#3x21 speculation

[lightwormsiblings]

My Heart Is Wherever You Are

Read on AO3

(3x20 and 3x21/3x22 promo spoilers) 

The sky in Edom never seemed to change. The smokey red a reminder of a time Magnus had called this place home. Of a time hundreds of years later when he gave up his magic. Of Alicante in flames and Alexander with tears in his eyes.

Magnus couldn’t tell how long had passed. Hours? Days? He didn’t know.

The only thing Magnus knew with certainty was that he had to get back to Alexander. His love, his fiancé.

Magnus had waited centuries to get married and he was damn sure that he wasn’t going to let Edom stop him.

He’d been searching for a way to leave Edom without reopening the rift from the moment he’d sealed it. He’d come up with an idea laughably easily. But it was one that he couldn’t carry out on his own.

And Magnus was alone. Alone with nothing but Lilith and the demons of hell. And wasn’t that just bitterly poetic? To know there was a way and not be able to use it.

Magnus had thought about letting Alicante burn for one fleeting second. A city made by a species that looked down upon him and had hurt him and his people countless times over the centuries. He could have let it all burn, and it would have been justified.

He could have taken those four nephilim that he cared about. And he could have portalled them to safety.

But he hadn’t been able to.

Back when he’d been young and new to the world Magnus had named himself after destruction as a reminder of what he was capable of.

Now, he understood it as a reminder of what he wasn’t. He was capable of saving people. Capable of saving an entire city, and that was what he had done.

Because no one deserved to die like that, to lose their home. Magnus knew all too well what loss felt like and he didn’t wish it upon anyone.

He knew Alexander never would have left the city to burn anyway.

Magnus twisted the ring on his left hand and could almost feel the faint whisper of Alexander’s skin against the metal. He smiled sadly and picked up the dozenth book from his father’s extensive collection.

There had to be some other way.

He had just settled onto his father’s throne with the book when he heard a shout and the door to the throne room burst open.

Jace walked in first and Magnus dropped the book in shock when he saw his arms were lit up with yellow magic.

Lorenzo Rey walked in behind him and Magnus stood in surprise. What was Lorenzo doing in Edom?

“What-“

He didn’t have a chance to finish his sentence because more people tumbled into the room after him.

Izzy had her staff out and adrenaline in her eyes, Meliorn stood beside her and he nodded at Magnus when they made eye contact. Clary and Simon were both breathing hard but Clary’s face broke out into a wide genuine smile when she saw him that had Magnus’ heart flip over in his chest. She’d been smiling at him like that since she was a child and it was so familiar that tears pricked at his eyes. He had been beginning to think he’d never see any of them again.

The door swung open a final time and all of the breath left Magnus’ lungs.

Alec stood in the doorway, a damning picture against the stone walls of the castle. He was filthy, clothes covered in ichor and his jacket sleeve ripped over his arm. An avenging angel with a bow in hand and fire in his eyes. The ring shone brightly on his left hand and he was beautiful . Absolutely breathtaking.

“Alexander,” Magnus breathed, hope clutching at his chest.

Because Alec was here . He came for him.

Magnus moved forwards at the same time that Alec dropped his bow and crashed into him.

The kiss was messy, their lips slamming together with an urgency that knocked any remaining thoughts from Magnus’ mind.

Alec was everywhere, a hand in his hair, an arm around his waist, his chest pressed flush to Magnus’. Alec lit him up from the inside out.

Magnus was breathing hard when Alec pulled away. Their chests were still pressed together and Alec didn’t remove his hands when he smiled down at him.

“You came,” Magnus whispered, pressing his forehead to Alec’s and breathing him in. If this was all a dream he was going to cherish every second of it.

Alec’s hand slid from his hair and to his cheek, the calluses on his palm were so familiar Magnus had to hold back a shiver.

“Well yeah,” Alec answered, voice rough, “A wedding does require two people last time I checked.”

Magnus shook his head, letting out a sound between a laugh and a sob. Because this idiot Shadowhunter stormed Edom for him. This Shadowhunter with Magnus’ future in his eyes wanted to marry him and Magnus loved him so so much.

Alec took a step away from Magnus, lacing their fingers together, before turning to the front of the room.

That was when Magnus remembered there were other people in there.

Magnus’ eyes landed on Jace first, solely because his hands were still glowing a faint yellow.

“Alexander,” he asked softly, “why is Jace glowing?”

Alec laughed breathlessly and shook his head in amusement.

“We knew we’d need to be as strong as possible if we wanted this mission to be successful,”

He gestured to Clary who was still watching Magnus with a smile.

“Clary came up with a rune.”

Clary stepped up towards them and Alec let go of Magnus’ hand as she pressed herself into his arms. She his her face in his chest for a long moment and Magnus held her close, rocking back and forth.

“Biscuit,” he murmured and laughed when Clary grinned amusedly into his chest.

When she pulled away neither of them said anything about the way both of their eyes had filled with tears. Magnus just ran a comforting hand through her hair and smiled.

“You came up with a rune,” Magnus prompted, smiling wider when Clary lit up with pride.

“The rune I came up with. It lets Shadowhunters and Downworlders share their powers.”

She held up her hand where an unfamiliar rune was drawn.

“Simon has the other half of mine,” she continued, “Izzy and Meliorn are paired together and Jace is with Lorenzo. That’s why he’s glowing.”

Clary laughed at the last part, looking over her shoulder at Jace who seemed to be trying and failing to get his hands to stop glowing.

Jace rolled his eyes when he saw both of them looking at him.

“Hey, I haven’t had hundreds of years to figure out how to control this stuff.”

Alec’s laugh carried brightly over everyone else’s causing Magnus’ attention to shift back to him.

“Who are you partnered with?” He asked softly. He was almost sure he knew the answer, was already starting to smile as Alec started pulling out his stele.

“I was waiting for you.”

Magnus knew this the moment Clary hadn’t mentioned Alec in the pairings. But the words said out loud, softly and like a secret just for Magnus had his heart leaping in his chest.

“If that’s okay with you,” Alec continued, pulling a piece of paper out of his pocket and holding it out to Magnus.

