#That like. Last minute or two of season 2 ep 4 made it for me

[die-tenebris]

Okay it's a season and a half later and I think I'm sold-sold on succession now

[ananxiousgenz]

okay okay okay wait i have just experienced A Thought

so it's been established that the title of the most recent juno steel eps comes from the coal miner song "sixteen tons", most notably covered by tennessee ernie ford. you can find it on youtube or spotify, but it's about the backbreaking labor and dangerous conditions these miners would go through for very little pay, and because of this, the most obvious reading is that this song title was chosen to be about nureyev working to keep slip alive for years only to discover that the dokana group was screwing him over.

but. what if the song title wasn't just in relation to nureyev but to slip as well?

stick with me for a minute here, because i've got some interesting thoughts about this.

the lyrics of the first verse focus on how the people in power think that the men working beneath them are just soulless lumps of dirt when in reality they are people made of "muscle and blood and skin and bones" who are purposefully under-educated ("a mind that's a-weak") so they can only do manual labor for a living ("and a back that's strong"). slip's intention with his drug formula was to give people an escape from reality. he wanted to help those people who could do nothing but work and wanted to flip off the pharma corps by making it easily affordable and non-addictive. the first verse is basically a summary of the motives that drove him to that game of rangian street poker with the executives that brought him where he is now.

the chorus is even more interesting.

yeah, you really could interpret this in relation to peter's quest for slip's resurrection, but it could also get connected to slip's dedication to creating this drug. peter flat out told us that slip put A LOT of work and testing into it and it wasn't just something that happened overnight. however, what specifically stands out to me here is the last two lines and the reference to st. peter. in sixteen tons part 2, slip basically gives peter permission to let him go (see this post from @smidgen-of-hotboy). if we're reading this from slip's pov, the song is just reiterating that message: peter can let slip go. he knew the risks he was taking by tangling with the executives and stealing from them so his soul is really the one that is owed "to the company store", which is why slip wouldn't want peter to "call him" (resurrect him) because he made the decisions and mistakes so he would want to be the one paying for them. every day that peter leaves him alive is just another day slip is getting older and not better. every day peter leaves slip alive is another day his debt is growing larger. for the sake of his own wellbeing, peter HAS to let slip go.

the rest of the verses are basically a summary of nureyev's story thus far (verse two being his new story being born as he starts working for the dokana group, verse three being his interactions with juno and leaving him at the end of season 4, and verse 4 being the absolute ass-kicking he's about to hand the dokana group) but with the chorus that is just chock-full of slip's voice getting repeated between those verses, it just almost feels like slip is begging to be let go but peter, being peter, won't listen. it's very interesting stuff.

[ecoamerica]

Watch the American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 now: https://youtu.be/bWiW4Rp8vF0?feature=shared

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[vinxwatches]

watching good omen season 1

ep 1 pilot

haven't seen a lot of it, mostly that people like it, that it's made by people people really like and that it's gay (or at least people make it gay) so you know, good pick for me. and i just watched to animations/animatics on youtube with bad endings and bad endings fuck me up, so hopefully this is happier. intro is a fucking banger. also god has a fem voice? nice. accurate skin colour for the earliest humans. not surprised, but appreciated. making fun of theology and great banter? i love it.

ominous picnic basket. oh... actually quite biblically fitting it seems. i REALLY hope they don't expect me to remember these names too well. many of the characters seem fun though.

of course the american politician says bs like "a regular y chromosome son". which i'm sure has not been tested as you 1: don't know the gender yet. 2: phenotype does not denote genotype.

i wonder who and how they'll figure out who has the wrong baby. "i don't recall what horror of history we had a lunch over, but i do recall what we had." the BEST dynamic.

will they even figure out they got the wrong one? ok, i know that working with an actual 5 year old would be a nightmare... but that kid is like 12.

well done making both heaven and hell look like shit. do you want grime overpopulating or empty, liminal, office spaces?

brilliant end of episode 1.

ep 2 the book

damn the forces of hell are so bloody rude and evil. and so many quick jokes.

question: what are the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse supposed to be in christianity? both biblically and in modern belief? they are separate from devils and angels.

i love a witch that also uses an ipad in her rituals.

"sorry, right number" seriously the humour in this show is so brilliant. i really hope the story is able to match it.

ep 3 hard times

a black knight shrugging is way too funny. i love these two. just two old friends helping each other out, it's just that that's diametrically opposing one another. the angel doing some tempting, the demon some miracles. and upper management doesn't care.

awh, they are just so cute together.

excuse me you are playing intro now? 28 minutes in? that's not an intro. that's a bloody intermission!

they really succeed at making heaving seem so extremely bad. extremely wide shot or extreme close-up. it's so incredibly uncomfortable.

the prime minister has a nice flat chested fucker in his bed.... good for him if he's not cheating.

"mend it all"/"end it all" whispers. really neat.

ep 4 saturday morning funtime

of course he was condemned for nothing more then asking questions.

ah, they got rid of pestilence to replace them with pollution. it's a good change, but feels pretty pre 2020.

oh no, i find his death so sad. he had a love, why kill him? i know the apocalypse is coming but still.

i still really hope that the presidents son turns out to be trans to just break the things he said at the start. then again it wouldn't really work as it's not the kids he said it about. idk, i guess i hope of screen son turns out to be trans to spite the person that'll never know... yea i'm holding out hope for something that doesn't matter.

azi being send to heaving is SO bad. his bookshop possibly burning down is emotionally worse. it was going to be the last episode of the day. but i started watching because i couldn't deal with bad endings, so i guess i'll have to watch one more.

ep 5 the doomsday option

Azi going full rogue (finally).

man that's the most obvious cold reading ever.

the guard reads a neil gaymen book. cute.

sir... your car is... more then a little on fire.

ep 6 the very last day of the rest of their lives

are we doing a flash back episode for the last episode of the season?

oh, please let him rebuild the car just like i want the bookshop rebuild?

the way to defeat the end of the world is to believe and stand (and i hope work) for a world that wouldn't end. a bit on the nose but very nice.

and of course with Terry Pratched being involved death is not to be defeated, just not hastened along.

a kid not doing the one thing they were supposed to do.... there's a trans/gay message in there. also That's Just What Kids Do! you wanted an 11 year old to do what they were told? that's the first part of the problem.

for a TV series that's a pretty good satan. oh that is SO clever. kind of time fucking, but not really so long as you never introduce time travel so it's only true from now on. oh, is it a nicer ending then i though? YES IT IS! \o/

it "ends" as it starts: with a garden and an apple. ok, make it more explicit why don't you.

oh, you subtle bastards. i love it. other scene's now make more sense too, oh how i love it.

ok, yea it makes sense people go wild over this as it's really bloody great.

[andy-skull]

This season has been so hard to watch and I'm really losing hope on it.

Ep1 gave us a glimpse into the future, that Sylvie would be happy to see Loki and was the only thing I could hold onto after such terrible reunion.

Don't get me wrong, I knew we wouldn't have Sylki together from the very first episode, but it's been 4 already and they haven't talked or fixed anything between them

Ravonna and Miss Minutes went full psycho, Dox and Brad made a lousy coup and were couped back. Inside civil war in a TVA Loki insists can protect the multiverse when it can't even stay afloat

Ep 2 to 4 were a set of side missions to fix the loom that ended up exploding anyway.

This season has been literally disaster after disaster in everything! Romantically, characters like Sylvie who seek free will now is a comedy of why terrorists should be banned and Loki is promoting police enforcement. Mobius is on denial, B15 is trying her best and still is not enough, same as Casey and ouroboros

Everything is all over the place, is a disaster, everyone is scared and miserable and everything ended up blowing up anyway

Loki asking Sylvie to have hope in what exactly? He's not telling her how he feels, the TVA can't protect itself less the multiverse. In what exactly should the hope rely on?

I don't even know if watching the last two episodes worth it at all. How will they fix anything at all?

[spectralreplica]

where and in what order do i watch precure?

Hey! Just saw this.

In terms of officially... the very first season (Futari wa Precure) along with 4 recent seasons are on Crunchyroll (Kirakira Precure a la Mode, Healin' Good Precure, Tropical-Rouge Precure, and Delicious Party Precure). ...technically Netflix dubbed 2 seasons under the name Glitter Force, but it was a 4kids style mess, (cut episodes, editing to be more "child friendly", changing all names to Western ones, etc.) so avoid unless showing to a younger relative who can't handle subs

Unofficially, all the seasons have been fansubbed and are available at whatever website you normally use.

Each Precure season is like 48 episodes, and each are totally standalone outside of some little continuity gags, like the same stores existing in multiple seasons. The only exceptions to this are two early seasons that have direct sequels (Futari wa Precure Max Heart and Yes Precure 5 Gogo) and a yearly non-canon crossover movie where all (or at least the 3-4 most recent seasons worth) of the Cures meet up and fight some new enemy (no one ever ages, though).

