#This entire episode has been so beautifully shot and put together

[peopleinlovestink]

Sky's fantasies of prapai in different places in his apartment building is so well done

[loosethreadsofyoursoul]

it’s never too late by steppenwolf (aka the song from the end of 13x5) is thee dean winchester song. let me elaborate.

(i haven’t seen any posts about this so if there are any i would love to know about it bc i am passionate about this.)

firstly, i could pick that entire scene apart with how it relates to dean and what he’s going through as well as all the symbolism—the mother losing her child, billie in death’s library, the shots of the impala, the neon signs in shot when they finally drive up to cas—but honestly i would never run out of things to say about it.

the overarching themes of both that scene and this song are regret and guilt and wishing you could go back and do things, treat people, differently, and so putting them together in that way is perfect. more specifically, the song is about a man who had all these ambitions, mostly because of pressure from his parents, but finds himself grown up having achieved none of them and because of that, it starts to affect the people around him. sound familiar?

especially right now, dean is suffering so much loss, and (somewhat inadvertently) is taking it out on sam and jack, both his kids in a way (on your woman and your child / you release your bitterness). all he wants is his family back (i.e. mary and cas) but since there’s nothing he can do to go back and fix what took them away from him, he has a lot of trouble seeing the point in going on.

although you’re trained to make your mark / you still don’t quite know what to do

yeah. he’s lived like that for a while, but he’s especially feeling it now. his reaction to billie telling him he still has work to do was not exactly enthusiastic.

as he says to sam in this ep, he’s taken every previous loss in stride and just kept going, kept working, and (in some ways) kept starting over despite it all. but he might not be able to do it anymore. we’re seeing him at his lowest, all he wants is to die, but he’s finally let sam in, even if neither of them are sure where to go from here. and what happens next? his phone rings, and his best friend is on the other end.

we all know there’s a stark difference in dean from one episode to the next (13x6 is tombstone), and why is that? dean got the win he needed. he got cas back, and he’s no longer just watching time slip by until his death. a reason to live just walked back into his life. he’s learning that, maybe, it really is never too late.

this happens a lot for dean, specifically with losing cas, where it feels like he’s finally lost for good this time, but he’s always managed to get cas back or to find some way to keep going.

another line i find very fitting for dean is in the second verse:

the god of your childhood you can’t find / to save you from your emptiness

obviously, this could be about chuck and how unreliable he is, especially when dean (and sam) needs him most, which we saw most recently at the end of 13x1. (“the god of your childhood” could also be the samulet, but thats a different discussion.)

again, there’s a lot of lines that i think reflect dean’s character and everything he’s been through really well, but rather than enduring the essay i could write about it, go (re)listen and you’ll see what i mean. it’s just so beautifully fitting, especially given it’s 60s/70s rock which i think dean would appreciate.

that ending scene of dean and cas seeing each other again, particularly with that song in the background, is one i think about a lot and, to me, is criminally underrated in terms of destiel moments. it’s one of my favs and it makes me cry like a baby.

so yes, it’s never too late by steppenwolf is THEE dean winchester song and i hope you agree. it’s also just an excellent song tbh go listen to it and cry with me xx

[respectthepetty]

I know you've been getting a bunch of asks about your favourite qls, but I'm specifically curious about what your favourite *chaotic* qls are.

Off the top of my head, some chaotic qls I enjoyed were Chains of Heart (THE GLOVE DISCOURSE, THE SUBTITLES, etc) and Big Dragon (asshole4asshole? no. clown4clown), while also enjoying the way that the shows were shot.

@kayatoasted, I'm re-reading this ask to make sure I don't answer it with my favorite *trashy* qls, like Hit Bite Love and Together With Me.

You want *chaotic* and they had to be beautifully shot, so although I love the chaos known as Love Mechanics and Dangerous Romance, both had beautiful shots but weren't consistently beautifully shot.

And I had to have enjoyed not only how it was shot but the show itself, so shows like Vice Versa and Only Friends are out.

No, you want my favorite beautifully shot *chaotic* qls that stayed chaotic which significantly reduces the list, but I can give it to you!

My Favorite Beautifully Shot Chaotic BLs

given in no particular order, and much like this subject, this list is chaos

Dee Hup House - Yes, the entire house

I'm not coming for Director Tee or Cinematography Jim. Their shows are beautiful and more adult. I have loved every single one of them. But the endings . . . ? The endings wobble in Step by Step, Something in My Room, Hidden Agenda, and I Feel You Linger in the Air. Yes, I'm including the last one because Tee & Co seem to pick long ass novels that should be multiple seasons, yet a lot of nothing gets shoved into each over-an-hour-long episode, which causes chaos. Even Lovely Writer, which I love the ending, had a moment with the dad's reveal that didn't have time to get fleshed out. Look at Step by Step. We had an entire baby happen in three episodes when the side couple fizzled. I will watch every show from this company and gush about it, but I know it's going to be beautiful chaos.

Big Dragon - Duh!

I'm not going to defend this show. Y'all already know I love this show. It was beautiful. It was chaotic. It was the moment. Period.

Chains of Heart - It's a given

You mentioned it in your ask with reasons why: It was beauty. It was grace. Then, it kicked us in the face. The plot itself was hard to grasp, but the subs only made it worse! Who was who? Why were there so many Men in Black? How did they all fit into the plot? Why would Din volunteer for an entire face transplant only to reappear, never tell Ken it was actually him, then disappear again?! And yet the cinematography was selling this wonderful vision to me each and every episode. I hated it there, and I need more of it immediately. WHERE IS MY SPECIAL EPISODE?!

Not Me - Think about it

We all need to be very honest with ourselves, and really reflect on the premise of this show. Todd put Black in the hospital, proceeds to call his twin, White, to act as him. White says yes even though he has absolutely no idea about Black's life, but he gets a big ass tattoo and his ass kicked multiple times by Sean (because he can't fight). While that is happening, we have Yok chasing around a rouge artist who is actually a cop named Dan who killed [spoilers] dad and Gram is apparently straight the entire time. Then, Papang is in it. Oh, and let's not forget being held hostage in a black van that protestors beat on until the kidnappers, just, let, them, go. Sure, Jan. And I didn't even mention Sean's leap across buildings! It was a good show. It's in my tops. I love it. The rainbow flag scene is embedded in my heart with the other beautifully shot protest scenes. But it was chaos! Let's hold space for that truth.

609 Bedtime Story - Messed up TWICE!

I enjoyed this show until I didn't, and that was when we got TWO endings, yet neither made sense. The colors in the show were immaculate. The plot though? Chaos. One character was traveling back in time and the other was traveling forward, but they weren't even in the same dimension. Then, the sister could not take a fucking hint and ruined the central love story by being a dramatic heterosexual. The point of the time travel was useless because one of the characters still died, but it didn't matter since that character was still alive in the other dimension and . . . MAKE IT MAKE SENSE, MARY!

Cupid's Last Wish - It was the mom for me!

EarthMix have gotten Director Aof twice, so maybe this is why this series, which isn't Aof, feels like chaos. It has such amazingly gorgeous outdoor shots, that I wonder if Thailand's Ministry of Tourism sponsored some part of this show. The series is a great advertisement for Thailand's beautiful landscape and cuisine, but then we have that plot. Body-swapping isn't the issue, at least not for me. The issue is the timeline. For a man who wanted to get out of his sister's body as quickly as possible, Win was doing the most to hold up the process. Oh, AND THE DAMN MOTHER! She was the true villain of the show, which got glossed over in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment. I'll never get over that reveal even though the show wanted me to by the next scene. She really did that shit and kept it a whole ass secret until the very last damn moment. *looks into the distance at a baby cow* AHHHHHHH!

The Director Who Buys Me Dinner - In short

I'm going to quit picking on Thailand for two seconds to pick on Korea instead. Like all the others on this list, I like this show, and I've actually rewatched it a few times because I think it's pretty and it's so short. But there lies the problem - It's too short. The math was not mathing and the plot was not plotting. It skipped over information that was pivotal to the story. I still have no idea what that idol business was really about. From what the kind folks of Tumblr gathered, the idol was apparently supposed to get the guy in their past lives, but the other guy stole him and that's why he was crazy. How hard would that have been to explain to the audience? I did it in less than a sentence, but apparently the show spent its budget on lighting and not screenwriting or editing.

#1 - Mood Indigo - A masterpiece!

I wrote that these weren't ranked, yet here is number one in "My Favorite Beautifully Shot Chaotic BLs" list. The other shows on this list are child's play in comparison to the second installment that serves as the prequel in The Pornographer/The Novelist series. Regardless if it's a BL or not, leave it to Japan to offer me this deliciously beautiful chaos. Unlike all the other shows, the plot of this show is not what makes it chaotic, but . . . it is. It's not chaotic in the sense that it's disorganized or doesn't make sense. It makes perfect sense, and that's why it is chaos. It's supposed to be.

One character is depressed and has no fucks to give, so if something stirs an emotion in him, he does it without question (including giving the other character a bj in front of the older man who demanded it for another novel). Then, we have the other character who should be the more logical of the two, but somehow he is worse. I. Love. It. Everything that happens in this series makes everything we saw in the first season click into place including why these two toxic assholes are 1) toxic, 2) assholes, and 3) STILL FRIENDS!

God, they're awful.

I love them.

[mitochondriaandbunnies]

Miami Vice S1E17: Rites of Passage

Tubbs' old flame Valerie arrives in Miami hoping to find her sister.

At the beginning of the episode, when Zito and Switek are failing to fix the bug van, Tubbs suggests it's possessed and then laughs like the fucking Crypt Keeper, and it is absolutely delightful

Sonny looks like a kicked puppy when Rico wanders over to see Pam Grier

There's a lot going on with the reunion between Val and Tubbs. He's clearly thrilled to see her, but her initial reaction is doubtful at best and actively distressed at worst-- she's not interested in whatever he's selling. When they go for a walk together, he is immediately very familiar and frankly somewhat possessive-- he asks her why she didn't call him when she's been in Miami for 2 weeks, and when she starts to explain he just doubles down on the questioning.

It's an interesting facet of his personality-- he's both very quick to assume a level of relationship seriousness with anyone he likes, and also incredibly pollyanna about being able to fix any problem in that relationship-- often to the point of both ignoring the other person's feelings and the reality of their situation. Tubbs is often framed as the "reasonable" one between himself and Crockett, but like... let's be serious, that's only because Crockett is a sad wet disaster man. Tubbs is also a huge fucking mess, especially when it comes to romance.

Sonny asks Val if "Tubbs abandoned her" and when she laughs and says no he asks "so when's your flight." He's not jealous or anything.

Gina, interestingly, bristles a little at Val in the handful of scenes they share together, but it's really not clear why.

There's a shopping-and-cocaine sequence with Val's little sister Diane set to Change Your Ways by Rockwell that is just spectacular-- it's beautifully shot, wonderfully choreographed, and just so, so cheerfully, bleakly ominous. It's a really classic bit of Vice cinematography, the kind that has been misremembered as empty MTV glitz but is in practice a quick, gutting image poem. "Well, have you considered the price of the life you want to live?" indeed.

John Turturro is in this one as a sleazebag pimp; we see his nipples

The scene where Tubbs and Crockett make stupid jokes about the nouveau riche and quiche kills me, because it's a perfect example of how they are truly only funny to each other

Sonny puts an entire sandwich in a woman's drink at a party while she is not looking.

Rico tells Val she could stay with him. Could she, Rico? Could she?? You 100% live in your car, baby, you are the only member of Vice Squad whose home we never see

The second "music video" sequence in this episode is set to I Wanna Know What Love Is by Foreigner; we watch Val and Tubbs have slightly-less-operatic-than-usual-for-Tubbs sex, and Diane gets murdered. Is it a little on the nose? Yes, absolutely. However, there's minor off-and-on distortions in the music-- little hiccups, like a warped record skipping-- that elevate it from borderline-didactic to genuinely creepy. From Tubbs' (and maybe-- but probably not-- Val's) perspective, the lyrics play themselves straight. From Diane's perspective, they become a prophecy-- Foreigner signs of love, "I better read between the lines In case I need it when I'm older;" Diane, too trusting, never gets the chance. We see Sonny, too, realizing he has to be the one to break the news-- that it's also a form of love to be willing to tell someone the truth even when it's going to hurt them.

(If you subscribe to the idea that it finally dawned on him in the previous episode that he cares a little more than he ought to for Rico-- well, it tracks with all his reactions throughout this one.)

When Val goes to leave, Sonny's first question is "is there anyone meeting you at Kennedy?" because despite everything, at his core Sonny is kind

Val does not return Rico's little kissy gesture : (

So how the hell does Sonny get Val out of the uh, y'know, the whole. Murder charges thing. She implies in the next episode she appears in that he "pulled some strings," but like. What strings, James Sonny Crockett? What strings did you pull that got Valerie "I 100% Shot This Guy In Cold Blood, Cuff Me Boys" Gordon out of prison???