Magnus smiled. If there was anyone in the world he trusted with his magic, it was Alexander.

“Of course that’s okay.”

Alec’s grin lit up all of Edom as he handed the paper to Magnus. Their hands brushed as Magnus took the paper and he let the tingle travel up his arm with joy.

The paper had two runes drawn on it side by side. One was the one Clary had on her hand and the other was unfamiliar.

“You each draw one of the runes on each other,” Clary explained when Magnus raised an eyebrow at her.

Magnus felt emotion lodge in his throat, couldn’t help thinking about how similar this would be to a wedded union rune. He couldn’t draw that rune on Alec’s skin. But he could draw this one. This was still a union. Between Magnus and the person who he trusted with one of the most important parts of himself.

Magnus held his hand out to Alec who took it gently into his own. He brought the stele to hover over Magnus’ skin with a practiced ease that sent warmth through Magnus’ chest.

“This will hurt a bit,” Alec murmured, pressing a kiss to Magnus’ knuckles in apology. Magnus just nodded and tried to keep his heart from falling straight out of his chest and into Alec’s hands.

When the stele touched his skin Magnus had to grit his teeth against the burn. Alec’s lines were quick and sure and the sensation was over before Magnus could think too much about it. He watched with wide eyes as the gold shimmered and settled into black against his skin. His first and only rune. He could feel the power settle underneath his skin in a way similar yet entirely different to the way his magic spread through his veins.

Alec pressed the stele into his hand a moment later, holding out his own hand.

Magnus gently took his hand, callused and rough and so familiar. He spared another glance back at the photo on the paper Alec had handed him before dropping it to the ground.

He set the stele against the thin skin of Alec’s hand as if he was writing with a pencil. He could feel the power emanating from the stele, watched as the gold spilled out onto Alec’s skin with every stroke.

When he finished he gasped in surprise. The world was suddenly more in focus and felt his exhaustion slip away from him. He looked over at Alec, spotted the clarity rune on his arm and knew a stamina rune was burning on his chest under his shirt. Magnus could feel it all.

His gasp turned into an awed laugh when Alec held up his palm and a wisp of blue magic appeared in his hand.

“Alexander,” he murmured, stepping closer.

Alec shook his head,  “I know,” he breathed softly. seemingly with the same kind of awe Magnus was feeling in his own chest.

Without thinking about it Magnus leaned forwards and pressed their lips together in a kiss. Alec’s lips quirked against his and Magnus laughed into his mouth. He couldn’t believe this. They were connected in a way that Magnus could never have imagined and it had left him breathless.

When they pulled apart, Magnus noticed that the rest of their group was watching them with poorly concealed amusement.

“Are you guys done being sappy?” Izzy asked with her hands on her hips but Magnus could tell she was trying to hide a smile.

Alec rolled his eyes at Magnus before turning back towards the group.

“Let’s go home.”

Magnus tilted his head to Alec in wonder.

“The only way I can get out of here is to seal the rift from the outside. And I don’t have enough power outside of Edom to do that.”

Magnus tried not to let the hopelessness show on his face. He’d just gotten them back, he couldn’t lose them again.

When Alec looked back at him though, his smile hadn’t dropped. In fact he was smiling with a spark in his eyes that meant he knew something Magnus didn’t.

He took a step forwards and dropped an amulet into Magnus hand.

“A present from Catarina,” Alec explained, eyebrows raised and the hint of a smirk on his face.

Even before Alec said anything else Magnus knew the amulet was powerful. He could feel the magical energy of several warlocks ingrained into the metal.

“Cat infused people’s magic into this,” he said quietly, bringing the amulet up to eye level to look at it closely.

Alec nodded, “she used a variant of the spell you were going to use to free Jace from Lilith’s possession. It has dozens of warlock’s powers for you to tap into. It should be enough to close the rift from the outside.”

Magnus blinked back tears for the dozenth time in the last twenty minutes. Leave it to Cat to not even be here and still end up helping Magnus save his own ass.

“It was crazy,” Alec went on, “as soon as Lorenzo lifted the ban on helping you in payment for us turning him back human, warlocks flocked in from everywhere to help. There were so many we didn’t know what to do with them,” Alec shook his head in disbelief, “you helped so many people, Magnus. And they wanted to return the favor.”

Magnus let out a wet laugh, palming the amulet and standing in disbelief. All these people were here to help him . Gave away some of their magic to get him out of here. He didn’t know what to say. He was well and truly speechless.

Alec seemed to tell Magnus was at a loss for words because he cupped his cheek again and smiled a soft smile.

“Catarina had to stay with Madzie but she told me to tell you something,” he ran his thumb carefully over the skin under Magnus’ eyes and then down to his cheekbone, “she said to tell you that if you don’t make it back in one piece she’d kick your ass.”

Magnus laughed again, a wet rough sound. Here they were, two of the most important people in his life. The people he loved with every single thing in him. They trusted each other, worked together to find a solution to bring Magnus home. Cat trusted Alec to get Magnus back and Alec trusted Cat to make sure they had what they needed to do it.

“Well then,” Magnus said softly, “let’s get the hell out of here.”

They had to go back to where the rift had formed the first time in order to be able to seal it again from the outside.

To everyone’s dismay, that meant they had to go back out into the fray where Lilith was in control.

The demons were on them as soon as they got back outside but Magnus smiled at the eight of them stood, a united front.

He could still feel the power from Alec’s runes, giving him heightened speed and focus as he blasted demon after demon.

From the corner of his eye he saw Alec lose his seraph blade and retaliate with a burst of magic. The sight sent his heart racing. Alec using his magic with such ease made his heart grow warm.

Jace frowned at Alec as he fought off another demon with his blade.

“How the hell can you control that so easily?” he asked Alec breathlessly, “it took my a good half hour to be able to blast anything.”

Alec just shrugged as they both whirled around and blasted a demon behind them together.

Magnus smiled to himself even as he fought off demons of his own. He knew exactly why Alec could control the magic so easily. It loved him. Just like it loved Magnus. Magnus’ magic had found a home in Alec’s careful hands and nonjudgmental gaze long before Magnus had even realized it.

Magnus blasted another dozen demons when he felt a sold presence against his back.

