#(not one that anyone expected and thus against the spirit of the announcement posts but one does consider the temptation)

[fictionadventurer]

It's very satisfying to me when the number of Inklings Challenge participants divides perfectly into equal teams. Any new members had better sign up in groups of three.

[razberryyum]

Scumbag System (SVSSS donghua) Episode 10 Thoughts (spoilers)

(covers SVSSS chaps 24 - 26, BC Novels Translations)

And thus the first season of the SVSSS donghua comes to an end...rather weirdly abruptly to be honest, but more on that later. Obviously I love the donghua. It was not perfect, but it still exceeded my expectations. I truly appreciate what they were able to do within their budget constraints and I think they captured the spirit of the source material perfectly, which is really all I hope for when it comes to adaptations.  The writing was strong, the humor hit the spot always (for example, when poor Shizun got motion sickness from sword riding, I guffawed), and they also gave us some of the most beautiful characters I’ve ever seen on screen, especially with Shen Qingqiu, Luo Binghe and Liu Qingge. I really, really hope they release official figurines for them. I’m going to start saving my money now just for that possibility.

Even though their time together in this episode was short, the BingQiu love was definitely strong. They gave them a combo move that was not in the source material: for someone like me who grew up watching Cantonese dramas, two characters who have a combo sword move (”雙劍合璧”!) are usually a couple so I was especially tickled by this addition. I am always thankful to the donghua team for the little Easter Eggs they give us for BingQiu, like the way Binghe's eyes lit up when he sees SQQ... 

or when SQQ touches him...

Once again, for those not in the know, it can easily be interpreted as a disciple just being devoted and filial to his Shizun. But for those of us who have read the novel, of course we know it’s indication of Bingmei falling in love with SQQ. I love how subtle yet significant these little expressions of Binghe’s are, and I hope they continue on with these little touches even in the next season. 

Of course then there are the more obvious gestures, like that HUG:

It lasted for a good 15 seconds and oh my God look at the Binghe’s hand placement!  There was totally nipple groppage happening there! This wasn’t in the book by the way...SQQ didn’t get woozy and Binghe most definitely didn’t have to catch him like some fainting damsel, so we have the donghua team to thank for this wonderful moment of (sexy) physical contact between the two of them. 

The donghua team was also especially generous in this episode since not only did we get some BingQiu love, but we got a pinch of LiuShen and QiJiu love too.

LQG’s eyes were on SQQ the entire time! And then Yue Qingyuan as usual took any opportunity he got to touch his Qingqiu.  So all shippers were fed. Hell, they even threw in some more straight-baiting again so peeps who are watching the show for the “straight” romance between Luo Binghe and his never-to-be-future-wife Qin Wanyue were fed too since the scene where Binghe gives her the handkerchief to wipe away her tears were not in the chapters of the book for this episode, and racking my brain I don’t even think it was in the book, period. I’m trying to remember if that handkerchief even holds any significance but even if it does, it’s all for naught since we know Qin Wanyue is at most just a minor side character. She does pop up again later on but then is mostly forgotten, so...not quite sure what that moment was all about other than to, I don’t know, throw off the censors?

I’m also not sure why we spent so much time with Liu Mingyan and Gongyi Xiao in this episode. Nothing against them personally, I like both characters very much (despite my previous complaints about GYX’s character design), and it’s not that they don’t deserve more screen time, but this was the season finale! Even though the next season has been announced, God knows when we’ll see it next year and how many episodes it would be, so every minute of screen time matters! That’s why I was a bit puzzled that they used up half of the episode showing LMY basically facing the same perils with her group of fellow disciples as before and GYX just running from that huge serpent. Even if that thing DOES turn out to be Zhuzhi-lang, it was still a bit much. They weren’t exactly character building scenes either so...why? Budget reasons? Didn’t have enough money to pay SQQ’s voice actor (Wu Lei-laoshi) so they had to stick in miscellaneous scenes to lessen his screen time? 

I’m kidding of course. God I hope that wasn’t the reason because that would just be sad.

Speaking of miscellaneous scenes though, what was going on with these two dudes?

I gotta admit, I’m a bit salty that these two mob characters got to do what our main couple can’t. What’s their story? Why do they get special privileges? Damn these nobodies. XD

All kidding aside, I have to say, of all the episodes this season, this might be the weakest one, not only because of the “filler” scenes, but also, the way the episode ended was so odd, especially for a season finale. The season basically ended on a scene transition. Not a cliffhanger, just a scene transition, and then cut to credits. What?? Why??? It’s almost as if they just ran out of time so had to stop the show all of a sudden. And then as if to make up for it, they added post-credit scenes which, honestly blew me away because it was so unexpected. It was indeed almost enough to make me completely forgive the weakness of the episode as a whole and that weird-ass ending.

I teared up!  The scene was kind of chopped up, didn’t even flow that smoothly, but I still got emotional! I’m sure when I see this scene in its entirety next season I am just going to be destroyed. I think they made it even more gut-wrenching than it was in the novel. Looks like the donghua team really aren’t gonna hold back when it comes to delivering the BingQiu knives. 

We also got to see Mobei-jun appear in the post-credits scene; I guess they had to stick him in there since he was featured in the poster for this season, so it would have been weird if he didn’t at least make an appearance.

I immediately thought of him as Sephiroth’s younger cousin when I first saw him on the poster and I still feel that way. Anyone related to Sephiroth, I will approve and instantly have affection for. For the MoShang shippers’ sake, I hope the Shang Qinghua they create for him will be just as pretty. I think I can now safely discard my guess from last time and also that moon-faced bearded ojisan others have guessed. We actually got a glimpse of the real deal in this sequence:

They strategically made him blurry so you can’t really make out his features, but what we still can tell from there is that he does not have facial hair (hence, he cannot be the ojisan) and the hair crown he’s wearing is silver and different from the twinky sect leader. So I guess we’ll be getting a fresh out of the microwave Airplane Bro instead of any of the no-name potential cannon fodder we’ve already seen. 

