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queerfables · 1 year ago

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911 season 5 part 1 liveblog

5x01

Okay, dramatic opening image!!

Love it

What's this walking dead shit

Omg emus??

Oh jeeze what else is loose here

A fucking GIRAFFE ok I'm obsessed

This is a GREAT fucking opening

LMFAO I appear to have accidentally downloaded the Spanish dub

Ok an hour later that mix up is not as funny as it was but we are back baby

Take two

Btw I don't think I've mentioned it yet but I love the show's score

Little baaaaaaaby

What the hell is wrong with the human brain that at the moments when you need it to be functioning the most, like when you have a new kid for example, there's a solid chance it just breaks

It's Mad About Depression hours I guess

The fact that Eddie is so stubbornly insisting that meeting his girlfriend's family isn't a big deal

Idk I guess Eddie's love interests so far just haven't grabbed me. His type is bland willowy ladies and I would like to see some sparks.

911 is being flooded with calls?

Oh shit this is bad

This really does not seem like a glitch to me

Haha oh it's kind of fun to see Taylor and Buck getting a little spicy. I've been thinking about how this show doesn't really do much sexiness and it's not like it needs it but I also sometimes think it doesn't have to be quite as sanitised as it is.

(I may or may not have been thinking this in the context of, it would be fun to see some hot and heavy Buck/Eddie makeouts. They're both very attractive people, sue me)

(But Taylor is also very attractive and I'm down with Buck/Taylor make-outs)

Ok the fact that she was seducing Buck to get access to his phone just makes it hotter. Hi Taylor just a heads up if things with Buck don't work out I am available.

(Also will someone write me Buck/Eddie/Taylor because for real I would be into that)

Yeah ransomware makes way more sense

What the fuck how does the rapist have a giggly female fanclub?? That does not seem plausible to me.

T____T Christopher is so cute trying on suits

Oh no Eddie did not like Ana being referred to as Christopher's mum

That looks like a panic attack to me

"I don't panic" shut up and take the damn pamphlet Eddie. I hate to break it to you but you are still a human being.

Oh Athena, honey

Harry taking care of his mum is so soft

I'm sorry but as a former legal transcriptionist, self-reps are never this calm and collected. they are constantly being pulled up by the judge on things they're not allowed to say and getting off track (it's a little bit funny). It's pretty implausible, under the circumstances, that he would be allowed to represent himself in the first place - and that is for his own protection.

Oh the idiot defendant decided to make a break for it in the chaos while maintaining his innocence? That sounds more like the self reps I'm familiar with

Crying with laughter over how a digital attack is somehow making an analogue clock go haywire

Oh Buck gets bitchy when Eddie hides things from him

On top of everything else, now there's a blackout?

This is officially beyond my ability to suspend disbelief.

Still, I am having a good time. I love when shows go big and get stupid with it.

No!! Not Athena's detective friend!!

5x02

Jesus Christ Bobby that was very heroic but you know that if you die Athena will KILL you right?

Oh fuck Athena's friend didn't die I'm so relieved

I really thought he was gone

Fire Marshall Buck, my delight!

Man Eddie is never gonna beat the gay allegations if he keeps having panic attacks every time someone thinks things are more serious with Ana than they are

(I'm being a little flippant of course I know there are other reasons for that to feel Fraught)

(I just can't help but think about how much of his relationship with Shannon felt like someone checking the boxes he's supposed to check. To me, at least.)

Ok but when do the animals come back

Oh my god Eddie is so FOND listening to Buck talk about the animals at the zoo and why they should be panicking

Buck on "animal control" is hilarious

LOL at Hen and Bobby being menaced by alpacas

"Clever girl" HEE

T_T oh I know this is deliberate weepy feelgood bait but the neighbourhood coming together to help the little boy on the ventilator still gets me

Aw Buck is so worried about Eddie's hypothetical heart attack

"Suddenly it became a ready-made family and I don't know if I'm ready for that"

LOL Eddie is going to "stick it out" with Ana because she is, and I quote, "the first woman I've wanted to spend this much time with since Shannon." My guy you spent most of your marriage to Shannon in Afghanistan.

Eddie taking a nap to avoid a big life conversation feels very relatable lol

I'm glad Chimney is talking to Hen about Maddie having post-partum. He needs support too.

Oh jeeze that's so scary, falling asleep with the baby in the bath. I fell asleep holding the baby once, just for a split second while sitting up in bed, and dropped him onto the floor. I don't think I have ever felt worse. But he was fine and Maddie's baby is also fine.

D: the attacker is at Athena's house. Oh that feels horrible. Even just knowing he'd been there. I would have to move.

Harry oh no!!!

This horrible worm of a person with Harry in his car boot. I will fight him.

Jesus Christ ANOTHER cliffhanger? But I really have to sleep this is terrible

Stay tuned I guess T_T

#911 abc

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winderlylandchime · 2 years ago

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I swear i thought i replied to some of your questions a few days ago but i’m starting to think that I might’ve forgotten to and now i feel bad. But to summarize it: When we first started watching, he thought that Gale looked a little bit like Ashton Kutcher (but older version) and it was the funniest thing ever to me. He did only talk about it in the pilot though. Btw I am more and more tempted to later on give him Gale’s out of the box interview to watch. Or Randy’s podcast. He has been asking me about the actors a lot lately and if they still act and where are they and if theyre all still friends and I’m avoiding answering because well, one of them abandoned his podcast and the other one we dont even know if he’s still alive until we get a new photo. But I do wonder how he will react when he finds out Gale is straight ngl because right now he fully thinks Gale is gay irl.

Also yes, he has been going on and on about Brian’s growth and how he’s changed since he clocked it around 4th episode. He is so happy that he’s growing and allowing himself to be happy and in love even if he doesn’t want to admit it, that i just know the second 5x01 will start, he will have a mental breakdown and it will be very valid of him.

Your celebrities/therapist story actually made me curious now because how can a celeb that is well known, even get a therapist then without weirdness. I had no clue this was kind of a thing. And yes! My brother would absolutely launch into a discussion about Gale without shame, he’d have pictures and everything ready for it. I mean his confidence when it comes to talking to literally anyone about anything in his life (usually interests and shit he’s done thats funny to him or in this case the show) is impressive as fuck but also for an innocent bystander like me? actually a nightmare to be around that. He truly doesn’t give a single fuck and has zero shame and all the confidence in the world and idk how he does it. He just tells anyone who will listen (not in a trauma dumping type of way but like his interests and such? No shame) to give an example: when he was in high school he made an entire poster presentation for his class to talk about his love for the movie School of Rock and HE DID IT BY SINGING A FAKE ROCK N ROLL SONG (id give anything to remember the lyrics). Mind you, the presentation was supposed to be about current events in politics/world and School of Rock came out like a year or two prior. So you best believe he would do the exact same for Gale or more importantly QAF/Brian/Britin. And as someone who does shy away from talking about qaf just because it is a lot, he on the other hand truly gives zero fucks. Because when we started watching the show, he was fully explaining to the nurses/doctors/anyone that listened(our parents!!!) about how the show is AND HOW BRITIN MET! He TALKED ABOUT THE RIM JOB! I NEVER EVEN FUCKING TOLD YALL THAT! HE TALKED TO OTHER HUMANS ABOUT THE RIM JOB! AND HE WAS FULLY EXPLAINING IT bc he was shocked and surprised at how they filmed it and couldn’t figure out if that meant gale really did do it or not. So if you ever feel like maybe you’ve overshared about something you like and it keeps you up at night. Fear no more because my brother has for sure shared even more and has zero regrets about it.

It is hard to believe Gale is straight because he is that good of an actor and just went fully into the role and really thought deeply about who Brian is. Ugh it hurts my heart to think about just because it’s so full of appreciation for Gale and Randy.

I think you could show him any media that was released while the show was airing. But maybe avoid anything more current? Until he’s done and his heart is broken. He is going to be so upset by all the back pedaling in s5. Which is the correct reaction.

(I kinda love how as a fandom we’re like this is on the writers because Brian would never. Justin would never.)

I have a specific approach I take when I have celebrity clients and I think I could be a therapist to someone I’m a casual fan of. I could never be a therapist to someone I’m actively in a fandom for. I would have to leave the fandom, for starters.

HE TOLD PEOPLE ABOUT THE RIMMING SCENE!?! Oh my god. Anon you have to at least have him listen to Randy’s podcast episode about bottoming where he essentially said that Justin was too naive to do any prep and therefore someone experienced would have never rimmed him without making him at least shower first.

However I will feel so much better about over sharing now. Because holy shit I’ve never overshared like that.

#ask winderlylandchime #dear sweet anon #queer as folk #a straight man watches qaf us 2000 in the year of our lord 2023

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oracleofdiscord · 6 months ago

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#arthur was genuinely more pro-magic in s1

#like. that is a huge part of why merlin saw his potential lol

#arthur actually has worse negative development than merlin but ppl don’t see it that way because it’s heavily obfuscated by 2 things:

#1) development ‘rewrites’ where arthur seems to have learned his lesson but then makes the same mistakes again

#(but how can he not when he isn’t applying those morals universally? as long as he bans magic he is highly susceptible to his own hubris)

#2) narrative bias. the writers wants us to believe that arthur is vastly improved — and in some areas he is — but even in those areas

#it’s a bit of a lukewarm attitude adjustment. he still bullies merlin through and because of their power imbalance

#which feels almost worse with an older arthur. haven’t you outgrown this by now? hasn’t merlin earned your respect?

#and arthur still fully bans magic in the late seasons as king. he at least questioned these beliefs to a certain degree when he was younger.

#regularly and without external influence!

#i think the writers wanted us to see this negative development as entirely merlin’s fault because you can pretty well track the end of this#to 2x08 (which… greeeeaaaaattt plotline… as we know it is never the oppressor’s fault that they oppress people; only the oppressed people’s)

#but back on topic: the narrative very much uses a biased tell-don’t-show structure to present arthur as a matured and just king in s5

#(post time-skip which is in and of itself a tool of tell-don’t-show)

#for example: a villager in 5x03 has to bring to our attention that uther would have just let that woman burn (forcing our focus)

#all the while this ignores that arthur still bans magic. if this woman *is* found guilty then arthur will have her executed all the same.

#a similar writing tactic is used in 5x01: the writers actually deplete merlin’s characterization in order to use him as a contrast to arthur

#does it seem uncharacteristic of merlin — who always tries no matter the sacrifice — to ask like a lost child how arthur can possibly be#holding out hope with his life on the line? something that merlin does every episode — including this one?

#a heroic trait that merlin presents as well ~randomly disappears~ for this one episode (which happens to be our intro to Mature King Arthur)

#essentially the writers believe that they must lower the characters around arthur in order to make him appear wiser and more just

#why present him in this way though? the writers simply want us to see arthur as wiser and more just. but they do NOT want to develop him.

