#s04e07: Weaponized

[takaraphoenix]

Also, I'm sorry, I am so fucking gleeful about how smart Stiles is.

I've seen it in other fandoms where the special little guy gets elevated far beyond canon by the fandom, so it's incredibly satisfying to see that nah, Stiles is the smartest person on this damn show and that's just canon.

Continuously, all the time, he gets to be the one to figure shit out. He solves the problems. He pushes the others into the directions of solutions. Over and over again. Regardless of what the context is, he gets to be the one to figure things out.

Weaponized?

When there is a whole damn army of CDC people on school ground? Stiles takes one look at Coach, questions why he was the only adult infected, immediately goes to his office that has apparently not been searched by the adults and then quickly figures out how they all had been infected. None of the actual professional adult investigators involved figure this out, even though Coach being Patient Zero is known and even though the clues are right there. This was solvable for humans, this was not a supernatural problem he could only solve due to his supernatural knowledge.

And when they need to isolate somewhere, it's Stiles who remembers the Hale Vault, it's Stiles who finds the entrance to the Hale Vault.

Sure, he is not the only one who figures out solutions on the show. But he is the one who figures out the majority of problems. He really is the clever one. And I love that so, so, so much.

We don't need to blow his intelligence or abilities out of proportion. Canon is serving us good fucking food all the time in this one regard.

[merlinbingo]

And another month goes by!

In March, we received 45 fantastic fills from 23 wonderful participants, 36 of which will be listed below the cut! We've got 27 fics, four artworks, three fic + artwork combos, one fic + moodboard combo, and one lovely gif!

Since peach is still pretending people are interested in the stats part of the monthly round up, she's going to prattle on a little longer about ships. Gen/no ships came out top again this month with 16 works, while Merlin/Arthur came in second with 14. Merlin/Gwaine is third with two fills, and then we've got Gwen/Morgana, Merlin/Will and Lancelot/Will all with one.

(Another fun stat for you - there are only six works for Lancelot/Will on ao3, and a third of them are bingo fills!)

Now, finally, the bit you all care about: the fills themselves! Remember to check the warnings and ratings, practice self-care when clicking on those links, and leave so much love for the fabulous people who've created them!

No ships/gen

Not a Blacksmith by bugbonz Rating: General audiences Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: weapons, blacksmithing, minor injury, weapon appreciation Summary: From the time he was old enough to hold a proper sword, Arthur had been trained, honed, into the best fighter in all of Camelot. And that’s where his fascination began.

Pole Dancer by art stelle Rating: General audiences Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: fanart Summary:

What's the problem, weather boy? by HadrianPeverellBlack Rating: General audiences Warnings: Choose not to use archive warnings Major tags: Sassy Merlin (Merlin), BAMF Merlin (Merlin), Immortal Merlin (Merlin), God Merlin (Merlin), Percy Jackson & Merlin Friendship Summary: Percy and Merlin meet

What have you done? by HadrianPeverellBlack Rating: General audiences Warnings: Choose not to use archive warnings Major tags: Tired Leon (Merlin), BAMF Merlin (Merlin), Merlin is a Little Shit (Merlin), BAMF Percy Jackson, Percy Jackson is a Little Shit Summary: Leon has to deal with Merlin and their new friend, Percy Jackson. Leon isn't paid enough for all this.

Where are you ~ Please, don't leave me by HadrianPeverellBlack Rating: General audiences Warnings: Choose not to use archive warnings Major tags: POV Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Worried Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Scared Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Guilty Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Episode: s04e07 The Secret Sharer (Merlin) Summary: Arthur discovers that his servant has not come to wake him and, at dawn, runs throughout the castle looking for him.

Remember that time? by HadrianPeverellBlack Rating: General audiences Warnings: Choose not to use archive warnings Major tags: Good Uncle Hades (Percy Jackson), Hurt Merlin (Merlin), POV Merlin (Merlin), Percy Jackson & Merlin Friendship, Sassy Percy Jackson Summary: It's time to ask Nico his help in their research. Of course, when Percy says 'everything's going to be fine', Merlin should worry.

Sweet Persuasion by HadrianPeverellBlack Rating: General audiences Warnings: Choose not to use archive warnings Major tags: Omega Merlin (Merlin), Omega Gwen (Merlin), Alpha Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Episode: s01e07 Gates of Avalon (Merlin) Summary: In his attempt to keep Arthur safe, Merlin uses Gwen's advice: sweet persuasion

Excalibur by LikeAPaperPlane Rating: General audiences Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Summary:

Red by kairennart Rating: General audiences Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: digital art, screenshot redraw Summary:

in time of daffodils by willowsmarika Rating: General audiences Warnings: Choose not to use archive warnings Major tags: N/A Summary: Five characters' stories about discovering Merlin's magic and coming to terms with it. Each representing one of the five stages of grief.

Rain or Shine by s0mmerspr0ssen Rating: Teen Warnings: Rape/non-con Major tags: Post-Season/Series 03, Canon Compliant, Caring Gwaine, Misunderstandings, Loyalty Summary: Gwaine, plagued by doubts about swearing fealty to a prince, is pushed to the brink when Arthur seems to prove himself unworthy.

On a Blade’s Edge by VikingSong Rating: Teen Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Loneliness, Friendship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fleshing out Elyan’s backstory because canon failed us Summary: The trouble with being a blacksmith-turned-knight was that Elyan was very picky about his swords…but even he could admit there were things more important than craftsmanship. Like purpose and belonging, for example. Or: In which Elyan turns his assessing gaze from broken swords to broken manservants.

You're just special by HadrianPeverellBlack Rating: Teen Warnings: Choose not to use archive warnings Major tags: Survivor Guilt, Hurt Merlin (Merlin), Merlin Needs a Hug (Merlin), Protective Percy Jackson, Percy Jackson Needs a Hug Summary: Merlin has a nightmare. Percy is there for him. They trust each other

Why I hate hunting by HadrianPeverellBlack Rating: Teen Warnings: Choose not to use archive warnings Major tags: Sharing secrets, sharing past trauma, mention of slavery, Protective Knights (Merlin), Hurt Merlin (Merlin) Summary: During a hunt, the knights and Merlin are stuck in a cave and must say the thing that weighs most on their minds.

the motivations of a friend by sleepygecko Rating: Teen Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Cuddling, Soft Arthur, BAMF Gaius Summary: Arthur was angry at Merlin until Gaius made him understand that he couldn’t truly understand what it was to grow up as a magic user during Uther’s purge. He seeks out Merlin to apologize but can’t hold in the utter devastation he feels at the mere glimpse Gaius showed him of Merlin’s justified fear.

Relationship Takes Effort by cynthia1314 Rating: Teen Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Merlin & Arthur Parabatai, AU - Shadowhunters, platonic soulmates, character death (Uther) Summary: Arthur and Merlin were Parabatai, but Arthur didn't know if Merlin was as content about this relationship as he was.

Gwen/Morgana

tender deception by queerofthedagger Rating: Explicit Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Porn without Plot, Orgasm Denial, Post Canon Summary: “All you have to do is renounce your claim to Camelot’s throne once and for all.”

Arthur/Gwen

Forgiving Yourself Is the Hardest Thing by VikingSong Rating: Teen Warnings: Major character death Major tags: Merlin dies, Gwen POV, Grief, Guilt, No magic reveal Summary: Gwen is intimately familiar with grief; she was prepared—as much as anyone can ever really be—to tread the long, winding road to the place where the sudden rush of loss hits less often, when it will no longer knock the wind out of her at every trifling reminder of Merlin. What she was not prepared for is the invisibility of her grief. She is the Queen now; no one seems to remember that he was her friend, too, back in the days when she was just Gwen and he was just Merlin. Or: Gwen struggles through her grief after Merlin’s sudden death and wrestles with guilt as she reflects on the slow demise of their friendship.

Lancelot/Will

Blue by bugbonz Rating: General audiences Warnings: Major character death Major tags: afterlife, Summary: Stepping through the veil, Lancelot wasn’t sure what to expect. He anticipated pain. Or perhaps himself just blinking out of existence. Anything but the room around him staying exactly as it was, only now shrouded in a deep blueish shadow.

Merlin/Will

A Letter of Farewell by gwenpendragons Rating: Teen Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Canon era, established relationship, love letters, goodbyes Summary: Merlin and Will say goodbye before Merlin leaves for Camelot.

Merlin/Gwaine

The knight and the king by HadrianPeverellBlack Rating: General audiences Warnings: Choose not to use archive warnings Major tags: Episode: s04e06 A Servant of Two Masters (Merlin), Deleted Scenes, Pining Gwaine (Merlin), Protective Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), POV Arthur Pendragon (Merlin) Summary: A deleted scene in A Servant of No Master. Arthur and Gwaine look for Merlin

A Fairytale, This Is Not by Fighting_for_Creativity Rating: Mature Warnings: Major character death Major tags: Alternative Universe- Reincarnation, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Era, Past Lives, Tony Stark(Merlin)- Centric Summary: Chapter Summary: Tony was dying, not that he regularly didn't risk his life but- who would have thought that Palladium is poisonous? The line between past and future, dream and reality merges more and more. While Tony and his friends try to figure out how to save his ass, Vanko appears, SHIELD being interfering and time nearly runs out. Maybe, sometimes the solution to present problems lays in the past.

Merlin/Arthur

In Arthur's Chamber by LikeAPaperPlane Rating: General audiences Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Summary:

That Loving Feeling by ravenwilds Rating: Teen Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Top Gun AU, slow burn, banter, found family, gray-asexuality Summary: Dr. Merlin Emrys is a civilian instructor for Top Gun, the U.S. Navy's elite aviation combat training school, which means he knows all about brash pilots, and their cocky attitudes. When Lt. Arthur Pendragon joins the program, it looks like he’ll be just another one of the same, but in a class of show-offs, Pendragon is determined to be noticed—and it seems it is Merlin's attention, in particular, that he wants. Merlin's not sure what he did to deserve this ...

Somebody Roll the Windows Down (There Are No Windows) by prettylittlecandid31 Rating: Teen Warnings: One use of the word "homosexuals" bc it's a period piece Major tags: The "Oh" Moment, Carriage Ride, Period AU, Arranged Marriage Summary: Arthur is on a carriage ride to his arranged marriage fiancee's home. He has forced Merlin, his best noble friend to come with him. Along the way he realizes his true feelings for Merlin.

Meet Me More Than Halfway Up by thesongistheriver Rating: Teen Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: long-suffering Leon, pining Arthur, friendship, coming out, modern era Summary: Arthur's star is on the rise in Hollywood; Leon's a nose-to-the-grindstone sound editor. L.A. may be superficial and artificial, but the friendship they forge there is real. (And eventually Leon will get Arthur to Merlin, so help him, before he loses his damn mind with all the pining.)

Dragon of the Dawn by SlantedKnitting Rating: Teen Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: dragon dads, baby aithusa, druid merlin, dragonlord merlin, healing magic Summary: To avoid war with the Druids, Arthur lifts the ban on magic in Camelot. As a sign of peace, the Druids gift him a dragon egg. Now Arthur must decide if it would be wise to bring a dragon into the world, or if his interest in the egg is only due to the handsome Dragonlord who wields the power to hatch it.