Very smooth, though, getting your boyfriend's girlfriend out of jail. Smooth like your damn brain, Sonny

[handkinkbis]

Show review: Destined with You.

So.... I might be in the minority, but as much as I enjoy Rowoon on screen I didn't start watching the show for him.

I was hoping for a witch/shaman Hongjo kdrama to finish near the eve of Halloween as the show seemed to be promising (very logically it seemed to be heading that way!). And she did cast some spells to my pleasure, but to my massive displeasure her witch arc was entirely forgotten about in favor of... not even sure what that kidnapping sequence was all about. Somehow most of Hongjo's agency as a character vanished into the ether as well during the past few episodes. Her character growth consisted of building the confidence to stand up to Nayeon, but her stubborn self reliance fueled by a lifetime of loneliness and trauma (her mother! Her father!!!!) stayed and was left unaddressed. And not to be dramatic, but I might die mad about it.

So past lifes were real, the curses and spells were real, Aengcho was really a shaman and the Gardener for whatever reason (also unexplored) wanted to marry Hongjo in the next life. But Hongjo in current day went from a strong, feisty character who was ready to spell cast her way in and out of trouble into... someone to intentionally get herself kidnapped??

It's like this show was written in the 2000s to early 2010s AND it hated women. I had high hopes for Ms. Ma, Shinyu's mother and Eunwol, but they were done DIRTY by this show. Hongjo's storyline was forgotten. Aengcho got relatively less attention compared to Mujin/Rowoon. It's like the main character changed somewhere and it became Shinyu/Mujin. Shinyu and Jaekyung had their cool lawyer moments (good stuff) and Hongjo got... Nayeon arrested? Nayeon, who was another villain without a proper depth or motivation other than being a 2010s kdrama era Mean Girl. Again, Hongjo and Aengcho were done so dirty. Even Shinyu's poor abused mother went back to her abusive husband AND she got pregnant. That was just tragic!

And kindly don't try to tell me that my reasons to dislike this show are wrong - I've every right to review and hate how badly this show butchered the stories of the female characters in this show even if Rowoon was hot in a bunch of scenes like that's going to compensate for it. I am not a Rowoon stan. 🤷‍♀️ I like him just fine, but it's been frustrating to watch as a non-stan since some stans seem to take any critique of the show as a slight towards Rowoon himself. But he has nothing to do with the writing, so put down your pitchforks, ok.

They should've stuck with the office romcom or made the show into a sageuk and dropped the false advertising of the show as a magic/fantasy drama. The sageuk era episodes SLAPPED. They were tense, beautifully shot and interesting, Aengcho had her moment! I LOVED her in her faceoff with the King, she was powerful and terrifying in that. And as soon as I fell in love with her, Mujin killed Aengcho (in a very meta symbolic way) and that was that. The show itself killed Aengcho and Hongjo.

This show was written to give Rowoon his cool and sexy moments. This was the Rowoon fan service show. Which is fine, but LEAD with that info then. I did enjoy Hongjo and Shinyu together and there were a couple of fun or emotionally compelling episodes, but I didn't finish with positive feelings about the show unfortunately because of the finale.

The writing of the show was exceptionally uneven and erratic. It seemed like from a different decade, but not this one. The relationship between Hongjo and Shinyu was mostly wholesome, but not always the healthiest for several reasons. Shinyu didn't always treat Hongjo well (and vice versa) and he made some decisions for Hongjo in true 2010s kdrama patriarch style.

Hongjo&Shinyu get 7/10 for being adorable and lovable. Loved their relationship development very much. I'm glad they didn't rush to have kids or to marry. The proposal at the beach while addressing Hongjo's dad was endearing.

Plot gets a 3/10 rating. There was potential... and it slipped through the writer's fingers. Loose threads were left untied. Side plots were abandoned or seemingly forgotten about.

Would I rewatch again? Maybe once I stop fuming about how Hongjo was treated by the show, but just for the Shinhong scenes. But it'll take some wound licking and fixit fic writing.

Please universe, give Boah better scripts. She's a wonderful actress and she deserves a role that's cool and that lets her showcase her talent. Many viewers seemed to lose their patience with her, even though the writing of the show was the true issue.

[pluckysidekick]

I’m back with Part 2 of my in depth breakdown of The Maiden’s Rage, Episode 2 of Nancy Drew Season 4. Part 1 is here. When I rewatched closely I realized how much was packed into every frame, hence this ridiculously detailed analysis. Starting Part 2 with the moment Ace accidentally splashes Nancy with the poisoned water.

Trigger Warning:

.

.

.

TW: I will be going into the transformation Nancy goes through that leads to abusive language and behavior toward Ace in this post.

Kennedy posted this monitor shot where they captured the moment of contact perfectly.

Now why Nancy is affected the way she is, is still in question. She posits later that it’s because Logan’s frame of mind latched onto her. But why? If the poison is related to the sins of the past - does Nancy not have any? Or is she somehow channeling one of her Hudson forefathers? And did she take on this persona not just because of Logan’s repressed memories, but because of her high handed treatment of Ace? It’s not the same as what she becomes of course, but she did take away his agency in the name of protecting him.

This car scene of course evokes the 3x13 forecast scene. The contrast of their happiness in the forecast and their strife here - even before the whammy takes hold - is painful. I do love how Ace stands up for himself and doesn’t let Nancy go unchecked as she continues to stonewall him.

Now when Nancy leaves Ace behind after they visit Logan, if you notice, he’s doubled over. He’s in shock at being left. She leaves Ace on the side of the road, where in 313 she cradled his body. This time he’s alive, but psychically injured by her toxic behavior.

Jade and Nick’s date was super awkward but they are adorable together. I’m interested to see where it goes. I love Fanson and would like to see them come back together, but I really like the friendship George and Nick are developing too.

When the whole crew come together it’s always gold. The way everyone just so casually accepts that Nancy has a supernatural thing going on, even Nick, is priceless. He’s come a long way from the scene in 206 in the same kitchen when Ace was about to autopsy the lamia (a classic Nick reaction shot).

Speaking of Ace, while there are some very difficult moments in this episode for him, his taking offense at the idea of he and Nick being classed with toxic dudes was so meta for me. One of my favorite things about this show is that our male heros are not traditional alpha male types (and we love them for it). The characters actually acknowledging this within the story is awesome.

Of course Nancy (and Kennedy) gets to go full on comedy here with the Nan-spreading. Kennedy’s performance is so effortless in this episode. She is so convincing as Bro-Nancy it actually makes us uncomfortable as the episode goes on. Seeing her treat sweet Ace this way is as heartbreaking as it is hilarious, especially in the tenuous space they are in right now with their relationship.

I swear the writers are reading fanfic 💀. The scene preceding this where George and Nick are so respectful of each other is the polar opposite of Nancy’s whammy induced behavior here. There are tons of great GIFs from this scene and of Nancy’s jealousy.

Now this is the moment where Ace has had enough. It’s beautifully played by both actors - look at their contrasting expressions. Ace, ever the respectful gentleman, simply walks away. The torture he’s been put through in season 3 and so far in this season is really too much for one person. That apology had better be good (we will discuss later!).

This was one of my favorite moments in this episode - Bess assuring Ace that his feelings are valid, and their Platanchor-ness is a beautiful thing. Still - we hear Ace excuse Nancy’s behavior here, mirroring the way victims of abuse sometimes try to rationalize their treatment. Ace saying he would “put on the armor” is a clue to what’s about to happen.

This entire fight scene is tough to watch (for me anyway), but it was masterfully done by all involved. The setup of a domestic scene with Ace in the traditional feminine role and Nancy as the abusive male partner was so real - from Ace’s body language (holding his hips, opening the oven, looking downward), to Nancy’s quick progression from conciliatory (“how can I make us OK?”), to suggestive (“I’ll tell you all about the time we did get together”), to accusatory (“are you rejecting me?”), to Ace’s soft voice and firm “I’m done”, it’s simply devastating.

The actual fight is fast and furious. It certainly evokes the Ace and Bess sword fight from 215, with Ace defending himself without hurting Nancy, but it’s more personal, and honestly for me more upsetting because we’ve been waiting so patiently to see them together.

While the fight is of course supernatural poison-induced, the issues of Nancy and Ace’s power imbalance, and their natural tendencies (Nancy to boss, Ace to be passive aggressive), are real, and I hope we get to see them work on them throughout the season. I truly believe they are soulmates and perfect for each other - but that doesn’t mean they are perfect, and they will need to navigate their relationship to have the amazing life together we all want for them. I am confident we will get to see come to fruition.

The quiet desperation and absurd politeness here - so perfectly Ace!

There is so much more, including that incredible final scene, but alas will have to wait for my final 402 post, becuse I had too much to say and too many screencaps!

I highly recommend @likestosolvethepuzzle’s take on Ace’s POV during and after the fight, Not this Nancy. While it generally follows the show, it also goes deeper into the same issues I’ve discussed here (we’ve had a lot of conversations since the show aired), and gives us the insight and some slightly tweaked scenes with a resolution that I really love. 10/10!

Update: Part 3

[fourseasonsfigs]

I Have Caught You (Kiss of the Century)

The fig maker's original listing for this fig set was so wonderful I saved it (poorly machine translated, as usual):

I Have Caught You - mystery figures, wearing red and blue concert robes. The 5.3 concert was the beginning of all fate. I played the rps of the two of them, met a group of excellent and lovely friends, and did some interesting things. Occasionally, when I feel that I can't persevere, thanks to their encouragement, I can persevere all the way. It was not easy for them to catch each other.

The fig maker didn't make it easy to catch this set either - it was a small run limited to 500, and required proof of purchase of at least 164 yuan (each) of endorsements to prove support for each actor, and Gong Jun's endorsement purchase had to be after 5/4. While I had come late to the party and unfortunately never bought any of Zhehan's endorsements, I had made a donation in his honor for his birthday, which counted. For Gong Jun it was much easier since I had already bought some of his 361 products (which I really like btw, all very nice).

This is such a beautiful set - I love it so much. Of course because it's from the SHL concert, which is always an instant shot to the heart, but also it's just a delightfully done pair.

But first, a few pictures to go back down memory lane, on that first day of the concert on 5/3/2021...

HELP I'm feeling emotional! What a great night. Or you know, early morning Pacific Standard Time, it was 2000% worth getting up at 4am for.

I was going to keep going with the concert pics but I have to stop myself because Tumblr's 30 photo post limit has no remorse, and I need to save some bandwidth for these figs!

These arrived safely, thank goodness, tucked away in their polystyrene cases. I found (to my horror) that this, my most recent sea shipment, had a ton of resin figs I had forgotten to get bubble wrapped before I shipped. AND I shipped these with a literal ton (ok not that literal, but close!) of acrylic fig stands, which sure don't weigh much individually but add up when you buy 300 at a time. And when the warehouse puts the pounds and pounds of them right on top of all these figs in the box. The look on my face when I opened the box and came face to face with the sins of my youth. And I would have only have myself to blame, which is always the worst. But miracle of miracles, all these figs escaped unscathed.

Now I know I've said in the past that I can't stand to see figs cry, and I can't! But I will make an exception for this set, because tears of joy at the end of that concert was entirely acceptable and very welcome.

Their little hands! So cute.

Yes my husband just looked over at my screen where I had the enormous photo of two figs kissing up on my photo editor, and he just shook his head. I just started laughing and laughing! Yeah, I don't know how I became this person either (at my age!), but I have NO regrets! NONE.

[Side note - actually, I know exactly how I became this person. And it's this concert, together with the joint Happy Camp episode, that started launched my hyperspeed journey down the Couple Fan Junzhe road. Before this concert, I would have told you definitively, like I would have bet cold hard cash that there was no way I would ever be so crazy or this delusional. Like I've been around, you have to be pretty tough and cynical to survive in today's business world, and I'm not in the habit of believing in much of anything these days. And yet fast forward and here I am (at my age!), watching Gong Jun post vacation photos from Yunnan and swearing up and down these two are in love and married. I am the tinnest of tin hats and I have NO regrets! NONE!]

I think the hair is beautifully done - look at Lao Wen's beautiful guan (which should be gold instead of silver, but not quibbling here!).

The costumes are just beautiful here. I know fig makers despair over Wen Kexing's gorgeous red costume because it's so incredibly ornate that it's hard to replicate, but this looks wonderful.

I like the motion on the robes too, the sweep of it out behind them.

You can just barely see Zhehan's boots here, which is pretty accurate since his outfit is shorter, and given that WKX's red robes are really, really long.

Coming back around - I love the fig maker's choice to have Zhehan's eyes open and Gong Jun's closed, it's a beautiful call out to the Century Hug in the following day's concert.

Here's an extreme close ups of the beautiful costumes.

And from the top...

...and the bottom! These figs are decently stable on their white booted feet, and their interlocking hands actually holds them together really nicely.

One last close up of the Kiss of the Century!

