#“do not backslide jeremy”

[cabesswtaer]

jerejean actually means so much to me like.. they both see things in the other person that they refuse to see in themselves..

[sunshineexy]

i might be hung in town square for this opinion but i think that kevin should not end up w andreil or jerejean. I think that both of those couples are leaning more towards monogamy, and also they're too close to the whole mafia situation.

i especially think that kevjean could never work, even w jeremy there. if jean and kevin have too much history to even play on a team together, a romantic relationship would probably send them into a large backslide, especially with kevin's lack of willingness to move on/find healthier coping mechanisms.

with andreil, i just think that the two of them are more leaning towards monogamy, especially with the description of the two of them in tsc, they're so close and i think that they both could only truly trust (in a romantic way) each other, especially with the way that kevin's role shifts in their relationship as their romantic relationship develops.

this might be my most controversial take but i do think that i could shift towards being ambivalent about kevin and thea to be together. we have barely seen any of thea, but kevin seems to associate her with the nest, which is why i think he doesnt contact her. kevin clearly craves someone to talk to riko about due to the fact that he offers to speak about him to riko after neil's stay in the nest. i think that since thea wasnt as tied up in riko's abuse, but still knew the nest that it could work.

that being said, i do want kevin to end up with someone outside of exy. he needs someone that he can teach about exy, and show him what he is passionate about. once he opens up slowly about the nest this person can help him in a way thats more detached. the only thing that is a stopping point is the little detail of the mafia. becuase of that i do think that it cant be like an everyday person, definitely needs a person that is psu fox-like. like has a tragic background that is NOT related to exy, perhaps a cult survivor because i feel like they would have the best chance to understand, and not judge.

if you disagree/have other thoughts PLEASE send me an ask, i want to see other people's thoughts on this

[rederiss]

Before I get started, I love our whimsy when it comes to Jerejean (especially Jeremy). CLEARLY when Im the prime one making BAMBI memes of him. But I lowkey just want to have a realistic discussion of the kind of character that Jeremy is because realistic discussion are equally as valuable as whimsy imo. (And its also good to have so we aren’t getting too far away from canon)

I genuinely don’t think Jeremy is as… expressive (for lack of better word) as we make him out to be. He is in the sense that he’s very good at emoting empathy for others. We see that when Jeremy hugs Jean and says “Im sorry for what they put you through” to him. We see it when Lucas calls Jeremy to talk about Grayson coming home, he showed empathy very very well. However, when it comes to himself, that boy does not emote well at all. He sheds that side of himself so much that he doesn’t allow others to see just how depressed or wounded he is because he was supposed to be already healed from what happened to him. He disguises himself so much, and the only times we see him crack, we don’t see a flood. We only see a leak.

When he does have to face his own feelings about his own situation, he either dissociates (like when Bryson showed up), goes to smoke (like at the banquet), or has sex (too many examples). That’s the main ways he really allows himself to leak, and he’s not even… emoting himself well. He goes RIGHT back to a smile (albeit, not a large one) and that’s all he does. Hell, even when Lucas offended him, you know what he did? He looked at him with a tight smile and said “When I’m what?” Jeremy Knox is not that soft despite him believing that he is a “soft spine failure.” Jeremy knows how to push back. Hell, I’ll say he knows how to bite back even. He just chooses not to do these things because of his masks. If he backslide there, who knows where else he could backslide. The funny “Maybe Laila isn’t as good with her tongue” line shows that he’s quick witted and pushing back, but he immediately retracts himself because… that was most likely what his old self was like.

DO NOT get me wrong, he is still Bambi! This isn’t me disproving that he isn’t Bambi. Two things can still be true. I really think that the closer he gets with Jean, the more he opens up, the more he will express for himself. But for now, he only expresses for others. (But like, let’s be real here. I don’t see a difference between Bambi and Jeremy looks wise. They are one and the same. Also I will DEF still be making Bambi memes. Just wanted to have a realistic discussion about this as well!!)

[ninyard]

a thought that's been spinning around in my head is what if jeremy did relapse? like what could drive him to that and how he would move forward considering the whole self hatred of "i'd rather die than be that person again" and shame in asking for help bc "ill never forgive you if you backslide"

OKAY so i’ve been sitting on this just thinking about it for a few days and although it’s not a theory that i believe would/will happen, it’s one of the few ideas i can come up with as to what could cause him to backslide

(i do believe him when he says he won’t. but god, for my own selfish reasons, do i want to see him crash out monumentally)

SO

Jeremy’s mom/stepdad stop allowing him to stay over at Laila/Jean’s place because of what happened to Bryson, how dangerous they think it could be, and how dangerous they think Jean is. Everything that has happened has made their control over Jeremy a thousand times worse. It’s torture for him, his final year, commuting to and from the university every single day for practices and that’s it; no parties, no free time, just practice, and classes, and then home. He’s forced into isolation, almost, but he still talks to the guys on video calls, and lies about having practices that don’t exist just so he can see them. But it’s few and far between. For him, mentally, it takes a huge toll. He hasn’t felt depression like this in a long time, if ever, really. It’s not good - He’s stuck with Bryson far more often that he’d like, and the only solace is those few hours a day where he gets to relax with Jean, Cat, Laila, and the few trojans he gets a chance to see outside of practice.

The guys notice this heaviness in him; Laila in particular gets worried to a point where she shows up at his house a handful of times just to make sure he’s okay, but the Wilshire household is a hostile place for her to be, and Jeremy hates her being around them if it at all can be avoided. Even the diplomats daughter excuse fails Mathilde and Warren: Jeremy has to focus on his LSATs, and he can’t afford outside distractions stealing his attention.

Jeremy pushes sitting the exam further out, and further out. He comes up with all the excuses he possibly can until he’s exhausted every single one, and with Bryson’s threats, he fails the first exam he sits. and it makes everything so much worse.

His phone is taken away from him at night, he’s not allowed to go for runs when he’s unaccompanied or without sharing his location the entire time. Everything the same as it’s been, but amplified, so much more suffocating than what’s healthy.

While all this is going on, the Trojans are doing well. They make it through to the Spring championships as expected, and one night Mathilde allows him to stay at Jean’s place, with the condition that he’s home by 10am the next morning. Its supposed to be a night of relief, a well deserved day off, but he cries in his friends arms and tells them that his family is destroying his life, and he doesn’t know why, and he doesn’t know what to do. Laila only looks at him with mild dissatisfaction as he spends most of the night sitting on the balcony, or out the front of the building, with cigarette after cigarette between his lips. They try to come up with a million ways to get him out of there but he knows none of them will work - he’s trapped, and there’s really nothing he can do.

Bryson corners Jeremy again, when he learns that he’s finally taking a resit exam, and tells him he has to fail this one too. Jeremy almost accepts the consequences of not doing what he says, that some planted coke or pills would be far less of a punishment than living in this prison is, but he takes the test, and he fails. It’s only half intentional, too. His mental health is in the gutter, because he’s a social butterfly, and he needs people around him to feel like himself. how can he focus on studying when he’s spending most of his days bored and resisting the temptation of the escape promised to him all those years ago?

The Trojans qualify for the semi finals, and then they qualify for the finals. It’s the Trojans V Penn State, or by another miracle, it’s the Foxes again. The date has been set. It’s a Friday, the same time of year that it usually is. It’s hard to enjoy the well earned chance at victory when he’s spent most of the year just trying to survive that big house with all its empty rooms and ghosts that walk the halls.