Dancing in the Dark by gwenpendragons Rating: Teen Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: modern au, nonbinary merlin, first meetings, love at first sight Summary: Arthur thinks he’s done with dating until he meets a gorgeous pole dancer at a nightclub.

let the punishment fit the crime by insane-ohwhyfandoms Rating: Mature Warnings: Choose not to use archive warnings Major tags: modern au, boarding school, bdsm, spanking Summary: Merlin deliberately irritates Arthur.

Ghosts by s0mmerspr0ssen, PapySanzo89 Rating: Mature Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Alternate Universe - BDSM, Dom Merlin (Merlin), Sub Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Past Character Death, Grief Summary: Merlin’s past comes back to haunt him—right in the middle of a scene.

More Melodies Than Can Ever Be Heard by thesongistheriver Rating: Explicit Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: smut, banter, established relationship, domestic fluff, musician AU Summary: Arthur's movie finally premieres! Merlin and the trio rehearse, Gwaine and Percy take a big step, and now it's time for what comes next.

Into the Inward Places of Our Souls by thesongistheriver Rating: Explicit Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: established relationship, fluff, smut, banter, snark Summary: With the new flick getting more positive buzz than Arthur had expected, it's starting to look like he just might write his own ticket into a high-visibility West End role, even as he tries to rework his treatment for the stage. Merlin's own star is on the rise too, with the Proms and a new world tour. They've always been good for each other ... so maybe this is just the beginning of something even better.

Limits by s0mmerspr0ssen, PapySanzo89 Rating: Explicit Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - BDSM, Dom Merlin (Merlin), Sub Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Developing Relationship Summary: When Merlin turns out to be everything Arthur could ever wish for in a dom, Arthur realises he would do a lot of things to make him stay—even ignore his own limits.

Am I Nothing More Than an Inconvenience to You? by TrebleMaker07 Rating: Explicit Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, POV Arthur Pendragon, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bad Parent Uther Pendragon, Friends With Benefits Summary: Meet Arthur Pendragon: lawyer, gay, works for his father, and in a friends-with-benefit relationship with Merlin. Meet Merlin Emrys: principal dancer, gay, owns a ballet studio, and in a friends-with-benefit relationship with Arthur. Just two normal guys living very normal lives, until life decides it wants to throw some hurdles into the ring. What will happen to Arthur and Merlin then?? Will they be able to persevere, or was everything doomed to fail from the very start??

The Viscount's Depravation by ravenwilds Rating: Explicit Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Victorian AU, Smut with feelings, Orgasm control, D/s, Dom!Merlin Summary: In which Arthur endures great depravation and finally earns his reward

Home by s0mmerspr0ssen, PapySanzo89 Rating: Explicit Warnings: No archive warnings apply Major tags: Alternate Universe - BDSM, Dom Merlin (Merlin), Sub Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Uther Pendragon's A+ Parenting (Merlin) Summary: When Uther finds out Arthur has been dating a dom for months without his approval, things come to a head—and fall into place, too.

[eusuntgratie]

Teen Wolf 4.07 Weaponzied

I'm always down for a good Derek dramatic bridal carry

That's not how quarantine works, friends

I'm the president of the Mama McCall fanclub. Give this woman a raise.

That's not really how hospitals work either, but okay

I don't understand their relationship?

Stiles, baby 💔

We're really on a roll bc mushrooms don't work like that either 🤣

Well, shit

[theorigin-isyou]

That's the spirit, Malia 😂

[whumpty-dumpty]

Whumpiest Whump list

So, I was bored at work I love my followers and thus decided to make this awesome list of TV episodes that show an exceptional amount of whump. Also, I sorted it into categories (You know i love lists and categories, right?)

Now these are the whumpiest whump episodes I could think of. You can just pick any episode and and your whump cravings shall be satisfied. But please feel free to let me know of any more whumpiest episodes and I will add them to the list. I am sure there are a lot more.

Also, at the end I put some shows that have an overall good amount of whump.

I may have overestimated how many whump heavy episodes there actually are, because this list got very, very long. That's why I put it under the cut. Be warned. It really is a long list

Accidents

- Casualty S29E05

- Seal Team S01E21

- Supernatural S02E01

- The Resident S01E10

- The Walking Dead S02E05

Beaten up/ in a fight

- Banshee S01E03

- Dardevil S01E09

- Halt and Catch Fire S01E04

- Mr. Robot S02E06

- Peaky Blinders S03E04-E05

Caught in explosion

- Arrow S05E20

- Casualty S34E01

- Seal Team S02E18-E19

- Strike Back S03E08

- TheResident S03E01

Drugged/ Drug Abuse/ Withdrawal / Poisoned (P)

- Brothers & Sisters S02E07

- Criminal Minds S02E15

- Endeavour S04E02

- Graceland S03E08

- Legends of Tomorrow S06E13-E14

- Homeland S03E09

- Homeland S05E9-E10 (P)

- Mr. Robot S04E01

- NCIS S16E18

- Treadstone S01E01

- Patrick Melrose S01E01 (CA)

- Sense8 S02E01-E02

Emotional whump/ comfort/ angst/ PTSD

- Bodyguard S01E06

- Casualty S31E33-E34

- MacGyver 2016 S05E05

- Sea Patrol S02E06

- Spartacus S01E10

- Stargate SG1 S04E18

- Teen Wolf S03E18

- The Smoke S01E07

Environmental/ Animal Attacks

- 9-1-1 S03E02-E03

- 9-1-1 Lone Star S01E08-E09

- Bonanza S11E28

- Enterprise S01E24

- Jericho S01E14

- Outlander S05E09

- The North Water S01E02/ S01E04/ S01E05

- The O.C. S04E15

Injured/ Temporary death

- Animal Kingdom S02E05-E06

- Brothers & Sisters S02E02-E03

- Emerald City S01E01

- Game of Thrones S06E02-E03

- Robin Hood S03E01

- Van Helsing S03E12

Held Captive/ Kidnapped/ Prison/ Slave/ hunted

- Breaking Bad S05E14-16 + El Camino

- Absentia S03E2-E04

- Banshee S01E06

- Cardinal S01E04-E06

- Prodigal Son S01E11

- Southland S05E09

- Supernatural S01E15

- The Last Kingdom S02E02

- The O.C. S01E03

- The Rookie S04E07

Mental

- The Walking Dead S07e03

- Falling Skies S03E06 (possessed)

- Debris S01E11 (mind control)

- Helstrom S01E08/ S01E09 (mind control)

- Killjoys S04E02-04 (possessed, kind of)

- Stargate SG1 S03E04

Shot

- Battlestar Galactica S02E16

- Chicago PD S07E09-E10

- Elementary S01E23-E24

- Blood Drive S01E08-E09

- Burn Notice S04E12-E13

- Graceland S02E13

- Homeland S05E04-06

- Lethal Weapon S03E13

- Nikita S01E05-E06

- Our Girl S04E03-E04

- Ray Donovan S03E12-S04E01 (CA)

- Reign S02E17

- Sanctuary S04E11

- Sherlock S03E03

- Shooter S03E0

- Starsky & Hutch S01E14

- Strike Back S05E10

- The Blacklist S01E09/ S08E19

- The Event S01E08

- The Expanse S04E09-E10

- Terminator The Sarah Connor Chronicles S01E05-E07

- Zoo S01E12

Sick/ Hospital

- 24 S07E16-E23

- Away S01E04

- Buffy The Vampire Slayer S03E21-E22

- Hannibal S01E11-E13

- Lost S04E10

- MacGyver 2016 S05E15

- NCIS S02E22

- New Amsterdam S01E10/ S01E12/ S01E20-E21

- Sea Patrol S03E08

- Space Above and Beyond S01E11

- Starsky & Hutch S01E21/ S03E10

- Strike Back S02E08/ S04E07-08

- Supernatural s01E12

- The Expanse S01E10

- The Last Kingdom S03E02

- The Rookie S01E20

- The Salisbury Poisonings S01E01-E02

- The Unit S01E08

Stabbed/ Slashed

- Iron Fist S01E10-E11

- Killjoys S01E07/ S03E10

- Most Dangerous Game S01E09

- Outcast S02E05-E06

- Pennyworth S02E08

- Prison Break S05E06-E07

- Rookie Blue S01E13

Supernatural Creatures

- Being Human (US) S01E12-E13/ S03E08

- Grimm S03E02

- Midnight Mess S01E05

- Van Helsing S02E05-E07

Torture

- Angel S01E03

- 24 S02E19 / S06E01

- Altered Carbon S01E04

- Buffy The Vampire Slayer S07E11

- Burn Notice S07E07 (CA)

- Chicago PD S03E01

- Criminal Minds S11E16

- Deadly Class S01E08

- Deep State S02E04/ S02E08

- Falling Skies S05E05

- Farscape S01E19-E20

- Hawaii 5-0 S05E07

- Jessica Jones S03E05-E06

- Killjoys S01E05

- Knightfall S01E06

- Strike Back S03E01-E02

- Tell Me A Story S01E08

- The Rookie S04E07

- X-Company S02E02-E03

Trauma

- American Crime Story S02E04 (Gore)

- Endeavour S02E01

- Supernatural S04E01/S04E08-E09

- The Beast must die S01E03-E04

- The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina S03E03-E05

- The Last Kingdom S02E03

Trigger heavy episodes

Trigger Warnings: Child Abuse (CA), Attempted Rape (AR), Rape (R), Abuse (A), Self Harm (SH)

- Emmerdale 19th Jan 2016/ 21th Jan 2016/ 03rd Feb 2016 (SH, CA)

- From Dusk Till Dawn S01E09 (CA)

- Holby City S19E25 – E27 (A)

- Law And Order Special Victims Unit S16E12 (CA)

- Mortel S01E05/ S01E06 (CA)

- Mr. Robot S04e07-E08 (CA)

- Murdoch Mysteries S09E18 (AR)

- Slasher S02E04-E05 (R)

- Outlander S01E16 (R)

- Ray Donovan S01E11 (CA)

- The Bill S19E79-E80 (R)

Overall whump heavy Shows

- Arrow

- Banshee

- Being Human (US)

- Blood Drive

- Cardinal

- Daredevil

- Deadly Class

- Killjoys

- Hannibal

- Homeland

- MacGyver 2016

- MacGyver 1985

- Prodigal Son

- Ray Donovan

- Seal Team

- Sense8

- Van Helsing

- Strike Back

- The Terminal List

[a3cc54]

charlie kelly <3 waitress

mac macdonald bonnie kelly

dennis reynolds

dee reynolds

frank reynolds

season 1

S01E01: the gang gets racist

S01E02: charlie wants an abortion

S01E03: underage drinking: a national concern

S01E04: charlie has cancer

S01E05: gun fever

S01E06: the gang finds a dead guy

S01E07: charlie got molested

season 2

S02E01: charlie gets crippled

S02E02: the gang goes jihad

S02E03: dennis and dee go on welfare

S02E04: mac bangs dennis’ mom

S02E05: hundred dollar baby

S02E06: the gang gives back

S02E07: the gang exploits a miracle

S02E08: the gang runs for office

S02E09: charlie goes america all over everybody’s ass

S02E10: dennis and dee get a new dad

season 3

S03E01: the gang finds a dumpster baby

S03E02: the gang gets invincible

S03E03: dennis and dee’s mom is dead

S03E04: the gang gets held hostage

S03E05: the aluminum monster vs fatty magoo

S03E06: the gang solves the north korea situation

S03E07: the gang sells out

S03E08: frank sets sweet dee on fire

S03E09: sweet dee’s dating a retarded person

S03E10: mac is a serial killer

S03E11: dennis looks like a registered sex offender

S03E12: the gang gets whacked: part 1

S03E13: the gang gets whacked: part 2

S03E14: bums: making a mess all over the city

S03E15: the gang dances their asses off

season 4

S04E01: mac & dennis: manhunters

S04E02: the gang solves the gas crisis

S04E03: america's next top paddy's billboard model contest

S04E04: mac’s banging the waitress

S04E05: mac and charlie die: part 1

S04E06: mac and charlie die: part 2

S04E07: who pooped the bed?