We’ll probably get the abyss opening up in maybe even the first episode of next season but that’ll still leave a lot of ground to be covered in just 10 episodes (rumored). There haven’t been any talk about a third season, but I really hope it’ll happen, even though it might take them a while to make it. I know it’s premature to even think of a third season when we haven’t even gotten an actual release date for the second, but I’m greedy because I already miss the donghua. This season was over so quickly, I’m already mourning the lack of new episodes. I hope we get the second season in the first quarter of next year and then by some miracle, a third or even fourth to properly finish out the story. I know we will never get the FULL story, but as long as they keep the spirit of BingQiu’s love and continue to hint at it like they’ve been doing this season, I will be more than satisfied. 

And while I’m wishful thinking for new seasons, I hope we also get a BingQiu duet and character songs. I love the opening and ending theme this season, if they want to save money I totally don’t mind if they just use the same OP/ED themes in the next season as well, but I hope they throw in a good BingQiu insert song and then release some individual character songs as well. I’m still not a fan of Binghe’s voice, but maybe they can have someone else do his vocals for the songs. SVSSS is the older son of MXTX’s works, I feel like it already got short-shrifted in terms of adaptation since it got the lesser budget compared to MDZS and TGCF. Hopefully with how popular the donghua is this season, it will be given a bigger budget next season so they can bring to life all the subsequent proceedings from the book properly. And whatever they’re paying Wu Lei-laoshi, SQQ’s voice actor, they should double it because that man is just amazing. I worship his voice and performance. I wish he would read the audiobook version of the the novel. I would listen to the hell out of that.  I have always loved SQQ, but if I’m going to be honest, I came into the show just a little more excited about seeing Bingge being brought to life. I still love Binghe of course, in all his phases, however, now,  because of Wu Lei-laoshi’s stellar voice performance (and of course SQQ’s beautiful looks), I’m leaving this season absolutely head over heels about SQQ/Shen Yuan. Also thanks to the show, I’m completely obsessed with Liu Qingge as well.  So for those two reasons, I will eternally be grateful to the donghua team.  

[scapegrace74-blog]

Saorsa, Chapter 29

A/N  Here is the next installment of Saorsa.  Jamie’s missing Claire.

Rather than link to all previously posted chapters, I’ll just direct those of you wanting to catch up on your Saorsa-reading to my AO3 page, where the fic is posted in its entirety.

Thank you to each of you liking and reblogging!  It does my little fanfic writer’s heart good.

The wind blew through the leaves of an enormous willow tree, making them pivot and dance like thousands of silver-green fish.   Jamie was resting with his back against the trunk, chewing contemplatively on a length of meadow grass and listening for trouble while Rupert slept.  So far, the only sounds were the hum of insects, the babble of a nearby burn, and the grumbling of his stomach.  Seven months under Cook’s generous care had accustomed him to regular and hearty meals, and he’d forgotten what it meant to always be hungry.  

Most days on the road he ventured out under the cover of dusk with his bow and managed to bag a rabbit or grouse, but as they moved southwards into more settled farmland he became increasingly cautious, not wanting to be arrested as a poacher.   The previous evening they’d had to be content with stale bread and hard cheese washed down with warm ale.

A branch broke nearby.  He snatched his pistol from his lap and aimed over his shoulder, nerves singing.   Rupert stepped out from behind the tree, rubbing sleep from his eyes with a grubby hand.

“Christ, Rupert!  I near blew yer heid off, ye daft oaf.  Could ye no’ announce yerself?” Jamie exhaled, pointing the pistol skyward.

“Yer verra crabbit, man.  Dae ye miss the mistress sae much ye canna stand the sight of anyone who’s no’ her?” Rupert teased, grabbing the flagon of ale and lowering himself into the dappled shade nearby.

“Bit of a curse and give me peace,” Jamie grumbled, moving away on aching limbs.

“May ye dream of bonnie lassies with round bellies and brown curls, and awake in fairer spirits,” Rupert called out as Jamie made his way to the wagon, where the bales of wool created a fair, if somewhat prickly, mattress.

He groaned as he arranged his long limbs over the wool and pulled his plaid over his shoulders.  Thus far they’d been blessed with mild, relatively dry weather, speeding their progress southwards.  In a few days’ time they would reach the outskirts of Edinburgh, where Rupert would leave Jamie to manage the rest of the journey alone.  He draped his sleeve over his face, trying to block out the persistent sunlight and find a few hours’ rest.

Rupert was right, he was missing Claire.  But more than longing for her physical presence, he missed the steady significance of his position by her side.  When he was with Claire, he knew his place in the world as certainly as a star in the firmament.  The greater the distance between them, the more he felt adrift.  He thought of their parting, lips curling wistfully.

“Come back to me, James Fraser,” she’d whispered, holding his skull between firm fingertips.

“Aye, as soon as I can,” he’d replied, and with one last lingering kiss and a soft caress for her swollen midsection, he’d mounted Donas and ridden away without a backwards glance.

Still smiling, he eased into sleep.

***

Rupert was a lad of pointed words and rounded body, but Jamie was sorry to see him go.  If nothing else, he was familiar with the ways of modern Scotland and a source of bottomless bawdy humour.  It was raining hard as they shook hands at a bridge over the Forth.  Neither were inclined to linger.

