#I... honestly don't know how I felt about this storyline + this season as a whole

[dollopheadsandclotpoles]

I did try to make friends. But I couldn't let people in without giving myself away...

[universitysunflowers]

Ok I've had some time to process heres my detailed thoughts (TBB spoilers)

First I want to get my biggest issue with the finale out of the way - Tech and CX-2. I have been delusional about him but not to the point that I wouldn't accept his death or other clones as CX-2, and I was staying open. But then they went and did exactly what I hoped they wouldn't: they gave us no confirmation of his identity at all and left him thumbtacked to a wall with no face reveal. Not only is this exactly what they did in Ahsoka, but I also feel like it left a huge gap in the finale storyline. They put so much emphasis on him throughout season 3, including the last episode, and we got nothing out of it. I also felt like this made Tech's death kind of meaningless?? Which I absolutely hate saying because of what he sacrificed in season 2, but why kill him when the rest of the batch gets to live happily on Pabu and grow old with Omega? Maybe the writers had a good reason and I just didn't pick up on it?

I also felt like we were gaslit into thinking it was Tech, only for the ending to imply he's been gone the whole time. Domicile? Phee? CX-2's fight with Crosshair and the waterfall? the way he got the most screen time out of a group that was so clearly meant to be an imperial reflection of the original squad? Idk guys I feel like we got cheated there.

I also wish we got some idea of what happened to Wolffe and Cody, but maybe that is an opening for another show? perhaps?

Ok now that that is out of the way I can talk about how much I absolutely loved the rest of the finale.

Emerie's character development was amazing I've been routing for her since the season 2 finale and you know those Jango Fett genes are coming in strong she will take such good care of those kids for as long as they need. I also think it would be cool to see her again in future productions, her character definitely has potential.

Echo survived!! All the parallels between him and CW season 6 Fives had me terrified that he was about to die but that arc trooper experience paid off. His reaction to Omega freeing the zillo is by far one of my favorite parts of the episode he was so proud of her and I was glad to see him work so well with Emerie. I am also fully ready to enjoy Echo and Rex leading a clone rebellion whenever they deem us deserving of it (looking at you Filoni). I know we don't have proof of anything but there are still to many unanswered questions surrounding the clones, I hope they finish those storylines.

The last Domino is still standing, they would be so proud of him (and his dad jokes).

Hemlock finally got what he deserved and oh I was so happy that Hunter was the one who did it, especially after all the batch went through because of him. And what came after that? Even better. We finally got a Crosshair and Omega hug (plus Hunter) and they all made it off Tantiss alive I mean what more could we ask for?

I have so many feelings on the ending and the epilogue and I'm not really sure how to put them into words but my first instinct when I finished the episode was to spend 40 minutes c r y i n g

they got a happy ending? they have peace and happiness on Pabu and got to see Omega grow up? Omega is going to fly with the rebellion and fight back against the empire?

and Tech will be with her the whole time???

I am unwell. This has left me emotionally unstable. Not only is that the best ending I could have hoped for given the past seasons but it is also such an amazing last look at their family. No matter how you think of them you have to admit Hunter was right, she is their kid and that will never change. That line alone will be living in my head rent free from here on out. Her last talk with Hunter was so well done and is one of the best moments in the whole show, but honestly Tech's goggles on her ship's dash is what broke me; he would be so proud of her I need at least 3-5 business days to process this.

Yes I have my issues with the unfinished storylines but wow that finale was something I don't think I will ever recover from. It may be one of the best endings we have ever seen in star wars. Like I said, I have a lot feelings and if I tried to put them all in a post it would have to be a multi-volume novel.

If you made it this far thank you! Feel free to add your own thoughts I like hearing what other people have to say. I'm just going to go burrow straight into the ground now and pretend I don't have finals next week because honestly who can be productive after something like that?

Oddly enough this is making me want to go back and watch the Clone Wars again, maybe Rebels too? Definitely making me nostalgic.

[the-words-we-sung]

Season 3 ending

So... It's been almost a week since the last episode, almost a week trying to wrap my head around the end of the show, trying to manage my feelings about it all.

It's hard to end up feeling the complete opposite of nearly everyone on my dash but I've come to terms with the fact that I didn't love the ending. I didn't love this last episode. (I shouldn't feel ashamed or weird for saying so but you guys loved it so much that I feel a bit like an outsider right now 😓)

I haven't been a fan of the show for as long as most of you, but it means so much to me. These characters carved a place in my heart and in my head, and they've made me happy for months now. They helped me get through some stuff, made me discover some amazing artists, meet even more amazing people through this fandom. And I loved the story. Even in its darkest, saddest parts, I loved it. I was invested.

I love Wilhelm and Simon, together and separately. They mean so much to me. And I loved season 1 and 2. It made me happy, and sad, and frustrated, and exalted. But overall, I trusted the show and I was not disappointed.

Season 3 was a lot. I liked the first 5 episodes. I can't say that I loved everything about them: I was not expecting things to get so hard for Simon, with no reprieve in sight. I was not worried about Wilmon being endgame (I know it was a big stress for the fandom but honestly I never doubted that they were endgame), but I was wondering how the show would go about tying all the knots it made (I should even say all the knots it added during this last season).