S04E08: paddy’s pub: the worst bar in philadelphia

S04E09: dennis reynolds: an erotic life

S04E10: sweet dee has a heart attack

S04E11: the gang cracks the liberty bell

S04E12: the gang gets extreme: home makeover edition

S04E13: the nightman cometh

season 5

S05E01: the gang exploits the mortgage crisis

S05E02: the gang hits the road

S05E03: the great recession

S05E04: the gang gives frank an intervention

S05E05: the waitress is getting married

S05E06: the world series defense

S05E07: the gang wrestles for the troops

S05E08: paddy’s pub: home of the original kitten mittens

S05E09: mac and dennis break up

S05E10: the d.e.n.n.i.s. system

S05E11: mac and charlie write a movie

S05E12: the gang reignites the rivalry

S05SPC: a very sunny christmas

season 6

S06E01: mac fights gay marriage

S06E02: dennis gets divorced

S06E03: the gang buys a boat

S06E04: mac’s big break

S06E05: mac and charlie: white trash

S06E06: mac’s mom burns her house down

S06E07: who got dee pregnant?

S06E08: the gang gets a new member

S06E09: dee reynolds: shaping america’s youth

S06E10: charlie kelly: king of the rats

S06E11: the gang gets stranded in the woods

S06E12: dee gives birth

season 7

S07E01: frank’s pretty woman

S07E02: the gang goes to the jersey shore

S07E03: frank reynolds’ little beauties

S07E04: sweet dee gets audited

S07E05: frank’s brother

S07E06: the storm of the century

S07E07: chardee macdennis: the game of games

S07E08: the anti social network

S07E09: the gang gets trapped

S07E10: how mac got fat

S07E11: thunder gun express

S07E12: the high school reunion: part 1

S07E13: the high school reunion: part 2

season 8

S08E01: pop-pop: the final solution

S08E02: the gang recycles their trash

S08E03: the maureen ponderosa wedding massacre

S08E04: charlie and dee find love

S08E05: the gang gets analyzed

S08E06: charlie’s mom has cancer

S08E07: frank’s back in business

S08E08: charlie rules the world

S08E09: the gang dines out

S08E10: reynolds vs reynolds: the cereal defense

season 9

S09E01: the gang broke dee

S09E02: gun fever too: still hot

S09E03: the gang tries desperately to win an award

S09E04: mac and dennis buy a timeshare

S09E05: mac day

S09E06: the gang saves the day

S09E07: the gang gets quarantined

S09E08: flowers for charlie

S09E09: the gang makes lethal weapon 6

S09E10: the gang squashes their beefs

season 10

S10E01: the gang beats boggs

S10E02: the gang group dates

S10E03: psycho pete returns

S10E04: charlie work

S10E05: the gang spies like u.s.

S10E06: the gang misses the boat

S10E07: mac kills his dad

S10E08: the gang goes on family fight

S10E09: frank retires

S10E10: ass kickers united: mac and charlie join a cult

season 11

S11E01: chardee macdennis 2: electric boogaloo

S11E02: frank falls out the window

S11E03: the gang hits the slopes

S11E04: dee made a smut film

S11E05: mac and dennis move to the suburbs

S11E06: being frank

S11E07: mcpoyle vs ponderosa: the trial of the century

S11E08: charlie catches a leprechaun

S11E09: the gang goes to hell: part 1

S11E10: the gang goes to hell: part 2

season 12

S12E01: the gang turns black

S12E02: the gang goes to a waterpark

S12E03: old lady house: a situational comedy

S12E04: wolf cola: a public relations nightmare

S12E05: making dennis reynolds a murderer

S12E06: hero or hate crime?

S12E07: ptsdee

S12E08: the gang tends bar

S12E09: a cricket’s tale

S12E10: dennis’ double life

season 13

S13E01: the gang makes paddy’s great again

S13E02: the gang escapes

S13E03: the gang beats boggs: ladies reboot

S13E04: time’s up for the gang

S13E05: the gang gets new wheels

S13E06: the gang solves the bathroom problem

S13E07: the gang does a clip show

S13E08: charlie’s home alone

S13E09: the gang wins the big game

S13E10: mac finds his pride

season 14

S14E01: the gang gets romantic

S14E02: thunder gun 4: maximum cool

S14E03: dee day

S14E04: the gang chokes

S14E05: the gang texts

S14E06: the janitor always mops twice

S14E07: the gang solves global warming

S14E08: paddy’s has a jumper

S14E09: a woman’s right to chop

S14E10: waiting for big mo

season 15

S15E01: 2020: a year in review

S15E02: the gang makes lethal weapon 7

S15E03: the gang buys a roller rink

S15E04: the gang replaces dee with a monkey

S15E05: the gang goes to ireland

S15E06: the gang’s still in ireland

S15E07: dee sinks in a bog

S15E08: the gang carries a corpse up a mountain

season 16

S16E01: the gang inflates

S16E02: frank shoots every member of the gang

S16E03: the gang gets cursed

S16E04: frank vs russia

S16E05: celebrity booze: the ultimate cash grab

S16E06: risk e. rat’s pizza and amusement center

S16E07: the gang goes bowling

S16E08: dennis takes a mental health day

[skyesunclaw]

RWBY S04E07

Oz: "I said you were sane not normal"

I didn't think Jaques could get worse but then he does.

Weiss needs a hug. Actually all of them need a hug this season.

Qrow vs Tyrian is one hell of a fight.

Qrow: *loses weapon**shrugs**punches Tyrian in the face**proceeds to beat up Tyrian without breaking a sweat*

Can I be Qrow when I grow up?

[doopcafe]

Attack on Titan (進撃の巨人): Assault S04E07

Summary: The Marley Titans attempt a counterattack. 

Comments: Right, so we left off with the battle in the city. Zeke joins the party and Mikasa demonstrates her second-best ability (flying around shouting Eren’s name). Falco predictably emerges from the rubble, unharmed, and explains to the audience that Padme Reinar is still alive but can’t recover because he has “lost the will to live.”

Greasy-haired girl (Pieck) explains the situation: even without a bottle of shampoo, her job is to be simultaneously mounted by six able-bodied young men—uhh—I mean, even though Eren “still has fight left in him,” the Marleys control the battlefield (so no worries). Furthermore, the Recon Corps has no support, is probably low on gas and weapons, and by now the Marley army has surrounded the city, so there’s no escape. 

Let’s assess! 

In the words of a famous baseball player, “It’s hard to beat a [titan] who never gives up” (Babe Ruth was talking about Eren when he said that). Also, Levi is hanging out somewhere and no one seems to remember Armin, which is... understandable, but seems like an atomic-bomb-level oversight. Plus, where’s Hanji? Remember when she invented thunder spears in like, two weeks? She’s now had three years.

Right, so Zeke confirms what Pieck is saying: Eren is not the problem, Levi is. We then get a scene of Levi just chilling and checking out his watch. Armin then Blackwater Bay’s the, uh, Marley Bay with... his titan powers. 

Porco is understandably upset by this and charges at Eren, enraged. Mikasa is here though, but Porco must not have watched the past three seasons because he tells Mikasa to “get out of his way” as he attacks Eren. LOL, Porco, you absolute idiot. 

Right, so in historical battles, armies have used smoke, cannon fire, flags and so on to coordinate the timing of attacks, but this is AoT so we gotta CRANK IT UP. Instead, the Recon Corp uses the detonation of a nuclear weapon as their cue to attack. Levi easily topples Zeke and Pieck is blown apart by Jean and Sasha. This raises the question of why Levi was checking his watch? Does he like, have an important Zoom meeting after this, or...? I would think he could see/feel the blast from like, anywhere in the city, but whatever. I guess “Levi checks watch” makes for a nice visual. 

There’s a “nice” scene here where Jean attacks the severely wounded Cart Titan hoping to finish her off (nice with the double tapping), but Falco jumps between them. The kid begs Jean not to kill his friend, and Jean does hesitate for a moment, but then he remembers that time when he witnessed half his crew be eaten by giants that Falco’s buddies unleashed on his world and he just sends a thunder spear straight at Falco with intent. 

=)

Anyways, Hanji arrives in a blimp, which... ah, where’d she get that from? Did she make that? If so, how? If not, they stole it? How would they know how to fly it? The only hint here is that one of the three people shown does not look like the others (Hanji and Armin), suggesting maybe Paradis has formed an alliance with another nation? Just guessing. 

This is an episode of AoT where Major Exposition Hanji talks, so her dialogue is spoken as exposition to the audience: This is a rescue mission. So, despite everything they’ve been through and everything that’s happened, the plot and character motivations remain the same: they are still just rescuing Eren (damn it, Eren). 

In case this wasn’t violent enough for y’all, the episode gets f—ed up. 

Porco sees the blimp and charges it, but he forgot about Mikasa (Porco, you absolute idiot). Mikasa slices off Porco’s feet. Eren, who has since learned that the teeth and nails of Porco can break open the egg, proceeds to dismember Porco. But it’s not like a hurried “gotta get this egg open” type of dismemberment. It’s a super slow, “savor every torn ligament” type of dismemberment. Prior to this show, I didn’t know “dismemberment” came in so many fun flavors, but I've learned a lot. Thanks show.

Eren then stuffs Porco’s mouth with the egg. I liked this scene so much, I took my own screenshot for the first time! But, having not watched the previous three seasons, it takes Porco a few moments to understand what’s happening. So Eren begins to crush Porco’s head around the egg, progressively cracking it open. Having his powers thus used against his will to allow his enemy to steal one of their titans, the egg finally bursts and Eren laps it down, tossing Porco’s violated torso aside like a used tampon. 

But you know what? DO IT. Savor that blood, Eren. You’ve earned it, buddy.

Ah, roll call time? 

Beast (Zeke) -> Possibly killed by Levi, but unclear 

Cart (Pieck) -> KO’d, serious injuries 

Armor (Reinar) -> Just joined the battle 

Female (Annie) -> Cocooned

Attack, Founder, War Hammer (Eren) -> Go go Eren! Remember your mother! 

Colossus (Armin) -> Putting his new powers to use

Jaw (Falco) -> A used tampon

You know, I think I’m supposed to be feeling sorry for the Marley people, but after three seasons of watching the Paradis people live an absolute hell because of them... NOPE. Not sorry at all. 

