#(i have not seen s2 of s&b yet)

[softersinned-arc]

like this for a starter! open to all mutuals, whether or not we have threads going. these will happen slowly. unless a verse is specified, this will fall in one of her main verses (vampire, witch, or modern), or a fandom variation of those main verses! multis, please specify muse (or at least give me a few to choose from).

[bohemian-nights]

love your blog <3

there's no reason for nettles to be cut. the only reason she's not in s2 is because they want to milk "daemyra" as much as possible and don't care about sacrificing the only canonically black character to make the main white couple look good.

it's bullshit. they do shit like this and then claim to be "progressive" ? including black character only to turn them into side kicks for the main white characters and mistreat them is not progressive. why are baela and rhaena sidelined for the strongs? in f&b they're more important. why is laena turned into the "unloved wife"? second to rhaenyra? why is vaemond framed as the villain for being angry that his home is being robbed by a white boy?

and now we have a shot of all of the dragonseeds - except nettles, the only important dragonseed. and when you try to complain the stans hit you with the "but there are other black characters" card. they say that "race doesn't exist in westeros" (LMAO) to excuse and justify luke being the heir and pretend like there's nothing problematic with a white person stealing a black family's home. they also use the "no race" card to justify nettles being erased or downplay her importance. the gaslighting and racist undertones are actually crazy.

thank you for calling these people out.

Thank you. I do try and try my best not to come off like a crazy person talking at a wall, but this fandom and this show are nuts and severely anti-Black.

I won’t say it’s worse than other fandoms, but admitting there is a problem is like pulling teeth.

You have people blatantly lie and pretend like their headcanons are actual canon which is extremely disturbing when it comes to the Black(ish) characters because those headcanons are made to take away their characterization.

There is only so much one can ignore without disregarding their self pride.

As far as the showrunners go I will say I don’t think they are trying to prop up that ghost ship because they wouldn’t have added choke-gate if they had any intention of turning Dumbnyra(I’m not respecting a ship populated by people who think it's fine to call Black characters the n-word) into an epic romance, but they are trying to hold off on putting Nettles on the show because she makes said self-insert look bad and they can’t have that.

Yet they know cutting her looks suspect considering their past actions.

They think diversity = having Black(ish) people there never mind lighting them on fire, sidling them, turning them into an undisputed villain, turning them into stereotypes, etc., and unfortunately they’ve emboldened an extremely racist and toxic fanbase with their (in)action(s).

Laena was deliberately made into the disposable Black girlfriend, but no one cared about that. No one cared about how that looked or how Black fans would feel with that being our representation. How it's harmful and damaging to see that play out time and time again. They cheered it on and called her slurs while doing so.

Now I’ve seen people claim to be concerned about Nettles and her being made into a mistress and yes there are problems with showing a Black woman as a mistress, but there are just as many if not more problems with showing a Black(ish) woman as someone’s second choice or showing us as undesirable. Not a peep was said about the latter.

The same people who are so concerned(I see y’all in her tag) are the same people who a couple of months ago were calling for Nettles to be cut and replaced with Baela and Rhaena or even Addam because they are all Black(ish) now. Never mind that Nettles’ story is vastly different from theirs.

That Nettles isn’t supposed to be indisputably Valyrian like the others(at least in the books her heritage is the least clear out of everyone present and in the show she still isn’t being claimed by anyone).

Never mind that she isn’t supposed to be Daemon's daughter(the dates don’t line up and I dare anyone to tell me they bathed naked with their father at 17; I dare anyone to say that someone who claimed a wild dragon with the highest body count during the sowing doesn’t know how to bathe herself).

Or that she isn’t just someone’s mistress(you don’t risk your life for a woman who is just your mistress).

That she isn’t an unloved unwanted woman despite who she is(Daemon chooses her. We can talk about how that isn’t “progressive” enough for some people although I’d argue that it’s progressive for a character like Nettles, but that’s what’s written in black and white).

That she’s saved and survives the Dance. She’s the only dragonseed that survives maybe even the last dragonrider for two hundred years. She certainly gains more than what she had(she becomes the spiritual leader of a tribe for God's sake). 

Is Nettles’ story perfect, no, but people are holding her, her arc, and her potential characterization in the show to an unhealthy standard that they would never hold a character like Rhaenyra, Daenerys, or an even Helaena to and basing whether they like her or not based on that standard.

They aren’t allowing her to be a nuanced character let alone someone with her wants and motivations who experiences love and loss alike.

Nettles' arc is as complex as every other character in this story, but people don’t want that. They don’t even want her there.

Never mind that she’s important to the narrative and there is a reason for her complexity, it’s her skin color they see. Her skin color is the only thing they see and therefore they fail to see her as someone deserving of her dynamic arc.

Instead they want the downtrodden girl. The abused girl. The poor orphan girl who is just grateful to have found a family. The girl who can easily be placed into a box and doesn’t need any analysis whatsoever.

A girl. She doesn’t need love because she’s a girl. She doesn’t need to have her own will and desires because she’s a girl. She’s a child. She’s not a nuisance. A box of gunpowder waiting to go off and change the narrative. She’s not a threat.

I’ve talked about this before(too many times), but that’s who they want.

They can’t have a Mammy that looks too obvious given the story, or Jezebel(I imagine that’s what they’ll say she is once she appears although they’ll look crazed trying to pigeon hole her into the slut category), and they know she most likely won’t be cut, so they settle for the non-threatening, sexless, naive(selectively intellectually challenged) child.

The show calls itself diverse and the fans claim themselves to be feminists, but that’s a joke and a slap in the face to Black fans who aren't self-haters (who the fandom has harassed anytime we don’t blindly agree with and call them out on their bullshit).

Black fans don’t want characters who look like us wrapped in bubble wrap with a pretty little bow on top. We want characters (in every sense of the word), but neither the showrunners nor the fans seem to get this(tale as old as time or at least it’s centuries old).

I started ranting I’m sorry anon, but Nettles tag has been a mess so I used this as an opportunity to voice my peace. It’s extremely disturbing that you have a bunch of non-Black people trying to police Black representation particularly representation for Black women, but at the end of the day what they have to say doesn’t matter.

[gingergofastboatsmojito]

My Sydcarmy dream happy ending? Or Storer's?

This is the 1st time I actually envisioned a whole scene with music and all in my head. I always had the feeling that the end of the show is gonna be like the final scene of Braciole: All together, the found family, maybe at the restaurant, maybe not, and just having dinner and having a good time.

After that "vision" I had, I found out that Storer mentioned in a panel that food had always saved them as a family, he was talking about his own family. So I figured: OK so since the show he created, the whole Bear universe, revolves around food, that's gonna be the ending. I felt he kinda confirmed my "vision", my take, the one I had as soon as I finished watching S1. I could already see that ending and believe in it wholeheartedly. And it looked like that, but blurry, because it was just season 1, and even though I knew there was a S2 that I hadn't watched yet (watched it the next day, actually), the overthinker in me was already daydreaming about THE SHOW'S FINALE.

OK, cut to me obsessing about this show after watching S2, that IMO was even better than S1, which is VERY RARE nowadays on TV, and then me re-watching both seasons and dissecting them till the cows go home and then re-watching S2 only over and over to analyze every single layer of Sydcarmy as humanly possible, and literally cutting my working hours to have more time to do that LMAO! etc. So, I ended up noticing the whole script structure Storer (and Calo) came up with, it's Austenian. And at that point, I was already a Sydcarmy soldier, of course, but when I picked up on the Austenticity of it all I FUCKING FLIPPED OUT because that gave me hope. It meant that the Sydcarmy endgame I had in mind could very well happen seeing as it was IC and Austenian, and it fit the slow burn process I had already picked up on right after watching Braciole, as I mentioned HERE. It all made total sense. How will it happen exactly, IDK, I wish I did but Storer is diabolical and way better than me at plot twists, so I won't even try to guess, but I will put my trust in the Austenian arc he swears by.

Me growing up reading Austen (real footage):

For those who haven't read Jane Austen, her trademark is: taking something painful and making it beautiful, finding beauty in pain, and always building towards a happy ending and redemption arc for her main characters, unless she kills them first and if she does, we can be sure that death will serve the happy ending purpose anyway (AKA: Michael, Syd's mother and probably Cicero, I wanna believe Donna will live, but I'm on the fence about her, I do believe she will be redeemed after Nat's baby is born, either way), she will take that death and make it worthwhile and beautiful. She doesn't stand for unhappy endings, but she does include bittersweetness in the endgame of some of her characters, usually not the A ones, but the B ones. The Alphas usually get a relatively "clean happy ending". Relatively being the operative word and what we can ALWAYS expect no matter what, is a "teaching", a lesson learned by the main characters. They walk out of that story as new men/women after having learned that/those lesson/s. She does this. She slow burns romances left and right, kills characters off, takes losses and turns them into gains, and builds towards a happy ending. That's an Austenian structure right there. It's usually used in Romance movies, rarely seen on this kinda TV shows, but here we are. The Storer-Calo duo are giving us Austenian characters in a nutshell.

