#2x01 Impact

[bronx-bomber87]

Happy 4th to all those who celebrate it in the states. If not then just happy Tuesday to you haha

We are onto s2! I’m excited this season has a plethora of goodies. Let’s get started on said goodness hehe

2x01 Impact

The episode starts off with a bang. Lucy is riding in the ambulance with Tim. I'm sure the paramedics didn’t fight her at all with joining him. Not like they could’ve stopped her anyway haha

Just when Lucy thought she could breathe Tim collapses. The amount of worry on her face as she watches him have a seizure…. Luckily it’s a reaction to vaccine and not the infection. It’s severe reaction though and he goes into anaphylactic shock. Lucy trying to keep it together as they rush him to the hospital.

They make it to the hospital when they find out there is one more terrorist waiting in the wings for them. The minute they pull in they start to shoot up the ambulance. Just like Lucy did for her dad in 1x17 not a second passes before Lucy is covering his body with her own. Willing to take bullets for him in order to protect him. God I love her. Doesn't hesitate for one second to be a human shield for Tim. My heart.

They’re all pinned down by this woman with her assault rifle. It's then Tim comes barreling out of the ambulance like the BAMF he is. Tim takes her ass out single handled. He asks Nolan if he is ok. Nolan says yeah he shouldn't have reloaded on the go. John asks him the same thing and his reply to Nolan is hilarious. 'Should've taken yesterday off' LOL I love it. Little humor to start the season.

We surge two weeks into the future after this. They’ve all taken their exams and Tim has had time to recover from his ordeal. They're all in roll call waiting for Grey. Lucy is asking how Tim is feeling. You can tell by his body posture how guarded he is with his answers. Just telling her he's ready to get back out there. Very reminiscent of early s1 Tim with her. We find out Lucy sent him food. (Of course she did. She’s an empathetic nurturing soul.) She cares about him so she’s going to take the steps to show that. Make him feel cared for. It's something that is very foreign to Tim and it shows.

For Tim he’s so used to carrying burdens alone, having to be second place no matter the relationship, being the protector not the protected, and being the one to take care of everyone and everything. He’s most definitely isn’t used to being taken care of. In walks Lucy Chen. Someone who lifts him up and wants to take care of him when he’s down. Like Lucy not knowing how to handle Tim’s compliments, Tim doesn’t know how to handle someone putting him first. Caring, protecting him etc.

Lucy is just so happy he is back you can see it on her face. She was hoping/expecting more of a nice reaction from him. Considering what they both just went through together. Throws her off when he doesn’t respond positively. He's currently doing a throwback to early closed off Tim and she isn't quite sure why.

Grey interrupts before Tim can reply and be any colder to her. He writes up their scores on the board. 97. 91. 81. Tells them they all passed but the 81 is ugly. Wants them to self reflect on which one is theirs. He will tell them by end of shift. He says good news is they all get to be out of long sleeves now.

They’re all discussing the scores naturally. Angela says he looks worried. Tim says he’s never had a rookie score as low as 81. She says first time for everything ha. Tim defends Lucy and says she’s a natural born test taker. No way she scored that low. He is sure it’s Nolan lmao Oh Tim your dislike of him amuses me so.

Lucy joins them in her short sleeves. Tim asks her what she’s doing? She seems so perplexed why he’s angry with her. She says Grey said they could switch over. Tim goes off on her and says she will wear her long sleeves and tie till end of probation. That he gets full discretion over her uniform cause she’s his boot. She walks away so sad and defeated. S1 Tim viscously rearing his head. The boys ask where she’s going when they pass her. She replies so sadly ‘To change back…’

They pull up to a park and get out of their shop. Tim tells her to stop pouting. Lucy bites back and says she isn’t. She then asks what they’re even doing here? Tim goes on to say if she thought it was going to get it easier after the exam she was wrong. Lucy is snarky in her reply ‘Awesome…’ She is already over his reversion back to early s1 hard ass. It's written all over her face.

He clearly heard her but asks what was that? She says nothing….Lucy knows its like poking an angry bear right now. So she avoids the conflict. (For now..) Tim asks her what the most important thing she needs on the street as a cop? Lucy runs through a list of things Tim doesn’t want as her answer haha Then settles on her judgement and Tim says no it’s her cop eyes. They're at this park for a Tim test. Clear he’s gonna be surly af for this one.

Tim asks her if she studied explosives in the academy? She says a little. Tells her he’s hidden a fake IED in the park for her to find. She has ten minutes to find it or he’s adding the duty hat to her uniform. Legit torturing her today with this test. Lucy starts to panic look through out the park.

She finds it in a barrel. Lucy is so proud of herself with this one. Tim is being an extra pain in the ass today. She’s so ready to prove him wrong. That him turning the heat extra high doesn’t affect her. She turns around and is all cocky saying she found it. Even those he's an absolute ass in this scene just like in the van scene in 1x14 looking fine as hell have to say. Especially way he puts his leg on that table. Its criminal you are this attractive Eric LOL

Tim pretends he can’t hear her. So she falls into his trap and uses her radio to tell him when the ‘bomb’ explodes on her. She is mortified and covered in flour. Tim continues the hard ass theme. Saying radios energy can set off a bomb. Ask her 'If she’s going to forget that lesson boot?' She replies No….Sigh poor Lucy. In his warpath this episode. She just can't figure out why.

