agenda, or if she was forced to step down after some other political setback, and her move to Andor was seen as a sort of voluntary exile. Anyway, it makes sense that she might be slightly out of touch, or else Tsutama is spurning her on any pretext, seeing her as a threat to her own position or the status quo. And her point was very well taken, about Tsutama letting Siuan shut the Reds out.

For the record, BTW, Tsutama absolutely had gaudy taste, unlike Elaida, ITB. I wonder if they aren’t costuming Elaida based on Aghdashloo’s elaborate and exotic garb in The Expanse.

Another backstory issue that occurs to me – this revealed timeline might be a problem. Morgase only gaining the throne around the time the Aiel War was ending is completely out of whack, since it was her policies as queen, and in particular, regarding her husband, that started the dominos falling to provoke the Aiel War. Galad was a child, and Gawyn already born, when she claimed the throne, and she was well along with Elayne, so she must have been with Tarangail for a couple of years, but also, Galad is a lot younger than he was at that point in the books, so Tigraine has been gone for less time. It’s possible that Tarangail suddenly no longer being married to the heir apparent to the Lioness Throne might have been sufficient weakness to inspire “uncle” to cost the Damodreds everything, but he must have married Morgase long before her victory or Morgase took a long time to finish the war, even after it was sufficiently clear that she was going to win that Tarangail was ready to marry her, impregnate her with Gawyn, and then Elayne, before the final triumph was achieved.

Now we are in the Aiel Waste.

16:32 I am not good at visual stuff like this, but this shot of the Waste looks like a really old Western or Biblical epic, before color was all that great.

The group is traveling with several Aiel, and Lan asks how they knew the group was coming, but Rhuarc says that's Wise One's business. Moiraine asks who are the Wise Ones, and gets the same answer. Egwene tells Rand that Bair looks like someone she saw in her dream the previous night. She stops and turns to tell Egwene that, no, Egwene was in her dream. Rhuarc raises a hand and another Aiel woman says "Be quiet, we are nearing water."

17:05: Are they afraid of scaring the water off? Also, that Maiden just basically shushed a Wise One. Egwene spoke the most quietly, Bair & the Maiden both spoke louder.

Aviendha explains, as the other Aiel rush forward, that more blood has been spilled over water than gold in the Three-Fold Land. They make whistling noises and high-pitched cries and Rharac and Aviendha veil themselves and move up with the others. Past the rocks ahead are a small group of wagons that look like they've been burned.

17:32 Uh oh. Kadere & company killed in adaptation. It occurs to me that we have Lanfear, Rahvin, Sammael, Moghedian, Graendal & Semirhage listed for our seven surviving Forsaken. That leaves one slot, for, I would assume, Demandred or Asmodean, as the most prominent of those remaining. Mesaana is far and away the most useless, Bel'al was in too briefly for our dimbulb writers to register, as was Aginor/Osan'gar, and I just glad they are not trying to tackle the Balthamel/Aran'gar issue. Although either or both could show up as a surprise to even the other Forsaken. All this to say, I wonder if Asmodean is going to be involved in this.

There are dead bodies all over. Lan identifies them as Tuatha'an, The Aiel note that they were all hunted down and killed, but Rhuarc denies Aiel did it, because it's forbidden to harm the Lost Ones and Aviendha has a clumsily worded explanation about honor. She thinks one of the Tinkers was killed by a sword, but Lan thinks it was done by a spear meant to look like a sword. Aviendha insists no Aiel would do this, but Bair says the Shaido might. Rhuarc says they need to go to avoid the Shaido, and Aviendha explains they are another clan who have a blood feud with the Taardad. Whoever they are.

Egwene wants to bury them, but the woman who warned them to be quiet because of the water (she's not actually in warrior garb, so she might be a Wise One, too), says that they aren't worth the time or stones, it’s their own fault they are dead and they really need to get to Rhuidean.

19:07 Don't worry, Egwene. Burials on this show are so shallow, they're basically useless. Or, you could, you know, incinerate them? Remember all the Power you and Moiriane were flinging around at Falme?

Rhuarc tells Bair to go on, calling her "shade of my heart" and they touch foreheads together. He says he will bury the dead and meet up with them.

19:16 Is there a reason Rhuarc is with Bair? Or rather, why Bair replaced Amys? It's not like one name is particularly shorter, and we already have a Bain.