“God speed to ye, Master Jamie.  An’ ‘is blessings on the wee bairn.  Lallybroch will finally ‘ave a Scot fer a laird again, aye?”

“My thanks to ye, Rupert.  Come ‘ome safe, wher’er the road takes ye.”

Rupert gave him a shrewd look, each of them understanding what wasn’t being said.  The young man shifted his haversack higher on his shoulder, turned, and walked away towards the east.

Securing Donas’ reins to the wagon’s railing, Jamie climbed onto the seat and whistled to the plow horses.  If he made haste along the verge of secondary roads, he could travel by daylight and be in Galashiels two days hence.

A motorcar approached, much too close to the edge of the tarmac.  The angry mechanical bleat of its horn as it flew past startled Donas, who reared and nearly snapped his bridle.   Jamie swore prodigiously in Gaelic before jumping down to calm the spooked horse.  

It was going to be a long two days.

***

The closer he got to the border with England, the poorer Jamie’s luck became.   First it was the weather, which deteriorated into the windblown icy rain for which Scotland was famous.  He was used to being out-of-doors in all manner of clime, but it became difficult to light a fire to get warm or cook a meal.   Next, the dark bay gelding threw a shoe and they had to leave the route to find a blacksmith in a nearby village.

By the time he arrived in Galashiels, bedraggled and frozen, it was already April twentieth, three days later than he’d hoped.  The wagon rolled to a halt in a cobblestone courtyard surrounded by tidy brick buildings.  Jamie eased himself to the ground and mounted the steps to a black door over which was written “Stewart Brothers: Wool Brokers”.   Inside was a small office where a number of clerks worked behind wooden desks.  He approached the nearest of these and removed his leather cap.

“Good day tae ye, sir.  My name is James Fraser of Lallybroch, and I’m ‘ere tae sell wool tae the British Army.”

The thin man lifted his bald head and gave Jamie a thorough head-to-toe glance before snorting dismissively and gesturing vaguely towards a door to his left.  Without a word, he went back to his writing.

Knocking on the oaken door, Jamie heard a gruff English voice within say “Enter.”

The office was cluttered and dim.  A portly middle-aged man with a wide mustache rose as he entered.

“James Fraser, sir.” He extended his hand.

“Lloyd Stewart, at your service,” the man replied, shaking his hand firmly.  “What can I do for you today, Mr. Fraser?”   He gestured to a high-backed chair.

During the brief explanation of his journey and his purpose, Mr. Stewart’s expression changed from distracted civility to incredulity.

“Where did you say you were from, Mr. Fraser?”

“Lallybroch, sir.  Near Inverness.”

“That’s Captain Randall’s estate, is it not?   Do you work for him?”

Jamie drew a deep breath through his nostrils, quelling his urge to be insulted.

“Nay, I am master of the estate.  Captain Randall died in the war last fall.  His widow is now my wife.”

The merchant raised his bushy eyebrows high, casting a disdainful glance at the younger man’s filthy clothes and unkempt appearance, but saying nothing.

“Ye may… telephone… my wife, Claire Fraser, if yer doubting my claim.  Sir.”

He was bluffing.  Lallybroch had yet to install a telephone, mostly because neither he nor Claire could think of anyone they were interested in talking to who wasn’t willing to make the trip to speak in person.

“That won’t be necessary, Mr. Fraser.   If you could just validate some simple details for me…”  A heavy ledger sat on the corner of the desk, and Mr. Stewart opened it and paged backwards until finding the desired spot.   “Now, I see here that last spring our mill purchased some fine raw Cheviot from Lallybroch.  If you could simply confirm the number of bales your estate sold us, and who made the delivery, we’ll be right as rain.”

The man’s subtle sneer indicated he had every expectation Jamie would fail the test, and his next stop would be the local gaol, yet another Highlander imprisoned for theft.   Fortunately, the anger and righteousness coursing through the young man’s veins focused his mind, and he clearly remembered his conversation with Claire.

“Twas eleven bales, and brought tae ye by the Duke of Sandringham, who ‘as o’ersight of the estate, as ye likely ken.  In the future, t’will be I who brings ye the wool, if ye care tae mark that down in yer wee book, Mr. Stewart.  Master James Alexander Malcolm Mackenzie Fraser of Lallybroch, if ye please.”

After a tense moment in which neither man blinked, Stewart sighed and began to open a heavy iron safe.   Five minutes later Jamie strode out of the building, eager to leave and begin his return journey.  There was six hundred-and-eleven pounds sterling hidden in the shafts of his boots.  The courtyard was empty save for his three horses and the wagon, already emptied of its shipment of wool.

[michelles-garden-of-evil]

Episode 32 Review: Sea Fever

{ Not available on YouTube }

{ Full Synopses/Recaps: Debby Graham | Bryan Gruszka }

{ Screencaps }

I apologize for the delay in posting this review. Once again, I’ve been busy in real life and didn’t have enough time to work on it last week. (And so soon after starting my Shadow Over Seventh Heaven review series!) But now I’m back and I have enough time to write about my favorite show again--and, in a week or so, hopefully enough to continue my other review series as well.

This is the first episode to differ completely from the Lost Episode summaries published in various U.S. and Canadian newspapers--and therefore probably the point at which the original outline and the final one began to diverge. Episode 30′s summary described an event that happened in the episode, but whose cause appears to have been changed during forced rewrites; last episode’s was still accurate after revisions; but this one’s summary is the first to describe a scene absent from the final, aired episode. (More on that later.)

Shall we begin this review? This episode features some of the darkest Jean Paul (yes, Jean Paul!) dialogue thus far, along with many entertaining facial expressions as multiple characters feast on the scenery. It’s a wild ride with a genuinely scary scene, and, if you like those things, I think you’ll enjoy it.