So, basically, you can start with whatever season you want! I'd recommend looking at the wiki and reading the description of each season to see which one sounds the most interesting. Personally, my favorite is Star Twinkle, and I really like Heartcatch, Smile, and Tropical-Rouge. I've also heard Fresh, Go Princess, and Hugtto are pretty good. Alternatively, if you want to have the maximum interaction with other fans, Hirogaru Sky Precure, the latest season, is about to start airing on February 5th (available on Crunchyroll or less legally).

If you want my opinions specifically:

Futari wa + Max Heart: Yin yang themed; not great pacing because they were still figuring things out plus some CG that aged badly, but people really love the focus on the relationship between the leads

Splash Star: nature themed; seen as a ripoff of the 1st seasons, but some people swear it's actually way better? features the tackiest outfits

Fresh: fruit + clover themed; animation can be rough, but the story is apparently really great, esp. concerning a villain who changes sides

Yes Precure 5 + Gogo: butterfly + then rose themed; animation can really suffer sometimes; some people seem to really like it, but I mostly know it as The One Season with an Explicit Het Romance

Heartcatch: flower + fashion themed; The Edgy Season and the one with the most unique artstyle + strong animation; has really good character arcs and cool concepts (the MC's grandmother was a former Cure!)

Suite: music themed; people used to really hate this one in comparison to Heartcatch, but it's seen more fondly now? apparently has good character work but the animation suffers because the outfits were very detailed. Also, the ending got changed last minute to be lighter and softer because that was when the big typhoon hit japan

Smile: fairytale themed; not very plot heavy but consistently cute and funny; just a silly little show, but a few eps made me cry. Avoid the Netflix dub (Glitter Force)

Dokidoki Precure: playing card themed; had a lot of cool plot things going for it, but fell apart a little; MC gets accused of stealing the show, which is rare for Precure, which tends to be more team-focused than, say, Sailor Moon, where Usagi is the strongest and the main focus

Happiness Charge Precure: fashion/dance themed?; a really really cool concept where there are a whole bunch of Precure all over the world and they're known to the public and covered on the news, but the ending is weaker than the rest of the show; also, the international Cure designs can be a little stereotypical, and even the Egyptian and Indian Cures are very pale...

Go Princess Precure: princess themed; I've heard the plot is really good, but I don't know much about the details? Utena references apparently

Witchy Precure/ Maho Girls Precure: witch themed; one of the Precure is a witch from a magical world and one is a normal girl, and they both spend like half their time at magic school? despite this cool concept, it's apparently very light on plot and I've not seen any huge fans of it

Kirakira Precure a La Mode: animal + sweets themed; another light and fluffy season, but with semi-canon lesbians? very cute designs, and lots of comparisons to Tokyo Mew Mew

Hugtto Precure: future + career themed; heard it's very strong in terms of plot and characters, although some people have quibbles with the ending; started the trend among newer seasons of having a decades later epilogue to show you how the Cures grow up, which is always nice to see; features a boy or nonbinary (depends on your interpretation) Cure near the end of the season

Star Twinkle Precure: space + imagination themed; kind of an 80s aesthetic visually and with really strong designs, plus a really cool plot and good character development; the one season with a mixed race Cure; episodes split between aliens attacking Earth and the Cures visiting other planets; also, the movie is way better than it has any right to be and makes me cry every time

Healin Good Precure: healing + nature themed; the season that was cut slightly short due to COVID; also the one themed around health care? It was in production pre pandemic, so just weird timing. ...apparently it's kind of mid

Tropical Rouge Precure: mermaid + makeup themed; lots of focus on the main girls forming a club and going around the town doing fun stuff and helping classmates interrupted by going to magical mermaid places and learning some plot related stuff (there's not... NOT plot... actually there's more there than I expected! But it's very slice of life heavy); every character gets their own arc, and all the designs are super nice

Delicious Party Precure: cooking themed; do not watch on an empty stomach; kind of a light and fluffy season; has a cool nonbinary character in a support role, plus a boy who is not technically a Cure, but Cure-adjacent (still transforms, different name); I bounced off it a little, but mostly because I was busy?

Hirogaru Sky: sky + heroism themed; we only have promo stuff, but I'm very hyped

[luckyqueenreign]

Is it only me or THTH was so promising in the beginning but such a let down in the last 3 episode. Or I have too high expetations.

Bestie it wasn’t only you!! I rage deleted the app as soon as I finished this season. It started off SO WELL! I had such high hopes for the game and I was excited to have something right after a tumultuous LITG season. I think for me the first red flag was when we immediately got two dates back to back with our LIs. That was the start of the end for me. Look I get that LITG doesn’t follow the Love Island script that closely either (especially not last season) but for seasons 1-4 I felt that they kept it as close as they could, especially season 2. Then with the Candace drama, I was so extremely disappointed in the way they handled that. It was a perfect opportunity for your LI to stand up and basically say they only wanted you or that they at least didn’t want Candace, and all we got was she was flicking sand off their hair. BYE!!

I also hated how we completely lost the other cast members. I was romancing Theo, but from the other episodes I really enjoyed Sarah and Alex’s banter and loved both of them (personally I would’ve rather have had the choice of bestie and I would’ve picked one of them instead of Jada) unless you were romancing Marisa, Dakota, Henri, Liam, Sarah and Alex they pretty much disappear after ep 5. I wish we had more opportunities to chat with them or do other activities in addition to romancing our LI. The episodes felt SUPER short after the first three so I feel like they would’ve benefited adding in more content with friends. Speaking of the other cast, outside of Jada and Carter and then a super last minute coupling of Sarah and Dakota, I wish more people would’ve found “love” or at least been coupley/coupled up. It just felt unrealistic to me that my MC who had been with Theo since the beginning, when Diego came in and made moves on MC that THAT was when Liam thought he didn’t have a chance with MC anymore (he was my second highest love bar) I will say this.. as much as I was disappointed with the end and rage deleted the app, I think I’ll redownload if they decide to do a season 2 and I’ll give it another shot. I just hope they fix some of the issues of this season and keep the good stuff they had in the first (inclusivity, male MCs, non binary cast and mc, etc)

[ecoamerica]

Watch the 2024 American Climate Leadership Awards for High School Students now: https://youtu.be/5C-bb9PoRLc

The recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by student climate leaders! Join Aishah-Nyeta Brown & Jerome Foster II and be inspired by student climate leaders as we recognize the High School Student finalists. Watch now to find out which student received the $25,000 grand prize and top recognition!

[mysteryloversbookshelf]

The Afterparty Season 2: Midseason Theories

SPOILERS AHEAD

We are almost halfway through season two of The Afterparty and while I do have my theories I still feel as if I know nothing. I'm not even going to get into the mechanics of the puzzles because that's the subreddit's lane, but let's start with the solved "Not the ___" puzzles:

Ep 1: Not the Snorer

Ep 2: Not the Skater

Ep 3: Not Ey Suicide

Ep 4: Not Colonel

So what we do know is that Edgar did not commit suicide or fake his death. I honestly didn't think he did because from what we've seen he hasn't acted in a way that made it appear as if he would do so. But as I'm typing this I can't help but wonder if there will be another death before the season is over that will be another murder and this clue is a foreshadowing of that. I didn't realize Colonel was a suspect and I'm not going to lie that took me out because as aggressive as that dog is, it wouldn't make any sense whatsoever. I think Isabel is the snorer. She was drinking the whole time and on some substance that had her speaking gibberish at some point so I can see her crashing at the end of the night and being in a deep sleep. Skater is such a broad term that it can mean anything. Are they ice skating, in-line skating skateboarding or roller skating? Or do they play hockey? Hopefully next week will give us some answers. Until then, here are my theories and thoughts of each character in order of mind movies and since only four episodes are out, any character beyond Hannah is just speculation until I can see the episode and decide otherwise.

Aniq (The Sequel)

I see a lot of people suspecting Aniq and while it would be quite the twist I don't see this happening. I also really don't want him to be involved because he's the main character and I want to see him for many more seasons to come. When I rewatched his episode I noticed that in the brief moment he had a conversation with Jon Gemberling's character, Roxana disappeared. There's a theory that the staff are in on Sebastian's heist so I would not be surprised at all if Sebastian walked by and snatched Roxana while the waiter distracted Aniq.

2. Grace (Period Piece)

I think Grace is guilty. She's being painted as this naïve, fragile woman that has to be rescued and characters like these tend to be the main one pulling the strings. Her asking Zoë how she and Aniq solved the first murder was very suspicious to me and the reveal that she has an affair with Grace up until the last minute before the wedding shows that she is not only selfish but she keeps secrets. I feel like she's playing helpless so they can clear her of murder.