Their next call brings them to a husband reporting his wife missing. Lucy feels bad for the guy and Tim doesn’t. Tells her Cop eyes again. Saying it’s always the husband who did it. Lucy once again snarky back asking if this is his first rule of domestics lol Tim is unchanging in his hard demeanor. Tells her it’s not a joke. That she’s too new to properly assess people yet. She should be showing suspicion not compassion as her default. Lucy looks annoyed as hell. Getting to her boiling point with his sour attitude.

Lucy’s irritation comes to a head when they return to the station. She asks him what he’s doing? Tim states the obvious and says clocking out and going home. She is more direct and asks why he is treating her like it’s day 1 all over again? He says because it is day one for her with phase 2 of her training. Lucy is further agitated. Asking if she’s lost all the respect she’s earned since then? Then Tim finally shows his hand on why he’s so angry. Tells her she lost that when she lied on a report.

It all comes together for Lucy. This is why he’s been such a grumpy bear all day. She finally understands why he’s been such a hard ass. Her reaction is incredulous. She’s honestly shocked he’s reacting this way. Lucy thought it was pretty obvious her actions were to protect him. Tim rattles on about procedure and code. How she should’ve reported him. She truly doesn’t understand why he’s mad at her for protecting him.

The look on Tim’s face in the second gif. He looks in shock Lucy did that for him. He’s so caught up on her lying on a report he didn’t stop to think she was doing it to protect him. Oh my broken baby. As I stated earlier he’s not used to being the protected. It was Lucy’s first and only instinct to edit that part out to safeguard him. To me this is the most tragic part of it all. Is he NEVER expected this from her. When he read that report all he saw was her not following procedure. Instead of what it really was...Which was her shielding him. Deep down I think part of him knew this but he couldn't accept it hence him lashing out like he is.

Lucy goes on to explain why she protected him. Because Tim clearly isn't understanding why she did it. How she knew Tim wasn’t really suicidal. He just needed to vent his stress and anxiety to her in that moment. That she didn’t want him to have to go through unnecessary therapy. To lose him as her T.O. over something that could hurt his career and their time together. Tim regains some of his composure and goes back to the company line BS. Saying how it wasn’t her call to make. That everyone should be reported consequences or not. Now here comes the best part of this entire scene. Of the episode really IMO.

Lucy destroys him with her reply. This is one of the reasons Tim falls so hard for her. The fact that she calls him on his shit. Not only does that but pulls his head out of his ass. Then promptly hands it back to him on a silver platter with her Isabel retort. She owns this scene after this. What's so damn impressive is Lucy can go toe to toe with him and win. She challenges him in a way no one has before and puts him in place when he needs it.

And he very much needs it in this moment. That final gif is his realization of that. Lucy delivers her K.O. punch and leaves him standing there with regrets about his behavior. He has no leg to stand on after she eviscerates him with her comments. Telling him not to hang his anger on his ‘code’ when it’s clearly not about that. Her calling him out and rightfully so like she did back in 1x03. When he was putting her in harms way as his therapy about Isabel.

Lucy tells him the hard stuff when he needs to hear it most. You know I love my Tim but hot damn did he need this Lucy knockdown. He admires her for it even when it’s hard for him to swallow. The way he just stands there it’s hitting him he took this reaction way too far. He’s forgetting how stressful that entire situation was for her as well. This ass chewing he just got is a stark realization of that. Also you know part of that chemistry of theirs is scenes like this. That fire and passion between them both. Ooh lord I love it.

Grey reveals their scores. We find out Lucy got a 91. She is immensely relieved and Tim is smiling ear to ear. Tim is good at burying a lot of things, being proud of Lucy has never been one of them. Look at this man beaming for her. He knew she would get a high score. He couldn’t be happier about it. Written all over his body language I love it sfm. I keep saying Eric is amazing with expressing so much with just a look. Its because he is look at that man. Pride x1000 in his girl.

The cute proud husband theme continues. Lucy spots a fake cop in the parking garage stealing a radio. She chases him out of there and jumps a wall in order to pursue him. I LOVE Tim asking if she’s okay first thing. It’s the softness in his voice that gets me. She is smiling and says yeah. Lucy is first beaming cause Grey seems impressed with her.

Then more so when Tim does his version of being proud of her. She rolls her eyes a bit but you know she’s happy to have him singing her praises. He could not be prouder of her if he tried in his scene. Anytime she does exactly what he knows she capable of he is elated. Also being proud in front of Grey is even better for Lucy. This is big brag for Tim about her. ❤️

Later on they figure out one of the fake cops leads them to the wife that went missing. Lucy asks if Nolan needs backup they say no. Lucy can’t help herself and takes a little dig at Tim. She has the high ground atm and knows it. Throwing the husband comment back at him. Tim doesn’t even reply. Just has a small smirk on his face. You know he loves her pushing his buttons and giving him crap. They aren’t at the point of apologies just yet. This is as close as we’re getting for them right now. It’s pretty cute.