(Under a read more because it's a bit long and I don't want to bother those who don't wanna read more of my frustrated thoughts ^^')

And unfortunately the last episode was a huge let down for me. Yes, it's partly because nothing I was hoping for actually happened, but mostly, it's because the choices they made did not feel very satisfying to me: ⁕ Simon was barely there. We went from him being bullied online/offline non stop for 5 episodes to almost nothing. It makes 0 sense to me. ⁕ Kristina suddenly feeling better: she was having break down upon break down for an entire season, could barely look at her son or even just talk normally and all of a sudden she's back, smiling and agreeing to everything Wilhelm says? I'm sorry but I don't buy it? Where did this Kristina hid during the entire show? ⁕ Wilhelm deciding to not be king, talking for 3min to his parents about it, them agreeing and him running into the sunset with Simon. I'm sorry, what?? I love that they end up together of course, but it makes very little sense to me? It won't change any of the issues they had this season? They're still gonna be famous? And bullied online/offline? (Probably even more so now?). I'm not obviously saying that Wilhelm staying in line to become king was the only or the best solution, but I wanted more from this storyline. I wanted to believe it. And right now, what we got? It feels a bit cheap (and I feel bad for saying that because the ending was cute and romantic and all, but it felt too disconnected from the rest of the show for me ><)

And apart from these few points, the big issue I had with this episode was: The Angst. So that might be a me-problem, but it was too much for my poor little heart (I haven't rewatched the episode yet, and I'm not sure I'll be able to anytime soon ><). I spent like 40min of the episode with a huge knot in the stomach because the heartbreak between Simon and Wilhelm was too much to handle for me. I can see how it was beautifully made, that having lots of throwbacks to the previous seasons, the Wille song, all of that was great cinematography. But it was just too much for me. I got in the season spoiler-free but for this episode? During the lake scene I had to take a break and check online if they were actually endgame because it was starting to actually give me a stomachache. So yeah, this part might be me being too sensitive but I did not like that they made me see them fight for each other for 2 seasons and 5 episodes, but then just giving up for 40min before finally running back to each other during the last 10min. It was just too much sadness for me ><

So yeah, maybe my expectations were too high? But I feel sad, and kinda cheated. Too many things are left wide opened. Too many things make zero sense to me. And of course I'm happy we got our Wilmon endgame, but I'm less happy about how it happened.

It's a bit hard being on Tumblr right now and seeing everyone who thought it was the perfect episode >< And I don't want to "yuck anyone's yum" (as the saying goes), but I still wanna be able to share my thoughts! I probably won't write super angry/unhappy/complaining posts about the season/the finale, but I still wanna be able to chat about it. I did see some posts on my dash from people not being entirely satisfied with this ending so it's a bit comforting. And I hope we can share some nice headcanons, or just discussions about different plot points.

But yeah, I guess that's why I haven't really been active this week! Trying to get over the double heartbreak of the end of the show + being disappointed with the ending! I'm gonna come back though! I miss hanging out here, I just need to strengthen my heart a little bit more :p Gonna get back to writing about my thoughts episode by episode for this season (I can't promise I can rewatch the last one though 😖 It might take me a bit of time to get there). And I want to continue my song analysis of the show!! I'm not even done with season 2 yet, I have some work to do there ^^

So see you back here very soon 😘

[legionofpotatoes]

All other criticisms of modern Star Wars aside, the thing that gets me the most is how every single story is being written to fit into some Avengers-level grand finale that just isn't laying a solid enough foundation to make it worth the wait. Regardless of whether the individual stories are good or bad, what makes them fall so short, imo, is that there's usually no real payoff within their own runtimes (unless you count cheap callbacks or loose promises of More, which you shouldn't)

Like, I already knew halfway through Ahsoka that we were in for a cliffhanger and it's just like...alright, guess we'll see how this ends in about 5 years? Even Mando, which had a great first season and was poised to stand on its own two feet and ride off on a rootin' tootin' bounty huntin' adventure, has ultimately become yet another dusty path on the road to the current Big Plot with an indeterminate due date. That's not deliciously addictive media, it's a dry-ass carrot on a spindly little stick, lol

Of course, this is a problem that many franchises are happily getting cozy with lately because everybody wants to have their own Infinity War / Endgame moment, but I guess it seems a bit more egregious with Star Wars because, ironically, it used to work best because it had less overall focus. Like, sure, we had concurrent movies, animated series, and games, but they were always happy to do their own things and tell their own stories with definitive conclusions. Now it all has to funnel into the Big New Plot and, man, I honestly just can't bring myself to care when it feels like an endless waiting game

I definitely need to get around to watching Visions at some point because, every time it pops up, it sounds like the lifeblood that Star Wars sorely needs atm

Yeah the setup-and-payoff a-to-b type dramatic clarity that seemed so entrenched into the very bones of cinematic grammar - up to around the emergence of streaming, wink wink nudge nudge - is sorely missed in star wars atm. sure maybe downsized writers rooms fidgeting with limited series formats instead of doing actual seasonal TV has something to do with it, but even that is probably such a small piece of the larger issue that spins all this longform storytelling bullshit ferry wheel around.

Another part is certainly chasing the MCU business model of it all like you said. Carrot on a stick is verbatim how I've often described these things myself, the endless promise of another promise of another promise instead of forming a complete thought with a beginning and an end. servicing the plot before story at all costs. another part still is reverence towards the aesthetic trappings of the source material instead of its themes, trying to nail the exact texture of tatooine's huts and dial in the perfect balance of lightsaber choreography and pay homage to a thousand iconic shots before articulating something true in the text.

And like it's an endless laundry list, this confluence of capital-I Issues both industry-scale and creatively-driven that seem to be flaying the skin off the bones of whatever star wars even "is" nowadays. no one can answer that in the context of billions of dollars made off toys and storylines centering around this one moment in fictional history about sons and fathers and empires and rebellions. so they just keep twisting in the wind filling in any gaps within that period. I don't know nonnie, it's all so bleak. ahsoka and obi wan and even mando tbh. as charming as season 1 was, it truly felt like it coasted on its incredible restraint to avoid muddying its aesthetic with cameos, and lucked into effective storytelling as a result of that utterly unintentional alchemy. that's obviously well and truly gone now as its true optics have reared head.

what star wars is by itself is such a pointless discussion, right? andor argues it's a perfectly functional heightened universe that can support incredibly nuanced and dramatically charged stories of grassroots rebellion and the bureaucratic strain of fascist regimes. visions argues it's a world beholden to the force, an endlessly mutable and elegant metaphor that can support infinite monomyths and fairy tales. both are equally fantastic at executing on their takes, despite being in diametrically opposite extremes of interpreting the source. so it's not really about that at all, why the other stuff sucks this bad.

they're just bad at the craft of it, that's really it. whether it's auteur worship or business decisions rotting that fish down, it still rots all the same. maybe the new writers' guild contracts can shift the winds a little, because I was so securely done with star wars and then the aforementioned 2 shows came and affected me. so, so profoundly that I'm back on the hook again. like a lil sucker!