So, back to my point, I always had this take and wishful thinking even, but up until now, I was never able to actually envision a final scene that could be actually canonical. I mean, I could even fucking write the whole script of that whole final ep, line by line, for every character if they allowed me to. I have the music in mind, the outfits, the whole set, and the final take that faiths to black and reads THE END. And no, this is not just a wishful thinking list or prediction post, it's an actual argumentative outline about why I think The Bear’s series finale will look like the Happy version of Fishes:

And just because Carmy said this, I will take a wild guess, this is gonna be part of the menu:

He associated them with his, and I quote: "fucked up family life" end of quote. So he wanted to reversion them:

And Marcus, based on Sydcarmy's pointers, came up with The Michael Cannoli:

I am also assuming, Sydcarmy will be endgame because of the aforementioned reasons, but I'm not sure Storer will actually show it on camera, maybe just insinuate it, because we all know he is diabolical and also because that's how the original movie script turned into TV script ended before Storer knew The Bear was going to be picked up for a 2° season, he always had this ending in mind for The Bear, behold:

So what I'm saying is: We Sydcarmy truthers have an actual shot here. I also dive into this theory HERE but from a totally different angle.

This happy Sydcarmy endgame we want is at arms' reach.

Now I see it more clearly.

Who's with me?

@ciaonicole85 thanks for the inspo to write this post, it all came to mind when I saw yours.

[top-rhaenyra]

Team Black has interesting characters, but I need them to have more conflict with one another to see them truly

shine.https://www.reddit.com/r/HouseOfTheDragon/s/nPLxtAKy0u

Thoughts on this post?

i don't necessarily believe team black needs to have more conflict to be interesting, but i do wish their characters were explored more (i expect them to be in s2). however, i think it would be a massive shame if they don't explore some of the interesting dynamics between these characters that would exist, whether they are shown or not.

that said, i do think there will be conflict brewing. we can already see it in the promotion of the rhaenyra/daemon relationship. there's only a certain amount of real conflict that can be shown, bc overall i do think they are a much more functional family than team green and much of the interesting parts of the characters' relationships are internal.

here is just a list i can think of off the dome that i hope are alluded to or explored more in s2:

rhaenyra and rhaenys. rhaenys has already spoken about how they'll never let a woman rule, yet goes to war and dies for rhaenyra anyways. why? is it hope? true belief? just plain old love? i'd love to know

rhaenyra and her relationship to actually wanting the crown. imo she's seen the iron throne as an extension of her father's love, but after luke and jace's deaths, how much does she truly desire it?

rhaenyra and daemon in regards to daemon not listening to rhaenyra's orders and desires. i cannot wait to see the full scene of her finding out about b&c, and i think the scene where she asks if daemon truly accepts her as queen will be incredibly important

rhaenyra and daemon in regards to alicent. now, obviously i'm excited to see alicent and rhaenyra's dynamic in s2, but i am also intrigued by how rhaenyra and daemon's relationship will suffer for it. daemon has made it very clear that he wants all of team green dead, so how does he react when rhaenyra lets alicent live? not well i presume

jace and his relationship to aegon 3 and viserys 2. does he resent them for being the perfect targaryen princes that he is not (visibly, at least)? does he love them anyways? does he even think about those little kids?

jace and his relationship to daemon. its kinda obvious there's tension there already. can't want to see if/how it is expanded on, especially if it becomes obvious that daemon does not, in fact, respect rhaenyra as a true ruling queen

the dragon twins and their relationship to rhaenyra and their father. i worry they won't get as much development as they deserve, but i hope that there is at least a measure of character exploration (specifically: i really really want to see what they do with rhaena)

with rhaena in particular, i also really hope they don't give nettles's role to her. they probably will, just based on the promotion so far, but i find rhaena's lack of a dragon and insecurity about being "useless" in the war effort a particularly fascinating thing to explore if they choose to go that direction.

i could probably think of more if i tried, but that's just kinda the main things i hope to see from team black's side. i believe the only real conflict will be between daemon and rhaenyra, but i would loooove to further delve into the nature of everyone's relationships and roles within team black

[notbadweird]

Things I Realized In Obx

Me realizing Kie was asking them if they should peel from the motel while they were already outside on the ledge.

Me realizing Peterkin was never able to discover that Big John was alive.

Me realizing we never found out if they found Scooter’s boat.

Me realizing Wheezie has been the only person I’ve seen ever throw up in a show.

Me realizing Sarah bonded over the stars with both of her boyfriends.

Me realizing it was basically impossible for Tanny to get the gold off the ship cause I know damn well those rubber lifeboats couldn’t stay afloat with that much gold on it. Shit the gold weighed a whole plane down, let alone a boat!

Me realizing John B told those kids to stay in school even though he never did.

Me realizing that Sarah said buttercup in 1.4 and then the next episode JJ mentioned the Powerpuff Girls.

Me realizing Pope called Kook land Kooklandia just for JJ to then call the island Poguelandia.

Me realizing that when Sarah mentioned John B’s dad who was supposed to be dead, she called that a lame thing to say. The same way Kie pointed out that JJ calling her a Kook was lame.

Me realizing Sarah said she was gonna sugar momma John B in both s1&2.

Me realizing JJ mentioned John B was 16 in the car in season one and then yelled he was 17 during the court case which means his bday passed at some point.

Me realizing that Luke said he saw JJ’s mom in him and that’s why he roughens him up. So he basically sees a woman in JJ and in his mind is “oh let me beat his ass”.

Me realizing that it would’ve been really stupid for Ward to kill John B on the boat considering how Sarah knew that John B was with her father. If he had died, no one else could say John B was with them, only Ward could.

Me realizing John B has been hit with a car in s1 just for him to hit Cleo with a car in s2.

Me realizing that both Kie and JJ thanked the person who was telling them I love you. Kie thanked Pope and JJ thanked Kie. They also both said what when it first happened.

Me realizing that the cops were knocking on a vacant home when looking for John B so I never understand why they said open up when nobody fucking lives there.

Me realizing that if JJ never stole from Barry, Rafe and Barry never would’ve followed Kie’s car. It makes me wish JJ was the one to save Kie since it was his technically fault that they were there to begin with. But I also know that Pope needed his hit on Rafe sooo there’s that.

Me realizing Sarah and John B did not have on life jackets when The Phantom flipped over. So when did they have the time to find the lifejackets and put them on in a thrashing storm.

Me realizing that John B was wearing Topper’s shirt the whole time during s2 until they got back home.

Me realizing that we never saw how The Pogues figured out it was Gavin who flew the plane. Like they figured it out so fast.

Me realizing that we don’t know if Terrance and Stubby are alive after the shootout. Cleo heard the shootout but she never mentioned whether or not they made it.

Me realizing both Kiara and Pope left their dad’s trucks after they had accidents.

Me realizing that we never figured out how that sick patient knew JJ’s name.

Me realizing that so far Kiara has been the ONLY Pogue to interact with Luke, the same way JJ is the ONLY Pogue to ever go inside her house.

Me realizing that Kiara straight up told her parents about how she was abducted and how scared she was and they still had the audacity to let Kitty Hawk abduct her the same way they did her back in the Caribbean.

Me realizing that Topper called Sarah a liar but yet he still continues to go back to her no matter what.

Me realizing Topper denied he wasn’t a jealous person in s1 just to then burn down John B’s house in s3 cause of his jealousy.

Me realizing if Kie’s parents never turned Sarah away, she never would have been found by Topper which means she never would’ve cheated on John B…so again FUCK KIE’S PARENTS.

Me realizing that Big John really switched up on Sarah, went from welcoming her to the family to leaving her out of the search.

Me realizing Sarah is no longer wearing the “ring” John B gave her. Her neck didn’t have it the entire time during s3. (Could be wrong)

Me realizing without Sarah literally they never would have been able to figure out the clues to get to El Dorado

Me realizing Singh has to have some type of blood kink cause he sure as hell was eager to touch every patch of Big John’s blood he found.