Material: Resin, and a whole lotta love

Fig Count: 262

Scene Count: 19

Rating: Pure romance

[link back to Master Fig Index for more posts]

[apple-grass-and-smiles]

Hello! The ever-sweet and wonderful @marthaskane tagged me to share eight shows that define me/help you get to know me. Without further ado, the shows!

Alias (2001-2006)

Alias has taught me the value of old LiveJournal pages and the Wayback Machine more than any other show I've ever loved. I discovered this show in 2013 when it was on Netflix and then I spent a few months in Germany, where I spent too much money buying almost the entire show on iTunes because I could not comprehend going more than a day without Sydney Bristow with me.

2. The Clone Wars (2008-2013, 2014, 2020)

I remember when this show first aired and my siblings and I had a square dance at our school (very American, I know) so we had to DVR it. The next morning we snuck down early to watch it with the volume super low so we wouldn't wake up our parents. Few shows have continuously come back into my life the way this one has. I can track a lot of how I've changed as a fan through the different ways I've viewed this show over the last 15 years.

3. Fringe (2008-2013)

I've been rewatching this show since January of this year and can confirm: it is still a nearly perfect 100 episodes of TV. Fringe manages to perfect a lot of the plot lines and dynamics that appear in Alias (both are J.J. Abrams/his collaborators projects). It manages to walk the line between a procedural and a mythology-driven show beautifully and so clearly knows what message and themes it wants to share from the very first shot. If you like exploring messy family dynamics, action, and the X-Files, Fringe is a good option for you.

4. Gotham (2014-2019)

I historically have no cared much at all about Batman. He struck me as pretty boring in comparison to every other person he interacted with. Gotham change that for me (turns out he just needed to be put next to any even more boring guy, but I digress...). Loving this show is a lesson in looking past weird choices, wacky inconsistencies, and learning to just trust that writers will give you a fun ride, even if you understand less that 15% of it. It helped me remember that the sentence "I love this show" does not always mean "here is a perfect example of perfect storytelling" and just how freeing that can be. It also gave me a beautiful little group of friends who continue to make me smile on a regular basis.

5. Blindspot (2015-2020)

While this show may not be one I post about often, it was foundational for how I interact in fandom now. It was one of the first times I was active in a fandom from the start of the show. It was the first time I was in a fandom group chat and my Tumblr friends broke containment into being people I followed on Instagram and texted. I organized a Secret Santa. It was the first time I remember actively freaking out of promo photos (1x09 IYKYK) and synopses. Almost all the confidence I have when interacting in fandoms is from these experiences. And the plot is stellar.

6. Iron Fist (2017-2018)

I can't tell you how I ended up watching this. I do not know what prompted me to turn it on but I'm really glad I did. This show has so many amazing nuggets of amazingness and its shortcomings brought me together with two of my favorite people as we tried to understand what had gone wrong and where. (This is not a good ad for the show.) I love getting to play with stories and characters that have seemingly infinite potential and getting to do it with other people who are just as committed to the story as I was meant the world.

7. The Rookie (2018-present)

I fought against this one so hard. I did not want to get into it, but as my dash filled with those gifs of Lucy in the green dress and I had my wonderful friend pitching the show to me over and over, I caved. And I'm really glad I did. The experience of watching a long season over months, one week and one episode at a time, is so different than streaming or rewatching shows and I'd forgotten how much I missed it until I got to do it again for this show. My Tuesday livestreams with my lovely friend single-handedly pulled me through so many rough spots over the last year. For a procedural dramedy, The Rookie continues to serve up some of the best characters on TV right now and consistently delivers some of the best cold opens.

8. Prodigal Son (2019-I'm in denial)

The show that owns my heart and soul. The show I'd sell my organs to get new episodes of. Returning to this show, whether I'm writing fic, doing a TED Talk in my head about the psychology in the show, or actually watching an episode, consistently feels like coming home. I did not know it was possible for someone to stick their hand in your head and pull out a show custom-made for you, but that's what this is. The characters are all so perfectly imperfect and desperate to be better. The plots are just the perfect amount of bonkers. The show being a drama pretending to be a procedural is beautiful. If you'd told me in 2019 that a show about a profiler whose dad is a serial killer and they solve crimes together would be the show that would leave an indelible mark on my life, I would have rolled my eyes because that's so cliche. 2019!me had no idea what she was on about. But I'm glad she figured it out and randomly put on this little show one night that had continued to pull me through good days and bad days and everything in between.

As for tagging other people, anyone is welcome to join but I’ll specifically tag some people I know who haven't been tagged (I think): @electricbluebutterflies, @chenlucys, @shinythinx, @rojaswarren, @meandmyechoes, @padme-deserved-better, @whitesunlars, @harrows-bones, @bpdanakins, and @violetsandmagpies.

[litcityblues]

Doctor Whoquest Part Twelve: Our Smithels Now Have Ended

I think there are a number of key ingredients that give Matt Smith a real shot at taking the top spot of Nu-Who Doctors. The writing, the music, and the acting all just click perfectly, and while I think it takes every Doctor a series or two to really dig into the role and reach the peak of their powers, as it were, Matt Smith brought a different kind of energy to the role and with this, his final series, he went out at the absolute top of his game. If there is a Doctor who thrives at capturing big, epic, myth-making moments for this franchise and absolutely owning them, it's this one and he had some absolutely top-notch material to work with for his final season.

I don't know if Russell T. Davies has big plans for the franchise as he takes the reins again, but he didn't seem opposed to spin-off shows to grow the universe a bit so I have to put in a plug: The Paternoster Gang is just sitting there. It's perfect. It practically writes itself. You could even tie it back into the origins of the Torchwood Institute, as that came out of a Series 2 Episode with Queen Victoria. There's just so much potential there. All we need is for someone to actually make the thing happen. (Hell, you could even do a 'limited series' thing if you didn't want to commit to a full show.) But seeing more of The Paternoster Gang is a hill I will always die on!

I have yet to see the 60th Anniversary Specials-- but I have a good feeling about them based on both The Centenary Special (Jodie Whittaker) and the 50th Anniversary Special in this series, which was as close to perfect as you could possibly ask for. Tentative Verdict: Nu-Who is good at big specials.

This season is, once again, split into two parts-- with Amy and Rory taking their final bow as companions after the end of the 5th Episode and then Clara Oswald showing up to take over as the main companion in the back half of the season. I loved the way they introduced Clara- setting up a mystery that the Doctor is preoccupied with for most of the back half of the season. If you didn't know Clara was coming on as a companion watching this, her first appearance (as Oswin in 'Asylum of the Daleks') pays off beautifully by the end of the season.

Three Episodes I Liked

'The Name of the Doctor'/'The Day of The Doctor'/'The Time of the Doctor': You could do these separately or all together so I view them more as a trilogy of episodes that separate ones and for a Doctor who thrives in big, epic moments, these are the perfect end to Matt Smith's run. From the moment in 'The Name of The Doctor' when Clara goes into his timeline to rescue him from The Great Intelligence and pays off something that's been building the entire season, to the revelation of a previously unknown Doctor (John Hurt) and what he did during the Time War ('The Day Of The Doctor') and having three Doctors on screen at once! To finally, finally, the 11th Doctor meets his fate at Trenzalore where the crack in the wall and the Silence and every strand of 11's mythology that's been built over the past three seasons gets tied up neatly into the perfect bow. Smith's final bow was perfect. The lightning-fast change into Capaldi followed by the 'I've got new kidneys. I don't like the color'-- you can't ask for a better way to hand off to the next Doctor and what an epic end. Just about perfect.

2. 'The Power of Three': This underrated episode because it explores something from the Companion's point of view that doesn't really get touched on: when do you choose between 'The Doctor Life' and 'Regular Life'-- I also liked the fact that there was a year-long arc to this episode that they called 'The Slow Invasion' and that it also forced The Doctor to kind of see what 'regular life' was like for his friends. Ultimately, at the urging of Rory's Dad, they stay as full-time Companions.

3. 'Hide': A haunting is never just a haunting in Doctor Who and this one was especially creepy the twist at the end is nice and finding out the Doctor's true motives for the visit to the haunted mansion was also a nice twist. (Plus, it sets up the concept of a pocket universe for important developments later on in the season.)

Two Episodes I Didn't Like

'A Town Called Mercy': While I appreciate that the Old West isn't the usual setting you see in Doctor Who, this episode was largely just okay for me.

2. 'Journey To The Center of the TARDIS': I'm of two minds about this episode as well. On the one hand, interesting plot point. On the other hand, did we just construct an episode to have the Doctor confront Clara about her past lives and his connection to him and then for it not to matter in the slightest because everyone's memory gets re-written? Seems like a waste of an episode to me, but it wasn't bad either.

One Episode To Consider

'Dinosaurs On A Spaceship': Much like Snakes On A Plane, the title pretty much encapsulates the entire episode. There's a spaceship and there are dinosaurs on it-- seems like it should be silly, but in fact, it turns out to be fun, kind of weird, and a little bit awesome all at the same time.

Overall: Hey, do you all remember when I pointed out that Amy had her baby stolen and should have been way more traumatized than she appeared to be by the end of the previous Smith Season? We open the season 'The Asylum of the Daleks' with Amy and Rory on the verge of divorce! We find out why, of course, when Amy reveals that because of what happened to her at Demon's Run, she can't have more children, so she can't give Rory the kids that he wants. In the end, they decide that they love each other more than that and fix themselves a bit, but I'd like my previous complaint to be stricken from the record, your honor. They doubled back and talked about it! I like that.

Where does Smith fit into the Nu-Who pantheon? Before I wrapped up Capaldi, I think he might have been my favorite but now... I think Capaldi might still be my top choice, but Smith is just behind him and Whittaker might be just behind them-- ranking these Doctors is so weird when you think about it because there are aspects of all of them that I've liked so far and aspects that aren't so good. You can appreciate the Whittaker Run for taking big swings, even if they wound up being glorious trainwrecks while acknowledging that the writing wasn't as good as it could have been for some of it. You can appreciate the Capaldi run for any number of things, but point out weak points here and there as well. I loved Smith in the role. He has the best first episode of any Doctor in Nu-Who and his final three episodes provide the perfect bookend. Whether it's the writing, the acting, or just pure happenstance, this run thrived on big, epic, mythmaking moments and turbocharged the franchise in many ways, making it bigger, more cinematic, and generally proving itself well adept to handle, big, epic moments. It's a contribution that can't be understated to the continued success of Nu-Who.

My Grade: 9/10

[pandaponderart]

Underrated Anime Part 1:

Hello my fellow Weebs, I’m back for some more Anime blogging, this time to talk about so not so well known ones. Some that have got forgotten with time, some that new Anime fans have maybe never heard of and the ones that I feel deserve more love and recognition. I’ve been watching Anime for about 13 years so I’ve seen a lot so this will be in at least 3 parts, so hopefully you like this and look forward to more. Til then enjoy, hope you can find some new anime you’ve never heard of thanks for reading and look forward to part 2!.

1. Azumanga Daioh(2002)

Starting off with an older Anime, and one of the best and earlier comedy, slice of life Anime that paved the way for a lot of other Anime in the same genre like Nichijou and Daily Lives of High School Boys. Off the wall and highly unrealistic, this comedy is completely over the top in the best way possible. it’s old but gold and should be crowned as one of the best comedy Anime to exist.

With the most lovable cast, you have Chiyo the 5th grader who is so crazy smart she gets placed in a high school class, then there’s Osaka, who’a real name is Ayumu Kasuga who’s named that because she‘s from Osaka. Osaka isn’t the smartest and neither is her other classmate Tomo Takino who will do anything to avoid studying. Then to balance out the cast is Koyomi Mizuhara aka Yomi, the smart one who keeps everyone in line and Kagura the sporty one. Then of course can’t forget to mention the teachers Yukari Sensei who is anything but the normal responsible teacher and to balance her out Minamo Sensei the responsible one. There’s no real plot with Azumanga Daioh but there’s not meant to be it’s just an over the top comedy slice of life, with moments that will make you laugh from your gut. It’s all about the characters and the ridiculous situations their put in and each one is a lovable idiot that really drives the show. Give this one a shot if you want a show that will put a big smile on your face the whole way through.

2. Eden of The East (2009)

Another older Anime, not everything on this list will be older Anime but there’s so many good ones like this!. Eden of The East is an action, mystery with elements of romance with one of the most unique stories I’ve seen in Anime. It’s a short watch being only eleven episodes with two movies following after which I recommend watching because they continue the story. I’m really surprised not more people know or talk about this show but it need to be talked about more!.

With one of the funniest and most bizarre starts to an Anime, our lead charcter Saki is on a trip to Washington D.C, when she gets in trouble for throwing a coin in the White House’s fountain she’s saved by a naked man who claims to be a terrorist. Not only is this mysterious man naked and claims to be a terrorist, he also has amnesia and is carrying a phone with 8.2 million dollars. Saki befriends this strange man and throughout the story they try to uncover more of his past, his involvment in an incident called careless monday and a dangerous death game with other players. They must also spend all of the money as instucted by the mysterious voice in the phone Juiz as well as try to save the world.

