#also he said there is a cliffhanger next ep

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

[strayslost]

YOUR BSD NEW EP SPOILERS WARNING GOES HERE!!

you fools. fyodor couldn't die that easily. he's still fine you just gotta BELIEVE-

[where-theres-smoak-2]

LOKI 2X4 SPOILERS!

I'm putting my Loki theory cap back on now that I've watched ep 4. I mean talk about a cliffhanger. But I can't help but wonder what will happen next. So obviously I turned back to the trailers and earlier episodes looking for clues and I now have a theory. I hope it's one that makes sense but I have a habit of rambling when trying to explain how my brain works, so apologies if that is the case. But anyway on to the theory.

I know the initial reaction to have to that last scene is to say well obviously they aren't all dead, there's still two episodes left. I said that too when I first saw it, but I actually do think everyone in that room apart from Loki died at that moment. However I do think we are still going to see them again.

From the trailers we know that there are more scenes of Loki time-slipping that we haven't seen yet, despite that problem supposedly being fixed in ep 1. But they used the loom to fix the time-slipping, so I think that as the loom is destroyed Loki's time-slipping will come back.

I think a big clue as to what is going to happen can be found all the way back in ep 1 and its largely this moment that I've based my entire theory around. It's the scene where Loki time slips into the past whilst talking to Ouroboros.

I actually think Ouroboros is very significant, the symbol of the serpent eating his own tail causing its destruction and rebirth at the same time, this idea that the end is the beginning and time being circular. They bring it up in this episode when talking about Victor basing his work on OB's and OB basing his off of Victor's.

In that scene in ep 1 we learn that by talking to OB in the past Loki was able to have a direct influence on the future, its played off as a funny scene, but I actually think its really important.

So, getting to the point, I think just as the loom explodes killing everyone left in the TVA, Loki will time-slip away. I think he will then end up being pulled to all the timelines that our gang were stolen from.

There are these shots from the trailer that show B-15 as a doctor, Casey as some kind of workmen in an underground tunnel looking place and then Loki time-slipping outside of a power sports shop that is selling jet skis. I think each of these are showing the lives that were stolen from B-15, Casey and Mobius. There is a quick, blink and you miss it shot of Mobius on a jet ski in a featurette that was released and he is wearing a blue jacket with the Piranha logo on it, so it looks like he works there, which explains his fascination and love of Jet Skis.

I have two theories about what might happen when Loki interacts with the gang on their own timelines. Either he will just straight up tell them all what is going to happen, their minds will later be wiped by He Who Remains but those memories of that conversation will still be there and Sylvie will be able to access them when the time is right.

The other theory is that maybe Loki is the one that takes Mobius, B-15 and Casey from their timelines and then hides them amongst the other variants stolen by He Who Remains, knowing that later they will become his allies, essentially creating sleeper agents within the TVA from the beginning.

Either way I am sure that we are going to see their past lives which I am really excited for.

It also looks like Loki will end up time slipping back to the past TVA. We get a few shots in the trailer showing Loki there. This one where he comes across himself reading the TVA guidebook:

And this one where he seems to be a prisoner again:

The one where he is a prisoner again I wonder whether that's him travelling back to the TVA he was at in ep 1 before they all had their memories wiped, only this time he lets them capture him so that he can talk to Mobius and explain what is going to happen.

The other possibility is that he goes back to the events of season one when he is first arrested and warns them then.

I think Loki is going to meet our gang several times over the timeline and each time will have to explain what is going to happen like a loop. There is a clip in the teaser trailer where Loki is talking to someone about how he has been time-slipping and he says its hard to explain again. Then as the trailer comes to a close it shows the same shot and Loki repeats the word 'again.' Really creating this idea of time looping and events repeating themselves.

There are also those shot of Loki and Sylvie outside Mcdonalds that we haven't seen yet. I think that for Sylvie this will actually be the first time she will see him, so he travels back further and meets her on hiss own this time, whilst for him they've had those previous interactions from ep 1, 2 and 3, for Sylvie he's just popped up out the blue now, if that makes sense.

There are also shots of them talking in what appears to be a bar where she is wearing the same clothes as the unseen McDonalds scene. So maybe after he finds her, again, he convinces her to go to the bar with him to talk and that's why when she asks him what he really wants he replies that he wants to save his friends, because for him they were killed when the loom exploded and he is hoping by communicating with past versions of them he can change what will happen. It's like Sylvie said when Loki told her that he had seen her at the TVA and that it was the future it was going to happen, she replied 'Is it? Because that sounds alot like the future has already been written and we both know it hasn't, I made sure of it.' Again letting us know that the 'future' we just saw where the loom explodes can be changed and isn't set in stone.

I also do think that the loom exploding is going to have other consequences though if these shots are anything to go by:

It looks like the timelines are all going to start turning to spaghetti and just start disentegrating away. Sylvie is again in the same clothes as the Mcdonalds and bar scene so I think maybe at first she rejects Loki and refuses to help, like she did when Loki came to her in ep 2, but then seeing this goes to him realising how serious the situation actually is. This effect kind of reminds me of that episode of What if, and the Multiverse of madness with Dr Strange and the melting around them because he messed with time too much. Like everything is just slowly melting away.

But as I said there is this theme of time looping that was in the trailers and in the first part of this season, so obviously Loki is going to manage to get the gang together for a second time and hopefully this time it will go differently. We know they are all going to end up back in the loom room as there is this shot of the whole group there and where Loki is, for some reason, holding a microphone like he is going to make an announcement.

So in an attempt at a summary, the Loom exploding will be a bit like a reset. Loki will go back in time and then work to change how things turn out in an attempt to make sure the Loom doesn't explode and find the version of the timeline where he can save his friends and where they are successful at stopping the Loom's destruction.

[meilas]

Socks’ Star Trek must-watch list

Socks’ list of must-watch Trek episodes

OG Trek

Welcome to the NCC-1701 starship, known as the Enterprise. The captain and crew follow rules when the plot says so, the captain is often on away missions with his top-ranked crew members leaving some unqualified guy in charge, and the captain gets to snog a lot of ladies. Like, a lot. Seriously. This series features lots of questionable fashion choices, including men’s heeled boots and miniskirts. 

Space Seed - our introduction to Khan Noonien Singh, played by Ricardo Montalban. Khan is the villain of the second Trek movie Wrath of Khan which is why this episode is on the list.

Taste of Armageddon - Do you remember the game Battleship? Two planets wage a war against each other. There is staggering loss of life, but no destruction. The Lottery in Space.

Mirror, Mirror - obligatory parallel universe episode! This parallel universe shows up later in Deep Space Nine which is why it is on this list.

Trouble With Tribbles - Clue in Space. Just a fun episode. Also shows up in Deep Space Nine!

A Piece of the Action - another fun episode. And the reason I don’t know if the proper expression is concrete galoshes or cement overshoes.

Let That Be Your Last Battlefield - two individuals who are the very last members of their races who were at war are still trying to kill each other. This episode was about racism and it is not subtle about it at all.

Next Generation

Welcome to the NCC-1701D, also known as the Enterprise! Not the Enterprise from the original series, but a younger, more advanced starship that is the successor to the Enterprise name. And since the Enterprise and trouble go so well together, the crew of this Enterprise find lots of adventures to keep them busy as they explore strange new worlds and seek out new civilisations.