#arthur cannot experience the character development necessary to actually appear good to the audience

#so the writers *hollow out* every other character’s lines and personalities as a way to embellish arthur’s

#it’s very cheap and manipulative but clearly it works

#on reddit arthur has ride-or-dies claiming that he actually *legalized* magic by season 5 & that everyone around him was just unreasonable

#case in point: arthur doesn’t have to do any of the work of becoming a better person if other characters become blank slates

#(GUINEVERE especially in that deleted scene from 4x03)

#and as long as other characters will say lines that clearly position arthur as better than everyone else (uther merlin morgana gwen whoever)

#it’s very sad to see when they could have just. developed arthur as a character. but the writers thought he was good enough as is

(tags via @sneakyboymerlin)

MERLIN REWATCH ✦ 1.08 The Beginning of the End

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vessel-full-of-stories · 3 years ago

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By now, I've specified several things regarding characters' major love languages. I know this is late but quick disclaimer: I am not an expert in this by any means. To me, some scenes fall under two or more languages depending on how you view them. But when I see a certain character favoring one language over another, I'm gonna assume they're working with what they're familiar with. Or, at least, what I perceive them as familiar with.

And, side note: Just because I don't assign a certain love language to a character, that doesn't mean they don't occasionally use it to communicate affection towards others. It just means its not one of the more common ways they do it. That they tend to favor another form of love to communicate that.

This post is going to focus on Buck and Eddie, and the love languages they use towards each other.

(This gets long so I'ma put a break in to spare the people who just want to scroll past this.)

Quick review of what I've already covered.

Buck has a complicated relationship with physicality. He tends to not touch others without their consent unless it's in life saving situations. Basically, if there's not a physical reason for him to grab them, he won't. Unless they ask.

This doesn't mean he dislikes being close to people. He loves affection. The lack of closeness he got growing up probably influenced the way he leans in to the people he loves, now, at least while talking to them. All those shoulder bumps? That's Buck leaning in when he talks to Eddie as they walk. And it's not exactly grabbing him, so this might be the fine line Buck draws on letting himself be physically close others.

Eddie, on the other hand, uses physicality freely. He initiates all three of their hugs and Buck clearly enjoys them. He gives a little tap to say 'don't be a creep,' when they catch him staring at Marjan in the Lone Star crossover.

In 4x01, Buck clearly attaches his own harness before going down. No issues. But, when the bus explodes, you can hear Eddie scream Buck's name after he doesn't respond to his initial question. Then, with no explanation, the very next episode (4x02) Eddie clips Buck's harness for him. I'm gonna assume it's because the last call with a harness scared him and he's taking comfort in physically clipping Buck in himself. And Buck lets him.

Another example of him taking comfort from Buck is in 5x01 when they're called to help a man having a heart attack. Yes, one could assume touching his shoulder is just Eddie alerting Buck to his movement so he doesn't bump into him by accident. However, I feel like the writers are so deliberate with character dialogues and choices that they wouldn't purposefully drag focus away from Eddie's inner dialogue for nothing. And he's definitely having an inner dialogue here.

There's a number of things the unconscious man could have triggered in Eddie's mind, but the point is, we know he's been triggered. And he's working through it. When he notices another man experiencing a panic attack, there's a distinct way he touches Buck, a constant contact as he moves around him. It's different from the quick taps the team sometimes give each other to say 'Ok, let's go,' 'Look,' or 'This way.' I think Eddie's hand lingers because the touch comforts him. And we also know he's not just trying to alert Buck to follow him because, if he was, Buck would have followed. He doesn't, Hen does. This touch was just for him.

So, we know Buck enjoys physical affection, and touch can be used for both affection and comfort to Eddie. But what about comforting Buck? Physical comfort doesn't really work on him. So how does Eddie comfort Buck back? He actually figures it out over time.

Let's begin at that iconic first meeting.

Analyzing their first episode through the lens of their love languages, it truly makes sense where things went wrong with their first impressions and how they eventually steered it right.

Buck finds purpose and joy in being a firefighter. He's able to serve both the people of his community and the 118 - his family - through it. He spent most of season 1 securing his space and working with his beloved team, so it's a surprise when Bobby suddenly adds an additional member to their unit.

Right off the back, Buck isn't just listening to his team compare their physical appearances (due to the firefighter calendar competition), but Bobby goes on to talk about Eddie's qualifications and how he fought for him to join the 118. A right Buck almost lost permanently in the pilot of the show because of his own immaturity. To Buck, his entire team is gravitating towards Eddie because he's not like him. He's better. Considering Buck's abandonment issues and lack of therapy at this point, it's obvious why he gets mad. Just look at how straight he's sitting in his seat. He's pressing himself as far away from Eddie as he can.

What doesn't help is that this idea is actually enforced (in Buck's mind) throughout their shift. Buck moves in to save a patient, following Bobby's orders and the protocol he was taught, but Eddie cuts in with his own field experience, telling them there's a more effective way to do it. Bobby agrees and lets Eddie take over, Buck having to literally, physically hand his job over to him.

And it's not just his job being taken, but the love of his family. Buck had to build his relationship with the team over time. He was the naive punk who they warmed up to slowly. But Eddie? He charms them almost immediately. Not only does Eddie correct Buck on proper lighting to get a good photo (one-upping Buck in his love of fact giving), but Chimney seeks Eddie's skills to get a photo shoot done for himself. Right in front of him. Now, Buck's been stewing in his anger all day so of course he says something rude. Not that Chim doesn't forgive him, but Buck is definitely falling into a pit of self sabotage here.

Eddie, on the other hand, is doing everything he can to just fit into the 118. To prove his capability and be a part of a team again. Something he hasn't had since he was in the army, especially after Shannon left and he was more isolated than ever. He doesn't get angry and attack Buck for constantly making things difficult. He's friendly and patient. But he's also petty *affectionate*. So, after his reassurance that he's not a threat, that he and Buck are on the same side, doing the same job, he does throw in that comment of "I've just done it with people shooting at me is all." (I love him.)

And it's completely valid because, to Eddie, Buck seems to be all ego. That Buck is trying to place himself above Eddie because he thinks he's better, not because he's afraid of losing the life he's built. Unsurprisingly, it was more of the same after that. So much so that on the next call, Eddie drops the niceties and asks "What are we measuring here, Buck?" Because he doesn't get it. He doesn't know Buck. And Buck doesn't know Eddie.

Everything changes once Eddie realizes the grenade in the man's leg isn't a practice round, it's live.

Eddie starts to understand Buck's ego isn't what he thought it was by the way he responds to the news. Unlike that first call where they argued over methods of approach, Buck knows he's not the expert here. He has no idea what he's dealing with and listens to everything Eddie says, even asking questions for clarification.

Buck realizes Eddie isn't what he thought he was when he offers to remove the grenade himself, regardless of the risk. Because there is absolutely a risk. This wasn't a job for firefighters or even the bomb squad. They couldn't defuse a grenade. They would have to wait for the military to show up which would take longer than that man had to live. So, Eddie volunteers to do it.

And Buck, who is committed to acts of service, relates to this. He sees that, oh, we are here to do the same thing. Help people. There's not an ounce of malice in the way he says, "I'm in." He's 100% dedicated to helping the man. By the time they're ready to start, they're finally seeing each other for who the other is.

Buck can marvel at Eddie's capabilities and when Buck fumbles with the grenade for a moment, Eddie can recognize his bashfulness at his mistake. They're so impressed with each other, and Eddie is the first to admit it.

And that's where Eddie's other love language, words of affirmation, actually comes into play.

From my understanding, words of affirmation are showing affection or comfort to others by saying personal things that they know will have impact. Verbalizing specific details known about them and communicating in a way that shows they're actively listening.

And, because eye contact is absolutely a form a non-verbal communication, I'm going to include it in this category.

Honestly, the whole show does a great job of pushing meaningful communication and therapy. Every single main character has had their moments to give and receive words of wisdom, comfort, love, frustration, and everything in between. It's embedded into the foundation of the story itself.

So, if everyone uses words to impact others on multiple occasions throughout the seasons, how do I know it's one of their specific love languages? Well, I'd have to sit down and analyze every character in order to know for sure. (Even then, I am a novice.)

In my analysis, words of affirmation are not only a key component for Buck to understand someone's love, but (coincidentally) another major love language for Eddie. And, like physical affection, Eddie truly got to utilize it after getting away from his shitty parents.

I could get into specifics but I'm gonna keep this brief because there's so much else to say. When rehashing many of Eddie's failed acts of service for his family when he was young, he goes on to point out how Ramon verbally tore into him after every incident. When he receives his purple heart, it's not just Eddie's trauma that hollows Ramon's praise. And don't get me started on his f***ing mother. The way she uses the word "hero" against him and tries breaking down any shred of self confidence he has just to keep his child? I can't. Ramon isn't the only one Eddie needed to tell off at the retirement party. Still, I'm grateful for what we got because Eddie got to tell Ramon to his face, "I spent my whole life trying not to be like you." And he wasn't just talking about not looking weak.

Eddie is constantly, verbally telling Chris how much he loves him and he does it while holding him (physical affection) or facing him head on. It's an added emphasis to make sure his love is being conveyed, no matter how he is saying it. And he says it a million different ways.

He assures Chris he's always just a phone call away, that he's safe, that they still have each other. That he misses him and will be home soon. He validates his feelings in tough situations. He tells him how handsome he is when he isn't feeling confident in a suit. He calls him nicknames like kid, buddy, little man, my little Superman, and even Gordon Ramsey when he's making a salad. He doesn't like it when he talks down on himself and corrects him when he wrongly takes blame, like when he heard Eddie and his parents yelling. And he especially struggles when it comes to communicating Chris' limitations with CP. But he finds a way, because, again, he knows first-hand how powerful words can be.

So, Eddie's blend of physicality and words can be shown easily through Christopher. Now, let's look at Buck.

Obviously, there's no examples of Eddie holding Buck as he tells him something important. (Yet. Please?) The closest thing we get are their hugs and those are fairly brief.

He does test physical comfort in the beginning with a simple pat on the back, no words and no eye contact. It could have been Buck's immediate quote of "That's love," that gave Eddie the hint touch doesn't work, words do. Because he doesn't really attempt physical comfort after that.

Not that words always work, of course. Because Buck needs a special kind of assurance to calm him down. He needs words based in facts, or at least strong ideas that can compete with the ones dominating his mind.

The difference between that first confrontation in the gym and their talk after the grenade incident? Eddie's words. His first attempt generalizes everything as 'I am not a threat. We are on the same team.' But Buck absolutely sees him as a threat because he's a potential replacement for him on that team. He tries bringing up Abby to explain off some of his tension, which, yeah, wrong move. Then his jab about being under gunfire only sticks with him as he immediately goes into comparing war zones the second they're alone.