Warren has had enough of his failures, of course he has, the silly achievements of college sports irrelevant on his tall ladder of expectation. Jeremy spends a full night being berated, and belittled, called every name under the sun, full of vitriol and hatred for the disappointment of a son who refused the name of success and landed himself in such a position. Twice? He’d slammed Jeremy’s poor results on the table in front of him. Are you stupid, or do you faggots just get off on being embarrassments?

That night he texts his old dealer from high school, but when the response dings into his inbox, Jeremy deletes the message. He can’t. He thinks about Noah, and he thinks about everything riding on his sobriety. He can’t. He can’t do it.

But he wants to, so badly, and after that, he spends every waking second trying to prevent himself from asking again.

A morning or two later, Mathilde neatly sticks a sticky note to the top of the LSAT guides Jeremy has been pretending to study.

“What is that?” he asks, a date and time scribbled in her fancy scrawl across the green paper.

“It’s your exam, because you insist on avoiding it.” She says, turning around to do something else, like this was unimportant and meaningless to her. “I took the liberty of booking it for you. You aren’t going to fail this one.”

Jeremy picks up the piece of paper and stares at it. “I can’t do that date.”

“That’s too bad,” She almost laughs, sickly sweet. “It’s the only one they had this side of the month.”

“No, mom, I can’t do this date.” Jeremy’s head is in his hands already. This can’t be happening, and he doesn’t have the energy to argue anymore. “We’re flying out to Pennsylvania the night before. We play that evening. It’s the finals.”

She shrugs like that meant nothing to her, and Jeremy isn’t stupid enough to be surprised.

“Well,” She puts a hand on his head and endearingly rubs a thumb over his forehead. “You should have thought about that before failing the other two, Jeremy.”

He calls Cat as soon as he manages to pull his head out of the clouds of disbelief. It’s not long before the other two are on the other end of the line begging Jeremy to just leave, and they’ll figure it out later.

But he thinks of his life, that rides on a good relationship with the Wilshire empire, his reputation, and the Wilshire’s ability to ruin any potential recruitments he might have dreamt about in the future. One leaked document and every pro team in the country will know about Jeremy’s past, and his multiple run ins with the law. He thinks of his documents hidden under floorboards he’ll never find or safety deposit boxes he’ll never have access to. For a moment he wishes David Wymack had spent his time coaching a pro team, so maybe then he’d have a chance. He spends all his time agonising, trying to find a way, but everything in his life feels like it’s falling apart. He’s drinking so much coffee that he feels like his heart is going to burst. He’s barely even able to focus on playing anymore. He’s just about failing ceramics, for gods sake, and he’s not sure about most other classes - he has barely attended more than a lecture or two in weeks.

He spends hours, days, begging his mom to understand that this can’t be negotiable, it can’t be. He can’t let the team down at this point. Even Rhemann attempts to talk Mathilde down from her high pedestal, but Warren’s strong hand on her shoulder stops her from backing down. Jeremy’s dad stops answering his calls, not interested in being interrupted in the middle of the night to listen to the son he never cared about’s woes.

So the night before the championship finals comes, and Jeremy texts his teammates to have a safe flight, and he calls his dealer. They can’t meet anywhere suspicious, so he asks him to join him on the route he’s forced to run on. He knows his mom watches his every move when he leaves the house for even a second these days - he can’t stay still for too long either.

It’s not long later before he’s running home, with too much cocaine in his pocket, too many tears running down his face at what a disappointment he’d become. Noah would hate him for this; To be let down again, a promise broken, again, looking down from heaven at enough white powder to trigger a heart attack beforeJeremy even gets the chance to sit the exam.

He doesn’t take any of it that night; he knows he can’t fail again. The temptation is incredible, though, and it’s a very difficult thing to resist. He settles for some adderall he stole from Bryson’s room, and crams as much as his frazzled mind can take it.

He cries as much as he studies, every now and again just looking at the clear baggie that he hid in his wallet, heart racing every time he remembers that rush, that feeling.

The exam goes about as well as he expected, but he manages to find an hour somewhere afterwards before he’s expected to be home. he turns his phone and location off, and finds the nearest booty call to him in his contact list.

The coke goes down much easier than he was expecting it to, as if being out of practice would have made it different, but by the time his pupils are tiny and his heart is pumping, he’s at the front door of a bad idea. He doesn’t even feel able to question himself, unable to spend a half a second in his body to remember how much he’s destroying his life all over again, in that moment, because his brain and body are in seperate places. He doesn’t remember driving home, if his hookup kinda drove his car and got a cab back, or if he’d drove high out of his mind for the tedious 45 minutes that it takes. He hoped it was the former, but knew it was the latter. He just hoped he hadn’t caused an accident somewhere on the way.

His mom doesn’t stop him to ask how it went before he’s shutting his bedroom door behind him. He has a few hours to kill before the game, so he spends his time wisely between putting his nose in the bag, or smoking out of his bedroom window like a teenager afraid to be caught. By the time the game starts his paranoia has set in, an old and unwelcoming friend, and he hides his cigarettes deep in his closet for fear the tabloids would leak a photo of him smoking 10 cigarettes in an hour.

He cries when Jean takes to the court. He almost snaps his phone in half when Cat gets injured. When Derrick steps back from a fight, when Cody calls a timeout for an injury, all he feels is this hollow, empty pit in his stomach. When the Trojans lose, he can’t keep it in, and he feels his world start to crumble.

He wonders if this is how Noah felt before he made that decision to jump. He wonders if he’s high enough off the ground for it to work.

Laila calls him an hour or two later, and her face drops at the sight of Jeremy. When she asks him to hold the phone up to his eyes he smiles, an empty smile, obliging before she starts to cry. She hangs up, not out of anger, or rage at his decision to relapse, but sheer heartbreak at seeing him in such a state, alone, alone, alone, not able to do a single thing to stop it.

Cat calls him back minutes later, and he doesn’t feel heartened by how her voice cracks when she asks him what he’s taken. He’s angry, he thinks, a ball in his stomach and a voice in his head saying, “how dare they make this about them?”

She tells him to call his sponsor. She begs him to think this through. She knows she lost him when he’s half lucid and forgets he’s on a video call, dipping his head down to his bedside locker to snort a line he’d lay out earlier.

There’s an ending here, somewhere, a happy one, maybe, a complete one more likely. He said it himself; he can’t live with himself if he gets high again. He’d rather die than feel like that again. So maybe that’s just how it goes.

[zombiecowboy65]

i have a really really strong feeling that jeremy’s going to relapse in tsc 3. At first I just thought he would have some kind of mental breakdown but when Jean said “do not backslide i will not forgive you” during the cocaine conversation it feels oddly ominous to me. Maybe Jeremy will have something to do with drugs again in book 3, but I do not think it’ll just be him doing drugs again cause that’s kind of boring and ooc? I’ve thought of multiple scenarios for this and my favorite one is him being tempted to take drugs again bc things get really fucking bad with his family, but stopped himself bc he remembered what jean said. Then booooom here comes Bryson with an obsessive violent tendency physically forcing drugs on him out of pure hatred and madness. It doesn’t make much sense but I’d like to imagine Jeremy suffering i’m sorry. Might write this thing out tho.