We open right where last episode left off, with Elizabeth reacting to Jacques’ little comment about Holly and how he would stake her life in a bet that Vangie couldn’t contact Erica in the planned séance. ”Jean Paul,” she shouts, “your inference that I would harm my daughter to take her fortune for my own is insulting and in bad taste: something I’d never expect of you!”

The handsome devil replies, “Your strong defense against a simple query lends credence to a simple supposition”--which is just a fancier, less archaic way of saying “the lady doth protest too much.”

She flounces and runs into Vangie at the door--figuratively, not literally, although that would be amusing. “You interrupted Mrs. Marshall’s romantic exit from which there might be no return,” Jacques comments, which sounds suspiciously like foreshadowing.

The conversation drifts to the séance and how Jacques is most definitely not going to back down because he’s not a coward, and then, suddenly,

Vangie SCREAMS!

Apparently, every time a female character other than Raxl screams, she has to try eating her hand immediately afterwards.

She’s screaming because she can sense that someone is tampering with the cryonics capsule. And, at the same time that this happens, Jacques also de-possesses Jean Paul:

I’ll let these headache faces speak for themselves.

Jean Paul who threatens to kill anyone who tampers with the capsule. Very nice (not)! Normally, I find his concern for Erica romantic, but this is going too far. He reminds me of the captain in the CBS Radio Mystery Theater episode "Sea Fever" (also by Ian Martin) who…well, I don't want to spoil the ending, but let's just say that he is even crazier in love than Jean Paul. It isn’t one of the best CBSRMT dramas, but it will likely chill your bones. It certainly chilled mine.

Love this shot of Colin Fox backacting while Paisley Maxwell and Angela Roland stare at him with wide-open eyes. This episode is full of unintentionally funny facial expressions.

Jean Paul hurries back to Maljardin with Elizabeth and Vangie, and heads to the crypt immediately to see Raxl about the capsule. She recaps to him about the capsule tank’s malfunctioning in the previous episode. He asks who discovered it; she tells him Dan, which only makes him more suspicious of him. SHe also recaps to him about how Alison and Dan are searching for the cyanide that he stole from the lab. “Everyone questions my changes of mood,” he shouts. “Now I must question changes in others!...There is danger hiding everywhere on Maljardin. It has a history that has plagued the family, that will plague all who pry into my affairs!"

While Vangie questions the sincerity of Elizabeth’s devotion to Jean Paul above, Jean Paul leaves red flowers on the cryocapsule and announces his planned next moves to his love: “Erica, my dove, now [there] are some people here on our island who would destroy the process by which you will be returned to me and fill my arms again, but I promise you, no one, no one under any consequences [line flub], will live again if he or she causes you to remain forever dead!"

A beautiful shot of Jean Paul with flowers for Erica.

When Raxl next joins Jean Paul in the crypt, she tells him that “only the priestess of the Serpent knows what is really on their minds.” Jean Paul mentions that she has told him before about the human sacrifices that the priestesses used to perform on the island--which is not recap (as we have only heard her tell Matt about them so far), so she must have told him sometime before Erica’s death. She insists that, although that was true long ago, their altar has not been used for them since Jacques's time.

“But, if his evil can rise again, as you fear,” he begins, implying that he wants to start making blood sacrifices.

“No! Please, M’sieu, no!” Raxl interrupts.

“I will do what has to be done, Raxl. Nothing more, nothing less.”

Raxl draws the Sign of the Great Serpent in the air and the same Great Serpent symbol that's in the Temple appears on screen. It’s a cool effect and not something that’s ever seen in any other episode.

She leaves the crypt, looking back at Jean Paul a few times, probably in complete disbelief that he wants her, daughter of the unseen Priestess of the Serpent, to sacrifice Dan and any other troublesome guests to protect against THE DEVIL JACQUES ELOI DES MONDES. This is a shocking new low for Jean Paul Desmond, and shows the darker side of his character. This is a man who, even without a curse and even when he is not possessed, is capable of murder because of his obsession with his love interest. This is a male yandere.

She sees Matt in the Great Hall, who tells her that he’s searched all over Maljardin and that there must be many hidden rooms there. It turns out they have both searched in every room they know about and still have found neither the missing cyanide nor the conjure doll and silver pin. He demands that she tell him the legend of Maljardin and that old black magic. And so we learn from her some very important background information, some of which is never brought up again:

Where there is evil, there is magic. Where there is magic, strange things happen, but first there must be evil, and there is!...Before the time of Jacques Eloi des Mondes, when this house first stood, it was a palace of kings and there were many people here until this island became his!…Only the greedy and foolish [natives] remained, and none who left ever returned.

There is a curse here, Reverend: him, that devil!

The implication is that Jacques did not build the château, but took it from someone else, which connects to his revelation about a month earlier that he was a “free looter”--or, in other words, a pirate. Matt argues that Jacques cannot still hold control over Maljardin because he died three hundred years ago, but Raxl says that “for some of us, three hundred years is but the span of a single lifetime,” indirectly revealing her true age to him.

She smiles at him right after she reveals to him that she’s centuries old. I think this is the first time Raxl smiles on the show, and the only time in the entire Maljardin arc.

Matt asks about the natives who stayed on the island, and Raxl says of them, “They died very soon. It was the curse on Maljardin. Have you ever seen a man who has lost his soul, Reverend? Their eyes down, the fishermen no longer fish, the children cease to play. They do no more than sit and wait [for death]...Since then, no native has ever tried to settle on Maljardin.” Only Vangie, the Conjure Woman, can go back and forth to and from the island “on the wings of the Great Serpent,” but she, too, is destined to die someday on Maljardin.