“Hey there handsome,” he quipped, grinning when Alec laughed in amusement.

“Hey yourself.”

They both kept their eyes on the sky, watching the demons as they circled, getting closer and closer.

“How far is the rift?” Alec asked, yelling to be heard over the noise of fighting, “I don’t know how much longer we’ll be able to hold them back.”

At that Magnus let a slow smirk slide onto his face. He hadn’t even used his best trick yet. Magnus had banished his father, as his son he’d inherited the parts of Edom that belonged to Asmodeus. And with that, came demons.

“You forget,” Magnus said, “You’re marrying into royalty, Alexander.”

And with that he unleashed his father’s demons into the fight.

Alec gasped in surprise as they both watched Magnus’ demons attack the ones they’d been fighting.

He turned to Magnus with wide eyes and then grinned. lighting an arrow with Magnus’ magic.

“What are we waiting for then?” he said, joy obvious in his voice, “We’ve got a wedding to attend.”

[marta-spleen]

Lizrenzo Rey is at the Institute...

Bitch, better prepare myself for the rising of the LorenzoxUnderhill ship.

[emarasmoak]

The kid-post 3x20 Speculation

Speculation for Supergirl 3x21 based on comics, spoilers and the extended promo for the episode.

Why did the show had Mon-El helping the kid and the device for curing his lung illness? I see three possibilities:

One, making explicit that Mon-El is a great selfless guy because he kept what he did secret (he told Kara that he had been just "sightseeing"). If Kara finds out, she might realise what an awesome father of Daxtonian children he would be. I would love this to happen.

Second, someone pointed out that Mon-El having the device to cure this kid is very random and suggested that they could follow comics, where Mon-El never gets really cured of his lead poisoning and has to get constant treatment (when he doesn't get his treatment he gets aggressive/ crazy and can die). Mon-El might have given the kid his device expecting to be able to get another one for his treatment in time to be okay. I would love this to happen (and I think that @hillshollow too) because he would show a superhero with a chronic illness and/ or mental health problems.

Third, I got the feeling that when Karamel (SPOILERS) go back to Argo in 21 as showed in the extended promo, they will be in danger and attacked by the evil councilwoman, Reign or Kryptonians and they will have to hide. The mother of the sick child will definitely help them and it can be a good opportunity for Karamel to (SPOILERS) wear the white clothes from Kara's dream in the premiere where they kissed on a field as shown by the BTS photos. I would love this too.

[barrysimpulse]

Favourite flash episodes from any season?

Ooo that’s a hard one, but I have a LOT. I’ll give my favorites from each season.

Season 1: 1x01 “Pilot” I don't know what other way to describe it except for the word: YES. It started my obsession if I’m being honest.

1x20 “The Trap” I have no idea why I like this one so much, it’s just a really good episode to me. The whole Cisco in the dream scene never fails to make me laugh, and then Joe not giving Eddie his permission to propose to Iris. There’s just so many good parts of this episode.

Season 2: 2x13, 2x14 “Welcome to Earth-2″ “Escape from Earth-2″ Earth-2 feels like a fever dream tbh, I loved Barry acting like Earth-2 Barry and the whole doppelgängers stuff. We heard about Earth-2, so finally seeing it was so cool. It’s one of the best of the season, IMO.

 2x16 “Trajectory” It’s one of those episodes that I just can’t explain why I love it. I think the whole club Westallen scene is golden, the whole “promise me if we get married, you won’t do that dance at our wedding.” and then Barry’s response. It just makes me die of laughter I have no idea why.

Season 3(there’s a lot here): 3x04 “The New Rogues” solely because of the Westallen scenes, and Barry with the pillow on his lap kills me every single time.

3x09 “The Present” As heartbreaking as this episode is, I always seem to rewatch it. I think it’s just a really good storytelling episode, it moves the story along drastically that keeps you intrigued.

3x17 “Duet” I mean it’s Grant AND Melissa singing. Plus Darren Criss, it’s too good not to love. And the Westallen proposal at the end, *chef’s kiss*. It’s safe to say I have this episode memorized.

3x19 “The Once and Future Flash” I cry every time during this episode but it's just really good. Barry not caring about Caitlin turning full Killer Frost and trying to save Iris just makes me so happy. I have that whole time vault scene between Present and 2024 Barry memorized, it’s a problem.

3x21 “Cause and Effect” Barry with no memories is the funniest thing ever, it never fails to make me die of laughter.

(I would include 3x22 and 3x23, but I cry too hard so that makes me dislike them.)

Season 4:(possibly my favorite season): 4x01 (The Flash Reborn) Barry coming back made me be able to exhale. I had been waiting so long for that. And then my Westallen is united, it’s just happiness.

4x15 “Enter Flashtime” This might be my favorite episode EVER. I can't describe how much I love it, the whole lighting rod concept finally being so clear, I cry happy tears, man.

4x16 “Run, Iris, Run” My favorite character(besides Barry) getting speed. Ugh, YES. My heart during that cortex hug, it explodes.

Season 5: 5x05 “All Doll’d Up” I mean...Iris jumped off a freakin building for Barry, enough said.

Season 6: 6x07, 6x08 “The Last Temptation of Barry Allen Part 1″ and “The Last Temptation of Barry Allen Part 2″ Barry seeing baby Nora breaks my heart, and I’m still not sure how I feel about it.

6x17 “Liberation” THE ENDING. That destroys me, I will literally never not cry. Like for real.

Season 7: 7x03 “Mother” This episode was a gift from God, like the Westallen content was immaculate. Eric Wallace really blessed us.

7x05 “Fear Me” I love this episode because it really capitalized on Barry’s weakness, and it got me speculating for later episodes. Plus the Tornado twins teaser, was so unexpected but Im here for it.

7x11 “Family Matters Part 2″ THAT ENDING MAKES THE EPISODE MY AUTOMATIC FAVORITE. My OTP is starting to try for a child(ren), ive wanted this for so long fr.

(I’m calling it now the episode Iris finds out she's pregnant, and the episode where she tells Barry will be my ABSOLUTE favorites. And the 150th episode of course, I mean we get to see Nora again AND meet Bart. It’s already gonna be good.)