[markantonys]

I came across a Twitter thread that said the set up for the docks when it comes to the Warder bond between Lan and Moiraine was handled much better in the books cause in the show they feel like the mechanics of the Warder bond was too vague/not explained well in the show that they weren't able to connect with Moiraine and Lan's emotional conflict in s2 because of it. And I am a bit confused cause honestly I don't think the books explain how the Warder bond works at all from what I remember. Just making a lot of wild claims about how everything about the books are better and how the show is fumbling when they haven't even read half the series yet (show first to book reader). Just this trend to shit talk every choice the show makes when you don't even know the full complete story is wild to me

haters: the show hasn't done enough to explain how the bond works

all the screentime across 2 seasons the show has dedicated to showing how the bond works which the haters kept complaining was a waste of time better spent on rand having swordfights:

like literally what do they want lmao some people will never be satisfied!

but the mention of the "mechanics" of the bond is interesting to me because i think we may be hitting upon 2 different types of viewers here: the minority of lore enthusiasts who need to understand every single detail about how things work or else they will be upset and lose immersion, and the majority of audiences who are content with a general understanding of how things work and don't get hung up on details, or will at most go "hmmm i'm not sure if this makes sense, but it's a cool story beat so i'm happy to shrug and move on".

the former category were going "but what weaves is moiraine doing now? did they actually unbond and now she's remaking it from scratch? i thought the bond was only masked? this is such a plothole, it doesn't make sense, i can't concentrate on anything else about the scene" during the 2x08 moiraine & lan beach scene, and the latter category were thinking "what a beautiful and emotionally satisfying moment of seeing them come back together!" and that's it. and probably similar for the rest of the season. if somebody felt unable to connect with the emotional aspects of that storyline, i would bet it's because they felt too unclear about the mechanics of the state of the bond and couldn't let go of that confusion enough to sink into the emotional aspects. (which is really more of a personal thing; my show-only mom was definitely keyed into the emotional aspects of this storyline and didn't get bothered about some mechanics being left vague. in fact, i think she would've just gotten confused if they'd tried to explain the mechanics in more detail djkfjg bless her.)

undeniably, the show does not explain magic mechanics in as much depth as the books do. but that is because it's banking on the very fair assumption that the majority of audiences don't need to have this level of detail in order to enjoy and understand the story (and may get more confused than they need to be if they ARE given this level of detail). i'll admit that s2 was a bit muddled on What Exactly Is Going On with moiraine and lan's bond, and i found myself a bit confused by the mechanics at times, but that never impeded my appreciation or understanding of the emotional aspects of the storyline because i'm someone who is happy to shrug and move on if the mechanics of how something is functioning in a fantasy story aren't making total sense to me.

also, moiraine & lan at the docks won't happen until the end of s3 and it's very very possible we might learn even more about bond mechanics earlier in s3 via elayne and birgitte (who will be good candidates for explaining some New Bond Basics that it wouldn't make sense for moiraine and lan to talk about since they've had theirs for 20 years), so like..........maybe they should just Watch And Find Out.

it's also very interesting that this is coming from someone in the show-to-book pipeline because i honestly would not be surprised if a lot of their base knowledge for how warder bonds works was absorbed..........from the show. and they just don't realize it. granted, if they started with new spring it might be different because i'm assuming new spring goes into a lot of depth about how warder bonds work (though i don't know for sure, i haven't read it). but if they only read EOTW-TFOH, they sure as shit are not gonna have gotten much info about bonds *from the books* because we barely spend any time with characters who are part of a bond during those books. we get, what, maybe a couple chapters total of moiraine or lan pov and then start diving into it a tiny bit more in TFOH with elayne and birgitte, but it's really not that much from what i can remember - and i can't remember very well, because i went into the books already having a very solid understanding of the concept of the bond thanks to all the work s1 put into showing it. i do not remember learning anything significant about the bond in the first 5 books that i didn't already know from s1.

it's also so strange to me in general to see people start with the show, then go to the books, and then start hating on the show because as a show-to-book pipeline person myself, all going to the books did was make me go "wow thank fuck for the show, it will fix X, it will fix Y, it's already fixed Z" basically constantly. it made me 10000x more grateful for and appreciative of the show and the way it's choosing to tell the story!

[matthewsgreybubbles]

Yeah they really just rushed the Maeve thing. There was little to no actual build-up, you couldn't feel the chemistry. The 'I love you' felt so stilted. So many other ways to traumatise Spencer because I know mgg has a hard-on for doing that. You're also so so right about Cat Adams, at least there was chemistry there and interaction. If she wasn't a raging lunatic I could see Spencer and her together. Also then in Season 9 Spencer saying he would've had kids if Maeve hadn't died like baby you don't even know if you would have liked kissing her, let alone doing what needs doing to have a baby, or living together, or literally any more compatibility. I'm just truly boggled by how many people love this storyline and see it as some sort of grand romance

FUCK THIS I'M SO HAPPY YOU GUYS ARE AGREEING WITH ME.

Please-- the baby part I was like "WTF SPENCE??". It really was so bad. Maybe you could explain it as a way to cope you know? He liked the idea of her and everything it could have implied but honestly, he could have done that with every other woman. He didn't love Maeve and Maeve didn't love him. They had no time, no chemistry and they didn't even meet- COME ON.

At this point, Cat made more sense-- (if she didn't traumatize him too like the raging bitch she is) BUT AT LEAST HE KISSED HER LMAO.

this is turning into a Maeve arc hate account.

and please can we stop traumatizing Spencer every season??? What's even the point- T_T

[tillwehavefaces]

I have literally never posted about Buddie before, but I want to add my two cents to the whole Buck/Tommy debate. I know there are mixed feelings and both sides have valid points, but to those who were expecting a Buddie kiss this soon - I don't get it?

Ever since I found out abc had picked up 911, I was and remain cautiously hopeful for Buddie endgame - in fact, the kiss makes me far more hopeful than I was a week ago. Because the truth is that if they'd gone straight for Buddie, it would have been bad storytelling. Offensively bad storytelling.