[crehador]

quickfire thoughts on fall 2023 now that everything i'm watching has had at least three eps out

EXCELLENT

sousou no frieren: still very easily anime of the season, beautiful in visuals and in story. a quiet, subtle look at loss and grief, and life continuing beyond that. the structure is working perfectly imo, it never feels like there are too many or not enough flashbacks, i feel connected at all times to both the present day party and the himmel-era party

migi to dali: still doing an exceptional job of balancing creepy and funny, i said before that the only thing i can think of with a remotely similar vibe is the movie hot fuzz and while i think there's a different flavor of comedy here, i still stand by that (and that's a compliment bc hot fuzz is an excellent movie)

kamonohashi ron no kindan suiri: although i wouldn't say this is mind-blowingly outstanding in any single way, it's very well-done in just about every conceivable way and comes together as an extremely solid series

BORDERLINE EXCELLENT

overtake: after four episodes i'm so tempted to put it with the 'excellent' shows but have to admit it's just not objectively on that level, it is subjectively one of my current favorites of the season though. silly at times, fairly simple story, but really effectively done so far

ADORABLE

s rank musume: feel like this one is largely going to slip through the cracks because it looks like your typical fantasy-action/adventure series, but doesn't stand out in that genre. the cute/soothing family moments are what stand out to me, but understandably that's not what most viewers of the genre are looking for. remains to be seen if a more action-y plot will build up, have doubts about how effective that will be

yuzuki-san chi no yon kyoudai: VERY CUTE with some very real moments and struggles, the cr subs debacle in the first ep however did it no favors

atarashii joushi wa dotennen: VERY CUTE i almost wish they'd cast literally anyone except umechan for shirosaki bc with him the similarities to cool doji danshi are just too much lmao however umechan is in fact perfect for this character so why not let him play it twice i guess

hoshikuzu telepath: moe yuri that isn't afraid to say rocket science is for autistic lesbians, what could be better?

wataoshi: YURI OF THE SEASON SORRY HOSHIKUZU TELEPATH HERE'S SOMETHING THAT COULD BE BETTER i actually would put these two on a similar tier but wataoshi gets the edge for me because rae is so unapologetically, exuberantly gay and that is just so nice to see

SEQUELS

houkago shounen hanako-kun: tragically only four half-length episodes but it's nice to see these kids again, ogata megumi's hanako voice just hits in a way the jjk yuuta voice doesn't, for me, so very glad to hear it again

arknights s2: i'm liking the art even more than i did in s1? not sure if it's actually changed/improved, and imo s1 was already good, but anyway just really enjoying seeing all the faves moving and speaking!

spy x family s2: still cute of course what more can i say

b-project s3: MAN I'M TORN i don't dislike this season (we are getting so many kitakore shots) but i am so stressed out for tsubasa and i just want to see her catch a break! i'm sure the season will end in an uplifting way, but all the stress she's under right now makes me want to punch things

dead mount death play s2: it was good and is somehow still getting better, s2e3 which just came out is one of the best yet imo

GOOD FOR THE ACTION BUT NOT TERRIBLY MUCH ELSE

undead unluck: i kind of... don't like anyone here lmao but the over-the-top, high-octane action is not badly animated, it's just not gripping me on any level beyond that. it does however have the op of the season

ragna crimson: again it's failing to get me really invested in the story/characters but the action is not bad i guess, cast for this one is absurdly stacked so i'm not going anywhere

shangri-la frontier: this one's doing a GREAT job with its pacing and action imo, it's introducing the game mechanics in a way that doesn't feel too fast or too slow. only issue is there really... doesn't seem to be any stakes? like at all? which is not a problem for me personally, it just feels a bit like we're waiting for another shoe to drop

WATCHABLE BUT...

bullbuster: i'm kind of vibing with this after three episodes but i really can't imagine it finding an audience, it's not mech enough to really appeal to mech fans and it's not... typical office drama enough to appeal to typical office fans. it's a strange little combo that just happens to work for me, personally

NOT GOOD BUT I LOVE IT

kawagoe boys sing: this is a ridiculous series, i would say not as wild as number24 but kind of getting there. like number24 but more vanilla, less homoerotic. i loved number24 and I'M LOVING THIS TOO there are some genuinely interesting characters already and though i still currently want to punt kick that teacher into the sun i remain cautiously optimistic that he'll see some character development. at some point. maybe

NOT GOOD. JUST NOT GOOD. SORRY.

bokura no ameiro protocol: really feels like some late-2000s/early-2010s male wish fulfillment dramedy. lots of weird and unnecessary het nonsense going on. honestly would consider dropping if it were 24 episodes but since it's only 12 i guess i'll stick it out. for kimuryo. who is unfortunately playing such a rancid character

[baelatargaryen]

overall thoughts on s2?

ah. well. 😔 you know. i have so much to say really and generally, you can kinda tell how i feel about a season from how much i gif it versus how much i don't and same for each episode and character lmao. sorry for how long this is gonna be, i'm gonna split it up into general thoughts and then more character based thoughts:

overall:

if i had to sum up hotd s2, i would say two things come to mind immediately. the first is that, even with the show's heavy handed writing, i couldn't as an audience member understand where this season really was culminating. for me, there was an overall lack of tension that really drove towards a finale, in some sense it's a season that cuts short of where it should be going bc of the hbo limiting them to 8 episodes.

my other perspective is that, s1 gets a lot of flack for its speed and the significant jumps we make for characters, and yet i felt that this season actually did a far worse job juggling the appropriate amount of screen-time but also remaining consistent to the character's core motivations.

the 8 episode limitation i do think affected them for some characters. there are jumps in character motivations that are essentially a flick of a switch with no lead-up, certain storylines are really left loose and not tied up or fully reach a conclusion.

but more than that, the 8 episode limitation doesn't really matter. yes, it's limited screentime but it's still 8 hours of screentime. i've seen shows with that amount, or less, that have done a more coherent job with just better writing. ik a lot of people take issue with the show not having more "action" or battles (and some of it is probably valid!) but for me the prevalent issues where with character writing, allotting screen time and pacing.

overall, season 1 > season 2. for me, personally.

my favourite episodes were 2, 6, & 4. i do think they kinda messed up b&c but on rewatch i enjoyed it fine, still think there were some weird beats in it but phia does an amazing job. i think ep 7 was very well done but i'm not sold on the direction they're going with rhaenyra yet. weakest episodes for me were 3 & 8.

characters under cut:

warning: lot of criticism below so if you don't want to read negativity just stop here bc it's mainly me ranting about the bits i didn't like. tldr; aegon - best writing of the season, aemond & alicent - weakest writing of the season. that's not intended as character hate, it's intended as criticism of how the characters are written and utilised this season.

daemon:

i would have cut the harrenhal storyline. i know people like it, but what at first is a surprise to the audience quickly loses its luster when the contents of daemon's vision are nothing more than rehashing his season 1 storyline. and in a season of 8 episodes, you don't have time to waste somehow relitigating the same thing you have since your PILOT. it's really a fault of s1's writing for kinda putting daemon aside post episode 5, but even then what's the point? i have an issue with the harrenhal plotline because it's not believable — as an audience member, i don't expect daemon to betray rhaenyra and i don't buy that he will. the contents of the vision and daemon's reaction to them make it clear it is an obstacle for him to overcome, a lesson to learn let's say, rather than true temptation. in the meantime, the action in the riverlands stagnates and daemon is essentially made to look incompetent — rather than being able to muster an army for rhaenyra after the mistake of b&c and prove himself to her via his own actions, he loses their support, is essentially schooled by a 14(?) year-old and then an army amasses just in time for him to wake out of the visions which somehow (even when they're direct parallels or mirrors to scenes which took place in REAL life) have a more significant impact on him than, say, oh idk, the very real argument he had with his wife in episode 2.

rhaenyra/alicent/rhaenys/helaena:

this constant need to circle back to this show's primary understanding of women in power being "women are actually peacemakers who avoid bloodshed at all cost, and it's men who are driven to reckless violence and war" is actually regressive af and i don't care to see it. am i here to watch a tragedy or not, because if so the show needs to allow these elements play out for it to feel like one.

rhaenyra & alicent, & even more so rhaenys, are just pigeonholed into these women desirous of peace even when it's at the cost of the people they are supposed to LOVE most in their lives, and in doing so they no longer feel like relatable characters to the audience at times. this show is 10x better when it's female characters are allowed to be ugly, to rage and to be vengeful instead of becoming a living soapbox for the writers' "stop the violence" shtick. and helaena is right there along with them, phia saban is amazing during b&c (even if they managed to fuck that up too), and episode 2 as well, only for her grief to be resolved by episode 3 and then. then, the most staggering of all, by episode 8 her story culminates in a vision where she is bran-stark 2.0, all-knowing with her powers controlled (who knows how) but also more of a plot-device than a fully fledged character, there to apparently TELL daemon what to do (just like alys ofc, cause who knows what her backstory or motivation is. certainly not us).