After they save the day, Eddie looks him dead in the eye and compliments his ability to stay calm under pressure. Something personal, a fact just witnessed in the ambulance. He goes on to request his service on future calls, saying "You can have my back any day." Which. Double love language right there. Even the eye contact is different and you could tell how genuine he was being with his words. So, teasing Eddie with, "Or you can have mine," and actually making him laugh? It's no wonder they work in perfect sync by the next call. It's like their feud never happened.

Later, Maddie's been kidnapped and Eddie tries comforting him after he's been chewed out by Athena. He assures him he understands his actions because he has sisters, too. That Doug would have found her regardless if Buck had convinced her to stay in LA or not. Excellent points, but the fact that Maddie is still with Doug at that moment eclipses all of that. No comfort.

After his embolism, nothing Eddie says matters because Buck still lost his purpose. There's little eye contact with Buck hiding under the blankets, distancing himself away from Eddie and his words, and just avoiding them completely when Eddie hits him with, "[Chris] never feels sorry for himself." But at least that last comment get's him thinking.

After the tsunami, Buck is convinced his failure overshadows everything. And I love the way Eddie focuses Buck's gaze to him or Christopher, the boy he saved. As if to say, 'Look, we're both still here.' When Buck turns away, he moves to catch his eyes as soon as they turn back. Because he wants Buck to see how much he means what he's going to say. Instead of telling Buck he didn't fail (which he never would have believed) Eddie admits to his own failures and pushes two major truths onto him. One, that Buck loves Chris enough to never stop trying. And two, (He grabs his shoulder to really keep his attention here.) "There's nobody in this world I trust with my son more than you." Oh, and before he goes, "Thank you for not giving up." Drawing value and appreciation to even his unsuccessful acts. And, wow, that works.

Eddie implements direct eye contact into moments of comfort after this, but he still goes on a bit of a losing streak starting with Red.

Buck is scared his team will drift apart like Red's did. While everyone else keeps repeating that there isn't anything to worry about, Eddie tries bringing up some evidence to prove it. Which backfires when Hen and Chim reveal they don't actually keep in contact with their old teammates. Eddie's left to simply say, "That won't happen to us." Which brings Buck little comfort.

There was the Abby incident where he was at such a loss for words he almost resorted back to physical comfort, ending on a simple "You ok?" Because, seriously, there's so much baggage there and they have more jobs to do. What else was he supposed to say?

The Buckley parents arrive and dropkick Buck into emotional hell. As much as Eddie tries to convince him he has every right to be mad, to have said what he said, that him being unable to save Daniel with his "defective parts" wasn't on him, Buck doesn't believe it because his parents' wouldn't. Then, Eddie finally shifts away from his parents and focuses solely on Buck. In one beautiful moment of "I had to do it."/"I know you did," he's finally back with a win. And he keeps winning.

The emotional agony he knows Buck endured saving his life and waiting for him to wake up? Assure him he's ok with a casual greeting. Just look at that smile. Buck thinks he's expendable and can easily be removed from their lives? Sike. He's been in his will for over a year. And just to prove how much he loves knows him, he knew Buck would never turn it down. For an added touch, he calls him by his first name to emphasize his value goes beyond the Buck they got to know, but the Evan that felt worthless before him.

My god, does Eddie love him. Understand him like no other character on the show. He's able to pinpoint exactly what Buck needs to hear and says it without hesitation.

Buck is the guy who likes to fix things. He's not allowed to just walk away from their family, he's stuck with them. Someone's invalidating his feelings again? He's gonna defend him, but also say it in the form of a joke to make him smile. He's twisting his previous comment into something self-depreciating? Absolutely not. Because being the guy who likes to fix everything comes in handy when he needs help fixing his wall. Thank you for your service.

Of course, Buck loves Eddie just as much. He just shows it differently.

His major love language, acts of service, is found in abundance throughout the show, so let's focus on what he's done for Eddie.

After assuring Eddie multiple times that Christopher is safe after the earthquake and alerting him the second phone services are back, he drives Eddie straight to him so they can be reunited.

For whatever reason, Buck continues this trend and goes with Eddie when his abuela broke her hip. Considering he drove him to Chris' school, drove them around in the episode "Treasure Hunt", and drove him while Eddie stayed on the phone with Charlie in "Suspicion," I'm going to assume Buck is just the one who drives. Plain and simple.

When Eddie has nowhere else to take Chris, Buck gives Bobby a heads up to the situation so that it's all cleared by the time he joins them in the loft. After discussing Eddie's situation with Pepa and Maddie, he introduces Eddie to Carla who helps guide him through the system to get Christopher what he needs.

A small moment I personally appreciate happens on the call where Shannon is struck by a car. Buck and Eddie are so focused on helping the driver, they don't even consider any pedestrians until the driver brings up the woman she hit. And Buck sees her before Eddie does. The shock and pain on his face is because he knows how much this will blindside Eddie. And they can read each other like a book, so Eddie catches on immediately. By then, it's too late. He sees her. Buck doesn't grab him, but he does try to stop him. He gets in front of him and asks him to wait, to take a second to process. But Eddie can't wait, so Buck lets him go.

There's the Christmas party he plans with Athena so Chris and Eddie could be together. (Everyone else, too, but the Diaz boys' sad eyes were definitely key motivators.) They build a skateboard together after he comforts Eddie by not only appealing to his love of baseball but the success of a baseball player with a disability. And, of course, there's the night he's more than ready to dig Eddie out of 30ft of wet earth by hand.

Buck's willing to split a massive fortune with him because he was a little sad they couldn't team up. The entire sniper arc, he's dedicated to helping Eddie, Chris, and his team at any cost, especially at his own life.

He's shown to be willing to physically defend Eddie, to care for Chris while Eddie takes care of himself mentally, to help put the broken pieces of the his life and his wall back together.

And Buck does comfort Eddie verbally, too. I actually pointed out a few above.

Buck comforts himself, his family, and strangers on calls using facts. It's not as prominent or effective as his acts of service. Even his direct eye contact is more used to gauge whether the act is effective or not. Instead, his words are more often a foreshadow or accompaniment to the act itself. But it's still a notable feature of his.

One example got a lot of people confused when it aired. In 5x08, Eddie is distressed at the thought that a little boy and his baby sister were lost to a hospital fire. He asks, "What are we supposed to do with that?" to which Buck say, "We put it away and we save the next one." Some people found this insensitive, harsh, or even uncharacteristic. But, truthfully, it's not. Because what facts are there to comfort him in this case? That they've saved plenty of other lives today? That a fire this big was statistically bound to have casualties? That it's somehow ok that this happened and he shouldn't be sad? There is nothing based in fact that can make this situation better, so Buck steers his mind towards the next one. That is all he can do at this point.

When he truly doesn't have the right words to say, he actually stays silent. This is alluded to in Eddie's confession after his breakdown and his admission that he's unsure if anything they do is even worth it. Both scenes cut before Buck responds, because whatever comes next doesn't progress the story. He hasn't found the right fact yet. And if he doesn't have one, he finds one. He finds Charlie and shows Eddie exactly how much can be done with a second chance.

Another cute example of Buck comforting Eddie is when Eddie's packing for Texas. The domesticity of Buck playing with a dinosaur as they chat. Ugh. Anyways, Eddie's stressing about time and Buck tries to comfort him with, "Your parents will understand." They both realize the error in that statement and he corrects with a, "They should understand." And when Eddie tries to argue his family isn't screwed up? Buck's smile, omfg. It speaks for itself. He also makes sure to brace Eddie for when his dad inevitably get's under his skin, and Eddie tells him he already has a hotel in mind for them to stay if it really comes to that.

Like I said, Buck's words and actions are linked. No other moments demonstrate this quite like when Buck is being ignored. Because how can he gather information to help someone if they won't tell him what's wrong?

The bruises, the tiredness, the anger. The cardiologist, the deflecting, the panic. Asking for honesty and being told to move on. Buck knows when something is wrong. He knows Eddie. And it's not until his breakdown that he gives Buck exactly what he's been asking for.

I actually kinda love the unfiltered honesty we get from Eddie after this. He tells Buck his worst fears, how crappy he feels, how he's worried it might not get better. How he doesn't know whether to believe in their work anymore.

It's an honesty he mainly shares with Buck, considering how he bit his tongue for most of his father's retirement party and then couldn't admit to FOMO with May. He's completely vulnerable for vulnerabilities sake. He's not asking for Buck's help, Buck just does that anyways.

To end on a happy note, I want to bring up the funnest part of their dynamic. Where the two of them meet on equal ground within words of affirmation: teasing.

I explained that words of affirmation includes picking out personal details to sort of showcase how well they know each other. And Eddie and Buck do it flawlessly all while teasing each other, others, and themselves to no end.

It could be pointing out that Buck doesn't know math, that Eddie can't (couldn't) cook, that they were both going through a phase, or just making faces as the other one's ridiculousness. That Eddie loves telenovelas, that it's actually an exoskeleton, Buck, or their dating life is full of weak excuses and invisible girlfriends.

What really pushes that this is Eddie's love language is the way he finds a way to tease Buck as he's comforting him. Especially when he finds the situation absurd.

The whole lawsuit arc? Fake glares him down with a pointed finger and says "Just don't do it again." (Humor that actually switches the hug from comforting to affectionate.)

Maddie's worried about him after a disastrous dinner with his parents? "Can't imagine why," as he proceeds to walk away from Buck nearly kicking over a punching bag.

That near-fatal rescue in Buck Begins? "Showoff."

Chim might never forgive him? Not a chance. "I'm kidding!... Maybe."

Buck removing himself from the team after he finds Ravi is ready to replace him. "Who replaces me?"

And, yes, he knows how to call himself out, too. Especially because Buck is probably the only one who would get the joke. Bobby calling Buck out on his rocky relationship and not knowing what to do when things go wrong? "Yeah, who does that?" (That little look they share after he says it? I love them.)

He incorporates humor into these stressful situations and majority of the time, it does make Buck smile. The fact that his smile is such a goal for Eddie in these moments says so much.

They love each other effortlessly yet purposefully and teasing is such a joyous highlight to show it. I can't wait to see how their relationship evolves from here.

#911 fox #911fox #911 on fox #buddie #911 buddie #evan buck buckley #eddie diaz #christopher diaz #buddie edit #911 meta #911 analysis #911 FOX #911 ON FOX #love languages #physical affection #words of affirmation #acts of service #when I tell you I had to throw hands with my brain to stop trying to add more #I'ma need a break after this one. maybe come back with a few micro posts. but definitely nothing this extensive again for awhile hahaha #also I know a few of the panels within my collages are out of chronological order but I deleted my screenshots before I could fix them #not that they're all in chronological order #more like thought process and clumps #i hope you like it #sorry if there's typos im just tired hahah #i had to repost this and put everything back together. i hope everything is still in order.#hopefully nothing got deleted

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familyagrestefanblog · 3 years ago

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I will never understand why "Risk" or "Strike Back" didn't show Luka at least ATTEMPTING to reach Adrien and help him because of his extremely serious problem of being send out of the country for the next months for a VERY public fashion brand project. This reflects so unbelievably negative on Lukas character that he just abandoned Adrien in that situation.