Encounter at Farpoint - The very first episode. Not great, but it also serves as an introduction to Q, who will show up several times throughout the series. So that I don’t fill up this whole post, just go ahead and watch every Q episode (which will 99% of the time have Q in the title.)

Measure of a Man - Data is put on trial to determine if he is property or his own person, and Riker is forced to testify against him for plot reasons. This episode explores individuality and friendship.

Q Who - I said I wouldn’t fill this up and I won’t, but this episode is special because it introduces the Borg. There’s also a great moment between Picard and Q toward the end.

The Survivors - An elderly couple are the last survivors on a planet. Hard to explain why I like this episode without giving away the whole plot.

Sarek - This episode can be pretty sad as it deals with dementia and what it can do to people.

Menage a Troi - Any episode with Deanna’s mother, Lwaxana, is always a funny one. (Except the one that is sad, more on that later.) This episode is excellent because we get to hear Sir Patrick Stewart recite Shakespeare in the most over-the-top delivery possible.

Best of Both Worlds, parts one and two - THE CLIFFHANGER TO END ALL CLIFFHANGERS HOLY SHIT THIS EPISODE HAS ALL THE DRAMA

Family - A follow-up to Best of Both Worlds. Deals with family that is gone, family that can be A Bit Much, and family that is estranged.

Suddenly Human - This episode is similar to the Deep Space Nine episode Cardassians: a boy who has been adopted by others is discovered and found to have living family who want him back. Which family is the child supposed to stay with?

Darmok - An episode all about language and how ideas are communicated. Yes it has some flaws, but overall it is interesting from a linguistic point of view. By the end of the episode, you will understand how darmok=memes and inside jokes.

The First Duty - A good Wesley episode. This explores truth, loyalty, and doing what is right.

I, Borg - The Enterprise rescues a Borg teenager, who begins to develop individuality. He is named Hugh. Hugh is adorable.

The Inner Light - THIS IS THE BEST EPISODE EVER. IF THERE IS LITERALLY NOTHING ON THIS LIST THAT SOUNDS INTERESTING PLEASE AT LEAST WATCH THIS.

Rascals - Picard and a few other randos (no seriously why is this bunch of people even on a shuttle together?) experience a transporter malfunction and are beamed aboard the Enterprise, except they materialise as pre-teen children! This episode is just pure fun. Contains: bby!Picard throwing a tantrum, and bby!Guinan jumping on the bed.

*Frame of Mind - This is a pretty heavy episode that deals with hallucinations. Riker is supposed to be performing in a play, but suddenly he’s in an alien mental institution and accused of murder. Riker repeatedly flashes between being on the Enterprise and being in the institution and he increasingly cannot tell which is real.

*Technically, this episode does not contain gaslighting even though it will seem like it. Please make sure you are in a good place if you decide to watch this episode.

**Dark Page - Lwaxana Troi is back! But something is up with her.

**I can’t explain why this is a serious episode without giving it away, so here it is: this episode deals with child death.

Deep Space Nine

By far my absolute favourite series, and the only one I have seen every episode of. Deep Space Nine is about a Cardassian space station that is now occupied by joint Federation and Bajoran forces. Deep Space Nine just so happens to be situated right by a stable wormhole that goes to another quadrant of space that would take years and years and years to travel to by starship alone. Naturally, everyone wants to be in control of the wormhole. The closest planet, Bajor, was until recently occupied by Cardassians. (Think of Cardassians as Space Russians.) The Bajorans are deeply spiritual people (literally every fucking Bajoran subscribes to the same religion) and they believe that their gods reside in the wormhole. (THEY ARE WORMHOLE ALIENS FFS AND THEY DON’T CARE ONE BIT ABOUT BAJOR OR CARDASSIA OR THE FEDERATION.) Because this series is set on a space station that does not go anywhere, we get to see that actions have consequences. If Next Generation was the fuck around series, this one is the find out series.

Emissary - A two-parter and our introduction to Deep Space Nine and the majority of the major characters in this show. 

Past Prologue - This episode is important because we meet Garak, a tailor and the only Cardassian still living on the station. What could he possibly be doing here?

Duet - A Cardassian arrives at the station, as they often do, but this one seems to be hiding something. This explores topics of colonialism, genocide, terrorism, and how complicated people really are. This was one of the episodes that made me watch the entirety of DS9. (The other was Take Me Out to the Holosuite.)

Cardassians - Another Garak episode. This one has a similar plot to the Next Generation episode Suddenly Human. Garak and Bashir discover a Cardassian boy is the adopted son of a Bajoran man. But since Bajorans and Cardassians kind of hate each other because Cardassions tried to colonize Bajor, there is a concern that the Cardassian boy is being abused by his adopted father. To make matters worse, Gul Dukat gets involved. (Gul Dukat is played by a native Wisconsinite!)

Shadowplay - Kind of similar to the Next Generation episode Survivors.

The Wire - Garak episode! This episode deals with the topic of addiction and friendship.

Second Skin - Kira might actually be an undercover Cardassian agent?!?

Crossover - Welcome back to the mirror universe, which we haven't seen since the OG series. Here we find out what happened after Kirk left that universe. Told you this was the 'find out' series.

Fascination - A fun Lwaxana episode

Past Tense, parts one and two - Time travel episode! This episode takes place August 30-September 1, 2024. The Bell Riots occurred in San Francisco, and were a turning point in earth history. These are pretty heavy episodes, and they deal with things that still resonate today: poverty, racism, classism, homelessness.

The Visitor - Similar vibes to The Inner Light. Sisko jumps through time at increasing intervals. Meanwhile, Jake lives his life with his father literally popping into existance for a short time only. Jake is older every time. Sisko is not.

Trials and Tribble-ations - The 'find out' episode to OG Trek's Trouble With Tribbles. This is just a really cool episode that blends footage from OG Trek with DS9.

Things Past - An interesting episode where some of the crew wake up in the bodies of people living on the station during the Cardassian occupation.

Ties of Blood and Water - Kira's Cardassian "father" (the guy from Second Skin) arrives on the station.

In the Cards - Jake and Nog do increasingly weird tasks in their quest to obtain a baseball card for Jake's father. Oh and that bitch Kai Winn is there too.

Statistical Probabilities - This episode introduces the Jack Pack! They're a bunch of genetically altered humans, just like Bashir! Oh, and they are extremely neurodivergent and would probably be tons of fun to hang out with.

Far Beyond the Stars - The crew, but what if they were science fiction writers in the 50s? Deals with the topic of racism.

In the Pale Moonlight - How far is Sisko willing to go to get the Romulans to join the war against the Dominion?

Take Me Out to the Holosuite - One of DS9's obligatory holosuite episodes. A Vulcan that Sisko knows shows up and in a very un-Vulcan-like manner boasts to Sisko that he and his crew are superior beings who have been trying Sisko's favorite sport and just absolutely crushing it. Sisko challenges him to a baseball game. The only problem is that most of his crew are not human and have never played baseball before.

Chrysalis - Have you ever read Flowers for Algernon? The Jack Pack returns.