Rand tries to ask about Rhuidean as Rhuarc starts piling stones around a body right under the awning over the well, and Rhuarc dismisses his questions with clichéd mumbo jumbo.

Perrin is burying his broken wedding ring near a white-blossomed sapling. Alanna approaches, still with white stuff on her face, but now in daylight, more obviously in a deliberate pattern. Perrin says it's not a garden, but a burial ground for his family, each of whom was buried with an appleseed in their hand.

20:29 I guess the white crap on Alanna's face is deliberate and supposed to be some sort of mourning nonsense. If they spent half the effort on writing a coherent plot that they do on incorporating obscure fantasy customs, weird practices from obscure second-rate cultures, this might be a good show.

Alanna asks about the sapling, and Perrin says it's for Laila, his wife. He says it hurts and comforts him to see the tree thriving in his absence. She, in turn, tells him that where she is from, they mix a dead person's ashes with clay and water and wear it on the face, until it seeps into their own skin.

21:25 Yeah, see, I was right. WoT is not going to say anything profound that we need to hear about grief, but they have a lot of story to tell, and according to their shills, not enough time to tell it. And frankly, we're actually glad Ihvon is dead (though we'd prefer not-Owein) just to stop the Pervert Trio's inappropriate bullshit. Given the emphasis the show has had on their sex life, Alanna's facial mourning decoration leads to a very different assumption as what is the white stuff on her face.

Perrin asks if she's going to get another warder. She says she's had a few warders over the years, but being in the Pervert Trio was special. Perrin says at least she and Maksim, which is not-Owein's name and I feel like I knew that, have each other, but Alanna says it's all weird for two people to mourn a third, almost like polyamorous relationships are unnatural and nothing works except for the gratification of the base desire for sexual variety.

Back in the hideout, Maksim is sharpening his sword while Bain & Chiad try to persuade Loial to put down his book and play Maiden's Kiss with them, referring to writing as "squiggles". Loial takes his pen back and demurs. They look over at Maksim and approach him, and he says "absolutely not" without looking up.

23:02 I owe Aviendha an apology, for ragging on her because the only thing she saw fit to tell Perrin or us about Bain & Chiad were their sexual proclivities. Now it's looking like that's really all there is to them! Ladies, one of them is not human, and the other is A. gay and B. in mourning. Fuck right off. A question in the spirit of actual WoT, IMO, is, how would this play if a couple of bros were trying to get a woman of a different species, and another who was mourning her lesbian partner, each to play a kissing game where they get to use violence to enforce participation.

Also, the implication of "Maiden's Kiss" ITB is that they don't play it for recreation or out of sexual interest, but as a prank and/or method of discouraging men who don't accept that the Spear is the important part of their name, and their priority over men.

They suggest they'll go easy on him for his first time, and his comeback is "who says it's my first time?" with a pained expression that frankly does a lot to overcome the assumption of nepotistic casting. Our lovely ladies can't take a hint and tell him to leave the dirty sword alone with Chiad sticking her spearpoint in his face, and he tells them it's not dirt, but the blood of the only man he's ever loved. They finally turn away when noise outside draws their attention. There is a fifth person, possibly Marin, in the room this whole time, BTW.

Perrin and Alanna enter in a hurry warning of a crowd approaching. They got to hide and a man walks in as Marin approaches the door. She backs up as he moves in, and a woman with weird features follows, with the camera more interested in her than Marin's conversation with the man. He is telling them the Whitecloaks have arrested Natti & her daughters, because her husband helped the Aybaras escape. New Girl asks "Who are you" and one of the locals who followed them in identifies him as Perrin Aybara. People notice his eyes, as Marin introduces the man as Lord Luc, a Hunter for the Horn who was passing through with his party when the Whitecloaks showed up. Dark-haired Luc says he has dealt with them before. Perrin asks where the Cauthons are, and Luc starts to dismiss his concern, before New Girl says in their camp at Watch Hill. She sounds Eastern European, and asks if he knows the Children of the Light, because they know him.

24:33 That's probably Faile. And I notice once again, they are mentioning Abel Cauthon saving people.

In the Children's camp, Bornhald is approached by Valda who decries the wasted material in keeping the Cauthons imprisoned, and wants to interrogate them to find out where Abel took the Aybaras. Bornhald is sticking to the mission, pointing out that they don't need to know where the Aybaras are, since the arrest was public, which means Perrin will find out and come to them.

