#and how we were robbed of all the meaningful interactions between episode 5 and episode 7

[enrogued]

thinking about genosha (when am i not)

[go-ldy]

Hi! Your Riverdale thoughts are always fun to read, so I thought I would drop by and ask one. What are some platonic betty pairings you wish the show would explore?

Ooh, thanks for this question, my dear! This is something I think about a lot because this show underserves its platonic relationships.

1). Betty & Veronica - We were promised B & V being a team you can believe in back in season 1 and the show has so far mostly failed to deliver on that promise. I appreciate that the Veronica/Betty/Archie triangle was (mostly) ditched, and that we have not had to endure Betty and Veronica fighting each other over him. I believe these two love each other. I feel that love more from Veronica’s end tbh in that I really believe that Betty is Veronica’s favourite person on this planet. Unfortunately, the last few seasons, we have not seen them interact much unless Betty needs Veronica’s help with something. I liked some of their season 2 material like when Betty drove Veronica away at the Black Hood’s bequest and then they reconciled. The episode where they investigated Sheriff Keller for being a serial killer / having an affair was a sheer delight. But aside from that, it has never felt like Veronica-and-Betty have an arc. The show could even play around with the idea that their friendship has become one-sided. Why not delve into that? Explore how Veronica might feel sidelined by Betty being more focused on Jughead, Stonewall Prep, Charles, youth FBI etc etc. while Veronica is struggling to cope with her dad’s illness. They could have had a big emotional storyline. Lili and Cami have great chemistry and would kill it. It is too bad their interactions are so infrequent.

2). Betty & Jellybean - We are robbed on this one! I have so many questions for what this relationship could look like. Sisterly? Friendly? Is Jellybean a little suspicious of Betty and then warms up to her? Are they a little competitive for Jughead’s affections? But we know none of these things because they have interacted a total of about two times in season 4 and none of those interactions were meaningful. I sigh.

3). Betty & Archie - YES REALLY. I DO WHAT I WANT. I love childhood friendship stories. The problem with Betty and Archie is that we are supposed to feel this weight of history and nostalgia and past with them, but it’s hard to believe in that history because we so rarely see them interacting.  I actually think there are interesting ways the writers could have explored the idea of Betty and Archie that would have been way better than what they did. What if Betty and Archie had grown closer during season 4 while Jughead was away at boarding school and Veronica was making rum? I could see how their SOs could have grown jealous and suspicious, forcing Betty and Archie to confront if there is anything more between them than just friendship - and ultimately realizing that any “romance” was the weight of expectations, and while they love each other deeply, it is as friends. That could have been a good story!

4). Betty & Glady Jones - I wanted them to interact so badly during the Gladys arc. I had the impression that Gladys disproved of Betty and I found this so interesting. Because Betty reminds Gladys of Alice who Gladys always knew she was in competition with for FP’s affections? Because Betty gives off the vibe of the perfect girl next-door and therefore too soft for her son? Because Betty is the daughter of a serial killer? I wanted to see them clash! And Jughead to be caught in the middle (but not really because Jughead is Team Betty through and though lol) And of course for Glady to grudgingly accept and approve of Betty in the end. Missed opportunity and I am forever bitter.

5). Kevin & Betty - This friendship is chronically underserved. I feel more emotional connection to the Gladys and Betty relationship - which literally never even happened - than I do to Betty and Kevin who are supposedly best friends. How did these two meet? What do they have in common? Why are they friends? The most meaningful interaction between them I can recall in four seasons is when Betty was like “stop cruising for men in the woods, there is a serial killer out there and it is super dangerous” and Kevin was all “stop slut shaming me” like Betty was the bad guy. NOT GREAT but still, I would be up for more resentment from Kevin over how he perceives Betty’s romantic relationships as being easier than his own.  It’s interesting to me how in so many AU Bughead fics, Archie and Veronica are always present as Betty’s friends, and sometimes Cheryl and Reggie, but never poor Kevin. I suppose part of it is because Kevin is himself so poorly developed as a character that it is hard to give much weight to any of his relationships.  

ALL OF THIS SAID, I do give the writers props for giving me Donna & Betty though, one of my absolute favourite dynamics to come out of this show.

[thoughtfulpaperback]

Charmed 02x08 Review SPOILERS!!!!