In conclusion, Reinar has joined the battle and this “review” was way too long. I apologize.

My enjoyment: 3/5 

[scottrecs]

Rec: Weapon of Self-Destruction

Weapon of Self-Destruction (2419 words) by GoldenAvenger02 Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Scott McCall & Stiles Stilinski, Melissa McCall & Scott McCall, Scott McCall/Kira Yukimura Characters: Scott McCall (Teen Wolf), Melissa McCall, Stiles Stilinski, Sheriff Stilinski, Malia Tate, Kira Yukimura Additional Tags: Scott McCall & Stiles Stilinski Friendship, Minor Scott McCall/Kira Yukimura, Scott is a Good Friend, Scott McCall (Teen Wolf) Feels Guilty, Hurt Scott McCall (Teen Wolf), Post-Episode: s04e07 Weaponized, Episode: s04e07 Weaponized, Good Parent Melissa McCall, Nurse Melissa McCall, Awesome Melissa McCal Summary:"I just...I can't lose them. They're my friends; every time I turn around, they're in danger. And I can't help but feel like I'm leading them right into it. I already lost Allison, I've nearly lost Stiles twice now...what if someone else dies because of me? Cause I can't keep them safe?"

[vvivacious101]

Re-rewatching S04E07 - It’s the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester

This episode is okay, the main plot is definitely not very intriguing, some one’s trying to raise Samhain, Sam and Dean can’t stop it but Sam exorcises Samhain before things get really bad. So, that’s that.

The sub-plots though are much more better. Let’s talk about the fact that this is the first time Sam meets angels, Cas and Uriel to be specific and he basically goes from being a fanboy to being utterly dis-illusioned in a matter of minutes. I feel like I missed just how significant this moment is for Sam. A major reason that he decides to stop using his abilities back in Metamorphosis is because in the very beginning of that episode Dean tells Sam that the angels didn’t want him to and that meant something to him. Like you can tell Sam is perturbed by the relaisation that this isn’t what angels and by proxy God want him do. So he stops.

Then he meets the angels and you know what they say about meeting your heroes. Sam is so disillusioned after his very first meeting with angels is them trying to decimate an entire town with a thousand people. Yeah, that is sure to pull the blinders off pretty quickly and that’s it for Sam. He goes from having faith in the other side to realising that the other side isn’t so great and therefore, maybe he should do things his way. Because moments after this confrontation he tells Dean that stopping Samhain may take more than the usual weapons which Dean quickly counters with a line that is basically the angels don’t want you to and at this point we know what Sam thinks of them. So the whole argument falls flat and this is basically going to be Sam’s descent into demon blood (even though we don’t know it yet).

Uriel is also pretty interesting in this episode. It’s his very first episode but if you know the fact that he is basically working with Hell (which is weird considering that in a way even Heaven’s working with Hell but of course Cas doesn’t know all this when things come to a head “On the Head of a Pin”), you can pick up the fact that he isn’t on Heaven’s side or atleast what both Cas and Uriel have been led to believe is Heaven’s side. It takes Cas a lot of time, I mean not long enough but there is no accounting for love but still, it takes Cas a lot of time and pain to even begin to think about betraying or disobeying and here is Uriel suggesting it in his very first appearance. Of course at this point angels are too new on Supernatural to really be able to pick up on this but it makes sense to why Uriel behaves the way he does. He isn’t on what he thinks Heaven’s side is so he doesn’t really care about Dean or Sam.

God, the only thing I noticed about Dean and Cas in this one was the length of time they hold eyes for which is somthing I didn’t realize I was going to get starved for in season 15. I don’t know if it’s worth reiterating everything that’s going on with Cas, the fact that he has began to express doubts just after meeting one human a handful of times. I mean that’s been done to death and you know what I’m talking about.

EDIT: Well, I just realised something. In the season 3 finale, Lilith tries to do something wherein she sends out this white light except it doesn’t do anything and I really didn’t get what they were trying to do there. Because, fine she can’t use that against Sam, that still doesn’t mean that she can’t do other stuff especially since he is so outnumbered in that particular scenario but of course as it becomes clear in season 4. She needs Sam for another purpose so maybe setting up that ending in season 3 served her purposes, because to me it made no sense otherwise other than a ploy at subterfuge.

But, in this episode, 4x07 we have Samhain do the same thing that Sam calls the “demon ray gun” which doesn’t work on him. So I guess, it really doesn’t work on him but my assessment for the season 3 finale stands because Lilith had a better hand there and she ran to soldidfy her purposes. But now I find myself curious, what is that ray gun supposed to do and have we ever seen it being used against someone who isn’t immune to it like say, Dean?

[acercrea]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Teen Wolf (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski Characters: Stiles Stilinski, Derek Hale Additional Tags: Alternate Canon, Episode AU: s04e07 Weaponized, Thinking about trauma, Scrubbing assassin blood off of his face, Getting Together, Idiots admitting their feelings, Disassociation, Derek Hale is Bad at Feelings, Stiles Stilinski Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, but they don't call it that, Tags Are Hard, Let me know if I missed any tags, Angst, And a bit of fluff, because it is me, Fluff is my brand Summary:

Stiles had a really tough day. He almost died after all. That wasn't the weird part. They say when you are about to die your life flashes before your eyes. The weird part is that Stiles didn't see the life he had already lived. He saw what he didn't realize he was giving up. And apparently he is giving up a life with Derek.

[takaraphoenix]

Not Stiles wanting to keep the Hale money they found in the Orphans' locker to help with his own medical debt very specifically because "part of it is Peter's". We should return Derek's but I should get Peter's.

Baby boy, you are so close to the solution and the solution is for Peter to become your Sugar Daddy.

[centaurianthropology]

The Magnus Archives ‘Remains to Be Seen’ (S04E07) Analysis

A hell of a statement, a follow-up to the beginning of things, and an ill-advised visit.  Come on in to hear what I have to say about ‘Remains to be Seen.’

This was a hell of a statement.  Hell of an episode, really.  I know Jonny likes his historical statements possibly the best of all, and this is a follow-up of ‘Schwartzwald’.  After some decent statements and some general depression in the meta-plot, I was seriously happy to not only get some movement in a spookier and less wholly depressing direction in the meta plot, but also to get probably my favorite statement so far this season.

This time, it’s less ‘Count Magnus’ and more a sadder version of ‘Dracula’ at play.  It seems that Albrecht von Closen restored the books he found in the tomb in ‘Scwartzwald’, what many of us had considered an Archive prior to the one in London (and after the one in Alexandria).  Poor Albrecht quickly found himself being ‘read’ by the books, fed story after story and horror after horror.  In essence, he was instantly coopted as the first Archivist of the modern era.

And he was lined on the inside, every bit of him, with eyes (which is an extremely Bloodborne image). And so, I imagine, is Jon.  The more he grows and learns, the more eyes on the inside he acquires, looking in and looking out.    

And Jon knows he’s changing. He heals far too quickly.  He wasn’t killed by the blast that killed both Tim and even Nikola.  He knows things whenever he needs them.  He has a dam in his head, but behind it is an ocean of knowledge, pressing in on him, threatening to overwhelm him.  Holding onto his humanity sounds like a genuine struggle under all that weight.

It also sounds as though there’s very little way out for a budding Archivist.  Returning the books to the mausoleum didn’t help Albrecht. Returning the books simply killed the would-be Archivist, or whatever was in the stone coffin killed him.  It also sounds as though Albrecht either returned the wrong books (having been bound and swapped out by Jonah Magnus while he filled his own first attempt at an Archive), or that as Albrecht read, the pages went blank and he absorbed their stories.

But given that we have an Institute, I think it’s likely to be the former.  Jonah Magnus, desperate to establish himself as something in the supernatural community, leaped at the opportunity to get his hands on this collection.  Hell, it even seems like he was trying to establish a space for these books that was already aligned with the Beholding, if his clear connection to Millbank Prison is any indication.  I have to wonder if he and Smirke worked directly together, or if Smirke didn’t care one way or the other about who utilized what he built, so long as it created that balance he hungered for so much.

Whatever Jonah’s intent in clearing out the space in or under Millbank, and establishing this first Archive, it cost his friend’s death.  Did he know?  Did he care? Was Jonah more like Jon, who still has those he cares about die, but doesn’t want it to happen, or was he more like Jurgen Leitner, viewing everyone around him as expendable fuel to brighten his own ascent to knowledge and power?  

I have the terrible feeling, given what we know happened with Barnabas Bennett and others, that he was far more a Leitner.  And that a great many people died in the establishment of the Institute.

And a great many more continue to die or suffer.  Jon knows it. Basira knows it.  Melanie is shattered in a way that may not be reparable. She can apologize, but taking the Slaughter out of her may have left her defenseless in ways she wasn’t before.

And Martin is in an even worse position than we thought.  His mother died shortly after Jon’s coma started, and I really have to wonder how much of a hand Peter had in that.  Peter singled Martin out from the beginning, even in last season.  He’s the only person Peter will appear to, and Peter seems bound and determined to sever every tie Martin has to the world.  His mother’s gone, perhaps helped along by Peter. Jon was gone, and now Martin’s been convinced that whatever his plan is, it requires him to stay away from Jon. It seems like a terrible idea.  It seems like Martin both knows he’s being manipulated by Peter, but might not know how much.  

Either way, the one person Jon ought to talk to is the one person being deliberately held out of his reach.  But Jon, in a twist of events that I didn’t see coming, is actually trying to just gather information and help his friends right now.  He’s making good decisions.

Which, unfortunately, means other people have to make bad decisions for him.  And so Basira goes to Elias for help.  I really feel like having Elias finally appear in a Jonah Magnus statement is fitting.  They’re the same, he and Jonah.  I doubt that Jonah was ever the Archivist.  The Archivist is ridiculously powerful, yes, but seems more dispensable than Jonah wanted to be.  I think he carved out a position he considered unique (though it had almost certainly existed before, and would exist again) in order to watch over the Archives and the Archivist.  He created the Institute.  He wanted more than just to serve it.

No, Jonah wasn’t the Archivist sort.  He was the Head of Institute sort.  

And Elias is just as ambitious.  He wants the Watcher’s Crown to happen, and I really don’t think he trusts Peter to see that through for him.  So instead, with Peter having snatched up Martin, Elias is getting to work on Basira. He’s playing on her own need to protect people, her fear that while they saved Melanie as a person, they’ve lost her as a fighter.  Basira, just like Martin, is convinced that she has to act to protect the others, and rather than talking to them and planning with them, she ran to the most powerful being she could lay hands on.

All Elias wants to do is talk, and all he wants her to do is listen?  Terrible idea.  Elias’ words are his weapons.  So long as he can speak, he can twist reality around himself.  Even more than Peter, who seems to require Martin’s willing cooperation, Elias can blackmail and emotionally bludgeon people into submission.

And I imagine he can manipulate with far more proficiency than Peter too.

