hyphen-8-it - Tumblr blog

[hyphen-8-it]

this has probably been said, but the way that in that Ep 1 dinner scene Fitzjames has pushed away from the table to be almost parallel to Sir John whereas Crozier is sitting neatly to the side of it like the rest of the officers...

The visual distinction of James as the de facto Second when what he's bringing to the table is literally dramatic recountings of his prior adventures, unlike Francis' actual Arctic experience.. ugh, this damn show. it hurts me.

[hyphen-8-it]

Cosette is better than me because if my weirdo recluse father suddenly showed up with a massive, festering burn scar acting completely unconcerned and telling me to call a vet for him instead of a human doctor, I would have simply started killing.

[hyphen-8-it]

honourable mention on this day of days to Caius Martius Coriolanus for also getting stabbed by conspirators

[hyphen-8-it]

I've already had the thought a couple episodes ago but I'm considering more and more seriously to upend my existing plans and write my Bachelor's thesis about Burrow's End... I'm doing an English Lit degree tho so I'd probably have to frame it in the context of it being an adaptation/reimagining/whatever of Watership Down to justify that, but I don't think that's outside of the realm of possibility.

Especially with the recent episodes the skill of Aabria and her players at crafting this story has just become so apparent and I already have a Google Doc with notes on Last Bast, so I'm kinda already doing the work.. What's holding me back tho is the fear that I'll taint my deep enjoyment of this series with the very real stress and pressure of academic writing. I really don't want to look at this very cool piece of art like it's work, but it has been absolutely blasting my brain to pieces lately. Much to think about.

[hyphen-8-it]

“You’ve stood here for generations. Was that on four legs or two?”

“The humans are already here.”

[hyphen-8-it]

Okay, small observation here between Ep 7 & 8. Back in Episode 2, I noticed Brennan's hair changed to look kinda wet but it didn't really seem significant then. Now, however, there's multiple PC's with that look, which caught my attention.

Here's Brennan's hair changing from Episode 1 to Episode 2 + how it looks in Episode 7:

And here are Siobhan, Erika, and Jasper in Episode 7:

What are we thinking about that, folks?

My first thought was that it had something to do with their closeness to the Blue? As in Jaysohn almost fell into the reactor in Episode 6, Ava took an actual dip, and Tula has apparently been undead for a while. As for Jasper tho... foreshadowing maybe? There's also the fact that in the pin set Ava, Tula, and Jasper all glow in the dark... But I'm not really sure. Any other theories?

[hyphen-8-it]

The kids don't need 'Education', their mom will do just fine!

[hyphen-8-it]

okay this is not a prediction just a wish a hope a dream but... I really want Tula to kill Bennet. I feel like Brennan keeps trying to emphasize that Tula clocking him as dtf isn't about her being interested but her trying to figure out how to use him. And everyone keeps glossing over it and I understand why but I'm actually so interested in that aspect of Tula? She's calculating, she's smart, she's the kind of person to focus on the goal above everything else. And for her, the goal is her children. And if she can use Bennet to secure safety for them, she will. I just also think that if she clocks him as a threat to her kids, no matter how much kindness she has shown him, no matter how much he trusts her, she will not hesitate to kill him. Just like she didn't hesitate to go for the heart of the bear.

[hyphen-8-it]

Investing now on the theory that Tula was either there for whatever killed Geoffery or him still being alive when she got there.

[hyphen-8-it]

I think we've seen hazmat suit minis in some of the promo materials so I assume humans will actually make their way into this campaign, but I do love the idea that the humans coming back is a Boogeyman that the first stoats prop up to keep order

[hyphen-8-it]

my mood since episode 4 honestly

[hyphen-8-it]

Here are some of my pre-Ep 5 thoughts. Honestly, I'm not sure if anything will go majorly wrong between our little family and the Last Bast in this episode (though it definitely might!), but there are definitely strong indicators that there's something deeply suspicious going on in this society:

This apparently heavily militarised society where violence towards other animals is deeply common and normalised. Something that is, in this manner, completely unfamiliar to our protagonists. Sounds very troubling. Combined with that, the dehumanisation—well destoatisation, I guess—of the dead, who are not referred to by name anymore and seem to be considered acceptable losses in the pursuit of their goal is also very creepy.

The goal that is ostensibly the destruction of humans, as is indicated by the tale Bennett tells them, which seems to be sort of their creation myth. But then these stoats are so alike humans in so many ways starting with the fact that they walk upright, like what purpose is that serving them?? Scary. But also that they are potentially trapping animals to breed them, like the elks in the pit as well as the rabbits. This would certainly be an explanation for how they feed thousands of stoats without completely emptying the entire forest around them, which would be an unsustainable solution. Also, how else would they have been able to support this society for 20 winters (allegedly)?