At the end of this scene, Vangie enters and adds that she doesn’t know when she’ll die, because the tarot cards did not (and cannot?) give her an exact date. This would seem to make her death on the show a foregone conclusion, but that may or may not be the case. (I say that not only to avoid spoilers, but also because the show and the original scripts give the Conjure Woman radically different fates, as we shall explore in future reviews.)

Meanwhile, down in the crypt, Jean Paul is still talking to Erica about how he is determined to kill anyone who interferes with the cryonics process when Jacques starts intruding on his mind. Like in Episode 27, the special effects team illustrates this by superimposing Jacques’ face from the portrait over that of Jean Paul when he is talking to him:

The best example from this episode.

None of Jacques’ lines in this scene are as funny as those of the old, pre-Lost Episode era Jacques, even if Fox-C still delivers the devil’s lines with the same amount of sarcasm and relish as before. His best line this time around is, in my not-so-humble opinion, “Suppose we just whisper so dear Erica may sleep.” I miss early Jacques’ jokes already--yes, even the ham-handed, cornball puns--and it hasn’t even been a week’s worth of episodes since the last.

We cut to Raxl and Vangie in the Great Hall, discussing the upcoming séance. Vangie says that she wants to find out if Erica’s spirit genuinely wants Jean Paul to continue mourning her and keeping her frozen. She insists that Raxl let her touch the cryocapsule before the séance, most likely to get a sense of Erica’s energy before they perform the ceremony.

Jean Paul: “What are you doing!”

Raxl: “Please, M’sieu. The Conjure Woman is trying to help.”

Jean Paul: “Only for a séance, Vangie. Erica must remain undisturbed.” Vangie: “And if you don’t like what you learn?” Jean Paul: “I’ll face that--when the time comes!”

The Lost Episode summary indicates that, at some point in the original draft, Raxl and Vangie had a conversation about Jacques, and Raxl would have told her how she can tell him and Jean Paul apart. As I’m sure many of you have realized, Raxl and Vangie oscillate between knowing that Jean Paul is being possessed and merely suspecting, depending on the episode. In the original Episode 32, Raxl would have known when Jacques is controlling Jean Paul’s body and Vangie would have only suspected until after Raxl explained. Ruling out all obvious non-diegetic clues such as the vanishing portrait shots and Jacques’ theme music, she could have said any number of things, including:

His energy/aura changes (although, logically, Vangie would notice that, too).

He wears the ring from the portrait (which we know is diegetic, because Elizabeth commented on it in Episode 13).

He opens his eyes really wide and makes silly faces.

He makes corny puns Never mind, we’re not doing that anymore.

He acts far too cheerful for a man who is supposedly mourning his dead wife.

He talks about kippers.

Etc.

I suppose we’ll never know which one(s) she mentioned, but I suspect #1, #2, and/or #5. Anyway, Jean Paul leaves to return upstairs and Vangie continues whatever she started doing with the capsule. He orders Jacques to “stop turning people against [him],” which he refuses to do, threatening to keep Erica dead if he doesn’t shut up about it.

“When we really get into the battle, someone has to die,” quips Jacques.

“Perhaps it will be you!” shouts Jean Paul in response.

“Or you, Jean Paul Desmond,” the handsome devil replies. “Or will you be preceded by one of our guests? Now let me see. A likely candidate could be...”

Jean Paul turns away from the roars of laughter, and the episode ends before Jacques can name the guest(s) he plans to murder.

Could it be Vangie? Or Holly? Dan? Alison? Even Elizabeth?

This episode was a fun one to watch, and probably the first review I’ve completed in only one day since sometime last winter. Jean Paul’s willingness to put everyone’s life on the proverbial line to save Erica shows a dark side to his nature that mostly vanishes at the end of this story arc--which is a shame, because I find morally ambiguous antihero Jean Paul the most interesting version of his character. I recommend this one, if you have access to it.

Coming up next: A Quito-centric episode where the detained guests learn shocking truths about Jean Paul’s manservant.

{ <- Previous: Episode 31   ||   Next: Episode 33 -> }

[doomonfilm]

Review : See You Yesterday (2019)

Anyone who has spent roughly ANY amount of time talking movies with me is more than likely aware of my fascination with time travel films.  By their root definition, tension is immediately implied and on queue that is not normally present in your standard drama or suspense film.  From my first time seeing Back to the Future, I was hooked on time travel films, so it was a given that I would get around to watching See You Yesterday. 

C.J. (Eden Duncan-Smith) and her friend Sebastian (Dante Crichlow) are two young inventors with hopes of creating a time machine that will blow away the competition at their upcoming science fair, and possibly fast-track the pair to college.  The pair keeps coming close, and have even cracked the issue in theory, but are unable to implement their theory into reality.  One day, while C.J. and Sebastian are dealing with a conflict involving C.J.’s ex-boyfriend Jared (Rayshawn Richardson), C.J.’s brother Calvin (Brian ‘Stro’ Bradley) and his friend Dennis (Wavyy Jonez) step in to intervene, and all parties involved leave the bodega where the conflict took place.  Moments later, in a case of mistaken identity, Calvin is killed by police due to the cops assuming Calvin and Dennis robbed the bodega.  Distraught, C.J. pushes Sebastian to create their invention in order to right the wrong of Calvin’s death, and the duo are successful.  By unlocking this power, however, C.J. quickly learns that messing with the past has problems and hurdles that she is not even remotely ready to address.