Sorry this took so long y'all. Family stuff just blew up in my face this month has been just terrible it's been terrible since the end of november to be honest, so I just wasnt in the mood to review. But I shall starts. In general i liked the episode 8/10 for me. I like the pacing, the general plot advancing. I liked it, but I have some complaints though. So let's just get those out of the way. So I'll do pros and cons by subject since there were things I both disliked and liked about each thing.

1. Hacy

Let's just get this big guy out of the way. So abby and Harry kiss was a big no for me, although it was hot for sure.

Now there has been a lot of back and forth about this so I actually wanted to compare to the things that bugged me about Macyx galvin and where I thought one does better than the other.

Communication

So like Harry and Macy do not communicate well with each other right now. I feel that thier communication issues though are better (or at least make more sense to me) than Macy x Galvin.

Macy while communicating with Galvin, as far as arranging things, was bad, but with her kiss on halloween she did make her interest in Galvin known. They both had an understanding that they were interested. So I thought the whole Summer ordeal was worse in that sense because, while the follow through was poorly done, Macy's interest was stated.

With Harry and Macy, it appears that neither of them have stated any interest to one another (neither has told the other thier feelings) and neither is aware. So harry kissing some one else isnt as bad to me as the Galvin x Summer situation because of that (speaking about this area soley).

The passive aggressiveness of Harry and Galvin in certain situation isnt comparable because Harry is doing it more.I felt Harry's reactions are more justified (we will get to the hypocritical portion later) in that he is going through the wringer, is hurting and confused, and self-deprecating and many of us agreed that the thought of Macy preferring Jimmy would be bad and hurtful to Harry and logically make no sense. But harry has more scenes than Galvin did in season one so he feel more passive aggressive than Galvin, but I attribute that to screen time and proximity to the Macy (he always there so more time and chances to interact). But also, for me, Galvin wasnt as passive agressive and his sometimes aggressive or snideness wasnt because of Macy. Outside stuff (problems with summer) would make him snap or his trauma also caused him to snap so the situations are comparable there but, again Harry has more screen time so his snapping feels worse to me because it happens multiple time in one episode versus one or twice in a whole season. Since the situation ( and right now I am speaking soley on the summer x Galvin situation) was different. I am up in the air I as to which was "worse" i think both situations are sucky and i think i am more bothered by Galvin x Summer because again Macy had actually expressed her interest (communication wise) but the hacy situation feels more full of that passive aggressiveness and that will turn it into something I really cant get behind. Right now I feel Harry is in a bad place and probably shouldnt be with anyone until he get himself settled personally.

Love triangle/square or whatever

So like with summer x Galvin it wasnt really a love triangle I mean kind of but not really. Galvin didnt pursue Macy while with summer and was generally nice during that time. Summer wasnt necessarily the jealous girlfriend stereotype she was nice, but did call out suspect behavior.

The abby xharryx Macy x jimmy thing is like aweful. It is the love triangle that I hate most at least where the abbyxharryxmacy part is concerned.

I mentioned it before but I hate when one or two people use another person as a means of getting release/relief when they are actually interested in someone else. I think it is cruel to both the used character and the main LI. Worse when both are using others because twice the cruelty. IDK what was going on in Harry's head. But I have never like that type of love triangle, and worse so because it is possibly the other type of triangle I hate which is (usually guy) caught between two ladies and one is clearly the villian (I thank novelas for this gem *sarcasm*) and it is mostly a lust thing.

Especially given that James Westwell was a serial cheater, apparently, this idea of "I love one person but am in lust with the other despite thier character" is like the worst to me. Abby is straight up an ambitious murder, and like I guess that maybe Harry's default type because Charity had similar qualities, but again for a guy who supposedly has strong feelings for Macy and was so confused and hurt by her attraction to Jimmy (which apparently wasnt attraction at all) the ease of him doing the very thing he was mad about , and the ease of being able to push aside his feeling for Macy and give in to that abby kiss was gross.

Sorry but although they werent together, for me, guys who can do that easily should be on our cheater radar. Knowing that James was a serial cheater just makes it worse imo.

While the summer x Galvin situation felt worse on the communication front (expressed feelings) it was better done than here because there is a lot more grossness in the dynamics of the love shape thing right now.