i liked alicent and rhaenyra's relatonship in s1. it was fine. did i think it could cause potential issues down the line, yeah i did and i wasn't fully happy with the effect of aging down alicent to be a child-bride and a victim of marital rape, but i took it in stride. but this was their backstory. and that's how it should remain. we have 8 episodes of limited screentime, and really, if they had at least stuck with the actual friends-to-enemies that i assumed was the intent, it would be fine bc guess what — there IS a reunion in the book that they could have adapated perfectly fine. but instead, we are treated to not one, but TWO, two! reunions which are nonsensical, but more than that, are honestly...insultingly bad? i re-watched s1 directly before s2, and i also rewatched the first two episodes of s2 at one point and i have to say after episode 2 of s2, the show feels markedly different. even rhaenys death doesn't really have the impact it should? the characters just. don't act like themselves at times, and idk what it is - the lack of a court environment? the lack of domesticity and characters being separated? dialogue that is driven more by s1 plot points than what just occured last episode?

alicent. well. idk what to say. the amount of screentime that is given with giving olivia nothing to do is awful. it's three times the screen-time aemond gets for example. i'll say no more bc ik people love alicent and olivia, but the writing for alicent was appallingly bad this season - truly a disservice to the character. abandoning larys & alicent's relationship was a mistake, as she no longer even attempts to cling onto power, and once otto leaves in episode 2 there's no one for her character to essentially play off of, leaving for the most lackluster of writing. oh well.

idc about those reunions at all. i was kinda taken aback by having two, which i think undercut each other tbh, but i knew at least one would happen. and i expected the tension and energy of 'driftmark' not whatever this was. and the acting couldn't save it for me, alas.

aegon/aemond/criston/gwayne:

aegeon received the best writing this season by far. i would say its a marked improvement from the writing in s1; aegon still feels like a continuation of s1!aegon (pathetic, a drunk, incompetent and crude), but given more depth and range, with a storyline that takes him from an incompetent king, all the way through his grief, to realising he is nothing more than a pawn to his family, and to the betrayal at rook's rest after which changes him significantly and sets the stage for the third season. aegon & larys' relationship too is a standout, because it's the only part of the show that bothers with political intrigue the way it's predecessor did. the rest is abandoned.

aemond is given. well. almost no writing or screentime! i'm not really a big fan of aemond in many ways (if i could be more honest, i really don't care for him at all), but really, the guy has barely any more screen-time than he does in s1, even though he's not only a) partially responsible for the outbreak of this war (cutting the f&b scene where he informs his family was insanity.), but b) literally becomes REGENT in episode 5. the brothel plotline as an aside to justify his betrayal of aegon was unnecessary tbh, it dislocated him from the main plotline. for those first 3 episodes he feels like he has no presence in a story, even after b&c has happened. he literally commits the act of burning an entire town (sharp point) off screen. we don't see it! only the aftermath!

criston, criston, criston. tbh, i was pleasantly surprised by criston at certain points of the season (i do think he had more screentime than he should have though) — he is a FAR better and more interesting character once you remove him from the confines of the red keep. putting him opposite someone like gwayne made for much better screentime than his lackluster, completely passionless romance with alicent.

speaking of which, i thought alicole would at the very least has some effect — lying to aegon's face about what happened during b&c, helaena finding out, larys figuring it out. but no. the only confrontation comes from gwayne of all people as cole sniffs a handkerchief, and which is of no consequence. so much for 'political intrigue' right.

gwayne: a welcome addition and freddie fox is brilliant. that's all.

jace/baela/rhaena/corlys/dragonseeds/mysaria....and etc:

jace after aegon is the most consistently written character imo. harry did a good job for the most part i think, you feel that jace has gone from a teenager to someone on the cusp of adulthood, a dutiful heir, stricken by insecurity and affected by his brother's loss but also who deeply desires to fight for his mother and his own claim after hers. i wish we spent a bit more time with him in the north or the vale, but at least we know he went and achieved something, plus the idea of the dragonseeds comes from him — he definitely stepped into his own this season.

baela & rhaena: should have both received more screentime. baela's scene with corlys was good, i wish more of the scenes centred around baela's feelings as opposed to jace but i did like it even if it felt a bit overacted at times. as for rhaena? phoebe is such a good actor (honestly a standout in the minor screentime she gets), but gets so little writing even now. i can only hope we actually see rhaena claim sheepstealer and that it isn't another scene relegated to offscreen.

corlys: steve is one of the best actors in the show and he is underutilised this season imo. he is confined to that shipyard, and although his interactions with alyn are well-written, it still leaves him removed from the rest of the action. he teleports between there and dragonstone, but it's not until the last episode that you really get the sense that he's rhaenyra's hand even though he has been since episode 5 — he should have been present at dragonstone much more and earlier, and addam and alyn moved to dragonstone earlier to allow for more interaction too imo.

mysaria: clearly not her book counterpart, but i enjoyed her story this season a lot. do i think it's a bit on the nose the way mysaria speaks of rhaenyra as a cue for the audience but i'm hopeful it goes in a more interesting and nuanced depiction and in the meantime, i enjoyed their screentime

dragonseeds: meh. honestly, hugh's backstory is very cliche and i found his wife a far more interesting character but maybe that's just me, at the very least he's likeable and GETS a backstory. idc about ulf, at all bc idk who he is and his sole trait atm is being irreverent and in a story where you are personally attached to the characters he is insulting it doesn't make you sympathetic to him really (which is fine), but i would have rather seen rhaena claim sheepstealer which we built up all season, than watch ulf fly on silverwing for the simple purpose of having aemond see it so that he can become aware of rhaenyra's dragonseeds.

who gives a fuck about the triarchy and how jason lannister got them btw. just have that first meeting, even the 2nd mud fighting one okay but a THIRD scene in which he sings and gets asked to fuck someone's wives? this is a narrative choice that's being made, they could have just as easily had the triarchy capitulate and side with jason, but instead i'm treated to his aside of adventures in essos which would be fine but it's the FINALE and we need for these stories to culminate and you are giving me almost (almost) got-level writing.

anyways. sorry for all of this. i don't mean it to be hateful it's just me ranting 😭😭😭

[helluvapurf]

*not me forgetting to watch the newest HB ep a few days late* -BUT yeah, the Mammon ep's here!

Figured it'd be nice to chat about it a bit since this'll probably be the last S2 ep we'll get for the year, so lets get into it~

Quick spoiler warning below for those who haven't seen the Mammon ep yet-

Alriiiighty, to start things off lets talk about the Pros of this ep!~ :>

-Bless. 👏My. 👏Guy. 👏Fizz. He was SUCH a gem to watch, here!~ 🥺Everything from his strong passion for being the best performer possible, his anxieties about fitting up to his idol Mammon's vision (in spite of all his exploitative treatment of Fizzarolli), and him eventually finding the courage to stand up to his crooked boss to quit on a high note (aka: his "F*** You") song… aaaaa, just chef kiss Loved it~

-Ozzie's back to being the best smooth talking-yet-loving bf to help out Fizzarolli, which is also a big treat to see!~❤️ You can just feel how much he truly loves and thinks highly of Fizz, trying to encourage that he's the best just how he is… and that he doesn't need a prick like Mammon to "improve" his act 🥰. Honestly, would SO be down to just see more of Fizzmodeus' wholesome lovin' over the Sto*litz melodrama we've got now… for real lol >3> 👌👌

-Speaking of which, Blitz was fun to see pop up in more of a supportive role to Fizz's story, standing by as his "security" while trying to remind Fizz of what's really important over kissing up to Mammon's crowd. I even liked that tidbit from Ozzie that Blitz is just a "kind-of friend" rn, showing that he and Fizz are actually taking time to rebuild their bond instead of everything being fully-swept under the rug… which imo is refreshing to see, all things considered 👍👍

-As far as Mammon himself goes… well I mean, what you see is what you get when it comes to him lol 🤷 . A crude, money-grubbing showboat who's all about making a profit… which def fits the vibe to him being the embodiment of Greed imo .3. Glad he got his comeuppance and whether he comes back or not in the future, lets just hope Fizz will keep to standing his ground against this walking moneybag 🤞🤞

-Those Klown sisters "Glitz & Glam" were a fun lil duo themselves, catty but committed to their roles as stage performers 🤩(and ngl, their song "Klown B***h" was pretty catchy too~). Didn't even try to cheat/sabotage Fizz's acts despite all their attitude with him earlier, so good on ya girls~ 👍

-That moment of Fizz bonding with his fan over sign language was super sweet, really showing at the core what a caring idol Fizz is to wanna make his audience happy~ 😊😊

Now, as far as any Cons regarding the episode… hmmmm:

-While I get what they were trying to go for with Mammon's aesthetic (lowkey being a walking Christmas tree, aka: commercialism lol)… ehhhhh, I feel like something's a bit "missing" in him fully feeling like a Greed sin imo .x. Idk if it might be his head giving the "same-face syndrome" vibe as some other HB guys, or his whole "true form" basically just having some extra eyes/spider legs for some reason… buuuut eh, just not really feeling it from an artistic standpoint 🤷.