As a time travel movie, I have to put this one up their with films like Primer and Timecrimes in terms of embracing the stakes that most time travel films stay away from.  These stakes would initially feel extreme with the original motivation that C.J. and Sebastian have for creating their machines, but once the ‘death by police’ element presents itself, the motivations shift, thus allowing space for the stakes to raise.  Add to this a fog created by C.J. being driven by more and more emotion with each jump, not to mention the fact she is 16, and the errors that occur make complete sense.  With each attempt to fix the past, we are presented with more and more heartbreak, adding to our frustration as viewers, which works well in tandem with the standard frustration of keeping the ‘timeilnes’ straight.

With the film taking place in New York, the fact that cultural diversity is embraced is a beautiful detail.  Carribean, Jamaican, Domican, Puerto Rican and many more cultures have a strong presence in the film, with at least 3 familial generations shown in some cases.  Heroes from all of the cultures can be seen in murals (as well as character names), flags of many of these countries (and more) are peppered throughout the set design, everyone’s accents and colloquialisms are fully embraced, and the neighborhoods that they inhabit pop with color and spirit.

As mentioned before, the production design stands out throughout the film, with high-style sets like the garage and the alley balancing well against down-to-earth sets like the home interiors and the bodega.  The camera moves around like a curious bystander in most shots, only raising above our character’s range when the science-fiction elements of the story kick into gear.  The virtual-reality depections used during the explanations of the time machines work well stylistically and expositionally.  The writing unfolds like a red carpet towards tragedy, dragging us deeper and deeper into the desperate nature of the situation as things spiral more and more out of control.  

Eden Duncan-Smith is a lead with firmness, dignity and strength, but not at the expense of a humorous and loving personality, giving her the range and dynamics that many young actors do not display.  Her pairing with Dante Crichlow is nearly perfect, as his charisma bursts off the screen from the moment he shows up, and their on-screen chemistry bolsters our connection with the character.  Brian ‘Stro’ Bradley provides the big brother presence, giving Duncan-Smith equal parts of a hard-time, sagely advice and space to express herself.  Marsha Stephanie Blake and Myra Lucretia Taylor bring the stern supporter and tough love (respectively) motherly aesthetics to the table.  Wavvy Jonez and Johnathan Nieves make the most of their brief moments as supportive friends, bringing more humor and texture to the film.  Rayshawn Richardson works well as a narrative protagonist, giving enough stress to Duncan-Smith to justify his presence as obstacle to the bigger plans.  An appearance by Michael J. Fox immediately brought a smile to my face, and a massive supporting cast of school friends and neighborhood dwellers gives the world more life. 

I went into this Netflix original without little to no expectations, but I am happy to announce that their (mostly) positive trend of improving material continues.  I did not expect to enjoy this move as much as I did, and I plan on revisiting it sooner than later... possibly even for a post that addresses my fascination with time travel movies.

[loveofyhwh]

October 4: Isaiah 20–22; Hebrews 10:19–39; Psalm 88; Proverbs 24:28–29

New Post has been published on https://loveofyhwh.com/october-4-isaiah-20-22-hebrews-1019-39-psalm-88-proverbs-2428-29/

October 4: Isaiah 20–22; Hebrews 10:19–39; Psalm 88; Proverbs 24:28–29

Old Testament:

Isaiah 20–22

Isaiah 20–22 (Listen)

A Sign Against Egypt and Cush

20 In the year that the commander in chief, who was sent by Sargon the king of Assyria, came to Ashdod and fought against it and captured it—2 at that time the LORD spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go, and loose the sackcloth from your waist and take off your sandals from your feet,” and he did so, walking naked and barefoot.

3 Then the LORD said, “As my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot for three years as a sign and a portent against Egypt and Cush,Probably Nubia‘>1 4 so shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptian captives and the Cushite exiles, both the young and the old, naked and barefoot, with buttocks uncovered, the nakedness of Egypt. 5 Then they shall be dismayed and ashamed because of Cush their hope and of Egypt their boast. 6 And the inhabitants of this coastland will say in that day, ‘Behold, this is what has happened to those in whom we hoped and to whom we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria! And we, how shall we escape?’”

Fallen, Fallen Is Babylon

21 The oracle concerning the wilderness of the sea.

  As whirlwinds in the Negeb sweep on,     it comes from the wilderness,     from a terrible land. 2   A stern vision is told to me;     the traitor betrays,     and the destroyer destroys.   Go up, O Elam;     lay siege, O Media;   all the sighing she has caused     I bring to an end. 3   Therefore my loins are filled with anguish;     pangs have seized me,     like the pangs of a woman in labor;   I am bowed down so that I cannot hear;     I am dismayed so that I cannot see. 4   My heart staggers; horror has appalled me;     the twilight I longed for     has been turned for me into trembling. 5   They prepare the table,     they spread the rugs,Or they set the watchman‘>2     they eat, they drink.   Arise, O princes;     oil the shield! 6   For thus the Lord said to me:   “Go, set a watchman;     let him announce what he sees. 7   When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs,     riders on donkeys, riders on camels,   let him listen diligently,     very diligently.” 8   Then he who saw cried out:Dead Sea Scroll, Syriac; Masoretic Text Then a lion cried out, or Then he cried out like a lion‘>3   “Upon a watchtower I stand, O Lord,     continually by day,   and at my post I am stationed     whole nights. 9   And behold, here come riders,     horsemen in pairs!”   And he answered,     “Fallen, fallen is Babylon;   and all the carved images of her gods     he has shattered to the ground.” 10   O my threshed and winnowed one,     what I have heard from the LORD of hosts,     the God of Israel, I announce to you.

11 The oracle concerning Dumah.

  One is calling to me from Seir,     “Watchman, what time of the night?     Watchman, what time of the night?” 12   The watchman says:   “Morning comes, and also the night.     If you will inquire, inquire;     come back again.”