Anon I too have a really strong feeling he’s going to relapse/come very very close to it. I’m leaning more toward the latter considering the page count and narrative don’t seem like they’d allow for that big/ that kind of an arc? But with Nora one never knows.

PLUS I too like to see Jeremy Knox suffer. I am personally drafting a fic where he crashes his car 🥸 in parallel to Bryson , because I’m a slut for parallels. But I very much am begging u to write this out. Pretty please with a cherry on top.

Because I do think something has to happen to this man. I am standing and dying on this hill. There is too much emphasis on Bryson being violent , and too much pressure in the wilshire house for something not to happen. Plus Jean’s been thru like hell and back, and ppl keep showing up to physically brawl with the guy. Jeremy’s long overdue I fear

(But also because I think Jeremy and Jean’s positions need to keep flipping before we get on even ground. Like we started TSC where Jeremy had the high ground and was hauling Jean up, then in this book they were almost on even ground but Jean was climbing and Jeremy was slipping. So my guess for TSC 3 is Jeremy slips further and Jean hauls him up. In like, a reversal of TSC. Delicious to me personally)

[talas-first-lady]

Additional Wynonna Earp Vengeance thoughts

This is going to be all the spoilers. You have been warned.

First of all, things that brought me a lot of joy:

The first scene up until things went bad. Nedley. Mercedes. Being buddies. Everything Mercedes was wearing including her monogrammed fanny pack of fishing lures.

Mercedes being like “the face. Kill me if you must but do not harm the face.” And hey, props to Mina for listening?

Bunny Loblaw cameo. The woman just gets better every time.

Any and all Wayhaught physical activity.

The entire Wynonna and Doc intro in Tombstone. That was just pure 100% Wynonna perfection.

“No we will NOT be redoing those stairs. They are very important to me for reasons.” - Nicole Haught

Every comment from Wynonna about how drunken brawling is actually precisely what Mercedes would have wanted at her wake (although I think Mercedes would have wanted more male strippers tbh).

I am typing this as I walk my dogs and we just passed a gold penis-shaped piece of confetti on the sidewalk outside a bar. Mercedes Gardner: never truly gone.

There was some quality Earp sister time that I did enjoy although it was slightly off (see Waverly discussion).

I am very much not up on current music so I didn’t get 100% of the references but Doc talking to Waverly about Megan Thee Stallion is what I came for.

Wistful comment about friend from Arizona. Thank you, Doc. Sorry your new bf was a tool.

The conversation between Wynonna and Nedley at the cemetery was perfect and should have happened years ago.

The fact that no one for a moment doubted that the three people Wynonna loves most are Waverly, Alice… and Nicole. I will be a Wynnaught shipper till the day I die.

Wynonna going to hell was pretty badass.

Nedley hitting hellhounds with his truck.

No pyramid schemes!

Now for the complaints.

At no point did they convince me that Mina was actually worse than all the demons they’ve faced before. Really? Sure, she doesn’t follow Revenant rules, but they’ve dealt with Bulshar. She does not remotely compare.

I also didn’t really buy the backstory stuff: Wynonna trying to impress a bunch of mean girls by summoning a demon for them? Taking them to the homestead at all? None of that felt true to her. I also don’t know why the group home girls were just suddenly back in Purgatory. (Also Dawson’s Freaks is the STUPIDEST.)

I think maybe Mina would have worked with a full season of build-up, but this was just not enough time.

I’m really pissed off about Mercedes surviving everything just to be murdered as a plot device. I love her, ok? She deserves better.

I am less pissed about Doc because I think they handled it decently - one last epic shootout, burying him in the spot where he wanted to raise Alice, the symmetry with burying Dolls (on the same hill, I think?), letting him come to terms with aging and dying. But it was so unnecessary. And so rushed: we never got to see anyone’s reaction but Wynonna’s (and Jeremy’s wildly out of character non-reaction). He was such an important character and we never got to say goodbye properly.

Not enough Jeremy.

Nicole’s attitude towards Wynonna up until that big don’t tell Waverly moment just made me so sad. I love their dynamic. I don’t know what happened.

In general, it felt like Nicole majorly backslid.

Biggest problem, though: Waverly. And I’m going to be upfront here and say that I was never as enamored with Waverly as a lot of people are. But I did like her and this didn’t feel like Waverly.

I think it’s fantastic that Dom has come out and become more comfortable in their skin and that they didn’t force them back in the girly Waverly box for this.

But I think they changed too much. Physically, the hair, the nose ring, the tattoos, the wardrobe choices (the wifebeater? The bolo tie?). But there was also her behavior. Jumping into a bar fight aggressively after relatively minor provocation was a lot. There was nothing of the light, bubbly Waverly left aside from a craft room. It just felt like part of her died. Like something happened over those 5 years that traumatized her worse than the stuff we actually witnessed. And Nicole being so unconcerned about it.

Anyway, that’s most of it?

[thebluebygracieabrams]

if you need me im not available I'm still thinking about 'do not backslide, jeremy. i will not forgive you.'

[andreal831]

Who do you prefer between Damon and Klaus?

Without the Originals, it would be harder to say, but I do prefer Klaus because of The Originals. I actually like aspects of Klaus' character whereas Damon is my least favorite character.

I've talked about how I distinguish characters in TVD in my head. We all do it differently, but for me the intent and motivation really matters. We are dealing with a show where every single character has killed at least once so we can't operate on the same standards we have in real life. They all kill, but different characters kill for different reasons which is how I distinguish the "good" v "bad."

The fandom loves to talk about how Klaus and Damon have these complex character arcs, but in the Vampire Diaries they were essentially the same character:

Childhood trauma + heartbreak = complex character

Klaus only pulls ahead in TO because we start seeing him actually wanting to be a better person. While Damon, to me, didn't care to be a better person. He just wanted Elena to like him. But when he realized Elena would forgive him for basically anything, he had no desire to be a good person. We see him kill Tyler and Aaron and even kidnap Jeremy when he isn't concerned about Elena's approval. There's never actually lasting improvement because he personally does not care to be a better person. He kills because he enjoys it. He sexually assaults and rapes because he doesn't care about other people. He never grows to care for humanity as a whole.

Klaus didn't just want to be a better person to earn Hope's love, but because he finally understood how precious life really was. He wanted to be a person Hope would be proud of and could emulate, but it wasn't just Hope, it was Hayley, Cami, Marcel, his siblings, etc. He actually begins to feel his humanity again. Now we do see a backslide in season 5 of TO and Klaus loses years of character development. But at least we saw a glimpse of the person Klaus had the ability to be.

We just don't see that with Damon. For Damon, things have to be absolutely perfect, otherwise he will find a way to destroy it all. I mentioned in my post about Bamon, but Damon can only show growth in a vacuum where nothing can tip him to be bad. Klaus on the other hand was constantly operating under intense pressure and, while 99% of the time made selfish decisions, we began to see him hesitating. Like when he doesn't want to sacrifice Davina even if it means he and Hayley will die (although if they had switched roles, sorry but Klaus was also sacrificing Davina to save Elijah and Hayley). But that hesitation shows growth from Season 1 where he was trying to sacrifice Davina every five minutes.

I don't think Klaus had one of the best character developments that has ever existed. In fact, I've often said that his development is very slight. But it is still more than Damon.