The question is also, who did they learn these things from? The tale says they "found the Light [them]selves" which is a weird way to phrase that. Like, as opposed to what? That humans made it and you just found it? In the tale it is implied that the stoats' discovery of the Light inadvertantly created the humans, which, as a human watching this, sounds deeply wrong. Almost everything that they have must have been created by humans and then been taken over by the stoats and made useful to them, instead of having been discovered by the stoats alone.

In connection to that, this is why the ability for history-writing that these stoats seem to have developed worries me. Since they normally don't live for 20 years, this seems like a very long time for inaccuracies and exaggerations etc. to be introduced. Which I find very likely to have happened considering the agressively militant tone of their tale, which paints a very one-sided, demonised picture of humans as monsters. (Not that I can blame them lol, but this scapegoating is still a worrying development to see in this stoat society.) It makes me wonder:

Is there any real intention to eradicate humans "when the time comes" or does this effort of to arm themselves serve to cover up some sinister goings-on in this society that might harm 'the little stoat' so to speak? Who is in control of the tale that everyone introduced to this society is being told, and what purpose would it serve them to have this version of the story be believed?

[hyphen-8-it]

Having just rewatched Episode 3, what I love is that Jasper is doing such a great job as Thorn of seemingly subverting Tula's expectations. Where of course she rightly presumes that he will be interested in and open to investigating new intel about the Blue, but not at the expense of family and not rashly. Also not disregarding anyone's apprehensions, always open to hear everyone out first and letting them make their own decisions. There's so many moments of Thorn being so (unexpectedly?) nice, like acknowleding his future children when he's talking about choosing investigation over immediate safety [while Brennan in his head was already lining up the shot], like recognizing Tula's fears and gently "pitching" new ideas, like offering his head to her to touch after her breakdown, so willing to connect.

It makes me think of that conversation with Viola where Brennan as Tula was like "that must be nice" when Viola said Thorn listens to her and does what she says. That in turn makes me wonder what Tula and Geoffrey's relationship was actually like in life. As of yet she's only really spoken about him positively (though with great sadness) and gotten quite upset when Lila tried to blame her dad for his death or imply that he deserved it, thinking it would make her mom happy. I wonder whether, when he was alive, it may have been a serious point of conflict between the two of them, that Geoffrey would do brave but dangerous things in search of the Blue, that eventually led to him not being able to be there for his family. But now that he's dead Tula feels guilty about having/having had those feelings, because it wasn't his fault that he was brave enough to try to investigate the unknown even though it ended up killing him. In hindsight, her past worries have been validated but what help is a potential "I told you so" in her grief now? And does being 'right' taint the memory of the man she loved by highlighting his flaws, especially when he's not there anymore to defend himself from the criticism?

Did she 'make peace' with his death and forgive his rashness and now, seeing her sister's relationship with Thorn and how different it is, is that causing a fresh pain in a wound presumed healed, because it didn't need to be like this? That bravery could be mellowed out by consideration and the search for the Unknown does not always leave behind grieving families?

Or was Geoffrey just like Thorn, gentle and considerate of Tula's fears, and she is witnessing Viola's relationship with a dreadful sense of foreboding. Like she's watching an action replay of her life in the eyes of her younger sister.

I don't even know what I'd prefer, I'm just intrigued to see what more insight into what the Tula/Geoffrey relationship was like they're going to give us heading into Episode 4 and beyond.

[Also, added to that, her own children being so open to the Blue and excited to fight/investigate it, albeit tinged by their childlike innocence??? What a tangle of feelings that must be, no wonder she's hella overwhelmed! It seems to me that Tula's constant mental state is "everyone around me is going to die going after the Blue and there's nothing I can do about it". Like they've already been seduced by this frightening power and are leaving her behind, alone, in favour of their pursuit.]

[hyphen-8-it]

if you're not absolutely fucking nuts for burrow's end you're in direct disagreement with brennan lee mulligan. what do you want him to tell your family.

[hyphen-8-it]

Izzy Roland speaking straight from my heart! Don't trust him, that stoat's gonna fuck up your shit!!

(Though I too love the pattern that's emerging here narratively for Tula ngl.)

[hyphen-8-it]

Tula is being Perceived™ and she Doesn't Like It One Bit.

Having just rewatched Episode 3, what I love is that Jasper is doing such a great job as Thorn of seemingly subverting Tula's expectations. Where of course she rightly presumes that he will be interested in and open to investigating new intel about the Blue, but not at the expense of family and not rashly. Also not disregarding anyone's apprehensions, always open to hear everyone out first and letting them make their own decisions. There's so many moments of Thorn being so (unexpectedly?) nice, like acknowleding his future children when he's talking about choosing investigation over immediate safety [while Brennan in his head was already lining up the shot], like recognizing Tula's fears and gently "pitching" new ideas, like offering his head to her to touch after her breakdown, so willing to connect.