Hear me out. I agree with y'all that the storytelling that's happened up until now makes it clear that Buddie are in love with each other. I also happen to think that the storytelling that's happened up until now makes it clear that neither of these himbos have any clue that they're in love with each other, or that they even could fall in love with a man.

And it's not for lack of opportunity, if the writers had wanted to go that way, obviously! There's was Buck's reaction to Eddie being stuck in the well and Eddie making Buck Christopher's guardian in his will and both of them almost dying and Eddie having a literal breakdown over all the trauma he's repressed and they've both been to therapy and they've both broken up with women who were all wrong for them ... I could go on and on.

But not only did the writers not take any of these opportunities to make at least one of them realize their feelings for the other might not be platonic (certainly, no explicit indication on screen), but because fox was so afraid of losing viewers if they made both their supposedly straight male firefighters queer, they doubled down on Eddie and Buck seeing their relationship as platonic. Every time one of them went through some kind of life-changing experience and questioned deeply held beliefs about themselves yet never questioned their sexuality, it made it seem less and less likely that *anything* would make them realize they might be queer and in love with their best friend.

Honestly, I think if abc had gotten the show at a different point, they might have been able to go straight into Buddie. For example, a season earlier? Eddie's just gotten through a ton of trauma with the help of a therapist and is returning to the 118, and it would've been easy to write a storyline where he's realized his feelings for Buck and tries to do something about it. Or maybe right after Buck's near-death experience. But they both got through those traumas and started dating new women, as oblivious to the love right in front of them as ever. And that's how S6 ended.

So I don't think there's anything abc could have done to convince me that either one of them suddenly realizes how they feel without something happening. If that Buck/Tommy kiss had instead been a Buddie kiss, I would have loved it, but I wouldn't have really believed it. It wouldn't have felt genuine.

Excuse my nerdy science brain, but it's like inertia - Buck and Eddie have both been going in one direction for so long (the 'we're straight best friends!' direction) that it's going to take some kind of force to knock them off that path. It can't be near death experiences, cause they've both been there and it hasn't worked. It can't be finding new girlfriends or breaking up with said girlfriends. No, it's gotta be something really obvious.

That force is Tommy. A canon gay character who recognizes Buck as queer even when Buck doesn't recognize himself as queer. Who (unknowingly) forces Buck to confront that part of himself by kissing him, which will in turn force Eddie to confront his feelings and reaction to seeing his best friend and co-parent now dating a man. I can't say for sure that Buddie is coming, but I honestly think this (not Tommy specifically, but a queer man who is outside the whole Buddie situation) is the only way to tell this story in a way that makes it feel true to life, given the mess that fox created.

[mewmckenna]

Miss Scarlet

So, I am sure by now that everyone has seen the news that Stuart Martin will not be returning for season five of MSATD. I know a lot of people are super disappointed that William is leaving the show, as am I, but honestly, I kind of feel that this could be a new opportunity for the show. It is obvious that the writers did not know that Stuart was leaving the show for good as they were writing last season, but with him being gone it makes the ending of season four almost better to me. Eliza is no longer working for Patrick, and while he is coming back and will likely not end up in prison (though who knows), I imagine Eliza won't go back to Nash & Sons. She was finally able to change the sign above her door to say "Miss Eliza Scarlet," something that seemed impossible to her in earlier seasons. Also, while Eliza is certainly fine at working with a few friends, she will never be the kind of manager that Patrick is as she's simply too independent and stubborn. It is for the better that she is at her own agency, able to do her thing without too much interference.

In a roundabout way, I think William's departure kind of brings everything together. Eliza is truly alone, without William or her father. Everything that she does now will be entirely up to her; she has no father or childhood friend to fall back on. I think that this, plus the name of the show changing to be just Miss Scarlet is a kind of bookend to how the show began. The producers and writers of the show have already hinted at this being the start of a shift in direction, and while the story was largely focused on the romance between William and Eliza during the first four seasons, I think that this gives the creators an opportunity to do more. By calling the show Miss Scarlet and the Duke, they were limited in what they could write. I know I have seen many people comment on how the show seemed to drag because of the drawn out will-they-won't-they between Eliza and William, something I noticed myself after the first couple of seasons.

Now, since it is apparent that they are no longer going to be the endgame couple, there is more freedom in the storyline and what the writers can do with the personal relationships. At the end of season four, it felt to me as though the show had sort of written itself into a corner concerning the title relationship of the show. In another recent post I even commented on how the relationship between the two would remain unchanged unless some drastic action by one of them, probably William. Obviously, I did not know that Stuart was planning on leaving the show, but I think my criticism still stands. Both Eliza and William cared too much about their jobs to ever be able to be truly happy together as we last saw them.

This is exactly the reason that William leaves for New York, and it could be very possibly that the way that they write him out of the show is with him deciding to stay in America. William had been considering quitting his position at Scotland Yard, but this was due to the conditions of his job at the time and how overworked he was, plus the draw of finally being able to be with Eliza. It feels very possible to me that he might change his mind upon entering a less stressful environment and decide not to come back to London. After all, William went months, if not a year, suspecting or knowing Eliza's feelings towards him and vice versa but he was still unwilling to give up his career to be with her. I don't fault William for this as Eliza does the same thing, but it does make his staying in New York a bit more believable.

So even though the show is not going to go in the direction we have all thought it would, I think that this could be a good thing. While we won't know if that is the case for likely a year, I am not going to call any judgements until season five is released. Though I think that the show has definitely benefitted from William's presence, it has always been about Eliza first and foremost and so I am excited to see what she gets up to next.

(Also here's to hoping that Ansu Kabia is included in later casting announcements as we have gone far too long without Moses)

[sijetaismoi]

What did they do???

I am so heartbroken by last night's episode. I haven't felt like that for a show or a ship since I was in my twenties (and I haven't been for almost 15 years now...). I love the show, like IMMENSELY, I care about all the characters, but Chenford? We/They haven't been through six seasons and 6 episodes to end like that. I'm hurting a lot.