13 The oracle concerning Arabia.

  In the thickets in Arabia you will lodge,     O caravans of Dedanites. 14   To the thirsty bring water;     meet the fugitive with bread,     O inhabitants of the land of Tema. 15   For they have fled from the swords,     from the drawn sword,   from the bent bow,     and from the press of battle.

16 For thus the Lord said to me, “Within a year, according to the years of a hired worker, all the glory of Kedar will come to an end. 17 And the remainder of the archers of the mighty men of the sons of Kedar will be few, for the LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken.”

An Oracle Concerning Jerusalem

22 The oracle concerning the valley of vision.

  What do you mean that you have gone up,     all of you, to the housetops, 2   you who are full of shoutings,     tumultuous city, exultant town?   Your slain are not slain with the sword     or dead in battle. 3   All your leaders have fled together;     without the bow they were captured.   All of you who were found were captured,     though they had fled far away. 4   Therefore I said:   “Look away from me;     let me weep bitter tears;   do not labor to comfort me     concerning the destruction of the daughter of my people.” 5   For the Lord GOD of hosts has a day     of tumult and trampling and confusion     in the valley of vision,   a battering down of walls     and a shouting to the mountains. 6   And Elam bore the quiver     with chariots and horsemen,     and Kir uncovered the shield. 7   Your choicest valleys were full of chariots,     and the horsemen took their stand at the gates. 8   He has taken away the covering of Judah.

In that day you looked to the weapons of the House of the Forest, 9 and you saw that the breaches of the city of David were many. You collected the waters of the lower pool, 10 and you counted the houses of Jerusalem, and you broke down the houses to fortify the wall. 11 You made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. But you did not look to him who did it, or see him who planned it long ago.

12   In that day the Lord GOD of hosts     called for weeping and mourning,     for baldness and wearing sackcloth; 13   and behold, joy and gladness,     killing oxen and slaughtering sheep,     eating flesh and drinking wine.   “Let us eat and drink,     for tomorrow we die.” 14   The LORD of hosts has revealed himself in my ears:   “Surely this iniquity will not be atoned for you until you die,”     says the Lord GOD of hosts.

15 Thus says the Lord GOD of hosts, “Come, go to this steward, to Shebna, who is over the household, and say to him: 16 What have you to do here, and whom have you here, that you have cut out here a tomb for yourself, you who cut out a tomb on the height and carve a dwelling for yourself in the rock? 17 Behold, the LORD will hurl you away violently, O you strong man. He will seize firm hold on you 18 and whirl you around and around, and throw you like a ball into a wide land. There you shall die, and there shall be your glorious chariots, you shame of your master’s house. 19 I will thrust you from your office, and you will be pulled down from your station. 20 In that day I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, 21 and I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your sash on him, and will commit your authority to his hand. And he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. 22 And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. 23 And I will fasten him like a peg in a secure place, and he will become a throne of honor to his father’s house. 24 And they will hang on him the whole honor of his father’s house, the offspring and issue, every small vessel, from the cups to all the flagons. 25 In that day, declares the LORD of hosts, the peg that was fastened in a secure place will give way, and it will be cut down and fall, and the load that was on it will be cut off, for the LORD has spoken.”

Footnotes

[1] 20:3 Probably Nubia [2] 21:5 Or they set the watchman [3] 21:8 Dead Sea Scroll, Syriac; Masoretic Text Then a lion cried out, or Then he cried out like a lion

(ESV)

New Testament:

Hebrews 10:19–39

Hebrews 10:19–39 (Listen)

The Full Assurance of Faith

19 Therefore, brothers,Or brothers and sisters‘>1 since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

32 But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, 33 sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. 34 For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. 35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. 37 For,

  “Yet a little while,     and the coming one will come and will not delay; 38   but my righteous one shall live by faith,     and if he shrinks back,   my soul has no pleasure in him.”

39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

Footnotes

[1] 10:19 Or brothers and sisters

(ESV)

Psalm:

Psalm 88

Psalm 88 (Listen)

I Cry Out Day and Night Before You

A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. To the choirmaster: according to Mahalath Leannoth. A MaskilProbably musical or liturgical terms‘>1 of Heman the Ezrahite.

88   O LORD, God of my salvation,     I cry out day and night before you. 2   Let my prayer come before you;     incline your ear to my cry! 3   For my soul is full of troubles,     and my life draws near to Sheol. 4   I am counted among those who go down to the pit;     I am a man who has no strength, 5   like one set loose among the dead,     like the slain that lie in the grave,   like those whom you remember no more,     for they are cut off from your hand. 6   You have put me in the depths of the pit,     in the regions dark and deep. 7   Your wrath lies heavy upon me,     and you overwhelm me with all your waves. Selah 8   You have caused my companions to shun me;     you have made me a horrorOr an abomination‘>2 to them.   I am shut in so that I cannot escape; 9     my eye grows dim through sorrow.   Every day I call upon you, O LORD;     I spread out my hands to you. 10   Do you work wonders for the dead?     Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah 11   Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,     or your faithfulness in Abaddon? 12   Are your wonders known in the darkness,     or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? 13   But I, O LORD, cry to you;     in the morning my prayer comes before you. 14   O LORD, why do you cast my soul away?     Why do you hide your face from me? 15   Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,     I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain‘>3 16   Your wrath has swept over me;     your dreadful assaults destroy me. 17   They surround me like a flood all day long;     they close in on me together. 18   You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me;     my companions have become darkness.Or darkness has become my only companion‘>4

Footnotes

[1] 88:1 Probably musical or liturgical terms [2] 88:8 Or an abomination [3] 88:15 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [4] 88:18 Or darkness has become my only companion

(ESV)

Proverb:

Proverbs 24:28–29

Proverbs 24:28–29 (Listen)

28   Be not a witness against your neighbor without cause,     and do not deceive with your lips. 29   Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me;     I will pay the man back for what he has done.”