Valda says there are faster ways, but Bornhald refuses to let him interrogate innocent civilians. Valda reminds him (accurately) of Perrin's crimes, saying the land must be tainted to produce someone like him. Bornhald says he's sent for reinforcements to help with the Trollocs, and if they don’t have Perrin by the time the reinforcements get there… Valda takes this is as assent. Bornhald approaches the Cauthons' cage and looks them over. Natti says she'll die before she lets him touch the girls, which isn't much of a threat or dissuasion in the circumstances. Bornhald walks off without speaking.

26:10 Stay the course, Dain! Fiat justitia ruat caelum! The show has gone out of its way to make us not care much about the Cauthon family, anyway.

Mat is having nightmares about battle and screaming. He sits up and someone knocks. It turns out to be Min, whom Mat does not want to see, but she insists, calling him a little prick. She tells him what she gave up for him, specifically that Ishamael was going to take away her visions, but she gave up her chance to be normal to spare him.

27:05 He owes you nothing for that, Min. You're a piece of shit for making the deal in the first place, you don't get points for not following through. If I had the choice of saving your life or Bornhald, I wouldn't have to think twice.

Mat concurs, saying he doesn't have much gratitude and she should work on getting forgiveness before she goes looking for gratitude. Min takes offense and stalks out. Mat calls after her, like he feels that he's gone too far.

Nynaeve and Elayne are rummaging in the library, and Elayne finds a reference to the symbol under Liandrin's son's bed, saying it is a custom from Tanchico for dead people, and you are supposed to draw it on the place where someone dies and where they were born. Nynaeve speculates that maybe that's where Liandrin is from and where her son was born. This clue pointing to Tanchico means they wasted their time questioning Joiya & Amico and both of them were lying.

27:55 You need detective work to know where an Aes Sedai came from? They don't have records for that sort of thing? They did in the books…Following customs like that are also pretty dumb if you are lying low or trying to hide your place of origin. And I can't tell if Nynaeve leaping to the assumption that a Taranboner practice proves both Amica and Joiya are lying is meant to be stupid, or if the writers are just trying to force the decision to go to Tanchico. Liandrin being from Tanchico has absolutely no bearing on the Black Ajah's plans and it has no bearing on her likely destination. Must we automatically assume that every time Nynaeve leaves the Tower, she's going to the Two Rivers, or Elayne to Andor?

Elayne says if they were lying about everything, they should look at what the Black sisters didn't say, as she leafs through drawings of ter'angreal which neither Black mentioned. They find a picture of a bracelet like the a'dam but older. Elayne points out that Tanchico is near Falme, where the Seanchan landed, and their point of origin. She thinks Liandrin will be looking for the matching collar in Tanchico. Nynaeve notices someone aiming a crossbow behind Elayne and shoves her down as the figure shoots. It grazes Elayne's head and she blasts the shooter out of the room. In the hall, he is dead, with a weird face that Elayne says is gray, and Nynaeve notes the similarity to her assailant at the inn. Elayne didn't think she threw him hard enough to kill, but Nynaeve notes he's been stabbed. Verin comes up asking what happened.

29:43 I guess they couldn't afford/call back the actor who played Sheriam.

Verin explains what a Gray Man is, how they give up their souls to the Shadow for the ability to pass unnoticed. Nynaeve asks what Verin is doing there, and she says these are the novice Brown Ajah quarters and she is the Mistress of Novices Brown Ajah. Elayne asks if it's safe to go back to their rooms. Verin agrees and tells them to lock their doors until she or the Amyrlin comes to them.

Once they are around the corner, Nynaeve confides to Elayne that they aren't staying but are leaving for Tanchico tonight, saying she doesn't care if it's a trap, it's safer than the Tower, because Verin never wondered who stabbed the Gray Man

30:50 It is amazing how much more intelligent people seem when they hew close to the book's dialogue. Nynaeve actually got through a whole scene of not being stupid. I mean, there was stupid stuff in there, but it was basically contrived logic because the show is trying to force the plot, not the characters being stupid. That being said, there was no reason to assume that Verin realized the Gray Man had been stabbed, and the idea of it being a trap came out of nowhere, because they actually copy-pasted lines from the books, where the clues were so ham-fistedly obvious they assumed there was a trap involved. Here, by all appearances, strenuous efforts are being made to stop them from going. I guess sticking with the books is a double-edge sword.