The actors though. Gosh they were amazing. That last scene 😭

I don't know if I'll ever be able to enjoy it as much now that they are so far apart. I know all the characters have great storylines, but I honestly couldn't care less about Bailey being pregnant (one episode and I already can't stand how it is TOO MUCH).

I want Lucy and Tim to work things out so badly. It's really painful.

[theerurishipper]

Okay so like. They speed ran through all options in the love square in season 5 only to end on Adrinette. There’s 3 seasons left at minimum. How are they going to make the audience invested in this bland high school romance? Are going to cycle through the options of the love square again? I genuinely have no idea how they can possibly make me root for this couple after the finale of season 5

I honestly don't have any idea. And you're so right about the bland high school romance thing. Like, it's cute and all, but Adrienette has fuck all to do with anyone's character arc and absolutely nothing to do with the overall plot. Ladynoir was the side of the square which had all this going for it, and they took it out back and shot it in the face. You can literally see how inconsequential Adrienette is for the conflict, because they had to contrive all sorts of ridiculous plot points like retconned in trauma and Gabe's sudden obsession with shipping Adrigami in order to give it any sort of story weight, and it just felt so forced to me. Adrienette has nothing.

Like yeah, they're the same person, sure. But by virtue of the writing and how their relationships with each other are portrayed, Ladynoir is the dynamic that will enable character development and story progression for both Adrien and Marinette. Marinette's greatest struggle is now that she's lost the Miraculous and is carrying a heavy burden of being the Guardian. Who is the one who can help her with this? It's Chat Noir. Not Adrien Agreste, the guy who should have no fucking clue about any of this. Adrien is stuck with an abusive father who is also a supervillain. Who can help him? It's Ladybug. Not Marinette the high schooler.

Ladynoir have been supported each other from day 1. They've been through it all, they've seen each other at their lowest and they've trusted each other with their lives. They have a secret that they can't tell anyone else in the world and have a struggle that only they can understand (until Season 4 made Alya Marinette's greatest confidant and started killing Ladynoir, but we don't talk about that).

On the flip side Adrienette... is there. Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike it. But it has no story weight the way Ladynoir does, and the biggest conflict in Adrienette is that Marinette can't talk to Adrien. There's no development here. Adrien legit has nothing going on in this dynamic, he's just there. Adrienette is one-sided in who needs development. The dynamic is one-sided for most of the show, and only Marinette really needs to undergo a change because Adrien already knows and appreciates her for who she is. And that's not a bad thing, but making that the main canon ship lets the writers flake out on writing meaningful character development. Marinette didn't have to learn squat. Adrien did all the work, and apparently, he learned to take accountability for Marinette's inability to speak to him. And tell me if I'm wrong, but I don't think that a ship that I like becoming canon and the characters confessing that they love each other a la the fanfics I ravenously consumed over the years should make me go "no you fucking don't!"

And I was a LS shipper. I wanted Adrienette to get together. But not a pre-reveal, bland and ultimately inconsequential Adrienette who have nothing to do with anything. Why did they even become canon? What purpose did it serve in the story? Nothing! They had to manufacture these ridiculous conflicts like Marinette's trauma because Adrienette had fuck all to do with anything.

And it didn't have to be like this, because Adrienette actually had one storyline with minimal story weight that could have had it be important too. The Lila plot. That was a thing. Ladybug and Chat Noir fighting Monarch while their civilian selves fight another threat together? A threat that is in cahoots with their supervillain? Adrienette could have had story weight. They could have bonded over this; they could have developed. But instead, the writers chose to give Adrien's place at Marinette's side in the fight against Lila to, wait for it, Sabrina. Yes, Sabrina. The fuck??

Adrienette has no story weight or interesting conflict. They literally had to contrive some enmity between Gabe and Marinette so that Adrienette could have any kind of relevance by making Gabe an Adrigami shipper outta nowhere. Adrien doesn't need to grow by virtue of Adrienette, yet he's somehow the one who does. Marinette does have to grow, and instead, she gets her trophy handed to her without doing any work. And they killed Ladynoir for this. Now Ladynoir are just work buddies who don't care if they never see each other again so long as they can get with their high school crush. They only talk about their new GF/BF and the "rest of the team." Done is the Ladynoir conflict, done is the yin-yang symbolism, gone is the "it's us against the world." They killed Ladynoir for some shoddily developed generic romance.

And if they had to contrive conflict in the very season that had Adrienette become canon, what hope does it have of being interesting for three more? Ladynoir is dead, if Adrien and Marinette reveal their identities, it's not going to fucking matter because they're already together and Ladynoir don't even care about each other anymore. And they're already dating, so they aren't going to look at any other boy/girl again, and I genuinely have no idea how they're going to develop the Love Square any more. You can bet your ass that they aren't going to deal with the parallels Marinette now has to her boyfriend's abuser, so Adrienette has legit no ground to stand on and nothing of value to contribute. It's just a drag at this point. Whatever.

Thank you for your ask!

[procrastinatorproject]

Fuck it, I'm gonna start posting my own shouty thoughts on season 3 of Picard rather than just commenting on other people's stuff.

I'll keep taggin everything "#picard spoilers" (assume I'm talking about everything up to the most recent ep, I'll warn seperately for leaked/promo stuff about ep 10) and "#picard saltiness" so you know what to blacklist (or look for, I'm not telling you how to internet 😋).

I'm sorry/get ready.

Here's the thing. I would like to watch season 3 of Picard and think "Oh well, this wasn't made for me, the same way season 1 wasn't made for the type of TNG fan who is in heaven right now. And I'm sad my favourite characters and main reasons I liked the show in the first place got written off, but I'm glad these other fans are having the time of their lives. Good on them, I'll just mentally file this away as a season/new show that I don't connect with as much as I'd hoped." I really, really want to be able to think that and approach season 3 this way.

But the writers won't let me.

At every turn, and I mean every turn, the writers have gone out of their way to not just pretend the previous two seasons didn't happen, but to remind us they happened and they were stupid and you're stupid to ever have enjoyed them.