Now I’m really worried about Basira.  I had thought it would be Jon or Martin keyed in to kick off the Watcher’s Crown, but Basira seems far more lined up for it now.  She’s clever, but Elias is wily and vicious.  He knows she’s desperate.  He knows that Peter has her isolated and scared.  He knows that seeing Melanie needy and far too much like Daisy is leaving Basira vulnerable, loath though she would be to admit it.  So he’s going to stick the knife in and twist.  He’s going to go after her, and plant ideas in her head.

I get the horrible feeling that, if Basira really does start the Watcher’s Crown, she’ll honestly think it was her idea.  Elias talked about just needing her ‘time’, and I fear that has a lot more implications than just a chat.  He does love wordplay.  Could he steal time from her lifespan, or channel it into power?  Could he convince her that she could save the others with it (and likely, she could), but it also is a major step toward the Watcher’s Crown?

Or, he’s taking her time literally, as in taking the time she has as herself.  If Elias and Jonah are the same in a literal as well as metaphorical way, Jonah may be planning to jump from Elias’ body to Basira’s.  

I hope she has ideas and ways that will keep her safe from Elias, but working with him is a deal with the devil.  And I definitely think she may get burned.

We’ve now got two potential major threats set up: the rise of the new power, which is supposedly what Peter and Martin are working on, and the Watcher’s Crown, which Elias has been working on, and which he may have just subconsciously recruited Basira to help with.  And between them we have Jon, who’s just trying to keep himself from drowning.

Shit’s finally starting to move.  After being trapped in the emotional doldrums for the last few episodes, I’m honestly excited to see where things are going again.  Bringing Elias back in is always welcome, because the man is the antithesis of emotional stasis.  He’s got plans, and he pushes things forward.  And right now, Jon and his team need something big to shock them out of their own wallowing, and back into something resembling trust and working together.  I fear that it may require a genuine world-ending-level threat to do it, but I do believe that Jon, Basira, Martin, and Melanie have reparable relationships.  And right now they all need one another more than ever. They have nothing outside the Archives. All other allies have other motives and are more likely than not to use and discard them.  Having these four finally gel as a team is honestly all I want out of this season.

But in the meantime? I’m so glad the smarmy villainous asshole that is Elias Bouchard is back in play.  As worried as I am for Basira, for the story, he’s just what we needed. Peter’s too vague and too nebulous a threat to seem frightening right now, and his saccharine sweet manipulations make him a less likeable villain for me.  Also, his entire focus is to target the weak, the lonely, and the emotionally vulnerable.  

Elias’ sort of villainy, on the other hand, is direct.  He likes to target the clever, those so confident in their own abilities that they never see their own downfall.  Vulnerability, if anything, bores him.  Martin being as weak and as lovesick as he was made him beneath Elias’ notice. Martin’s ability to use that against Elias is commendable, but it’s also commendable that Elias most of the time lets vulnerable people to their own devices.  He let Basira do what she liked as long as she played hostage.  He roped Melanie into the job, but didn’t stifle her decisions until those decisions directly threatened his life too many times for him to ignore.

In other words, Elias’ villainy is fair, in a way.  Or at least he manipulates people who ought to know better.  It’s the sort of villainy to make me grin from ear to ear. Because he really is rather decent to his employees, and treats those not standing in his way with courtesy.  He keep things running smoothly, and wants to end the world on his own time and not interfere with his paperwork.  He manipulates Jon, yes, but in such a way that Jon knows it’s happening and will do what Elias wants anyway.  Elias’ need to show off and demonstrate how smart he is actually means he’s less underhanded than Peter.  

And the way Elias treats Jon?  Or even Melanie during her early attempts at his life?  The way he talks to Basira?  It sounds almost … fond.  Not the solicitous faux-concern of Peter, but a genuine delight in everyone’s fumbling attempts to foil him.  

Peter once said that Elias was too protective of his people, and I think that in a weird way that’s true. He won’t let any of them stand in the way of his ultimate goals or even his own power, no, but so long as that’s not the case, he treats them surprisingly well.  Especially seeing how quickly everything’s gone to shit under Peter, it makes Elias’ presence even more missed.  Elias will stab you in the back, but he really would prefer to stab you in the face.  He wants to do you that courtesy.

And so, yeah.  Very glad that ‘Stellar Firma’ isn’t going to be depriving us entirely of Ben Meredith’s presence on this podcast.  The team seems to get stuck in their own misery without him to provide a clear and present asshole to work against, and so Elias, both as an antagonist and as a team-building exercise, is more than welcome back.  

[ao3feed-sterek]

All I Can See Is You

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2CP9dp7

by acercrea

Stiles had a really tough day. He almost died after all. That wasn't the weird part. They say when you are about to die your life flashes before your eyes. The weird part is that Stiles didn't see the life he had already lived. He saw what he didn't realize he was giving up. And apparently he is giving up a life with Derek.

Words: 3483, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Teen Wolf (TV)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Stiles Stilinski, Derek Hale

Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski

Additional Tags: Alternate Canon, Episode AU: s04e07 Weaponized, Thinking about trauma, Scrubbing assassin blood off of his face, Getting Together, Idiots admitting their feelings, Disassociation, Derek Hale is Bad at Feelings, Stiles Stilinski Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, but they don't call it that, Tags Are Hard, Let me know if I missed any tags, Angst, And a bit of fluff, because it is me, Fluff is my brand

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2CP9dp7

[theorigin-isyou]

Me during exams

[more--than--anything]

Episode Review: "So I guess it's game on." [S04E07]

We had to wait like seventy years for this episode—okay, two weeks but it certainly felt longer—but the question is, was it worth the wait?

Y: I hate hiatuses. But this one wasn’t too bad—not like the month we are going to have to endure after 4.08—and the wait was totally worth it. I think I have read a lot of people come out and say 4.07 has been the best yet in season four, and I find myself agreeing with that sentiment.

L: I won’t argue! We’ve been waiting all season long for Weller to put the pieces together and confront Jane, and this episode did not disappoint. We had two (or three) exciting cases, terrorists after a mystery weapon, amazing dialogue, and someone tried to blow up Weller. That’s how you know it’s a good Friday, right?

Since this week’s episode didn’t exactly follow the typical “case of the week” format, as characters paired off in pursuit of their own goals, let’s break things down that way, starting with the recently fired/unfired Reade and the smarmy Matthew Weitz. After a short discussion about what to order for dinner, these two waste no time on their new mission: beating the CIA in the race to find Tasha.

Y: We voiced our excitement last week about the potential of the Weitz/Reade pairing, and their first outing together did not fail. There’s something about these two being almost polar opposites that makes this pairing that much more fun to watch. One of my favorite snippets from the episode was when Matthew sits uncomfortably close to Reade on the couch, and Ed just slowly slides away. Even in his physical “humor” Reade/Rob delivers in such a dry, unassuming way, and it perfectly highlights the difference between the two men—Weitz is so unbearably in-your-face while Reade is far more proper and subtle. But somehow, united with the same goal of finding Tasha—and hopefully saving her from the wrath of the CIA—these two have managed to find a way to work together. And Reade has also found how to make the best of Weitz’s annoying habits.

L: Weitz is still apparently determined to help Reade save Tasha from the CIA—which is probably a good thing, because from Reade’s perspective, Tasha broke up his relationship with Meg, slept with him, gave him the brush off, and then showed up just long enough to point a gun at him and destroy his career at the FBI. I don’t think anyone would blame him if he decided to just forget he’d ever met someone named Tasha Zapata. But then Weitz shows up and reminds Reade that if he walks away, the CIA will probably bring Tasha back in a body bag. This is exactly the reality check Reade needs. He can work through his complicated emotions later, once he knows Tasha is safe.

But I’ll be honest, I’m still not entirely sure why Weitz is so determined to save Tasha. We understand Reade’s motivation here, but Weitz? It’s pretty clear that he’s the kind of guy who does whatever benefits him the most, and rescuing a disgraced CIA agent isn’t going to do much for his political standing (and failing could be disastrous for him). The more I watch Weitz, the more he’s starting to remind me of Rich (with a slightly more appropriate filter in place). Just like Rich, Weitz was basically going along, doing whatever would reap him the greatest rewards (although his goals were more career-oriented than monetary). And then, like Rich, Weitz somehow they got mixed up with our team of badged crusaders, who go out and risk their lives every day to put bad guys behind bars, collect their non-impressive government salaries, and go home. And now suddenly Weitz is getting in touch his moral compass, too. They are both still themselves, still slightly over the top in Rich’s case and snarky and smarmy in Weitz’s, but like Rich, Weitz seems to be turning out to be a decent guy. Will it last? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Also, it must be said that Aaron Abrams is absolutely dynamite in this role. His body language—getting too cozy with Reade on the sofa and his obvious discomfort with the seating arrangements in Madeline’s office—is almost as hysterical as his snarky dialogue delivery.

I thought Weitz had fired Reade last week, but apparently he has just been suspended. Interesting. I wonder if Sabrina Larren knows that? She was pretty insistent that Weitz fire Reade outright. She’s not going to be too thrilled that the door is still open for his return. I wonder how long it will be before she catches wind of their plans and turns up again to make everyone’s lives miserable.

Y: Since they don’t have the CIA’s resources, working out of Reade’s tiny apartment, and also we assume they don’t have the insider information as to what is really happening with Tasha, Weitz and Reade really have to think outside the box and make big moves without causing any ripples that might catch Larren’s attention. And I think it was pretty genius that they used the same tactic that Madeline Burke initiated a few episodes back when she declared that she was cleaning up the mess Crawford had left behind at HCI. Luckily for Reade, Weitz has this unenviable talent of knowing how to be an annoying thorn in someone’s side until he gets what he wants. And honestly, I think I have figured out how he has managed to get all these high ranking jobs all these years. He just annoyed someone until that person could not stand him anymore and offered to ship him on to a new fancy job just to get rid of him.

And oddly enough, after just one visit, Madeline does just that. She realizes what kind of person Weitz is—self-centered, egotistical and career-driven—and she throws him something that might be just a little too tempting. She offers to help him get the ultimate prize of all—POTUS. Now the question isn’t so much if Madeline can do that, but rather, will Weitz be tempted to switch teams? And now, after he just declared his allegiance to Team FBI? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

But more important than Madeline’s offer to Weitz is the little nugget of intel they get after spending hours sorting through the boxes and boxes of papers she handed over. After weeks of hearing the mysterious name “J.B.,” we finally identify him and get a break in the hunt for Tasha. Honestly, in what has felt like week after week of nothing but hitting brick walls, this feels like such a huge victory. Reade and Weitz identify J.B. as Madeline’s pilot and they also find out where their next planned trip is headed. And just like Weitz, I want to get on a plane right now and follow them and just bring Tasha back home!

I have to say I am so proud of Reade for keeping his head during this whole ordeal, not becoming too emotional and not strangling Matthew Weitz. And even more proud of him for finding out just how to make the most of Weitz’s “talents” and using them to their advantage.

L: I feel like Reade and Weitz need a ship name. They’re like the unlikely cop duo, forced to work together, who develop a grudging respect for each other. Mattgar? Edthew? Meade? Reitz? Help me out here.