Overall, I get Harry isnt in a place to be with anyone and it's all confusing and he is lashing out. He has not told Macy his interest and neither has she so he shouldnt be held to the boyfriend standards. But still the writers are toeing the line here. What happens next will actually help me define whether this turns into a Galvin situation where I end up not liking the two characters together. If Harry tries to continue the passive aggressiveness about Macy and Jimmy. I'll be done. I mean if he does have feelings for abby and trying to move on, but still tries to pull that with Macy it will just be straight up manipulative. Right now I am like okay he was lashing out and I get it and the abby kiss is probably a big mistake. He can continue the mistake path if the writers wasnt to go there, but if he doesnt recognize that he did something hypocritical and still comes for Macy about Jimmy it will be very very wrong.

I think they for sure need to clear the air but if the writers wait to long or do too much damage I wont be satisfied with the clearing of the air.

I am not necessarily mad right now over the abbyx Harry thing because I am waiting to see how they will handle and present it, but I mean it is on that line and writers need to watch out. I dont think Harry was trying to be manipulative and the lashing out happened before abby kiss. As long as the lashing out (at Macy) doesnt continue I will watch and support the development and exploration of thier relationship and dynamic with the others.

2. Maggie

So like Maggie shows her naivety here and I am not that mad. Like she isn't pulling a "I am so in love and blind to the world" thing she makes her decision based on what she thinks will do the most good for the most people. It is still naive, but she is still maturing and you can see that. Her wanting her sisters to trust her judgment and not feel like they have to baby her is reasonable although again those insecurities clouded the main issues here. She is growing and I shall see how she continues to mature.

3. Mel

I think they tried to fit some personal development for mel here and it both worked and didnt work. I thought it wasnt done badly but at some points I was like....okay could this have been saved for another episode or done beforehand. I wanted to see it, just didn't think it felt in place, especially after leaving the wedding. She just had some development and then was like welp guess I am gonna stumble upon this amber. Like mel could have gotten her new powers before, I mean I felt they could have made the stumble upon the amber scene and new powers at any point before and it could have been more relevant and interesting placed somewhere else than this episode.

4. Abby/overlord/parker storyline

Abby was probably the best thing in this episode. I love her as a villian. I am here for it and I want it.

Parker got dark real quick and while I think he and Maggie shouldnt be together, I am glad he didnt die. Also glad abby clarified that his actions weren't caused by the apple. Because at least OG with Cole the tragedy (the first storyline) was that he made a choice to protect the person he loved but he ended up becoming the source and actually being taken over by the source so his actions were tinted by his OG love but corrupted by that force that possessed him. Where as abby tells him, that that jealousy and want for blood was all him. Maybe the apple and that power made him more likely to act on it than of he hadnt, but it wasnt the apples fault necessarily so. I am glad for the clarification, makes me not want Maggie and him together, but I like that exploration of power and choice. Even with Macy while the power amplified those insecurities she still was making choice which also made her choice to give up that power extra meaningful. Power is corrupting but you can still choose to fight that corruption or give in to it. I like that.

5. Jordan

I love this character to be honest. I am still figuring him out, but like dude is cursed and has been basically touched, punched, and robbed by these guys. He can't catch a break and like nobody even checks on him. Like he so far is a pretty decent although suspicious (like he doesnt trust others easily not like he himself is suspect) guy and I like him but he is getting some serious Darryl treatment right now. I dont like that, but I like him and want to see more of him. Plus, what the heck happened? Did they leave him passed out in the gym? Did they wipe his memory? What is going on?

Episode highlights

Jordan trying to defend maggie and get parker to leave

The power of Four looking fine as heck for a wedding

Mel as a fly talking to herself

Macy walking in on that kiss

[average-trickster]

VLD7 spoilers ahead:

I liked a lot of stuff about this season, but i hated a lot of it too: 

- Hunk finally has the arc he deserves, his characterization is extense and I’m really happy with how they portrayed it, he was awesome, Hunk brought the team together, his interactions with keith were great and he was really cute, hot and inspiring;  - Romelle was portrayed as a really relatable character and she was really fun to watch, I loved every scene she was in;  - Pidge also had their moments, their family had a lot of characterization, we gt to see they metting their family and it was sweet and meaningful, Pidge was really badass in a lot of scenes an it was awesome; Pidge wasreally really cute in the whole season too;