3. R.O.D The TV( 2003)

Ok I know I said this list wouldn’t only be older Anime but I guess the older Anime just has my heart and this one has a special place in mine. One of my all time favorites and one of the earliest Anime I saw and it still holds up to me til this day. It is hands down probably the most underrated show on this entire list and if you only watch one of these Anime please make it this one. The story is completely original, the characters are complex and endearing, there’s action, heartwarming moments, comedy and mystery, I wish there was more Anime like it, it deserves to be a classic.

It‘s a one of a kind show about the paper sisters Michelle, the oldest bubbly bookworm, Maggie the seemingly intimidating quiet giant. Then you have the youngest sister Anita who unlike her sisters hates books, she’s a bit rough around the edges but loves her sisters. Although they aren’t actually sisters they have a detective agency to help find lost books to help pay for rent while also doing odd jobs like being body guards. Their first assignment is to protect the author, Nenene Sumiragawa who is being threatened to be killed at her book signing. The paper sisters aren’t called that just because of their love of books, they can turn paper into weapons and whatever else they please, but each having their speciality. Nenene finds out they‘re paper sisters just like her friend who ‘s missing, Yomiko Readman and asks them for help finding her. They try to help Nenene find her friend, while solving other cases and saving the world with the power of paper.

4. Baccano(2007)

Probably the most well known but also I think one of the most under appreciated Anime, from Durarara’s creator, Baccano. I feel like most newer Anime fans won’t know this one and although it’s a beloved series by many, I still feel it’s underrated. Also another bias opinion shocker, it’s one of my absolute favorites but that’s why it’s here. It’s once again a shorter anime with only 13 episodes but it somehow manages to combine all of the storylines cohesively, it’s a wild ride full of mystery, murder, and magic that will keep you on board the entire time trying to piece everything together. Also warning it jumps around a lot so make sure to pay attention everything pieces together!.

Based in the 1930’s in the prohibition era you have several stories involving different characters going on but they‘re all connected to one thing the transcontinental train, the flying pussyfoot. Yes that’s actually the name of the train, why, still no idea but all these characters from different walks of life end up here somehow. Now to introduce some of these crazy characters, first off the goofy thieves in love Isaac and Miria, who aren’t the brightest but can steal just about anything. Lad Russo the sadistic hit man who loves to see people die, including fantasizing about killing his fiancé one day. Then you have the ones involved in gangs, all In different ones, but nonetheless involved in some sort of crime. First there’s Firo, the youngest of the Martello family and one of the immortals in the show, then there’s Jacuzzi Splot and his partner Nice, Jacuzzi is a big wimp and crybaby but will protect his loved ones with all he’s got and Nice is a bomb expert and his childhood food. Those are some of the main characters it’s such a large cast it’s hard to name and explain them all. This one is a must watch especially if you liked Durarara, jump on the hype train of this wild show.

5. Black Cat (2005)

Now quick disclaimer before I begin talking about this one, I haven’t watched this in years so it may not hold up as well as I’m remembering but when I watched it I really enjoyed it so that’s why it’s here. This was one of the earlier Anime I watched I’m pretty sure my friend showed me it but it caught my interest from the beginning. It’s not the most groundbreaking show to exist and I’ve heard that the manga is apparently better but that’s for almost every show. It’s got cool action, funny moments and a great cast of characters, plus not gonna lie I had a crush on train when I was younger. its just a fun show and definitely worth giving a watch!

Train Heartnett is an infamous cold blooded assassin who works for the organization Chronos, and because of his lack of empathy for killing he’s named Black Cat. But after a chance encounter with a bou hunter named Saya Minatsuki, they become friends and Train decided he wants to leave Chronos to pursue an honest living as a bounty Hunter. However chronos and particular his fellow member Creed Diskenth are not pleased with this and try to get Train to rejoin Chronos. Along the way Train teams up with fellow bounty hunter on the brink of broke Sven, the bio mech weapon and little girl Eve and master thief and seductress Rinslet Walker. Together they try to escape from Chronos and get enough money for their next .

6. Arakawa Under The Bridge(2010)

Where do I begin with this one first off, this is one of the weirdest Anime I’ve ever seen but just like Azumanga Daioh that’s what make it so good. Beautifully animated by Studio Shaft with some of the most colorful and visually appealing animation I’ve seen, it’s pure eye candy. it’s equally as strange as it is hilarious and it’s just a fun time that’s not meant to be taken seriously. So if you want a good laugh and something thats truly one of a kind in story and characters give this crazy show a shot.

The show begins with one of our main characters Kou Ichinomiya getting stuck by his underwear on a bridge by some kids, he falls into the river and is saved by a mysterious girl. Kou is the son of a wealthy businessman and his life motto is to not be indebted to anyone, so when he’s saved by this girl he asks what he can do. He finds out that her name is Nino and what she wants is to fall in love, so she asks Kou to be her boyfriend. At first Nino seems like a regular girl but she claims to be an alien from Venus and lives in a box under the bridge, not wanting to be in debt Kou agrees and begins living under the bridge with Nino. However Nino isn’t the only one who lives under the bridge there are many other strange characters like hoshi, the aspiring musician who wears a star on his head, and the captain who’s a human in a kappa suit. I highly suggest watching this strange sci-fi romantic comedy for something different and fun to watch.

7. 91 Days (2016)

The newest Anime on this list so far, see I told you it wouldn’t be only old ones!, this is also the darkest Anime on this list so far. This has been highly overlooked since it’s release in 2016, it reminds me of baccano and in parts like death note. If you like mafia movies or just a dark gritty story with some light hearted moments, it s short show but nothing is rushed and it’s solid from front to back and keeps you on the edge of your seat.

Just like Baccano, 91 Days takes place in the prohibition era in a town called Lawless where crime is rampant and illegal alcohol sales are thriving. In this town our protagonist Aviicio‘s family is killed by one of the mafia families, The Vanetti Family. He receives a mysterious anonymous letter telling him to return to lawless to infiltrate The Vanetti Family. He tries to befriend the families son Nero, to find an opportunity for revenge, the story keep you constantly guessing if they’ve truly become friends or if he’ll kill him. Please watch this wonderful mafia crime drama of friend vs foe.

8. Yamada Kun and The Seven Witches (2015)

This is one of the ones that I still really want to read the manga for because I just couldn’t get enough of it! i’m still hoping for a sequel one day! The premise of body swapping has been done many times in Anime and cinema as a whole but this one adds a unique enough of a twist to keep it fresh and interesting. I looked forward to watching this weekly each week meeting a learning about each new witch and learning what power they had.

Ryuu Yamada is a high school delinquent who wants a fresh start at a new school, despite the intention to start with a clean slate he soon falls into old habits of laziness and getting into fights. One day he trips on the stairs which leads to an accidental kiss with fellow student Urarara Shiraishi which causes them to switch bodies. Another student Toranosuke Miyamura learns that they can switch bodies and recruits them to his Supernatural Studies club. There they learn about the other seven witches that all have different powers

9. Arslan Senki (2015-2016)

The second to last of the list comes from the creator of my all time favorite Anime Fullmetal Alchemist, while it’s a very different series and not quite as good as FMA it’s still deserves a spot on this list and deserves your time. It’s hard not to compare it to FMA but it really is it’s own thing, and it actually came out before Fullmetal, it’s a historical drama about war and strategy and a character growing into his potential. Just as Hiromu Arakawa is known for there’s still some comedic moments and some great character development and a well done story, Plus if you like this there’s two seasons so there more to enjoy.

Ok I promise from this point forward I won‘t say anything more about Fullmetal Alchemist this is about Arslan Senki, here’s the story. In the year 320 the Kingdom of Pars is at war with the neighboring kingdom Lusitania. Pars is ruled by the ruthless king Andrangoras III who has a son who’s the complete opposite of him Arslan. Although he doesn’t know how to fight Arslan tries to prove his worth by joining the battle, but things take a turn for the worst when one of the kings officials betrays him. The once prosperous Kingdom of Pars is seized, and since Arslan is the kings son he must flee to avoid capture. So he sets off with his loyal bodyguard Daryun to find allies to help take back the kingdom. Knowing that Arslan is still alive he is still faced with pursuers from other kingdoms and the head of the Lusitania army, a mysterious man with a silver mask who knows a secret that could jeopardize Arslan‘s succession to the throne. Arslan is a gentle, kind person that doesn’t enjoy fighting, he must learn to fight and protect himself and gain the courage to lead an army to regain his home.

10. Shingeki No Bahamut: Genesis (Rage of Bahamut) (2014)

Leaving one of the best for last, not to be confused with the popular series with a similar name Shingeki no Kyojin(Attack on Titan) this show is just as good. One of the first shows from one of my favorite Anime studios, Studio Mappa. I had low expectations when I heard this was a card game adaptation from a new anime studio but I decided to check it out despite that and it was the best decision. This has all the elements of a great anime, the beautiful animation, the unique characters and the compelling story and all the cool action scenes are just a plus. There is a second season too but I’ll leave that for another time, ok time to stop gushing about this wonderful show, time for the story!.

Years and years ago the ancient powerful dragon Bahamut reeked havoc on Mistarcia, a land where gods and demons lived harmoniously with humans. The gods and demons manage to seal away Bahamut with the god key and agree to split it to keep him sealed. Now that the the peace has been restored we meet the main characters and one of my favorites the orange Afro haired bounty hunters Favaro Leone. Favaro is constantly on the run from his adversary and fellow bounty hunter Kaiser Lidfard who‘s main purpose in life is to get revenge on him. One day both of their lives are thrown into chaos when they meet the mysterious girl Amira who holds half of the god key sealing Bahamut and wants help reaching the land of Helheim. I also can’t forget to mention my other favorite character and the fourth member of this unlikely crew Rita the zombie necromancer little girl she is just the definition of cool. Then there’s the characters that want to steal the god key the demon Azazel and the knight Jean D’Arc who are constantly in the characters way but you’ll find out more about them in the show. These unlikely heroes must face the threat of the battle of gods and demons, the pursuers of the god key and incoming threat of Bahamut awakening.

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 16 part one

(Masterpost of All the Recaps)  (Canary’s Pinboard)

Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes

All righty, this one is going to be a laff riot...not. Let's do it.

The first half of this episode is like a beautifully executed standalone tragedy, while also threading together all sorts of themes and paying off all sorts of relationship building that's happened in the previous episodes. My hat is off to the writers, while I also shake a fist at them for making me cry an unreasonable amount.

We’re Sailing on a Strange Boat

The episode starts right off absolutely DESTROYING me with the Yunmeng brothers holding hands, fingers interlaced, in the first of many hand-touching moments that punctuate the episode.

Jiang Cheng has to be pretty far gone to accept this degree of comfort and tenderness. I think, from their positions, he is also holding Yanli's hand out of the camera's view. 

Zidian finally lets the trio go, and they immediately turn the boat around and head back to Lotus Pier. Wei Wuxian gets the clever idea to turn the benches into makeshift oars but nobody gets the clever idea to use magic to push the boat like they do literally every other time they are in a boat. 

Their emotional need to go back to Lotus Pier is understandable, but they are being disobedient and irresponsible by doing it. Jiang Cheng is the future of the clan, and should not risk his life, particularly after his mother chose to sacrifice herself to protect him and after both of his parents told him to go hide with his sister and personal bodyguard brother. 

On the other hand, Jiang Fengmian, as clan leader, probably had a duty to go into hiding himself rather than go home to die romantically, so his authority is questionable at this point. Anyway, this is the Jiang Clan, they get to kind of do what they want, except when that pisses Jiang Cheng off.

Lotus Pier Massacre

Back at Lotus Pier, the Wens are kicking Jiang ass. The fight choreography is pretty good, taking full advantage of walkways, railings, pools, and other features of the environment. 

Using the set this way always makes fights feel more kinetic and real, as opposed to simply sparring in an open area. 

(more after the cut)

Yu Ziyuan is fighting adequately with a sword, having given her preferred weapon to her son.  She's clearly been at it for a while, and is tiring; the Wen soldiers are starting to land more and more sword blows but no critical hits yet.

Wen Zhuliu is kicking ass and possibly melting cores, although we don't see him do it to anybody yet. Later we'll hear from Jiang Cheng that he crushed the cores of his parents, but it's not clear when that happens.

Sixth young master replays Jiang Fengmian's entire archery lesson in his head while he waits, and waits, for Wen Zhuliu to finish strangling a dude the right moment to shoot an arrow at Wen Zhuliu. 

Homicidal tart Wang Lingjiao notices him lining up a shot, strolls over, and stabs him in the back while he's still thinking about what Jiang Fengmian said. One could wish that JFM's archery lessons weren't quite so wordy. 

Wang Linjao normally doesn't carry a sword because of her low spiritual power, but apparently can use one just fine when she's killing kids.