Also, the new lore that Moghedian is exclusively capable of creating Gray Men, means that she dispatched this one to stop Nynaeve and Elayne. Why?

A caption tells us that we are in Tanchico, where people all cover their whole faces with veils and hoods. Liandrin her face covered in red gauzy cloth leads a group costumed for Mardi Gras, with Nikabrik at her side.

31:13 All the efforts at disguise are rather futile when you are traipsing around in the company of Nikabrik.

A wedding ceremony is being performed elsewhere.

31:19 The "updated feminist" version of WoT features the franchise's first ever male wedding officiant, not acting under the aegis of the Dragon Reborn.

Liandrin and company enter a building.

31:24 One of the Black Ajah is wearing shorts. That is all.

They burst in on the wedding, and Liandrin asks the groom's name, which is Jaq Lounalt. She winces in recognition and says he must be her husband's great-grandson. She goes on to monologue that she never got a wedding ceremony, and instead he put their wedding bed in the cellar, until she turned up pregnant not long before her 13th birthday. She unveils the bride and is horrified, but apparently unsurprised to find "another child". Jaq tells her not to touch the bride, she's his. Liandrin channels to rip out his heart, and at her assent, the Black sisters begin slaughtering all the guests while the bride looks on befuddled. She backs up fearfully, and Liandrin tries to reassure her, saying it's "our house, now". She calls for Naomi, saying her friend can make all the scary thoughts go away.

33:10 Oh, right. Nikabrik's name is Naomi.

Naomi says she'll lose more than her memories of today, and Liandrin says a return home means one of two things. Remembrance or revenge. Naomi zaps the bride in the forehead and Liandrin says it's best not to remember a thing. The bride stares blankly and the room is full of bodies.

33:39 Well this explains some things. Nikabrik-Naomi is a mind specialist, which explains Adeleas losing her memory, and raises some interesting questions wrt Verin.

Elsewhere, Elaida is pensively staring out a window, TV character fashion. Min comes in with clothes Elaida sent for. Elaida commiserates with her about a burden and Min says the clothes were no problem, but Elaida is talking about the future.

34:08 LoL. Min sucks as a spy.

Elaida cites advice she was given by a Blue to pay attention to servants assigned to her rooms and find out why they were put there. She has ascertained that Min is a seer, and reveals her own gift of Foretellings. In response to Min's sarcastic comment, she says she does consider her Foretellings good luck and treasures them. Min asks why, since they can't do anything to change them. Elaida says that being a seer does not mean you're only a watcher, and that there is potential regarding the events leading to and beyond the moments foretold. She tells Min that years ago she Foreold that the "Queendom of Andor" would play a key role in the Last Battle.

35:18 Andor is one of the most important countries in WoT. Somehow it managed to feature in 14 novels without ever being misgendered as a kingdom, or referred to by the retarded term "queendom".

Elaida goes on to explain that this knowledge motivated her to help Morgase win her succession war, instead of just sitting back and letting Andor handle its own business. Min notes that it worked out for her, and Elaida says things will for Min, too. Min asks if the bracelet she is touching is part of another Foretelling and Elaida says "of a sort" indicating for Min to join her at the table.

35:47 I don't know if I like nice Elaida, or if I just like Shohreh Aghdashloo playing her.

Elaida tells Min that she knows Verin & Leane have her spying on Elaida, but asks if what she is about to say can stay between them. When Min agrees, she tells her that the Reds are about to vote Siuan out of office so they can guide the Tower to find and cage the Dragon Reborn.

36:28 Min, you are totally being played, and you're an idiot if you don't realize that.

The Aiel are camping for the night, and Bair is talking to Egwene about Dreamwalking, calling her Aes Sedai. She says that almost everyone can touch Tel'Aran'Rhiod, but only a few can truly enter it. She says that of all the Taardad Wise Ones, only she and Melaine are Dreamwalkers.

36:51 Bair and Melaine are both Taaardad. They are also talking about sending a smaller party than 13 to find Rand. Are we trimming every category of a dozen or more down like the Forsaken? I don't know why we even needed that line about the Taardad, just say Aiel. A viewer is not going to know what the Taardad even are. I'm pretty sure Aviendha & co have not named their clans.