-Ngl, am I the only one who felt kinda bad for the Klown twins' predicament by the end? ^^; Like, yeah they were pretty bitchy to Fizz earlier but I mean… it lowkey-wasn't too different to Blitz' asshole attitude to everyone else (which is usually played off as a good thing/joke by the narrative) so like… did they really deserve getting slammed by that giant rock thing at the end? Heck even just a quick heads up from Fizz letting Glitz & Glam know what an exploitative prick Mammon actually is (at least more with the whole "make a s*x doll out of your image" thing... *shudders* >>; ) could've sufficed fine… esp since the girls themselves could've easily fit in better to like, Verosika's crew or something with their popstar-vibe. But again, that miiiiight just be me… .3.

-That one stalkerish fanboy of Fizz was a real creep indeed… which I guess also played well to his established role (though at least Mammon had some entertaining presence to him, in-comparison >>). Glad Blitz at least offed the guy off quickly to give his bud some breathing room👍 . The less we gotta deal with incels like that, the better -x-;

-------------------

Aaaand yeah, that basically about covers my thoughts on the Mammon ep! :thumbsup: Didn't expect it to release so soon as it did, but I say it did a splendid job as the mid-season finale(?) for S2! ^^ Lot of heart, lot of laughs, lot of splendor and polish to entertain a viewer… hope to see more of this improved writing for the rest of the season to follow!

As far as my current ranking of Season 2 goes, here ya go!

1) "Mammon's Magnificent Musical" (S2 Ep. 7)

2) "Oops" (S2 Ep. 6)

3) "Western Energy" (S2 Ep. 4)

4) "Exes and Oohs" (S2 Ep. 3)

5) "The Circus" (S2 Ep. 1)

6) "Unhappy Campers" (S2 Ep. 5)

7) "Seeing Stars" (S2 Ep. 2)

[ravenyenn19]

On Shadow & Bone S2…

So, I’ve been considering making a post like this for a bit & I figured now is the time. These are just my thoughts so if you disagree, disagree! That’s fine! Constructive discussion is encouraged! 🖤 (Spoilers for book & movie!!!)

So. Kaz Brekker (tv edition), is who I’ll be discussing in this micro essay, along with Inej (tv edition).

Since the first season aired, I’ve seen a ton of things online, people shouting “make Kaz more violent! He never should have said something so bold to Inej as “I need you.”!” I DISAGREE. Here’s why:

Kaz Brekker on the screen is clearly aged up, as is everyone else amongst the Crows. I agree with this choice whole heartedly as it makes more sense in the merging of events from S&B. It would be odd to have Alina, the Darkling, Zoya & everyone else in these situations as older characters serving in the Ravkan military etc and leave the Crows as adolescents. Now, if the Six of Crows books had been entirely stand alone and adapted in a show that also majorly targeted only young adults, it would make sense. However, Netflix’s aim was not to only target young people. Just as Leigh has said she feels “Six of Crows” is more adaptable to an older audience as well.

If Kaz had still been a kid, I think you’re right. He would not have been so bold. But he isn’t seventeen in the show. I think showing him as a more mature iteration of the character, it was wise to make him bolder. Inej, older as well, would not stick around for silence as an adult. I firmly believe this. She knows what she’s worth, and that is shown in the books as well. I think this would only be magnified with maturity- as it should be!

I don’t think if Kaz had been an adult in the books, and those around him also adults, his friends would have settled for nothing. I think because they were young & blinded by trauma, all of them had something lacking in terms of communication & personal self-worth for some reason or another. Therefore finding Kaz’s aloofness and “uncaring” nature more palatable; if only because of their own ages & experiences.

I also think the show HAD to make Kaz more vocal about his thoughts/feelings. If only slightly. This is due to such a large amount of the context for his character only being found in internal monologue in the books. In order to make Kaz real on the screen and not immediately dismissible as “bad” for what he says and does, they had to give both the audience & characters around him glimpses of his internal landscape. This is especially noticeable with Inej, but also Jesper.

In the show, they clearly hint that Jesper knows at least some of Kaz’s history with Pekka Rollins. (Jesper asks, “did he recognize you?” Kaz answers: “I’d be dead if he had”). Now, we don’t know yet if the show is altering any of Kaz’s backstory yet (as they have changed something already- his affiliation with the Dregs was not mentioned & therefore we don’t know if Per Haskell even exists in this version of events). I think this is clearly a nod to the fact that Kaz has grown up in this iteration and has not left Jesper in the dark- at least not entirely. I do not think Jesper knows the crucial part of Kaz’s history regarding his severe aversion to skin contact with others. This was hinted at when Jesper grabs Kaz’s sleeve at one point in Ketterdam and doesn’t notice the shock on Kaz’s face.

As far as the violent streak goes- I think the show gave him just enough in the first season. This is because the story line didn’t necessarily call for more as they were kidnapping Alina & fighting off against Grisha rather than rival gangs etc. I do hope to see more of Kaz’s abilities as well as the other Crows in season 2.

This is all to say, I think making Kaz Brekker a little more “vocal” on screen saves his character from being cast aside for those who have no context & didn’t read the books. Netflix aimed to make a show for all viewers, not just readers, and I for one am glad to see others finding these characters that mean so much to me in a new way. 🖤

Anyways, these are just humble thoughts from your local Kanej author 🖤 Tell me what you think! (Also DWOD will be updated tonight!)

[wellntruly]

M*A*S*H - Viewguide, S2

Are you interested in the long-running anti-war situation tragicomedy M*A*S*H (1972-1983), but there are simply so many asterisks and so many episodes?

Well I can’t help you with the asterisks, but nor can I help myself: I started watching all 11 seasons of M*A*S*H, and bringing back for you my viewing selections, chosen for The Qualities.

— — —

I can tell I’ve really accessed the elder millennial (& elder) demographic with my M*A*S*H posting (doing...numbers? hullo!) by, above all, the 80% consistency rating of those reblogging it also adding tags. My people. We gotta find things later.

Season 2! Absolutely, get in here, loved this one: to bits. I did swing around the order again this time, primarily to pace the Hawkeye runs himself ragged episodes—too much of that at once might cause damage, nearly did me. I am kidding: I did not avoid this. Hi broken, I'm Dad!

M*A*S*H - Season 2 Recommended sequence

2x01 ‘Divided We Stand’ - A reintroduction to the 4077th in our second season together through the psychiatric officer sent to investigate whether they’ve all gone mad out there and should be broken up. Spoiler alert: of course, and of course not.

2x02 ‘5 O’Clock Charlie’ - Every day at 5 o’clock, a North Korean pilot flies overhead and tries* to bomb the nearby ammunition dump (*tries). Just chock-a-block with bits. Fun fact: Alda’s foppy infantry drag routine probably the moment I truly fell in love with him—“That’s about it.” This too would have made a wonderful season opener honestly, but we just get two!

2x04 ‘For the Good of the Outfit’ - And now we sit down with a thump: Hawkeye & Trapper try to get the American military to take responsibility for shelling a peaceful Korean village, and learn that the Army, surprise, has no whistleblower protection. No B-plot, we’re just doing THIS.

2x05 ‘Dr. Pierce and Mr. Hyde’ - In this hurt/comfort but we nearly forgot part of it fanfiction, Hawkeye Pierce stays awake doing surgery for…possibly 48 hours if I've calculated this right, but then after that another shift, and another…oh jesus. He stays awake for something like three days, all but spare minutes of it pulling bits of metal out of chest wounds, it breaks something in him, and then for the next night & day more he continues to sleeplessly wander the camp spooking and unnerving people like an irreverent broken ghost. This is probably the best episode I’ve seen yet. Every time you hear the sound of choppers, and he just looks up from the shadowed caverns of his eyes… HUGE ohh honey! episode, and also like, ..fuck. Fuucking fuck. “Dear Harry, Who’s responsible?” I could lovingly detail every single thing that happens in this, very up to and including the warm circumstances of the little closing scene, which I ache over.

2x09 ‘Dear Dad…Three’ - That’s WRITE, it’s another letter writing episode, with a number of differently toned scenes strung together with pretty impressive balance. A tense surgery, a goofy home video that accidentally makes everyone verklempt, a perfectly absurdist staff meeting, and meanwhile: The Gang Solves Racism! Well, corrects a racist. Involves ridiculous antics don’t even worry. Ginger has the funniest part and thank god.