If you start feeling like this episode is unreasonably painful, just think of it as building up calluses so you can handle Yi City when the time comes.

Jiang Fengmian to the Rescue

Jiang Fengmian shows up very far past the nick of time, although he is not actually useful, so it's questionable whether arriving earlier would have helped. But his wife is glad to see him.

Netflix subtitles say that Jiang Fengmian calls Yu Ziyuan "My Lady!" which sounds courtly and romantic in English. His actual words are "San Niangzi" which hunxi-gullai breaks out here.  I might render this as "lady wife!" rather than "my lady" but I don't think English really has a perfect equivalent.

Jiang Fengmian sails across the courtyard, knocking down a few Wen soldiers and becoming a young, slender man in the process.

I mean, come on, that stunt double does not look like a boxy middle-aged man from any angle.

The Dying Bit

The episode splits up the big death scene for dramatic effect but I'm recapping it all together to keep things simple.

Within moments of arriving, Jiang Fengmian gets shanked by Wen Zhuliu like Scatman Crothers in The Shining (or Groundskeeper Willie in The Shinning).

Wen Zhuliu stops a Wen soldier from finishing JFM off, just so that a different Wen soldier can deliver the killing blow from the back, which is kinda harsh. With all this spin-fighting there is probably not an implication of cowardice when someone dies from a stab in the back, but still. Too rude, Wen Zhuliu.

Yu Ziyuan sees Jiang Fengmian fall, and after having a moment of sorrow and despair, she stabs herself in the heart, falls down, crawls to him and interlaces her hand with his. He revives just enough to give her hand a squeeze and say "San Niangzi" one last time before dying. 

She dies next, with a smile on her face at the end. The soundtrack plays that amazing "horribly emotional death scene" music that isn't one of the tracks available on the OST, argh. This same music appears at the end of Xue Yang's story.  

Of the many things I love about the Untamed, the complexity of all the minor characters is possibly my favorite. These two people suck at parenting, and suck at being married, and ultimately suck at protecting and leading their clan, making stupid, selfish choices at every step of the building conflict. 

And then they have this incredibly romantic death scene, in which they both face the inevitability of failure, and find comfort in failing together. Yet their death scene is totally in keeping with who we know them to be, and who they are to each other; the drama doesn't cheat by making them ideal lovers or great people at the end. But they have a great, great moment.

Jiang Yanli, waiting in the woods while her brothers are presumably running toward Lotus Pier, drops her lotus pendant, which is made of the loudest jade ever discovered, and it breaks with a crash.  

Yanli, who is a well educated young lady, knows a moment of doomy symbolism when she sees it.

Jiang Yanli: Who put a giant rock out here in the woods? What are the odds I’d drop my pendant directly on it? 

It’s all Over Except for the Crying, Running and Choking

The brothers climb up on the roof and are shocked to see nothing but Wen soldiers and piled up Jiang corpses... 

...including one child who is either about to become a zombie or who is being played by a young actor who can't control their curiosity, judging by the way this eye is sneakily opened while the camera is running.

There's a moment where Jiang Cheng is saying they must have spared his parents, they must be okay, where Wei Wuxian's face is just...wow. You can see right here the gulf in life experience between these two. 

Wen Zhuliu roams around looking troubled while searching for more people to kill. He’s an interesting villain; someone who believes his loyalty to his boss makes him a good guy, but knows his boss is a bad guy. 

Then we are treated to a hell of a camera move, where it tracks over Yu Ziyuan and Jiang Fengmian together on the floor, heroic in death and still holding hands, and then sweeps up to show their killers sitting on the lotus throne. 

The dead couple were at odds for their whole lives together, while the evil people who killed them are acting like devoted lovebirds. It's a stunning shot and a terrific thematic contrast. When Wei Wuxian eventually comes to take his vengeance, he will spend some time turning Wen Chao and Wang Lingjiao against each other, before ending them. 

The camera shows us JC's reaction, then shows his mother, then WWX’s reaction, then JF; each reacting to the death of the person who loved them. Some folks may feel that Jiang Fengmian actually did love Jiang Cheng but was just bad at showing it. But Jiang Cheng doesn't think so, and I don't think it's a given that parents love their children.

Side note: Macroexpression king Wang Zhuocheng is able to open his eyes so far that a giant strip of white shows above his irises, and keep them like that, which is quite a trick. Try it yourself.

Meanwhile Wang Lingjiao and Wen Chao gossip about YZY and JFM's bad marriage. Wen Chao admires YZY's beauty, and Wang Lingjiao insults her character, and announces that she's going to stab YZY's body a few extra times. Jiang Cheng briefly faints at this, taking a page from Wei Wuxian's book, and rolls off the roof. 

Run Run Away

Both young men run, and run, and run away from Lotus Pier while Wen Chao and Wang Lingjiao mistreat the bodies of Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan 

The stabbing happens off camera, because it's ok to stab a live child on camera, but not a dead adult. (As always, there are cultural reasons for "what's ok" in any country, and I'm not saying anybody's wrong about these choices). 

Wen Chao follows this up with pouring a cup of wine across their faces. He does this in the style of a libation for the dead, but as a desecration, combining mistreatment of bodies with profaning a ceremonial rite. In a world where ghosts are real and have sharp fingernails, this is deeply, deeply stupid.

Yu Ziyuan’s actress Zhang Jingtong is able to have liquid poured INTO HER EAR without flinching. Mad props.

The brothers eventually finish running and arrive in a field with an extreme purple photo filter on it. Which I've done my best to remove for these gifs, with variable results. 

Jiang Cheng wants to turn around and go back to Lotus Pier. He says he wants to retrieve his parents’ bodies and to take revenge, but he's devastated and it seems likely he just wants to die with everyone else.  

Wei Wuxian pleads with Jiang Cheng to calm down and stay safe, while Jiang Cheng gives himself over to anger and shock as the brothers shout at each other.

Punching and running ensues, and Wei Wuxian tries to hold his brother back, grabbing him around the shoulders him in a gesture that painfully echoes the many hugs he's given over the years. 

This time Jiang Cheng doesn't just push him off. He turns around and chokes his brother for nearly a full minute, while screaming at him and blaming him. 

Just as when Madame Yu beat him, Wei Wuxian doesn't fight back; he pulls on Jiang Cheng's wrists but doesn't hit him or try to break his hold.

Finally Jiang Cheng lets him go, and cries out for everyone he's lost, while Wei Wuxian weeps silently next to him. Eventually they fall asleep in the grass together, their bodies curled up in the form of a heart. 

Damn, this episode really brings it.

Side Note: during their argument, Wei Wuxian says, among other things, that "revenge is a dish best served cold," according to subtitles. It's a French saying from the 1800s so it's probably not precisely what Wei Wuxian is saying. More importantly, as a longtime Star Trek fan I can't help but hear James Kirk yelling "KHAN!!!!!" whenever I encounter that phrase.

There’s Got To Be A Morning After

When they wake up in the morning, Jiang Cheng is still in his feelings, but now his feelings have moved along to despair, from anger.

I feel bad for noticing how handsome they both look in this scene. Let's all feel bad about this together.

Jiang Cheng is free to have this level of emotional breakdown because Wei Wuxian is there keeping his own shit together and focusing on what matters.

When Jiang Cheng refuses to get up, Wei Wuxian reminds him, very, very gently, that they have a sister, who has waited all night to know what happened.

At this, Jiang Cheng gets up, but won't look at Wei Wuxian, continuing to blame him for everybody else's actions, as he walks onward to find Yanli.

Wei Wuxian follows, hurt and bereft, as he gets to work internalizing everything that he's being accused of. This is good practice for his future as a widely reviled bogeyman.

Part two will be slightly less awful! Coming soon!

[21tailsofwoe]

“cry for the moon: side H” musings

so i watched the hunter side of identity v stage episode 3 “cry for the moon” and i would like to let out my thoughts because there are so many of them and i do not know any better way of coping with my feelings.

spoilers for the stage play under the cut:

simply said, this production was leagues above episode 1, which i also hold very close to heart so you can imagine what episode 3 did to me. i’ve loved mary ever since i started playing the game almost a year ago, and to learn that there’d be an entire stage play dedicated to her. and not to mention that cecile daigo would play her role, i was already sold.

putting her character against eli, whose character (at least in the stage) is supposed to be this calm, supportive, empathetic person, i’d keep thinking how they’d pull it off, how’d they frame mary’s backstory, how everything would work out in the manor...i had so many questions. in the end, i came out so thoroughly satisfied by this stage. in fact, my friend and i cried multiple times watching this. it affected us THAT much.

story:

the story is a little straight-forward. mary is a queen who was executed by her own people. from my understanding, they didn’t allude to the revolution or anything, simply the fact that mary grew up in royalty and luxury, was taught to be high-headed, and self-centered, maintain that elite image. and in following this way of life, she ended up being extremely lonely, till everyone around her betrayed her and she was left to be executed. in the manor, now that she’s dead, she’s still very stubbornly insists that everyone treat her like royalty, that everyone else in the manor is beneath her, just so she could justify the pain from the loneliness and betrayal she felt. eli shows up, reaches out, the concept of ‘skins’ in the game is very cleverly used as a plot device, and the stage ends with mary learning about the Power Of Friendship(TM). she also learns to accept herself as a person, not as a ‘concept.’

i feel like the motives of the hunter main character seemed a lot more fleshed out. the connection to the survivor main character was established in due time, and all the pieces started fitting together as the story went on, something i found a little lacking in the first stage. like i said, it’s straight-forward and easy to digest, but still ends up tugging at your heartstrings.

characters:

mary’s characterisation was phenomenal. i’ve always been bitter about the fact that the game straight up copy pasted marie antoinnette onto her, but in the stage the creative liberties were put on full display. she’s her own character, with abundant past trauma which makes her cold and unapproachable. she’s so protective of her world view that she’d lash out on anyone and everyone who dares to change it. being called a ‘hunter’ makes her snap, makes her pissed, because she’s a queen! she always has been! there’s no way she could be standing along with other people! that’s not what she’s learned in her life time!

eli doesn’t have a lot of character moments because this was the hunter side after all, but he’s the same as the first stage. sees a lonely, recluse person, and wants to reach out. though the creators have stated that each stage is a different manor, or a different story, they’ve stuck to this characterisation of eli and i love it.

while the other hunters also had their parts, the more prominent ones were luchino and joseph. and joseph. oh goodness. his transformation from the first stage to now was something i craved for. he’s joking around with the other hunters, the other hunters also clown him pretty bad. he has a soft spot for robbie. the back and forth he shares with luchino also filled my heart with so much love. and most importantly, he’s the one who tells mary to embrace the present as it is, because holding onto the past will not do much. he fits the gap between eli and mary perfectly, and moves the story in his own joseph way. seeing him actually move on from his past and live with a healthy mindset, something we’ll probably never see in the game...it destroyed something in me.

joseph’s character also emphasises that in the confusion of whatever the manor wants from them, the hunters at least have each other. it was a very nice touch.

acting, direction, dialogue:

this is the part where episode 3 completely overshadows episode 1. cecile daigo is the star of this stage. she has once again won my heart. when she’s being cold, you’ll feel a chill down your spine. when she’s angry, you’ll physically feel that tension. when she screams and cries, you’ll have your heart sink. her dialogue delivery in any given situation hit in all the right spots. i’m still scared to go rewatch the guillotine scene because it was so incredibly painful to watch the first time.

not only that, but the way they creatively used this open stage which made the play seem so much more idv-like. the way they would place eli on one end of the stage walking in one direction, and mary would be on the other side walking in the opposite direction. or when the lights would follow them around the stage as they sang their duet, OR OR OR the way the actor playing mary’s mirror image would sync perfectly with mary, or even the way eli talks to mary in a soft, calm manner, knowing that she’s going through something very traumatic. it was all so beautifully done. the dialogues themselves were so impactful, we had to rewind some scenes just to appreciate the words properly.

music, costumes, misc:

the music. GOD the music. not only the hunter song, but also the score in the play itself. the fairy-tale like song in the fake world. eli and mary’s duet song. it was all perfect. in the end when mary returns to all the hunters with a change of heart, and ‘acclamation’ plays in the background i actually got teary eyed lmao. just the timing of everything was so spot on.

the costumes, just like the previous stage, were also perfect. mary rocking bloodbath while bride eli mopes in the background. the other characters in their alternate clothing was. something.

also. norton in a tux. phenomenal.

my personal favourite part from the alternate world was the dance, where i lost my shit two times: one, when i saw 0.3 seconds of fiopat and two, when i saw xiefan fist bump.

ty for the fanservice idv stage play.

as a milf enjoyer, i would’ve appreciated more of marymichi but i think this one screen cap alone is enough to fuel me for the next ten years.

gotta appreciate michiko for taking the shot at the start of the play. she missed terribly, but she took a shot and that’s what matters. go get your girl, michiko.

my review could be very extremely biased, though. sorry for ending on this note LOL. i love identity v so so much and i’ve invested myself in these doll characters way too much, so actually getting to watch my favourite characters TALK to each other, be part of each other’s stories, it may have slightly skewed my perception of of the play. of course, it isn’t without faults, but to anyone who loves idv, who loves mary especially, this is a must watch. i genuinely mean the praises i’ve given to this stage play and i do not regret spending my money on this.

i’ll watch the survivor side and the comedy stages eventually and i don’t know if i’ll be making reviews for those but i just had to talk about the hunter side.

thank you so much to the creators of this stage, to all the wonderful talented actors, and a big thank you to the new writers. this was more than i could’ve asked for.

hoping for a stage 4 with mary’s return xx

[cybernaght]

The Rebel/叛逆者: A Review of Sorts

After being only semi-invested in the Rebel, I ended up getting so into it in the final weeks of its release, I’ve shelled out on IQIYI premium just to get the final couple of episodes a few days earlier.