[buffyfan145]

do u have any theories on sauron x galadriel interacting bfr the finale?

tbh when i finished the ep i didnt dislike it so was a bit surprised that a lot of folks took it negatively. i understand the complaints and agree that galadriel's and sauron's relationship + individual storylines drag quite a bit but i think this ep laid the ground for galadriel to feel even more alienated/bitter about elrond and other elves and showcased even further just how shaken she is by sauron + she needed to get to adar. im massively disappointed about her lack in ep3 and probably ep5 too tho.

but when it comes to sauron/galadriel i think there is still a time to make them interact more via their minds? wasnt there a shot of sauron in s2 promo that looked exactly like the fireplace scene in s1? + adar arc is going to be the highlight imo besides the finale.

and maybe im wayyy too hopeful and delusional but the lack of haladriel + gal being too confident about where shes headed + trusting the ring too much + elrond warning her, makes me feel like her ending up with him in the finale is more likely. unless they resolve 2 seasons long character conflict in 1 fight scene ofc.

I'm with you and I enjoyed today's episode too. I don't have any issues with what we're seeing at all, and for both of them their scenes still revolve a bit around the other. It's actually more than I expected. LOL Does make me wonder though if this show was a binge release with all 8 episodes at once if those "it drags" comments would disappear. I like that it's weekly but sometimes binge releases are better especially since a lot of younger generations aren't used to waiting weekly like us older ones (I do miss the 22 to 24 eps a season almost every week).

But back to Haladriel I do think they are going to interact before that even without Nenya. It'll likely be more Sauron doing it since it seems Nenya gives Galadriel a way to do it now and he's always been able to do this as he did it in the s1 finale with her, but then I wonder if Adar is actually going to help her out and maybe teach her to do it as some think he used to be able to communicate with Sauron mentally before he "killed" him and severed their connection.

Still a chance she and Adar's storyline is in ep 2.5 though as the Battle of Eregion is in eps 6, 7, and 8, so they need an episode to set up her and Adar teaming up. I feel 6 would be too rushed if it the battle starts in that episode. She's also already wearing the same outfit she fights Sauron in, in the finale too. So I'd be pretty shocked if she's not in next week's episode.

And I agree with you that it does seem to still be a chance that Haladriel ends up together or on the same in the end and the cliffhanger to lead us into s3. I mentioned this in other posts but it does seem like they could be setting up a pattern where they spend almost all of s1 together, most of s2 apart, most of s3 together, and then he goes to Numenor after they split for good and Celeborn comes back to set up s4, and then the final battle in s5 to set up the 3rd Age/LOTR books/movies. Plans could change in case Amazon forces them to end the show early if they really are getting smaller ratings (still have to wait for the Nielsen ratings but that Samba report yesterday as scared some fans and made the haters thinking the show is getting cancelled), but it seems like this could be the 5 season plan and fit why Charlie said their relationship would be a major storyline for all 5 seasons, so it's not going to wrap up after just 2 seasons.

[bengiyo]

Our Skyy 2 x Bad Buddy x A Tale of Thousand Stars Ep 2 Stray Thoughts

Congratulations to Bad Buddy and A Tale of Thousand Stars for getting the longest name I think I’ve done since a Japanese show.

Yesterday, we finally got to see Pat and Pran again, and I didn’t realize how much I had missed them. We entered their lives between episodes 11 and 12 to see how they’re handling keeping their relationship secret. We had some funny hijinks, but a deep melancholy rose up within me about how much being in the closet actually hurts. Pran accidentally punched Pat in the face and Pat accidentally hurt Pran’s feelings because of this façade. Still, Pat and Pran have such a physically comfortable dynamic that you have no doubt that these two are enjoying a long-term physically intimate relationship. Also, Ink and Pa are clearly a power couple now.

As for the plot, Pran needs to get permission to put on a play from the owners of the personal story, so we’re now in a crossover with A Tale of Thousand Stars. Pran is dying from being outdoors, and is also worried about leaving Pat behind. Phupha has passed out, and Tian is about to stab Pran. Also, Pran and Tian look way too much alike, and this feels very intentional.

I do like that the school was unwilling to sign off on Pran’s play without permission from the owners of the story.

Tian and Phupha are fighting about whether Tian will stay in the village!! Call Celine! Call Whitney! We need to fix this!

I like that Mix is able to hold his jaw the saw way Tian does again.

Yes, children! Let chaos reign!!

Oh, Pran says he has OCD. It’s not surprising, but now it’s something explicit.

Excellent, the gays are bonding over taking care of the kids. I was worried Tian would be beefing with Pran for the next two episodes.

Really, just Ohm, Nanon, Mix, and Earth are just way too attractive. It’s legitimately distracting.

So Tian and Phupha have been together for years at this point, just like Pat and Pran.

Pran is like all of us, reading his gay little stories on his laptop. He’s fangirling hard over every detail about Tian.

Pat made it! These two instantly started flirting. Tian noticed right away.

The eye game at this dinner is incredible. The talent Aof gets to work with these days, I swear.

Instant tears as Phupha read their story with the OST playing in the background.

Losing it over Phupha and Tian arguing instantly about who fell for who first, and Phupha claiming misrepresentation.

I like seeing Pat and Pran wrestle/cuddle, but I hope they actually used the mosquito net.

On the real, though, there’s no way Pran can help Phupha and Tian reconcile while he’s creating distance with Pat.

Oh, I’m here for Pat pointing out that he and Pran also fought about who fell first. There’s some potential here.

This water looks legitimately cold. I don’t think Nanon is acting there.

Yes, boys. Let’s revisit their steps. Cosplay as the couple you just met.

I love Pat Jindapat so much. He’s so cheesy and so in love with Pran.

This man really said he wants to make this house shake! I love that these two have an active sex life.

Not Oishii getting in on the tea bag scene!

I love Kampung. Let this troublesome child meddle.

That’s right! Lie! We need to get these two gays in the same room!

Oh good. Only Nanon sang.

Now we’re getting cockblocked by letters. I’m into this conflict though. Phupha is rather rigid, and I can see him being afraid to appear before Tian’s parents.

Extremely excited about more Pat and Phupha interactions.

Yes, please let the troublesome child lead their drunk teacher up the mountain to recover a buried diary in the middle of the night.

“I think we’ve had enough, youngster.” I AM SCREAMING.

“I’m not your wife!” I am going to die.

Look at these gays saving each other.

A cliffhanger!! In Our Skyy??

I am having so much fun with this! I am feeling so much about the Tian conversation where he laments that Phupha never compromises or bends for him. I know that had to sit with Pran, who came here alone to prove he didn’t need Pat. Very excited about us getting a four-part BB x ATOTS story. I thought the crossover was going to be a lot smaller than this. Instead, we’re getting something really compelling out of both stories.