2x10 ‘The Sniper’ - There’s a sniper. This is a situation where this episode is so well written and edited, just sterling 25 minute story construction, that I’ve deemed it too good to be sunk by its one too many sexual assault jokes. I mean kinda makes it even more of a peak early season M*A*S*H episode, if you think about it.

2x12 ‘The Incubator’ - One of my favorites of this season to be honest! An eventual sort of Milo Minderbinder riff on byzantine and corrupt Army supply chains, in which Trapper & Hawkeye wear their dress uniforms and at one point stand in as investigative journalists asking tough questions at a military press conference—hot.

2x13 'Deal Me Out' - A wonderfully pitched antics ep, especially memorable for the deep bank of recurring guest players: Sidney Freedman, Sam Pak, and even Colonel Flagg. I have since started playing poker and it is remarkable how many elements of this exact game have already occurred. Minus the surgery.

2x11 ‘Carry On, Hawkeye’ - A flu epidemic sweeps the camp, and if the sight of people wearing masks and looking worried isn’t moving enough for you In Our Current Era, the only folks left standing as the war casualties keep coming in—Hawkeye, Margaret, Radar, and Father Mulcahy—trauma bond about it. Exquisite. I adore this one. Also another for the annals of Hawkeye shouting down the line to a superior officer about finding a husband.

2x24 'A Smattering of Intelligence' - Honestly it's not about these slipshod spies: it's because Marlene Dietrich is back in town.

2x20 ‘As You Were’ - Love that when this started I was thinking eh it was probably not making my list. A whiplash episode par excellence. Hot Take! - I think this does the kind of thing ‘Sometimes You Hear the Bullet’ wants to do better than that one actually does.

2x22 ‘George’ - A scene or two into this one, Hawkeye comments in the mess tent that one of the kids they just sewed up was really bruised, and not in a combat way, like in a someone beat him way, and I idly muse, hey, in the version where we kick it up a notch: he was beat up for being gay, and comes out to Dr. Pierce because of course he comes out to Dr. Pierce, the kind chaotic bisexual energy is palpable even behind the surgical mask, and then self-identified Aunt Hawkeye has to figure out how to save him. I would have signed a statement giving up my blog in the event were this to actually come to pass, and done so laughing. But then in the year of our lord 1974, DO YOU KNOW WHAT FUCKING HAPPENED. Good thing my mouth was healing because I yelled.

Oh, and if you’re wondering if Benjamin ‘Homoerotics’ Pierce took this network-granted opportunity to come out as straight—

no.

2x21 ‘Crisis’ - They Were All So Cold, redux, variation: There Was Only One Tent. Not quite like that, although does include Hawkeye and Trap essentially sharing a bed and as many layers of Army surplus as they can scrounge while jibber-jabbering with Klinger as he puts on cold cream and Father Mulcahy does an impromptu stand-up bit in his Loyola sweatshirt, and for this and many reasons, this one about burst my heart in warm coziness. Easily the most endearing & domestic thing this show has done to me yet. I’m compromised. Haha fuck, I’m compromised!

Season 1 • Season 2 • To be continued

#M*A*S*H hours

[saintaemond]

i watched con and it's disappointing to never hear ewan talk about aemond and aegon or aemond and alicent. i get why he would not talk about alys it's too early for this. but he just keeps repeating the same things. the producers forbade him from saying aemond loves his mother or i dunno? tgc said many things about aegon and aemond bond. olivia said lots of things about alicent and bond she has with each one of her children. do ya think ewan never mentioned alicent or aegon because he thinks they're irrelevant to aemond or it's forbidden for him to speak of it so he only can speak of a)killing luke b)vhagar.

aw i'm sorry you're disappointed!

i have a feeling all those questions and answers were decided on a while ago? that's my hunch anyway which is why it's mainly tid bits and teases of "whats to come" which is just how promotion works, yknow?

so i think it's all about time and place. i'm sure the family dynamics will be better explored in a sit down interview which i'm sure will happen later down the line.

we got tgc's input on him and alicent after ep 9's carriage scene which is a lot to chew on and a lot to discuss! so it makes sense that we haven't seen that from aemond yet. but we will! i have every hope we will.

once s2 comes out and we spend more time with those characters those answers will come for sure

[tellywoodtrash]

tt, have u seen good omens yet? its a spin on angels a demons through a friendship b/w an angel, aziraphale and demon, crowley which neither of their worlds like....except its not just friendship. and they have their little moments through the series which they go on to explore their relationship w. each other, all while they know they cant be with each other given who they are. s2 just released

BRUHHHHHHHHH I AM OBSESSED WITH GOOD OMENS!!!!!! But that S2 finale got me lying on the floor weeping.

*brokenly singing Everydayyyyyyyy it-s-a-getting closer, going faster than a roller coaster, love like yours will surely come my way..... A-hey 😭😭😭 a-hey 😭😭😭 a-hey 😭😭😭*

[clustersystem]

(Warning: Shadow and Bone spoilers mentioned rant)

I know how S&B goes and I'm frustrated because the show vs book differences and how I know S2 goes. they should've fucking changed who Alina ends up with! I'm sorry but! they should have! like idk maybe it was somewhat the actors or something because the steam and chemistry between Darkling and Alina is INSANE like it's so much and so intense and then with Mal there is this platonic love that runs deep but my god it just feels so platonic. they interact as friends, as people who know each other deeply and love deeply, would sacrifice for the other. But not lovers. Ugh. I haven't seen S2 yet for real (just bits and pieces) so take that into account with this statement but. they also did such a good job in S1 of like ptsd fueling Aleksanders evil doings and then with dark!Alina S2 I've seen it feels like maybe it would've made sense for her to understand it and for them to both impact change on each other - to both recognize the others motivations and find a way to create a new beginning as shadow and light. UGH. I'm frustrated and feeling feelings.

[coolstuffiseverywhere]

I’m someone who is only getting into Person of Interest now(I am at the middle of s2), and from the little of the fandom I’ve seen on here, not nearly enough people talk about Firewall(S1’s finale)!

I know later episodes probably(somehow) surpass it, but I can’t help but admire how well Root did her plan. She basically always had her persona up(imo from being unaware of Finch’s exact skill level and how much control of the machine he had, just that he didn’t have enough for it to change the effectiveness of her putting a hit out on herself), the way she dodges a bullet in a in-character way(expressing shock), how she clearly had a plan A and B in place, how she presumedly used her money to make sure they got the honeymoon suite(near the roof, tested Team Machine’s finances, and you could consider this her and the Machine’s engagement?), etc.

The FBI stuff was near definitely on accident, but she planned and improvised well enough for it to not matter. There were some flaws: her engineering skills(although she did seem to downplay them), her being a therapist yet not understanding why Reese gave her chocolate, a few others I might forget.

It was so well executed but also BELIEVABLE that I was just having a blast the whole time(I got somewhat spoiled but also I noticed the camera stuff).

Root is my favorite character of all time besides the ones that I feel are unfair to compare(and she’s pretty high in there anyway, she’s just not #1-5). Her planning skills are on point and characterize her and I am just so happy she isn’t a poorly written smart character.

This only continued into s2, although with imo more flaws and betterish storytelling.

Also imma reblog this with comments about Umineko because I am like that. Don’t want to cross pollinate too much.

[aceraphale]

THE FINDING OF WILL BYERS

we all know that in season 3, will was moved from the center stage to the bleachers, watching passively everything that happened. now, the duffers have implied that season 5 will have will as the central character, he is the missing piece in the plot that still has no answer. and yet they have also said that they want to go back to season 1’s teams and dynamics, which seems to mean that will is going to get alienated once again as el, mike, dustin and lucas are the OG party.

i’m going to analyse the themes of the characters and seasons, and what they mean for will’s own arc, as he is the one member of the main cast that has been used more as a plot device than as a character driven by his own desires and feelings.

THE SEASONS VS WILL

there’s a reason you hide from them.

season 4 has been an almost exact parallel of season 2, with one glaring exception: in s2, will was the main character; in s4, will was the gay best friend a background character. but none of these statements are actually true.

since season 1, will has been a plot device. the literal plot of the show starts with his disappearance.

then in s2 he takes the spotlight, but that doesn’t mean he is a character. the visions and his possession move the plot and the character forwards, and his actions have consequences in all the subplots. his central emotion is fear, and when he does try to face it, he ends up getting possessed and is back to square one. he tries to lie but can’t hide anymore, and trusts his mom and mike. even when he wants something bad (ie. to lie), the plot denies him that possibility.

in s3, he is in the background, but his emotions are used to further the plot, not his own character. he feels like his friends left him behind, like his childhood is over but he can’t move on. it serves to show how childish mike and lucas are in comparison to el and max, and how they’ve all grown up. and then he feels the mind flayer and explains what probably happened, so his feelings get dropped as he moves the plot and characters from a to b. he is a wizard like gandalf, merlin or dumbledore, not harry potter. he helps the heroes understand the situation and promptly disappears.

in s4, will gets back to his s2 arc. he has a secret (seeing the visions/being possessed and being gay/in love with mike) and tries to hide it by lying. his emotions (his fear and his love) seem to be the focus of his character, but that’s a lie too, because his character is there to move the characters forward. he is el’s only friend, he gives mike advice, he pushes mike to confess and save el, he even tries to help jonathan when jonathan is trying to help him. but the difference is that this time, the plot allows him to lie. he lies to mike so he can say the truth about him, because his lie is integral to the plot, not him.