That’s right kids, it’s a Review of Sorts. Unfortunately, I could not find a translation of the novella the drama is based on, so will be looking at it as a separate entity. 

Most of this post is spoiler-free, however I have dedicated a few paragraphs at the end of it to discussing the final episode, as there are a few specific things about it I wanted to mention. There is a clear spoiler warning before that part.

If you don’t want to risk it, TL;DR version of this review goes something like this: Rebel is very decent, and positively one of the best things that I have seen to come out of China since I’ve jumped into that particular rabbit hole. It’s pretty well written, it’s very beautifully dressed and shot, and the cast is killing it. I thought it dropped the ball a little in post production, and I did not always love the pacing. Other than that, it’s incredibly decent, and well worth watching, unless communist propaganda really irks you, in which case stay very well away. 

I have been having many conversations with @supernovasimplicity​ all the way through watching this drama, so there are likely to be some thoughts here that are influenced by those. 

The story centers around Lin Nansheng, a struggling servicemen in the Guomingdang party. He has a great analytical mind, and absolutely no emotional capacity for his job. He has trouble handling violence, he is impulsive, he cannot speak to his superiors without bursting into tears, and has nothing even remotely resembling a poker face. And that is what makes this drama as enjoyable as it is. 

I don’t think Lin Nansheng’s journey would have been nearly as exciting had he started it from a place of competence. He botches up everything he touches because his big brain switches off the moment his emotions kick in. And so, when you see him grow in confidence, learn to control himself, learn to fake his smiles and compliments, you can’t help but feel a strange sense of pride. It also makes Lin Nansheng very likeable as a character for reasons other than Zhu Yilong’s ability to look like a bush baby.

It did take me a while to feel fully engaged with his performance - not because there is anything lacking in it, but just because it’s hard to be truly surprised by his choices after the exposure I have given myself to his work. That said, at about a half-way point I got charmed by him anyway, and there were quite a few scenes that were truly mesmerising. There were scenes where he broke out of the familiar mould of big unguarded eyes and fluttering wet eyelashes, and tried something that was not pretty: every time to a great success. I am hoping to see more of that in his future work. 

I really wanted to like the female lead, Zhu Yizhen, but unfortunately both the way she was written and the way she was performed by Tong Yao left me somewhat cold. It did not help of course that the screenplay ended up sidelining her at every turn, leaving her with very little personal agency. She was set up so interestingly, but in the end her sole purpose became being someone for Lin Nansheng to pine over. It is particularly curious from a perspective of meta storytelling: seeing how this is all centered around superiority of communism, which as a whole was, arguably, ahead of its time in the matters of binary gender equality.

The ensemble cast of the drama is stunning. Wang Yang came very close to  stealing the show at several points as Chen Moqun, somehow managing to make his rather unlikeable character interesting. I can say the same thing about Zhu Zhu who absolutely shined as Lin Xinjie, showing an incredible range and imagination in her performance.

The overarching story of the show is engaging, with some incredibly suspenseful elements; every narrative arc including a nice progression through it. As spy thrillers go, it was fairly well plotted. You could if you go looking for a few things that did not pay off in a satisfying way (notably, the Chekhov’s cyanide capsule), but you overall the story really was well told for the most of it. 

I did, however, feel like the pacing started to fall apart in the last quarter of the drama. Last episode in particular really did feel rushed, not just due to its pace, but also in a way it failed to pay off the final mission in any visible way. There will be more on that in the spoiler section of this post.

Important to note that The Rebel is a show made in Communist China in the year 2021. It does not ideologically side-step from the path that was laid out for it by that fact. Which is to say, it is, undeniably, filled with propaganda. Communists are the good guys, and if you think a good guy (or gal) is not a communist, they probably secretly are. With one exception of a friendly character who is not a communist, and whose fate we actually never find out. Curious, that. 

The Rebel is not a kind of a show where censorship-appeasing scenes are shoehorned in. It’s a kind of a show in which the main theme is Sacrifice For the Party.

Aside from the being the moral vector of the show, Mao’s gentle teachings explicitly help get Ling Nansheng out of prolonged depression following his injury, and almost annoyingly, this sat incredibly well with the character, as he was written. Lin Nansheng is conceived as this naive idealist who wants to be on the front line, who needs validation and support of others. His - and I can’t believe I’m saying this - his being disillusioned in his beliefs and choosing to join a party which includes people whom he likes and trusts makes sense. Him finding this one thing that gives him hope and letting it propel him into gaining confidence and competence makes sense. 

In many ways, the Rebel is a story of Lin Nansheng’s failure to become an antagonist within the world of the drama.

I have honestly spent this past couple of weeks pondering whether being well written makes political propaganda better or worse, whether the subtlety of it makes it more or less palatable, whether it’s enough, as a viewer, to be aware of it to shrug it off. Ultimately, this is not something I could or should make moral judgements on, but I do believe that it’s possible to acknowledge the fact that propaganda exists in the drama, and still appreciate it for a good piece of television that it is. 

That said, I am very well aware that me being kind of okay with it stems entirely from my own removal from the culture this is made in, and I am, perhaps, lucky to even have a choice as to whether I want to engage with a product which is, undoubtably, here to dress political ideology in fancy clothes.

I have, on the other hand, also seen many things in Russian media of the “Annexation of Crimea is Good Actually” variety and those make me feel very unwell, so feeling somewhat at ease with blatant political propaganda in Chinese media makes me the biggest hypocrite.

But, I digress.

Before we go into some specific plot-related things, I would like to mention that the Rebel has this weird dichotomy in which the production is sublime, and the post-production… not so much. The show very well shot. Every element of it sits perfectly together, not a single prop out of place, not a single extra underdressed, not a page of script not put to good use. It’s lit to perfection. It’s scored beautifully. So much of this show is just stunning.

And then… there is post-production. 

This is not even about bad CGI (and the CGI is, indeed, bad), it’s just that most of post-production as a whole feels rushed.

Starting with surprisingly imperfect editing, which at times just fails to make the scene flow together. The final line of dialogue would be spoken within a scene, and it would fade to black instantly without a single breath to indicate a full stop. A montage sequence would be created, but every shot within it condensed to a second, making it feel incredibly fast-paced when the effect should be the opposite. There would be a cut away from a speaking character and to the same speaking character from a slightly different angle, making it dynamic without any reason to do so. There are a couple of truly startling jump-cuts.

I did not speed this gif up. This is part of a romantic montage, edited like it’s a goddamn action sequence.

And of course dear old friend slowing down footage shot at 24FPS. Please don’t do this. You think no one notices - but we do.

There are other tell-tale signs of production rushing to the finish line: occasional, but very noticeable ADR glitches, very sloppy job done at sound mixing, which contribute to parts of the show feeling ever so slightly off.

It’s not unforgivable, but it does make me wish the same amount of care and efforts that went into shooting this drama would also go into it after it was all in the can. 

Oh, and just because if you know me you know I have a professional fixation on fights, and I am happy to say most action scenes are toe-curlingly delightful. Hot damn those fights are good. I am absolutely in love with the shot below, for example. Placing an actor behind a piece of set so he can exchange places with the stunt double during a one shot is such an old trick, but the execution, timing and camerawork are just... flawless. This is what perfection looks like.

Now we got all that out of the way...

SPOILERS FOR THE SERIES FINALE BELOW

Here’s the thing. I wanted to love the ending and I found that I could not.

The final mission was presented as important, and honestly the scene in which Zhu Yizhen is sending the vital message out as Lin Nansheng holds his ground in hand to hand fight is incredibly dynamic. Party, this is due to the fight itself being incredibly well choreographed, yes, but it’s also where it sits within the narrative, how high the stakes are for everything surrounding it. 

But then, the tension all but bleeds out. The Important Message is sent, the fight is won, and we are treated to ten minutes of a very slow car chase, problem of which is not even its speed as much as its placing within the story. As in, by this point both of those operatives have lost their cover, and completed their Very Important Mission. It would be very sad if they died, but their survival does not technically contribute to their cause. Moreover, Zhu Yizhen getting mortally injured in order to protect Lin Nansheng as part of her mission read a little empty when the mission is technically over. 

While I personally found Lin Nansheng slow recuperation and his low key ending enjoyable, I think I would have preferred to have seen a more tangible pay-off to all the sacrifices made in the name of “bright communist future”, just a little more justification for every moment of death and despair we witnessed. I would have certainly at the very least preferred to see Wang Shi’an’s death on screen. Considering how many likeable characters martyred themselves on screen, denying us the death of the one antagonist just seemed cruel. 

I really did love the ambiguity of the final few scenes however, if we consider the children choir at the end a fantasy. The idea that Lin Nansheng will live out his life in this hope that Zhu Yizhen is still alive, imagining her just outside of his field of vision, his only joy being in this fantasy of her… now, that is incredibly strong. I equally like the idea of rest being promised to him at the end of his journey, and said rest being painful, and slow and unwelcome.

But it felt like as they chose not to to lean into the “sweet” part of the bitter-sweet tone of the ending and we’re unable not commit to the “bitter” part either, so it lands with a splat which is somewhat lacklustre. 

---

This concludes my thoughts on the Rebel. 

I am more or less out of Zhu Yilong’s filmography to watch, which is probably a good thing at this point. I have just emerged out of several back to back work projects - literally today - and will hopefully once more have time for things I grew to enjoy doing during the lockdown. 

Those things, if you have not guessed, include watching Chinese television and writing things about Chinese television. 

[amwritingmeta]

15x19: A First Ending

This was a good episode! Oh, I know, I know - we didn’t get Cas back. But oh, boy, that should mean that Misha shot for five of eight days for 15x20 and that makes me want to rub my hands together with the hope of what that might mean. All the good things!

Oh, don’t hang your hopes on mine btw. I had very high hopes that we’d get Cas back, or very strongly established as coming back (as per 13x04) with a final scene of him waking up in the Empty or something like it, and that didn’t happen, but omg I’m so glad they didn’t.

When Jack started praying and reaching out to Cas my heart almost stopped. 

If Dean doesn’t instigate Cas’ return, then oh it would take away too much!

But then Jack’s moment didn’t lead to anything, and now, the more I think about it, there more it feels like a plant. A reminder of how he prayed to Cas the last time, and woke him. We shall see, eh?

And then we got Dean telling Chuck to bring Cas back, which was a pivotal plant as well. I’d been worried if they hadn’t mentioned Cas more than once, with Dean telling Jack and Sam that Cas sacrificed himself to save him, yeah? 

If there had been no more Cas for the entire episode then, narratively speaking, I would have started wondering what role Cas might actually play in 15x20.

But Cas was mentioned more than once. We even got to hear his voice and have that fake return to stir our... I almost wrote loins, but that’s not appropriate so let’s change it to stir our... martinis. 

Ah yes. We could all use a drink, I’m sure.

The dog as well! Dean was so happy and he carried the dog and petted the dog and put it in Cas’ spot in the backseat and was all, yes, emotional substitute! And then... poof. Because it’s not going to be that easy to replace Cas. *fingers crossed*

Here’s mostly why I’m hopeful for something quite different as the actual finale of the show, the proper wrapping up of these character journeys:

This first ending is for those who have followed the show explicitly to watch these two brothers. (yes there’s a word for them but let’s not)

It ends exactly how these viewers -- and quite possibly the writers who wrote it -- always saw the show ending. It gives an emotionally satisfying wrapping up of all the thematic threads of the show and gives the brothers their hard-won freedom, and keeps the brothers riding in Baby, together, indefinitely. 

And these viewers and fans will always be able to stop watching the show there and keep that as their perfect ending.

Except it’s not the ending-ending. Is it?

This episode neatly and gorgeously wrapped up the Michael/Lucifer/Chuck storyline. It wiped the slate completely clean. Especially with Michael killing Lucifer and Chuck killing Michael. These characters just completely annihilating  each other because they’ve all served their purpose.

And Chuck being drained of his powers and ending up ignored, never to be worshipped again, or even remembered, is such a fitting ending for him! And with Dean refusing to kill him, leaving him to his fate, I’d call that Dean integrating his Shadow.