Weitz wasn’t all that wrong when he called them “good cop/bad cop” in the last episode. Weitz is the consummate politician who will do or say whatever he has to in order to achieve the results he wants. That’s why he usually comes out on top, or at least in the times we’ve seen him lock horns with our team in the past. But Reade is more of a straight shooter. He’s not going to lie, even to Weitz, the guy who holds his career in his hands. He tells Weitz straight up that he doesn’t trust him, adding, “I just want to make sure we do this right.” So far Weitz seems to be playing on the level with Reade. He admits that Madeline offered to help him get elected president, which we know must be a seriously tempting offer for someone as career-driven as Weitz. And Weitz couldn’t really turn her down, not if he wants her to keep playing ball with him (and honestly, right now I think he might be the FBI’s best chance of getting to her). But he seems almost hurt that Reade doesn’t trust him. So... do I think Weitz will do what is best for himself? Probably. But will he sacrifice Reade and or Tasha in order to do it? A few weeks ago, I would have said, “Yes,” with zero hesitation. But now? I’m not sure. I’ve got to admit, I am looking forward to see how all this plays out!

I also must admit that I would love to see Weitz as president next season. I mean, if anyone can uncover dirt on Orion, it would be the office where it all started, right? Plus, just imagine the fun this writing team would have, poking holes in the Weitz administration. Can I put this in my letter to Santa?

And since they cross paths with Weitz and Reade, let’s discuss Madeline Burke and Tasha Zapata’s adventures this episode. After weeks of jumping around the globe, not only did these two stay in one city this week, they almost literally stayed in the same room. But that doesn’t mean they weren’t up to a bunch of no good.

Y: I am going to go ahead and say it. I don’t think we have ever seen Tasha Zapata so… uncomfortable, ever, doing anything, as we saw her in this episode. Yes, we have seen flashes of that in previous episodes, mostly when no one was looking or after she has had to do something she was clearly not proud to do, but we have never seen her outright try to go against Madeline or voice her disapproval or try to get out of doing something. But this week she did. And I don’t know about you, but I would like to hold onto that as proof that Tasha has not joined the dark side and is in fact deep undercover for the CIA. It wasn’t just once that she “defied” Madeline in this episode. She repeatedly let her feelings be known, whether about the poor hacker who was only looking for an honest payday, or about crashing the plane, trying to make Madeline follow a different—less murder-y—approach. But the most important thing is Tasha finally asking the question we have all been asking for weeks. Why, Madeline, why? Why are you doing all this?

And we were so close to getting a really answer, but apparently getting interrupted at crucial moments is not just a feature exclusive to Jeller. Madeline begins to tell Tasha why she’s doing all this but then they get interrupted by Matthew showing up. Revenge. That’s all we got from Madeline. It isn’t much but at least we know that she’s not just being evil because she’s bored of her book club. But revenge for what? And against whom? We don’t know., but at least we got something. And that is a start.

And you have to at least respect Madeline that in her quest for vengeance, she refuses anything that isn’t the best. She could’ve easily hired Leo, he seemed competent and confident enough, and I am sure he could’ve gotten the job done. But as she tells Tasha, why settle for a copycat when we can get the real thing? Her insistence on using the best hacker out there makes me think again that her putting Tasha and Claudia together was some sort of test for both women. I think she always wanted one of them to kill the other by the end of that assignment to make sure her righthand woman was the best of all the available options.

Which, you know, only makes me more worried for Tasha, which is basically my default mode week after week.

L: Worry for Tasha is a constant these days.

Her default expression now seems to be “WTF, Madeline?” And honestly, I feel ya, Tasha.

First Mad Maddie wants Tasha to crash a plane. Then when Tasha brings her a hacker with the talents to do exactly that, Madeline has her henchman give him “the full treatment” to ensure that he doesn’t talk to anyone ever about his microscopically brief HCI job history. (I feel like Madeline’s not gonna get a great review on glassdoor.com?) Hey, it’s been a few minutes since Madeline killed anyone. Maybe she was starting to have withdrawal symptoms?

Apparently Madeline wants Tasha to go get her the name brand—the hacker who wrote the charmingly-named “Waldoballz” algorithm that the newly-hired-slash-deceased hacker was going to use. The leading brand is a hacker known as Del Toro, currently under exclusive contract with the Sabinito drug cartel, hacking such targets as the Mexican government, the DEA, and the ATF, as well as using “Waldoballz” to crash planes belonging to rival cartels. Tasha will have to go to Mexico and make friends with the Cartel and convince them to partner up with HCI Global so they can borrow their in-house hacker. Madeline announces that she’s coming along, telling Tasha, “you’re gonna need all the help you can get,” in a fun parallel to Weitz, who says the same thing to Reade. Looks like Mexico City is the place to be on Friday night. This is gonna be one helluva double date.

This week we discover that Mad Maddie has been waiting thirty years for revenge. On someone, for something. And yes, she’s scary and obviously completely batshit insane... but she’s still not quite in the same league as Shepherd or Crawford. Revenge is a pretty personal thing, affecting an individual or at most, a group. Compared to plans to institute a new world order or to nuke the top level of US government, this goal seems smaller and less world-changing in its reach. And in turn, it makes her less threatening than her predecessors in the Big Bad chair. Thirty years ago, Madeline would have been a young woman, maybe not long out of college or newly married. She’s already killed her husband, thus presumably exacting her revenge on him. Hank Crawford is dead, and she killed off his daughter, too, so the Crawfords have been suitably punished. Who’s left? Her mean college sorority sisters? The guy who dumped her right before homecoming? I’m still not really finding her to be a chilling villain on the scale set by Shepherd and Crawford—but in the interest of full disclosure, I’m so freaked out by Remi this season, I’m almost relieved not to have to deal with an ultra-terrifying Big Bad, too.

Another pair who stayed put this week—not unlike most other weeks—are Patty and Rich who went on a little treasure hunt through the NYO, thanks to a clue Roman left for them in the Tokyo cache. It wasn’t the slumber party Rich hoped for, but it did end with probably the first nugget of good news we’ve received all season.

L: Of course, Rich made a movie about the Book of Secrets. And of course, it’s in 3D. (And now I’m wondering if this book has not only the cure for Jane’s ZIP poisoning, but for cancer as well. Because that would be a really cool season finale. And actually, someone suggested that Rich had started trying to find the Book of Secrets to try to save the person whose bedside he attended, and this is now my head canon for him, to be honest.) Patterson is mildly impressed with the fancy graphics, but she’s even more excited when the 3D sea turtles remind her of the cursor used in the Logo programming language. One of the images they found in the drive they retrieved in Tokyo consists of a series of sports jerseys, with four different mascots (a fox, a bear, a leopard, and a rhino) in varying colors. Patterson figures out that the mascots correspond to directions (forward, backwards, left, and right) and the hue of colors resolve to distance measurements. The pattern resolves to the “star of life,” the symbol commonly used to indicate emergency medical services, suggesting that the indicated cache contains medical information, likely information on ZIP poisoning. The Tokyo cache also yielded a graphic of a cartoon seal, in the same colors as the FBI seal in the lobby, indicating that their search should start there. “I am a big fan of your brain,” Rich tells Patterson, after she puts all the pieces together, and really, aren’t we all?

Rich seems positively giddy at the idea of an all-nighter. And especially in light of his rather, er, desperate attempts to get in touch with Boston, it makes me wonder if going home to his empty safe house every night is wearing away at Rich. (And speaking of Boston, is anyone else just a wee bit concerned by his apparent absence. I mean, yes, it’s highly possible that he is following orders and is safely tucked away in his safe house, avoiding Rich’s calls. But it’s also possible that dealing with Remi has gotten him in trouble way over his head. Must I worry about all of these children all the time, even the convicted felons?!)

Following Roman’s directions, Rich and Patterson end up at a location in the middle of the SIOC bullpen. Raise your hand if you, too, suspected they would find something in the electrical outlet. I mean, thanks to this show, we now looking at air ducts in a whole new light (you can escape through them, hide money and fake ID’s in them... really, the possibilities are endless), so I guess electrical outlets seem an equally likely storage location. But despite Rich’s enthusiasm for wielding a pickaxe (from Briana’s locker, apparently... I wonder what her FBI therapist thinks about her trauma coping mechanisms?), the location doesn’t yield anything... until Patterson realizes it might not be a place but a person, specifically the person whose desk used to be located there. The Wonder Twins haul the hapless analyst into an interrogation room, and I kind of want Rich to conduct all interrogations at the FBI now. Patterson realizes that they were traipsing all over the building through all the areas that this guy had access to and that the clue must be pointing to his access badge, which she destroys in order to expose the memory chip hidden inside. And I am really glad that this guy took such good care of his badge in the months since Roman hid the chip. (Although the poor guy is dressed for work at midnight, so either his job really sucks, or he’s the kind of guy who irons and puts on a tie when hauled out of bed in the middle of the night... which I guess indicates that he’s responsible enough for unknowing custody of it?)

The drive is filled with medical information: Brain scans, drug trials, research on experimental procedures, etc. Sadly, no file that says, “Recipe for the cure to ZIP poisoning,” but they do seem to be closer than they were before. So this second case of the week does seem like a win for our team, or at least for the Wonder Twins. (Maybe they’re the FBI Brainpower Couple?)

Now if only their patient hadn’t just absconded...

Y: If it weren’t for the Kurt and Remi/Jane storyline in this episode, I would have said the Rich/Patterson story was the best thing ever. But it has to come a very close second mostly because, well, the A-Plot this week was A++ and this plot was sadly only an A+! You can never go wrong when you pair up these two and send them on a nerdy adventure, and when it is one designed by Roman just for the two of them? Come on, you’re just teasing me now.

I love a good treasure hunt. And I love when they tap into the nerdiness and the endless fun it ensues. Patterson was right when she said no one loves puzzles as much as she does—except for Roman, and I have a feeling he especially enjoyed designing this one. It’s funny because those two never really met except in passing a few times when they let Roman leave his glass cell in season two, but they do have a very close relationship through the tattoos and the puzzles that Roman has left for her over the years. It’s like Roman and Patterson are closer every time she solves a puzzle, and in the process of doing that, she is in a constant conversation with him. And now I am feeling sad about my ship that never happened. RIP Patterman, you will always live in our head canons and Patterson’s coma-induced dreams.

There is no denying that whenever the Wonder Twins take center stage it means we are in for a treat. But that treat is usually interrupted by them having to stop every so often to explain things to the rest of the team, which is also entertaining, but seeing them like this, in their element and uninterrupted, was just pure gold. The Patterson/Rich pairing is the best thing to happen to this show since Kurt Weller’s incompetence at buttoning up his shirt.

Rich making a 3D movie about the Book of Secrets is genius, and I am slightly miffed at Patterson that we did not get to see the rest of it. And I agree, behind all his “let’s have fun” attitude and his seeing this as a fun adventure trying to find a valuable antique, there has to be something pure and genuine in his search, whether it is for Jane or the mysterious person he had spent time with while sick. Underneath all that inappropriate, fun-seeking- debauchery, there is a sweet, caring person who wants to protect the people he cares about. We’re on to you, Gord.