Egwene grasps that Bair thinks she could be a Dreamwalker too. She says that in the dream they shared, it felt like Egwene was running from someone. Egwene tells her about the dreams of Renna, and the bruises she retains on waking, saying that Moriaine told her that injuries from the dream world can affect the flesh. Bair says that dreams of dead people can't hurt, and if the dream Renna is inflicting injuries she is still alive. She tells Egwene that after Rhuidean, she'll teach her how to protect herself.

Rand and Lanfear are back in the bedroom and she's in her Selene guise, which means simply wearing normal clothes and eschewing a couple pounds of eyeshadow. They debate about who brought whom to the dream, and Lanfear says she'll go and Rand is concerned. She is worried about their situation. She is now on board with the no Callandor plan, and says it was selfish of her to want him to go to Tear. She thinks she can escape her Dark Oaths if the Dark One were destroyed. She says there is a female sa'angreal equal to Callandor and using the two together might be enough to kill the Dark One. Rand asks what would it mean for Lanfear if her Oaths were gone.

39:11 If the Oaths she swore were gone, she'd still be a mass-murdering traitor to humanity. The books understood there was no redemption by getting rid of the bad guys. Let's see if the show does.

And she calls this mythical female sa'angreal the Sakarnen, which was, in the Sanderson books, a male sa'angreal more powerful than Callandor, second only to the Choedan Kal. Women must have everything men do, and a little bit more!

Lanfear smiles sadly and takes his hand, but Rand's not DTF. She regrets saying anything and poofs.

Lan and Moiraine are in a sweat tent with lots of other people. A blonde is eyeing them, and the non-Maiden who isn’t Bair tells her about wetlander bathtubs. Moiraine asks about Rhuidean and she says it’s rude. The blonde explains that Rhuidean is where chiefs and Wise Ones go to get their rank, and that Rand will too, if he is really the Car'a'carn. Moiraine asks what happens then, but the more hostile woman just makes more steam and then gets up to go. Lan and Moiraine next speculate which one of them the blonde is checking out. Lan suggests that she's allowed to be happy, even if it's just for one night or hour, but Moiraine doesn't think an hour with the blonde Aiel woman is what will make her happy. Lan thinks it's worth a shot. Moiraine hasn't been with anyone but Siuan in a long time and Lan says you don’t forget how it works.

The woman come over and stands provocatively in front of them and we have nipples in WoT now! Moiraine seriously looks like she's ready to try for that hour of happiness, when the woman asks Lan if he wants to join her tonight. She turns to leave and there is a mark on her back that elicits a reaction from both Moiraine and Lan. He follows her out.

42:02 All this sexy, sexy content! Isn't this an improvement?

Lan follows the blonde woman to a tent, where she is standing with her back conveniently bared in a garment. She identifies herself as Melindhra of the Chumai Taardad. Lan says Aiel don't have tattoos, and eventually describes it as the Golden Crane of Malkier, asking why she has it on her back. She was a child who fled the fall of Malkier, and ran until she was found by a Wise One who adopted her.

42:41 Remember Tigraine's thing? We're borrowing it for this chick. Down to the sept that adopted her. Malkier also has blonde people, apparently.

Our Malkaiel lady says she'd ditch her Aiel heritage to follow Lan to reclaim Malkier. He says Malkier is gone she says that it lives as long as one man wears the hadori, or one woman wears the ki'sain. Given her bare forehead, I assume that means her back tattoo. She also addresses him as Aan'allein and notes he carries his father's sword. Lan eventually concedes he has not forgotten Malkier.

We're back in Emond's Field on the green at night. An old guy says that Perrin is the one the Children want, and he agrees and says if the turns himself in, the Children will release the Cauthons. Marin objects on the grounds of no one I know can be a Darkfriend, to which the old guy points out that Perrin is "something" and another woman yells at him to shut up, calling him Cenn Buie, and I am a bit happier. Perrin repeats that if he turns himself in, the show can concentrate on less soporific plotlines everyone can focus on the real problem. Marin points out that the Children might leave once they have Perrin, and then they are screwed vis a vis the Trollocs. She insists the Two Rivers defends its own, to general approval, though Cenn might have some doubts.