Also how Klaus treats Cami is infinitely better than how Damon treated Elena. Klaus was awful to Cami in Season 1 but we saw remorse and he worked to earn Cami's forgiveness. While Damon never once apologized for anything he did to Elena.

I can enjoy Damon's quips but at the end of the day I just didn't enjoy the character. There wasn't anything to redeemable in him. He is my least favorite in TVD. Whereas Klaus is not my least favorite in TO. There's something about that glimpse of humanity we see in him that makes me give him another chance. But then again, I've always said I relate to Elijah, even in his toxic traits.

Thanks for the ask!

[tumblingxelian]

One last thing promise: My general hang-up with this... Chloe stan culture is that I never felt like anyone from Thomas Astruc or Jeremy Zag (lets not single out any one person in a multi-company production) hated Chloe since, well, they'd let her turn herself around rather than backslide.

Rather they had Season 3 show Chloe backsliding fairly organically with Hawk Moth's gift of gab and Mayura's assistance in manipulation. While she's not all bad like getting others away from the Akuma in StarTrain, she still has a self-aggradizing slant to it. Not all good but not all noble either. It's a sort of complication I like.

Furthermore, I always felt a secondary motive for Ladybug shying away from Chloe was her insistence of jumping into the fray with a desire more for glory than doing good for goodness sake. Like most who stay holders are patient with how the Miraculous outside the healing Ladybug and supporting Cat are enough for most battles. They often wait until they are needed.

It is an exploration of, say, what if the rich mean girl felt that doing better wasn't worth it? I feel like that's a very human take on how some people might try to turn themselves around but find taking the long walk to getting others trust to wear very thin.

Only reason Season 4 gets loosey-goosey with the secret identity rule post-Miracle Queen is due to how becoming Guardian affects Marinette's mental health and forces her to face that she needs the help. Shadow Moth knowing them is a risk but reassigning them so suddenly would be a whole other headache. It does result in a subplot of Chat Noir's fraying trust in her so it hardly goes without any consquences.

I... hope that comes together. If these asks are piling up, you can tell me to stop.

I generally try to stay away from social media related discourse. But given Thomas Astruc said this:

About Chloe, and given this is just her mother:

IE, the woman who tried to kill her on sight & eventually did kill her, let alone what I said about Andre here. I really don't trust his opinion on her character.

What's more, Chloe is a character not a person, "they'd let her turn herself around rather than backslide" so she backslid because she was written to backslide. Because she was explicitly targeted, harassed, manipulated and ultimately threatened by the villains right after Ladybug went back on her own word her for selfish reasons.

I'm not really bothered if Chloe's a bit boastful, it makes her more interesting and dynamic than bland good kid. & given Chloe's penchant to take action was initially framed as a positive when recruiting her and almost let them capture Hawk Moth & Mayura, I can't see it as a bad trait that she doesn't just stand around awaiting instructions. Marinette frankly needs more team members with agency.

As said elsewhere, the narrative didn't feel like it was exploring that to me at all. Nor did it feel like it was acknowledging her efforts to change, or overall grappling with the topic in a way that showed a consistent or coherent message. Some episodes did, others very much did not.

I didn't watch S4 so I won't comment.

I think this was the last ask on this topic, I apologize if this last one came off as sharp its quite late here.

[jordiipordii]

Yes. But my problem. OMFG MY PROBLEM— is Bryson planting it and somehow things get so badly messed up that JEAN thinks Jeremy backslid. Because he told Jeremy do NOT because I will NOT forgive you

I’m so scared of that I almost can’t stand it.

jeremy, baby doll, sweet summer child— I need you to start sharing your personal plights with your friends. please. you’re digging the hole so much deeper for yourself. please tell jean that bryson threatened to plant “evidence” in your room if you didn’t fail the lsat. please tell laila and cat that your asshole stepfather has threatened to kick you out. I know you’re mr. “it’s ok, I’m ok, everything is ok” but please—

[tomwambsmilk]

Okay I’ve thought about it some more and I think I actually do have exactly one (1) criticism of the finale but it’s not really an artistic critique so much as a worldview one. Both Jeremy Strong and Jesse Armstrong have talked about the fundamental bleakness of the show, and Jesse’s worldview that people simply don’t change, and I think that the ending of the show (particularly the last 5 minutes) has been written and cut to drive this home. I think that’s a really valid artistic vision, I think it’s executed well, and I think it’s not out-of-step with the world of Succession and it’s characters.

But, on a fundamental worldview level…. I disagree.

I agree that many people don’t change, even if given the opportunities to. Change is long and slow and painful, and you can try your whole life and still never fully escape the patterns and habits and worldviews you were raised in. But I don’t agree that there is no hope of change. I believe pretty firmly that people can always try, and they can even make progress, and they might backslide but that what progress they make is still worthwhile.

And because of that, I believe that the ending of Succession does, objectively speaking, have little glimmers of hope in among the bleakness. There is hope for Kendall in him not being CEO, and there is hope for Roman in him not being with Waystar, and there’s both tragedy and hope in that final shot of Tom and Shiv, in them holding hands but not. What is the hope for? I think that’s open-ended. I don’t think it’s any one thing. But I think there really is hope in the fact that they’ve all found themselves back at the beginning. The tragedy, of course, is all they’ve suffered for apparently nothing, in the lack of progress they’ve supposedly made. And yet, in that ‘reset’, in that return to the status quo, as awful as it is… I think there’s hope for the characters. There’s possibility. They very well may not take it. But it’s still there, even if the show itself refuses to acknowledge it.

…. And I think it’s maybe a tiny bit disingenuous not to acknowledge it, actually. In part because the only people who don’t get a bittersweet ending, whose ending feels purely bleak, is the three siblings. And also because, as bleak as Jesse’s worldview may be, the show has always featured some hope, some silver lining, even in its bleakest moments. The siblings fail to go up against Logan but they're finally united in 3.09. In 2.10 Shiv is forced to make a horrible choice which ultimately results in Ken pushing back on Logan. Even in 1.10, the horror of Kendall killing Dodds is tempered by the wide shot of the dance floor to 'Somebody Who Loves Me.' The show has always said that yes, these are bad people, yes, they make bad choices, yes, they harm each other immensely. And yet! And yet there's still something there, some glimmer of love, and the fact that glimmer exists provides some form of hope that maybe they can find their way back to it. Probably, they won't. But they could if they wanted to.

So the choice to end Succession on a series of shots which convey such bleakness and misery, without any glimmers of real hope to offset that, just doesn't sit right with me. But a lot of that is subjective; there's a whole other camp, likely including Jesse Armstrong, that would have found it disingenuous to include those glimmers of hope, because their worldview is fundamentally different than mine. I can't really argue with that. All I can say is that its a choice which simply doesn't work for me.

[an-sceal]

Fanfic ask game Doubt of the Benefit questions 13 and 5 please

Oh! Yay!

13: What music did you listen to, if any, to get in the mood for writing this story? Or if you didn’t listen to anything, what do you think readers should listen to to accompany us while reading?

I have a playlist for almost everything I write that takes more than a few days. So it's weird that I -don't- have one for this story, but I can tell you I was listening to the following songs a lot:

Angel of 8th Ave. - Gang of Youths (I think this one in particular relates to the stories where Johnny interacts heavily with women- Ali and Amanda's stories.

Girls Talk - Garbage ft. Brody Dallas (I dunno, the ANGER, I think.)