No more fearing it. It’s powerless. Thanks to Jack (Dean’s inner child) who now holds all the power in the universe.

I’d say Dean Winchester has reached a point of internal balance.

And for all of these good things: Chuck powerless, Jack the New God, surely helping to fix what Cas broke by restoring Heaven (I’m assuming Heaven will be repopulated or that God’s grace will level it out) and Jack stepping into shoes that Cas once tried to fill and failed to, to the detriment to so many of his kin, is simply stunning.

I cried, properly, at Jack’s speech. It was beautiful.

But for all these good things and wrappings up of stuff, didn’t the ending feel kind of superficial? Like stuff was missing in those final five minutes or so? Like... I don’t know... Sam mentioning Eileen maybe? Because surely she was brought back along with everyone else, and one episode ago he was losing his mind over the loss of her.

And they didn’t even mention Cas. Jack mentioned Castiel as a good influence, but Cas was just bunched in with “everyone we’ve lost along the way”.

Meh.

Hey, it’s fine if all you care about is Dean and Sam and you think that they’re at their happiest when they get to drive along a road in Baby, listening to tunes and play-fighting and reminiscing about all those people that have come and gone, while they know they’ll always remain the same.

I mean, if we hadn’t gotten that montage at the end of this episode (a fucking MONTAGE ppl) I would’ve started thinking that maybe Misha was coming back to shoot flashbacks for 15x20, as we got to see the brothers remembering Cas (like with Mary), taking a walk down memory lane and driving around to well-known locales for a final hurrah.

But we got that fucking montage, ppl.

Leaving me to feel that they probably won’t also spend forty minutes rememberembering those same people. You know?

Also, dull. And Dabb is anything but dull. And Dabb loves pulling on stuff he’s hinted at in the first ep of the season. 

And I remember reacting to Sam being the one to escort the kid and her mother into the, what was it? The high school, right? For safety.

While Dean and Cas had that tense exchange by Baby, where Dean couldn’t not ask if Cas was okay and Cas saying, hopefully, that he was, but Dean remaining stone faced and distant. “Awkward” is what Belphegor called it.

Oh. Please let there be awkwardness in 15x20. I beg on bent knees. Beg, I say!

Anyway.

What is 15x20 going to be about if it isn’t about finally answering the question of what will make the brothers happy?

A balanced universe, of course! But freedom without love... sounds kind of lonely to me. 

So, have they answered the question of What do I want? yet? Is this what they want for themselves? More of the same? This season has hinted that it isn’t. It’s hinted very strongly that it isn’t.

So, I’m holding my breath that Dean’s final confrontation is to do with happiness and daring to want it for himself. Daring to admit to wanting it for himself. Daring to go after it... 

Cas does not belong in the Empty.

And hope that it’s telling how Jack didn’t even think to get Cas out of there and bring him home. God got Lucifer out of the Empty so Jack definitely has the power. 

And Dean didn’t ask him to get Cas out of there, not because he doesn’t still want Cas out, but because it would ruin the first ending for the people who want Cas to stay dead. Yeah? 

It’s kind of beautifully done, to my mind, as a nod and a thank you to the people who have supported one reading of the show. It’ll be difficult for them to go apeshit when Dabb and the writers can simply tell them they don’t have to watch further than 15x19 and be content that they’ve got an ending that lets them cling to the brothers as the begin all, end all.

And yes, I remain believing we will get Dean and Cas together-together before the end of the show. I have no clue how much of a together-together we’ll get, but for the show not to give us a clear understanding of how Dean loves Cas back is unthinkable at this point, and will stay unthinkable until the show tells me otherwise, because nothing but those two together makes even a lick of sense to me.

Dean’s feelings were in the subtext this episode because that’s where they always have been and hopefully fingers crossed because this ending wasn’t for us, it was for other sides of fandom, giving them room for denial, if they simply don’t want to see that what Dean wants is Cas back.

Our ending isn’t happening until next week.

Dean: It’s a helluva time to bail. There’s a lot of people counting on you. People with questions—they’re gonna need answers. Jack: The answers will be in each of them. Maybe not today, but someday.

For me this may be setting up for 15x20.

Dean could be said to be accepting the reality of Cas being gone this episode. He starts off not telling the whole truth about what happened with Cas (of course), he’s drinking himself stupid, he tries to demand of Chuck to bring Cas back, he finds that emotional crutch in the doggo and he moves into acceptance because what else can he do?

Especially if he’s still reeling and is struggling with his fear of happiness, with not feeling deserving, with it being easier to simply let it all go.

But.

Letting go of the need is healthy, allowing it to make way for the real want that is about choosing Cas, not because he feels lost without him, but because Cas completes him...

That would be something. 

(oh shush let’s get with the romance) (Jerry always brings it)

The brothers love each other, but throughout this narrative there’s been hints that they both long for more. So much more. It would be so weird if it didn’t all wrap up with more being wanted and chosen and offered and had.

So if the answers are to be “in each of them -- someday”, then maybe Dean just needs to reach a moment where he’s ready to admit to himself that he can’t stand the fact that Cas died not knowing that Dean loves him back.

I wonder if Sam will push for this admittance... I’d like to witness that conversation, that’s for sure.

And Eileen. I hope she’s back sooner rather than later next episode!!

What’s next episode going to be about if it’s not about the breaking of old patterns to make way for new ones...? Are we going to follow the boys around as they do laundry and cook and make a few tentative plans for their unknown future? They won’t be hunting much in 15x20, at least if Dabb is anything to go by. I guess there might be something brief as a final The Boys With Their Weapons Doing Their Thing, but... it won’t be a case episode. And it would’ve been strange if it was, you know?

So then. Hope. One more week breathing eating sleeping on hopes and wishes and we shall simply have to wait and see what we get.

I have every faith it will blow us away, but I’m also sitting pretty. Reining in those horses lest they run away with me. And whatever comes our way, I’m so grateful for this show!

[iron--spider]

I woke up at 3am yesterday to watch The Devil All the Time and I’ve been thinking about it since. I’m gonna put my thoughts and feelings and a review of sorts behind the cut, because I am gonna talk about it freely, so there will be spoilers! So don’t click if you don’t wanna see. I’ll also be discussing the content of the film and I know that might bother people, so that stuff is in here, too! And it’ll be really long because you know I can’t shut up.

So, I loved it. I loved it loved it loved it. I read the book a long time ago when I first found out Tom was gonna be in it, and the only problem I had with the book was that the POVs would change in the middle of a paragraph lmao, but other than that I thought it was pretty perfect. I knew the movie was gonna be pretty brutal, because the book is brutal, so I was prepared.

-BUT I think the critics HIGHLY HIGHLY exaggerated how bad the content was. Like, seriously, they acted as if this was gonna be a Saw movie. I was preparing for blatant, horrific gore, but it didn’t live up to their dramatics at all. There’s blood and nasty situations, but every single episode of Game of Thrones is worse than this movie, as are most episodes of any crime drama on a paid network. I actually thought they were super, super tactful of all their horrific shit. The dog death was off screen and the shot of the body (described by the critics as literally traumatic) was so quick (enough to shut your eyes) and in the dark. I also argue that particular moment is extremely important for Arvin’s journey, because it’s the moment he truly turns on his father and turns on religion entirely, and he carries it with him his whole life (it’s what he flashes back to when he says “I know what my daddy did” because it’s the marker of all Willard’s mistakes) and it winds up being one of the last things he does before he leaves everything behind. Burying Jack’s bones. So, like, I despise dog death or any animal death in my entertainment, but it’s important here and handled well. And all the worst death scenes are either extremely fast (Helen’s and Gary Matthew’s) or shown in negative (all the photos). I think Bodecker’s headshot with Bobo is probably the worst and is also pretty quick. I don’t know if this means I’m a jaded bitch, but God the way they were all whining and crying, I thought it’d be a million times worse. It could have been, with the book’s descriptions, so it was actually pretty tame. Lenora’s death affected me the most and they cut away from that, too. I guess it’ll still bother some people, but there are many, many mainstream things that are far more violent and gory than this was.

-I thought it was a beautiful movie. I never mind films that are slightly slower but I love ones that use their time to lay things out and really show us what’s going on, build the ambiance and the relationships. I loved the narration (which I was worried about), and it really made me feel like we were visiting a moment in time that was important. Like something that was written and should be learned about. Rumors in a town you’re passing through. The ghosts of past trauma and transgressions looming over everyone that’s left.

-I liked the changes they made with Roy and Theodore because I thought that storyline kinda meandered in the book and I’m glad that Roy was actually gone the whole time and not just neglecting to come back to Lenora.

-The only real complaints I can make, I’ll get out of the way here: I wanted a little bit more time with Carl and Sandy. Carl was really creepy, but he could have been much creepier. In the book he was the one looking at the pictures constantly, Not Sandy, and that really showed that he was the one with the sickness, the one pushing them forward and orchestrating it all. I thought they did well with showing how Sandy deteriorated in her efforts with him through the years, but I would have liked to see a bit more of their personal lives together and her fear of him and her genuine feelings about what they’re doing, because the book goes into that a lot more. I also wasn’t a fan of Lee finding the picture early and knowing some about what they were doing, because I liked how it was a surprise to him in the book and yet he still did all he could to cover it up. And lastly, in the book there’s a scene with Arvin after he kills Sandy and Carl where he’s in a motel and he takes like 18 showers because he can’t get the grime of what he’s done off of him, and he looks at the picture and has a nightmare about killing Sandy, and I really would have loved if they’d kept it in. It would have been another ‘acting’ moment for Tom, and it would have been nice for us to see his direct trauma and reaction to everything that’s piling on top of him.

-BUT that’s it. I loved pretty much every single other thing and decision that they made. The cinematography was TOP NOTCH. You could tell they filmed on 35mm film, you could see the grain, and it really, really added to it. Antonio Campos is a very skilled director and I trusted him at the helm of this story. Everything looked so authentic, all the sets and the costumes. The soundtrack and score were AMAZING and enhanced the film. Technically it was just perfect in every regard to me.

-Acting! Acting! God this was like...a massive testament to the casting department and the talent of these people. Everyone was on their A game. Bill Skarsgård has been on my radar since Castle Rock (which I recommend to everybody, both seasons) and he was so natural and great in this role. Haley Bennet was absolutely adorable as Charlotte, I loved her cute face and her sweet relationship with little Arvin. Riley Keough was so great as Sandy with the limited amount of time she had, and Jason Clarke is one of my favorites but he was unrecognizable in this as creepy ass Carl. Harry Melling was a far cry from Dudley Dursley and he did a great job with his screen time, too. Same with Mia Wasikowska, who didn’t have much to do (same as poor Helen in the book) but she was able to garner our sympathy anyway. Seb Stan was slimy and gross but he pulled it off so well. Eliza Scanlen has been one of my favorites since Sharp Objects (another one that’s brutal as hell but I recommend it, she’s so scary) and she was so, so great here. Robert Pattinson was ALRIGHT, everybody talks him up over this but he felt a little hammy to me and a little too over the top, but there’s no denying his talent.

-Now, the reason we’re all here. Tom. My God. As soon as it was over I just didn’t know what the hell to do, I didn’t even know how to....go on, lmfao. We all know he’s talented, that’s why we’re here, that’s why we love him, but his performance in this is just BEYOND all that. Beyond comprehension. The man is only 24 years old and he’s out here outacting people who have been in the industry for longer than he’s been alive. He is SHOCKINGLY good. I knew he’d be perfect for Arvin as soon as I read the book, but he just completely embodied this role in a way that I couldn’t have imagined. He doesn’t show up in the movie until about 45 minutes in (which doesn’t hurt it because of the strength of the leadup, Bill’s performance and the performance of little Arvin’s actor) but God, as soon as he’s there the whole thing comes to life in a way that it hadn’t before. Tom is literally just a shining light, and he draws your eye in every single scene he’s in, and when he’s not there you’re wondering when he’s gonna come back. Arvin, to me, is a very complex character—he has been inherently changed by how his father twisted religion in his childhood, how deeply he betrayed him by his behavior, but he still has a kind heart and a protective streak and the need to be strong despite the pain nearly breaking him apart from moment to moment. Tom is just outrageously good at portraying all Arvin’s little nuances, how he clenches his jaw, how his voice breaks when he’s afraid or trying to convince someone of something or get his point across, how his hands tremble after he’s done something he wishes he didn’t have to do, how his whole body wilts when he realizes he’s emulating his father. And his eyes. Tom can do so, so much with his eyes that it’s unbelievable. He tells you so much with just a simple look, a glance, a wince, a long blink. I’m not exaggerating when I say he’s just an absolute revelation in this, he cements his place in Hollywood with a firm hand and a tender look, and I will not be forgetting what he did here anytime soon. There’s a reason that everyone called him out for being so stunning in this. He is magnificent. He has a gift.