3. Travis (Noir Detective)

Travis is cleared as a suspect for me. I think he genuinely wanted to do the right thing and Edgar is worth more to him alive than he is dead. What I'm stuck on is who struck him when he tried to follow Edgar into the house. It could have been Isabel trying to protect her son or it could have been Sebastian not wanting Travis to get in the way of whatever was happening. When he was woken by Grace's screams there was no sound of the pistachios crunching so either the killer was very silent or he's a heavy sleeper. Wait, could he be the snorer???

4. Hannah (Wes Anderson)

I am a firm believer that Hannah is a red herring character. I know some people still suspect her but I think it would just be too obvious. Her quirkiness and love for the macabre makes her so fascinating and her stepping back and deciding to leave instead of crashing the wedding was so sad to me. Is her garden a death trap? Yes. But that doesn't mean she's the only one who knows how dangerous some of the plants are. Grace knew of some because she told Zoë to be careful when they snuck out of Hannah's yurt. Sebastian was around since Edgar and Hannah were children so he could also be aware of which plants are poisonous or not.

5. Sebastian (Heist)

It's clear that Sebastian is shady af. This man is really out here pretending that Edgar is still alive and trying to keep business deals going which is stupid considering that all of his lies will be easily debunked once the news comes out. All it will take is one google search by an investor to see that Edgar died sometime during the night after getting married. But I digress. We know that at some point in the night before the wedding, he went to Hannah's yurt with champagne. While Hannah did reject him and send him on his way I doubt he chose to retire early and I do believe in the theory that he is the naked man that ran by. By the end of the episode we learn that Edgar had fired Sebastian and while it's a strong motive, I don't think that he killed him over it. Sebastian gives me blackmailer vibes and if the fan theory about him being the one that actually was falsely inflating their bitcoin company is revealed to be true, it would be the perfect thing to blackmail him over in order to get his job back. Plus his episode is centered on a heist so his main focus was getting into that safe and running away with the money. The fact that he was drunk at the afterparty means he must have failed and was probably already scheming on how to move forward from there. Edgar's speech about devils could refer to him knowing that Sebastian was being shady and tried to steal from him.

6. Danner (Erotic Thriller)

There's not much to say about Danner. She needs to solve this case for more press despite not even finishing writing her current book about Xavier's murder. I'm curious as to what kind of erotic thriller they're going with for her episode but I also don't really care at the end of the day. I can see her flirting with Sebastian in order to get evidence though.

7. Ulysses (Epic Romance)

I'm not the only person who thinks this, but I think Funcle Ulysses is the biological father of Grace, Zoë, or both. Some people think that he may be just the father of Grace and I can see that happening as well. The strongest evidence for me is that conversation between him Feng, and Vivian about whether it was "too late" to reveal something and if it would ruin the family. A secret like that would definitely ruin relationships within the family. The fact that he was away so long could be a result of Feng forcing him to leave after discovering the affair between him and Vivian. I read a theory that the reason he took so long in the shower is that maybe Vivian was in there as well and if so that would be SCANDALOUS! Edgar is the one who tracked down Ulysses to be in the wedding and as far as everyone knew, Grace and Edgar were in love so I don't see any murder motive atm.

8. Feng (Found Footage)

Feng is an interesting character but a murderer? I'm just not sure. As of right now there just isn't a motive that's making sense. When he and Travis interacted, he was put off and went to talk to someone else so I don't think he would have known about the bitcoin scam. I guess there is a possibility that he tried to kill Ulysses and killed Edgar by accident. Ulysses was manning the bar so he could have spiked the drink, it somehow got mixed up and Edgar took drank it instead. He is definitely clever though as seen during the phone conversation to convince Sebastian he would be a good partner.

9. Isabel (Suspence)

Isabel is annoying to me and I think she's really odd but I still don't feel like she killed Edgar. She is emotionally disattached from her children but she's already wealthy so there would have to be some other motive that we have yet to see. It could be a case of an accidental poisoning meant for another person but she doesn't seem to care enough about anyone to want to poison the other guests. I wonder if she witnessed something without realizing it though. If I'm right about the Not Ey Suicide clue being foreshadowing maybe someone will try to poison her and she'll survive but they'll think that she tried to off herself out of guilt?

10. Zoë & Vivian (Camp Horror & Soap Opera)

Vivian is such a wallflower that I can see why people suspect her. Someone pointed out that she changed clothes between the wedding and the afterparty which could be a clue but I'm not sure. She is very vigilant and is always observing everyone so there's no doubt her mind movie will give away who did it. Zoë has been such a busybody this season and while extremely frustrating I don't think it's out of guilt but just her being overprotective. She's so blinded by her love for Grace that she's going to overlook something I can see it now. If she turned out to be the killer that would be really sad and I'd hate for this to be her final season so I'm hoping that's not the case.

One last thing I want to point out is that when Hannah is talking about the flowers at the rehearsal dinner, everyone is in attendance minus Grace who sneaks away to meet up with her later. Grace already knows about the flowers so her not being there doesn't matter, but anyone at that table could have been mentally taking notes or happened to remember enough of that info to use it as the murder weapon later. So either they at that moment decided they would kill Edgar (or someone else but killed Edgar by mistake), or something happened between the rehearsal dinner and the wedding night that made them snap. We've got six episodes left so I will post updates as my theories change. What do you all think happened?

[charliethomascoxuniverse]

Team Top 10 Tunes : Charlie Cox

03 February 2012 (X)

Radio Host: Ladies and Gentlemen! Where have you been? It’s been a belter of a summer here in the Dayglo, and we missed you! It’s been groovier than The Rainbow, ravier than the Balearics, more dehydrated than Glastonbury, more rancid than A Big Day Out, more diva than Nell’s...and where were you? Never mind you’re back, the Dayglo is heaving, the bar is open, and please welcome if you will as tonight’s DJ one of the most interesting actors around – all the way from Blighty a man who was a pleasure to do business with (on The Ordained, and stand by folks, let us see if it gets through the gate to series with CBS); smart, urbane, impeccably mannered and extremely talented. You may know him best from Stardust or Downton Abbey (ep 1) or Moby Dick or heaps of other stuff. We know him best as the IRA fella in Boardwalk Empire (seasons 2 & 3) in which he was WAY WICKED! Anyway, enough from me, the screams are too loud for me to hear myself anyway...here he is, a big Dayglo hand, if you will...for the marvelous....MR CHARLIE COX!

Charlie Cox:

I Thought I'd put together a list of slightly lesser known classics. I've had to resist listing a Dylan, Pink Floyd or Justin Beiber (last one was a joke) but hoped it would be more interesting this way.

1. Lawrence, KS - Josh Ritter

Through a strange set of circumstances I ended up becoming friends with Josh long after being a huge fan of his. I once heard him sing this one live with no microphone or amp. He just belted it out from the front of the stage. Made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. It was extraordinary.

2. Ain't No Sunshine - Bill Withers

There's a quality to Bill Withers voice that is so moving to me. Something very gravelly and resonant. He seems like a real "salt of the earth" musician. I heard that he was discovered whilst fitting toilet seats to Boeing 747's. No idea if it’s true but very cool if it is.

3. Bulbs - Van Morrison

I see that a few people have chosen Sweet Thing already which would arguably have been my pick. So for a little variation I thought I'd submit this lesser known track from the album Veedon Fleece. Really gets me excited this song especially when the piano kicks in after 30 seconds! I kind of hate it when "old timers" say it, but when I hear this song I tend to agree... "They just don't make songs like this anymore"!!!!

4. Within the Rose - Matthew and the Atlas

The vocal harmonies that these guys do are stunningly beautiful. They are still relatively unknown but are on iTunes and I think are gonna be a big success soon. It's not mine to tell but I met Matthew once who told me the story behind this one. Amazing to listen to knowing it ... sorry!

5. Telegraph Road - Dire Straights

This one takes you on a whole life journey. It's 14 mins long so if you ever want to kill an hour just listen to it 4 times. I think if there was any band I could see in concert it would be these guys. Mark Knopfler on the guitar would be sensational.

6. New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down - LCD Sound System

Just recently discovered this living in NY. Don't really know the band very well but absolutely love this track and its touching melancholia. There's also a great documentary about the lead singer who decided to quit it all one day whilst at the height of success. It's called "shut up and play the hits."

7.Crucify Your Mind - Rodriguez

Talking about great documentaries. About a year after everyone else, I discovered Searching for Sugar Man needless to say it was unbelievable and I think I cried for the last 30 minutes. Two days later my girlfriend discovered he was playing so she surprised me with tickets. It felt like an historic experience.