Marinette tried everything she could for both episodes. Kagami called Adrien in "Risk" even when things are still a bit difficult between them because Kagami didn't learn Adriens secret the way Luka did for Marinette. And good gracious, even FÉLIX WHO LIVES IN ENGLAND picked up on it and got his ass over to France!

I'm still holding out hope that 5x01, the episode named after the Rabbit miraculous, will flash/go back to the finale and that we learn about what other important characters (like Su-Han and Nathalie for example, for her the finale explicitly pointed out that she is infected but once she was on the train Froggy wouldn't have been able to influence her because his music couldn't reach her anymore) did while they were still taking risks and those consequences of other important risks could greatly affect the new story line of season 5 to wrap up the original miraculous story arc of 5 seasons.

In the finale the influence of Risk revealed shockingly little actually and Félix stabbing Ladybug in the back because she made a mistake is the only result that makes all this effort and set up for this finale Story concept even worth it imo. It just hardly resulted in much as it stands right now tbh 🤷🏼‍♀️ so I hope in 5x01 we see more follow up consequences from the finale that simply just weren't mentioned there because they had nothing to do with the narrative the finale wrapped up. And MAN I sure do hope we learn what the hell Luka did in these two episodes, because I just cannot excuse the fact that the only character who knows of Adriens secret wasn't even shown ATTEMPTING to help him in Adriens horrible neck-breaker situation when other, unknowing, characters DID alot!

It just puts Luka in a really bad light

Especially the ending of "Strike back" then just showing him at home, it kinda directly implies that Luka really just did nothing when Adriens life is currently completely on fire and he thinks hes all alone with no one on his side who understands the actual problem

#ml spoilers #miraculous ladybug #miraculous #ml strike back spoilers #luka coffaine #Ml season 5 #I mean seriously where TF was Luka???#Did he just not feel adressed when he heard of Adrien leaving?#Was he waiting for Marinette to come crying to him so he can count that as permission for doing something?#Luka you were never more needed in your entire existence within this show and you don't show tf up???

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buttercupbuck · 3 years ago

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I thought people were exaggerating about the distance, but I've rewatched the whole show now and holy shit Buck and Eddie used to touch so much more. And it feels like the last time we had an innocent subconscious touch between them was in 5x01 when Eddie touched Buck's shoulder and back while at the air traffic control at LAX. Now I'm a pessimist who still doesn't see why people are so sure that buddie is becoming canon now, but like... the not touching thing must be intentional, RIGHT???

big yeah omg. i disagree a little that we barely saw them close this season, because there have definitely been a few moments here and there, but i do think that the moments where they choose to create and emphasize this distance between them are significant. the distance between them during the shooting, in the hospital where eddie tells buck about the will, on the balcony after chimney leaves, at the firehouse table as buck tells everyone he wants to put in for a transfer, in the waiting room of the hospital after the hostage situation, and as eddie tells everyone he’s leaving the 118...it always feels so marked and telling in the way that it’s done, and even more significant within the context of these scenes. and i think it’s also significant that this exaggerated distance only started with the shooting, as the shooting changed everything about their relationship, in ways they can’t even acknowledge yet (hence, some of the reason for this new distance).

but i find it really interesting how some scenes (unlike the waiting room scene after the hostage situation, for example) feel incredibly reminiscent of how things had been between them before the shooting, with them confiding in and reassuring each other, but now where they once would’ve been physically close (a la kitchen scene, or 3.06, or etc etc), they’re so far apart. it almost feels symbolic of the will, with them still trusting and loving each other unconditionally, but not letting themselves have what they truly want or to say the things they want to say. like - buck talks to eddie about how he thinks he failed both maddie and chimney and eddie meets him with a gentle understanding and reassurance, but he holds himself at a distance as he talks about someone who had always assumed the role of a caretaker needing help (as he looks at buck pointedly, as he literally takes care of buck in that same scene). and then an episode later he reassures buck that he’s stuck with them as buck talks about transferring, but he’s at the other end of the table. they’re still open and vulnerable with each other in these moments, but there’s this new feeling of holding back where they didn’t before. and AGAIN - very telling that this happens only after the shooting, where eddie reaches out for buck in what he thinks are his dying moments and where eddie’s blood paints buck’s face and where buck is paralyzed in terror as he watches eddie fall and where buck begs eddie to stay with him. too much was said in those moments, and neither of them are in a place where they’re ready to deal with anything it implied

and im going back a little bit, but there are still moments where things feel fine and where they close some of the distance between them (like for example, in 5.10 as they talk about christopher’s nightmares), but it’s almost always followed up by a moment that re-establishes that distance (in this case, the distance between them as eddie tells everyone he’s leaving the 118). and then there’s also their closeness in all of 5.06 that’s only bookmarked with a marked distance between them in the waiting room and them going home to separate houses despite the entire episode emphasizing the christopher and will of it all.

so yeah, all in all, i think it’s definitely intentional. like - nothing about blocking/directing is accidental, and everything that we see on our screens is for a reason. imo, the distance is just too great and too exaggerated to be anything but, and im so excited to see how it plays out in s5

#ask #anon

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nellie-elizabeth · 2 years ago

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What We Do in the Shadows: The Mall (5x01)

We're back!

Cons:

I will say, with this show being a pure comedy without a lot of significant character development for the most part, there are occasionally running plot elements that get dropped or shuffled off very unceremoniously that I wish could have been delved into more. The big example for me going into season five is Colin Robinson being his normal adult self again, with no apparent lasting impact from the time he spent growing up as a kid. I want Lazlo and Colin's relationship to have shifted in some way with the fact that Lazlo is basically Colin's dad now, and I worry that they won't take advantage of the comedic (and heartwarming) fodder that this scenario provides. So far, we don't have any hints of it.

Pros:

I love love love Guillermo de la Cruz, he is one of my all time favorite characters on TV, and this arc for him is already destined to be so hilarious and strange and different. We learn that he did in fact undergo a vampire transition, but so far nothing much seems to be happening. By the end of this first episode, the only hint we have that things might be happening is that Guillermo's eyesight seems to have magically improved to be better than 20:20, and that he seems to be craving a lot of rare meat. But otherwise, he's still fully human. He can go into the sun, doesn't need to drink blood, all that stuff.

And maybe the fact that he can hide his transformation is a good thing, because he finds out that a familiar getting turned into a vampire by someone who is not his master is the gravest insult, and that if Nandor were to find out, he'd be forced to kill Guillermo and then himself, due to the shame of it all. Dun dun dun! This show is so clever at coming up with the most impossibly overdramatic scenarios ever and then leaning into all the absurdist comedy implied therein. I can't wait to see how Nandor reacts when he finds out, depending on how the rest of Guillermo's transformation goes!

The flashbacks to the actual change were appropriately hectic and kind of stupid. Poor Guillermo just wanted a dramatic moment worthy of the gravitas of fulfilling his big dream, but instead he got the vampire in question biting open his artery, nearly killing him, passing out when his own blood had to be spilled, and constantly being interrupted by his manager at work due to clogged toilets. Guillermo spends a lot of the episode trying to downplay what a mess it was as he talks to the documentary crew. He doesn't want to get into the specifics of it all given the humiliation, and the inconclusive results.

This show kind of has to keep Guillermo a human, or at least not let him achieve his full vampire dreams too early, because Guillermo is the one main character with the dynamism to change. Everybody else has been stuck in their roles for so long! So I'm excited to see that they're not chickening out, that he did indeed get bit, but that something strange seems to be happening.

On the comedy front, I think my favorite bits were from Lazlo, he's often the number one funniest character to me. From him calling Guillermo a "bitch" for being upset about his birthday, to trying to explain the mall to the camera crew, having never set foot in one before, to his "concern" for "Gizmo", following him around to learn what's going on, I thought it was all pretty hilarious.

Nandor also has a funny bit going on that I'm excited to see explored more fully, where he's decided to pay better attention to who is, and who isn't, okay. So he's constantly going around telling Guillermo that he's okay, and trying to do nice things for him, but wildly missing the mark. I love the contrast between Guillermo thinking that the documentary would show a sweet montage of Nandor's kindness, and the fact that right now, for the first time maybe ever, Nandor does seem to be making a sustained effort to pay better attention and care for his familiar/friend. And Guillermo's not even in a position to appreciate it, at the moment!

Nadja and Colin both had their moments to shine as well; Nadja accidentally sat on doll-Nadja and is on a quest to get her broken legs repaired and earn her forgiveness. Colin is back in the work force, this time as a waiter, and his routine of energy sucking made me chuckle just like it always does.

Okay - onward to episode two, which is also available now!

8/10

#review #what we do in the shadows #what we do in the shadows review #wwdits #wwdits review

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zalrb · 3 years ago

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A - julie plec's excuse as to why she just had to write a de endgame due to nina's absence never felt real to me. tbh, i think she's full of shit. she had every opportunity to start the dissolution of de, but instead she kept making elena's whole identity about damon and damon... well. I haven't really watched the last two seasons of tvd but i'm guessing he was the same "i can't be good without elena" jackass?

"take season 6 for example. That was the perfect point to start the dissolution of DE. Elena becomes so lost without Damon that she asks Alaric to compel her. Without her memory, she becomes more like her old self (which is basically what happens) but then I'd have her friends be awkward around her and I'd have Jeremy side eyeing her and I'd have stefan be as distant as possible with her (after all she's his brother's now and his brother's dead) her whole entourage acting weird is driving elena crazy until caroline or bonnie snaps and tells her just how it is. And Elena's shook, you know, she just can't fathom becoming that kind of person. So when Damon returns and Elena finally gets her memories back, she still doesn't go back to him because all the realizations she's had during her time being compelled are still there and she doesn't want to be that kind of person anymore. So the rest of the season would be focused on Elena rebuilding her sense of self and identity. Then she goes in a coma and I'd have her goodbye to stefan be a sharp contrast to her goodbye to damon, because she never stopped loving the former and she's giving closure to the latter. Then S7/8 would be more focused on rebuilding the SE bond on Stefan's part while Damon moves on. Series finale comes around, we get into Elena's head and realize that while she was in a "coma" she's been having hallucinations of her loved ones and Stefan is the one that she sees the most and makes her hold onto hope (kinda like Stefan in 5x01). Here you go, you've got SE back on track and the clear romantic endgame even if Stefan ends up dying anyway. Lol that was a long rant. Sorry. Like I said, TVD reruns have me a little frustrated. Feel free to ignore it all xD"

Stelena et al. Masterlist

subcategory: how i would *write* a stelena endgame

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littlespoonevan · 3 years ago

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(Anon who started her ask with 'I find it so refreshing' here.) First of all i'm sorry, i didn't intend to prompt you to comment on "mean" people in the fandom, ofc we all have different experiences!