[lollythelazyperson]

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR LEGO MONKIE KID SEASON 5

so I’ve finally finished watching all of lmk season 5, and…

…I WAS NOT PREPARED FOR THAT SHIT… 😭😭😭

LIKE- (starting w/ ep. 7 here since ep. 6 doesn’t have much happen in it iirc) we FINALLY get to learn what MK is/how he was created, LBD sorta shows up and the eye demon guy reveals to mk what all those visions meant(yk, mk literally sacrificing himself for the world n all), the show references wukong and macaque’s fight thingymajigy in jttw, then in ep. 8 mk can control the jade emperor’s power(or was that ep. 7? idrk man), the fuckin uh snake demon guy reveals the first two things i said to everybody else, but he also reveals/mk figures out that [snake guy] actually FREED MK FROM THE STONE WAAAAY EARLIER THAN NEEDED(snake guy also has some lore which kinda makes him interesting but that isn’t the point here)…

and in ep. 9, well- there’s no big lore drop except at the end, but so i’ll kinda summarize it instead. macaque first tries to stop mk from doin the whole sacrifice but fails, and eventually the others have to stop/stall snake guy while wukong tries to stop mk instead. he fails and mk encounters nuwa, who reveals the whole… “pillars in peril? pillars saved by mk? oh, well, that means the whole world has to start over cuz there are no more beings strong enough to handle the stones now, so the world’s gotta make new ones.” thing to him(which is the lore drop basically).

finally, in ep. 10, well(i shall also summarize this one)…

everyone thinks mk died(but macaque mutters “wukong”… 👀👀), meanwhile mk goes “NAH, IMMA DO MY OWN THING, ANS YOU CANT STOP ME!!!!!!!!” to nuwa basically, and comes out of the pillar alive. wukong catches mk when the latter starts to fall, so (mostly) everybody goes in for a group hug- but considering the world’s basically ending… they hold hands for the last time- and wukong is LEGIT ABOUT TO GET MACAQUE TO HOLD HIS HAND, WHEN FUCKIN SNAKE GUY INTERRUPTS THE MOMENT SJ2JZIWISIAOLAKAKAJQJSI LET THEM HAVE THEIR MOMENT SMH- …….oh right anyways. they(the others, not snake guy) decide to share the power of the stones with everyone due to mk convincing them of it, but then snake guy drags mk into the pillar- and they have a weird conversation that’s basically snake guy goin “…this has only just begun. good luck, kid. you’ll need it.” to mk and then literally pushing him off and back outta the pillar.

the last few minutes of the episode is basically the aftermath of that. people now have cool magic powers(nobody is gonna use em for bad, definitelyyyyy /hj /lh), flyingbark reference through a flying dog, and some of the monkie kids(everybody but the monkeys themselves basically) are just chillin n talkin. meanwhile, mk n wukong talk bout what’s gonna happen next or sum(can’t exactly remember what specifically, I just remember mk startin the convo like that) but when mk starts to cry wukong hugs him.

then, we get an outro-monologue thingy from tang- and what we see durin it is basically this;

1; macaque is in court with the ten kings(?)- his powers have been affected by snake guy.

2; pigsy n mk are just havin a nice time addin a new photo to the photo album.

3; nezha and his dad are helpin handlin stuff in the celestial realm,

4; finally, the monkie kids/mk’s crew + redson + the two monkeys are havin a lil celebration somewhere… but in the very end, macaque sees how mk’s staff is also affected by snake guy’s powers(?).

so like- YEAH, I WAS NOT PREPARED FOR THAT CLIFFHANGER. ……OR LEGIT ANYTHING THAT HAPPENED IN THE LATER HALF OF SEASON 5.

but it’s preeeeetty late for me rn and I cannot stay up(gotta wake up early tmr) today, so if I have anything else I wanna say I’ll probs just will do that in another post.

so gn! drink water, eat food, and have a great day/night! :D

cya’ll in the next post!

[buckera]

What could possibly have driven ryan to say eddie is isolated in s8? There doesn't seem to be a fight with his parents, no buddie divorce, the ep says the 118 lean on each other... sure, chris leaves for the summer but he'll be back? So this 'new lifestyle' without a kid in the house isn't exactly new? I'm scared, something else must be coming

I'm more and more leaning towards the idea that the cliffhanger might not have to do anything with Bobby and it's gonna be something completely left field on Eddie's end, though for what it is... who knows.

we still haven't heard anything about Abuela's secret if that is indeed something playing a part this season and isn't just something Tim told Ryan and then haven't implemented into any of the scripts yet.

then of course there is the question about what's going on with Bobby and who was the arsonist. because I'm 100% sure it wasn't Amir (it would be poor storytelling and way too on the nose — so if I'm wrong I will be a little disappointed ngl) but it could be quite a few people; Herman or the cartel, Fernanda turning out to be a villain fsr, Cap Gerrard because why not, Charlie Nash coming back with a vengence, the guy Harry punched tracking him down across states.... the possibilities are quite frankly endless.

anyway whoever was it will bring the storyline to a different conclusion (that we might only get to see in s8) but it'd also be a hint of what to expect for Bobby. will he live? (I think so but ugh) is it gonna be a months-on-end recovery type of situation? is he going to be in a coma for multiple episodes come next season?

and you might be wondering why I'm talking about Bobby, when the question was why would Ryan talk about Eddie feeling isolated... well, Ryan said it a handful of times during the beginning of the season that Buck and Bobby are Eddie's rocks.

Buck being unable to help or being too busy with trying to hold the fort for Eddie in other ways, unable to listen to him or give any advice, while Bobby is dead/in a coma/otherwise incapacitated... that'd definitely make Eddie feel like he's got no one to lean on with his more personal issues or that there just isn't anyone who understands what he's going through.

[gyarucoded]

reviewing loki s2 ep4 (major spoilers!)

i was bit hesitant thowards this ep cuz i started noticing how this season parallels the previous one, which went very downhill after ep3 however, i think it seem to get better this time? 🤔🤭 this is so far my fav episode and hopefull they'll keep this energy for the last 2 eps. ok let's get into it:

i don't think this was timed like this on purpose but love how we're 3 days away from halloween and this episode fits with it so well. i could be biased as a horror fan but i loved the eeriness (is that even a term?)

brad you stupidass why are you listening to ravonna when she clearly doesn't care about any of your lives on the time line 😭

ooouu the box scene 😧 not miss minutes' psycho ass smiling like she's getting creepier each ep- also as someone who watches gory movies i expected to see what was left of all the prisoners but then i remembered disney tries to keep shit as "family friendly" as possible altough i am not complaining cuz it's a lot more cinematic to just hear the blood droplets & it leaves space for our imagination!

why does it feel like b-15 is lowkey the true leader of the tva now? i can definitely vibe with that.

"which way, wizard?"