8. Something Good - Alt J

Another new favorite of mine. Don't really have anything to say about it other than express my concerns about "killing" this song for myself by overplaying it. I seem to really struggle to not put it on every time I turn my iPod on. Or their album for that matter.

9. Gabriel's Obe - Ennio Morricone

Sound track to the film The Mission and a bit of classical to my list. I think this is probably one of the most moving pieces of music I have ever heard. Morricone, has elevated countless movies into a class above what they would have been without him. He's a maestro!

10. Untitled - Interpol

I very rarely respond to modern music that have little or no lyrics. This is an exception. I have no idea why I love it so much. It has a very dark, dangerous quality to me. Even the title "untitled" is in tune with the feelings the song invokes in me.

[heartsleevemag]

Friday Five

by Vi McDonald

Welcome to this week’s installment of Heartsleeve Magazine’s Friday Five playlist! From up-tempo tracks that’ll make you feel like you’re in an eighties movie, to some of the crunchiest, coolest new rock tunes, here are five songs that kept our blood pumping this week.

1. "Bad At Letting Go" – Leland, MUNA

Danceable and in denial, Leland's "Bad At Letting Go" is replayable in the way that only a MUNA collab can be. Depicting a romance where things have gone wrong but Leland doesn't want anyone to know, it's about burying your emotions but having them bubble up to the surface anyway. MUNA's influence shines especially brightly, from the production to the vocals to the theme of honest avoidance, as they croon in the second verse, "The tears that are slipping right off of my skin, I don't want 'em to sink in."

2. “Welcome to the DCC” — Nothing But Thieves

With a sound that would be perfectly at home in a neon cyberpunk dream, Nothing But Thieves' new eighties-inspired dance track introduces a new world. "Welcome to the DCC" tells of a utopian heaven called Dead Club City where "If you believe it, it can happen." Even though it'll get you moving, the track has a thrumming tension underneath that hints the DCC might be too good to be true. The video suggests this too, with characters getting sucked into the DCC universe through advertisements and entering a world where there's nothing but endless partying and neon lights. "It's almost time for us to open the doors to you," NBT shared as a caption for the music video. What else will Dead Club City have in store?

3. "Just A Girl" - From The Original Series "Yellowjackets" – Florence + The Machine

Florence Welch once said, "You said that rock and roll is dead. But is that just because it has not been resurrected in your image?" And when Florence decides to resurrect a classic like No Doubt's 1995 hit "Just A Girl," in her image, it infuses the track with an ethereal, foreboding energy. Fitting for the psychological horror-drama show Yellowjackets, this track is a spooky, cinematic rock masterpiece. Tense cymbal crashes and uneasy strings crash open into chaotic harmonies over the song's four-minute runtime – this track singlehandedly convinced me to binge Yellowjackets in its entirety before the new season premieres.

4. "SCARING ME" – Cleopatrick

You got me – this one's not a new discovery. More of a rediscovery, "SCARING ME" is the third track on Cleopatrick's 2022 EP, DOOM. After becoming particularly enthralled with (and seriously overplaying) the two opening tracks, "ZUCK," and "OK," I decided to revisit the EP. "SCARING ME" winds down from the heavier sound of the first two tracks, but continues the theme of examining how relationships are affected by modern society, and how the things that we do affect those relationships. The instrumentation is probably the coolest part – after the song went viral, the band shared how it was made on Tiktok, using layered textures and vocals as an instrument. Cleopatrick is "gonna do a coupl shows" – their words, not mine – in the UK this summer. Check 'em out here.

5. "CHOKER" – ROMES

The very definition of a modern rock track with grunge and 90s influences, "CHOKER" showcases the heavier side of Romes' music. "If you've ever felt emotionally strangled, trapped inside your own mind, or felt like there's no way out, just know that someone else is fighting through it too. You're not alone," the band shared on Instagram following the song's release. And it feels that way, lyrics like "I wanna feel what it feels like to exist," holding a raw desperation that feels cathartic and expressive, like this was something the band had to get out in order to keep going.

Listen to the Friday Five playlist and check out last week's additions on our Spotify, and don't forget to follow us so you don't miss the next one!

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL

April 2021 Part 1

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs.

Ongoing Series - Thai

Second Chance Ep 1 - living up to its name since it looks to be a series of redemption arcs. Launched with a college confession and a broken friendship, then a flash back to them as seniors in high school. Pairings include friends to lovers, nerd/jock, and maybe cafe boss/employee. There’s a lot going on, but it’s still... quiet and sweet. The script is pretty pat but it’s still WAY more watchable than Cupid Coach or Brothers and most of the acting is solid. Ep 1 tropes included: he’s in engineering, wound tending, fast & bicurious. This could turn into what I wanted My Gear & Your Gown to be. Fingers crossed. 

Love Poison 2 Ep 1 & 2 turns out I did watch and report on season 1 (8 eps), season 2 seems equally unmemorable. Thai countryside setting, strong dialect, incomprehensible plot, camp side characters, and ghastly singing. 

Y-Destiny Ep 1 (eng subs?) - opened with the sports romance enemies to lovers (they aren’t going in the teaser order). When the couple got over fighting, the flirting was v cute, but the flipping SPONGE BATH trope had to rear its ugly head. Still, this series is shaping up to be less coy and more frank than most BL, better than expected. It feels, I don’t know, gay-er or something?  *** Sources were correct that each couple is getting (at least) 2 eps, and MDL has been updated to say this is a 15 episode series (not 7). 

Cupid Coach 12 fin - The new Nite was great and should have been a main all along. It felt like we got a tiny nugget of what could have been in about 10 minutes worth of this last ep. It was way too slow with terrible editing and a criminally bad script, but at least it ended happy. Mostly, like Friend Forever, I’m just disappointed that these two actors were done dirty by the series. Bad Cupid Coach, no screen caps for you. 

Lovely Writer Ep 6 - breaking news, there’s a het couple I like: toppy bi femme + soft boi = such a good pairing! I know, but this NEVER happens. Meanwhile, Sib’s secret is out, Gene is a bit of a drama queen, and the plot thickens. We half way through.  

Brothers Ep 9 - Kaow had a serious moment of advice giving that was truly lovely. Lots of family dama made this a superior episode to... well... any of the others in this series. Which isn’t saying much. 

1000 Stars Ep 10 fin - at the start this series didn’t grab me the way GMMTV’s last BL, Tonhon Chonlatee, did. But boy did it end 1000x better. Might have given us 2021′s best forehead kiss. I enjoyed the ultra romantic cliff-top reunion kiss, and I LOVED the stinger flirting scene. That was an absolute gift we had no right to expect. This drama is a poster child for finishing on a high note (always focus on that dessert course). Final thoughts? This was FAR more a classic romance than it was BL. There were some BL tropes used but not many and most of them originated in the romance genre not yaoi. A picture perfect ending bumped 1000 Stars much higher up my best-of list than expected. Not sure how often I’ll rewatch it as a whole, but this last episode? I’m probably rewatching it right now. 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Dear Uranus (Taiwan GL) Ep 3 fin - I guess that’s it? Okaaaaay  

HIStory 4: Close To You (Taiwan) Ep 3 (AKA Ep 5-6) - we got actual legit gay culture not just BL (always appreciated) from XingSi. I’m starting to find LiCheng’s “show them we fucking” hijinks hilarious rather than annoying (not sure why, maybe I just love a rubber chicken, or maybe it was the STUFFED CORN WITH THE TASSEL that did it). 

-- H4 Moment of RANT --

Tropes included beach trip, there’s only one bed, cook for him, baby is a floppy drunk, carry baby to bed, and.... drunk non-con. Whoopdedoo. Here we go again. Did TharnType teach us NOTHING? (Apparently it taught us if the chemistry is good enough, I have no morals at all.) At least H4 seems to be taking us out of cheese into serious when it comes to assault. Or is it? 

I take back what I said last week about XingSi & YongJie being codependency + salvation trope, that only works if YongJie is the uke. He’s NOT. So we got us an obsessive predatory villain with a possible redemption arc. That’s more common in crime dramas, mafia romance, and epic fantasy than BL. It’s real hard to redeem a sexual predator in a reality-grounded universe like contemporary romance (See Kla in LBC1&2). 

Next week is gonna be a test of the whole damn franchise. Imma remind both me a you that this was ep 3 of 10 so we got a ways to go yet... but ooof, what have we wrought, BL? (I ended up doing a whole post about the stepbrother trope because of this sub plot.) Taiwan is killing me.

-- RANT ended --

Word of Honor (China) Ep 19-21 - over half way point so we got ALL the back story (in a classic 4 act story structure midway reveal). Now we know who WKX really is and his lineage. We also got some cute hugs and hand holds. Moving along at a nice clip despite being 36 eps total. Still gayest thing to come out of we-not-gay China since Advance Bravely. 