But anyway, yess you understand me! There would have to be textual confirmation first that both buck and eddie are lgbt before going into buddie. It's easy for us to see "hints", but casual viewers? I rewatched some of 911 with my mom and like yours, she is a great example lol. When eddie and ana started dating in s4, my mom was convinced eddie had found the love of his life, you can't just have him say "I am in love with buck" without thoroughly and unambiguously hinting at and pointing towards that first.

I imagine it would be a bit difficult to suddenly have two bisexual awakening story lines without having either of them seem "forced". I'm curious what you think would be good ways to have both sexuality story lines and canon buddie happen, in a realistic way? 👀

oh anon, you're fine!! i just don't tend to venture outside my corner of the fandom so i'm not really one for discussing wider conflicts and such 😅

as for your question, in terms of where canon is right now, i agree doing two sexual awakening stories at once probably wouldn't be the road they'd go down but i still think they could pull it off in way that would make sense for the wider audience. for example, i think what could work is if they focus on eddie first just because his storyline is so prevalent at the moment. i'm quite married to the idea of another character pointing it out to him, or at least observing eddie's feelings while he watches buck from the other side of the room. and then seeing a masterful face journey that i know ryan guzman could pull off as he realises just how important buck is to him.

like to throw out a hypothetical - if someone in the season finale (i'd love if it was hen or karen) made some comment about buck being there for eddie and chris or something similar to the ana "readymade family" stuff and then for eddie to not freak out before wondering why he's not freaking out, you know?? and then he looks at buck across the room with chris and there’s the realisation of oh - this is different. (and what a Stunning full circle moment that would be in comparison to 5x01)

and so if we had a season or half a season of eddie grappling with his feelings for buck they could also tie it in with his therapy and explore his sexuality that way??? like re: his parents and his idea of a family and toxic masculinity etc etc

on the flip side, even in canon, i've always sort of been team "buck knows he likes men". like, it would Not be hard to throw in a line about how back when he was travelling or during his 1.0 phase that he'd slept with men before. and y'know, i'm not a bisexual man so it's not my place to say he doesn't need to experience a big journey like eddie but oh i just think it would be so impactful if the thing that catches buck by surprise isn't his sexuality but his feelings.

like i want eddie to tell him he loves him and i want that to rock buck to his very core. because he's loved eddie so steadfastly and with such conviction for so long that i really don't think he realises just how deeply it runs or what it means because he's never taken the time to examine it. so buck suddenly questioning everything he thought he knew about love and what it means to be a partner and how he's been doing that with eddie the whole time without realising?? that would be DELICIOUS.

again, i do think it'd be a good way to bring his sexuality up organically and maybe spoon feed the audience about how Not Straight some of his and eddie's moments have been too. like if he's thinking back over their moments together and talking through them with maddie and then seeing their dynamic in a new light???

to me, that would all be pretty realistic and within the realms of possibility in the show but again it would probably take a season of commitment to it to get the general audience there, y'know?? idk, either way i think if they decide to go there they'll do it justice. this is just the best way i can envision it in my head 🥰

#anon #asks #911 related

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cheryls-blossomed · 3 years ago

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I've been chewing on this myself and wanted to ask you, because I always enjoy your thoughts re: Flash - when do you think it went so off course it couldn't be corrected? Because it's clear now (and has been for a while) that it's probably never getting back to being consistently decent again. If you had to pick a point of no return, what would it be?

Wow, you know, it's difficult to pinpoint one exact point of no return, because I think The Flash has had so many ups and downs in its trajectory. Having said that, upon further consideration, I think there were two episodes, actually, rather than one single point: one in season 5, when I knew the show would never be consistently decent again, and one in season 6, when I knew we'd reached the point of no return.

The first is 5x06, which is when I knew the show would never be consistently decent. Perhaps rather fitting that it was a Caitlin/Frost-centric episode, but that's not really, in and of itself, why I knew the show would never be consistently decent again from this episode onwards. Season 5 actually started off quite strong, with the episodic run of 5x01 to 5x05 ranging, imo, from very good to excellent. Then 5x06 aired, and it was some incoherent, garbled attempt at rebooting the Killer. Frost origin story, and it was just an incredibly poorly written, poorly plotted episode, but it's with the benefit of hindsight that I can say this was when the show would never be consistently decent again. The show had had terrible episodes before 5x06, but a lot of times they were isolated episodes or even stretches of episodes, before things got back on track. 5x06 was unique in that it was a terrible episode after a very strong stretch of episodes, and the whole season tonally shifted, relying on boring, monotonous story-telling and just failing in every way to capture the initial potential this show did once have. It's also when I feel like the show really doubled down on the whole Team Flash as a family notion and shoving that everywhere, because it felt like from that point on Barry and Iris couldn't have a moment to themselves, without Team Flash always up in their business. Even the better episodes post-5x06 were largely never able to be on par with episodes prior to 5x06, with the very notable exception of 6x17, which IMO remains one of the show's finest episodes. And I say this as someone who loved episodes such as 6x10, 7x17, and 7x18, for example, but you can clearly see how the show shifted focus to the construct of Team Flash heavily from 5x06 onwards, which really harmed the show and eventually led into this current heavy focus on uninteresting supporting characters, while the leading lady is sidelined.

But the point of no return, when I had essentially given up hope that this show was going to be able to turn it around, was 6x19. This was such an infuriating episode: Iris, mostly offscreen, is pushing herself to the absolute brink to save David Singh, while enduring an immense amount of pain mentally and physically to do so, and as a result of pushing herself, she disappears as the cliffhanger. She has maybe two minutes of screentime in this episode where she is enduring such pain and stress, with only Kamilla to support her, before she disappears before Kamilla's eyes. Meanwhile, what's going on outside the Mirrorverse? Team Flash has to protect Carver, because Eva is looking for him, while Mirror Singh proposes a deal to save Iris to Barry: Barry hands over Carver to Eva, and Eva will release Iris. Right before this can be put into motion, Nash Wells, who has the single distinction of not being the absolute Worst Wells, due to the existence of Sherloque, intercepts this plan. He then goes on to berate Barry for considering handing over Carver, as this means certain death for Carver. Carver, who by the way, trafficked human beings, threatened Iris, hired a literal hit on Iris, abused Eva and locked her up (like Eva was written badly for so many reasons, but at least let her kill the man after what he did to her)... somehow deserves active protection, even at the expense of Iris. This faux-moralizing bullshit, shaming Barry for even considering handing this horrific man over in order to save his wife, and the narrative acting like it's in any way right to elevate Carver's life over Iris's. Juxtaposed with Iris enduring the worst pain, because she will risk her very life to save those who need saving... it was one of the most infuriating hours of television. On top of all of this, while Iris's life is being devalued narratively, Sue gets the investigative story-line and agency in confronting Carver, and seeing two white women be valued (the other being Caitlin who was being coddled and taken care of by everyone, because of her random sickness), while Iris was being actively devalued, while barely having any screentime (and her screentime was to showcase the pain she was enduring, trying to save Singh, culminating in her disappearing completely) was so ugly on the part of TPTB and highlighted how entrenched the misogynoir is in the narrative. These are repeated harmful narrative choices TPTB make and which have resulted in the show completely unraveling. I also think this episode solidified how I viewed Eric’s show-running, and how many problems I had with whatever it was he was trying to do. And that’s the episode when I knew that I had to start divesting myself emotionally.

I think I knew when 6x19 aired that this was the point of no return. The show was on such a downward spiral, and the harm perpetuated against Iris was going to continue.

There's so much I wish for, when it comes to this show, but most I wished this show was helmed by creators and writers that loved and cared for Iris as much as we do and that sought to protect her and shower her with love and healing and all the story-lines in the world that she deserved.

#anonymous #replies

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strqyr · 4 years ago

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...So are we gonna address how the previous Spring Maiden was someone who was struggling with the burdens of being a Maiden:

"She was determined, at first, when she inherited her powers, but the weight of responsibility proved to be too much for the child." 5x01 (Lionheart, referring to the Spring Maiden)

Who trusted and cared about Raven enough to be in her final thoughts:

"Qrow and Oz told me how the Maiden powers are transferred. The girl you found… she would've had to have trusted you if you were in her final thoughts - cared about you a lot" 5x14

Who Raven killed, saying it was an act of mercy:

"She was scared when we found her! Weak. No matter how much training I put her through, she never learned! She wasn't cut out for this world! And with those powers, she would've been hunted her entire life! What I did-"

"Wasn't personal?"

"It was mercy!"

And then Penny, the current Winter Maiden, struggling with the burden of being a Maiden and constantly being targeted, asked by Ruby, someone she cares about and trusts, what she can do to help her, tells her that killing her is best thing Ruby can do to spare her from her suffering:

"Please Penny, tell me how to help you!"

"Kill me. Kill me and I can make sure the power goes to you. Please! I cannot fight it!" (8x11)

As well as Raven's:

"I've seen people come back from the dead" and

"There is no beating Salem"

Meaning she's likely faced Salem herself alongside Summer, who we know was Grimmified by Salem. Raven's comments towards Cinder about being turned into a Grimm during their fight in V5 and her lack of shock (compared to Ruby seeing Cinder Grimm arm at the end of v7) makes it likely this isn't the first time she's seen human/grimm fusion either, because she's seen it happen to Summer.

"Aura can't protect your arm anymore. It's Grimm."

And when Raven says to Ruby "you sound just like your Mother" she also immediately opens up her portal to let Cinder attack her.

Because if Raven was aware of Summer's fate, of what eventually would become of Ruby herself once Salem found her, and witnessed Summer being turned into a Grimm, then in such a state, losing control of herself...

Would Summer have asked Raven to kill her too?

it’s wild how stuff from 3 years ago suddenly has a whole new meaning behind it. and i’m loving it.

and i honestly believe that if raven portaled to summer when she felt her be in danger, that something like this would have happened. i don’t think it’s a coincidence that qrow doesn’t mention raven at all when he spoke to ruby about summer’s last mission and how no one - not qrow, tai or ozpin - know what actually happened to summer.

it’s exactly the type of carefully handling information given to the audience that the writers have done before - most fitting example being how they never outright said that summer was dead, just that she went missing and never returned.

and i could see summer making that request too, believing it to be easier for her family if she was actually dead, rather than see her turned into a grimm and possibly have to face them later on.

it’s the same dilemma the grimm child brings up, and i always wondered what was the purpose of that fairytale because it didn’t have any clear lore relevance besides introducing a new grimm... which, make no mistake, the chill is terrifying, but it can’t possess a person longer than few minutes, so it wouldn’t exactly work out with summer.

with these new revelations however, it’s like “ah. there’s the reason behind that story being included. absolutely wonderful.”

it’s all coming together here, and the possibility that raven has been in a similar position twice, with possibly two different outcomes, is very, very interesting.