-I wanna say, in particular, how much I love Arvin’s relationship with Lenora. Their lives were both marked by such tragedy and pain and Arvin just took up the torch of protecting her from the moment he said hello as a child. He wants so badly to be tough, and he IS, but there’s just miles and miles of love in this boy’s heart, and it manifests itself for his family—for his uncle, for his grandma, but for Lenora in particular. I loved how he just showed up when she was being harassed and just ran in there without thinking, and it’s purely devastating that he was out taking care of her bullies while a worse predator was cornering her. The scene where she was sick wasn’t in the book but it was a beautiful addition. Tom sometimes wears this very open, unguarded, honest expression, and this is the only scene in which he shows it, and it really expresses the love between them and how much she means to him. Arvin didn’t find Lenora’s body in the book, but it was the right change for them to make. Tom was devastating here, and that pain and that moment truly fuel every second of his journey through the rest of the film. “My Lenora”. The saddest siblings. Both Eliza and Tom did so beautifully with this relationship and I hope they work together again.

-Favorite acting moments for Tom: when he’s in the car in the rain after beating up the bullies, when he’s in the church crowd and realizes Preston is insulting his Grandma (the way his face changes oh my GOD), when he finds Lenora, when the cop comes to tell him Lenora was pregnant (this is just....so damn good), when he was telling his uncle to look after his Grandma, THE ENTIRE CHURCH CONFRONTATION (the way he trembles when he’s trying to get his attention, how he speaks the whole time, how he slowly gathers his strength), when he thinks Sandy has shot him, the moment where he’s over Lee’s body and just....pleading with his eyes for him to listen and realize what he’s done. And the last scene, in the car, all the emphasis on his face....once again, he can do so, so much with a look, with his eyes. Someone called out the beautiful last shot in the film, and of course, it’s Arvin’s sleeping face. And it was so beautiful (and devastating, to think of him enlisting. Tom draws so much sympathy that you just want Arvin to have a normal life so badly. He deserves it, he does, but will he get it?)

-Last thing I’ll say, I really loved how, despite turning his back on religion, that God seems to be protecting Arvin the whole time. He’s terribly afraid confronting the preacher and that could have easily gone badly, especially when he tosses the book, but Arvin was somehow able to get a shot off and get the upper hand. And with Carl and Sandy, he senses something is off immediately once they pull off the road, and he would have absolutely been killed had Carl not switched out Sandy’s bullets for blanks. And in the confrontation with Lee, he once again shoots at the same time as him, shoots without looking, and manages to come out unscathed and on top. A few spoiler reviews pointed out that the last person that picks Arvin up is supposed to be a Jesus-like figure, almost like he’s finally been saved. It hurts that everyone around him that he loved is almost forsaken by God, but he himself is protected. It’s such a complicated commentary on religion throughout the entire piece, but it’s so interesting and engrossing.

So I’d recommend this movie to anyone that loves movies, loves Tom, can deal with a gritty story that takes its time laying out all the chess pieces. It is definitely heavy subject matter but it doesn’t go overboard with the horror as it easily could have. Yes, there are triggers to look for, but the critics hugely over exaggerated how awful it was. I can probably go get time stamps for certain things if people wanna ask me after reading this, but if you can get through a Tarantino film or any HBO drama, you can do this. And Tom’s performance is one for the ages and not one that deserves to be passed over or downplayed. It is beautiful and heart-wrenching—a magnificent turn that displays his monumental ability to reach out and guide you into any world he decides to make his own.

I loved The Devil All the Time.

[twdmusicboxmystery]

Beth’s Memory Loss Arc, Part 2

So, about that line during their fight in Still. She’s referencing Sophia coming out of the barn and says, “I remember.”

I started wondering if it, too, could represent the memory loss. Like literally. In a template. So, I reverse engineered and what I found just makes total sense. Again, nothing we haven’t said before, but I think they laid out Beth and Daryl’s entire arc in the Still fight. That’s probably why (one of the reasons) it ended up being so powerful.

So, it starts when they enter the moonshine shack and goes all the way up until the hug. (I actually think we could extend it to the porch scene, but I’ll touch on that at the end.)

First, let me remind you of something I said very briefly a long time ago, about how Sasha and Bob in Alone are also Bethyl proxies. In that case of course, Bob = Beth and Sasha = Daryl. It’s just significant that Sasha is searching for her brother and Daryl will be searching for his brother, Rick.

Bob’s dialogue especially keeps running through my head. At one point, he tells Sasha she doesn’t have to be afraid, and she says forcefully, “I am not afraid.” That’s pretty much exactly what Beth and Daryl say to each other in Still.

Beth: “You don’t get to treat me like crap just because you’re afraid.”

Daryl: “I ain’t afraid of nothing.”

Later, Bob asks Sasha, “Why do you think Tyreese is dead?” He knows her well enough and can discern her mental state to surmise that the reason she keeps trying to stop, and doesn’t actually want to get to Terminus, is that she’s terrified she’ll get there only to find that Tyreese didn’t survive. She’s afraid to hope.

Now think about how that will translate with Daryl. Despite being determined to go find Rick, he may start dragging his heels at some point because he’s terrified that he’ll get there and find out it was all a hallucination, and that Rick isn’t really alive. Especially in the wake of Leah. I think Beth will talk him through that, just as Bob did with Sasha. That’s also when we see Sasha and Bob kiss, which probably means that this part of the story is where we’ll finally see ACTUAL on-screen romance between Beth and Daryl.

So, that’s just important to keep in mind as I go into this Still template. It will make more sense if you have that on the brain.

So, I’m gonna go through most of the fight here, and I’ll need to restate it even though I know we all pretty much have it memorized. Bear with me. What I’m going to show here is that the chronological order of the dialogue here corresponds with events in their arc. But it extends beyond where we are now to when they reunite, get together romantically, and perhaps beyond.

First there’s the “what are you, my chaperone?” line. I think this represents how Daryl felt about Beth in early seasons. I don’t think that he ever felt personally responsible for her, beyond her just being a member of the group, and of course a member of the family, but he always saw her as someone who needed to be protected and couldn’t survive on her own. So, his relationship to her was somewhat chaperone-like.

Then they start the game. I actually love when Daryl says, “I ain’t never needed a game to get lit before” and Beth says, “Wait, are we starting?” I feel like that’s the writers telling us this is the beginning of their arc, their relationship, their story together, etc.

Then they start the game. Beth begins with, “I never shot a crossbow.” Putting Still aside (I know; why would we, like, EVER do that? ;D) the next thing that happens in their story in 4x13, is he teaches her to shoot a crossbow.

Next, Daryl says he’s never been out of Georgia, which we all know happens right after Grady. So we’re going along in the chronology.

Beth says she’s never been drunk and done something she regretted. I think this probably represents them burning down the moonshine shack. And it’s interesting, because they don’t exactly regret it. But I still wonder if them burning down the shack somehow drew attention to them, and at some point we’ll learn that doing that is exactly what got Beth kidnapped to begin with. They drew a lot of attention to the smoke in 4b, even having Carol and girls comment on it several times.

Then he says the thing about never having been on vacation. I had to think a while about what this represented. I’m not claiming to have it totally pinned down, but I think this may just represent his time with Beth. For the first time, he feels emotionally safe and happy. To him, that probably felt like a relief. Like a vacation. Especially since vacations only last a short time before it’s back to real life, and he didn’t have very long with Beth before the shit hit.

Then Beth says she’s never been in jail, as a prisoner. Now, this may seem out of order, as Grady happens before Daryl leaves Georgia. But, 1) these could represent their two separate arcs and so they don’t need to line up that way. I think it’s more likely that 2) this represents Beth’s entire time in the CRM, not just Grady. And that will extend to long after Daryl leaves Georgia.

Of course, the prison question sets Daryl off and he gets up to “take a piss.”

So, I find this particular element of this template really interesting. Even though their separation has lasted for 5+ seasons, the part of this scene representing their separation only lasts about 30 seconds, and that’s a bit counterintuitive.

Think of it this way: Daryl gets up and walks away. We generally see representations more of Beth disappearing, but in this case, he walks away, leaving her behind. Leaving her back where he previously was.

Then we get his whole slew of I-Nevers. Never eaten frozen yogurt, had a pet pony, got nothin’ from Santa Claus, relied anyone for protection, or anything.

Some of these we think we’ve already seen, such as through Buttons. And maybe we have. But we can’t be sure. Maybe buttons, and all the ice cream references were just foreshadows of something to come. Or maybe not. No way to be sure, yet. (And remember that we have a huge ice cream theme this season at the Commonwealth. I’m just mentioning. ;D)

No matter what they point to, I think these represent things that either have or will happen before Beth returns.

Now, this is about to get really subtle and granular. I think the “Santa Claus” reference represents the moment when we, the audience, and maybe Carol, see Beth and know she’s alive, but Daryl doesn’t yet. The reason I think that is because at that point, when he’s saying all this, he’s still across the room from her. They haven’t come back together, yet. Therefore, all these things happen between the time he leaves her behind, and when they reunite. And Santa Claus = resurrection.

Most of us have thought for a long time that the line about not relying on anyone for protection points to Beth saving Daryl at some point. And notice that that comes after the Santa Claus line, but before the reunion. And I’m not saying she’ll necessarily save him before she reunites with him. That wouldn’t make tons of sense, unless it’s saving him from afar or something. But maybe it’s a matter of him not realizing it’s her in some way.

Oh, and then there’s a line I’ve never homed in on before. When Daryl is kicking stuff around and Beth is telling him to be quiet, he says, “Sounds like our friend out there is trying to call all his buddies.”

He just means the walker is being loud, which is in response to his yelling, but that just screams Carol is going to call Daryl (her buddy) to tell him about Beth.

So, then he eventually grabs her arm and drags her outside, right? Yes, I think that represents them coming back together. And I hear you: that’s a little weird since he’s being pretty borderline abusive right here. You’d think we’d have some indication of some tenderness or joy on his part. And I’m not saying there won’t be that wonderful, joyous reunion we’re all waiting for.

But here’s the thing. We’re all on the same page about Daryl maybe not believing it’s her because, especially because of Leah, he doesn’t trust his own sanity. He doesn’t trust his own eyes. I actually think that’s what most of the rest of this fight will translate to. Even when he does see her, I don’t think he’ll believe it’s her. 

That’s why they did the Leah the way they did. To show that she felt very real to him, and he really can’t tell the difference. I think we’ll have a whole thing (probably more than just one scene, as this is; it may be an arc that’s several episodes or seasons long) where she has to convince him that she’s real. But more than that, she has to show him how to get his faith and sanity back. She’ll heal his psychosis and this whole hallucination problem, so he CAN tell the difference moving forward.

And like I said in my analysis of the Daryl Origins episode, she’ll have to convince him to open up to her emotionally again, just as she did in Still. Something no one else has been able to get him to do.

Think about everything they say here. When she talks about the people they lost mattering, she could be talking about their shared history prior to Grady, OR about everything that’s happened in the last 8 years since they saw each other.

Then check out these next two lines and think about how they fit in.

“You look at me and you just see another dead girl…

“…but, I made it!”

See how those work so beautifully? He literally thinks she’s the ghost of a dead girl and she’s trying to convince him that she never died.

Then the lines that so perfectly mirror Sasha and Bob.

“You don’t get to treat me like crap just because you’re afraid.” “I ain’t afraid of nothing.”

And then the remember line that started me thinking about this. “I remember.” Which may represent her getting her memory back. I think that will have already happened at this point, but maybe she tells him about how she had memory loss but now she remembers.

And the REALLY interesting thing is that here, she’s talking about Sophia. When this happens between her and Daryl in the future, they’ll be talking about her. About what happened at Grady. Because Beth = Sophia. The lost girl Daryl searched for. Which, incidentally, is probably why Kirkman said the thing about Daryl not caring about Beth any more than he did Sophia. Clearly, he’s trying to throw people off track, but I truly think that was code-speak for the symbolism, not a commentary and the romantic nature of Bethyl.

I still don’t know how the “you ain’t never gonna see Maggie again” line will translate in the future. No way to tell, yet. But we’ve always known it’s significant that he mentions Rick being dead. Where we are here, in the narrative, he believes Rick is dead, and then there were all those clues in the Daryl origins episode.

And then, of course, the hug. I think that probably represents the same thing it did here: her finally getting through to him, him finally opening up to her. Which means at that point, his faith in his own sanity will return and he’ll finally believe she’s real. It might also represent the romance angle.

So, that’s what I’ve been thinking about the past few days.

I did also say we could extend it until after the fight. I just have less to say about that. Them talking on the porch could foreshadow getting to know one another as a couple, or even just swapping stories from the past 8 years. Maybe every line in that convo will also translate to a future event, but I can’t be sure about that.

As for them burning down the shack, I just think of Dwight and Sherry in Fear and what the showrunner said of them. That they’ll be a badass power couple, now. So maybe this foreshadows Beth and Daryl burning down the CRM or something. Which I would 100% support. ;D

Thoughts?