Most Peaceful Place (Vietnam) Ep 2 - takes them a while to get eng subs together and ep 2 didn’t drop until late. So I’m putting this in a Thurs time slot going forward. Miscommunication already cleared up and a 2nd couple has been introduced. The pacing on these Vietnamese BLs is always a bit... off. But it’s still better than most of its ilk, enjoyable. I’m thinking it’s a 6 ep arc. 

We Best Love 2 (Taiwan) Ep 5 - after the initial drama DRAMA of ep 2, the current external crisis at work is much quieter, giving this whole season a top heavy feel. Taken along side the first season, I think it’s fitting nicely into a 4 act structure, but that might be my bias. I hope I’m not wrong, we’ll find out next week. Shi De puttering about being domestic with Shu Yi on his back was the best execution of the piggyback trope EVER. Meanwhile, our little D/s side couple of codependency, salvation trope + mental illness is becoming weirdly appealing. I don’t know. H4 done mess with my head. 

Stand Alones 

Absolute BL AKA Zettai BL ni Naru Sekai vs Zettai BL ni Naritakunai Otoko  (Japan) Ep 1-4 mini series. Found subs under A Man Who Defies The World of BL. IT’S HILARIOUS. It’s Japan making fun of us, but also itself for having started this whole BL nonsense - from yaoi roots to present day. It’s parody goddamn gold. Utterly cheeky unto the very last line. We are not worthy. 

Apparently the most powerful tropes of all time are: baby is a floppy drunk and the piggyback fo nobility. Oh and chocolate. {Full review here.} 

Honestly, this show may have been made with only @heretherebedork and I in mind. I don’t know if you’d even understand half of it if you don’t have a history with the manga source genre and an obsessive interest in underlying narrative devices. I haven’t seen much chatter in the blog’o’sphere on this one because, in the end, it’s not a romance at all, it’s social commentary. 

The ending line was a masterclass in lampooning a genre. I’m going to rewatch the whole thing just to catch all the digs I missed first time around. It is a thing of beauty and a joy forever. 

Thank you Japan. I forgive you all your hair-styling sins of the last decade. 

Breaking News 

Spring Line Up:

Scholar Ryu’s Wedding Ceremony AKA Nobleman Ryu’s Wedding (Korean historical BL) April 15th 

Close Friend the series (Thai trailer) April 22. 

2gether the movie (Thai trailer) April 22 to Thai theaters.

Nitiman (Thai) May 7 on One31.

I Told Sunset About You 2 (Thai) May 27 on LineTV

Ossan’s Love (Hong Kong) June to Viu 

Gossip 

Bad Buddies released its first promo op via Arm Share, which means GMMTV is at least *thinking* about filming it. 

Fun behind the scenes gossip sesh with eng subs for Tell the World I Love You (that Perth Bas movie we are maybe getting someday but will likely be sad). 

New Thai BL Bite Me (adapted from novel Grab a Bite) dropped a teaser. It stars Mark Siwat (Kla in LBC) as uke character Ake, a delivery boy with special foodie powers, and chef Eua (seme played by Zung Kidakorn) who discovers him. It’s from the same author as Manner of Death so we might even get some actual plot. Since it’s an established BL actor who I happen LOVE, a known author, and a plot about FOOD, I could not me more excited for this one. 

Next Week Looks Like This:

Some shows may be listed a day later than actual air date for accessibility reasons. Some are dropping multiples at a time but just started so I’m not sure on numbering. 

Upcoming 2021 BL master post here.

Links to watch are provided when possible, ask in a comment if I missed something.

[ludling]

I know I said I would wait...but Hacks s02e03 and 04 thoughts under the cut...

Look, it definitely gets a bit better than the first two eps, and there was quite a few moments where I really laughed out loud...but they were like little boats (ships lol)  in a sea of unfortunate continued okay-ness

The Good

1. I fucking love Weed so much. I hope she’s not gone for good, because I feel like her character has been chiefly played for laughs, without the opportunity of real depth every other side-character got last season. She ate some of D’s night cream cause she thought it was dip. COME ON.

2. The lesbian cruise was inspired and holy shit LPJ have been reading our fics...it’s embarrassing..but also... there were so many moments I actually hollered out loud. DEB GIVING AVA A MANICURE?!!!!??? I mean I don’t wanna say queer-baiting, but if that’s how they’re gonna do it, I’m fine with it. I liked how it all went well for Deborah, until her internalised misogyny bit her in the ass. I like that she wingmanned for Ava and considered where she stands sexually with Ava’s help. Loved that for both of them.

3. I enjoyed the moment where D turns the bus around and then gets in the dumpster with Ava. Like you can’t even pretend you hate her for longer than five minutes. That’s true love baby.

4. Same with how she essentially flirted with the young female comic to make Ava jealous. ‘What beautiful hands you have’???? I mean COME ON.

The Bad

1. The pacing continues to be whack. Like everything feels like it’s been condensed to the barest emotional beats. One minute they’re in the dumpster kind of okay again, the next they’re at the grand canyon? I feel like a little more emotional warm-up would have made that moment so much weightier.

The first season was this lovely slow immersion into Deborah and her Vegas world. Everything took time, and felt incredibly earned. Nothing in season two has felt like that so far, and honestly that is my biggest issue with it.

2. I loathed it when Deborah started singing, and the cruise audience sang along with her. It feels like another tedious example of Girlboss!Vance, and not like something that would organically happen.

3. Damian should have more scenes.

4. Marcus should have less scenes. I think he’s fine, but I think the writers give his boring-ass character way too much screen-time, when they could be focusing on Weed, or Damian, or DJ, or literally anyone else. But then, historically, I am a Marcus-hater so this point might truly be personal.

Anyway, those are my thoughts, I’m not going to even pretend that more hot-takes aren't coming next Thursday.

The one nice element to all of this is that the second season being this mediocre, actually makes me feel like getting back to work on my multi-chapter Hacks WIP, which I thought S2 would make completely obsolete. So there is that.

[non-bee-knees]

So

I just rewatched “The First”

And let me tell you;

I’ve seen a lot of this franchise in a relatively short amount of time

I got into it just before the summer holidays, June-ish, and since then I’ve seen most of the Specials and Movies (some are…very questionable😓), a few episodes a piece of Part 1 and 2, as well as all of Parts 4 and 5, some episodes twice or even three times (think the Jigen and Goemon eps from part 4, any ep that involved Albert in part 5 and the part 5 finale eps) and I’ve read and written my fair share of FanFics (even the supposed ‘OOC’ ones are still in character btw, yall are doing gods work with your writing) and I gotta say,

After all of that, coming back and watching this movie, as absolutely spectacular as it is, just feels out of place, for a reason I couldn’t figure.

Until I did.

So, with no other way to begin phrasing this will-be-essay of a post, here it is:-

They made Zenigata stupid.

Obviously, he’s not an idiot, that’s not fair to say, but we see through other movies, as well as parts 4 and 5 that he knows the Lupin and the gang inside out, from figuring out it was Jigen in that Chapel in his part 4 ep, to knowing Lupin would go after Fuji in part 5, he can figure out Lupins next move like nothing, calling card or not.

So for him in this movie to just not be up to that, he feels lacky almost, letting his guards try catch Lupin rather than do it himself (until that desert scene, where he’s tricked). Yeah he’s still smart, but it doesn’t feel like he has it all figured out yet. He feels like “The First Contact” kinda smart

Next, my Dear Goemon.

I’m impressed, really, because they took one of the most annoyingly standoffish and quiet characters, AND MADE HIM MORE SO!

But not quite. He’s not himself.

He’s been quiet before, and standoffish before, but this feels different. Before hand it felt he wasn’t talking/interacting with the others by choice, but here, it felt more like he wanted to say things, but wasn’t sure how. He was just awkward. And while I love that, it wasn’t him.

That scene where he didn’t want to give up his sword, he felt childish in complaining about it, where as in another other movie/series of the show he’d had thrown hands at the idea of it.

Even back in the original Red Jacket series and other Red movies, he isn’t like this, isn’t as unsure as this.

Next: Fujiko.

Right off the bat; I don’t like her. I can’t tell you why, because I don’t know, because as much as I hate the bitch, I fucking love her at the same time. It’s a very mixed vibe.

The summary about her is shorter, because she is one of the few characters who hasn’t changed much (in my opinion). She has gotten more empathetic over time, I think, but I don’t pay too much attention to her really.

What I did notice is that she was very sloppy. She got caught out of her scam with the suitcase very quick, and you can’t tell me that it’s because that guy was smart. No he wasn’t. She was also surprisingly co-operative with the gang, something she usually seems reluctant on, at least without some reward. And while she did complain, it was only once, and she wasn’t trying to get something out of it afterwards. She wasn’t as fleshed out in her whole “scamming” business yet.