Ghost - Jeremy Messersmith

Backslide - The Naked and Famous My sun-dried baby, permanently limp Quiet restraint takes such accomplishment This airtight framing crutch analogy Quiet restraint takes all the best in me

5: What part was hardest to write?

I think the parts that hit me hardest were the scene with Miguel, because it's the first person Johnny tells in any way who he cares about NOW. With Kreese, he wanted to know about the past, if he'd mattered then, but Miguel was him acknowledging to someone in his life in the present. And his brief thought that comes back in force later in the series, that maybe he's unintentionally groomed Miguel, is something that struck a chord with me and I went further with it later.

And then his scene with Amanda, where someone who has all the pieces and also an adult basis to deal with them hears him and offers the first direct comfort. That kinda made me sniffle a little while I was writing it.

Thanks for asking!

[mmikmmik2]

First impressions of episodes nine and ten under the readmore

The Castle Car

OHHHHHHH

I loved...... the backstory with Jeremy.........

laksdjalkfadsj Amelia taking over the car completely offscreen while Min-Gi and Ryan are like WHAT IS HAPPENING!!!

Okay this established something I'd been thinking about for a while - Amelia seemed a /lot/ more benevolent at this point, which makes sense! I think it took a long, long time and a lot of little falls for Amelia to sink to the depths of The Ball Pit Car and The Engine. I mean even in S1, it took her a while to work up to "fuck it, I'm just going to murder this child". Back when she first took over the train, she /was/ thinking about other passengers, she /was/ thinking about how her actions would affect them and at least /trying/ to take steps for their benefit. The Amelia we met in S1 would not have bothered sending the Steward out to give even a half-assed explanation, nor cared about removing the boots.

Ryan clearly projecting himself onto Kez during the "you don't think and then you just fly away from the consequences", and... I think... it seemed like Min was also projecting Ryan onto Kez at the end there when he was telling her that he knows she tries and that he thinks she's basically good? Hm.

Kudos to people who predicted that this season would have themes of societal pressure and bigotry, personally I do think that was a big running thread of subtext this season. Morgan made a comment along the lines of like, "you can stay here and not deal with all the crap that sent you to the train in the first place", iirc. And like I said - Amelia taking over the train during Min-Gi and Ryan's story /does/ kind of deprive them of agency, but loss of agency does seem to be a theme this season. Ryan's reaction to Amelia showing up via the Steward basically seemed like him just losing it that bullshit keeps happening to them that they can't predict or control and that he doesn't know how to go forward.

Leaving and being left behind still huge themes this season

Keeeeeeeeez ;_;

God Morgan is actually really interesting though - Jeremy's journal said that there were lots of passengers at his first anniversary party but none afterwards? And Kez said it felt like the passengers leaving was getting to Morgan over time? So to me that kind of implies that like... Morgan has given up on wanting to help passengers, /but she actually used to be really good at it?/ I mean there were multiple people with her and she was getting them out? She kind of embodies the strengths of the train, as a weird out-of-context place where people can get some space from their lives and take time to /just/ work on their problems, but in a situation where they're safe and comfortable and not afraid of death

OKAY LAST EPISODE

The Train to Nowhere

Hmmmmmm. A lot about this episode felt really, really good and I liked it, but I think this season is one I need to think more about. Part of that is a genuinely good thing imo - the writers went out on a limb making Ryan and Min-Gi's arcs so convoluted and nonlinear, and I think it was a good choice. And the most important moments - and again this I would characterize as a deliberate storytelling choice and one I liked - weren't dramatic confrontations, it was times the characters just sat down and talked to each other.

Because of that last point up there, I like that Kez's pursuers ended up being like... kind of dumb and pointless? Honestly, I thought the dialogue in that scene ended up being clunky, which really bothered me. The execution could have been a lot better imo. But the themes of like, "you don't have to fight, but you do have to stop and think and deal with the consequences of your actions" worked for this season.

Season three still stands head and shoulders above as the best season imo but I gotta think about where I'd rank season four compared to the first two... but even if I land on thinking it wasn't as good as/liking it less than seasons one and two, it was still a great season. I loved it!

I really like that Ryan confessed he tried to leave Min-Gi behind and Min-Gi accepted it and didn't turn it into a fight. It's like I was talking about earlier, where all those big progress moments have to be built up to by a lot of little moments where characters practice healthier behavior and are working hard to internalize important lessons. The guys had to practice forgiving each other and not assuming the worst of each other, and building trust that even when they each backslide or hurt each other, they're still going to be there for each other. And that practice paid off here.

I think Ryan and Min-Gi's ages are important... they're still /extremely/ young, but they are adults. And they're like. moving into this age where how they relate to each other, and whether or not they're in each other's lives, is entirely dependent on their own choices - they can't just coast on seeing each other because their families are neighbors and they go to the same school. If they let themselves think "this is unforgivable" or "I can't fix this", then that is going to be true. If they think "okay, let's work on this together", and genuinely mean it, and trust that the other person means it too, then there's very little they can't fix. I think a lot of what we're seeing in episode ten is them successfully transitioning into that new stage of their relationship. Kez struck me as awfully young in this episode... there's no point to trying to assign a human age to a living concierge bell, but it's like she's prepping to enter that phase of life that Ryan and Min-Gi are now fully within.

also thinking Kez seeming "young" is a consequence of Kez seeming to be like. literally created to be the Comedy Relief Funney Bell who clowns around. the court jester to Morgan's castle. whoops she had too much character development!

ahhhhhhhh I did like that ending though... Chicken Choice Judy plays again... I love them

"Train to nowhere" is... a good ending to the series... god I wish it didn't have to end...

[zombiecowboy65]

Am I the only one who thinks Bryson is def gonna plant some kind of “substance” in Jeremy’s room and that’s gonna lead to a whole thing? I’m so worried about it like fr

Oh I def think something has to happen concerning drugs. Whether Jeremy crashes his car and gets put on painkillers, or Bryson makes good on his threat and plants them in his room…something. Especially after “do not ever backslide, I will not forgive u”. The angst is gonna eat. It’s gonna hurt so bad . I raise u tho. Will Jean believe that he’s innocent (“you are you, I believe you.”) or will he believe the worst?

(Also, In my personal opinion I don’t think Jeremy will relapse, but I think he’ll come very very close)

[aion-rsa]

Emmy Awards 2020 Predictions and Analysis

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After several years of, let’s say, improved taste, the Emmy Awards backslid a bit last year. Sure, it was nice to see Fleabag get the recognition it deserved. But that recognition came along with a Game of Thrones final season onslaught that nobody asked for.

With Thrones firmly in the rearview, the 2020 Emmy Awards have a chance to welcome in some new blood. And with an eclectic list of first-time nominees like The Mandalorian, The Morning Show, and Watchmen they may be able to do just that! Below you can find all the major categories that will be announced during the 2020 Emmy Award ceremony at 8 p.m. ET on Sept. 20 on ABC. We have indicated what shows we think will win in bold and what shows should win in italics. 

Outstanding Drama Series

Better Call Saul

The Crown

The Handmaid’s Tale

Killing Eve

The Mandalorian

Ozark

Stranger Things

Succession

Who Will Win: The Emmy Awards have a preoccupation with HBO dramas and who could blame them? For the better part of 30 years, HBO has been the go-to spot for brilliant television drama. That preoccupation went too far last year though with the choice of the questionable final season of Game of Thrones. Thankfully, this year’s HBO choice won’t be nearly as onerous. Succession season 2 is a superb year of television.