Their final scene is them working in harmony like they do. Taking down the fake cops for the most part on their own. I love watching them work in the field. They’re so fluid and move without issue. That silent communication and such. Poetry in motion I would say.

Thus ends the Chenford portion of the S2 premiere.

~~~

Side notes non Chenford

The opening scene for Wopez always cracks me up. Wes seeing a side of Angela he hasn’t before. Her messy side. Him finding the sandwich in the shower LOL His face kills me he’s so grossed out and she thinks it’s natural af hahaha They cute.

[renegadesstuff]

WE LOVE THIS KIND OF PARALLEL 🥹🤍

[sunriseseance]

Season 2 of TUA is actually fucking fantastic tbh

[camaelczarka]

Having read Interview With the Vampire years ago (and also having seen the 1994 movie like 100 times), I knew what to expect when the show started leading up to Lestat’s ‘death’. But, I was sort of unprepared for how intense the show made this event. Like, I was anxious watching 1x07. And then when that scene finally happened, I was on the edge of my seat. Totally fucking upset (in a good way) by how they were showing this well known canon event. They gave it such a huge amount of gravity and while they definitely made Lestat “deserve” it more, it was still heartbreaking. Claudia dipping her pen in his blood and then suddenly realizing what they were doing with her collection of last words… holy shit. Such an intense moment.

But upon my recent rewatch, it occurred to me that Louis is still SO not over it even in 2022. And yeah that was kind of obvious from how he reacted to Daniel poking holes in his story and how he loses it. But, even with everything they went over in both seasons, it’s really obvious to me that Louis cannot think about the moment that Lestat died. He can’t recall hearing his last words. We do not hear Lestat say “Mets-moi dans mon cercueil, Louis, Louis” because Louis WILL NOT think about it. He won’t recall it. And it also occurs to me that Louis was probably holding him when he said that and that they were probably also holding hands.

(It’s kinda hard to see but Lestat’s arm is bent here which I hadn’t noticed before)

There are other moments between them that we famously don’t hear, but this one feels a lot more like a mental block than a desire to keep some things between them private. And how did that impact the early days of his traveling with Claudia to Europe? Daniel says that she wrote that she “hated” Louis for a while, but he can’t really face that either and he skips forward in 2x01.

I could be wrong but I kind of doubt we will revisit this moment exactly- then again Lestat could talk about it at some point. But it’s interesting to note that after 2x08, Louis is definitely processing his grief over Claudia and Paul, but maybe hasn’t really processed his guilt and grief about Lestat at all, despite the fact that he knew Lestat was alive for at least the last 80ish years. And dreamstat definitely showed the manifestation of his guilt on occasion, but that was long in the past by the time of the second interview, and he still can’t talk about it.

I’m super curious how he’s feeling about this after the reunion and if it’s something that still bothers him or if he’s made peace with it at any point

[npdclaraoswald]

Something about Louis positing in 2x01 that the emotional state of their victims impacts the nourishing quality of the blood and the emotional impact on them and the fact that Armand frequently eats suicidal people

[amuseoffyre]

Just had GO s2 on in the background while I was doing some craft and some percolating thoughts came out of the first Maggie and Nina exchange.

Nina: See anything you fancy? Maggie: Oh. Yes. Coffee. Nina: The usual, then? Don't tell me, it's in here. You're a skinny latte. Maggie: You remembered :) Nina: A lot of people in this head, and a lot of coffees, but I only remember the regulars.

Now bear with me on this mental ramble as I try and put these thoughts in order. I'll divide it into three points:

Mind-altering and memory muddles

There's a running motif through the whole season about memory and the loss thereof:

Gabriel removing his memory ("all the bits that make you you")

Crowley forgetting who Furfur was repeatedly

Aziraphale and Crowley's miracle basically casting confusion over the bookshop and muddling everyone's minds

the threat of erasure of memory and demotion (and am still sure Muriel is a previous demotee on account of the 37th level thing. 3s and 12s! Those are the recurring numbers in the book! 37 doesn't make sense! 36, yes! 37, no!)

putting memories somewhere else (Gabriel's fly but also Aziraphale's journals)

Coffee

As with the memory element, coffee is a running theme through the whole show as well.

Crowley chugging espressos like there's no tomorrow

Give Me Coffee or Give Me Death - "does anyone ever choose death?" asks the Metatron, when the answer is obvious

Coffee's symbolism in the final 15. Let me yell about the symbolism of Coffee = Crowley and all things mortal and living and human and earthly. OR DEATH. ("I have ingested things, you know")

The flavours in the Metatron's coffee order also having allegorical symbolism - almond branches in various parts of The Book are a reminder that God is Watching.