Finally, Jigen.

(I’m not gonna do Lupin, as his character is very hard to place at the best of times, but hasn’t changed too much really)

Jigen right off the bat, is not the man we know and love today. He too feels like he’s more of a few episodes after “The First Contact” kinda development. Without a second glance he shuts down Lupins idea of the Bresson Diary, despite the fact we know they been through worse for less. He doesn’t really care. And even though he never says it, it feels like he could have called Lupin ‘Boss’ in this movie and gotten away with it.

He, at the point of this film, feels like he’s only in it for the money. Maybe he’s starting to grow attached to Lupin, which is why he goes after him, but still, they don’t have that bond yet.

Where am I going with this nonsense?!

This film starts by calling out that the first scene takes place in World War 2, probably near the end, so let’s say on a late end, it’s ‘44.

Then just after the open title, we see that it’s “more than a Decade later”, and we get to see Laetitia for the first time. I’m not saying she’s anymore that 18-ish, so let’s take the late end again and say she’s 20.

Given that ‘44 year before and the 20 year age gap, we can safely say, even at the latest, this movie takes place in the mid ‘60’s.

If we can guess about the Gangs ages, with what we know, we can say that Goemon is about a year or two older than Laetitia, say 22-ish. Fujiko isn’t far behind, nor Lupin, say 25-ish and 27-ish respectively, with Jigen pulling rear at around 30. (These are all just guesses)

All of that together puts this film at the very earliest, timeline wise, that we’ve seen the Gang together, even earlier than the OG Green series, which we can assume takes place in the 70’s, the years it was produced (Ik the manga was written earlier but the show would probably have taken elements from the year it was produced in)

Basically!

That explains why they’re all so odd. They haven’t gotten to know each other yet, they haven’t been in the job long enough to figure the kinks out!

Ik that Zeni obviously knows a few of Lupins tricks, indicating that he’s been after him at least for a hot minute, but this could be one of the first times that the Gang (Zeni included) are all working together!

And I kinda like it, looking from that perspective, that they don’t really know that they’re doing yet.

If they make another CGI film I hope they keep it in the older era, and that they keep this newer feel to their partnerships together.

ANYWAYS.

Im so hyped for Part 6, seeing Albert AND Yata in the trailer says to me that even though it’s a different Jacket, it is indeed a rough carry on of the last 2 seasons. CANT WAIT :))

(All of this is my person opinion and take on the film and the characters, please feel free to give your own take on the subject, I’d love to here y’all’s opinions too x)

THANK YOU IF YOU READ THIS FAR X

[yuraimi-lee-bunny]

GRAY’S CHARACTER ANALYSIS PART III. AMNESIA AND IT’S FUTURE CONSEQUENCES

Hello! Once again: sorry for the lateness 8'D. My work, some illustrations and personal matters have slowed me down again. The good thing is that there is nothing that can be intervened and this week I will be able to go faster with the writing of my analysis. Thank you very much for the continued support you have given to the previous two parts, and I hope you like this one too!

PS: My analysis will continue as normal, I will not mention anything about the recent interview with the show runner of the series. Perhaps that will be done at the end of the analysis or a separate post, by the time Gray's analysis is complete. Besides that I have already been giving my views on what Duane said about Gray. For the moment I just want my analysis to be about everything that I captured and analyzed before the interview.

Here we go!

Goodbye (for now) to Gray/Crackle, and let's say hi to Graham!

As we know, Crackle had all his VILE-related memories erased, and he’s now a happy civilian at his previous job as an electrician at the Sydney Opera House. On a mission to Australia, Carmen finds him but he doesn't recognize her.

Carmen doesn’t understand how it happened and why VILE did it, but for his sake, she prefers to get away from her, because she doesn’t want to complicate the new beginning that Gray/Graham has now in her life.

To be honest, I don't have much to analyze in depth about Gray in these chapters where he has amnesia, even so, there are several points to highlight about him that speak more about his personality in this episode:

1.- When he taking out Carmen with her phrase "No wristband, no backstage access", I think I can safely say that he’s committed to his job, whatever it is. (as an electrician and also a VILE agent)

2.- He has great self-confidence and temperance for having invited Carmen for a coffee, a girl he barely knew but who shows that he has a slight attraction for her.

3.- Well, let's say that this confirms that he likes to be somewhat "naughty" and daring with his actions.

4.- I may be exaggerating here, but I think that with the previous points that I have said, this can also count: It seems that Gray is a punctual person. He arrived before Carmen. (He’s very punctual or he was very excited about the "date")

Ep.6 S1 served as a small introduction by Gray, or rather now Graham, of how now he has amnesia, he doesn't remember anything about VILE, or Carmen, a whole year "disappeared", as well as the decision of Carmen about being away from Gray so as not to complicate his life. Leaving a slight reminder of "you'll still see him again" for us.

Which did happen, in Ep.7 of S2. In addition to the fact that again there are some data that show about his personality, this time the episode left some clues that it was happening to him and the future that would hold him in the following seasons.

1.- It seems that he was serious that this place is his favorite coffee shop, and it seems that he likes coffee.

2.- That tranquility is to be admired. The girl he invited for coffee who looked like she had dumped him, and there wasn’t a hint of anger/resentment/indignation in him. Again, like when they first met: as if nothing had happened. I love that about him. And he continues to correct Carmen about his name. He is Graham, not Gray (not Crackle). It seems somehow that he cares about being told by his respective name, as if the subject of his "identity" is important to him. We will move on to that later.

3.- Can we look this screenshot for a moment, please? Leaving aside the “Red Crackle” feeling that can emerge at this time for many (myself included), I want to talk about the fact that there continues that communication with only the look that they have always had.

The first two chapters of the series showed you several scenes of how Carmen and Gray just by looking at each other communicated what they thought, they knew they wanted to say to each other. I mention this because to me, these glances between them were purposely done with the following objective: Yes, Gray will have had his VILE memories suppressed, but body memory is another matter, the subconscious is something that NOBODY can handle or manipulate. Gray's body responded to Carmen's glances subconsciously, the body responded because of body memory, because it already has that mechanism in the presence of Carmen.

4.- There is a theory/belief that a few weeks ago they shared which if I can believe it 50/50 because it sounds valid. In summary. Since Gray is an orphan, Carmen knew that by mentioning that she runs an international charity for abandoned children, he would not refuse. Because she knows he's an orphan, and it seems that somehow, Gray has had a mark on it. She left you the link.

5.- Again, maybe I'm exaggerating, b Gray/Graham seems to have very good manners.

6.- He likes Rock. (And before I thought it was a slight preview of Carmen's next cappers, but it was only an idea *sobbing*)

7.- 

This scene causes me a little laugh because of a personal event and because it shows an interesting side of Gray/Graham: 

- Personal event: Several friends and I were watching the episodes of the second season on the day of its premiere, when arriving at this scene, a friend said "Well of course, he will have amnesia but he isn’t stupid" I laughed uncontrollably, and in part, he had a bit of reason.

- This scene in addition to putting tension at the moment because Graham did something that wasn't in Carmen's plans, it shows how Gray/Graham is someone who needs answers/explanations when he something doesn't understand, or when he thinks they lied to him and he just goes to look for them. Because if he were too passive or behaved, he would have stayed to follow orders. Another thing he could do is just make judgments from his perspective, regardless of reality. But no, he stood up, and he couldn't wait another second for the answers. The truth is something that matters to him. And I think he's also somewhat rebellious. He makes sense because throughout the series it's noticed as if he wants/needs something, certainly does what he needs to do. I consider him too independent and confident that he can achieve it.

8.- His peculiar expression of surprise: Crikey.

9.- Another reminder that  his subconscious and unconscious have memories of what he lived in VILE.

10.- Beautiful Red Crackle scenes that in addition to adding feeling, actually matter a lot for Gray / Crackle's empathy in the future, but that will be for part 4 of the analysis.

11.- 

…Seriously Gray? EXCUSE ME Graham. SERIOUSLY? You fell, you could have hit severely or even broken something, Carmen cares about you, and instead of saying "I'm fine" do you say "It's Graham"?! ... Seriously he cares a lot about the name and identity.

As you can see, in this episode there was more about Gray and his personality, but it also hinted that there are still vestiges of memories in the back of his mind of that year in VILE and of having been Crackle. It's very curious about how Graham trusts Carmen so much, I think I know the reasons behind it, the first is because he has an attraction towards Carmen, but the most important are two: the first is because he already knows more about her, because Carmen had the confidence to ask him for help in one of his missions and to tell him in some way what she does. The second reason, again: his subconscious. As I mentioned in the previous analysis parts, Gray appreciated Carmen very much, and although before he could mistake it as "loyalty" and see her as her family, he still appreciated her very much. Her subconscious, her body, her instinct is still there, so I don't hesitate to defend her when she was in trouble with Neel. (His desire to help Carmen was greater than the "great memory and liking" he previously had for Crackle Rod.)