Who Should Win: Though Succession is a wonderful TV series and a fine choice for Outstanding Drama, the real winner here should be Better Call Saul. Vince Gilligan’s Breaking Bad prequel just gets better with age and arguably reached its apex with its fifth season. 

Outstanding Comedy Series 

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Dead to Me

Insecure

Schitt’s Creek

The Good Place

The Kominsky Method

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

What We Do in the Shadows

Who Will Win: The Emmys have largely ignored Schitt’s Creek’s existence up to this point but could no longer do so in its final season. The little Canadian show that could took in an impressive 16 nominations – the most for any comedy in its final season. And the Emmys didn’t hand out all those nominations just to leave the show hanging at the podium. Schitt’s Creek will win big throughout the night, including taking home Outstanding Comedy Series

Who Should Win: We have no complaints with Schitt’s Creek winning Outstanding Comedy Series to honor its contributions to television and comedy for the past six years. But for the purposes of choosing 2020’s best comedy, What We Do in the Shadows has to be it. Shadows was at its absolute best in season 2, a year that contained zombies, witches, and one Jackie Daytona, normal human bartender. 

Outstanding Limited Series

Little Fires Everywhere

Mrs. America

Unbelievable

Unorthodox

Watchmen

Who Will Win: Watchmen will win. Obviously.

Who Should Win: Unbelievable is a remarkable piece of work. Mrs. America more than lives up to its potential. But let’s not overthink this one – Watchmen was arguably the best thing on television this past year and will likely be remembered for years to come. It’s the only choice here.

Outstanding Television Movie

American Son

Bad Education

Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings: These Old Bones

El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. The Reverend

Who Will Win: The Emmys always like to honor big name film actors like Hugh Jackman when they can. This time they get to do so and select the best TV movie of the year to boot.

Who Should Win: Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings is great but not really a TV Movie and slipped in here as a technicality. The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt interactive special was wonderfully executed. But Bad Education is as deserving as any. 

Outstanding Reality/Competition Program

The Masked Singer

Nailed It!

RuPaul’s Drag Race

Top Chef

The Voice

Who Will Win: RuPaul’s Drag Race has won this honor for the past two years and there’s no reason to believe it can’t be victorious again. 

Who Should Win: It would be nice to see Netflix’s charming Nailed It! take home the top prize. And though The Masked Singer is certainly a corny endeavor, one cannot argue that the show hasn’t executed its concept perfectly. 

Outstanding Variety/Talk Series

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah

Full Frontal with Samantha Bee

Jimmy Kimmel Live

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Who Will Win: At this point, for as long as Last Week Tonight with John Oliver is on television, there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be expected to take home the Outstanding Variety/Talk Series trophy. 

Who Should Win: And there’s a reason for Last Week Tonight’s dominance. The category has gotten weaker in recent years with many talk shows understandably working on expanding their respective brands into the digital space. Last Week Tonight does the most research, has the best writing staff, and the most appealing host. It’s the best show of its kind on television and will likely continue to be so for quite awhile. 

Outstanding Animated Program

Big Mouth

Bob’s Burgers

BoJack Horseman

Rick and Morty

The Simpsons

Who Will Win: The Emmys do enjoy honoring series in their last season. The fact that BoJack Horseman’s last season was truly superb is just icing on the cake. 

Who Should Win: Rick and Morty’s creative demise is not as steep as some cultural commentators would have you believe. It would be a decent choice here. As would the relentless charming Bob’s Burgers, which just keeps getting better. But BoJack Horseman deserves this trophy for a pitch-perfect final season that brilliantly blends the series comedic and dramatic impulses. 

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series

Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show

Olivia Colman, The Crown

Jodie Comer, Killing Eve

Laura Linney, Ozark 

Sandra Oh, Killing Eve

Zendaya, Euphoria

Who Will Win: At first glance, Aniston seems like a solid possibility for her work on The Morning Show. She has the biggest name recognition and the world’s most valuable company marshaling its resources behind her. But something tells us that Olivia Colman is the surer bet. The Emmys have always been fond of The Crown. And after Colman took home an Oscar for The Favourite, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences might be eager to remind folks what medium Colman is best known for. 

Who Should Win: Anyone would be a fine choice here, really. We will go with Zendaya for the degree of humanity she brought to a truly difficult role. 

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

Jason Bateman, Ozark 

Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us

Steve Carell, The Morning Show 

Brian Cox, Succession

Billy Porter, Pose

Jeremy Strong, Succession

Who Will Win: Billy Porter was a pleasant surprise last year but this time around the Emmys likely won’t be able to resist the allure of Succession. Either Brian Cox or Jeremy Strong are extremely likely to win this. We will guess Cox as his Golden Globe win is likely fresh in voters’ minds. 

Who Should Win: Being the lead on a prestige HBO drama often means getting to play with a pretty showy role. Jeremy Strong’s beaten down Kendall Roy is anything but showy and that just makes the actor’s performance all the more impressive. The consequences of a lifetime of outrageous wealth and outrageous paternal neglect play out mostly between Strong’s ears in a superb, subtle performance. 

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

Christina Applegate, Dead to Me

Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Linda Cardellini, Dead to Me

Catherine O’Hara, Schitt’s Creek 

Issa Rae, Insecure

Tracee Ellis Ross, Black-ish

Who Will Win: It’s likely to be a big night for Schitt’s Creek but even if it isn’t, all involved can be pretty certain that they’re taking home at least this award. Catherine O’Hara is Schitt’s Creeks MVP and here she becomes the show’s Emmy firewall. 

Who Should Win: O’Hara absolutely should win for her consistently larger-than-life performance. It’s a shame we won’t be able to honor Issa Rae with a statue this year though. 

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

Anthony Anderson, Black-ish 

Don Cheadle, Black Monday 

Ted Danson, The Good Place 

Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Method

Eugene Levy, Schitt’s Creek 

Ramy Youssef, Ramy

Who Will Win: Look, we’re just betting big on Schitt’s Creek around these parts. Comedy all-timer Levy has won an Emmy for writing but never for performance and that seems bound to change this year. 

Who Should Win: We have absolutely no problem with Levy getting his first acting Emmy. But Ted Danson would be the slightly better pick this time around. His performance as Michael on The Good Place is one of TV’s most human creations…despite Michael being a demon.

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series/TV Movie

Cate Blanchett, Mrs. America

Shira Haas, Unorthodox

Regina King, Watchmen

Octavia Spencer, Self Made

Kerry Washington, Little Fires Everywhere

Who Will Win: Lock this one in. Empty out your savings and 401k and take it all to the betting markets. 

Who Should Win: Duh.

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series/TV Movie

Jeremy Irons, Watchmen

Hugh Jackman, Bad Education

Paul Mescal, Normal People

Jeremy Pope, Hollywood

Mark Ruffalo, I Know This Much Is True

Who Will Win: It’s tempting to make fun of the Emmys preoccupation with big name film talent as a reason for giving Mark Ruffalo this award. In fact, this award in recent years has been all but reserved for film stars “slumming it” on television. But the truth is that Ruffalo gives a spectacular performance in I Know This Much is True and is certainly worthy of recognition.