The human avatars of the angelic and divine

Initially when I started watching S2, I assumed the parallels between Maggie and Nina were obvious: Maggie, the sunshine one, is the Aziraphale, while Nina, the grumpy one, is the Crowley. But I was wrong.

Nina is the human avatar of Aziraphale.

Maggie: how can you think about that after all this? Nina: People need coffee, I sell coffee, it's my coffee shop.

Nina defines herself by the place she works, it is who she is and she does it because people need it (coffee), much like Aziraphale defines himself by the place he worked (Heaven), it's who he is (an angel) and he does it because people need it (goodness).

Likewise, when they go and tell Crowley off for the way he's interfered in their lives, Nina says she's just getting out of a messy relationship and isn't ready for something new yet (again, Aziraphale and Heaven vibes because that fully impacts every decision Aziraphale makes through S2) and if Maggie is around when she's ready, then maybe, they can try. ("If she's there" "I will be :) ")

And then we have Maggie, the Crowley avatar. Useless at saying what she wants to say, tries to express herself and her emotions with gestures and gifts, offers her company and time when Nina needs it, happy to help her despite the way Nina is wary of the kindness being shown.

By the end of the season, Nina is caught behind the bar of her coffee shop, working and serving ungrateful people, while Maggie is alone in her empty shop, asleep on her counter, paralleling Aziraphale going back to work in a place where he will run himself off his feet to do the right thing, while Crowley is left with an empty shop.

But now to spin back to the original quote from 2x01, it feels like all of these motifs are tying together and foreshadowing something, very possibly an Aziraphale who has lost his memory/had his memories stripped away.

Let me rewrite the lines with only a tiny couple of changes:

Aziraphale: See anything you fancy? Crowley: Oh. Ngk. Company? Aziraphale: The usual, then? Don't tell me, it's in here. You're the demon Crowley. Crowley: You remembered :) Aziraphale: A lot of angels in this head, and a lot of demons, but I only remember the regulars.

If I'm right, he remembers Crowley, but only the surface level like Nina remembers Maggie. Nothing about who they were to each other, nothing about what has happened. But have no fear, Muriel has the bookshop and the thousands and thousands of years of Aziraphale's memories bound up in text form.

Especially prescient since Muriel is given a book by the Metatron Crowley which is a novel where a man pieces together a story from documents that have been left behind. Schroedinger's journals will be making a return in S3, I have no doubt.

[jesuis-assez]

↠ Tim & Lucy ↳ Camera angles

🎥 Impact [2x01]

[aqueerchronicle]

Okay, so rewatching Supergirl (because evidentially I hate myself.)

Episode 2x01, Kara meets Lena and then immediately after, the same day, breaks things off with James. He even notices, telling her, “something’s changed for you.”

All it took was meeting Lena and she was questioning everything with Jimmy. I think it was completely on a subconscious level but I find the timing to be amusing, certainly no coincidence.

Then same episode, they go back to speak to Lena again and she makes a little comment about seeing Clark’s name on the newspaper byline and not Kara’s. She seems to suggest Kara should give reporting a shot.

Immediately Kara goes and requests a reporter job from Cat.

Lena has such an immense impact on her from the very beginning.

[2rats1gogh]

I am disappointed with the way the show portrayed Blood and Cheese

[spoilers ahead for ep 2x01]

First of all, I fully understand the absence of Maelor and I’m not even mad about that. The choice between the two twins aka “which one is the boy” is good imo. Also, Phia is a great actress and I don’t blame her one bit for what happened to her character. She did the best she could’ve with what she was given. But the execution of all this? Meh.

1. Why did Helaena choose Jaehaerys, instead of Jaehaera? It would’ve made MUCH MORE SENSE for her to choose Jaehaera because she’s the girl. And then B&C would’ve killed the other twin, Jaehaerys, because they knew she would not give up the heir to the throne, king Aegon’s only son. Her choosing Jaehaerys takes away her guilt of living next to the child she named to die.

2. Why was the death of Jaehaerys so off screen? I’m not saying I wanted to see a six year old child be beheaded, in all it’s gory and graphic details, but I wish Helaena and Jaehaera were there to witness it. It was important for them to see it happening. It could’ve been just a silhouette, a shadow on the wall, or just Haleana’s expression of horror. Instead, she just runs away. It’s still sad, obviously, in its own way, that she wasn’t there for her son in his last moments, but again, that takes away from her guilt and eventual downfall into madness.

3. Why the fuck was this whole thing played off as a misunderstanding/accident? Of course the creators wanted to make Daemon look less evil, by making him tell B&C to kill Aemond instead. And I kinda liked the addition of one of them saying “what if we don’t find him?” and I expected Daemon to say something like “You can kill another son” or whatever, but then it just FUCKING CUTS AWAY? And now have to INTERPRET STUFF? So that no one can hold Daemon accountable because “technically we never saw him say that in the show!☝️🤓” Fuck this.