And well, now, let's move on to two last things before ending this episode:

1.- ACME is targeting Gray. Once again, we were told that it would not be the last time we would see him. More events awaited him.

2.-

This phrase left me so thoughtful when I watched it. It left me thinking TOO MUCH.

It left me pondering that phrase so much because I didn't understand why that mattered so much to him. We talked about how Gray/Crackle came into VILE, he agreed to be a villain, he basically agreed to be "bad guy" And now that he has amnesia, he cared about being on the right side. Which I didn't understand because Crackle's memory had been "erased". He had only "eliminated" him the whole year that he lived in VILE, just that. Doing that doesn't change his morale, because Gray had already arrived at the "Vocational School" with his morale of wanting to steal, he was already ambitious before joined to VILE. Which had me very intrigued, believing that something had happened to Graham, in that period of his "normal life" that had made him reconsider his morals and that now he wanted to do something good. I expected everything, whatever, except the change in morals. And so, wild first 5 minutes from S4 comes...

... are you telling me that EVERYTHING Gray thought, did and said in his state of amnesia... WERE LIES!?

I really couldn't believe it and that puts an absolutely huge twist on Gray's arc. Although my boyfriend and I are with a certain difference in perspective to what Maelstrom said:

When he mentioned “suppress the criminal impulse” to me he meant that VILE changed his morale, that they basically took away that “evil impulse” so that he wouldn’t be caught again by the law should it happen at some point. Ensuring that with memory removed and morale changed, VILE was safe.

My boyfriend on the other hand, interpreted it that they only took away the "desire to steal", nothing more. His morals, his beliefs, everything about him remains the same, except wanting to steal or do something criminal. Believing that in reality, Gray is a good person, since before entering VILE.

The perspective of my boyfriend is interesting to me and that is why I want to share it, to know what you think, and also mentioned it because this perspective will be taken up again in part 4 of the analysis.

And here concludes the third part! I hope you liked it. Parts 4 and 5 will be a bit long because it’s the most dense and symbolic part of Gray to analyze, but at the same time, they will come out on time faster, it may be that in the following week both parts are ready and published.  Regards!

Part. I Introdution

Part. II Empathy vs Ambition 

Part. III Amnesia and it’s Future Consequences (HERE)

Part. III.5 Graham Calloway: The Walking Enigma

Part. IV Integrity At a high (and unfair) price

Part. V The final decision and a new beginning

Plus 1. Gray and his strange habit of explaining things

Plus 2. Crossover: Sabrina And Gray: New Beginning

Plus 3. Crossover: Hawk/Eli and Crackle/Gray: Redemption

[sour-n-salty-citrus]

Do you have any hopes for the season finale? I saw in another ask, you described the dynamic between rick and morty this season as "very weak, distant, and downright frankly boring" and I completely agree with you! I hope that, because this is most we'll see rick and morty interacting this season, it'll have at least a few moments of what makes their dynamic so interesting to watch.

(Ok i started airing my grievances with this season, which ended up being... long, so skip this paragraph (starting at / / /) to get to my thoughts on the finale)

Oh gosh I remember that ask (I think-). And yeah, maybe I'm being a bit overly critical. I'll probably look back on this season with retrospect, and a kinder, fonder view. Ik androgynousblackbox (think thats right) made a great point about it being the season FOR rickorty shippers. And sure, I agree on some bits, like Rick acting all pissy and partying the way you would if your ex got with someone new in the planetina ep. Overall though, i think my problem lies in that I was enjoying more individual moments than episodes themselves, especially the middle three. For example- Amortycan Grickfitti. Like, I really liked the idea of the Ship getting on a crazy adventure with Summer and Morty (and Chutback). I like the idea of a Beth-Jerry-Rick adventure. But put together, it's just kinda... meh? You know? I liked the first half of the Thanksgiving special... but it kinda dragged on after that. I get that they want to give other characters (particularly female ones) more attention, which is completely understandable and i encourage it(!) but I can't help but find it underwhelming. Like, Summer in the voltron ep was like- girl how are you STILL vying for Rick's attention! He's the worst! Haven't we done this already? (I will say though I ADORE how far Beth has come, props to her for continuing to seeing through her dad's BS. I was worried the character would relapse into a more typical s1/s2 Beth, and I'm glad she didn't). Some of these plots, funnily enough, seem more fitting of the comics (they actually had a voltron parody already). Fun and entertaining for two or three-something issues, not so much a 22 minute episode. i think most of my complaints come from the dynamic between our titular characters- ok, I know I'm very biased (I mean you can see it), but I came to the show primarily for their relationship. It doesn't even feel drama-fueled, just that they kinda... can't be arsed. I'm torn because on the one hand, they're unhealthily codependent and this separation is probably a good thing, but on the other... it doesn't feel natural? I'm not sure if that's the right word- it's like, season 4 had them practically joint at the hip, but all that's suddenly flung out the window. It just kinda feels like this "i got better things to do" vibe from both of them and its strange. The only time they both got a solo adventure (I'm classifying "solo" as an adventure where they spent a significantly large portion of time together, without the other family members) was in the sperm ep and Thanksgiving ep. And, well, in the Thanksgiving ep Morty felt like a side character in his own show, and the sperm ep... um. Yeah. I don't think it's AS bad as people were saying, but I was cringing the whole time (the second hand embarrassment for Morty was so strong I had to turn off the episode multiple times and return to it. It's just like- godammit MORTY). And I think there's good reason those two seemed to be the most disliked episodes overall. They're the ones RaM spend the most time together and it's... meh. Meh? Meh. I don't mean to say the season overall is bad (it has loads of good points, and its amazing for Smith family as a whole) just that if we're talking specifically about the dynamic between these two? Yeah, I wouldn't recommend a single episode from this season so far to use as an example of their relationship.

/ / /

There's one thing this season has been pretty good at, though. And it's showing us what happens when Rick is alone.

And that brings me to the finale.

"Who is Rick without Morty?"

Well... we already know the answer to that. Pathetic. Sad. Lonely.

This season has been phenomenal in humbling Rick. (And trust me I'm happy for it- every time someone beats the crap outta this shitty old man I'm like YES!!! IT'S WHAT HE DESERVES!). Ep 1 had his "nemesis" clearly besting him, ep 2 had Beth making constant digs (love her) and overall pointing out his extreme callousness and cruelty towards even himself(ves). Ep 3- when Morty shows interest in a girl and ditches him (like seriously it's not like he's moving out, chill) he immediately goes on a bender and develops a deep attachment to the first person he can (wearing yellow, funnily enough). Ep 4, he devotes himself to becoming an "honest man" for his new child, only for it to instantly be taken away from him. Ep 5 highlights how RICK is the asshole for making fun of and taking advantage of someone well-meaning and honest, if "simple", and how literally not cool that is. Ep 6 has his crazy rivalry with the president, and they both get smacked down a couple pegs for that. Ep 7 shows what happens when he allows himself to get carried away, and that he can end up driving everyone else away in the process (lucky they still wanted to save his ass when he needed them). And episode 8? Hooooo boy. Episode. 8. We see a direct parallel in Birdperson with Morty, and the whole "Rick and [insert] 100 years!" Rick has few people he cares about, arguably only one or two that he truly devotes himself to, but when he does, boy does he go HARD. We see younger Rick, optimistic, energetic, friendly and hopeful. And we see all of that crushed in minutes. Rick is desperate for a companion, someone to see the stars with. He needs someone there, someone he can trust and rely on to stay. Someone like Morty. So without Morty, who is Rick?

No one.

And the thing is, Morty doesn't need Rick anymore. Not like Rick needs him. In season 1, Morty was this bright-eyed kid who was new to the cosmos and the multiverse, who needed his grandpa there with him as they explored all these places together. But that's not him anymore. That's not them.

The promo has Morty using the portal gun to go somewhere w/o Rick's permission (i like to think it's boob world lol). It doesn't matter to me as much where he's going, as much as he's doing it alone. He doesn't just not need Rick there, he doesn't want him.

(Also correct me if im wrong but I've missed that sweet portal gun so much. I think the last ep was like- the first time this season we saw it).

Morty's response to Rick? "Replace me!". And wow. Wow. WOW. Morty doesn't give a FUCK! I think Rick thinks that because he's so smart, that he can offer so much, that Morty will come crawling back, and I don't think he will.