And I’ve been thinking about the poor guy they hauled in and accused of either working with Roman or being in love with him—and speaking of which can we please have Patterson and Rich conducting every interrogation from now on?—and I wanted to feel bad for him that he seemed to be dressed for work, but then when I rewatched the episode I realized that SIOC seems pretty full of agents in the middle of the night. And not only agents, Patterson also seemed to find a handyman on duty. These people are so dedicated to their jobs, it’s quite impressive.

Speaking of dedicated, it’s been a while since Rich has made any embarrassingly inappropriate comments about Jeller. But I’m glad we did not have to wait longer than seven episodes for him to bring up their sex life. And I wonder just how disappointed he’d be to find out that their evening of being tied up did not exactly go as he would have imagined it.

And finally, our last pair this week is Kurt and Jane—well, Kurt and Remi. I guess with the things went down in this episode, there’s no point pretending anymore, is there? The FBI’s favorite power couple had quite the evening, in every way possible.

Y: You know that flailing Kermit gif, right? And you know that has been my general state since I watched the episode, right? I just cannot get over how good this was, both store-wise and character-wise. The case was just a the perfect vessel to carry everything else, and it allowed us to see Supervisory Special Agent Kurt Weller doing what he does best while carrying the emotional baggage he was carrying, and if there was ever a moment for Sullivan Stapleton to shine, this is it. And add to that the fact that Jaimie also brought her A-game… I swear I can watch this episode a thousand times a day and still never get bored of it.

We don’t need reminding that Kurt is the best at his job but there’s also nothing wrong in watching him do what he was born to do. We always talk about how incredible the Wonder Twins are at what they do, because they are given moments to shine and excel and same with Jane being a badass or Reade being the boss or Tasha… you know… being Tasha. But we don’t often see Kurt these days stand in the spotlight and remind us just why he was considered the superstar of the NYO when we first met him. I know, I know, I’m just gushing about Kurt here and not really adding anything useful to the discussion but come on, did you watch the episode? Did you not see him singlehandedly own the day? Yes, Remi was there and she did help, but she was too busy rolling her eyes and being a brat trying to get under his skin to participate in the badassery of solving the case.

Although the fight scene in the apartment was all kinds of epic, and I would watch these two fight bad guys until my dying breath and still be wanting more. And just as incredible as it was to watch them physically beat the crap pout of other people, it was as satisfying watching them go head-to-head, and heart-to-heart, and the confrontation we’ve been waiting for for almost two months, the epic Remi vs. Kurt, finally happened, and it did not disappoint.

L: We pick up with Jeller right where we last saw them: Remi is having a bad day, what with her husband getting all suspicious about her super-secret terrorist plans, which quickly morphs into a worse day when she and Kurt are attacked in their home by an evil fake babysitter and some thugs under the command of a blond Buffy lookalike named Eve who needs to make it up to our favorite multipurpose terrorists, the Dabbur Zann, for losing their money. (And I kind of love that they chose a blond woman for the role of villain in this episode. I mean, if the FBI was going to use racial profiling to figure out who was in control of a terrorist bank, Not-Buffy would be pretty much dead last on their list.) In lieu of being able to return the Dabbur Zann’s money, Eve decides to use Remi and Weller to break into a vault in an FBI evidence facility to procure something that will appease them. And to convince the Wellers to go along with her scheme, she outfits them with matching FBI vests rigged with explosives.

Kurt and Remi are able to talk their way past the guard manning the gate, who recognizes his “favorite FBI power couple.” (Do they have a fan club at the FBI? Is Rich the president? He must be.) Sadly for Mikey-the-security-guard, instead of bringing him coffee, Kurt knocks him out. But I’m actually more worried about the guy that Remi takes care of, because, unlike Kurt, she has no reason to hold back and make sure he’s okay. Although as we’ve noted before, thus far Remi has walked a very fine line with regard to the FBI. She’s certainly done plenty of things she shouldn’t have, but she’s steered shy of actually killing FBI employees, as we saw during her efforts to incite panic during the biohazard lockdown. But now that she’s been exposed by Weller, all bets are off.

Weller opens the door to the vault, but only after warning Eve about the hidden security cameras inside it, which he supposedly signed off on during his time as Assistant Director. Now I’m guessing that he just made that up on the spot, after watching the footage Eve showed him, but even if she doesn’t believe him, Eve has no choice but to assume that it’s true. (This also indicates that she plans on blowing up Weller and Remi as soon as they’re done, as Weller quickly figures out, since they would be able to easily identify her after the fact.) Eve sends Weller and Remi in and gives them 60 seconds to locate the item she is after. (And damn, that’s a lot of evidence, judging by the size of the vault. So honestly, I’m not sure why they didn’t just slap some duct tape over the identification code on the box and bury it in the back somewhere, you know, just past the Ark of the Covenant.)

As soon as they are alone in the vault, Weller checks Remi’s vest and finds an anti-tamper trigger. (I love that the only possible way he can check inside the back of Remi’s vest is by standing in front of her and wrapping his arms around her.) Without time to disable them, they locate the antennas that will receive the signal from the detonator, which they block with duct tape and then hold each other close as they wait to see if they die. (Which wouldn’t be a romantic moment for pretty much any other couple, but these guys count defusing bombs as foreplay, so...) Crisis averted for the moment, Weller disables the anti-tamper device so they can remove the vests, then locates the device Eve is after. He disassembles the vests so he can use the C4 to build a bomb to blow a hole in the wall so they can escape the vault. (And also to boobytrap the box before Eve gets her hands on it, unbeknownst to Remi.) Remi and Kurt escape just as Eve and company break into the vault. They take out two of Eve’s henchmen, getting their hands on one of the detonators, but just as they reach an outside door, the rest of the gang pulls up outside. Remi sends Weller to look for another exit, telling him that she’ll take the case, but instead she opens the door, pointing her gun at Weller to prevent him from stopping her as she pushes the case outside. She shoves the case at Eve and takes off. Eve loads the case into the back of her SUV, but Weller blows the whole thing up before she can get away. (Good thing our mystery device wasn’t a nuclear bomb or a chemical weapon, right?)

So our FBI Power Couple defeats the Dabbur Zann (again), but it’s hard to claim this one as a win, with Weller losing Jane in more ways than one. And now he’s in the unenviable position of having to stop Remi without actually hurting her. Maybe he and Reade can form a club? Broken-hearted federal bounty hunters?

Y: ::pops the popcorn into the microwave:: I would definitely watch the hell out of that, especially if Kurt Weller is the same no-nonsense, badass, snarky, smart Kurt Weller from this episode, who won’t take shit from anyone and is also so confident in his wife’s love for him, in what they have, and so in love with her and relentless in his fight to bring her back. Give me that Kurt Weller every day.

Well, Kurt was exceptionally exceptional this week. He thwarted a terrorist plot, he confronted and exposed Remi’s lies, he made diffusing a bomb unbearably sexy, and he once again gave it his all for his bid for Husband of the Year. But at the end of the day, he came home alone to a ransacked apartment, and once again, his wife has technically left him. What’s next for our Grumpchkin?

Y: Oh, look at this, another section where I can shamelessly ramble on about how much I love Kurt Weller. Like I ever need an excuse to get up on my Kurt Weller soapbox. But seriously, it’s been so long since we’ve seen Kurt Weller own an episode like this one.

I want to start with this—I’ve read from a few people that they thought Kurt’s reaction or the way he dealt with Remi was a bit harsh in the sense that he was repeatedly blunt when telling her that she is not Jane or that there is no part of Jane in her or that she is nothing like Jane. I kind of disagree with this. I’m not saying it did not sting to hear him say those things, but what I am saying is that it was the right reaction to have. I think the entire time, Kurt dealt with Remi and “fought back” in the best way possible. I’m actually quite proud of how he dealt with the situation.

He somehow managed to balance dealing with Eve and dealing with Remi—two women who kind of want him dead—in the most excellent way possible.

No one can envy Kurt for the position he has found himself in—finding out the truth about Remi and uncovering all the lies, manipulation, and betrayal of the past months. But he kept his cool and played along and he matched her every move with his. And at times, he faced her harshness with harshness of his own, but he also tried to reach out to her and his tenderness was always there, maybe not in the same ways we are used to, but it was still there. Kurt knows this is still his wife, and he would never ever cross that line. He was brutal when he told Remi that there is no part of Jane in her, but he also reminded her of her inability to use the poison needle on him, effectively telling her that there is a part of Jane in her still calling some of the shots.

I just love how he balanced his approach towards Remi. I think it was the right way to go. He does not want to push her away, but he also wants her to know that he will fight back. He wants to break through her walls and get to that heart he knows so well, but he also wants her to have to own up to her actions. He wants her to admit that she’s only a puppet being controlled by Shepherd, but he also wants her to know that she has choices and that only by making her own choices can she be truly free.

He is not going to give up on his wife, he is going to fight for her, but he is also going to push Remi to fight for herself as well. He knows it is not enough that he alone fights. If Remi doesn’t wake up, essentially, from Shepherd’s manipulation then the fight he puts up won’t be enough. I think in a way he wants to get Jane back, but he also wants to help Remi save herself.

L: All of this!

The pacing in this show usually goes at breakneck pace, and Remi’s unmasking is no different. Once Eve flashes her surveillance video at Kurt, showing Remi stealing money from the terrorist bank, he immediately figures out that she’s Remi, conveniently explaining, “I’ve been researching the ZIP drug and memory loss. You know, in some cases, people revert back to an earlier version of themselves, like a record needle skipping back a few tracks.” (Never mind that Jane was supposedly the only person who has ever received such a massive dose of ZIP.) He immediately concludes that Remi is the Sandstorm operative they’ve been hunting for. I’m glad that we didn’t linger in the “Kurt has vague suspicions but doesn’t do anything about them” stage. Yes, it would build drama, but it wouldn’t fit what we know (and love) about Kurt Weller, namely that there’s a very good reason that he’s such a hotshot FBI agent.

Remi uses her full powers of manipulation, turning things back on Weller and making his mistrust of her the problem, but Weller is able to tune those words out. They must have hurt, coming from the woman he loves, but he’s able to detach from that and focus on what’s going on. And that’s why he is, at his heart, a damned good cop. Because he’s able to see past the posturing and cut to the heart of the matter. Remember the hacker competition in 2.19? “The simplest answer gets you through this door.” Kurt excels at cutting through the bullshit and making split-second decisions that usually end up being the right call. (Unlike Jane, who frequently makes the wrong call, a trait even more apparent in Remi, for all her gifts of manipulation and machination.)

This aspect of Kurt’s character explains why his response to Remi was exactly in character, both for him and for the person he was addressing. Yes, it’s harsh at times, and no, it’s not how he would have talked to Jane, but as he obviously realized: This isn’t Jane. The techniques that he used to get through to Jane won’t work on Remi. Remi doesn’t respect love or gentleness; she’s been programmed to think of those emotions as weaknesses to be hidden. What Remi respects is strength, so that’s what he showed her. Even better, he challenged her, telling her that she was programmed by her mother, and even with all of her programming, she still failed in her mission. And the best part of it is that it works. Remi goes from calling Jane a damsel in distress (which is pretty much the worst insult ever, coming from someone who values strength as much as Remi does) to telling Weller that she and Jane aren’t so different.