It's not just that Picard, in the middle of his disillusioned identity crisis, when he has been holed up on his vinyard for over a decade, talking to nobody, and feeling deeply disappointed by Starfleet, gives an impassioned speech to a bunch of young people about how Starfleet is the only family you'll ever need.

That's a type of discontinuity/soft retcon I don't particularly enjoy, but if it were just that, I wouldn't be writing this way too long screed.

It's not even just the implicit "we will do it right this time" on display e.g. when Picard "flies" the Titan out of the labouring nebula. In that scene, Picard walks up to the captain's chair to take the conn, the TNG theme swells, he sits down, the music becomes bombastic, and he gets to be the Heroic Captain We All Remember. That scene is, in my opinion, something of a parallel to the season 1 scene where Picard tries to hijack La Sirena to take Soji to her people. In the season 1 scene, he sits in the captain's chair, the TNG-inspired music swells, he is about to be the Heroic Captain We All Remember -- except then the music fizzles out and the moment deflates because Picard has been retired for a decade and a half and has no idea what he's doing (and is certainly not the most qualified to do it on an unfamiliar ship).

That parallel in season 3 rubbed me the wrong way, because it felt too close to a refutation of season 1. Too close to "See? This is how that scene should have played out!" But that is a me problem. If the writers were remotely aware of the parallel (and I honestly doubt it, because I'm not sure they know season 1 well enough), it's just as likely they wrote it as a tongue-in-cheek reference, more than a rebuttal. Assuming the worst would have been on me and my unwillingness to give this season a fair shake. And if that sort of scene were the worst of it, I wouldn't be happy about it, but I wouldn't make it everybody else's problem.

Except the writers didn't stop there.

I would (eventually) be okay with it if the writers had just quietly abandoned, ignored, or even outright retconned some characters, history, themes, and plots from season 1 and 2 they disliked. But instead, they repeatedly acknowledge the existence of these elements only to then dismiss them in frankly viscious ways.

It's not enough to ignore the Jurati-Borg in all their Eggness glory and how they would be incredibly relevant to this story season 3 is trying to tell. It's not enough to pretend that storyline never happened and move on. Instead, the writers acknowledge the existence of the new collective, but the only sentence where it's mentioned is a character talking about "That weird shit on the Stargazer."

Yes, Shaw is a dick, yes it fits his character, yes Watsonian reasons. But it was still an active choice by the writers to only bring up one of the major plot developments of season 2 in the most derisive way possible.

Another example: The writers apparently felt that the Troi-Rikers didn't belong on Nepenthe. But it's not enough to have them move somewhere else between seasons, or even to let them have a discussion about how Nepenthe is steeped in loss and grief and they want to move somewhere else and start over.

Instead, the writers have to take time out of their already shoddily paced season to have these two characters extensively shit-talk one of the brightest momenst of season 1 (figuratively and literally). It's not just "they don't like it on Nepenthe anymore", it's "they never liked it, everything about it is terrible, everything season 1 showed you about their life there is a lie, and it has always been shitty and cringey and stupid, and you were stupid to like it!"

It's not just "we dumped our diverse characters, challenging themes, and relatively fresh view on the Trek universe from outside Starfleet for starship porn, great (white) men, and more Starfleet nostalgia than you can even comprehend". It's not just "we're going to ignore the existence of season 1 (and to a degree season 2), because it's not doing the things we want to do." It's not just "we're making this show, knowing (and not caring) that it will alienate a large chunk of the people who enjoyed season 1".

It's "we see what previous seasons were trying to do, and we need you to understand, really understand, how much contempt we have for these seasons and the people who enjoyed them."

I know some people felt this way about season 1 and the way it deconstructed Picard's image as the Great Heroic Captain and laid open his flaws and the flaws of the Federation. And I now empathize with them more than I ever thought I would. But I think there is a big qualitative difference in there.

In season 1, Picard gets put in his place. He has women people telling him when he's wrong, where he has failed, where he should have stepped up and needed to do better. But the show is still deeply sympathetic towards him. By the end of the season, Elnor has forgiven him, Raffi has forgiven him (without ever getting an apology), and he gets to save the day [whether the end to this particular arc is well done (it's not) is a rant for another day].

The failures Picard is being reproached for in season 1 pretty much exclusively happen between TNG and PIC. They tie in to patterns and tendencies the character has always had and attempt to deconstruct some of them. But there's no direct evisceration of specific things that happened on TNG.

At no point does Picard get out his Ressikan flute to make a glib comment about what a useless trinket it is, and how he should have thrown it out years ago. At no point does he turn to Riker and say: "Man, do you remember that Darmok and Jalad shit? What a waste of time! I wish we'd blown up that ship when we encountered it."

Season 1 is critical of Picard's character, yes, and it might feel crass or unfair at times (not least because we're still not used to seeing Great (White) Heroic Men Of Our Childhood get deconstructed that way). But any reproach the season 1 writers levelled at Picard pales in comparison to the petty contempt the season 3 writers regularly display towards the show they've ostensibly taken stewardship of.

Season 1 might have been a bit glib or inconsiderate of the legacy they inherited. Season 3 is viscious. And I am so, so tired of it.

[witch-in-the-swamp]

"Invincible" has reignited my passion for super heros

This is gonna be quick, but my favorite thing about Invincible is how it did their "What if Ssuperman was evil" storyline, and subverted every expectations since the beginning

Unlike most storylines, Invincible showed how evil Omni-Man actually is from the get-go. It didn't wait a season, not even an episode to show how ruthless Nolan is, but at the same time they showed this brutality, they also made us feel empathy (for the lack of a better word) for him, through not only his family's eyes, but the whole world. However, one could argue that "The Boys" did the same thing with Homelander, but I would argue that Homelander felt like a spectacle since the beginning. I would also argue that the main point of both stories is not "What if Superman was evil", but you could say this applies to both series.

But here is where "Invincible" shines the most. They double back on the trope. They make the "Evil Superman" good again; or at least is what it seems they are going for. They are making us feel empathy for him again, feel sorry that he's about to be executed, that he caused the pain of a whole planet, and most importantly, that he caused pain to both his wife and son. And they are succeeding in it because we can see how much this is actually hurting Nolan, we are seeing this ever since the end of season 1 actually.