-KOSMOS WAS THE BEST BOY EVER, HOW DARE THEY HURT THE DOGGY, YOU DON’T HURT THE DOGGY;

- The art was amazing, I was baffled with it, everything looked so neat, the fighting scenes were so well animated, I was completely awestruck;

- Keith trusted Lacne to lead the team momentanly and it was sweet, Keith acknowledging Hunk was also one of the cutest parts of these season, Hunk deserved this;

 - So. Many. Hot. People. I was fauning after everyone, Allura was really hot, Romelle too, Hunk was soooo hot in some scenes, I was thirsting so bad guys. 

 - Shiro’s prosthetic was beautiful, it didn’t hide his disability, it made his disability an advantage and it was beautiful;

 - HUNK AND LANCE’S FAMILIES WERE SO BEAUTIFUL, I GOT SO EMOTIONAL ON THOSE PARTS;

 - The micy & kosmos saving everyone cause Coran is too much of a gorgeous man to work alone;

 - The paladins in their lions with their companies, Pidge highkEY ignoring everyone to play videogames and then having to deal with everyone’s nightmare xD;

 - Lance’s interactions with Romelle were adorable, she’s so funny;

 - Keith being able to have SHiro back was beautiful, I’m so happy for them;

 - VERONICA MCCLAIN WHERE DO I GET A PIECE OF THAT;

 - Shiro and Keith leadership scenes wer awesome, Keith has matured so much, I’m really pround of him;

 - Sam HOLT TAKING OVER EARTH;

 - tiny Keith was adorable and the first episode as really enjoyable, it felt like a follow up to season 6, it was meaningfull;  - Everything (plot wise) from ep 7 to the part where atlas randomly turns into a big-voltron was quickpaced but enjoyable,the earth episodes were the coolest of the whole show for me and I loved the traitor plot they put in there;  - The hinted at alien lesbians;  - Coran was so silly and cute, i loved him;  - The ‘‘lets torture pidge cause they are the weak of the team’‘ part was really cool and i loved it;  - The garrison cadets were awesome and I loved them all, (keith’s former bully was kind of a bitch, and his manerism gave me a lot of keith vibes but I liked him a bit) The mute undercut guy and the smart yellow freckled person were awesome and I loved themm. BUT  - The whole season was kind of a confusing development. The first episodes were really slow and boring, they wasted time on stuff that didn’t matter, the paladins randomly appeared on other planes of existence because of a space thing they didn’t even explain properly;  - The filler episode wasn’t nearly as enjoyable as the one in season 6, they called and portrayed Lance dumb, multiple times, when every other paladin did fairly well. The most enjoyable time was when they showed the importance every paladin had to each other and how all of them thought they mattered to each other (I don’t buy Keith’s bitching, actions are worth more than words);   - God Allura who came out with random convenient magic for every bad situation was really weird for me, has been since last season.. ressurecting lance and shiro, ending stuff with the power of quintenssence just because... well, it was kind of a low point for me;  - Again, Atlas wasn’t build to be a big voltron so it made absolutely no sense that it turned into one by God Shiro’s powers?;  - As a lowkey allurance shipper, that was really low for me because it came of nowhere. Allura didn’t like Lance like that, there were no signts, she was sad when she found out about his feelings, both Allura and Lance deserve better than that;  - Lance, in the last seasons had had almost no screen time at all, he has been made into a joke and it was no different this season. He had really good moments, Keith trusted him as a leader, Lance has really awesome in some moments but because we were promised screen time for Lance and because this has been going on for so long, I’m disappointed he didn’t got better;  - The Klance QueerBait: Im disappointed but not surprised; The one that hurt me the most was when they were drifting in space (for no good reason) Lance said Keith ‘’maybe shouldn’t have even came back’’ when Lance was the loneliest in the ship after Keith went away. Lance was utterly alone and felt the worst at those moments. I know it wasn’t from the heart but it hurted me and I don’t know how to deal with it given the rest of these last seasons;  - Acxa x Keith was the most disapointing thing I’ve ever seen, they had no interest on each other, they had no conection whatsoever, they have nothing between them and I really hope she’s Keith long los sister because if not, I’m not going to watch this happen;  - Shadam/Adashi: Well, voltron you really fucked up on this one.   I think the worst was how much you advertised this, you made us feel like we had a guaranteed gay relationship and then ripped it from us for what? shook value? When all the heterosexual relationships went fairly well? But you didn’t advertise these heterossexual realtionships like you did with adashi so what was the problem? Also, you could say it was not queerbait cause Shiro is still lgbt but why would you rob Shiro his fiancee? Like rena said on twitter, Shiro has suffered so much and everyone returned to their families, had their happy ending, but shiro has ptsd, was tortured, died, and returns home to be alone. You didn’t even say they were planning to get married on the show, if you didn’t watch the enterview, you wouldn’t even know they were planning on getting married. But no, his dead was fast and meaningless, he didn’t got anymore flashbacks, we got nothing else about him, you did’t spend more than 5 seconds mourning him, it was empty and careless. We don’t know anything else about adam, you used him to get your lgbt coverage and that’s why you queerbaited us. And you know what is so sad? You were there when some of us watched the first episode, you saw how happy we were about lgbt representation, you saw us yelling and crying in happiness and you ignored all of it and followed a trope we’ve been watching again and again and again and again.