Hopes for the finale! Hmm. I mean, I definitely hope "evil" Morty makes a reappearance, haha. I think we all do tbh ;). I want to see some Morty development too, this season has been very Rick-centric (not that there's anything wrong with that!) so I wanna see what's in store for Our Boy. I really hope we get to see the Citadel again, and see the state it's in, but I doubt it. We know something super big is in store, it's just a question of what? Other hopes I have is some Summer + Beth action (please let them team up Im BEGGING) and Jerry too ahaha. I'd love if some other side characters made an appearance as well. Oh- I'm definitely expecting a dramatic cliffhanger at the end of the first half leading to the second half, with the kind of angsty music that leads into the credits (pls that shit is so good (OH WAIT imagine if it was like, for the damaged coda, but like- the chopin version or smth so it could be more subtle maybe bruhhhh)). Ok haha, maybe that's asking too much, the writers made it clear in the story train ep that they weren't gonna do that big dramatic showdown (... unless 👀). Oh, I'd also love some Premium Angst too, like someone getting kidnapped/nearly dying (like ACTUALLY nearly dying). These stakes better be so damn high I could spear a man on them! OH, also I remember androgynousblackbox (is that right? I hope it is) mentioned something along the lines that they could be driving Rick and Morty apart this season in order to have them come back together stronger than ever in an explosive finale, which, I'm strongly hoping for myself.

Thanks if you made it this far! If you have any thoughts on or hopes of your own for the finale please feel free to share! :D

[simplysummers]

SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 13

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*sigh* AIGHT IDK HOW I FEEL ABOUT THIS ONE!

Again, it feels kinda like filler to me….but I still oddly really liked it. Let me be clearer.

Pros:

- cute Hunter and Omega interactions, even if it’s just the shoulder touching and the fact she runs to him after she’s held captive, she really does trust him the most, he is the one she always goes too, she likes to be with him because she loves and trusts him. I’ve gotta get back to writing these two as soon as possible.

- the Pykes are fucking hardcore. They dont fuck about. I was genuinely petrified when they took Omega, I was spamming my discord because I was so scared. I thought they were going to sell her to Bane or someone and they’d take her back to Kamino which would then lead the boys back to Kamino and then cue showdown with Crosshair while Hunter looks for Meg (of course they get both back. (oh oh! And then season two could entail their strained relationship as Cross is like hella pissed Hunter went after the girl instead of coming for him, not to mention the fact he was left for ages! Oh and poor Megs would be in such a state, the father daughter vibes it would admit it amazing…..shit did I just plan a fanfic???)) but anyways- loved seeing the Pykes! Even if they stress me the fuck out!

- I actually quite liked the criminal (I’ve already forgotten his name) he was a little cheesy but in a loveable way.

- I really liked the focus on Wrecker this episode, even if it was kinda silly sometimes. I thought it was done nicely.

- so we have “bandana/dark n’ broody”, “goggles”, “tiny”, and “muscles”, who’s betting that Echo is “wires”?

- Tech’s “I believe she’s threatening us” what a king lmao. I love his sass.

- Omega is just so kind and understanding, she wants to see the best in everybody. And I love that for her.

Cons:

- filler episode….we’re running out of time for filler episodes Dave. I know the last ep at least will be a lot longer…..but come on. I’ve made a post about this before, about how it feels everything is going to be rushed, and unless we aren’t getting Cross back this season and that’ll happen next season (?) we’re in for a rush, and I don’t want that, none of us do. We want this to be executed strategically. Think like ‘Meg would lmao.

- it just feels like a waste at this point. I would’ve enjoyed this episode maybe six weeks ago, but here it just feels out of place, as if we’ve still got another ten episodes to go to waste time… and we don’t have that!

- and I don’t even necessarily think any development was done here. At least in the last arc we had Hunter and a smidge of Tech development (and I mean a smidge) what did we get from this?? And sure maybe the Pykes will cross paths with the empire and be like “oh yeah we know some rogue clones, got a little girl with them too? Yeah yeah, Ord Mantell” but how certain is that? Especially with only three eps left!

- I just feel like there was no point to this. Where’s Crosshair??? It’s getting lowkey kinda ridiculous, he’s meant to be hunting, hunting doesn’t happen necessarily overnight, so I understand his arrival isn’t prominent yet, but we don’t have time for this! We don’t have time for him to find them at the last minute- I know we might not save him this season, if at all, but it just feels like so many arcs are open and nothing is being closed. We’ve got no closure to the huge questions.

- I’m sorry but what was so dark about that ep too?? I was so stressed out that something awful was going to happen, but…..all that really happened was the guy got his horn chopped off??

Extra potential pro:

- I guess this just means a season 2 is all but confirmed because there is no possible way they can wrap this up smoothly in three episodes.

I don’t have many interesting shots from today’s ep, pretty mediocre for key points if I’m honest. This one I personally really like because I like found family vibe, but otherwise :/. This this was hella cute tho. She runs right to him, and I think that says a lot about their relationship.

I think as an episode I’m going to give this one a 6/10, but overall I’m bringing it down to a 4/10 just based on the context :/ really cool and interesting episode, poor placement.

[alyblacklist]

With the latest pics showing Liz/Boone (hopefully not another doppelganger) with Ressler, do you still think she's been off filming "her side of the story arc"

I can't imagine with all the safety covid protocols they are really going to have 2 completely separate film crews? That just seems such a huge expense of $$ and manpower.

That was definitely Megan in the park, anon, based on the photos so at least on that front we’re clear! But I think you may be overstating what my theory actually was/is. Here’s my original post.  I was never suggesting that Megan was on set or location every single day filming separately from the rest of the cast/crew and that we’re suddenly going to get a whole run of solid Liz episodes. (Though at this point I’d selfishly love to see all the Liz haters who have wildly cheered her absence have to endure some heavily Liz-centric episodes). But a single episode or two that shows us Liz’s side of the story remains in the realm of possible for me (and something I hope for). Remember how Red explained in the Director eps how all the pieces he’d been working on through the on the run arc fit together? There, they did it with exposition and flashbacks, but  I would love to see something like that from Liz (with previously unseen footage) and I still find it hard to believe that they literally had her sit home for nearly 4 months, paying her to do absolutely nothing after Ep 804 was finished around Thanksgiving. 

I give them a lot of credit for creativity after the half-animated finale last season, and they knew going into this season that production would be delayed, and possibly interrupted, so it’s not beyond the realm of plausible to me that they would find a creative solution to cram in as many eps as possible as quickly as possible. Remember, 801-803 were already written for last season so the eps they started writing last summer began with 804. That tells me Liz’s absence was a planned thing - not some last minute change to accommodate a crisis. Also remember, they were originally slated to start production in late August and that moved at the last minute to October for unknown reasons.  Harry said that Sony/NBC had to work out some issues (which I took to mean Covid-related protocols etc.) 

Of course, we obviously we know more now since I made that first post near the beginning of her absences and theories have to adjust. I had hoped that we’d start to see Liz’s side before now, and we haven’t, so maybe the theory is kaput. Or maybe we will still see some moments in a future ep. We also now know they are planning to film into June thanks to Amir, which wasn’t initially clear and perhaps reduces the chances that they did in fact make use of Megan during her absence (although wow, I think it’s insane if they made her absent for 7 eps and counting just to prolong the mystery if there wasn’t some other reason). 

There are also other things that cause me not to abandon this theory altogether, including the fact that they’re about a whole ep ahead of where they should be schedule-wise, based on where they were earlier this season. Somewhere between 808 and 814 there was a sudden acceleration, as confirmed by that menu that revealed they were on 815 last week. Now that we’ve seen the 813 description, maybe Anne and Red were the ones filming separately and that allowed the others to make up ground on another ep. Or maybe it’s because they do have parts of an ep in the can from Megan. I can’t explain it yet but the dates are definitely off more than usual in ways I can’t explain. The last time I had a mystery this big on the calendar was when they reversed the filming of Cape May and the Artax Network in season 3.

The idea of them having her come into the studio to film some scenes while the others are on location, or filming separate scenes in the studio or on location while the others are there also filming is not so radical. If you’re familiar with their normal production, they have usually had two “tandem” days every single episode where they overlap with the next episode and film two episodes at a time, often with separate directors and crews. Sometimes with the same crew and two directors depending on the location. They’ve still been doing tandem days this season because we had a call sheet posted for 807/808 confirming exactly that. To me, it’s not so outlandish to think that they could extend that tandem concept to other shooting days to make up ground, especially with Covid limiting the number of people they can have on set or on location at any given time. And they are using studio for a LOT of interiors this season, even more than usual. That’s why you’re seeing Red in that kitchen set so often. It’s safer, with Covid. (Anthony Pepe confirmed this in his recent interview with Exposed).

Bottom line, I won’t rule in or out yet the idea that we will still get some scenes from Megan’s absence and if we don’t, well, I’ll stand by the fact it wasn’t an entirely crazy theory either. No matter what we get, I am very much looking forward to her return.