#rwby #rwby8 #rwby spoilers #raven branwen #summer rose #misstrashchan #ask.strqyr #obligatory raven where are you #not that she'd be willing to talk about it anyway #if she hasn't for past ten years or so then doing so now won't be easy either #which is great cos you know it's gonna be one hell of a conversation #long post

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my-mt-heart · 4 years ago

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There's something about TF watching Caryl together that I really love. I feel like, even if it's not shown, most of them know they're in love.

Like for example on the big 5x01 reunion, everyone was watching how Caryl hugged. And that's it, just the two of them hugging, taking all of the attention.

So I'd really love it if you could make a similar scene, where Daryl thinks carol's dead, but then he sees she's alive and they hug and (if you want, first kiss) in front of everyone (definitely, after thinking they're both dead, I don't think they'd give much credit to people watching, but do it however you think fits better for them)

Thank you! ◝(⁰▿⁰)◜

Confession. I was just going to link one of my fics that touches on what you’re looking for, but then new inspiration struck. I love the idea of both of them thinking the other is dead AT. THE SAME. TIME. Cue big reunion where everyone watches. I’ve said this before, but I feel like it’s the best way to get the most impact out of a “fakeout” death for characters we know are going to survive. Bear with me, I think this will have to be a multi-parter.

Daryl and Carol are both on the floor of a cold, dark interrogation room, battered and fatigued from relentless torture. Bent out of shape, but not broken. They’re unyielding strength as a united front has this corrupt commonwealth politician at her wits end. She circles them like a shark in high heels that go click clack, click clack. Meanwhile, two of her soldiers hold Carol and Daryl at gunpoint. One of the soldiers is as steady as can be, loyal until the end. The other one does his job, but reluctantly.

Pamela: What’s happening here, this isn’t who we are. We’re a peaceful community. We thrive on numbers. The well-being of all citizens is crucial, but you two, you’ll destroy everything we’ve worked years to build. I have a responsibility to stop that from happening. And what’s the only way to weaken a two-headed monster? Cut off one of its heads.

A chilling beat. Daryl and Carol look at each other, their fear finally mounting.

Pamela: Who gets the short end of the deal?

Daryl: Kill us both or let us get out of your hair. We’ll be miles gone by tonight, never look back. Don’t do this.

Pamela: I’d feel more comfortable with one of you in my sight. So long as the other isn’t presenting any temptations. I’ll ask one more time. Who?

Carol: Me.

Not a shred of unwillingness in her voice. She says it like it’s the only option. Daryl visibly disagrees.

Carol: Daryl never wanted any trouble. None of our people did. I talked them all into it.

Daryl: Nah.

Carol: I take a good thing we have and I ruin it. That’s what I’ve always done everywhere we go.

Daryl: That ain’t true.

Carol: Kill me and your problems go away.

Daryl: Stop.

He fixes her with a pleading look, begging her not to leave him. She stares back at him with resolve, her tears refusing to fall.

Carol: Your problems go away...

She’s addressing Daryl this time. He chokes back a sob. Pamela looks back and forth between them, her wheels turning. She nods at one of her soldiers who grabs Carol and drags her out of the room. She doesn’t fight it, but Daryl does. Profusely.

Daryl: No! Let her go! Let her go! Carol!

Carol: You’re free--

It’s the last thing she’s able to say to him before she’s taken away. On his knees, Daryl tries to shove past the other soldier blocking his path, the reluctant one who has no choice but to knock Daryl back down with the butt of his gun. He looks guilty about it, backing out of the room and slamming the door shut.

Daryl doesn’t stay down for long, scrambling to reach the door. Banging on it. Crying. Screaming.

Daryl: Choose me! Kill me! Not her! Carol!

MEANWHILE

Carol is shoved into another room further down the hall. Despite her injuries, she’s able to get to her knees. She stands tall and brave, ready to die for Daryl and her family. Pamela bends down to her level, their eyes boring into each other’s.

Pamela: You don’t really get to choose. I do.

All of Carol’s bravery flushes out of her body. She’s hit with a cold realization.

Carol: No.

Pamela flashes a victorious grin before getting back up and click-clacking toward the door with her soldier. Carol tries to lunge at her.

Carol: No! Daryl!

It’s too late. The door slams shut.

CUT TO

Pamela and the soldiers standing in the middle of the hallway, listening to their muffled pleas as they proceed to pound and rattle their respective doors.

Pamela: How soundproof are these rooms again?

Loyal Soldier: Not especially.

Pamela: Then let’s shut them up.

Reluctant Soldier: Ma’am? All due respect, do we really think a scare tactic is going to be more effective than exile? I’m only trying to think long-term.

Pamela blinks at him, smiling an eerie smile.

Pamela: And I appreciate that. You’re doing your community a great service.

The reluctant soldier relaxes. Until…

Pamela throws a look to the loyal soldier, who turns his gun on his comrade and fires. Off that earth-shattering sound…

INTERCUT BETWEEN

Daryl and Carol, both paralyzed. All the oxygen has been stolen from their lungs. They’re being crushed by their own weight. As they simultaneously sink to the floor, we get FLASHES of shared memories. Every hug, smile, touch all going back to that damn rose in a bottle. It’s like they’re grieving together.

Trapped in an agonizing reality (or so they think), their bodies wrack with heavy sobs. They throw their heads back screaming. Completely inconsolable. Finally and ultimately broken.

BACK TO

Pamela and her loyal soldier looking down at the dead soldier, blood pouring out of a wound in his head.

Pamela: Clean this up.

She turns to leave. Then…

Pamela: Just the body.

Loyal Soldier: Yes, ma’am.

Pamela click-clacks away, leaving Carol and Daryl with no reason to fight.

#caryl #caryl scene #caryl angst #carol x daryl #twd

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just-a-fangirl13 · 5 years ago

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Why s5 *might* be the season MacRiley happens

Okay so...Hear me out! I'm not crazy I promise!!

Firstly, after 5x03 (and probably 5x04) it may seem very unlikely that MacRiley could ever happen. But I thought of a few reasons why they might actually happen by the end of s5 after all.... (it gets a lil long winded and kinda complicated but just stick with me till the end!)

1. All the MacRiley moments including the ones in 5x03.

[this Mac smile could not be an accident or something that slipped through both production and post-production right?! that in itself is a whole reason!]

Every Macriley moment we have ever had- whether it's the hugs, Riley saving Mac, Mac saving Riley, the ultimate show of loyalty when Riley went after Mac during Codex or even just the looks exchanged between the two- to any outsider it would seem pretty obvious that they are dating or at least in love. Keep in mind the writers would have written each of those scenes and Lucas and Tristan have acted them out with a specific build up in mind aka MacRiley.(think about the date episode: Riley just got dumped but was still thinking about how Mac might be hungry. She didnt have to do that. She could have just shown up at his place..) I mean how can they write two people so perfectly in sync and so perfect for each other and not have them end up together? It would just be a waste of all that tension and slow burn. (not to mention all the hugs and glances)

2. They know we exist.

The MacRiley fam is very active on twitter with the writers and while they were writing 5x01 they knew we were around. They know we are a huge group. They would not want to risk pissing 90% of the fandom off by not making MacRiley endgame.

[P.S.yes 5x03 was a bait and switch but if you were paying attention you would have noticed that neither Lucas not Tristan live tweeted or hyped up the episode. They knew we would probably hate it so they didnt publicise it too much! so in the future if you have doubts about the episode being a MacRiley one just check their stories or posts on twitter/intstagram]

3. Yes 5x03 happened.

I really think it was an episode they HAD to write. Ok so after 4x13 they had 7 more episodes planned and were filming 4x20 (aka the finale) when the pandemic struck. So they have these 6 episodes but no finale for it. [Idk if anyone else has noticed but in 5x01 there were clearly some parts cut out. For example the conversation between Desi and Riley towards the end seemed a bit jilted. Riley asking Desi to forgive her but Desi replied with yeah we are cool (still no apology ofc) I feel like something happened during that which ended up getting cut out so it could fit with the final story.]

This makes me think that they have rewritten a few bits to tie into the new finale episode. In 5x03 when Mac asked Desi to come fishing with him which was clearly something very personal to him she was like no do better.. then we see Mac's disappointed expression. She could have easily said okay but maybe not for our first date? Or its not really my thing? Or just about anything else rather than laughing in his face like that. Eventhough MD is together they still arent compatible. Mac’s final words in 5x03 was him being desperate. I truly think he is so broken and lost that Desi is the only safe thing left, the only thing he feels like he can fix right now. Once he finds himself again and heals...then it's going to hit him like a pile of bricks!!

4. But Riley doesn't have feelings anymore...WELL doesnt she?

When it comes to Mac, Riley is always in denial. We saw it in s4 when she tells Bozer not to make her say it. I think s5 will show her finally accepting it. Finally accepting that she is in love with her best friend and that it definitely isnt Codex adrenaline because she caught the feels when Codex wasnt even around. While Mac's arc would include realising he and Desi are never going to work and that he is unhappy and that RILEY is the one for him.

[why else would they give Riley feelings for Mac? Something has to come of it.]

5. The slow burn rule.[this point is a lil complicated]

Now season 5 is rumoured to have 13 episodes. So here’s what I think: If MacGyver follows the pattern that most shows do when it comes to slow burns, then technically MacRIley should have happened at the end of season 4. But since the season got cut short and they didnt get to air/finish their final episode the writers had to improvise.

From what I know, 4x19 which is 5x04 for us is the episode where Mac meets Desi’s parents and 4x20 was supposed to be the finale that was left unfinished.(they are definitely moving the timeline ahead if a pre finale episode is suddenly a mid season one.) There might have been a 4x21 or 4x22 but I haven't heard anything about those....EVER.

So what I think they have decided to do instead is extend the MD storyline a bit longer just so they dont end up scrapping all their s4 episodes where they would be together and write a new finale that ties everything together, aka MacRiley.

If you think about episode counts, s4 and s5 together would have 26 episodes which is a how long a normal season runs. Basically what im trying to say is if we follow the ‘slow burns end by s4’ and take season 5 as an extension of 4 then MacRiley should get together in the season 5 finale or maybe the episode just before. (IM REALLY TRYING TO GET SOME LOGIC INTO THIS)

This would be a typical TV thing too where the couple finds out about each other’s feelings while the main arc of the show is also at its peak, which perfectly sets up a future season where fans are hyped but still has a satisfying ending.