Who Should Win: Also worthy of recognition in Paul Mescal for his warm, human performance on Normal People.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Laura Dern, Big Little Lies

Meryl Streep, Big Little Lies

Fiona Shaw, Killing Eve

Julia Garner, Ozark

Sarah Snook, Succession

Helena Bonham Carter, The Crown

Samira Wiley, The Handmaid’s Tale

Thandie Newton, Westworld

Who Will Win: Julia Garner won this award last year and has done nothing to lose it since. But if Succession is destined for a big night, Sarah Snook is likely to be a part of it.

Who Should Win: Snook should win anyway for her performance this year. Until Kendall pulls off his major finale maneuver, Snook’s Shiv is undoubtedly the character who grows the most in Succession’s second season. 

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Giancarlo Esposito, Better Call Saul

Nicholas Braun, Succession

Kieran Culkin, Succession

Matthew Macfadyen, Succession

Bradley Whitford, The Handmaid’s Tale

Billy Crudup, The Morning Show

Mark Duplass, The Morning Show

Jeffrey Wright, Westworld

Who Will Win: Look, Succession is really good. And Kieran Culkin gets to play one of the show’s flashier characters. 

Who Should Win: Culkin’s castmate Matthew Macfadyen deserves consideration here but in the end it’s hard to justify anyone other than Kieran winning. 

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Betty Gilpin, GLOW

Yvonne Orji, Insecure

Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live

Cecily Strong, Saturday Night Live

Annie Murphy, Schitt’s Creek

D’Arcy Carden, The Good Place

Alex Borstein, the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel 

Marin Hinkle, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Who Will Win: This might be the hardest award to predict of the night. Though Borstein and Hinkle are wonderful, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel feels like a bit of an afterthought this year. And who knows if Schitt’s Creek’s big run will make it all the way down to the supporting category. Gilpin and Orji are very intriguing but in the absence of a sure thing, this feels like a year in which the Emmys could return to McKinnon. 

Who Should Win: It’s hard to think of someone in the TV landscape more deserving of an Emmy than D’Arcy Carden for her work on The Good Place. The actress has taken a Siri-like digital assistant of the afterlife and transformed it (not a girl) into a full-fledged character. 

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Mahershala Ali, Ramy

Kenan Thompson, Saturday Night Live

Dan Levy, Schitt’s Creek

William Jackson Harper, The Good Place

Alan Arkin, The Kominksy Method

Sterling K. Brown, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Tony Shalhoub, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Who Will Win: This is a particularly stacked category that is hard to pick. And when that happens at the Emmys, a good rule of thumb is to go with recency bias – who has won the most awards recently? Multiple Oscar award-winner Mahershala Ali fits the bill here but Shalhoub and Arkin are also appealing in that regard. Levy could ride the Schitt’s Creek wave as well.

Who Should Win: It’s quite frankly asinine that Andre Braugher has not won an Emmy yet for his nuanced, yet still utterly hilarious performance as Captain Raymond Holt on Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Portrayals of police officers are particularly fraught this year but Braugher deserves some recognition all the same.

Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series

Gordon Smith – Better Call Saul “Bagman”

Thomas Schnauz – Better Call Saul “Bad Choice Road”

Chris Mundy – Ozark “All In”

John Shiban – Ozark “Boss Fight”

Miki Johnson – Ozark “Fire Pink”

Jesse Armstong – Succession “This is Not for Tears”

Peter Morgan – The Crown “Aberfan”

Who Will Win: This is a strong category. Sometimes writing awards can be seen as a consolation prize for excellent series that can’t otherwise pick up the biggest honor of the night. Should that formula hold true, one of the two Better Call Saul entries has a shot, but the allure of Succession will likely prove too strong this year.

Who Should Win: Both Better Call Saul options are worthy of an Emmy. But the writing of season 5’s penultimate episode “Bad Choice Road” is brilliant and absolutely teeming with tension.

Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series

Daniel Levy – Schitt’s Creek “Happy Ending”

David West Read – Schitt’s Creek “The Presidential Suite”

Michael Schur – The Good Place “Whenever You’re Ready”

Tony McNamara – The Great “The Great”

Sam Johnson and Chris Marcil – What We Do in the Shadows “Collaboration”

Paul Simms – What We Do in the Shadows “Ghosts”

Stefani Robinson – What We Do in the Shadows “On the Run”

Who Will Win: “Happy Ending” is the platonic ideal of a comedy series finale. It’s perfectly executed with callbacks, humor, and heart. The Emmys will be happy to award it. 

Who Should Win: “Happy Ending” is a superb choice but any half hour of television that features Matt Berry living a life as a bartender in Pennsylvania just cannot be allowed to lose. Justice for Jackie Daytona!

Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series or Special

Tanya Barfield – Mrs. America “Shirley”

Sally Rooney and Alice Birch – Normal People “Episode 3”

Susannah Grant, Michael Chabon, and Ayelet Wadman – Unbelievable “Episode 1”

Anna Winger – Unorthodox “Episode 1”

Damon Linelof and Cord Jefferson – Watchmen “This Extraordinary Being”

Who Will Win: A good rule of thumb for this year’s Emmy Awards is that if Watchmen is in a category, it’s going to win that category. Such is the case here. 

Who Should Win: “This Extraordinary Being” deserves to win. Lindelof and Jefferson’s script was the starting point for a stunning episode of television that presented an idea so radical (and yet so logical) it inspired Lindelof and HBO to reimagine an already near-perfect graphic novel. 

Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series

Leslie Linka Glatter – Homeland “Prisoners of War”

Alik Sakharov – Ozark “Fire Pink”

Ben Semanoff – Ozark “Su Casa Es Mi Casa”

Andrij Parekh – Succession “Hunting”

Mark Mylod – Succession “This is Not for Tears”

Benjamin Caron – The Crown “Aberfan”

Jessica Hobbs – The Crown “Cri de Coeur”

Mimi Leder – The Morning Show “The Interview”

Who Will Win: The Emmys really love Ozark. And they should! It’s a good show. Having said that, the dominance of Succession will likely close off a lot of opportunities for the series this year. But it should be able to at least squeak this one out.

Who Should Win: Ironically, this is the one award that Succession really should win this year above all else. Mark Mylod’s direction of “This is Not for Tears” is a minor miracle, turning a sun-drenched day on a luxury yacht into a tense, paranoid thriller. 

Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series

Gail Mancuso – Modern Family “Finale Part 2”

Ramy Youssef – Ramy “Miakhalia.mov”

Andrew Civdino and Daniel Levy – Schitt’s Creek “Happy Ending”

Matt Shakman – The Great “The Great”

Amy Sherman-Palladino – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel “It’s Comedy or Cabbage”

Daniel Palladino – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel “Marvelous Radio”

James Burrows – Will & Grace “We Love Lucy”

Who Will Win: It’s a little weird to see the Modern Family series finale in a category and not be favored to win. For years, the Emmys heaped statues upon this very good but not all-time classic comedy. In the end, the Academy will instead opt to honor the tasteful direction of another series finale in Schitt’s Creek. 

Who Should Win: The Great has a real argument here with its drama-level production design assisting director Matt Shakman. But at the end of the day, “Happy Ending” accomplishes exactly what it needs to accomplish and is a fine choice. 