But those are my favorites, let me know which ones you agree with and what your favorite episodes are. Hasta luego! ;)

(that means see you later in Spanish)

[nzvalley]

Rewatching some Star Trek: Enterprise (”E2” & “Zero Hour”)

The last section of the season becomes very procedural, very perfunctory. It’s well-crafted and well-executed, but it’s plot-heavy and militaristic. The scenes of MACOs preparing, of soldiers discussion tactics and training, feels like what some of the writers really wanted from the show. The one exception, which seems out of place, is E2     

3x21 – E2

I usually like time travel episodes, but this episode is hard to get through for me. For the obvious shipping reasons, definitely, but also because this idea could have been great. As it stands, the writers attempt to pack too much into too short of time.

The scenes where Archer and T’Pol in the “past” are poignant. Very ambitious effect to distinguish it in the timeline. 

T’Pol seems a little too aged for roughly 180 right? We’ve seen Vulcans well over 200 be spry and steady. T’Pol seems elderly and frail. Maybe it has something to do with her Pa’nar Syndrome or the effects of her addiction.

Elderly!T’Pol comes close to hugging Archer when they meet, but stops at grasping him by the upper arms/shoulders. Similar to the manner that he frequently does to her when he is trying to comfort or steady her. 

Looking at the story through (heavy) shipper goggles, T’Pol stayed very dedicated to Archer’s mission. She met with Archer first, before anyone else. And eldery!T’Pol remains as loyal to Archer as ever, even going against Lorian’s wishes. 

3x24 – Zero Hour (Finale)

Lots of plot, and more plot. This is a well-crafted finale, a well-crafted last act of the season, but very mechanical too.

Love the Archer/Hoshi scenes, even though she is distressed. Their connection seemed so strong in the pilot, and I always hated that their relationship receded into the background. Hoshi’s guilt about giving up the third code really comes through.

Archer is ruthless and selfless, always willing to sacrifice himself most of all.

Daniels spoils the finale for Archer! The bastard! Seriously, this last-ditch effort by Daniels is pretty epic. Daniels again seems like he’s a voice of some of the writers who don’t like the changes in S3. It almost sounds like the fate of the character of Archer is being argued about, whether or not he can really be killed off.

DANIELS: It's too great a risk. If you're killed, none of this will happen. At least, not the way it's supposed to happen. ARCHER: Then it'll happen some other way. Who's to say whether it'll be better or worse? DANIELS: It's essential you be a part of this. ARCHER: Where are we? What planet? DANIELS: Earth. ARCHER: Seems to me it's just as essential that Earth be around for this too. DANIELS: Lieutenant Reed can work with Sato. They are not crucial to the future of mankind. You are. ARCHER: My mission is to save Earth, not your Federation.

Interesting scene between T’Pol and Phlox about death. She acknowledges she finds death distracting, and tries to put it out of her mind. Putting her reaction to Archer’s believed death in Azati Prime  in a new light. 

T'POL: I have always found it distracting to think of death, especially when entering a dangerous situation. PHLOX: Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. I don't know about Vulcans, but Denobulans take great pleasure in bequeathing their belongings to far-flung relatives. T'POL: We're not dead yet.

Hoshi should save the day more often. It really is a tragedy they didn’t focus more on her. With humans venturing into the wider galaxy for the first time, encountering many new alien species, it would have made sense for the communications officer and linguist to be particularly highlighted.

T’Pol acquits herself well when in command of Enterprise. Hard to believe how out of control she was half-dozen episodes ago.

Shran! Bringing the Xindi arc back into the Federation arc, and eventually the Temporal Cold War arc is woven in as well. This episode does a fairly good job of reintegrating the show back into what they’d established in the first two seasons. Shran once again saves Archer and humanity, for little reason other than the trust and respect that has grown between the two.

SHRAN: And tell Archer we're not even any more. He owes me!

There’s a theme of cooperation in this finale and season. Humanity would not have been saved without alien allies. Shran and T’Pol, of course. But Phlox is also essential to the Entreprise crew’s survival. And the Xindi species that allied themselves with humans. This season often gets mischaracterized as being xenophobic and jingoistic, but it ultimately has a very kumbaya message.

T’Pol thinks Archer is dead again. She is visibly distraught. She doesn’t cry this time, but the camera focuses on her gutted reaction. It also cuts to her alone in the ready room, at the window of despair. This is where she came to cry for Archer when she thought he was dead last time. Archer has angsted about T’Pol there too, so there’s a lot of meaning. 

T’Pol’s meeting with the Xindi representative continues the preview of T’Pol in command, showing what the ship (and show) might be like if Archer was killed off for real. In that scene, which immediately follows her learning about Archer’s “death,” she is still anguished. The way she holds her book defensively to her chest and to her mouth. She freezes and closes her eyes when the Xindi mentions Archer’s sacrifice.

T’Pol’s scene with Phlox is touching. Their interactions with Porthos especially, and their elision of the fact that they’re talking about T’Pol’s loss.  

PHLOX: Only time. How's morale? T'POL: It isn't easy for a crew to lose it's Captain. PHLOX: I suppose we'll all need time to heal. T'POL: Will he be all right? PHLOX: After a while. He's lost his best friend, but it's just a matter of time. He'll be fine again. T'POL: Did you hear that? The Doctor say's you'll be fine. It's just a matter of time.

The way her voice breaks on that last sentence! T’Pol believes she has lost a close friend, a trusted partner, and perhaps more. And is this the first time T’Pol has touched Porthos willingly?

Timey wimey stuff! Returing to the notion, which as far as I know I made up, that some producer or network exec wanted Archer/Bakula off the show: imagine this episode without the capper scene revealing Archer is alive. Where the season ends with Mayweather, Trip, and the fighter planes. Seems pretty natural. Maybe that was an option that was discussed or set up. Just speculating. But thankfully that didn’t happen, because we get some awesome costuming, set design, and character beats in the premiere episodes of Season 4!

Final Thoughts on S3

A major flaw in this season is its weak villains. The Reptilians end up seeming misguided, too quick to believe their Guardians and too stubborn to change course. The Guardians/Sphere-builders literally aren’t there. They are a phantom villain. The biggest antagonists are the weapon and the spheres, technology.