(ESV)

[khalilhumam]

Trump wants the troops home from Afghanistan by Christmas

New Post has been published on http://khalilhumam.com/trump-wants-the-troops-home-from-afghanistan-by-christmas/

Trump wants the troops home from Afghanistan by Christmas

By Michael E. O'Hanlon Perhaps sensing electoral doom and looking for a Hail Mary, President Trump recently tweeted that U.S. troops in Afghanistan should be home by Christmas. This radical departure in U.S. plans came a day after his national security advisor, Robert O’Brien, had announced that American forces in Afghanistan would decline to some 2,500 by early 2021. That was already a big additional cut, as it would halve the previously decided number and represent a more than 97% reduction from the peak U.S. strength of the early Obama years. Now we are supposedly aiming for zero before the end of this year. It is not yet clear if Trump’s tweet amounts to a hope, a plan, or an order — but as commander in chief, he might well have the power to insist on execution of such a decision unilaterally, even if Congress tried to override his decision. Predictably, the first to congratulate Trump on his tweet were Taliban leaders, who were already interpreting the February 29 accord they signed earlier this year with Trump to require a complete U.S. departure by May 2021. If he is willing to move up the date by five months, and make sure that a President Biden could not revisit that idea, all the better, they likely reckoned. Never mind that the Taliban, according to the U.N., retain ties with al-Qaida elements like the Haqqani network that technically put them in noncompliance with the February 29 accord themselves. Never mind that violence in Afghanistan, initiated by the Taliban, remains undiminished, violating the spirit if not the letter of that same agreement. If Trump carries through on his new pledge to remove all U.S. forces from Afghanistan in less than 80 days, the following developments are either inevitable or likely to occur — based on what we know about American military logistics, the dynamics of the Afghanistan war, and historical precedents in places like Vietnam in the early 1970s and Afghanistan itself when the Soviets pulled out in 1989.

Other members of the international military coalition still supporting the Afghan government in its ongoing fight against the Taliban will surely leave too, on a similar schedule. They depend too much on the United States for logistics, intelligence, and military backstop to be able to sustain the mission without us.

Because it is doubtful that everything could be dismantled and flown out of the country in the 11 weeks that remain before Christmas, a good deal of American military equipment would need to be destroyed on site, lest it someday fall into Taliban hands.

The Taliban, already convinced that the elected and constitutionally-based government of President Ashraf Ghani is a mere puppet of the world community, will double down on their hardline approach in the peace talks that recently began in Doha. Believing that Ghani’s days are numbered, they will surely demand the lion’s share of all power for themselves, including predominant control of the country’s security forces, schools, and courts.

Soon after the departure of NATO coalition partners, we would have to expect a multi-pronged Taliban attack similar to the Viet Cong’s Tet offensive in Vietnam in 1968, designed to intimidate the ruling Afghan classes into flight or capitulation, and the security forces into dissolution.

Thus, the United States and other foreign countries will either have to close their embassies by Christmas, given the likelihood of such a massive Taliban offensive, or keep dozens of helicopters on ships in the northern Arabian Sea awaiting the potential need for a Saigon-like extraction of key personnel at any time.

More likely, the war would go on for a while, even if Kabul and other cities were no longer remotely safe for anyone. The Taliban has been gradually gaining the upper hand in the war over the past decade or so, but only slowly — with U.S. intelligence estimating that it typically gains control of about an additional 1% of the country’s territory and population per year. But all the cities remain now in government hands, as do most of the nation’s 400+ districts. So even if the Taliban’s military prospects improved appreciably, they might not be able to seize and hold the country anytime soon. It is at least as likely that NATO’s departure would condemn the country to a worsening civil war as it would produce a quick Taliban takeover.

Over time, however, the odds would indeed be with the Taliban. For one thing, Pakistan’s newfound interest in apparently helping to mediate a power-sharing deal would probably be dropped in favor of Islamabad helping the Taliban control the country, so that an India-friendly group could not.

Another possible outcome of the war is partition of the country, Bosnia-style. Since the Taliban is made up more or less exclusively of members of the Pashtun ethnic group (who represent about 40% to 45% of the nation’s population), one could easily imagine that a civil war would produce massive ethnic cleansing in the north and center of the country, as Tajiks and Uzbeks drove Pashtun populations from northern cities so that they could effectively close off much of the country from enemy infiltration. The massive ethnic cleansing that could ensue might displace up to several million, with hundreds of thousands dead, before the partition became semi-stable.

Perhaps a future Taliban government would be willing to temper its ties to extremist groups like al-Qaida in an effort to gain Western aid. But in anything resembling the above scenarios, it is difficult to believe such aid would be forthcoming for long. So Taliban leaders would likely have little incentive to moderate. More likely, they would again grant sanctuary to extremist groups, some of which might have terrorist designs on the West (or a desire to foment Indo-Pakistan war, as Lashkar-e-Taiba attempted in the Mumbai attack of 2008).

The NATO alliance will have failed in its largest and longest wartime operation to date — with Trump unilaterally taking an action that would discard and dishonor the sacrifices of many other countries over the years (including more than 1,000 troop fatalities since 2001).

Really, Mr. President? This is what you want? Would it not be better to remind the American voter, as you previously had accurately done, that the U.S. military presence of 2020 in Afghanistan would be less than what you inherited from President Obama, with the possibility that peace talks could eventually bring it down much further? That seems a smarter plank in an electoral platform — and one that does not smack of desperation, either.