macisms

[macisms]

he wants to get pregnant

[macisms]

after all the highs and lows macdennis has endured they're back here again

[macisms]

also the robert-lawrence-paddy interface pre-lodge….lover-boss-parent….robert threatening paddy to protect his secret, lawrence picking aaron’s business for his PR in the village, robert practically openly making plans with aaron in front of paddy’s face while lying to lawrence about his intentions, paddy telling lawrence that aaron is unstable to keep robert away from aaron, robert as usual lying to aaron about what he did…paddy’s interference at the lodge saved aaron’s life for sure but it robbed aaron of the chance to force a decision out of robert, either to kill aaron or to accept the consequences of his own crimes, allowing robert to get away with everything once again while aaron has to live with the repercussions. no wonder he ignores paddy’s pleas to leave robert alone and blows open the affair!

[macisms]

robert sobbing and saying “im not a bad person” as he debates whether to kill paddy and aaron is soooo crazy….he spends the whole time in the lodge making as if he’s telling the truth and baring himself to aaron but he’s still lying the whole time…he LIES about intending to murder paddy by saying it just got out of control he LIES about not telling andy the truth because itd kill andy…robert gets pushed to a breaking point when aaron tries to confront him about his crimes and he’s crumbling against the burden of all the secrets he keeps the burden is not really about his sexuality its not even really about money/power atp its about a break in HISSSS self-perception, the version of robert who isnt violent and who does bad things because people keep trying to ruin his life (what he wants to believe) and the version of robert who will kill people to protect his secrets (what he actually is!!!!) he wants sooo badly to believe that aaron was a complete wild card, that his existence and robert falling in love with him completely defied robert’s self control bc robert wants to believe that he himself is not at baseline capable of deliberately killing someone in cold blood despite the fact that we see over and over again that he is!!! he plans chas’ murder, he plans’ paddy’s murder, he plans aaron’s murder!!!!! in the end he cannot handle the idea of killing aaron because then he’d have to reconcile with the fact that he pulled the trigger, he chose to kill someone he loved just like he chose to push around someone he used to love just like he ruined the life of someone he loved, all willingly, all for his own sake. and when paddy comes in, when paddy gets accidentally shot, it gives robert an out - paddy gives him the out, by soothing him, by letting him fix paddy, and therefore by letting robert continue to believe that he’s just a man reacting to his circumstances rather than the person creating the very circumstances that harm everyone he claims to care about. when in fact his only concern when he shot paddy was how he would get away with it.

[macisms]

HES SO STUPIDD 😭😭 AND I KEEP FORGETTING THE SCRAPYARD IS CALLED HOLEY SCRAP

[macisms]

It isnt mentioned enough that Robert not only faked sleeping with Lawrence, but also faked being TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF. I was drunk, I was heartbroken over Aaron… This guy…

[macisms]

wow chris that's the worst and weirdest way anyone's ever done it.

[macisms]

I really love that in a show as devoted to biological baby making as emdale, same sex couples in there just can never ever have that unity. Thank god for the inherent deviancies that contradict homonormativity

[macisms]

i like that rob paying ryan off was included in that gifset. probably, from his pov, one of the sweetest things he’s done for aaron (risking prison to help his case) and it’s sooo evil. all aaron needs in this moment is to feel in control of his own life and then his ex-bf and his mother who are supposed to want each other dead team up and lie to him (because everyone lies to ‘protect’ him; he’s forever that kid who tried to kill himself in cain’s garage) about his own rape trial. plus the seediness of paying someone to lie about rape. it’s the same post-divorce v1 when robert teams up with family patriarch zak about the boxing. ive seen aarons eye. i dont like it. and who are youuuuu to comment on his life? same post-divorce v2!! he shows up at aaron’s wedding and says this needs stopping. it can’t happen. why are you a father at his rebelling daughter’s wedddingggg it’s so shakespearean patriarch welcome back brabantio .. joking. joking. but still so sickening the paternal role he fulfils :’( even zak in that same conversation has to be like am i right in thinking you two r not together? and u were never his boss? (….well) which makes the circumstances a bit different from 2016 when aaron is inviting his companionship but still . is this about you playing god (ult father) again? you always have to be in control of everything don’t you!!! <- everything comes back to this

[macisms]

Shouldn’t underestimate emotional violence. Robert doesn’t force feed Rebecca abortion pills or take her to the clinic at gunpoint lol but it is still violent how he forces and threatens her into submission. I dont see emotional violence so far removed from physical. Pregnancy is whatever people see it as and to Rebecca that’s her baby while to Robert it’s a clump of cells in a woman who wants to ruin him (as he sees it). He clearly has no qualms with getting rid the problem against Rebecca’s wishes if he’s forcing her to abort (and he Clearly is panicked and afraid and killing himself over this and not acting well and EVEN (and im being so kind to him) acting worse than usual bc he’s on the emotional fritz).