It makes me think of that conversation with Viola where Brennan as Tula was like "that must be nice" when Viola said Thorn listens to her and does what she says. That in turn makes me wonder what Tula and Geoffrey's relationship was actually like in life. As of yet she's only really spoken about him positively (though with great sadness) and gotten quite upset when Lila tried to blame her dad for his death or imply that he deserved it, thinking it would make her mom happy. I wonder whether, when he was alive, it may have been a serious point of conflict between the two of them, that Geoffrey would do brave but dangerous things in search of the Blue, that eventually led to him not being able to be there for his family. But now that he's dead Tula feels guilty about having/having had those feelings, because it wasn't his fault that he was brave enough to try to investigate the unknown even though it ended up killing him. In hindsight, her past worries have been validated but what help is a potential "I told you so" in her grief now? And does being 'right' taint the memory of the man she loved by highlighting his flaws, especially when he's not there anymore to defend himself from the criticism?

Did she 'make peace' with his death and forgive his rashness and now, seeing her sister's relationship with Thorn and how different it is, is that causing a fresh pain in a wound presumed healed, because it didn't need to be like this? That bravery could be mellowed out by consideration and the search for the Unknown does not always leave behind grieving families?

Or was Geoffrey just like Thorn, gentle and considerate of Tula's fears, and she is witnessing Viola's relationship with a dreadful sense of foreboding. Like she's watching an action replay of her life in the eyes of her younger sister.

I don't even know what I'd prefer, I'm just intrigued to see what more insight into what the Tula/Geoffrey relationship was like they're going to give us heading into Episode 4 and beyond.

[Also, added to that, her own children being so open to the Blue and excited to fight/investigate it, albeit tinged by their childlike innocence??? What a tangle of feelings that must be, no wonder she's hella overwhelmed! It seems to me that Tula's constant mental state is "everyone around me is going to die going after the Blue and there's nothing I can do about it". Like they've already been seduced by this frightening power and are leaving her behind, alone, in favour of their pursuit.]

[hyphen-8-it]

Having just rewatched Episode 3, what I love is that Jasper is doing such a great job as Thorn of seemingly subverting Tula's expectations. Where of course she rightly presumes that he will be interested in and open to investigating new intel about the Blue, but not at the expense of family and not rashly. Also not disregarding anyone's apprehensions, always open to hear everyone out first and letting them make their own decisions. There's so many moments of Thorn being so (unexpectedly?) nice, like acknowleding his future children when he's talking about choosing investigation over immediate safety [while Brennan in his head was already lining up the shot], like recognizing Tula's fears and gently "pitching" new ideas, like offering his head to her to touch after her breakdown, so willing to connect.

It makes me think of that conversation with Viola where Brennan as Tula was like "that must be nice" when Viola said Thorn listens to her and does what she says. That in turn makes me wonder what Tula and Geoffrey's relationship was actually like in life. As of yet she's only really spoken about him positively (though with great sadness) and gotten quite upset when Lila tried to blame her dad for his death or imply that he deserved it, thinking it would make her mom happy. I wonder whether, when he was alive, it may have been a serious point of conflict between the two of them, that Geoffrey would do brave but dangerous things in search of the Blue, that eventually led to him not being able to be there for his family. But now that he's dead Tula feels guilty about having/having had those feelings, because it wasn't his fault that he was brave enough to try to investigate the unknown even though it ended up killing him. In hindsight, her past worries have been validated but what help is a potential "I told you so" in her grief now? And does being 'right' taint the memory of the man she loved by highlighting his flaws, especially when he's not there anymore to defend himself from the criticism?

Did she 'make peace' with his death and forgive his rashness and now, seeing her sister's relationship with Thorn and how different it is, is that causing a fresh pain in a wound presumed healed, because it didn't need to be like this? That bravery could be mellowed out by consideration and the search for the Unknown does not always leave behind grieving families?

Or was Geoffrey just like Thorn, gentle and considerate of Tula's fears, and she is witnessing Viola's relationship with a dreadful sense of foreboding. Like she's watching an action replay of her life in the eyes of her younger sister.

I don't even know what I'd prefer, I'm just intrigued to see what more insight into what the Tula/Geoffrey relationship was like they're going to give us heading into Episode 4 and beyond.

[Also, added to that, her own children being so open to the Blue and excited to fight/investigate it, albeit tinged by their childlike innocence??? What a tangle of feelings that must be, no wonder she's hella overwhelmed! It seems to me that Tula's constant mental state is "everyone around me is going to die going after the Blue and there's nothing I can do about it". Like they've already been seduced by this frightening power and are leaving her behind, alone, in favour of their pursuit.]