Such a flawed season, but still with strong episodes and high points. The season-long narrative was mostly well-done, but the militaristic tone and content they were going for didn’t match the ethos of the show. The season is over plotted. The Xindi were awesome as new species, but not great as antagonists. And of course the Trip/T’Pol neuropressure blight! 

I’ve said several times this season that certain episodes should have been expanded, and each one had to do with time travel. With as important as time travel ultimately turns out to be in this season, they should have played that up from the beginning. That would be the simplest way to fix the season. Cut out some of the extraneous plot and overbearing romance, and expand the time travel episodes. 

The Xindi arc never should have presented as different from the Temporal Cold War, but as that war going hot and putting everything we know about Star Trek history in jeopardy. The time travel stories they had, like Twilight, Carpenter Street, and E2 should have been expanded and/or played up as essential arcs. The presence of Lorian and elderly!T’Pol should have been revealed early into the season, at least to the audience. Although his paternity could still be a reveal later on in the season.

With whatever time is left after expanding the time travel stuff, dedicate that to fleshing out T’Pol’s addiction arc and making her romantic experimentation more natural. The writers actually set up a good way for Trip and T’Pol’s romance to start, with them working on Trellium- they just never followed up on it. I would continue their work on Trellium (high stakes, high pressure, and often alone,) while also revealing to the audience that T’Pol’s experience in Impulse caused her to start ingesting Trellium as a drug.

The season wouldn’t be perfect, but it would be greatly improved by 1. improving the villains, 2. expanding the time travel stories and making them a central thematic arc, and 3. expanding T’Pol’s addiction arc by revealing her “drug use” early in the season to the audience.

Transcripts: http://www.chakoteya.net/Enterprise/episodes.htm

Screencaps: https://ent.trekcore.com/gallery/index.php?cat=4

[coldtomyflash]

So how do you think this season is going to end? Do you think Barry will end up sacrificing himself (but not stay dead), or maybe they're able to trap Savitar in the speedforce once again (and hopefully free Jay - why is no one talking about working on a plan to free Jay)?

I answered here with some predictions about the finale / end of season :) I don’t want to get too specific/narrow because there’s a lot up in the air still, but I can add on a bit here.

We’re going to find out what made Savitar who/what he is. I’m pretty damn sure he’s a time remnant of Barry’s gone awry, and I’ve talked about my thoughts on that in a few posts.

I do think that they’ll trap him, or trap the time remnant version of him, in the speedforce, ultimately creating the time loop such that Savitar will come to exist and will travel back and around and through time and dimensions to ultimately back to this moment to create himself.

I don’t think that Iris will die so I suspect something is going to happen to prevent that. I’m unsure what. I suspect they’ll kill Savitar in some way, rather than returning him to the speedforce (because it’ll be past/remnant Barry that ends up in there instead). I might have that backwards though, and they’ll re-trap Savitar and get rid of the past version of him, or trap them both.

If Barry sacrifices himself, that would be pretty fascinating to be honest. Him dying and his remnant who was set to become Savitar surviving, and then not becoming Savitar and instead being Barry? That would be a bit messed up but also amazing. I think the writers are going to shy away from that possibility because they want us to keep and feel attached to “our” Barry, but it’s still such a neat direction.

I also am pretty sure Killer Frost is going to come help the team (based on promo photos for 3x21) but ultimately might not stick around / probably won’t return to being ‘Caitlin Snow’ as she was before? I might be way off the mark there though, it’s impossible to say.

Finally, I wouldn’t say no one is working on a plan to free Jay, just that that’s not the main priority until they stop Savitar. Jay knew what he was offering when he walked in there and knew he wouldn’t be free until after Savitar was stopped.

And actually, I sort of suspect that the team’s current intent is to make Savitar take Jay’s place, to free Jay? Even if that hasn’t been stated as such. If they need a speedster in there, who better than the person they hate who is trying to kill Iris? They want to trap him anyway, so...

[bettycooperoutfitwatch]

3x21 Chapter Fifty-Six: The Dark Secret of Harvest House

Hi.

Betty has come inside, and is living under the protection of the Farm, since the Black Hood is once again at large.

There are no ponytails in this episode, and we open with Betty in this (fucking dope, up there with the RHS wrestling shirt) Farm ringer t-shirt. She’s trying to play nice; but true to Betty-form, she’s keeping her ear to the ground and trying to figure out what’s up. She’s Betty Snoopering. 

Now that Betty is in Farm-control (sort of), they gang up to stage an...intervention.

Ah, The ‘serial killer genes.’

I think this is perhaps where the season 3’s occasional reference to Betty’s failure to remember childhood events (see 301 and 315, and this episode’s reference to Caramel the cat) was leading to—a childhood injury, and perhaps even a traumatic brain injury (TBI). 

TBIs have been most prevalent in recent cultural conversation around sport, as a history of repetitive brain trauma & concussion in sports can lead to CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy). CTE can only be diagnosed post-mortem, but amongst many many other symptoms that present in individuals with CTE, there is indeed memory loss. 

Many people have speculated about violence & CTE, notably in instances of former/current American football players who commit family/intimate partner violence or even murder. But there’s no certainty around causation versus correlation. Men who commit family/intimate partner violence against women are also often misogynists, and there’s absolutely reason to think this has just as much consequence in their actions as a history of TBI would.

A lot of serial killers have a history of childhood TBI, and a lot of serial killers are raging misogynists—but you know what, there are also millions of other people who have and are both these things, and don’t go around killing people.

Betty may have what Riverdale calls ‘serial killer genes,’ (but which popular science casually calls ‘warrior genes’) MAOA and CDH13, but as literally any geneticist will tell you—genetics are not destiny. Even Edgar acknowledges this; but as Edgar is wont to do, he twists it to serve his purposes.

Betty might have worn these trousers at the end of 311; hard to be certain. As it is, they’re a departure! Straight-leg burgundy velvet crops with an exposed button-fly, worn with this aforementioned Farm t-shirt and some Chucks (her pink low-tops, I’m I’m not mistaken.)