Maksim is looking out the attic window when Alanna joins him, suggesting he eat, but he's sick of simple village fair. He asks her to turn off the bond, saying she never kept it on like this. Alanna points out their rather dangerous circumstances, but Maksim can't take feeling her lack of grief. Alanna retorts that she's tamped down her feelings to keep from being overwhelmed by his grief, and she (probably) can't lie. It's clear they have different coping mechanisms for dealing with Ihvon's death, Maksim wanting to wallow in the grief and Alanna to move forward. He wants to hunt down Liandrin for revenge, and wants to know why?

45:52 She's not sad or seeking revenge, 'cause he was gaaay, Maksim, and Alanna's a bigot.

In the common room, everyone is eating, when probably-Faile turns from talking to Luc to approach Perrin. She says she's never seen someone try to turn himself in and fail. When he doesn't rise to the bait, she sits next to him. Perrin asks if she's with Luc, and she says only by chance, that she came to the Two Rivers looking for the Horn of Valere, which sounds like the opposite of by chance, since they came for the same purpose. She eagerly introduces herself as Mandarb, and Perrin laughs. Before he can fully explain, she translates Mandarb for him and warns him to choose his words carefully. Perrin explains about the horse, and she is all huffy, and he tries to compliment the name, asking if she chose it for the hunt, and she sneers that he should try to turn himself in again before leaving.

Loial joins Perrin and asks what now, and Perrin says he's going to free Mat's family.

47:40 I'd forgotten how much fun early installment Faile wasn't.

In the Tower, Mat sees Min and chases her down, but she's busy with her own stuff and doesn't have time for their argument. Mat corners her and apologizes for some reason and says he appreciates what she's done, but he's been dealing with his own shit, by which she knows he means his memories, from his blabbing to anyone who will listen. She proposes, inspired by Elaida, of all things that they use their unwanted abilities to do some good, but Mat is already drawing away and rolling his eyes. She starts to have a vision of Mat hanging. Mat recognizes her look and is concerned, and tries to stop her from viewing him.

48:41 Not a single one of these glowy images we've seen Min view has come true, for the record.

Mat gets up in Min's grill, and Galad comes walking by and shoves him away from her, demanding in the most clichéd pretentious way possible if he's bothering her. Min blows him off and goes away, and Galad blocks Mat from following, who spews a bunch of compliments at him sarcastically, in what sounds like a British kind of derision, before heading the other way.

Leane enters the Red quarters, with a deliberately provocative demeanor, and tells Tsutama that the Amyrlin wants her to take seven women to hunt down Mazrim Taim. Elaida objects that the Highest has important work and can't leave the Tower. Leane in turn snarks that maybe the job of hunting male channelers could be given to the Blues, Tsutama asks when the Amyrlin wants them to go and Leane says tonight and summons Tsutama to the Amyrlin's study to discuss the plan. Tsutama looks hesitant to follow her out, looking to Galina & Elaida for reassurance, and gets a nod from the former. When she leaves, Elaida wonders who will sub in for her as Highest while she's on such a long journey, unless Galina thinks the Reds can manage while short a Sitter, and only having two votes in the Hall. Galina agrees and says the Reds will need a new Sitter. Elaida or Aghdashloo is too good to openly look smug.

Back in the Two Rivers, the crowd is starting to disperse. Perrin is chagrined that people are leaving despite the Trolloc threat. He scoffs at their proposed precautions of barring the doors and having watchers on the roof. In a weepy voice he asks if they have forgotten Bel Tine, so someone asks what he would do, and everyone is listening. Perrin walks up to the crowd, very clearly Acting as he shakes his body while walking. He proposes they stay in the village together for strength in numbers. Everyone murmurs approvingly.

52:31 I am so utterly convinced. What a charismatic man. So inspiring. I notice this speech lacks much of the rationale Perrin provided ITB, and given the depiction of the Children to date, and Perrin's absolute guilt with regard to them, the idea of standing up to the Children seems to fall into the category of Men Fighting Petty Battles instead of the Shadow. But any way you slice it, this is played far more dramatically than what amounts to simply a suggestion that everyone stay together for safety, with nothing other than plot convenience making people accept his suggestions. It comes across like they are going down a checklist in order. Perrin decides to free the captives, check, Perrin talks the villagers into congregating in Emond's Field, check. And now he can go about the rescue op.