Outstanding Direction for a Limited Series or Special

Lynn Shetlon – Little Fires Everywhere “Find a Way”

Lenny Abrahamson – Normal People “Episode 5”

Maria Schrader – Unorthodox

Nicole Kassell – Watchmen “It’s Summer and We’re Running Out of Ice”

Stephen Green – Watchmen “Little Fear of Lightning”

Stephen Williams – Watchmen “This Extraordinary Being”

Who Will Win: Watchmen will win this category. It’s only a question of which episode. The premiere, “It’s Summer and We’re Running Out of Ice” thanks to the two stunning setpieces guided by Nicole Kassell. 

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Who Should Win: And “It’s Summer…” is the right choice in the end. “Little Fear of Lightning” and “This Extraordinary Being” are both superb but credit always goes to the premiere director for establishing a visual tone for the rest of a series. 

The post Emmy Awards 2020 Predictions and Analysis appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[rhimorechill]

be more chill (musical) & the stages of grief

note: this is not up to 3.0 because i don’t know enough about 3.0, but feel free to add on !

three characters are majorly influenced by the stages of grief over the course of be more chill: michael, mr. heere, and jeremy. jeremy is the least influenced, simply because at the time of the plot he's not currently mourning a loss. michael and mr. heere, however, independently go through arcs of grief.

michael goes through the stages of grief most clearly during be more chill. the person he's grieving for ? jeremy, of course. understanding his grief is key to understanding his character, since after the fifth song (fourth if you exclude jeremy's theme), he's grieving up until the finale. a rough timeline of his stages are as follows:

denial- the mall through the end of upgrade/loser, geek, or whatever, with a bit of time tacked on afterwards

bargaining- the bathroom fight immediately before michael in the bathroom

depression- michael in the bathroom until midway through the pants song, when mr. heere confronts him

anger- the confrontation with mr. heere through the play

note the absence of acceptance. michael's grieving cycle was cut off at the play, since jeremy came back to him. as the loss was undone, the need for grief was too.

so what do these stages mean in the context of michael's character, exactly ?

they give a framework for his general emotions, thoughts, and actions at a given point in the timeline. this framework also means that all his actions need to be analysed through the lens of whatever stage he was on to truly make sense.

for example: michael's inviting jeremy over during upgrade when jeremy had been ignoring him was in part due to him being in the denial stage. he wasn't being stupid, or clueless, or whatever. he couldn't accept that something was wrong, because he was in the denial stage.

another example: michael in the bathroom is a hard swing into the most hopeless stage of grief. he wasn't giving up on jeremy, since he wasn't in acceptance of his loss. obviously, getting in a fight with your best friend when you're just trying to help him hurts on its own, but combined with moving into the depression stage ? that's definitely going to hurt.

and it carries into the pants song when michael's burning momentos. that's not an act of spite in the least ! that's a sad kid trying to cope by getting rid of the things that are making him sad, i.e. reminders of his loss.

one more example: michael's demands for an apology. he's angry, and he's lashing out by insisting that he get something for bothering. i'll admit, i think the particular demand for an apology specifically, along with the wording surrounding his insistence, is due to words of affirmation being his primary receptive love language. he needs reassurance that he isn't setting himself up to get his heart broken all over again. he's also likely unaware how high the stakes are, and that squip is physically preventing jeremy from apologizing. but, regardless, when he drops any reluctances the moment jeremy shows he's willing to take michael back ? that's the closing of his grieving stages.

his immediate switch to helping out also serves to show his loyalty, which is partly an act of self-preserverance. as can be seen by him immediately seeking reassurance that jeremy wouldn't hurt him, michael doesn't want to be going through the stages of grief. he wouldn't dream of willingly going through them again if he can avoid it at all, especially when they fucked him over six ways to sunday the first time. jeremy, who will be working on relearning how to trust his instincts, the very ones that basically all scream that he loves michael, would definitely assuage michael's fears. therefore, michael is hard-pressed to leave, even without mentioning what having no friends in high school is like. it's not great that jeremy is michael's only friend, but it's the truth. high school can be ridiculously lonely without anyone to talk to, in any of your classes. and sitting alone at lunch is absolutely terrifying.

jeremy is the only person keeping michael's defense and coping mechanisms from falling apart. of course, jeremy also plays a role in one of michael's coping mechanisms- escapism- itself, but just having jeremy around makes it easier for michael to deflect any hurt.

this adds up to michael being absolutely unprepared for all the emotions of grief, along with his coping mechanisms, from crashing down. michael deflections can be seen when he called the "boyf riends" on their backpacks something that would please his mothers, as it makes it seem like he is coasting by any real processing of what people think about him. to be fair, he probably, rightfully, feels like he doesn't need to care about what other people think about him, because he has jeremy. michael's dependency on jeremy to stay afloat is also evident whenever he talks about him and jeremy being cool in college.

clearly, michael does a lot of deflection and running away from his reality, primarily to the future. the future, which he automatically includes jeremy in. this is where michael feels safe, where he feels secure. his fantasies of the future are contrasted with jeremy's fears of it. either way, when jeremy leaves him, all his dreams about the future fall apart. they were always dependent on jeremy.

speaking of stuff that's dependent on jeremy, mr. heere's arc through grief is. his arc is much harder to follow, because it's tracking two losses. the first one is, naturally, the loss of mrs. heere, and the second is the loss of jeremy. a rough timeline of his grieving is as follows:

(denial, bargaining, anger- pre-show)

depression- the beginning of the show until the confrontation with jeremy

bargaining (jeremy joins and leaves the ranks of the losses he's grieving)- the confrontation with jeremy through sometime before voices in my head

acceptance- voices in my head through afterwards, hopefully

his timeline is shaky, since he doesn't get all that much screentime, but his grief pushes the play in definite ways. the clearest way it does so is how michael is motivated by mr. heere's bargaining phase. the pants song is arguably one of the most vital songs in the musical: without it, the play would've gone off without a hitch. however, since mr. heere did approach michael, and michael was an overwhelmed teen swinging through big emotions with a desire to appease the nearest adult figure, michael enabled mr. heere's bargaining phase and the squips were destroyed.

but mr. heere getting pushed into a second cycle of grief also jumpstarted his first one. when the loss of jeremy loomed over the horizion, mr. heere was kicked into gear because he honestly would not have been able to cope with losing arguably the most important person in his life, again. thus, when the finale rolls around, he's landed in the acceptance phase, at least for now. he might still backslide, but all things considered, he's probably going to try to seek external help to make sure he doesn't.

the last way mr. heere's grief pushes the play is also the way in which the stages of grief matter in regards to jeremy's character. mr. heere's depression phase is part of jeremy's motivation for leaving michael behind: if mr. heere is that destroyed by someone he cared deeply about leaving, couldn't the same thing happen to him ? and nobody else could leave him but michael, who seems so sure he'll be amazing and popular in college- the very thing jeremy can't see himself as, but for michael ? definitely- and what's the easiest way to prevent pain ? shut himself off. cut michael out of his life before michael could hope to do so to him. it's misguided, because michael shows time and time again that he wants to keep jeremy around, but it makes sense with all of jeremy's insecurities.

having mr. heere's depressive phase push jeremy also means that when mr. heere shows up, ready to take on the world, in the finale, it helps show jeremy that even if he does lose michael, or someone important to him, he can still make it out okay. in the end, all of voices in my head is dedicated to that same thread.