B-15 is strong af for not throwing up at *that* scene but ig she has seen more gruesome sights before.

i just know ppl gonna ship o.b, casey & victor as a poly-couple and i'm a 100% there for it lmaoo

even sylvie calling it "bromance" like miss ma'am's gay radar was going havoc, and her smile when HWR death was mentioned plss🤚 😭

i know sylvie meant well when she snapped at mobius for yk, "not reading the room" but i still felt kinda bad for mobius cuz i can deffo see him as the stress eater-type.

loki mentioning thor !!!!

the parallels between thor & jane and loki & mobius hmmm.....hmmmm...

what sylvie said about anhiliation & starting from scratch reminded me of thanos in endgame, sry baby 💀

well despite of that, still think sylvie is in the middle of her positive character arc/development

we're also witnessing loki's growth !! (notice how in 1x04 mobius told him to grow up?) he's possibly even more mature then he was in the sacred time line but that was due his sctripted fate of being a "loser" that sabotaged him from more rational choices but now he's free to think & do what he wants n i love that for him.

goodbye miss minutes i assure you that nobody's gonna miss yew. 💁‍♀️

now why did x-5 had to ruin that wholesome moment this badly ><=$^[_=

despite of sylvie & loki not fully agreeing on moral issues and stuff, i enjoyed them working together, it was finally sylvie's turn to show off her magic 😋

loki was so soft & reassuring with victor timely only for him to be spaghettified ?? i knew they'd probs kill him off but i didn't expect it to be such a weird & immidate death 😭 kinda sad cuz i don't think they'll bring that version of him back.

idk how to feel about ravonna getting pruned. not sure she'll get redeemed cuz it's too late for that now but pruning doesn't kill an invidual so it's likely that her story doesn't just end here.

love the soundtrack in this series generally but in the latest episode it's outstanding ! natalie holt truly added her whole 🐱 into this ost 🙏

the cliffhanger is absolutely killing me, i'll have to absorb all the theories until next friday like i fr cannot wait ngfddjfsvbm

[lilyginnyblackv2]

Buddy Daddies - Episode 7 Preview! - SPOILERS!

 ANGST INCOMING!!!

So, from the synopsis of the episode, the gist is: Kazuki finally gets fed up / overwhelmed by doing all the housework alone, and Miri being spoiled by Rei’s constant game playing, along with both Rei and Miri being very picky eaters. So he writes a letter and leaves the house. This is also after he has seen a woman in town who he instantly hides himself away from. While Kazuki is off remembering an incident, Rei is left to take care of the house and Miri alone. He is puzzled by this and struggles. It should also be noted, that the series is in the rainy season now, so the timeframe is likely between June - Mid July. 

My thoughts under a Read More.

My thoughts on this. Well, we are definitely moving into Kazuki’s past, so things are going to get serious. That being said, I do want to know that in the trailer above, Kazuki is ranting to Kyutaro about how he can relate to all the “other moms” and their woes with their husbands, lmao. 

But, getting back to the serious stuff again. Buddy Daddies is set for about 12 or 13 episodes, so the Episode 6 and Episode 7 mark really is the halfway point of the series, and having Rei’s dependency on Kazuki to help with everyday life stuff being challenged at this point in time really works. Since there has been proper buildup to this in previous episodes. 

I also think this confirms the fact that we are past the point where Episode One opened on. Since this episode is going to be directly challenging Rei when it comes to caring for Miri as well. So we are likely going to see a shift in Rei’s character after this and him getting better with all of that kind of stuff. I feel like, if that Ep. 1 opening scene happens after this week’s episode, it would feel like a step back for Rei. Along with that, Miri getting sick is likely going to happen in this week’s episode, since Rei is wearing the same cat shirt, it’s raining, and he sounds very lost on what to do (which would fit the situation going down in this week’s episode) :

It seems like a lot of the clips we got in the 3rd trailer are going to be from this week’s episode and possibly next week’s. I wouldn’t be surprised if this week’s episode leaves off on a cliffhanger (or two) that finally get resolved in Episode 8. Since, otherwise, it may be a lot to have in just one episode. But, we’ll see! 

Some things we know that are still going to happen:

- Sports Day

- A Party

- Something with Ryo Ogino

- Rei’s father coming into the picture

- Rei’s VA said that Miri’s mother would be an important character from the midway point on. So, we will likely be seeing her again as well. 

So, I’m interested in seeing how this will all work out and fit into the season. As for this week’s episode, one of the lessons for both Rei and Kazuki is likely going to be learning how to share responsibilities. Kazuki may like helping Rei. He may find that fulfilling. But that can be physically and emotionally taxing on a person as well. Meanwhile, Rei has made some small baby steps in regards to stepping up, but he needs to start doing more and challenging himself. So this is like a pop quiz, but on like a test level, lol. No more baby steps. 

I was originally hoping that Episode 5 would be something like this, so I’m glad to see that an episode like this one has finally showed up. I’m really intrigued to see what’s going on with the woman, who Kazuki recognizes, which makes me think that she is probably the person he has been sending money to or a relative of his late wife’s. 

I’m really interested in seeing how this will all go down! 

[blogger360ncislarules]

It’s become somewhat of a tradition for CBS’ Ghosts to end on a cliffhanger.

And Season 3 was no different. While audiences are going to be left waiting anxiously to know what, exactly, is going to happen to Isaac (Brandon Scott Jones), showrunners Joe Port and Joe Wiseman are delighting in the latest pickle they’ve gotten their characters into.

Not only has Isaac decided not to get married to Nigel (John Hartman), he’s now in the clutches of Patience the Puritan ghost, who struck up a friendship with Flower (Sheila Carrasco) while she was stuck in the well and has a bone to pick with Isaac since he let go of her hand while they were escaping from their own hole on the grounds a few hundred years ago.

“We really just enjoyed the possibilities of Patience,” Port said. “She’s become sort of a favorite in the writers room as we discussed what she could be like. So we just decided to have that be a turn that happens at the end of the of the season finale. I think it was just such a big part of the prior episode that we found it enticing to bring her back and finally meet her.”

Having already been renewed, the Season 4 writers room is officially open. The first order of business is “how we get him back,” Port said.

No doubt, there will also be some retribution for the basement ghosts, who were somewhat culpable in Isaac’s kidnapping. Although, Wiseman is quick to come to their defense. After all, the upstairs ghosts do treat them pretty awful — and they never intended for Isaac to really get hurt.

“We thought it was too far if they knew that Isaac was going to be kidnapped, but I don’t think they would have literally lured him into such a precarious situation,” he said. “You could argue that they had a right to be upset. They weren’t invited to a very big event in the house. They’re very much treated as second class citizens all the time. But we wanted to make sure that they didn’t know it was going to be so crazy. So we’ll see if they come clean next season or not.”

Among those relieved to hear that the writers plan to bring Isaac back to Woodstone Mansion is Brandon Scott Jones, the man behind the character.

“That means I still have a job,” he joked. “I have no idea how they’re gonna play it out. I don’t know if we’ll ever see Patience. But I think it’s a cool way to expand the world and remind people that there are so many more ghosts on this property than we’ve even seen just yet.”

Jones did have some ideas about where Isaac’s story could go in Season 4, now that he’s single once again and (probably) escapes the clutches of Patience the Puritan. He discusses all that and more in the interview below.

DEADLINE: When did you find out that Isaac and Nigel weren’t actually going to get married?

BRANDON SCOTT JONES: Somewhere towards the end of the season. I can’t remember where, but I think Joe Port and Joe Wiseman came to me and they said that they were thinking about breaking Isaac and Nigel up. Things change, so I knew that there was a chance before we even got the script that it was going to happen. But when I got the script, I just didn’t know what the machinations were going to be. I think even as we were filming it, it went back and forth a little bit between who left who at the altar, so I was a little bit…unsure of which way it was going to go, which kind of made it a little fun. I’m sad to see the relationship end, but I think it’s probably the best thing for both characters.

DEADLINE: Joe Port and Joe Wiseman mentioned to me they felt that maybe Isaac and Nigel rushed into their engagement. Did you feel the same?