Betty!!! You are not your thoughts!! We’ve talked about this. 

Or—at least I thought we had. But I’ve looked back through the archive, and it appears I cut it out of an earlier post. Que sera. 

One may be walking over a bridge and think, what would happen if I threw my laptop over this railing? (as indeed I myself thought pretty much twice a day for like a year), but that thought has literally no power if it’s not acted upon. 

Intrusive thoughts are endemic, but they’re not defining unless you turn them into action. You are defined by your action. Betty is a person who has obviously-if-abstractly dealt with matters of personal mental health; she’s struggled with familial and societal expectations of her and how those abut and perhaps contradict her personal desires. To then interpret this as being of two minds? It makes sense. 

And it sets up nicely a situation in which Betty is hypnotized and convinced she is conversing with her ulterior/interior/submerged/other self. Maybe her id? Idk—Freud is outdated and has more prevalence in casual conversation around psychology than in the actual practice of it, or so I understand.

Now—Id-Betty (which is what I shall call her for lack of better options) wears an outfit Betty donned verbatim in 213. It’s the outfit Betty wore when she was trying to outwardly maintain her chill—after she and her mother had disposed of the Shady Man’s body, and in a moment where she was trying to keep composed and assure the outside world that everything was Very Normal, Thank You Very Much. It’s Peak Betty. 

So that Id-Betty dons this look? Makes sense to me. Id-Betty (aka Polly in Betty Drag) is attempting to break Betty on behalf of the Farm. Broken people are easier to get on-board with cult activity. 

But true to form, Betty proves hard to break. 

The Farm’s argument is that Edgar is able to convert emotional pain into physical pain, which then can be surgically excised from the body (but as we shall see, is just an excuse to put people under anesthetic in order to steal their organs Riverdale fucking went there!!!!) Betty gets a headache during her hypnosis session—thus setting up Edgar’s attempt at lobotomizing her. More on that in a bit.

I told you there was a vibe. 

Well this is fly as fuck, right? The flared overalls? The purple sweater? It’s all great. Worn with those platform pink Chucks.

Overalls are kind of apropos in the moment, as it could be argued Betty first really began her investigation into the Farm in 303—wearing overalls. 

The reveal!!!! Polly uses her personal history with Betty to really sell the con.

(Even the boots are on point.)

Not relevant to our plot-line, but this fight sequence is shot so fucking well. Admittedly I’m only usually half paying attention to any giving boxing scene, but this moment!! Kudos to Mr. Seidenglanz & the team for really nailing it. 

Riverdale. 

Oh I bet. 

Betty tries to get her friends out, and well...they’re converts, they literally drag her back into danger. 

There’s a...lengthy history of people—and arguably of women, specifically, given the status and relative lack of autonomy women held during the years lobotomies were an accepted medical treatment, ie, the mid-20th century—subjected to lobotomy for variety of reasons: history of depression, anxiety, homosexuality, arthritis, talking back or misbehaving, schizophrenia, being prone to seizures, OCD, suicidal ideation, etc etc etc. In essence, it was often an attempt to instill conformity on a ‘difficult’ of ‘deviant’ individual. 

A lobotomy very often left people incapacitated in one way or another for the rest of their lives. It’s objectively horrifying.  

What’s more, brains aren’t transplantable (at least in this world. Riverdale is Riverdale so who fckn knows.) Edgar’s lobotomizing Betty to placate her, to domesticate her, to get her to stop causing trouble, to submit. 

We know Riverdale isn’t going to actually lobotomize its star-player (the production team knows what it has in Ms. Reinhart, who is either the White Michelle Williams or Blake Lively of this show—which, tbd; I’m rooting for the Michelle route bc she has the range), but still—it’s up there in the pantheon of disturbing shit Riverdale throws at us on a normal Wednesday evening. 

Summary: two outfits, plus one that Polly wears while pretending to be Betty, and one hospital gown

I Own This: W h e r e can I be getting a Farm t-shirt please and thanks

Key necklace appearances / Is Betty a River Vixen?? / That backpack?: no

The floggingink Memorial Peter Pan Collar Count: We have one very consequential peter pan collar!!!

Best outfit: purple sweater and flared overalls

[romanticheartbreakprince]

I’d like some thoughts on how they will resolve TJ and Cyrus in the upcoming episodes

This one is rather tough, because realistically they could do anything.

But I feel like they’re going to do something that’s very in character for the friendship between Cyrus and TJ.

So we know that according to Luke’s imdb, he’s not going to be in the next episode, but will be returning in 3x15.

I’d like to believe that 3x14 will be a period of time where TJ and Cyrus have still not spoken to each other, they’re still doing their best to avoid each other and that is the reason for TJ’s absence. Cyrus is still assuming that TJ hates him now, and never even liked him in the first place. The entire thing was just an act. TJ still feels way too bad about doing the costume with Kira instead, and as has been discussed previously, knows that there’s no proper way to explain himself without either a.) claiming the entire thing was a joke and seeming like a bigger jerk to Cyrus. or b.) outing himself to everyone, which he is not ready to do yet.

Some people have speculated that TJ would do another rap apology, which is a thing that is in-character for him, and he definitely could do that again for an apology, but I can’t see him doing it for Cyrus. They are too good of friends, and Cyrus was hurt too bad for this to be fixed by a simple rap-ology. No matter how good it is. 

I’d like to believe that with TJ coming back in 3x15, it’s obviously going to be when they start to mend things. Even if it’s from an outside source like someone else talking to TJ, or vice versa.  We may not see TJ talking directly to Cyrus, but it’s all going to lead up to them speaking again.

What would really be rather adorable is if once TJ does apologize, it also comes with a confession. Maybe that’s when TJ decides to tell Cyrus the truth about how he feels. But then that wouldn’t be until 3x21 because if I’m remembering correctly, 3x21 is when we’re speculating that they get together? or something happens between them?

But at the same time we need to think about how just because one of them confesses, doesn’t mean the other one will feel as if they’re ready, or comfortable enough to do so. So maybe one of them would confess earlier than the other. All leading up to the finale where supposedly we’re going to get a happy canon Tyrus ending.