Mat is in a training ground, hitting a sparring tree with a quarterstaff. Galad & Gawyn approach, dressed down for training. The laugh and Gawyn patronizingly says at least one guy will be ready when the trees attack. Galad thinks the trees would win with Mat's form. He offers to show Mat how to use a proper weapon, holding out a sword. Mat says he'll stick with a bow or quarterstaff, which he knows how to use, or did, and Galad seems to accept this.

Nynaeve comes in looking for him. They go aside and she is telling him goodbye because she and Elayne are leaving to look for Liandrin. Galad reacts to Mat repeating her name, so they move a little further away in the small area, and Mat says they aren't going without him. He trusts Nynaeve to help him more than the Aes Sedai. Nynaeve is reluctant and Galad decides to chivalrously interrupt again.

Despite Nynaeve saying she doesn't need help, Galad tells "Matrim" to step back (the REAL crime, here… ), and Gawyn backs him up. Mat picks up his staff and defies them. Nynaeve facepalms and Galad scoffs at him taking on both of them with "a stick". Mat makes his canonical bet and Galad agrees, and they back into sparring positions. Mat says his Old Tongue motto about tossing the dice (which makes no sense for a contest of skill he's was fairly confident of winning in the books).

Mat leans on the staff like he's upset or worried, Nynaeve looks concerned, the brothers scoff. Then they start fighting, and there's big dramatic music and a lot Zack Snyder slo-mo in-and-out and Mat keeps turning his back on them but not getting struck. At the first break in the fight, Nynaeve looks a little more confident. The brothers do some weird hand-holding double attack, Mat fells Galad, and Nynaeve looks to be controlling a grin. Galad bangs his sword on the ground in frustration and before he can get up, Mat knocks Gawyn out. He easily fends of Galad, using slaps and hand blows to his body, pinning him against a column. He taps Galad with the staff and reminds him of the bet of two marks. Gawyn starts to get up and Mat adds "each" causing him to flop back down. He saunters past Nynaeve, who looks kind of amazed.

55:55 Gosh, this scene, a book favorite among the fandom, is so much more rewarding when all three participants are behaving like douchebags, Nynaeve is implicitly a prize, there is no mentor figure to provide a lesson for context or emphasize the class issues, AND the winning is implied to be the result of preternatural abilities.

Perrin is working at his wife's forge and not-Mandarb wanders in to tell him people are staying because of him. She suspects he's going to rescue the Cauthons and asks who they are to him, and if they are worth dying for, because that's what will happen if he fights the Children of the Light. Perrin's got this under control though, and Faile blathers about leadership, but of course Perrin does not want to lead. As she turns to go, he asks her to wait, and face lights up. He asks her real name and she turns back to tell him Faile, which means falcon, adding, "So you see, Perrin Aybara, hunting's in my blood."

57:51 Why did her parents name her Faile, and why does she tell Perrin now? And hunting is not in her blood, unless she is descended from predators, it's in her name. And falcons don't so much hunt, as kill things that wander into their field of view.

Mat follows Nynaeve and Elayne to the docks and a ship. A shadow figure watches from the shadows, I am assuming from how the camera & music are behaving. It's really dark. Nynaeve is reluctant, I guess because it’s a boat, which is new for her. Mat asks where they are going and Elayne says she didn't even tell her brothers, because she doesn't want another Gray Man coming.

58:04 LOL. If it wasn't for script-imposed deafness, Elayne would be the only one who hadn't told her brothers.

Nynaeve tells him Tanchico, and he starts with the bragging routine from the first episode. Min moves into view with her head all wrapped up to hide her face from anyone but the camera, and goes out of frame in their direction.

58:25 Ugh, we know what happens after two women of a certain trio take a boat ride together. Is this going to be Min's in with the gang?

Liandrin is down in the basement of the house the Black Ajah took over, weeping as she paints the second mourning mark for her son. She flashes back to his birth, and hears screams, and sees claw marks in the stone walls, and hears ominous footsteps on stairs.

59:03 Stop trying to make sympathetic Liandrin happen.

She stalks back upstairs where Naomi-Nikabrik is studying the bracelet she took and comparing it to a book. Liandrin tells her it was meant for a man, not a woman, and when they find the collar in this city, they are going to collar the Dragon Reborn himself. A veiled Moghedian is acting as a servant in the same room, and walks out casting a backward glance at the bracelet in Naomi's hands. She whispers her "softly, softly" line.