TRUTH VS LIE

the truth is just the opposite. you are better than they are. superior. it is why you frighten them.

season 4 was a season that focused on facing the past and the truth. every main character has faced it in one way or another. el learned about her past and left brenner, mike said i love you (even tho he’s still very much queercoded and hiding his feelings), steve/jonathan/nancy is a thing apparently, joyce saves hopper like she couldn’t save bob, max faces vecna, lucas faces jason, dustin and eddie become heroes.

and then there’s will.

he lies to mike for the first time. he stands behind and looks at the plot and only speaks up when mike or el need it. he goes back to hawkins and gets thrown into the action without him wanting to. el and will are dramatic folds of each other, and now henry parallels will too. even lucas and max parallel mike and will in s2.

we knew her past from other people. brenner and kali and her mother, and then in this season she gets to be the narrator of her own story, albeit against her will and relieving traumas. we learn what she did by her own memories, and that makes her the most human we’ve ever seen her in all seasons. she’s not a superhero, she’s el. she has a family and friends and a past. she leaves the lab behind and faces one.

we start vol. 1 knowing vecna/henry through others. his father in the asylum, el’s memories. and then vol. 2 starts with him telling his story, showing us his memories. he gets the chance to tell his truth and explain his motives.

max parallels will by being the target of vecna. she starts emotionally closed off, just like will in s2, and gets visions that feed on her fear, even as she tries to hide from them. she gets to share her feelings with lucas, and then vecna turns it against her, making max hide in her happy memory, just like the scene in the shed of s2. even if things ended up bad for her, she still got the chance to face her demons.

will doesn’t get that chance. everything we know about him comes from other people or subtle hints. we know he’s gay because the show has been telling us he’s different even from his friends since s1. we know he’s selfless and kind because the characters have been telling us he is since s1. (almost) everything we knew about him in s1 was through memories and other characters. except a few times in s2, his feelings are always hidden behind the feelings of others. he says they’re ruining the party, not him, and doesn’t admit what he thought until mike forces him to. he doesn’t tell mike he felt left out until he talks about el lying and mike confronts him about his behaviour. he says he’ll always be there for jonathan because jonathan talks about being there for him first. he says it’s scary to open up and that he needs mike, but only because he’s putting mike and el’s feelings as a front. he doesn’t even tell anybody he felt vecna until mike says he’s gone.

MEMORY VS FUTURE

he found his strength in a memory from his past. something that made him sad. but also, angry.

memories are a vital part of stranger things, starting from the basis that it happens during the 80s and uses a lot of references and nostalgia to fuel the plot.

i won’t elaborate about the use of memories this season because memories, in this case, are equal to lies. the nostalgia in the show is a lie. the 80s were hell for a lot of people, and as the characters grow up that hell becomes clearer. what starts as bullying because they’re nerds develops into racism against lucas, homophobia against will, ableism against el. what starts as the government wants to take our friend develops into the cold war has tangible consequences (cough cough anti-socialist propaganda cough cough), we have to bury a body and hopper has to endure the gulag.

the central scene of will’s character, the one that explains him in s4, is the one where he destroys castle byers, renouncing his childhood. castle byers represents his childhood, and when he sits inside and looks at the pictures, he only sees the good.

castle byers was his hiding place from his father and the demogorgon when he was in the upside down. the photo of the party as ghostbusters was taken before they were relentlessly bullied and he had an episode and had to be pulled out of it by mike. the drawings of dnd campaigns now meant nothing as his friends abandoned him for girls. the bat he breaks the castle with is the one his father used to force him to play with when he was a kid.

he prefers the certainty of the memories, rose-tinted and nostalgia-fueled, over the uncertainty of a future he knows will bring nothing but pain. getting left behind by his friends, by his siblings, having to hide his sexuality, having to settle for a job. even in s4 there’s a throwaway line where he suggests going to vegas to be rich and never having to stop playing dnd and nintendo.

he’s been forced to grow up. he wants to go back to memories that weren’t real.

HIDING VS STANDING UP

i could not pretend. and i realized i didn't have to. i could make my own rules.

there’s an elephant in the room i didn’t address before, but now i have to, because everything has been leading up to this:

how did will survive the upside down?

he was a child. he was taken and yet he somehow hid for a week. we don’t know (as far as i know the comic isn’t canon now) how he did it, or why he was taken, but there is a reason. and it will be the main thing to discover.

to will, this means doing exactly the opposite of what el, henry, max and even himself have done.

el and henry found strength in their memories. el gets her strength from the love of her family and friends, the confidence in herself she’s managed to build. henry gets his strength from the anger and pain of his childhood, the resentment festering in him for years. max hid from vecna in her happy memories, in the love and happiness of her friends and boyfriend. will found strength in the memory of bob telling him to stand up.

but they all lost.

el and max lost against henry. henry lost against el. will lost against the mind flayer, and then the mind flayer took his memory so he couldn’t hide from him. their memories, at the end of the day, are just memories.

will byers will win because he will stand up, because his arc means that his strength comes from the future.

he is stuck in childhood. he hides in the memory of the music and the games and the party and his family. but in season 5 he has to stand up for the hope of what’s to come. he has a future, and he can be happy, and that’s what his arc has to be about.

if season 5 goes back to the beginning that means that will starts and ends the show. his disappearance starts season 1. his possession starts s2. the part of the mind flayer that was in him starts s3. s4 starts with el joining will’s family. the arc of s5 starts when will turns to see the upside down merging with hawkins.

his search for himself has to end with him facing his past and his truth not to stand up, but to look at his future and say that the truth about himself is that he deserves to be happy.

will byers has to be the hero, because his arc is the one that ends in the future.

[supercantaloupe]

on Aelwyn Abernant, the Reformed Villain Squad, and redeeming teenage antagonists

an analysis on antagonist character development in Fantasy High. spoilers through sophomore year and (mildly so) the most recent roll20 oneshot. essay under the cut bc i am very long winded

the turnaround with Aelwyn in s2 is handled so well  i cant get over it. she was such a major antagonist in the first season and just. despicable. she had no pathos. we hated this bitchy older sister who tried to kill Adaine and her friends and raise an evil dragon, and when she gets knocked on her ass and thrown in jail, we cheer.

and then s2 fucking starts saying “hey she’s in jail still if you’d like to look into that” and pursuing that thread ends up being almost as comedic an idea as it is a reluctant one; it’s also quickly shunted to the background as soon as more pressing leads present themselves, to the point where we almost forget about her until Adaine is kidnapped and then the first time you see her it’s just. viscerally upsetting.

she’s bad. she did evil. she got what she deserved.

but she already got what she deserved. last season.

she got her ass handed to her by a bunch of 14 year olds including her little sister (how embarrassing!). her plans were thwarted. she got punched in the face and made fun of. she already got her punishment.

it just……immediately registers as over-the-top Wrong to be told “hey, remember that antagonist you beat last season? she’s still being punished for that, except it’s way worse than just going to mumple.”

and there’s that reminder that like…this is a teenager. a child. who has been manipulated and abused. which is a really fascinating look at this character we used to see pretty much unilaterally as a one dimensional bitchy villain.

i mean we got a more in depth look at Penelope’s and Biz’s motivations in s1 (Penelope being the popular rich girl sorceress obviously hungry for power and the alllure of the high school clout that is being prom queen, but also we know that her having to turn on her best friend Sam Nightingale as part of the scheme was something she was reluctant and not happy to do; and Biz being that predatory incel creeper type dude besides just a nerd with computers and a lack of social graces). and they were as much willingly active in the plot as Aelwyn was. yet in s1 they really never do bother to explore Aelwyn’s motivations. i remember after watching s1 but before s2 that was one of my biggest lingering questions: why tf was Aelwyn involved?

well. she was manipulated and abused. her terrible parents raised her in an awful environment that conditioned her to Listen and Obey and Behave and Be Perfect, and then Kalina helped cinch the noose around her neck with threats and coersion into the KVS Kaper and the NMK crown debacle. she doesn’t freely choose any of it; she’s coerced, manipulated, abused.

and she already got justifiably punished for her bad actions in s1. the torture is almost literal overkill. it’s just……there’s this immediate turnaround in sympathy and view of the character. on first watch, it’s viscerally upsetting to see her getting so brutally punished for actions she already faced consequences for, and on rewatch, it makes your skin crawl to know she’s being tortured for terrible things she had little choice in carrying out. and tortured by some of the very same people who coerced her to behave terribly in the first place, to add insult to injury.

and it’s still fucking frustrating when they rescue her and her memory gets reset and she goes back to her parents because it’s like “well shit, she’s evil again, and we just wasted all that effort for nothing” but it’s also sad cause we know she’s running back to her abusers and she isn’t happy about it but doesn’t feel like she has a choice. and it’s sadder still that what eventually inevitably gets her to turn to good for good (i.e. away from her parents) is just. a full dissociative mental breakdown.