[macisms]

“what i did yesterday was a warning” <- guy who was actually planning premeditated murder but then chickened out of it because it might drive his secret boyfriend over the edge but luckily he can improvise and instead choose to threaten a three year old

[macisms]

Maybe im villainizing him beyond character, but i sometimes think the Robert iiii know would have run over or spiked Rebecca to scare her off or get rid of that fetus. He did BOTH these things to manipulate both Chrissie and Lawrence THAT year. Even if it went too far or it happened accidentally (like Liv). And the baby will still be born but with some sort of issue or Rebecca would be permanently hurt and Robert would feel a lifetime of guilt over it. Which shouldve happened regardless with the car crash. Mad the show absolved him … even if he himself didnt feel guilty at the moment, others shouldve been weirded out he thought he wasnt culpable at all. ��Freak accident” going 100 on the backroads??? Freak accident jumping off a building 🤪

[macisms]

what do you think is the most genuine thing Robert has said "on camera"?

Pls give me your answer if you have one, im curious. (Note im talking about what ive seen so far, which is 2014 - july 2018 + 2025) This is such an interesting question that i had to think long about… Cuz for example, him crashing the wedding and confessing his love and regret was genuine. I totally believe him and I know he isn’t acting. But it was also such a put on, not in a fake way but in a Robert way of TRYING so hard. I can see it. He cant help manipulating rhetoric and sentiment and romance, he cant help putting on the strong voice. Even if he means it, even if he’s doing it bc he’s desperate to get across his sincerity. He has an agenda. And he always has an agenda (I say this neutrally).

So with that in mind, i started thinking about moments where he had no agenda and no barriers. So Lodge, no, barrier of self. Rebecca confession, no, agenda of disaster minimization. Here’s what I came up with:

What I found was that actually, he was at times most genuine with Andy. A few moments come to mind but this one’s the most prominent as far as i can remember. At Andy’s stag do, Andy and Robert talk nicely for a minute in the corner. Then Robert suddenly turns bitter and quietly brings up Max and their dad running him away. And the rest of the conversation is more of a put on, but that second he mentions Max is so shocking in its quiet shame.

Proposal 2.0 … it’s should’ve been a put on, he shouldve wanted so badly to convince Aaron to remarry him, he shouldve been performing the romance … but it’s even more romantic that he isn’t even that stressed about it. He’s so confident in their love, he speaks the most relaxed he ever does, even though he’s said those same words in the past with more attitude! I was surprised by its delivery. Rlly interesting. “You were all i wanted” said like a fact cemented by experience, “every evening, a robin visits our backyard”. Trying to convince no one

Some others come to mind though theyre more muddy…“he didnt want a son like me” (ssw16), “of course i still want you you idiot” (reunion 2.0), “what am i? im a blight in everyone’s lives”, “what kind of a friend would you be to me?”, “if i wasnt like this id be crying on the floor, id jump out that window” (robertmas), “please tell me you love me” (2017 day after he tells about bex), some select Liv moments i cant remember

SPECIAL MENTION this is so minor but theres a moment in 2016 boyfriends era, i think when liv and gabby film that streaking video, where robert jokes about her being in trouble and aaron frowns at him and rob immediately drops his smile and really sincerely says sorry.

I have a feeling we may get never before seen sincerity next week 🤔

​hope this makes sense… thank you for the interesting question!! again do tell me what you think

[macisms]

i think another reason prime time was so satisfying is because it delivered on the promise of dennis takes a mental health day. while they were both emotional episodes centred around dennis, the main difference between them is that in dtamhd, dennis wins, whereas prime time is about him losing - losing control, losing face, being constantly reminded that he's ranked lower than everyone else by an audience who he's failed to fool.

in dtamhd, we're treated to life through the eyes of the most unreliable narrator on the face of the earth. of course everything goes his way in the end - he lowers his blood pressure, shoves it in the face of his doctor, walks out of there with a smug smile and a fresh layer of delusion. pointedly: he is alone.

in prime time, we see all that stripped back. he's a stuttering, teary mess, humiliated and exposed and spiralling when faced with other people seeing him in the exact opposite way than how he is (literally) begging them to. his insecurities, his sexuality, his trauma, his deep and immovable sadness on show. no matter how hard he tries (has tried all his life), he simply is not fooling anybody. he relied on the scripted nature of reality tv to carry him through, to keep up appearances, to maintain a sense of control - he is classy. he is refined. he is dignified. not the least bit abnormal in any way - and the audience sees right through his bullshit.

prime time is so satisfying because it denies him the mask, denies him the opportunity to try and change the shape of the shadow he casts. he loses, monumentally, publically. but at the end of it, where is he?

surrounded by his friends, just as degenerate and abnormal as he is, the people that know him best and have stuck around all these years for better or worse, feeding his own words back to him:

can we just be us? people get you or they don't get you. yes. alright. yeah.

the final stage: acceptance.