But to start off, I believe we’re going to see them starting to mend their friendship in 3x15. I’d be very interested in seeing Cyrus try reaching out to TJ. Maybe he picked up on a lot of the non-verbal cues about how TJ just looked so miserable being in a costume with Kira instead of him. Maybe how he actually said he was sorry, and wanted to say more before being interrupted by her. I also feel like TJ cares way too much about Cyrus to constantly try and pester him about an apology. So he’d just end up giving Cyrus too much space and maybe would start letting him drift away?

Possibly the GHC notices how miserable they both are and Buffy or Andi (probably Buffy since she seems to be the one who’s noticed everything) will end up talking to TJ to hear his side of the story. Then will try and nudge Cyrus in the direction of trying to talk to TJ (whenever he’s ready, of course) because she knows how much they care about each other, and as much as she hates to admit it, she just wants them both to be happy. 

I don’t know, anyone’s guess is as good as mine, but I’d like to see one of the things mentioned above. 

[teenwolf-theoriginals]

Part 1-Although many fans have speculated what will happen with Mac/Desi this season, the time jump definitely has changed things and your post definitely offers a new perspective of them dating or dated but then also poses more questions. Given the sexual tension exhibited, it would be hard to believe over the time jump that something didn’t happen even if Desi didn’t stay in touch as much as the others.

Part 2-However, if it opens with them dating, it would have been for a long period of time so wouldn’t it be a more serious relationship?? If they dated and broke up, it would be hard to believe they suddenly start flirting again. I think the writers need to make this believable and I am not sure how that can be done. I would almost prefer they dated and decided it wasn’t working and we are moving on.

Part 3-I also don’t think we would get the same type of Mac/Riley scenes as before if Mac/Desi were dating. Those scenes always had the undertone of possibly something more, but it wouldn’t fit if Mac was dating someone else on the team. Some may say the same about Mac/Riley and why didn’t anything happen with them over the time jump, but for them, there has never been overt flirting and their friendship has always been at the forefront and Mac/Desi, was based off sexual tension at the start

------

“I would almost prefer they dated and decided it wasn’t working and we are moving on” - met too, that seems like the option that suits them the most. i just think it would be so weird to watch them date after the 18 months, like mac doesn’t strike me as desi’s type and she also doesn’t strike me as someone who falls so quickly with someone else. and i think that’s why the last few episodes of season 3, that idea made it hard to believe their chemistry or that she was flirting back with him was in a genuine way.

we never quite get the same macriley scenes whenever mac is dating or flirting with someone (season 2 with cage comes to mind), it seems like the writers purposely don’t have them interact as much. but in season 3 when mac was dating nasha we did get some early on - like in 3x04 and the smiles in 3x01, so that did surprise me a little. but the tone did change once mac and nasha broke up - 3x13, 3x14, 3x08, 3x21, being the biggest examples i can think of.

in the 18 months i’m sure their friendship would’ve grown, nothing romantic. but with desi i’m sure something happened. now, whether it’s something brand new or happened over the course of the 18 months, who knows. but whatever small or big thing happened between them i know we’ll get some macdesi scenes (like the hug we saw during a bts, which seemed like mac was confronting her. or maybe a fake couple mission. or more flirty smiles and glances). either way, we ain’t getting through season 4 without something macdesi related.

[anthony-kate]

Wait what magnus scene was cut from 320?

It’s only just speculation but apparently the ending we saw in 3x20 was not the actual ending they had planned before the cancellation happened. So since Bryan said something about “hot” regarding the additional scene they cut and put into 3x21 now, best guess is that it is Magnus related where he finds out that he can’t go back anymore. Or something Lilith related.

[immortals-malec]

Wait then how would that explain the rings in 3x21? If he gets sucked into edom they wont be able to exchange rings? And that pic of everyone around the table at the institute (where we see magnus's ring) is in 2x21 right? Or is that also just speculation. Either way, I'm excited for Bryan to fix this tbh

Oh, sorry half asleep, here. Theory is before Magnus might be the hero again and save Idris and everyone from the Edom rift, Alec might not want him to go and will end up proposing, to Magnus, and they might exchange rings, before he goes. And same, he’s a good writer who somehow managed to make 3x10 work with 3x09 being a mess. So i have faith he can make this work. 

[ao3feed-malec]

My Heart Is Wherever You Are

read it on the AO3 at http://bit.ly/2WozYIL

by alistoney

Magnus had waited centuries to get married and he was damn sure that he wasn’t going to let Edom stop him.

Words: 2755, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Series: Part 14 of 3b inspired works

Fandoms: Shadowhunters (TV)

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: M/M

Characters: Magnus Bane, Alec Lightwood, Clary Fray, Jace Herondale, Isabelle Lightwood, Catarina Loss, Lorenzo Rey, meliorn, Lilith, Asmodeus

Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood

Additional Tags: team work, Magic, Alliance, Rescue Mission, Fluff, Battle Couple, reunion kiss, Banter, 3x20 coda, 3x21 speculation

read it on the AO3 at http://bit.ly/2WozYIL

[baddieromanova]

what's your opinion on Alice working for the FBI the whole time and everyone's thoughts on it since they're all making a huge deal out of it and saying Alice can't be redeemed? not being rude but i just wanted to hear your thoughts

I said at some point that obviously it was executed poorly, while I like the idea it would’ve been so much better if these writers were competent and I understand that they had planned this twist for much longer than people think and wanted the audience to be genuinely shocked (Even Madchen was in the dark) but the build up could’ve been planned better while it was planned early on it still doesn’t feel like it. The execution of all their plots are just weak, it’s obvious they they had no idea what the farms big MO was going to be until they started writing 3x21 where they settled on organ harvesting, because everything before that suggested baby farming, some religious cult type bs, Edgar being a scammer or simply a polygamist, I would’ve never guessed organ harvesting. That being said, while I understand people’s frustrations with it as it feels like a retcon/cop out, you’d expect complaints to be directed at Roberto right? Wrong. People are using it to justify the hatred they had for Alice way before this plot even happened. Yes, Betty went through a lot this season, but things people need to take into consideration is 1) Informants or people working for the police have to go to extreme lengths when it comes to keeping their cover even if it means damaging relationships and they don’t even get a say in that because even when they challenge their superiors they will shut that down because ultimately they don’t care about anything other than closing their case and catching their crook. One of my cousins mates was in a similar situation, he was working undercover and during duty his brother was accused of trying to mug someone and was arrested but he witnessed the incident and could’ve come forward to clear his brother’s name but his superiors wouldn’t allow him to because he would’ve blown his cover, it wasn’t until after his case was closed where he was able to clear his brother’s name.