4. The Alicole sex scene fucking ruined the whole scene. I was hoping, praying even, that the leaks of Alicole having sex while Blood & Cheese happens was just a rumor, a theory. But no. The creators fucking decided to make them have sex while this horrible incident happens. Someone in that writing room said “You know what? Let’s have Alicent and Criston do the nasty as Aegon’s six year old child is brutally murdered and Helaena is being traumatized for life! That seems like a great idea!” AND THEY WENT WITH IT. That addition was just so fucking unnecessary. What was the fucking point of putting that in? Wouldn’t it be great if Jacaerys heard of the death of Lucerys first and then ran to Rhaenyra on Dragonstone to tell her that his brother was fucking murdered, only to find Rhaenyra having sex with Daemon? Like, why was Lucerys’ death so serious and tragic, and impactful, but then Jaehaerys’ death is overshadowed by Helaena running into her mother having sex with her lover? God, I’m so angry.

5. Helaena didn’t seem to be affected at all by the death of her son. “They killed the boy” and that’s IT? She didn’t cry her eyes out, didn’t scream, didn’t beg for B&C to kill her instead. She almost didn’t react at all. Her son, her baby, her six year old child, was just brutally fucking beheaded and the creators don’t even show her reacting to it? Rhaenyra showed more emotions when she found the clothes of her death son, and Helaena was like 🙁 when HER SON WAS BEING KILLED IN FRONT OF HER?? What the actual hell. And may I repeat, this is in NO WAY an attack on the actress, Phia. I think she still gave us an amazing performance, but it’s fucking obvious that the creators decided to go with the “oh well, she’s weird and distant, and cold and unemotional” narrative they made up. They won’t fucking allow her to grieve.

All those people writing that “Even GRRM was horrified by this scene!” or “This is gonna be like the Red Wedding!”… I was fucking lied to.

This whole sequence felt so short, and rushed, and unemotional… I am very disappointed, and sad. This was supposed to be one of the most important events of the entire Dance. They first actual innocent blood that was spilled. The event that led to Helaena going mad. The event that changed Aegon as a person and made him declare war on Rhaenyra and gave him motivation to repay Team Black for what they’ve done. It was supposed to be fucking important. And the show turned it into a four minute awfully paced scene with dumb additions and lots of unnecessary and easily avoidable changes.

[bemusedlybespectacled]

Minor tangent but I have seen a specific criticism of OFMD multiple times that's along the lines of "the problem was the first three episodes being too dark and gritty instead of being our fluffy kind gay show."

And I strongly disagree with that criticism.

Like, Season 1 already had its dark and gritty moments. It was never 100% fluffy. Everything Ed does at the end of 1x10 (throwing Lucius overboard, cutting off Izzy's toe, marooning the crew, and kidnapping Jim and Frenchie) is the most obvious example, but there are others: Stede's experiences as a child, Ed's abusive father, Jim's family's murder. All of them are shown to still be affected years later in a way that impacts how they interact with other people, which is why it's emotionally satisfying when they find love despite it.

Addressing the events of the S1 finale in the first couple of episodes of S2 was vital. It solidifies just how devastated Ed is and how that devastation has affected everyone else, both negatively and positively, for a given value of "positive" (the Kraken crew is clearly closer as a result of their shared trauma). The scenes showing how being part of Stede's crew changed them for the better (talking to and hugging Izzy, Jim telling Fang the wooden boy story with the voices, etc.) were absolutely necessary and arguably the strongest parts of the show, and I don't think we would have had that if the stakes weren't so high. "Ed is a bit mopey sometimes, but it's not that bad!" just doesn't have the same oomph.

Had they pulled a Last Jedi and started 2x01 by throwing away all that build up from 1x10 and making a joke about it, it would have been a poorer show. The times when darker things were treated as a joke (Lucius' experience after being thrown overboard), flat-out ignored (Stede's fairly obvious anxiety disorder), or blown past because of time constraints (Ed getting voted off the ship and then reinstated as part of the crew within a day) were when the show was weakest.

The problem, of course, is that once you've acknowledged that impact, you need to keep acknowledging it. It needs to continue having an impact. And you can't do that if you don't have the time to explore it because you need to skip ahead to the part where everything's fine now.