[macisms]

after all the highs and lows macdennis has endured they're back here again

[macisms]

i need to rewatch the lodge for research but im scareddd its So Much. if i dont watch it by tmrw someone shoot me.

[macisms]

I think an aspect of The Gang Gets Ready for Prime Time people might be overlooking is that the viewers aren’t the only ones this play is about, it’s also very much about the writing of the characters.

And, as almost always when it comes to viewing these characters in certain environments, you cannot treat them all as equals. Neither Charlie nor Dennis are comfortable being in front of a live audience. This is shown over and over again (Sweet Dee’s Dating, Family Fight, Wolf Cola, PTSDee, etc.) and, perhaps most beautifully, in this Season’s premiere. Dee and Mac, in complete contrast, are desperate for attention and feedback, especially in the face of an audience/camera (Sweet Dee on Fire, Billboard, Goes to Hell, Wolf Cola, etc).

So whereas Dennis and Charlie are using this experience to rehearse normalcy in front of an audience/camera they don’t like to be in front of, Mac and Dee are using this experience to showcase their personalities in front of an audience/camera they thrive in front of… and that’s where the character commentary clearly diverges, obvious in the result of the scores, but perhaps less obvious as to what that means.

After Rehearsal 1, Charlie and Dennis only get “confused feedback" and comments on their appearances, because their performances were rooted in stifling their insecurities. Their attempts to look normal were a little botched, and now they only have negative feedback to try and correct. Because Mac and Dee veer the other way and play to an aspect of their personality that they like (being macho and being funny), they get enough positive feedback that allows them to try and improve.

So by Rehearsal 2, you have Dennis and Charlie even worse off, Dennis obsessing over his insecurities, tripping over his words and snapping and Charlie spiralling into a character of himself no one can recognise, to a point where they’re rejected by the audience even further for those insecurities and disregarded; meanwhile Dee and Mac much better off, leaning in to their strong suits allowed for their real personalities to shine from behind, which gave way for genuine feedback about themselves that’s revealling:

Mac, who has had his personality neutered by his obsession with having a singular identity, ends up realising from the audience feedback that people like him when he’s a mix of things, and he’s taking in this feedback and excited to build on it. He’s excited to find out an audience can view him as both badass and gay (and with Dennis)… as a vampire (s)layer, even (of course he takes it to an insane place, because that’s Mac.)

Dee, who has had her personality rejected by the Gang due to their dogpiling of her, is able to discover that she is funny, even situationally so, and her gags are not only encouraged but enjoyed as repeats, she's only dinged by a few due to the fact that she comes off as pathetically sad.

In my reading, this is indeed the writers addressing Dee and Mac criticisms of recent years (S13/14 heavily), and acknowledging their own shortcomings with characterisation there, using the repeat audience members who like their quirky personalities to highlight this in the neutering that occurs in Rehearsal #3:

"Dee never has anything to do ("How come I don't have any lines?"), they cut all her screentime and so she has no role in the Gang. ("How am I supposed to pop with this? I need to be slinging zingers.")" They are showcasing that Dee is a funny character, and having the return audience all sigh disappointingly when she sits down and they don't get the rubber chicken cry is acknowledging Dee as a central, reliant point of the comedy whose expected beats have been missing at times.

"Mac became one dimensional, all he cares about now is being gay/getting Dennis and he's lost every other aspect of his personality that fans loved." 'Badass' Mac make a fantastic showing, to the audience's delight, but the return audience witnessing him clean cut and falling in line, giving in and up to Dennis, results in vocal protest. "Let your boyfriend flip." Mac can be more than one thing at a time, people want to see every aspect of him, regardless of what his current focus is.

Charlie at the end, saying, "Forget it, can we just be us? We're trying to please everybody and that never works, man," is not him telling the Gang to accept that they're going to get a low rating from the audience no matter what, it's him telling them to forget what just happened. Forget the 3. Because the audience's rejection of Dee and Mac in the final Rehearsal wasn't about the audience at all, it was about the characters changing, for no good reason to the deterioration of themselves.

"People either get you or they don't get you, you know what I'm saying?" being met with Dee's very adamant "Yes." is clear enough to me: the audience was getting Dee until her gags were taken away from her; the audience was getting Mac until he was pushed into the role of sit down and shut up to please.

Dee and Mac being able to directly face the audience and see their enjoyment and encouragement of their over-the-top, raw personalities for themselves, has freed them of allowing themselves to be scripted into boxes based on their insecurities. They are free to re-embrace those things (as the writers are doing once more).

(This is obviously Dee/Mac focused, I would love to see someone expand on what I bounce off of with Charlie/Dennis here, if possible)