You know, I wouldn’t have been so sad if there were at least some other interactions between them, or memories/flashbacks about them. But you used Adam as your head line when he became nothing but a footer line on the show. You advertised the relationship you knew would be the most important to us before destroying it And you know what hurts the most? You mourned and cared more for the white women that almost killed the entire human race by not listening & being arrogant that you did for Adam, the gay POC character that gave his life willingly and needlessly to save his planet. Her dead had so much intensity, she had time to speak and try to redem herself, she was made into a hero. We didn’t care about that bitch, she was a rules-lover, selfish women that didn’t know anything about zarkon or the galra but still thought Shiro & Sam & everyone else were wrong in how they were approaching the enemy. We all knew Zarkon would end earth with or without lions and she couldn’t accept that, she was an arrogant twat and you treated her like she was  the best person ever because she sacrificed herself after being proved wrong. And being cruel: I wonder what they told the families of the ones she, the hero,  send to their deaths when everyone told her it was the wrong decision.  You mourn that women like an hero, and you treat Adam, our hope for canon representation, the symbol of our identity, the hopes we had on this show since the begining, as a footer. I hope you give us something about Shadam/Adashi in next season, if you want us to stay, if you want us to respect you again. I’m more than happy with some flashbacks from Shiro and a deep meaningful conversation, I’m happy with anything that makes their gay relationship strictly visible because that what was you showed us was going to happen and that wasn’t what you gave us, you own us an apology. Shiro and Adam deserve better.

[1shirt2shirtredshirtdeadshirt]

TOS Tag Game

OK for starters YAAASSS, feel free to tag me in these every time because I too want to talk endlessly about Star Trek TOS and am always excited to feed the fandom beast.

@burning--amber tagged me in this greatness -- I apologize for the delay but you know, I did have to find a publisher who would sign off on this fucking NOVEL. Because that is actually what I wrote in response. I am so sorry. 😂 When I say I’m here to talk Trek I MEAN I am HERE. To get up to the podium and PREACH THE GOSPEL. I encourage anyone following me who’s thirsty to talk TOS to jump aboard, tag me and give us the T! I want to hear from y’all! 

1. Which is the most defining moment for Spock and Jim as couple, in your opinion? One which left you most shaken?

Wow, yes. Ohhhh no. Let’s talk about this. (Who let me out of my cage?) There are so many strong moments in TOS, my GOD. Amok Time is the most infamous and blatant, you can’t really skate over that big guy because -- because -- YOU KNOW WHY. IT’S AMOK TIME. This is the elephant in the room which will stomp you to death if you ignore it. I can’t let myself write a paper with a works cited list on Amok Time right now, I just can’t. That episode -- I mean -- it was literally getting sucker punched in the junk with a slash fandom awakening. Kirk sacrificing command? His career? Risking his life?! Spock becoming completely void, utterly gutted, and a husk of a destroyed existence in the aftermath of what he believed to have actually done to Jim? I don’t know how it’s possible for anyone to watch that episode and not get steamrolled into a human pancake at how real and obvious the Spirk relationship became right then and there. IN THE 60′S! Yup just bros though, just bro things. 