I'm not saying that they needed to fully shift gears and stop being a comedy entirely. I think S1 threaded the needle pretty well in terms of balancing the conflict with humor. Like, Ed has a breakdown in the bathtub over murdering his father and what a horrible person he is and his plan to kill Stede, and none of that is a joke; the joke is when Stede checks to make sure Ed isn't going to kill him. The sad stuff can be taken seriously and we can still have humor to break the tension! We can do it! We have the technology!

But you can't have a serious thing happen for the sake of growth and then hand wave it away later when it's inconvenient. And you definitely can't introduce ways to break that tension (surprise, Stede is alive because he used This One Weird Trick!) and then not use it when it's inconvenient (surprise, Izzy is alive because he– oh, wait, no, he's dying for realsies).

The issue wasn't the show having dark and gritty bits at all. The issue was the lack of time for those dark and gritty bits to do their fucking job: being a catalyst for personal and relationship growth in a way that actually matters to and affects the story.

[gayhoediaz]

this is something i’ve been well aware of for a long time, but with the current storyline going on, it’s something i’ve been thinking about a lot more lately. i’ve been trying to put it into words for a while now, and i think i finally got it.

i think the reason why some people tend to (mis)characterize eddie as being a man of few words is because they pick up on something that is there, however i don’t think they quite know what to make of it, or how to interpret it or fit it into the puzzle of eddie as a human being.

the thing is that typically “a man of few words” is used to describe people who prefer not to talk, or perhaps are uncomfortable doing so, or don’t know how best to translate their thoughts. shy, even.

this is not who eddie is. we have seen that time and time again. he’s not a shy or quiet guy.

however. when it comes to significant, emotional moments - talking is not his first choice. ever.

but that’s not because he doesn’t know how to, or because he’s uncomfortable - aka a man of few words.

a great example is the tsunami arc. he knows buck is struggling, but he doesn’t sit down to have some emotional heart-to-heart with him. he simply drags buck out of bed - and in fact, even post tsunami, talking isn’t even his first choice. he just grabs christopher and goes over. he doesn’t talk until he can tell that buck really needs it.

and what do we get? we get this BANGER of a line.

eddie is not a man of few words. he has so many words - he simply saves them for the moment when he knows they will have the strongest impact.

in fact, you know what? this goes back all the way to 2x01:

for a long time (i think most of us assume at least a handful of shifts) he just lets buck do his thing. he doesn’t use his words until he feels they’re needed. whether that be to comfort, or to confront - we never really see him waste them.

which brings me to the current storyline. because while eddie has grown and developed since seasons two and three, this integral part of him has stayed the same - because he’s doing the same thing all over again. which is how know we are in for it.

we have all talked so much about eddie’s patience in 6x12, especially in contrast to the parade of people knocking on buck’s door. and we have talked about the kitchen conversation - which i fully believe was merely a taste of what’s coming later on.

but even following that conversation, eddie is still doing the same thing.

he’s talking, yes. one could even call him a bitch (affectionate).

but he’s not talking, because he knows that’s not what buck needs right now. not yet.

instead he takes him out to a poker game which is also (likely) a support group of near death survivors.

he’s trying to get buck to talk, yes - but eddie is not talking. he is merely holding a carrot on a stick, allowing buck (in these particular instances) to decide when he’s ready - ready to talk, or ready to hear eddie talk, whichever it ends up being.

it’s such an important detail to his character, and i think it’s a disservice to eddie, ryan, and the writers to wave his intricately crafted emotional intelligence off as being a man of few words.

my man has so many words. he just saves them for when he needs them.

[bronx-bomber87]

The Rookie Reviews Season's 1-5 Master List. Will be Pinned To Blog for Easy Access. S6 In Progress seperate link at bottom of list.

Top Eps Listed Season's-1-4 Made a ranking list my fave eps for an ask. Wanted to include in this list.

Started: 5/13/23

Last Updated : 09/20/24

Works: 106

Season 1

1x01-Pilot

1x02-Crash Course

1x03-The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

1x04-The Switch

1x05-The Roundup

1x06-The Hawke

1x07-The Ride Along

1x08-Time Of Death

1x09-Standoff

1x10-Flesh and Blood

1x11-Redwood

1x12-Heartbreak

1x13-Caught Stealing

1x14-Plain Clothes Day

1x15-Manhunt

1x16-Greenlight

1x17-The Shakeup

1x18-Homefront

1x19-Checklist

1x20-Freefall

Season 2

2x01-Impact

2x02-The Night General

2x03-The Bet

2x04-Warriors and Guardians

2x05-Tough Love

2x06-Fallout

2x07-Safety

2x08-Clean Cut

2x09-Breaking Point

2x10-The Dark Side

2x11-Day Of Death

2x12 Now and Then

2x13-Follow Up Day

2x14-Casualties

2x15-Hand Off

2x16-The Overnight

2x17-Control

2x18-Under The Gun

2x19-The Q Word

2x20-The Hunt

Season 3

3x01-Consequences

3x02-In-Justice

3x03-La-Fiera

3x04-Sabotage