So that is Kurt’s biggest advantage right now. He knows Remi better than she knows herself. He knows what makes her tick, but he also knows the feelings that she’s been trained to hide from the world, the ones she might not even acknowledge to herself. He knows how to get to her. And honestly, that might be the one thing that Remi really isn’t prepared for.

Which brings us to Remi. She finally unburdens herself from her Jane Doe-ting housewife act, but things aren’t necessarily any easier now. Her first round with Kurt did not exactly go her way, as much as she’d like to pretend it did. And the return of snarky imaginary Roman is another sign of her deteriorating health. But she’s not exactly the kind to lay down arms and surrender, is she?

L: Can I just say that the best part of Remi’s plans coming unglued is that her precarious position brings back her Roman hallucination. And man, have we missed him! (Both Luke Mitchell’s presence on my screen and Hallucination Roman’s tendency to hurl truth bombs at Remi when she’s least able to dodge them.)

Y: Yes!! We are still not over losing Roman, so we will cling to every time he comes back, even if he is the surest sign that Remi/Jane’s medical condition is betting worse. We just love him so much and are still not ready to say goodbye!

L: Let’s be honest: We will never be ready to say goodbye to Roman.

Hallucination Roman immediately asks Remi if she and Kurt can trust each other if their lives depended on it. And we already know that Remi trusts Kurt. We’ve seen her demonstrate that on multiple occasions. But the question that Remi is asking via her hallucination is: Yes, “Jane” can trust Kurt, but can Remi trust a Kurt who knows she isn’t Jane? She knows that Kurt would die for Jane in a heartbeat. But what about Remi? Is she safe only because she inhabits the body that once belonged to Jane?

I suspect that will be the internal conflict that Remi ends up wrestling with for the remainder of this season: Are Kurt’s feelings (or the team’s friendship, for that matter) only valid for Jane? Or could they also encompass Remi-with-Jane’s-memories? And does she want them to? At this point, clearly, no, she doesn’t. But going forward, I think she’s going to have to wrestle with this question, especially as she becomes aware of the lengths that Weller and the team are willing to go to save her life from the ZIP poisoning.

Roman doesn’t stop with his needling. He outlines an escape scenario, in which Remi can survive, but Weller’s odds aren’t quite so good, a setup that presents Remi’s second quandary: Is she willing to save her own life at the expense of Weller’s? She’s saved from having to answer that one by the appearance of reinforcements who make escaping impossible for the moment, but the question lingers. And in the end, Remi chooses a way out that leaves Weller locked inside the FBI vault—unable to stop her, but also safely out of the danger that Eve and her compatriots represent. Remi is quick to call Kurt and tell him that she won’t hesitate to kill him, but given the almost ridiculous number of opportunities to kill him that she’s already declined, it’s hard to believe that she’s ever really going to be able to go through with it (no matter what the previews would have us believe each week).

And yes, just as Remi’s initial hallucination of Roman indicated that her ZIP poisoning was worsening, his reappearance tells us that her time is running out. She might have been able to will him away temporarily just as she’s been able to force herself to keep going, but the clock is ticking. And that is probably another explanation for her actions in this episode. She can’t afford to waste time. She has to leave Weller and the FBI behind, and go after Shepherd now, while she still can. But as we see, leaving Weller behind isn’t quite as easy as she thought it would be.

Part of me wants to see Remi get the life that she believes she wants. Set Shepherd free and go back to playing second in command to whatever scheme Shepherd concocts, tell herself that the inevitable collateral damage is worth it. This is the life she had, and I want her to realize that it doesn’t really fit her as well as it did before. Because now she knows what it’s like to be on a team that stops the corruption and saves the day and all the innocent people. Now she knows what it’s like to have the kind of job that gives her purpose... and what it’s like to go home at the end of the day with someone she trusts, someone who treats her as an equal, someone who shares his feelings with her and encourages her to do the same, rather than telling her they make her weak.

Because under it all, Remi isn’t Jane anymore, but she also isn’t the same Remi she was. Kurt was exactly right: The old Remi became who she was simply because circumstances prevented her from being anything else. But this Remi has just been through circumstances that allowed her to be someone entirely different. Even without Jane’s memories, she has changed. Right now, she is free from both Shepherd’s influence and the FBI’s. She can make the same choices again, or she can make different ones this time. And what happens when she inevitably gets some of Jane’s memories sprinkled on top?

I can’t wait to find out.

Y: You know what one of the best parts of Remi being made is? She continues to be her evil, smirky, manipulative self, now without having to wait for people to turn their backs, but she’s also met her match in Kurt Weller. I don’t think Remi has ever been in such a position. She’s always been second in command to only Shepherd, and the rest of the Sandstorm soldiers always reported to her and never undermined her or stood up to her. But now in Kurt, she finds herself face to face with quite the formidable opponent on every possible level. And the worst thing is that he can get to her on a level no one has ever been able to before. He rattles her emotionally and mentally in ways no one else ever could before—except maybe Shepherd but not in the same way. And because of what Jane and Kurt have, he knows her in way that can be her undoing, and she knows it even if she’s denying it right now.

The internal conflict that Remi has been having for the past six episodes, sometimes vocalized through the Roman hallucination, but more often left just internal, is now to coming to the surface and being externalized. Kurt is now a physical manifestation of everything she had been struggling with internally, and unlike a voice in her head or an imaginary Roman, she cannot shut him up or banish him. He is saying all the things and arguing all the arguments she has tried to ignore for weeks, and he is not backing down. And worse yet, he knows things and knows her in ways she had not expected and is clearly not comfortable with, which puts Remi in a situation she had not expected or accounted for. For someone who loves meticulous planning and doing things her way, this must be very very upsetting and could maybe push her to act even more recklessly and prone to more mistakes along the way.

Remember the time when Kurt said the best thing and the worst thing that Jane had done to him was get behind the walls he had spent a lifetime building? It had taken him a while to reconcile the fact that it was the best thing that she had done. Well, now Kurt is doing the same to Remi. She hates how easily he is chipping at her walls, how confident he is that he can get behind them and how comfortable he seems to be getting there. But something tells me, sometime down the road, she is going to have to come to the same conclusion that this is also the best thing that he can do to her.

Hopefully that time will come before it is a little too late.

And finally, we find ourselves once again pondering the angsty angsty future of our favorite couple. I’m going to dare say that this episode was surprisingly the most Jeller episode of all the episodes this season because neither of them was pretending anymore and yet somehow… the presence of Jeller as a relationship was pretty strong. That’s something, isn’t it?

L: Man, the Jeller was strong. I mean, desperately clutching someone as you think you’re about to die is kind of a giveaway, don’t you think? But I also love that Remi isn’t anywhere near ready or willing to admit that, and Kurt knows that... and needles her anyway. (And honestly, if that doesn’t scream “married” at you then what will?)

The dialogue between them—while disarming bombs, blowing up walls, and thwarting terrorists; you know, Jeller in their natural habitat—was awesome, and revealed so much about both of them. I loved that Kurt pointed out that Remi was blaming him for going along exactly with the plan that she herself designed. She wants to hate him, but she really hates herself for getting sucked into Jane’s life instead of immediately going along with the plan when Oscar showed up. It’s always so much easier to blame other people than it is to face our own mistakes, especially for someone who despises “weakness” as much as Remi. And Kurt correctly points out that one of the reasons that Jane’s life was so appealing to Remi was because it gave her back the things that had been taken from her: the freedom to make her own choices and to express the kindness and compassion she’d been forced to hide for most of her life.

My favorite bit was when Kurt says, “You’re not an FBI agent. You’re a terrorist.” And Remi replies, “What’s the difference?” That exchange right there sums up so much about both of them. Weller has always been pretty strict in his interpretation of good guys versus bad guys. He concluded that his father was a bad guy and didn’t speak to him for decades. And when Jane was revealed to be someone who had lied to him about who she was, he wrote her off, too. We saw how very long it took him to forgive her and become willing to trust her again. But Remi has an entirely different code of ethics. She learned the hard way that just because someone is on the right side of the law doesn’t mean that they are actually a good guy. She’s seen her fellow SEALS killed by the organization they worked for, seen her country blow up a hospital filled with innocent people. She defines good guys as people who are struggling to overthrow corruption. In the heat of this moment, these positions couldn’t be further apart. But in the long run...

We’ve seen both of them compromise these values before. Jane knew that she’d designed the plan to infiltrate the FBI. She rekindled a romance of sorts with Oscar. And even though Kurt arrested her and turned her over to the CIA, when she escaped, she didn’t come after the FBI or the CIA for revenge. She went after Sandstorm. And even though Kurt knew she was a terrorist, knew that she’d planned the whole mission to pretend to be Taylor and infiltrate the FBI, he was still able to look past that and fall in love with Jane. In the end, they both want the same thing, to end the corruption that rots our government from the inside. They value strength and compassion, intelligence and loyalty. And I think that finding this common ground in their ideologies is going to play a large part in helping them to eventually rebuild the trust between them.

Y: ::sighs heavily and bursts into tears::

Okay, no, but seriously, this was perfect. I have nothing to complain about with regards to what we got. Yes, Jane is still Remi and now Kurt knows so he isn’t acting like the fluffy marshmallow husband we know he loves to be but with all that, dammit, the Jeller is so strong. Once again, we get to see how this relationship is the heart and soul of the show and no matter what happens, they will prevail.

Also, I know they are fictional characters so their finding these life-and-death, bomb-diffusing situations sexual is not as much as a concern for them as it is for us enjoying them so much. Should we be worried? I don’t know… it’s not my fault they are so good! But dammit, that whole “duct tape the antennas and then embrace tightly as the time runs out” was just so insanely hot, wasn’t it?

Every single scene between these two in this episode was everything we could have asked for and more—from the dialogue to the body language to the subtleties of their reactions to the impact of their emotional and psychological punches—everything. The initial stand-off between them before Eve shows up and Remi dropping her Jane act altogether when she feels Kurt is not going back off was just the beginning. And then of course the fight with Eve’s thugs was quintessential Jeller, switching to battle mode almost instantly, regardless of what’s happening, and their instincts kick in, the two of them working together like the perfect partners that they are. And then once Kurt finds the truth and drops the “you’re Remi” on her—he’s just so calm and collected—you can see the wheels turning in Remi’s head as she readjusts, and you can see she is reprogramming her entire strategy. It was just amazing to watch.

And then every single scene after that is just so well played and so raw and real. They are both clearly not holding back anything, but there is also that vulnerability there, both know what is at stake on every level possible and both are weighing their next move carefully. And through all of it, there is that tenderness and that connection that neither can deny or control and that has always been there. They’re both reaching for something but are too scared or too angry or too hurt to grab it.

I just… I just really really loved this episode, everything about it, but especially how strong and how present and how at the core of everything Jeller’s love is and their connection. I know I’ve rambled endlessly, but I don’t think I’ve done this episode justice, and I don’t think I have properly expressed just how much I absolutely loved it, how moved I was by everything in that episode and just… you know??

We know, you get it too. We’re just in time to gulp chocolate and prepare for the next—bigger—dose of angst that the mid-season finale will bring. Are you ready? Is it possible to ever be ready? Together we can make it through this angst-filled finale!

—Laura & Yas