This was still pretty crap, but there is a definite improvement this season. The schemes and politics actually make sense at times. Nynaeve has vastly improved, Elaida's fun and they haven't messed up the Aiel too badly so far. OTOH, Perrin and Mat suck, but Mat's story isn't as dull, and I am hoping the Trakand effect helps him out going forward. It looks like they are trying to claw Min back into respectability, but they are also trying to shove what they inadvertently established previously under a rug. It looks like something similar is going on with Mat's parents, too. If I didn't know better, I'd swear there was a Rise of Skywalker thing going on, with a new creative team trying to disavow their predecessor's crimes. They're still leaning on contrivances and having the plot needs drive the story, rather than characters, the interrogation of the Black sisters had nothing more behind its scripting than providing an excuse to put them on the path to Tanchico, and Mat's encounters with the brothers bent their depictions for the sole purpose of setting up the fight. I notice with both Mat and Perrin, they need a lot more scenes or conversations to achieve the same objectives they did in one in the books.

You know, one thing that occurred to me this episode, all sorts of self-certified philologists used to give the books so much shit for only having one language across the whole world, but what's much more improbable is how the show has everyone, from Seanchan to the Waste, from the Borderlanders to Illianers all have a British dialect. All the islands that speak English devolved into these weird variants on the proper pronunciation of the language in real life, but all across two continents in WoT, everyone has a variant of the accent from half of one of the smaller islands?

[alfredstvthoughts]

Public Eye - Paid in Full (Season 4 Episode 3; 13 August 1969)

With Frank Marker (Alfred Burke) seemingly now settled in his job working for builder Kenrick (William Moore), he finally gets the chance to enjoy an afternoon off on payday and goes out shopping. In an antique shop he finds a porcelain figure of a lady that reminds him of his former home life. In a nice exchange with the shopkeeper (Susan Richards), he gives some rather revelatory family history including his birth date (1923) and how his mother ended up leaving home, which eventually leads to the shopkeeper letting him buy the statue for a substantial discount.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Marker, trouble is brewing that potentially could lead to Marker making an untimely return to prison. One of Marker's workmates, Arthur Wilson (Maurice Good) has had his pay packet stolen and local police detective Broome (Leslie Lawton) is on the case. Being the ex-con on the workforce, suspicion naturally falls on Marker, meaning that the words of Jakeman back in Welcome to Brighton? that Marker's criminal record will forever mean he's under suspicion and an easy target for the police could unfortunately be coming true.

Most of the workforce shuns Marker (even refusing to let him participate in a whip-round to fund Wilson's lost paycheck) and Kenrick, while publicly asserting Marker's innocence is privately less sure. Marker does have an ally in Kenrick's secretary Jenny (Tania Trude) who does a little of her own investigating into the matter, certain that Marker was not the thief, which is eventually rendered moot by the true culprit confessing to Kenrick. Indeed the idea of Marker being the one to steal the pay packet is difficult to fathom as he has more to lose than to gain from it as he himself tells Wilson: "You lost 18 quid, I could lose 18 months".

Although the wage theft forms the main plot in this episode it is not the exclusive focus and instead this slow-paced episode offers a lot to see, including the aforementioned scene in the antiques shop where Marker tells the shopkeeper his family history. Additionally, Marker's fellow ex-con and tenant at Helen Mortimer's (Pauline Delaney), Enright (Peter Cellier) gets a nice send-off as he moves away having completed his parole.

Another notable sub-plot is the arrest of Barry Osborne (Billy Hamon) who is accused of murdering a garage owner and finds himself riding in the same police car as Marker when Broome takes him in for questioning. While alone for a short while in the interview room, Marker can't help but overhear Barry's questioning in the neighboring interview room, which gets him a stern reprimand from Broome. This interesting sub-plot is one to remember, as it will return to prominence later on in the season in Case for the Defence.

Despite so much happening in this episode, it never loses focus and this is truly gripping, as we are left in genuine suspense over whether or not Marker will be nailed for the wage theft and end up returning to prison, knowing his misfortune with him being imprisoned in the first place, his name being cleared is not a given. The final scene of the episode also features a really memorable moment, aided by the usual great performance from Alfred Burke as Marker rages at the injustice he has suffered, one that has had grave consequences for his job. Overall, another excellent episode.