3x05-Lockdown

3x06-Revelations

3x07-True Crime

3x08-Bad Blood

3x09-Amber

3x10-Man Of Honor

3x11-New Blood

3x12-Brave Heart

3x13-Triple Duty

3x14-Threshold

Season 4

4x01-Life and Death

4x02-Five Minutes

4x03-In the Line Of Fire

4x04-Red Hot

4x05-A.C.H

4x06-Poetic Justice

4x07-Fire Fight

4x08-Hit and Run

4x09-Breakdown

4x10-Heart Beat

4x11-End Game

4x12-The Knock

4x13-Fight or Flight

4x14-Long Shot

4x15-Hit List

4x16-Real Crime

4x17-Coding

4x18-Backstabbers

4x19/4x20-Simone/Envervo

4x21-Mother's Day

4x22-Day In The Hole

Season 5

5x01-Double Down

5x02-Labor Day

5x03-Dye Hard

5x04-The Choice

5x05-The Fugitive

5x06-The Reckoning

5x07-Crossfire

5x08-The Collar

5x09-Take Back

5x10-The List

5x11-The Naked and The Dead

5x12-Death Notice

5x13-Daddy Cop

5x14-Death Sentence

5x15-The Con

5x16-Exposure

5x17-The Enemy Within

5x18-Double Trouble

5x19-A Hole in the World

5x20-S.T.R

5x21-Going Under

5x22-Under Siege

Season 6 Separate Post

[renegadesstuff]

STILL NOT OVER THIS PARALLEL 🥺💔

[pansysgothgf]

I’m thinking about how this season THEYRE revisiting everyone’s worst traumas: (spoilers)

Bobby- his family’s death (the cruise and 7x08 from the trailer and episode descriptions)

Athena- Harry being involved in an incident at a convince store that could’ve ended up with him dead, similarly to how her fiancé died at the connivence store (correct me if I’m wrong, it’s been a hot minute)

Hen and Karen- their adoption going through, the same way it did with Nia

Chimney- Kevin and Doug (in 7x06 specifically)

Maddie- Doug (in 7x07 specifically)

Eddie- the Shannon of it all

Which leads me to like, what’s in store for Buck? I would say maybe it’s already been addressed (we’re seeing his fear of being replaced (with Eddie in 2x01 and then with Tommy in 7x04) and then his abandonment/intimacy issues in the context of his relationship with Tommy) but…

When I think about Buck’s biggest traumas, I don’t necessarily think about Abby or Ali or Taylor.

When I think about Buck’s biggest traumas I think about him getting blown up. I think about the embolism. I think about the tsunami. The lawsuit. The shooting. The lightning strike. And of those ones, I think his relationship with Christopher is a big part of why they’re so impactful. Christopher gives him the card before he throws a clot. Christopher is with him when the wave hits. Eddie tells Buck that the lawsuit is affecting Chris. Eddie gets shot and Buck finds out that not only would he have been Chris’ temporary guardian while Eddie was in a coma, but his legal guardian in the event of Eddie’s death. While Buck’s in his coma, the person who Buck feels the most guilt over leaving behind in that twisted reality is Chris (not his parents, who finally love him. Not Daniel and Genevieve who will cease to exist. Not Maddie who doesn’t know there could be better. Chris, who asks Buck for help and for the only time so far in the show, Buck has to refuse. Because that’s not his Chris. He needs to get back to his Chris, because that’s the boy he promised to always be there for).

After the truck bombing, every major trauma Buck lives through is at least partially centred around Chris, and we see how their relationship develops through these traumatic experiences.

So, pray tell, what the hell is going to happen to Buck and Chris and how the fuck is Eddie going to cope with it when we’re already watching him devolve into… madness? The death of his moral compass? Desperation? Whatever it is, it’s dark.

(I would also argue that Eddie’s biggest trauma after the death of Shannon was his s5 breakdown, so. I wouldn’t be surprised if we revisited that)

(Also also, I think Hen’s biggest trauma pertaining to the job was the civilian who she hit with the ambulance, and I would LOVE to see that touched on again for angst’s sake. Or you know: Hen’s dad, Eva, Denny’s bio dad, Karen’s journey with infertility, that time Karen got a little blown up, Hen’s med school friends, that time Hen seriously considered letting go of her morals to watch Eva die because that would be the only way to free her family of the mess she created. You know, any of these could work. All I’m saying is that ABC home of Grey’s Anatomy and 9-1-1 and its love of secret siblings and half siblings COULD throw us a curveball and give Hen a secret half sibling on her Dad’s side. For the drama)

TLDR: if we’re gonna talk about the 118’s trauma, Buck’s needs to centre around Chris. Burn down the loft with Buck and Chris in it, Tim. I dare you.

[tabithatwo]

fics and posts of note!

if yellowjackets enthusiast is my second job (it is) then, within that, fic writing is my day job and tumblr rambling is my moonlighting, so here's easy access to my fics and to my more involved posts!

current status: okay SO i absolutely feel the need to try and finish abmb before s3 airs. so i am going to try and whip out the last (3? 4?) chapters of that before updating my other WIPs. that said i never actually know what i'm going to do until it's happening so who knows! i'm just glad my six month abmb hiatus has officially been ended with that last update <3 and my personal life has chilled some, so i am writing again <3 —9/21

likely order of updates: abmb, fences, resurrection —9/21

works in progress