I did let myself practically write a paper on how huge Devil in the Dark was for Kirk and Spock -- you get to see two individuals who each have a valid point, who both believe fiercely in their own standpoint, and who ultimately end up adopting one another’s views. It’s a beautiful demonstration of what they mean to each other as equals and as individuals -- how in sync they are and what a significant mutual respect they share. 

Throughout the series you’re hearing and witnessing Kirk’s rather open way of expressing affection for Spock. Plato’s Stepchildren is one of those rare opportunities where we get to see the depth of Spock’s feelings for Kirk via his own words and actions. And it is intense enough to make up for how difficult it can be sometimes to get a clear window into Spock’s perspective. It was all out there for anyone to see after Spock witnesses Kirk getting mistreated and nearly being made to inflict harm to Jim. You really get an understanding of just how powerful Vulcan emotion can be in that moment, and holy God, does he have strong feelings about Jim. 

But if we’re talking all-encompassing canon then for me the most defining moment for Spock and Kirk as a couple throughout the entire series has to be Spock’s epiphany in sickbay after making contact with V’Ger. We know something happened that catalyzed a rift and separation between Kirk and Spock, and this is the moment their whole relationship comes full circle. The look on his face as he’s lying there shaking his head and saying “Jim . . . I should have known.” Jim’s blatant desperation as he clasps Spock’s shoulders and begs: “Spock. What should you have known?” And Spock reaches for him. My heart drops through me every time he takes Jim by the hand, locking their grip as he stares him dead in the eyes and says: “This. Simple Feeling . . . is beyond V’Ger’s comprehension.” And Jim is overcome, bursting, and he wraps his other hand over their already entwined hands and just nods. Spock nods wordlessly back. That was acceptance. It was acknowledgement. It was forgiveness. It was walking through mental, physical and emotional hell with AND without someone and coming out on the other side again to find each other once more. It was fucking love. 

As for the one that left me the most shaken . . . it’s unquestionably the end of Wrath of Khan. From the moment that Jim looks over at that empty chair and you feel a shadow of that dread and realization, Jim pushing a member of his crew out of the way and the entire run down, having to take three men to hold him back from trying to go in there with Spock with tears in his eyes . . . I mean, when we love somebody -- truly, genuinely love somebody -- we might throw around the idea or firmly feel -- believe -- say -- that if given a choice, you’d die for that person. But in living that moment, Spock actually did exactly that out of love. He knew what had to be done and he decided to sacrifice himself for his own family -- for the whole crew of the Enterprise. But there was a reason that the sole person kneeling down in front of him weeping, reaching for him and seeking out his hand, hearing his last words, and sharing his last moments was Jim. It’s so powerful, so utterly heart shattering, such a raw and sad depiction of love, and it turns me into a hot human mess every time I see it. THE FRONT. OF THE SHIRT. IS SOAKED WITH MY TEARS. EVERY TIME.  Ahem. So uh, that just happened. There’s Chapter 1. I mean question 1. I swear to God I am not going to write chapter books for each one of these. *Wipes forehead nervously*

2. Which alien race deserved more? What do you think could have been improved upon?

Two episodes really stand out for me as outstanding in the quality of the story; I find Balance of Terror and The Enterprise Incident captivating.They sort of ghost around that decadent and dark history that Vulcans and Romulans share -- they let you see a bit of it, but there is a lot of mystery surrounding it. They pique your interest in wanting to get a better look at those cultures to understand them. Oh trust, I was beyond curious. I was frothing. I know that other Star Trek series have offered us more in terms of the Romulan backstory and history, but I really had a thirst to know more during TOS and I would latch onto whatever crumb they would toss out. Honestly, I would watch an entire series based entirely on ancient Vulcans and Romulans. I mean it, I am thirsty as hell. 

3. What is the most disappointing thing about TOS for you?

In all honesty? The fact that it got cancelled after three seasons!!! We were robbed. F u c k i n g   p i l f e r e d   b u t t   n a k e d. I’m sure there was so much ground to cover with the show that they never got a chance to bring into fruition and that frustrates me. If we’re talking some aspect within the show, those occasional moments with women that were so blatantly objectifying -- the ones that kind of jarringly reminded you that this was still made in the 60′s. I acknowledge the time it was made, but it still stings to see that sometimes if I am being entirely honest.