JONES: Yeah, I always felt that, when he proposed to Nigel, it was a little bit of like a panic proposal. Isaac spent 250 years not really being himself, so he finally gets this opportunity and he kind of admits to at least the other ghosts, who he really is as he’s exploring that. He immediately finds himself in this relationship with Nigel, and I think it’s funny because it’s almost like he decided to go right back into the traditional steps of a relationship rather than exploring any other new thing. He just kind of felt like, ‘Alright, well, I guess I’m now gay, but I’m still going to propose to this person and live with this person and do all the necessary things.’ But I don’t know if he’s doing it because he wanted to or just because he felt like he had to because of the traditions of his era. When the stripper comes, it was definitely one of those things where I think it started to open up his eyes of like, ‘Oh my god, could I even find myself attracted to somebody else?’

DEADLINE: The stripper-turned-DJ being Isaac’s moment of awakening is quite funny and somewhat touching. It seems like he’d never considered there was anything else out there for him.

JONES Yeah, I think so. I think he probably has comfort in tradition. The idea of deviating away from any of that…it’s probably the reason he stayed in the closet for so long, even after he died. And I think the idea that this guy opens up his eyes, but also Pete really opens up his eyes too. He has this awesome story, which I think poses a really great question. What do you have to live for if you are already dead? What really, to me, made it cool it was that how they connected those two storylines and the wheels started to turn for Isaac.

DEADLINE: I thought it was quite beautiful how the other ghosts were reassuring him that there have been so many ways that they’ve met knew people and ghosts they never knew existed, and there is still so much for Isaac even though he’s dead.

JONES: Right. All these ghosts are stuck in purgatory. I think in Episode 3 of the entire series, they mentioned how their dream is to move on from this existence, no matter what. I think, as an actor, that’s sort of like your supreme motivation in almost anything you do on this show. This might be an opportunity where Isaac’s finally starting to wake up and realize, ‘Oh, I don’t have to just check boxes. Maybe the reason I’m stuck here is something a little bit larger that I have to go out and seek and find.’

DEADLINE: Do you think this is really the end for Isaac and Nigel? They do still have to exist on the same property basically forever.

JONES: It doesn’t sound too fun to be trapped in the same space as the person who left you at the altar. If there is a path forward for the two of them, I can imagine it’s not going to necessarily be smooth sailing. But then again, I also don’t know. Maybe it’s good that they spend time apart and if they never get back together again, that’s okay. But hopefully they’re both better because of this relationship, and they can find some common ground somewhere, either quickly or down the road.

DEADLINE: Isaac has to come back first, though. That cliffhanger at the end. What did you think of it?

JONES: The easiest way to describe it is that it feels like Isaac gets what he deserves, because he left this woman literally in the dirt. Then he recently left this man at the altar. He was, even in this episode, just a little persnickety with Sam the entire time. He’s a messy, messy dude that has a lot to figure out. Anytime he’s called out on his bullsh*t, or he has to pay the price for some of the things that he does, I think it’s a good moment because it’s funny, hopefully. But also, hopefully, he’ll be able to either learn or at least figure something else out. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I have no idea where this is gonna go, but I hope he does have to atone for something.

DEADLINE: Did they tell you they were going to do this to Isaac?

JONES: No, no, I didn’t get a heads up on that. I read that in, I think at the table read. It was definitely right before we were filming. I wasn’t sure if that was going to stay or not. But yeah, we filmed it and it’s in there. I’m excited because I think it’s gonna be a cool opportunity.

DEADLINE: Isaac is now the third ghost to ‘disappear’ in some way from the property this season. What do you think that means for the rest of the ghosts?

JONES: I don’t envy the job our writers have of sort of being like, ‘Well, these people can’t live or die, or hold anything. They can’t touch anything. They can’t talk to people that aren’t also dead.’ How do you tell the stories? But they always find a way to do that. I love any opportunity that we can to just deepen the mythology of the show. It is funny you actually pointed that out. I hadn’t noticed that, but yeah, this is the third person to go missing.

DEADLINE: Since the show has been renewed, what are you hoping is in store for Isaac once he’s back?

JONES: I try not to think too far ahead because the writers always keep us guessing. But I guess I hope this experience of leaving your fiancé at the altar, getting dragged into the dirt by a woman you left for essentially dead — if you can leave a ghost for dead. I hope that it sends Isaac on a new path of self discovery. There’s something really, really funny to me about somebody really trying to make a hard right turn into being a better person. That could be really interesting.

DEADLINE: I do think Isaac trying to be a nicer person would be a hilarious story.

JONES: Exactly. It’s really coming to terms with the atonement of all the bad things that he’s done. Like he killed so many people when he was alive. I would love to see him start to really try to figure things out and see how difficult it really is to change in the afterlife.

[nalyra-dreaming]

Louis quite sympathetically explaining that lestat hid the cloud gift, stating that it was because lestat didn’t want to relationship to suffer due to an even more lopsided power dynamic, is just so interesting in the context of Louis saying all that in front of armand and armand shown casually using that gift in the last scene. We don’t know yet how the present day Louis and armand dynamic will be necessary but that explanation from Louis seems an interesting inclusion (especially when it could be argued Louis had been aware of lestat’s gift since ep 1), how do you think Louis views his current situation with armand?

It definitely is a very potent statement actually, because it describes his relationship with/to Armand here, the sheer power imbalance shown to us, the viewer, in said last scene.

I think Louis is something of a self-proclaimed prisoner. He hides himself away, after having asked Armand for help, and Armand being Armand… helps in the way he sees fit. Armand loves Louis, he tries, but he is Armand.

He controls, edits, the penthouse, the diaries (books in general though of course Louis could jump or get a ladder, but the shelves are a statement not a forbidden zone per se), Louis‘ memories.

Armand canonically is a strong mind and spell gift user. He uses that influence on Louis for him to turn Madeleine, for him to leave the theater. For example. We’ll see how it is on the show but Rolin already hinted in last season‘s episode insider that Armand will still be that coven leader he is in the books, so… ;)

Now, we are decades later. Louis is at least latently suicidal, for reasons that we will still get to see imho, and which likely have to do with the diaries, a too important piece of canon to waste, imho.

I think Louis feels trapped in Dubai.

Not necessarily by Armand, but… in this life, in this situation, in the choices he made. And he is tired. Louis calls it bored, but what really is that except being bone-tired? By everything? And so I think that he tries to tie up loose ends, so to speak.

Only… neither Armand nor Daniel really play along. I agree with others that the Rashid play was likely improvised, and then, at a certain point Armand took over.

I do think there’s love there, berween Armand and Louis.

But also desperation and a certain helplessness, especially as the tale unravels. This interview isn’t exactly going as planned after all.

I think they’re at a point in their relationship where all that is keeping it from falling apart is the status quo - and memory is a monster, and what will be unearthed from said memory next season will be uncomfortable at best - but likely very, very painful, and it‘ll unravel what is left.

And Armand will try to control it, thereby making it worse (I think), and… well. Then it will all come to a very interesting cliffhanger… no matter which one they’ll choose^^

[miss0atae]

Here we go after a long pause, my random thoughts about Playboyy the series ep 11:

▪️First of all, the most important thing I care about is what happen to Phop?! I can't believe they left us with this freaking cliffhanger about him. Putain!!! I feel very protective of this idiot. He already made terrible decisions in life (like dating Nuth) so he deserves something good. If Nont really did something to him I would riot.