(but then she survives and it’s gonna be good!!! until Adaine dies in her fucking arms. which is. almost funny. she’s been through so much shit and that isn’t something that Brennan would have just. preplanned. like a written in plot point. no, that was just an unpredictable consequence of the battle. what a juicy fucking moment. she’s been through All That Shit™️ and has finally turned to fight for good and her sister just fully dies in front of her. yeowch)

and she turns out okay in the end. she comes out the other side alive and whole and supported by her sister and her friends, with the hope of a future and recovery. there is an acknowledgement that A) she can and will grow from her mistakes and damage, B) it’s going to be really hard, and C) the post-s2 one shots both prove that she’s doing okay now. hell, she has a whole squad now of other former-teenage-villains-turned-good-guys. she has friends now, Ragh and Zayn, with common ground, and a secret handshake and everything. they’ve all grown from the mistakes of their past into better, happier, healthier people

and about Zayn and Ragh. we’ve seen a lot of characters, protagonist and antagonist, teenage and adult, PC and NPC do some really fucked up shit and get punished for it. but why do they get happy endings? why are Aelwyn, Ragh, and Zayn the only members of the RVS and not someone else like Biz or Penelope or Dayne? 

well, the latter two are dead by then; but then again, Biz and Ragh were also killed by the Bad Kids in s1, and subsequently resurrected. (Zayn died too, but was neither killed nor revived at the Bad Kids’ hands, so i’ll get to him in a sec.) and there are plenty of adult antagonists the Bad Kids face who are killed and left that way by the Bad Kids without second thought: Johnny Spells, Coach Daybreak, Captain Wicklaw, the Abernant parents (presuming Arianwen doesn’t survive in the forest for very long, which i doubt). why do some characters get second chances while others don’t?

in the case of Zayn, his death was pretty much out of the Bad Kids’ hands, and they later found out he was manipulated by Daybreak into being bad anyway because of his sad living situation. he was a pretty minor antagonist in the scheme of things, and when we re-meet him as a ghost in the s1 epilogue, he’s pretty obviously remorseful for his actions. and dying seems like a steep enough punishment to me for the shit he did to contribute to the KVX caper; returning as a ghost, free from the trappings of his unfortunate living life, he now has the room and freedom to grow into a better person.

in the cases of Daybreak, Spells, Wicklaw, and the Abernant parents: these are bad people who should know better. these are fully grown adults who actively choose to do evil. whether they think it’s the right thing to do or not (in Daybreak’s case), whether they think it will benefit them and don’t care about anyone else (in the Abernants’ case), or whether they don’t care much at all and are just doing shit because they feel like it (in the cases of Spells and Wicklaw), these are all adults who consciously make the decision to do terrible things and hurt other people. of course Johnny Spells, who is generally a punk thief and thug, is not on the same level of bad as Angwyn, who kidnaps and tortures his own daughters for political gain, but the point remains. these fuckers should know better. they’re grown ups. they had their chances to be good and they chose not to heed them. their minds are set on bad actions and they are a continued danger to other people as long as they are alive. when they die, the Bad Kids do their damndest to make sure it stays that way.

now, in the cases of Penelope and Dayne: these are teenagers who actively chose to participate in an evil plot. Penelope, Dayne, and Biz were all fully cognizant of what they were doing trying to raise KVX back to his former power. why? well, to some extent, we can only speculate. i suspect Penelope was just one of those Regina George bitches who is rich and popular and powerful and obsessed with power and popularity within high school as if that’s the end-all-be-all of existence (which, like, when you’re currently in high school, is a somewhat understandable worldview i think). Dayne being her boyfriend and a musclehead jock probably falls into a similar line of thinking. they are actively and willingly trying to cause harm, and teenager or not, must be stopped. they’re killed, anyway, during the Climactic Battle™️ anyhow; it’s not like the Bad Kids were going to gain anything at that point by keeping them alive.

now, Biz: Biz is the creepy Nice Guy incel type, sees woman as a prize he deserves to win, yadda yadda. he does, like Penelope and Dayne, actively choose to help KVX. there might be something to be said about his motivation the Bad Kids discover after the arcade battle by detecting his thoughts (that being to upload the captured maidens from the palimpsests to “call the shots” himself) is an altered memory; whether this was his original motivation from the start or not, i’m not sure. but the Bad Kids do kill him – and then resurrect him for important, time-sensitive information. and they beat it out of him – he gets two of his fucking fingers blown off. and Riz reattaches them once they have their info, and they realize his memory is altered. of course, the Bad Kids don’t know at this point that the altered memory was something he, Penelope, and Aelwyn had planned and agreed on and done to themselves, but this points to something important in my opinion: the Bad Kids, and the narrative/show as a whole by extension, acknowledge that external manipulation affects how guilty someone is in a crime.

which brings us to Ragh. Ragh, introduced from episode 1 as the meathead jock. Ragh the archetypical one-dimensional high school bully. Ragh who works with the harvestmen in effort to (ostensibly) end the world/provoke international war. Ragh, whose low intelligence but high loyalty and internalized homophobia led him to be fully swayed and blindly led by his coach and captain, who have actively chosen to do evil. Ragh who is killed in combat by the Bad Kids and resurrected for information, not Daybreak. Ragh, who the Bad Kids realize was probably not aware of exactly what he was being made to do and how bad it really was. Ragh, who by their kindness in sparing his life and directing him on a better path, becomes a well-rounded character and an active ally to the Bad Kids during and after prom, an invaluable companion during their quest in sophomore year, and overall a really good friend and person. 

(it might also be worth considering the case of Jawbone here, too, who started out a very minor antagonist in a fight but ended up becoming a major NPC because the Bad Kids talked to him, found out he came from an unfortunate situation and set of circumstances, and showed him kindness in offering the school guidance counselor position, a kindness that isn’t really owed but given anyway and ends up changing his entire life for good.)

and then, Aelwyn, whose case is already discussed above. so, why is the RVS what it is, why them but not others?

if you’re familiar with Avatar: the Last Airbender, you’re probably familiar with Zuko’s character arc, and how it’s often lauded as a masterful example of developing a villain into a hero over the course of a narrative. what makes Zuko’s arc so well done and exceptional is that he starts out as a kid in a bad situation under the influence of bad adults seeking to do bad deeds, but he later realizes the error of those ways, actively removes himself from that situation despite the difficulty and danger in doing so, goes through a lot of shit and reflects on his past mistakes and learns from them, and then actively chooses to fight for good in the end with the help of close, trusted friends, found family. 

this, i believe, is the same in the case of Fantasy High and its treatment of the RVS. its members, like Zuko, are all teenagers who came from shitty situations and were manipulated by evil adults to do bad. they are punished for their bad actions, and they learn from their errors and mistakes. with the kindness and help of good people, friends and chosen family, they are able to escape their abusers and bad situations and grow into their own people. and they actively choose to improve themselves with that help and fight for good.

Fantasy High, through the arcs of Jawbone, Zayn, Ragh, and especially Aelwyn, asserts that it is not your fault if you come from a bad situation and are forced to behave badly as a result. it does not pretend that you are absolved of any responsibility for those actions; quite the opposite, as even though they were externally manipulated into their evil actions, all of those mentioned characters face tangible consequences for their actions and later express remorse for their mistakes. but Fantasy High also asserts that even if you have made great mistakes in your past, even if you came from a bad situation beyond your control, even if you were manipulated and abused, with care and love and support and a hell of a lot of work and effort, you can improve your situation and find good, happiness, peace, you can thrive. evil adults who should know better don’t get redeemed. teenagers who aren’t coerced but actively choose evil don’t get redeemed. but abused kids deserve another shot at happiness. with enough work, and some love and help along the way, they can get there, even from the lowest imaginable point, from rock fucking buttom. it’s possible.