6. So what about MacDesi?

So far the macgyver writers have given us characters we love. Think of every character on the show apart from maybe Desi... Mac, Riley, Bozer, Jack, Matty, Leanna, Samantha, Russ and even Murdoc. WE LOVE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM. So then why is Desi such a strange character? I think shes purposely been written as an opposite to Mac or even Riley (I get she’s supposed to kinda replace Jack but Jack is really irreplaceable).

It's not necessarily a bad thing its just not a great thing to do or have great execution. People have said things like Desi is a badass and shouldnt have to apologise or say I love you back to her boyfriend because she is a strong woman...I'm sorry but your opinion of who a strong woman is, is EXTREMELY skewed. A strong woman is someone who can make mistakes and when she does, she is ‘strong’ enough to own up to it, she is loyal and fierce and also caring while being a badass who can take down bad guys. And for GODS SAKE, RILEY DAVIS IS A STRONG WOMAN...people have called her mushy and feminine on twitter and I'm just very confused by that.....

Anyways before I go off on a rant, it seems like Desi is intentionally being written this way. Every opportunity they get to redeem her and make her more relatable or just a better person they just dont take it. While Rileys character arc is one of the best I've ever seen. Either its intentional or they’ve forgotten how to write characters...which is worrisome but ill give them the benefit of the doubt.

The writers also know we dont like Desi. The amount of times we've tagged them in the toxic posts or pointed out problematic things we can be sure they've seen at least half of those. So theres no way they dont know. RIGHT?

So why then is MD still a thing you may ask??

Well for one they cant break them up again off screen because of those unreleased s4 episodes. (not to mention the other parts of the audience who arent as invested in mac’s love life would probably be very confused.)

Secondly Mac has to be the one to pull the plug, not Desi. 4x13 made it seem like Desi was the annoyed one not Mac. He apologised to her which meant he wanted to fix things.

Thirdly, they are opening the chpt one last time before they permanently close it. MD is going to be a stark contrast to macriley(it already is in every way possible). Every issue Mac and Desi had can be used to show how amazing macriley really is as two people who arent even dating yet.

Fourthly, MD being together is a sort of commentary on Macs mental health as well. We can see how happy he is with Riley but around Desi he becomes some one else. If the writers are doing this on purpose or subconsciously still remains to be seen.

And Yes keeping MD around for a few more episodes seems like a necessary risk right now but I have a feeling its going to be worth it later.

[I know we have had like 4 desi entered episodes already but I really think 5x04 will be the last of it since 5x05 is the Jack episode and 5x06 is Mac+Riley+Bozer episode with no mention of Desi at all!]

The writers know we are a dedicated bunch and they know that once MD breaks up for the last time the entire fandom will be waiting and watching. That's when the show will be at its peak. That will be the perfect moment to bring in MacRiley’s arc to a new start!

Congrats if you stuck with me through this whole thing! if you agree/disgaree with any of these or have other reasons why they could be endgame in s5 let me know!!

#MacGyver #Angus MacGyver #macgyvercbs #Riley davis #macriley #cbs #macxriley #macriley is endgame #otp #wilt bozer #Matilda webber #Lucas till #Tristin Mays #cbsmacgyer #russ taylor #macisback #macgyver season 5

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tarysande · 5 years ago

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It’s the Dose that Makes the Poison: Lucifer Thoughts and Speculation

I’m going to throw the entirety of this under a cut because spoilers. I’ve been rearranging the pieces on the table and I have some meta and a plausible(?) theory about how things might shake out.

...this is almost four thousand words long, and frankly? I feel I’ve barely grazed the surface.

Also, I put it on AO3 for ease of reading and/or in case anyone wants to have, idk, threaded conversations ;D

Okay. Here are a bunch of the pieces. (Or the piece is here, as it were.)

First: The show has always been about redemption; the showrunners throw that word around all the time. Second: I don’t think we’re going to see an endgame or a narrative where God is evil. So, how to make the concept of literal Hell work, then? How to explain or justify the idea of a father who a) kicked his kid out of the house and sent him to Hell for-literal-ever and b) created children for specific “of God” purposes.

Hell

In 5x01, Lee says, “Whose Hell is this, anyway?” and ... I think that’s the crux of the matter. In S3, Lucifer realizes he gave himself the face of a monster because he felt monstrous. But the truth is, he didn’t just give himself the face.

He gave himself the place, too. 5x01 is littered with clues that indicate this. Lucifer says “you to your torture and me to mine.” Lee’s entire speech—the one that pushes all Lucifer’s buttons because of course Lucifer’s projecting all over Lee’s “worst memory”—might as well be Lucifer talking to himself (not unlike Uriel in Lucifer’s hell loop). You know, the part of Lucifer that’s starting to understand all the psychological stuff Linda’s been yammering on about.

Lucifer created Hell. To torture himself for what he believes he did. He created the mechanism that you can walk out any time you like—but no one ever does. None of the doors are locked, right?

On some level, Lucifer, who is all about fairness and justice, looked at what he did and decided the Hell as we’ve seen it was the appropriate punishment. And with Lee, Lucifer almost figures out that the goal of “Hell” isn’t to eternally loop through guilt-fueled self-torture but to forgive yourself and apologize or make amends or not repeat the mistakes. Most of all, learn that nothing changes if you stay in the loop and the only way to break the loop is to take risk that you might fuck up and do something that you feel guilty for again.

Names/Family

Something that’s always jumped out at me is that no matter how many millennia have passed, Lucifer—to whom nicknames and names are canonically really goddamned important—always refers to his family by their familial connection to him “brother, sister, Mum, Dad.” When he banished himself from Heaven—and I’m starting to think he did—he didn’t stop feeling like he was a part of his family. Even when he wanted to eat Amenadiel’s heart someday, he still called him “brother.” Even when Uriel was threatening Chloe (and Mum), he was still “brother.”

For that matter, isn’t it interesting that all Lucifer’s estranged siblings refer to him by the name he chose for himself—not the one he was given? Except, of course, when they want to hurt him. We’ve known since what, S1? That Lucifer cannot abide the name Samael. Even Uriel calls him Lucifer. Or Luci. Mum calls him Lucifer. Lucifer was given Poison of God and he chose Bringer of Light. And everyone who loved (and loves) him said, “All right. Lucifer it is.” And though Lucifer is originally a little eye-rolly with nicknames—Luce, Luci—it’s fond, not the “I’m going to rip out your spine and beat you to death with it” response Samael elicits. Essentially, Samael is Lucifer’s deadname. And people who use intentionally are dismissing and rejecting the identity Lucifer chose, which is vile.

When I was researching/writing Taking the Fall and I knew I wanted to talk about the name thing, I came across this quotation ascribed to Paracelsus, and it really resonated: “All things are poison, and nothing is without poison, the dosage alone makes it so a thing is not a poison.” The dosage, in fact, is the difference between whether something is a poison or a cure. And if that doesn’t align with the themes of the show, I don’t know what does.

Lucifer has spent all this time thinking he is a poison; he has never imagined that he might be a cure. (To angels embracing their free will; to ending the sharp black and white segregation between Heaven and Hell; to darkness, to fear. Yet the more Lucifer learns and the healthier he gets, the more we see cures in what he does: i.e., Brody and also, you know, solving crimes.)

Michael, on the other hand, means “Who is like God?” It’s meant to be a rhetorical question, but in the universe of the show, I think Michael’s twisted version is that he used the question “Who is like God?” to plant the seed of Lucifer’s rebellion ... and is now answering the question “Who is like God?” with the reply, “I am."

Maze

But just in case we head too far down the Lucifer is Great line of thinking, we’ve got a big old example of how he’s still a poison, too.

Contrast this discussion of family with the lesson Lucifer still needs to learn about Maze—he’s managed to absorb that she’s not his servant anymore, but he’s still clinging to that soulless demon/just a demon dismissiveness. And despite self-worth coming from within, bitches, Maze still hasn’t truly absorbed that. She still looks outside for validation—and resents or backslides when she doesn’t get it. Especially from Lucifer. Because Lucifer was the first being to treat her like she mattered. She admires him. Looks up to him. Loves him. In many ways, Maze is the shadow of Chloe—drawn to Lucifer but never, from his perspective, his equal or his partner.

And he, for all the strides he’s made, still default to “demon” as derogatory and dismissive. Something she can’t transcend, even though all the evidence suggests the contrary. As long as Lucifer sees Maze as just a demon, she can’t truly escape from that identity.

Why does Maze keep “betraying” Lucifer? It’s tempting to think it’s because she’s a demon. Because she doesn’t have “a soul.” But that’s not true. She can learn; she learns from “betraying” Chloe and doesn’t do it a second time. She learns from “betraying” Linda and Trixie. Even she and Amenadiel seem to have reached a real (and much more healthy) understanding of who they are to each other.

She keeps betraying Lucifer because he keeps deserving it.

Servants

The thing is, I think there’s something important in Lucifer’s “You’re not my servant anymore” to Maze. Because I think angels believe they are God’s servants. And I suspect the reason God’s been so AFK is because he really wanted them to ... break free of that. On their own. Without him telling them to—because if he told them, it wouldn’t be choice anymore. It wouldn’t be free will. It would be Following The Will of DadGod.

Here’s another relevant Paracelsus quotation: “No one who can stand alone by himself should be the servant of another.”

Angels self-actualize. They have powers. Sometimes those powers change (as with Amenadiel). I don’t think angels ever lacked free will.

What is self-actualization but literal free will? You become what you believe you are; you do what you think you’re supposed to. You literally change based on your choices and feelings about those choices. Angels basically have human free will on a kind of EXTREME SCALE that they’ve remained mostly ignorant of throughout time. But how do you get your kids to figure something out without telling them how to figure it out when they’ve all got this WILL OF DAD complex? He gave them the tool of self-actualization. When they didn’t ... do that, he created humanity. He tinkered with the model. Took away the names and the powers that were such a stumbling block for his angels and such a shining example of how he failed them. If someone hangs on your every word, if you are not just their father but their master, how can they ever know love? Trust? How can they ever be free? Be themselves? I think God wanted his angel children to learn from his human children and was disappointed when they pretty much decided to just be remote and Angelically Superior All The Time, instead. Of course, that's mostly on him, too.

Except Lucifer. Because Lucifer’s curiosity (yes, from the beginning of time) kept bringing him so close to figuring things out. (Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven, amirite, Paradise Lost?) And as close as he was to figuring things out, Lucifer was still prideful and selfish and superior. The result was what happened with (and in) Hell. Things got twisted down there; he was in a God role over the demons and he was not hands-off. Cue endless loops of pain and torture and despair and self-recrimination and poison. Lilith may have started their pain, but Lucifer, however unintentionally or ignorantly, continued it.