▪️What is so surprising is how I felt sorry for Nuth. He was super creepy in the last two episodes but in this one, I don't know... He was just pitiful. He looks like someone who has PTSD and keeps seeing Nant at least two times in the episode. I was shocked when he admitted he was unstable and saw a therapist. Phop said he couldn't see it but I think he is blinded by love because Nuth displayed it several times. I kept thinking if Nuth truly has feelings for Phop? The answer is not clear.

▪️Nont is on my bad list in this episode with what happened in the end. I can't believe Prom gave him a gun. I mean you must be blind if you don't see that Nont is also very unstable and giving him any weapon is dangerous. He must have some magic moves because Prom is willing to help him a lot. Btw what's Prom's deal with Porsche's sugar daddy? I don't understand how he fits in the equation.

▪️Jump pulled a uno reverse card to Porsche when he learnt about the truth about his "Dad" and used the affection Porsche has for him to get revenge for how he treated him. I admit Porsche wasn't really soft with him but I felt pity for him when after being abused by Jump he didn't even get any after care. Even if he accepted to be his "slave", in this kind of play he should get the after care at the end. Can't remember if he provided them to Jump before... They never showed it.

▪️First also got his revenge on Soong but didn't really feel satisfied by the outcome. I'm sad for these two. I was rooting for them. I still like them a lot. I hope they will have a way to be back together in a healthier way.

▪️I was so disappointed by Captain. He really can fool anyone with his baby face. I can't believe Keen felt for his lame ass love confession. He heard him talk to the team and Keen also seems to hide a part of him that I thought would be displayed in this episode. I also didn't remember that he knew Nuth that well. I don't believe in their couple.

▪️Puen is quite clever. He knows how to get what he wants. I think he played Aob very well.

▪️Between all of these, Zouey and Teena have the healthiest relationship now that they admitted everything to each other. They are not my favorite couple but I'm glad there is, at least, one couple who is happy. Will it last?!

▪️So Nant wasn't murdered but committed suicide?! I'm starting to believe the theory he never existed and Nont is just Nant but can't remember it. 😱

I was really happy to see all these characters. I can't wait for the next episode now.

[thegeminisage]

star trek update time! last night we watched voy's "worst case scenario" and ds9's "blaze of glory."

worst case scenario (voy):

this one had something. this one was Doing something. i normally Hate holodeck episodes but this one had an okay start, a very strong middle...and then a very very very weak ending. which was sad because i was having a great fucking time and then it was like having a bucket of cold water dumped on my head

the beginning scene was a little long. like, we obviously knew something wasn't right because chakotay was the one who KEPT people from doing a mutiny, he'd be the last person on the ship to instigate it. so having to wait so long before we found out it was a holodeck thing was a little tiring

after that though. like aside from the exhausting length of that section. the middle of this episode was fantastic. tom and b'elanna doing the like guilty pleasure in doing this holonovel over and over. everybody failing to keep it a secret even though it's supposed to be a secret and nooobody telling captain janeway because. awkward. their outrage at the cliffhanger ending. all extremely funny

MADE FUNNIER BY: TUVOK BEING THE MYSTERY AUTHOR

like, of COURSE he wrote chakotay as the hugest asshole because they hate each other so bad <3 that makes SO much sense. he also wrote chakotay, specifically, complaining about how much of a hardass he himself was. incredible

also funny: janeway was like no no no you guys keep doing the little mutiny scenario i'm not afraid of creativity maybe holo me will kick your ass. like she was so chill about it. i felt sooo bad watching fake chakotay betray her until they smirked at each other at the very IDEA of chakotay doing a mutiny and then it was like oh okay so that's gonna be their next little sex game

even tom and tuvok arguing over how the novel was supposed to end was funny, especially because tom "no outline" paris was like yeah i got this and tuvok was like you do Not got this i want my novel back and meanwhile people keep coming into their gdoc like "do you take requests"

what really got me was the end...like, oh no, the safeties are off! the holodeck is malfunctioning again! and we're trapped in here! again! way to remind me of why i hate the holodeck. i'm not sure how i would have resolved that but anything besides the seska hologram becoming semi-sentient and making them run around like rats in a maze. WASTE of a good cameo. i spent the last 10-15 minutes of this episode just wishing it would end

that said, the rest of the episode was SHOCKINGLY charming so not a total loss

blaze of glory (ds9):

episodes that made me wish i found eddington compelling...i just don't. he and sisko don't have any chemistry...and look, i don't like to be mean to this guy, but do you know how bad you have to be at acting not to have chemistry when you are spending an entire episode playing off of avery fucking brooks? come on

along with the cringe les mis stuff from his previous episode, he was never really...threatening? sisko played it so well, about how deeply his betrayal struck him, but i never felt physically or emotionally threatened by him. even when he was like yeah man let me die here and let the bioweapons start a new war idagf (which was without a doubt his most threatening moment, when sisko could neither blackmail persuade or bribe him into cooperating) i was just like. eh

i guess it was fun that he outsmarted sisko, but that doesn't even offer us any real closure so far as he's concerned - no sense of victory over him except having captured him that one time except sisko didn't outsmart him then either he was just a dick until he surrendered

and his death was also...kind of pointless...unnecessary...it didn't make me sad or angry or anything i was just like oh ok

anyway i wish i cared! but i don't. so. a rare boring ds9 ep

TONIGHT: ds9's "empok nor" and voy's "scorpion part i" AAAAA IM SO EXCITED

[captain-hen]

re your complaints/critiques on 911 said in an anon response:

I 100% agree!! On the finale, I love everything about the first 30 minutes! the bridge collapse is everything, i could go on about that for hours, even the birth on the couch, i thought that was a funny twist in the couch theory. I love everyone else's storylines (bathena honeymoon, henren's newest foster daughter, madney wedding planning) I could like eddie with marisol if it ends with him growing and them not together, but buck's ending was so infuriating! like you said it felt like he was going in circles which can be true to real life, doesn't always make for good television. The biggest thing im worried about it it being nearly exactly like bucktaylor, especially if they last a season. I don't care if its a slowburn but like you said, theres slowburn and setting up something with no payoff over and over

anyways, Im surprised they didn't circle back to jo and mallory (molly maybe?). they usually circle back to the injuries of the week to get the like conclusion so (and i didn't realize until after) to not circle back to them felt weird. Do you think we'll get them in the next season?