x always be my baby (~350k)

All the living yellowjackets are forced together when someone decides to unearth their past. Tensions rise, past relationships are revealed, and new ones are forged in a reunion that no one asked for (except maybe Misty).

explicit / post-s1 canon-divergence / primarily adult timeline

x fences need mending (~38k)

Every decision that Jackie and Shauna had ever made—together and separately, in anger and in love, for themselves and for each other—had led them to this exact moment, a dreary October morning in the intensive care unit of NewYork-Presbyterian.

explicit / no crash au / dual timeline

x we practice resurrection every night (~22k)

A series of moments based pre, during, and post 1996 canon, centered around Jackie and Shauna, accounting for the huge, rippling impact of one small change: the Holmdel bust goes differently. Shauna ends up walking home with Jackie instead of Jeff.

explicit / jackie lives au / slice of life

complete (multichap)

x she shines me up like gold (~12k)

Jackie convinces Shauna to wear something a little different than her usual to Van and Taissa's Halloween party.

explicit / no crash au / mid-twenties

x you're just a bee charmer (~53k)

When Jeff dumps Jackie right before winter break, Shauna decides she's willing to do pretty much anything to keep them broken up. Jackie just wants to feel wanted, so what harm can a few messages from a new account really do?

explicit / no crash au / shifted ten years (they graduate in 06, rather than 96)

x just unzip me (~32k)

Shauna is the maid of honor in the Taylor-Sadecki wedding, but on the big day both the bride and the groom have a confession to make.

explicit / no crash au / set in 2004-2006

series

x prolong the night

explicit / jackie lives au / especially twisted

x (pt 1) no one knows what dawn will come (~12k)

Shauna helps warm Jackie up and, months later, Jackie helps Shauna survive labor.

x (pt 2): drunk from so many roses, redder than wine (~8k)

Jackie can't leave Shauna alone when the butchering duties get darker. Everyone has their role, and hers is just how she likes it—inextricably tied to Shauna.

oneshots

x honey come over, the party's gone slower (~4k)

Nat’s dead, but that doesn’t mean it’s all over. She laid Jackie to her final rest, and now Jackie’s the one to welcome her to this strange new home.

teen / post s2 finale / nat pov

x trying to keep you alive (~5k)

A night of Shauna feeling especially self-destructive (cruising for women, talking to Jackie's ghost, and burning bridges with the only two people in her corner).

explicit / canon-compliant / post return / ghost!jackie or hallucination!jackie depending on how you read it

x no take backs (~3k)

Laura Lee is a few steps ahead of Jackie in this whole navigating being a ghost thing, and Shauna is falling apart quicker than Jackie can pick up the pieces.

mature / canon-compliant / set during 2x01 / ghost!jackie pov

posts of note

x jackie taylor is a lesbian frame by frame pt. 1

x jackie taylor is a lesbian frame by frame pt. 2

x tai and shauna / call your mom

x shauna and psychosis

x the "dreams" (travis' dialogue on near death experiences in 2x02)

x the "dreams" (eating and drinking in other realms motif)

x jackieshauna / lottielee

x mirrors and reflections in yj (the pilot)

x pit girl scenes and their cuts away from natalie

x lesbian breakup so bad (yj edition)

x sight and power and leadership (lottie, tai, nat, jackie ruminations)

x jackieshauna / our wives under the sea

x yj and jennifer's body

x nat/jackie ruminations

[thunderbirds-showdown]

Round 3 came and went and took with it some fan favourites. We're halfway through the tournament now, and there are only a handful of episodes left! It's time to get your bets in as to which one you think will win!

The episodes that have been eliminated this round are:

1x02: Ring of Fire - Part 2

1x09: Slingshot

1x21: Comet Chasers

1x23: Chain of Command

2x02: Ghost Ship

2x06: Up from the Depths - Part 1

2x23: Long Haul

2x25: Hyperspeed

3x24: Firebreak

3x26: The Long Reach - Part 2

Previous eliminated episodes:

1x03: Space Race

1x04: Crosscut

1x05: Fireflash

1x06: Unplugged

1x07: Runaway

1x10: Tunnels of Time

1x11: Skyhook

1x12: Under Pressure

1x13: Heavy Metal

1x14: Falling Skies

1x15: Relic

1x17: Heist Society

1x19: Extraction

1x20: The Hexpert

1x22: Designated Driver

1x24: Touch and Go

1x25: Undercover

1x26: Legacy

2x01: Earthbreaker

2x03: Deep Search

2x04: City Under the Sea

2x07: Up from the Depths - Part 2

2x08: Lost Kingdom

2x09: Impact

2x10: High Strung

2x11: Weather or Not

2x12: Fight or Flight

2x13: Escape Proof

2x14: Volcano!

2x15: Power Play

2x16: Bolt from the Blue

2x17: Attack of the Reptiles

2x18: Grandma Tourismo

2x19: Clean Sweep

2x21: Inferno

2x24: Rigged for Disaster

2x26: Brains vs. Brawn

3x01: Chaos - Part 1

3x02: Chaos - Part 2

3x03: Path of Destruction

3x04: Night and Day

3x05: Growing Pains

3x06: Life Signs

3x07: Rally Raid

3x08: Crash Course

3x09: Flame Out

3x10: Deep Water

3x11: Endgame

3x12: SOS - Part 1

3x14: Signals - Part 1

3x15: Signals - Part 2

3x16: Chain Reaction

3x17: Getaway

3x18: Avalanche

3x19: Upside Down

3x21: Break Out

3x22: Buried Treasure

3x23: Venom

3x25: The Long Reach - Part 1