2) We don’t know at which point in the season Alice and Charles met, everyone’s just assumed it was before the season three premiere took place and given that the season now suddenly has taken place over a full academic year, there’s a lot of points where they could’ve met. Alice willingly joined the farm at first because of Polly not because of the FBI. Now even though we didn’t find out until 3x17 that Alice’s main draw to the place was seeing Charles ghost, we already knew that the pain she felt for Charles supposed death was what was keeping there so ultimately, Charles’ “death” was the reason she was there, so we knew that him being alive would be the one thing to snap her out of her farm phase. With that, it’s clear that Alice was track down and approached by Charles to be an informant because seeing as his team has been investigating Edgar for a while, they’ll have eyes on him and everyone around him so of course Charles would recognise his biological mother being involved and use it to his advantage as an FBI agent. Obviously seeing Charles and being told by him that Edgar isn’t who he says he is and is harvesting organs, she’s snap out of it quickly, just like Cheryl easily snapped out of it when she found out the one person she loved was about to be butchered. So all in all, who’s to say Alice was totally of sound and mind the ENTIRE time? It’s pretty clear that was the case for the first half of the season but clearly after that is when she began working for Charles, Roberto said himself it wasn’t until half way throughout the season they decided to pull that so while it is lazy, it’s still pretty plausible and makes sense. A lot of people have speculated it was after the drowning where she probably began working undercover which does sound right since that’s when things got extreme.

As for the redemption argument, anyone who feels she can’t be redeemed can get fucked. Really, the only terrible thing she’s done, assuming she was approached by the FBI before 3x10, is steal Betty’s money, everything else in a sense is forgivable and understandable. She’ll be reimbursed so I don’t understand the outrage there. Also fun fact, it was around the time that was filmed that Roberto told Madchen after she told him that Alice wouldn’t do that and was acting out of character, that he knows but he has a plan for it all. And I’m not going to count sending her to the sisters because that was only done because the writers needed Betty there to investigate when they randomly decided to link the place to G&G. People who have openly said someone who tried to murder Betty 3 times is a better parent and have excused his actions have no business talking about redemption, and that’s also exactly how I know these arguments are just coming from people who hate Alice for other reasons.

[whelmed-knight]

I have a feeling Barbara already deployed the Bats and they’ll show up on Santa Prisca

Maybe I’m thinking of 3x21 with “Kaldur, I hope you know what you’re doing… and just in case you don’t…” and she piloted a Bat-drone to provide backup which ended up saving them (coincidentally enough, Also when someone she loves was captured by the bad guys…)

Like if all of the Bats were working on the Penguin/Two-Face turf war, I think they would know Orphan was absent, and Artemis and Oracle probably had to tell them (that, and the fact that she’s going with 2 potential traitors)

So I have the interpretation that they know but are holding back so that Shiva doesn’t kill Orphan as per the deal, but are standing ready if Artemis calls for backup

But yeah Oracle saying to Artemis, “You’d better be right” and “You’d better know what you’re doing” in this episode and how scared she is for Orphan, idk I just feel like I could see them showing up on Santa Prisca next episode

They totally might not! and I’m here for the characters we have involved taking care of themselves! I’m not saying it’s necessary, I’m just like speculating~

Although I would like a reunion scene where Orphan gets home and they all hug it out 🥺

[ren3gade]

I watched Pusher 3x17 & Kitsunegari 5x8.

I have probably seen Pusher four or five times. Even though it's cat-and-mouse shit, which I allegedly hate, it's got some great MSR and Modell really is the MOTW you want to slap on the mouth. If they wrote an episode like this today Modell would be chantrash and they'd need to acknowledge the homicidal psychic hitman's whiteness is at least half of the reason why someone doesn't put a bullet in his ass within the first 20 minutes. "Why do we keep giving this guy everything he wants?" well cause it's good TV but also ^^^ When this episode aired there was some speculation as to why Skinner was unaffected by Pusher's abilities. IIRC we didn't really know anything about Skinner at the time, the first Skinner-centric episode, Avatar, aired after this one (3x21), but I think the general consensus was Mulder's tomfoolery has helped refine Skinner's highly-sensitive bullshitometer, and he probably had some kind of elite military training. Pusher is an easy 4 out of 5 dog-eared martial arts magazines -- I think I only saw Kitsunegari once, when it aired, because I hated the twist. The twist is still stupid, but viewing it all these years later I like that it puts a new spin on Modell's cat-and-mouse tendencies and brings the viewer into the deception. In this episode we can actually see what Pusher's victims see. Before, the viewer was still privy to reality. I'm not sure I buy Modell's change in MO. I like how Skinner is the permissive parent whose threats never mean anything ("You're suspended/grounded!" he yells, but doesn't say a word 10 minutes later when Mulder slouches out the front door to go skateboard with his buds in the Blockbuster parking lot). Also, the mindfuckery at the end during the standoff feels right at home with the mindfuckery of the previous episode, and is pretty tense and creepy. Modell is 1 of 3 double feature MOTWs (Modell, Tooms, Pfaster), and I appreciate they tried to bring back a popular MOTW in a different way, but the long-lost twin thing is frankly embarrassing. Thus, Kitsunegari ends up being 2.5 out of 5 mostly-empty Cerulean blue paint cans.

[coldtomyflash]

Hmm…that gif with Iris and Barry-S was rather striking because it was rather reminiscent of the climax moment in The Phantom of the Opera:

https://youtu.be/EZUq592isxs?t=10  

It really makes one wonder who will be the actual ones to resolve this.  Our Barry just “defeating” Barry-S/Savitar doesn’t really seem to feel like the right pay-off for all that’s happened.