4. Who gets the Mr/Miss.Congeniality award if you were the judge?

I would have to say Uhura. She doesn’t get the kind of screen time that Kirk, Spock and Bones do, but I find the moments that she has with other characters to be very telling. How they react to her and treat her reveals a lot about how valuable and meaningful her presence is aboard the Enterprise. They all have such an immense love and respect for her. You just don’t really see confrontations with Uhura and other crew members -- it’s so rare compared to other members of the crew. She seems to be that person who brings brightness and light and joy to people who may be feeling very out of sorts, low on morale, or lonely in space. I also love that she canonically sings for the members of the crew to lift their spirits and help them unwind. There’s something so pure and warm about her character while also showcasing strength and professionalism in the same vein. 

5. Which section of Enterprise are you most curious to see which was never filmed?

The room, turbolift, or jeffries tube that Kirk and Spock would drag each other off to so they could make out, because we all know that it happened. (I digress. Truth be told, it was less about seeing a section of the Enterprise and more about getting a little more intimacy with the crew. I wish there had been more time for moments like seeing them getting ready before work, interacting with their rooms, showing us little glimpses of who they are and where they come from. So I guess having access to more on a personal level with the individuals -- the crew is the section of the Enterprise that I am most curious to see which was not filmed intimately enough to whet my curiosity about them.)

I have two questions.

1. What was the defining episode that you watched that made you go: Yup. I am 100% on board for this. WHERE ARE THE REST. I AM SOLD. THE CHEQUE IS CASHED, I HAVE MADE THE PURCHASE, GIVE ME THE STAR TREK.

Second . . . 

2. What. The fuck. Happened in the story between Season 3 and The Motion Picture. I legitimately live on a steady diet of fan theories about this and I’m starved to death. I don’t care if that dead horse has been beaten to glue, I can’t not talk about it. I love hearing what people have to say about that time period. Seriously. What happened between Jim and Spock. 

I WANT ANSWERS! I WANT THE TRUTH!

(You know that nobody could possibly know that and you also know that Gene Roddenberry passed away in 1991.)

*Grabs collar shakily* ASK HIM ANYWAY. 

ಠ▃ಠ . . . 

(¬▂¬) . . . 

I really should stop here. 

(No obligation, just love and admire your blogs! I’m curious what y’all have to say if you haven’t been tagged yet! <3: 

@queenofgol @ashayamspirk @thisisnotahetship @startrektrashface @demonicvulcan @pansexualspirk @homosexualspock @cptkirksnipples )

[joshnekuu]

Thoughts and opinions on Last Encore Epiosde 5 below! Cut for spoilers, a lil bit of theorizing, and some slight Nero distaste.

I really enjoyed episode 5 of Last Encore. It was really great to see Robin Hood and Dan, and I really loved what they did with Dan? When Ep 4 came out I remember feeling skeptical because Dan seemed pretty out of character, but then 5 explained it all and it was really pretty tragic. Seeing him go from this chivalrous man who wanted to fight fairly after being a sniper to just being obsessed with winning and moving to the next floor. The whole concept of what is essentially someone surviving due to a glitch in the system, thinking they’ve been giving a second chance, but then being trapped in this limbo, unaware that they'll never be able to move forward, is incredibly tragic and even if I wish it could have been explored more it was still really good and I enjoyed it.

The art/world design continues to be gorgeous. It's clear a lot of effort went into designing the scenery and I think it really pays off and is very beautiful and memorable. I also noticed that the stained glass window in the tower Dan was fighting from appears to be an image of Robin Hood and Maid Marian? Which I think was a really nice touch, that's the sort of thing I love in Fate and it definitely made me happy.

One thing I definitely wish could have happened was like. More exploration of Robin as a character? And Dan too, though I think his motivations got more exploration than Rob which is why I'm more focused on that. I felt like we didn't get that much from him outside of his relationship with Dan (which was definitely my favorite part of the episode). It was really, really touching to see Robin's loyalty to Dan? How he's continued to fight without complaint because he sees Dan as this good, honorable man, and he can't even imagine telling him that what he's doing is for nothing or that he's lost and should just give up and die. It wasn't overwrought, but it wasn't too subtle either, and seeing Robin fade away by Dan's grave was just so touching and I really wish we could have seen them interact more ;-; But that did give some really nice insight to his character.