I honestly don't know what else to say without repeating myself lol. "Invincible" truly subverted every expectation with the "What if Superman was evil" trope and succeeded

[booksandpaperss]

kind of obsessed with the fact you've slowly gotten more blatant with heartstopper hate lmfao😭 it's like. fine to me it's cute but NOTHING SERIOUS IS EVER GOING ON so I gotta be in a really specific mood for it I still haven't watched s2. definitely couldn't be a fixation. and everyone fucking loves it it's the best thing since sliced bread and I'm like. why tho. and then any critique of it is sorta dumbed down to "oh you just don't like how sweet it is but teenagers deserve sweet romance" like ok but why's it gotta be boring though. and too healthy like beyond normal levels of healthy. like this is missing even the usual human levels of miscommunication. and it gets resolved too easy. sorry this was supposed to cut off 4 sentences ago I'm realizing now in your inbox that I apparently have beef with heartstopper

LKSSJJSJS LISTEN listen. I don’t even hate it. truly. I even genuinely enjoyed myself during the nick and Charlie parts bc that’s the part that thought is actually put into. I just hate how much everyone loves it so blindly

honestly my biggest beef with it is that it’s marketed and treated as the most genuine and diverse groundbreaking queer storyline there is when that’s literally so far from true and it really really shows ppls true colors when they think this bc the sapphics and POC are literal props it’s actually absurd for a show that’s supposed to be a safe space for queer ppl

and god do I hate that part of the reason it’s so popular is bc it portrays these queer teenagers as never having a single, physical thought in their entire life. there was this whole plot centered around one single hickey that Charlie had??? and something abt the physical attraction portion of it all, which they did try to show btw, felt disingenuous to me. and I know that’s why it’s so palatable to a mainstream audience and it pisses me off and again it just doesn’t feel genuine. which is ironically one of the main arguments against heartstopper criticism: “it’s not cringe it’s just earnest” when yeah maybe it’s Trying to be earnest but when u look at it from more than a surface level lens it’s not rlly succeeding

and I know the aroace storyline in season 2 with Isaac resonated with a lot of people and I think that’s wonderful, and I actually do think that was something that was done well, but how can you have a storyline around asexuality when you don’t show the contrast in how it is being an allosexual queer person. there was a whole lot of romantic attraction going on but even more tip toeing around the sexual attraction aspect. and I don’t expect it to be like sex education for example in terms of the focus on sex obv , but the lack of acknowledgment of that aspect of the queer experience paired with how much the uwu wholesomeness of it all is played up rlly rubs me the wrong way. once again: it feels dishonest

I was actually talking about this with one of my mutuals the other day and they pointed out that it is very plain that alice olseman did not consult a single queer man in the writers room. and if someone can prove this wrong be my guest but I rlly don’t think the whole physical attraction component would have been done so badly had an actual queer man been on the team. feels kind of like back in summer 2022 when byler shippers would literally shun and harass anyone who even implied that Will’s feelings for Mike probably included physical attraction meanwhile Noah Schnapp himself was making jokes about it bc he’s an actual gay teenager.

not gonna even get into right now how Tara and darcy felt even more like props this season than in the last one and I didn’t even like watching their scenes bc the writing itself felt performative. that’s a whole other post.

and man, wouldn’t it have been so nice if there had actually been people of color in that writers room. On a purely surface level heartstopper has a very diverse cast but once again, peel away even one layer and you realize it’s a bunch of tokenism, which brings me full circle back to my original point: you can’t say it’s peak representation and diversity when it’s whitewashed as hell and doesn’t gaf abt sapphics despite literally being written by one. guess she chose her whiteness over her queerness even when writing a queer story which wowwww sooooo original.

okayyyy anyways did NOT mean to write a whole essay but u discovering ur own beef reminded me of mine lmaooo

all of this was to say that basically I’m not gonna pretend I didn’t enjoy myself during parts of the show, and I don’t wanna shame ppl for liking it that is not at all what I’m trying to do here, it has its own place in queer media and if a show like this came out in like 2010 it would be groundbreaking despite its issues (but again it’s literally 2023 do fucking better) , but I take issue with people treating it like something it’s not and with the amount of love it gets I feel like I have to be really loud about my criticism of it, especially bc usually the criticism of the show that gets any attention isn’t even slandering it for the right reasons and like. if ur gonna hate on something queer and popular do it right

oh and heartstopper writers? maybe try speaking with an actual teenager once in your life before writing their dialogue they do not fucking communicate that well

okay I’m done now finally 🫡

[writingfarintothedark]

so based off my general feelings about season 2, and my post about what Simon's storyline/presence might be in Season 3 based on the trailer, I do hope that Simon is written well this season, the way he was in season 1. It's not just a personal want as someone in the fandom who adores Simon, but something I actually I think is necessary from a writing perspective/for the quality of the show.

I remember one of things the show got praised for after the amazing first season was that Simon was not just portrayed as the prince's love interest- rather, he was a full deuteragonist, we saw his internal struggles, and we saw he had a storyline outside of Wilmon.

Essentially, he was a complex and well written character in his own right in season 1. As the fandom saw, that was less the case in season 2- some stuff about him/his struggles was implied, but it wasn't focused on directly, and honestly, that meant a lot of the general audience likely missed those things. Simon was more of a character in relation to Wille in season 2 was the general consensus (which I agree with).

Part of the charm of Wilmon that people fell in love with that first season is exactly because they were portrayed fairly, as narrative individuals- we saw their individual stories and viewpoints and fell in love with them/their relationship. Their story as a couple felt earned because both characters were treated with narrative respect individually, and as a couple. I feel like if we do not have that season 3, honestly, the Wilmon relationship will feel less earned or healthy. I think we'll all love their moments because Edvin and Omar do an exceptional job of portraying that relationship, but it won't be the same without the writing component. A big part of why people fell in love with this relationship so hard was BECAUSE the writers did a brilliant job fleshing them out as individuals in season 1, and if that is all lost, especially in the final season...I don't know.