At least Lucifer could escape it sometimes. Those poor demons. Those poor abandoned children. They had two rocks.

Pretty sure there’s going to be an echo of Dad abandonment with his angel kids and Lilith of her demon kids, by the by. Because abandonment is a theme. And good intentions or not, well, you know what they say about the road to Hell.

Humanity The more Lucifer interacted with humanity, the more he learned from humanity. And, of course, the entire journey of the series has been about Lucifer learning, growing, adapting, changing because of this. And not in a Superior Angelic Way, but in a person-to-person real way. Not just with Chloe. With everyone. But yeah, Chloe is the catalyst—precisely because (as Amenadiel says) she’s the only mortal who sees Lucifer for who he really is, without her reflected desires getting in the way. No one, no one else can truly reflect back to him his worthiness or lack thereof.

Does Chloe have a power? It’s not laser-beam hands. But I’ve always thought Chloe has the power of seeing things and, in seeing, encouraging others to see, too. And this is most obvious with Lucifer, whose power has never let him be seen. Because of his power, he can never know if the reactions of others are about him or about their own desires.

What agony for someone whose chosen path is bringing light: to be forever hidden in the shadow of the light others see.

Until Chloe.

Michael tells Lucifer his greatest fear is that of being unworthy. We know Lucifer has always feared he’s not worthy of Chloe. But now that she’s told him, shown him, his worthiness? You’d better believe that he will never, ever abandon her—will never, ever let her suffer from her worst fear. Gosh, and by suddenly being invulnerable again, it’s almost like he’s assured that, isn’t it? “You make me vulnerable” was about his walls. “My invulnerability ensures I will never, ever abandon you,” is all about hers.

So, back to learning from humanity. We’ve seen Lucifer and Amenadiel do it. It’s been hinted that Azrael has done it, at least a little. Then we have Michael’s frustrated tale of how the other angel siblings are taking note of Lucifer’s actions—with the implication being that maybe they’re learning, too. Maybe they’re starting to understand that they can be more than they think they have been made to be. More than just a “Something” of God.

Control

Meanwhile, of course, Michael’s concocted some kind of Make Heaven Great Again plot—ironically, it appears, by doing exactly what he accused Lucifer of doing: believing he can run things better than Dad. And, I suspect, by trying to set himself as Master and his siblings (and other assorted peons) as his servants. Only, he’s not doing it in Lucifer’s ultimately forthright (and even honest) way of “This sucks and I’m rebelling” but in a conniving, secretive, Machiavellian way that probably sounds a lot like “Dad says” or “Dad’s not here” or “Who is closer to God than I?” ...

Who is like God, indeed. He even throws down the word archangel when he speaks to Dan: an angel above even other angels. I’m 99% sure that word’s never been used before on the show. Because that’s what Michael desires. To be more. To be everything. To control.

He’s what Lucifer was as the Lord of Hell. He’s everything Lucifer has made such progress toward overcoming.

Incidentally, and also essay-worthy: This is why the progression of the scene where Lucifer and Chloe make love is so incredibly (heh) important: Lucifer of the perfect appearance, perfect pocket square, perfect car, perfectly clean apartment; Lucifer of control control control control ... surrenders. He offers. She accepts. And in these first moments—“Incredible,” he breathes before they’ve done anything more than kiss—she is above him, in control ... and nothing bad happens. Nothing hurts him even though she makes him hurt-able. She doesn’t take advantage of him. She loves him; she treasures him; she protects him. It’s beautiful. It’s everything he’s been so afraid he could never have.

And for the first time (very possibly) ever, he sees himself as worthy. He sees himself as belonging. He believes he is not alone; he is not lonely.

Power

Amenadiel “lost” his power to stop time when he decided he didn’t want to stand apart from humanity anymore. Essentially, just as he lost his wings when he was so horrified and disgusted by what he’d done (to Lucifer, with Malcolm, etc.) he caused himself to Fall. He regained his wings when he made it his purpose to bring Charlotte to Heaven. He stopped time again in S5 when the question of humanity—of his own child being human, and thus ‘not like him’ or ... not that ‘special’—reared its head. With the nuns, he reflects their love of God, right? And in part, that’s because he’s in this father (or Father) role now.

Angel powers, like all power really, are double-edged. In the wrong hands or twisted the wrong way, a good power can bring about evil. Look at the almost throwaway line with Brody in 5x02: Lucifer’s “desire” power—so often spun as about sin or hedonism—brought Brody peace and forgiveness. That Lucifer doesn’t lie or take without giving in return indicates that, on some level, the level that values true justice—and even a bit of mercy—he was never able to use that power against others (the way we see Michael do with his); he didn’t want to use as he felt he’d been used; he also didn’t want to feel used by those whose desires he provided (this is why the parade of one-night stands and “it was just sex—great sex, but just sex” partners upset him so much back in S2). Favors—and even the give and take of sex—were a way to balance that scale. Again, this could be a whole essay all its own.

This makes me suspect that the dark side of Lucifer’s powers played some part in his Rebellion. That he abused desire the way we’ve seen Michael abuse fear.

So, about that power of fear, then. I mean, it just sounds negative. How can FEAR be positive, right? But if Michael were using his powers to draw out fears so they’re named and dealt with (LIKE PEOPLE DO IN THERAPY???) instead of manipulated for personal gain—it could be a very healing power (LIKE THERAPY???).

Greatest Strength/Greatest Weakness

The absolute thematic and narrative brilliance of twin brothers having the powers of fear and desire whilst also being held back BY the “power” of their twin is so amazing it really needs its own essay. But I do want to mention this relative to the overall arc heading forward. Much of Lucifer’s work with Linda has been about addressing his fears; he’s made a ton of progress with this. As I mentioned earlier, with Linda’s guidance, Lucifer has been drawing out his fears in a safe(r) space and learning to deal with them and heal. And, in doing so, his own power of reflecting desire has increasingly been less and less about artisanal honey and car batteries and more about drawing out desires that help others heal, grow, become their best selves, release their inner demons.

Michael is (both literally and figuratively) twisted by his desires (to be powerful, to be stronger/better/more admired than his brother). I’ll bet some cold hard cash that if Lucifer’s the source of the original injury to his shoulder/wing, Michael has self-actualized into keeping that injury—perhaps even magnifying it—to a) manipulate others into feeling sorry for him, b) to remind everyone who looks at him how awful Lucifer is, and c) to trick people into believing he’s weaker than he is.

At the end of the day, fear and desire are two of the strongest motivating forces in the world (universe); the show is showing us all the messy ways those forces come into play. And it’s also showing how connection and love and trust are the forces that both fight the worse facets of these powers and that let these forces be useful in helpful and ultimately healing ways.

Because THERAPY.

Home

So, we know we’re rolling toward what was meant to be a series finale; it’s time to start tying loose ends together, right? Again and again, the question of home comes up. Lucifer only ever refers to Los Angeles as his home. Maze, on the other hand, still defaults to Hell as home.

Hell as we know it is over. But Hell as a place where Maze tries to impart the lessons she’s learned on Earth to her abandoned, twisted-by-hate-and-loneliness-and-Lilith siblings? Perhaps even with Eve “mother of all humanity” at her side to help clean up some of the mess Lilith made when she decided to abandon connection in favor of more selfish desire? I think that’s plausible, while also managing a significant nod at where Mazikeen ends up in the comics and a heavy dash of “the things we learn from therapy and/or being best friends with a therapist.”

Now, I know the question of how things will end for Chloe and Lucifer is contentious in fandom. So, you know, grain of salt. I don’t think Lucifer’s home is Los Angeles; the Los Angeles in Hell wasn’t enough because it didn’t have her in it. In a literal embodiment of “Home is where the heart is,” Lucifer’s home is with Chloe. And since Chloe’s worst fear is abandonment, Lucifer will do what it takes to stay with her—because that’s what’s most important to him. The utterly unselfish choice. I think there’s some pretty reasonable foreshadowing (Lilith’s choice—if that choice was even real, of course—for example) that Lucifer may choose to renounce his immortality. Or to give it to someone else. Or that immortality won’t matter at all anymore.

From his reactions in 5x07/08, we know that Lucifer’s identity and ideas of usefulness/self-worth/worthiness of love are still connected to his identity as an immortal with powers; I think, though, he’s beginning to piece together the complications therein, especially regarding questions of partnership and vulnerability and equality.

Personally, Human!Lucifer has never been my preferred outcome, but I can see how it might work/might be what they’re heading for. Even if I’d still prefer the “you can use me as a bullet shield” partnership with supernatural elements—because those have always been at the heart of their partnership. The strengths of one make up for the weaknesses in the other (and vice versa).

Hell (Redux)

Finally, I’m still pretty sure we’re going to see a complete overhaul of the Heaven/Hell dichotomy. One with a lot less THIS IS THE WAY IT IS BECAUSE CONTROL and a lot more CHOICES MATTER (maybe Linda can have a turn as a salamander after all). And a major catalyst, of course, is Lucifer and his love for the chosen family on earth (and through them, a renewed love for the estranged family he’s never actually stopped loving; 5x01 basically makes canon that it's not that Lucifer hates his family—it's that he's terrified of disappointing them again, of causing problems again).

So why does Hell have to change?

Because right now, every human he loves is sure they’re going to Hell. And after all the time and all these friendships, can you really see Lucifer being okay with that? Okay with Ella or Linda or Dan or Trixie tormenting themselves for all eternity? When he wasn’t even okay with Mr. Said Out Bitch doing so? When he gave this guy who he barely knows every opportunity to change his fate in ways he’s never done for any other tortured soul? Because they had a tenuous connection on earth?

Can you see him being okay with Chloe choosing Hell to be with him?

When it boils right down to it, Lucifer has learned to love others. And I think, especially given his revelations about self-loathing last season, that love isn’t going to let him be okay with or encourage the self-loathing in others. Love—selfless love, real love—is, in fact, the cure to the very concept of Hell.

And it’s also the cure to the very concept of Heaven, too.

How could Heaven ever be perfect if the people you love aren’t in it?

It can’t. It might be more silver and have fewer demons, but I don’t think it’s any less an eternal torture. Eve basically tells us as much.

So, on that note, I’ll leave you with another fine quotation from Paracelsus:

“When a man undertakes to create something, he establishes a new heaven, as it were, and from it the work that he desires to create flows into him... For such is the immensity of man that he is greater than heaven and earth.”

And that, I think, is going to be the takeaway. We create what we are; we choose what we create. And in the act of that creation, we choose whether we are the poison or the remedy. And if we make mistakes, slip up, hurt people, hurt ourselves—it’s not a Hell-sentence. It’s the dose that makes the poison. We learn, we grow, we apologize, we strive to make things better, we love and love and love and love, and we never stop striving to be the cure.

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