I just feel like... unless you already know him from Extra and FGO there's a lot that you might not pick up on or know about his character? Which is kind of a shame.

I also felt like the second battle between Robin and Nero was largely underwhelming. There were just... no stakes. Even if you don't know the plot of Extra, you know Nero is going to win, and the actual battle wasn't visually interesting enough to keep me excited while watching it. Nero basically gave away her plan by telling Robin to use his Noble Phantasm so she could use hers and kill him, but did revealing this plan effect the course of the battle in any way? Robin Hood says he's taking this battle seriously, but in saying it allowed he keys Nero in that he's about to shoot an arrow, giving away the direction he's shooting from. I know battle banter is expected in these kinds of shows but it felt like stuff that should have affected the course of the battle more (or stuff that the characters wouldn't say if they were really being serious) and yet had no actual impact.

And lastly I think the thing that gets to me is that, as touching a Dan and Robin's story was to me as a viewer, it didn't mean anything to the protagonists? Rani gave them a rundown but for Nero and Hakuno, Dan and Roin were nothing more than obstacles they needed to mow down to progress. There was no meaningful interaction between them at any point. I highly doubt anything that happened between them is going to have a lasting impact on Nero or Hakuno as the story progresses. What is the point of having these characters, with their interesting backstories and dynamics, if they're just... not going to amount to anything more than replaceable cannon fodder?

It was nice for me as a viewer and fan of the characters to see them, but I don't feel like they made any impact on the plot. Yeah, Dan's situation allowed us to get some more insight on the state of the Moon Cell and the other Masters, but literally anyone could have been in that situation in order to give us that information. Dan is literally just a faceless boss battle for Hakuno in the end, his actions are what winds up driving him to action but again, it feels like anyone could have been in Dan's spot and the outcome would have been the same.

Same with Robin Hood. You have Emperor Nero going up against a guy who spent his life going against people like her, two people from completely opposite classes and walks of life, whose battle styles are vastly different as well, but the most we get is 'he's a coward because he fights from the shadows!' and ‘ha, Robin Hood who stole from the rich, is about to get killed by the once rich!'. Those lines of dialogue don't really go anywhere. Calling Robin a coward doesn't feel as effective here because we don't really get to go into his whole ‘i always wanted to fight chivalrously but instead I fought from the shadows like a coward’, it just feels like Nero';s calling him a coward for using what is a very effective battle strategy for someone with his weapons. And the whole Robin hood getting killed by the rich thing is like ouch, but again, that dialogue doesn't open up for any sort of conversation about their differing lifestyles or views and why they would oppose each other, it's just a throw away line.

I get that this adaptation has to condense a lot of stuff to fit in a lo of characters and plot, but it feels like the characters who aren't protagonists are just getting lined up with little build up so they can be blasted away as cannon fodder...

I really don't think Rani needed to die. I feel like she could have easily come with them, and her being saved only for Hakuno to be forced to abandon her just felt pointless? Maybe it will come back into play later, since there's mostly likely something weird going on with time and different lives/NPCs, but if this is all we get to see of Rani then I'm really disappointed by how they chose to kill her off.

Hakuno's Rage is definitely interesting to me though. I really like what they seem to be going for here, with Hakuno being the latest in a line of other Masters/NPCs all being unceremoniously killed in the Grail War and taking on their vengeful and hateful desire to move forward at any cost. Him shooting Dan in the back of the head while in that glitchy state was pretty brutal, and despite my complaints about Dan's role not seeming to have much weight, in general that was a great moment for Hakuno.

Overall, I enjoyed the episode. The dialogue was kind of ehh, the animation was beautiful even with the awkward between frames during the battles, the progression of the plot was good I thought and they continued with the main thing keeping me interested (Hakuno's Rage Glitch thing). I'm not sure if I'm gonna be as invested now that Robin is dead and gone, but I am genuinely interested to see where the story goes, even if I'm not particularly interested in Nero or the romance aspects of the story. Obviously I had some issues with the use of characters, but unfortunately a lot of that can be contributed to the fact that it's an anime adaptation and stuff has to get glossed over sometimes. Hopefully it will get a little better, but only time will tell.