Looking at Young Royals as a three-part series, I would be willing to understand that season 2 needed to serve a specific purpose, and that they needed to get where they were going, if we see that season 3 fleshes out Simon in the ways season 2 lacked.

So here's to rooting for us to delve deeper in Simon this season!! Rather than just comforting Wille, I hope we see how HE is doing individually, how all of this affects him, because that's only realistic. I felt season 2 was unrealistic in showing how Simon would be impacted by the video, especially when his face was the one shown. It would be nice to see how he is doing internally, and if he gets a plot separate from Wilmon.

[peachonified]

I have some anime recommendations.

I have STRUGGLED this year to find things to watch. I don't particularly like romance - it saps the storyline - and I like action/comedy. It's why I've always had a taste for sports anime.

So... this is just a starting point for the lost souls who are just after something, and don't know where to start. This is in no particular order, although prob related to how recently I watched it...

1. The Apothecary Diary

Set in a land in the far east, Maomao is sold to the back palace. From there she solves mysteries.

This is honestly such a great show! Intrigue, engaging characters, and you could absolutely read Maomao as aroace. This was a stand out.

I also love the opening song. Very Shakira-esque.

2. Another stand out was Death Mount, Death Play

I'm not a fan of super violence, so I almost didn't make it past ep 1... but I ADORED this show. The main character is amazing, the shark in the credits is so cute, the story is many faceted, and I seriously adored it! highly reccomend.

3. I wasn't expecting to enjoy God of High School.

Now, it absolutely does feel like it needs a second season, but it ended in a way that felt okay too... it is based on aKorean wrbcomic, but has japanes va's. It's an over powered fighting anime, with mystery powers and a very likable main character. It's got super baddies to hate, and it does edge into too violent for my taste, but still sat down and watched my way through it xD

4. Ah... my beloved sports anime. I'm gonna add Haikyuu! And Kuroko no Basket here. I mean... both are fandoms I write for xD

Haikyuu!! Is great as there are no real bad guys, and lots of growth all round.

Kuroko is basically magical high school boys who play high school basketball, but same thing: lots of character growth, lots of friendship.

One thing I love is how the boys cry? I mean that in a they are disappointed when they lose and aren't told to suck it up. I always appreciate that!

5. It's been hard to avoid isekai animes, and some of them are less than engaging, it is true. But some? Some are delightful!

5a So, I got reincarnated as a slime is one of my faves.

It's just... nice? Satisfying? It doesn't reaaaaally push any boundaries (although I love almost everything about the final arc). There's so many loveable characters, and it's alot of fun. It helps I've always loved slimes, so this overpowered one isno exception.

5b why Raeliana ended up at the dukes mansion is, yes a romance.

But its also fun. Our protagonist is reincarnated into a gane, as a character that they know will die. And they don't want to die! And so... this isthat story.

5c. This lead me down the reincarnated in a game pathway, and I came across My next life as a villainess: all roads lead to doom

You know those really dumb lovable characters? Well, I love Catarina. She is charming with a harem comorised if almost everyone she grew up with, and there's just something so delightful! I laughed outloud as much as i groaned at this one!

Older ones I reccomend:

Natsume's Book of friends

Slice of life about a boy who can see spirits. Definitely leans towards melancholy, but really leans into found family

2. Black Clover

Look. Get past Asta screaming in the first 20 eps and you've got some enjoyable action. The characterisation is

[mayberrycryptid]

So, some days ago I noticed your tags about Quinn, how nice it would've been if they had at least gave her some specialty, some peculiar skill. Dunno, like Kono being a natural-born sharpshooter. Duh, I guess we expected too much from such writers. Anyway, this reasoning prompted another one: I know I watched the OG H50 when a child, just like I did with Starsky&Hutch or Hazzard or Chips or A-Team....but of course it's too many decades ago to remember the details! Anyway, looking on the wiki page about the OG show, they literally say that Danny "From a shaky beginning, when he nervously defused his first bomb, following instructions shouted to him through the office door, he progressed to become Hawaii Five-0’s resident bomb expert, and was called upon to neutralize several more bombs during his career with the unit. Williams was an expert marksman whose sharpshooting skill was utilized on many occasions. He was also acknowledged as a handwriting expert." .....And I fucking. Wonder. WHY. They never gave him any kind of special skill. Sure, since Kono had to be THEE expert marksman, so that was out of question. But can you imagine your resident bomb expert ending up targeted by a motion-sensing bomb in 3x06?? How much more impactful it would've felt?? Knowing you're the one who can solve the problem but just CAN'T?? And the handwriting expertise?! It takes patience and a keen eye to gain such skill, so why making him look like your local resident idiot for anything tech-related, instead?? Such wasted potential. And honestly, it would've only enhanced Steve's decision to have him gain H50, with such sharp intellect, surely not diminished Steve's one-mand-band-superhero-gary-stu portrait.

I still don't understand why Show didn't do a better job of giving each character specific skill sets.

For example, what if Chin had the bomb/detonation skills? That would've changed the tension/stakes in several episodes. Also (this is awful) what if his issues with other HPD officers came from a bomb situation that went sideways? That would have created a more interesting background and so much more potential for storylines.

Or what if Danny had experience with the different mob/mafia groups? The jopok (Korean mob) are also in New Jersey, so that would've been an easy way to tie his old cases to his new job with H50. and that would have also created hooks for jopok or Triad episodes so it wasn't always Yakuza this and Yakuza that. Also, imagine if Danny really could speak Russian😳

And then there is Quinn and Lori and Catherine and Jenna. They all should've had specific skill sets that added to the team and also created new storylines, but nope.

Heck, we barely got anything from the pro surfer scene in the seven seasons Kono was on. She had both background and know how in that world and ... crickets. Instead we kept getting Doris and the stupid Yakuza🥴

So I guess this is my very long winded way of saying I totally agree. also? I would've killed for an episode where Steve discovers he is useless. Everyone else has the right skill sets for the case, but his usual skill sets are not needed. Steve would've been so frustrated😂