OH also i thought it was so interesting that we almost / could've gotten the lees for this ep! tbh i thought it would be a scene where chim is in the hospital with maddie (if this wouldn't be a scene were maddie and chim jump the gun andd marry) and they reaffirm that chim is a psuedo son to them this leads to my other question: did you think we would've gotten a madney wedding like in the S2 finale for Bathena and would you have wanted that?

anyways, I thought this ep did the platonic relationships really well (buck and hen, buck and chim, hen and chim, and buck and bobby) and did literally every other storyline well except for buck's ending

i realize like as i finished that this was kinda neg so if you don't want to respond to any of this dw I understand adsf

i enjoyed everything related to the emergency! i thought it was done very well, while i wanted it to be more high-stakes i get why they couldn't end what they thought might be their last episode on a cliffhanger or something. the 'pay it forward' thing really worked so well, not just with the civilians and jeff but i also clocked it with ravi and buck (someone also pointed out that the 118's degree of injuries was based on how much experience they've had on the job, which is why ravi didn't face any danger at all, and i thought that was an interesting theme!). i enjoyed how they wrapped up the other characters and i love that bathena got their cruise.

my major problem is the way buck's storyline was resolved, while the sperm donor thing was wrapped up very well; i'm unhappy and tired of him going in circles with natalia yet again. i also dislike the implication that him ending the season being single would mean it's an 'unhappy' ending for him—aside from all the obvious issues with that statement, buck literally started out this season by trying to be comfortable in being single and figuring out life by himself. it would have been the PERFECT conclusion to his arc. i love buck, i really do, but i'm not interested in sitting through who knows how many more episodes of him trying to learn this lesson again, i'm just not.

the thing with eddie and marisol was actually cute and it went more or less how i expected tbh. the way she was re-introduced left very little doubt that eddie would date her again. (given the lack of set-up, tho, i wouldn't be surprised if they opened up s7 with the relationship having fizzled out during the time-gap).

when i saw the synopsis mentioning the lees, i thought they might appear in a montage of sorts with chim recovering and i'm disappointed we didn't get to see that, especially with the stuff with chim's dad. (side note: 911 really needs to do better on the chimney front. i'm gonna need a season 7 that treats him like his own person for the entirety of it, not just maddie's partner. 6B has given us some of that, but i need more).

i'm actually glad they didn't rush the madney wedding. the bathena wedding being the way it was kinda made sense given the circumstances of how they got together in the first place, and how their relationship progressed from there. madney on the other hand—they've always taken things slow, they've been cautious and thoughtful while taking each step, largely because of their own past and baggage. what worked for bathena wouldn't really work for them, especially considering maddie's trauma surrounding marriage, i'm really glad they didn't rush this.

[twdmusicboxmystery]

Why I am Predicting a Beth Appearance by the End Episode 3:

@bookqueenrules:

OFC, this is TOTAL speculation based on TWDU and non-TWDU clues.  I am NOT saying that Daryl will necessarily see/know that she is alive by the end of ep. 3(or in a post credits scene), but I believe it will be revealed to the audience by then that she, or someone who looks like her, is alive. 

I’ve seen symbolic clues in “Diverged” in Season 10 and Dead City. 

DD was in the writing/development stage FAR longer than Dead City. So, Dead City writers already had access to the outlines for DD before production began. So, when Maggie showed a family picture with a person we can infer to be Beth having eyes gouged out in the shape of the surprised emoji, that was a major red flag for me.  That happened in episode THREE of Dead City.

 In Diverged, a wholly symbolic episode, Daryl takes off on his own and his motorcycle breaks down. It is in the THIRD place he looks, that he finds the knife, symbolically representing a love interest. he needs to fix his bike and continue his journey. 

Some of my belief is based on storyline conjecture. So, back to Dead City.  It was considered a success by most, but why did it do well?

Some wanted to see NYC zombies. Some wanted to see Maggie and Hershel. I would argue MOST wanted to see the development of the Negan/Maggie dynamic. How many would have watched just Maggie trying to get Herschel back?  Some, but it would not have had the same viewership, and the TWD fans actually care about Hershel as Maggie and Glenn’s son. 

So, why will people watch DD?

Some are looking forward to variant zombies, some want to see Daryl, but for how long will the average American TWD viewer tune in to see Daryl hanging out with new French characters with accents and subtitles to boot?  

Personally, I would enjoy it regardless, but I know many people that hate subtitles and won’t be particularly interested in how things went in France.  Sure, the scenery is beautiful, but it won’t hold the interest past a couple of episodes. The “cure” premise was JUST seen in The Last of Us.   TPTB should also have learned that the decline of the flagship was largely due to killing off “family” characters we cared about and bringing on lots of new characters that never became as important to the audience as the original characters of the first few seasons. Hopefully, TPTB learned this lesson. 

While I DO expect to see a Carol flashback in season 1, the show will need to bring something to the French story that will excite and surprise viewers. If MMB would have decided to be in season 1, it may have been a different story. The Daryl/Carol dynamic would have been there, and I would be predicting your typical “cliffhanger” style reveal towards the end of the first season.

That is why I think there will need to be SOME reconnection between Beth/Daryl in season 1 for the audience to care enough to tune in to Carol/Daryl finding her in season 2. I wouldn’t expect them to connect until late episode 4 or episode 5, but they will have to be separated again by the end of 6.  They will need that time to tell their story and have the audience care again about their connection. Nicotera said in a recent interview that the DD spin-off talk began 7 years ago.  It was supposed to be set in the American West where Daryl encounters different groups each week.  He referenced three OLD shows as examples.

 One was Kung Fu with David Caradine. 

I could go into detail, but each show he referenced is about a man who is searching for something/someone and encounters different people who they change and are changed by them before moving onto the next place on the search.  Yes, I had to research each one.  They were before my time!  This stretched out search for Beth would have made sense then because the audience still remembered her and their connection vividly. That will not work now. It’s been too long and these series are finite. Gimple, sort of, said as much on the red carpet at the finale of the flagship. He said he was already past the spin-offs in his planning and was now thinking about how to develop the next generation and new stories while integrating the “iconic” characters. So, I don’t think these spin-offs will go much past three seasons. Especially with only six episodes per season, it doesn’t give that much time to develop these stories. 

Some non-storyline clues are that the release of EK’s album is on the 22nd of September right before episode 3 airs.  She has been releasing singles all summer.  Why wait for the album release until then?  Norman said in interviews last year that he would, “run into some familiar faces” in the spin-off.  Who else is going to run into in season 1 in France?

Just a few days ago there has been even MORE weirdness. An extra-long first episode?  All of episodes 1 and 2 being screened in theaters in four major cities on Monday?  WHY? I almost wonder if they decided to reveal Beth is alive at the end of episode 2. The ONLY reason to prescreen is to increase buzz, but really what hasn’t already been teased about those first two episodes? I understand that they may need more publicity due to the writer/actor strikes leading up to the release, but why would “spoiling” the first episodes really increase the buzz if it is JUST about the Laurent story?

I’m excited to see how it plays out!

@twdmusicboxmystery​:

I absolutely LOVE everything you’ve said here. Love the symbolic clues you’re looking at. Love your points about Dead City. Love your research into early iterations of the DD spinoff. (I kinda wonder if all the New Mexico symbolism from 11x01 was a nod to that.) Love all your points about publicity and such.

And you’re right. I heartily agree. I don’t have much to add, but all of your conclusions are the only thing that make sense. The only other “faces” we could run into are people like Heath and Davon. And don’t get me wrong, it would be fun to see them again. But it’s not like any of those characters will do much to further Daryl’s story.

And let’s not forget that ep 1 starts with an echo of Judith’s line about Daryl deserving a happy ending, too. Which means that one way or the other, he’ll find his true love and soulmate in this spinoff.

Can’t wait! Thanks SO much for your thoughts! Xoxo!  🍁 🍂 😍