#at least not wedding worthy 😤

[deklo]

when i read that declan didn’t have any of his own friends at his wedding i was like damn really he didn’t make a single friend between ages 20-25 and then! i had to have a little introspective moment :/

[ineedahugesticktobeatyou]

RNM 4x10

I was really hoping for at least a glimpse of Alex in 4x10 but, like the last eight episodes, let's hope for the next one, right? At this point, it's an exhausting exercise because they aren't doing a good job on screen to tie us in this game of wishful thinking and hopeful waiting. Let's be clear, I don't find any joy in being critical but it's just so frustrating. I mean, everything that we are watching it's just a way to drag this season to the end, it doesn't hold any of the high stakes that this storyline could potentially have. It's a shame, really.

We could have had an entire season of meaningful searching making this annoying kidnapping really important but no. Eight episodes later we still don't know anything about why Alex was kidnapped and what that contingency plan really was. Probably nothing, judging how Tezca never acknowledged it, nor with her dark triad or with Isobel in this boring redemption arc. It seems just something thrown in an episode for the fun of it, probably because it sounded cool. If I'm wrong and the last three episodes give us the most epic twist on this front, I will be really happy though. Will it happen? Eh, again, the past experiences tell me no but I hope so (see? the wishful thinking again 😔 so frustrating 😤)

What irks me more it's the low speed at which Alex's storyline is proceeding. Five episodes to have someone just notice that something was wrong (someone not Michael, lol) and five more to finally start searching for real. Amazing. Two episodes full of discourses about how Michael not jumping in the sinkhole was a sign of character growth, because he knew he needed a plan, just to have him going through the portal still without a plan. Do you see the irony in this? It wasn't that the disappointed Alex's fans couldn't see Michael's growth, it was that they were annoyed at yet another attempt to stall the search. I don't care if in canon it's all happening in a handful of days, this thing is so badly handled that it doesn't matter. However you watch this storyline, there's a lack of urgency that's undeniable. Everything falls flat, saving a couple of moments here and there. This season needs to shift gears and it needs to do it fast. I mean, it's kind of overdue at three episodes from the end, right? I don't know if the writers thought they would have a fifth season, so that this one would have been part of a multiseason storyline, but I don't think it really matters.  It's a slow repetitive season no matter what. The new things introduced by the dark triad started strong, and then ended up being a lot of exposition and a compelling villain that now is no more. It's confusing.

For the rest, I don't think anyone from the main cast really got a story arc worthy of this name. Even Echo, it's just the same problem again and again, just in another font 🤷🏻‍♀️ If a was a fan of them I will be pissed, because four season in and they still have the same problems of season one. They talk a lot and make big speeches and promises to just be back at square one when the next science excitement or moral discourse comes along. I understand the beauty of flawed characters, but at a certain point they need to make some kind of progress that sticks. Otherwise it's a never ending repeat of the same thing. At least, even if largely off screen, Malex had real growth on both parts. I still think that, in normal circumstances (aka with a fifth season), there will not be a wedding in 4x13. Otherwise, it will be laughable, because Echo is nowhere ready to take the big step, and Malex has been nonexistent. And going from a move-in with a lot of trauma-related doubts to a wedding after a kidnapping, it feels like a rush decision, even if they are ready and the commitment is there from the start. It sounds like a consolation prize, for whichever couple goes there. It's not ideal but, if it happens, I will gladly take that as a finale. RNM has already made a lot of mistakes, some sort of happy ending it's the least they could do. It's not gonna change that this group of characters deserved better. They all did. And Alex...

Alex deserved so much better than the way he has been treated in these four seasons. I'm going to mourn all it could have been and it has not. I'm sorry if this makes me a bad fan. I don't have the slightest problem admitting that Alex is my favorite and that I care about him and not much more. I think it's fair, because everyone watches a series for a motive. Sometimes it's for the ensemble, sometimes it's for the plot, sometimes it's just for one character. Everything is valid. Disappointment for something you hoped to be good and it wasn't, it's absolutely valid. So, I'm going to wait for Alex to finally return, hoping for the best in terms of screen times and importance, and I'm going to enjoy whatever they'll give us. Will it make me less disappointed? Absolutely not. This is still a season that has wasted my time and I would love to be able to miss the episodes I don't care about, but I'm not that kind of tv watcher. And I can't wait until the end of the season to binge-watch the entire thing, because I really lack the patience to sit through a mess like this in one long session. Me problems, I know. Being aware of that, though, doesn't make me less disappointed. And it's valid. 

[deadmunds-ghostbee]

I’ve been re-looking at the pap photos of Kate & Anthony at the races, and I’m just so excited - it seems these take place in an earlier episode based on the trailer.

The main thing I wanted to point out, and which is why I looked at them, is there Edwina is standing behind Anthony but he is basically blocking her out while him & Kate excited about the race. You can see her peeking over his shoulder at one point.

Firstly, I feel Edwina, I’m short so that is me at all concerts and sporting events, number two, it makes me feel better about the triangle, like I have felt fine, but Anthony is clearly ignoring Edwina because he can’t help but have fun with Kate. Also Danbury is behind them which makes me think they are sticking with her thoughts in the book (not understanding why Anthony ever went after E instead of K)

I’ve seen people speculate that Anthony & Edwina her engaged or even get to the church before fate intervenes and I would hate that (also they keep saying there is lots of drama and I was kind of hoping for an 8 hour romcom), so this has cheered me up anyway.

Anyway I just had to tell someone about it, and I cannot wait to see it

Yes I agree this ascot episode seems really early on and it’s exciting bc those pap photos really had the vibe of the book. Ppl have pointed out that we will be going from that petty nod he does to the two of them jumping and him HOLDING HER ARM all in the matter of a few scenes. We’re gonna get fed so good 😩

And the implications of Danbury behind them are so interesting. I really want to know the extent of her meddling. Like is she aware/helping the queen use Edwina as a pawn or does she have her own agenda? Either would be interesting imo but she has eyes so she’s instantly gonna know what’s going on is that K & A are the real thing here.

As for theories about an A/E engagement—I think it would be lazy writing and the most low-hanging fruit tactic to amp up the drama. They should strive for better writing because the only time I can really recall that interrupted wedding trope being good was in Shrek (sorry to Speak Now by ts but I’m different 😤). I don’t this theory is as far out of the realm of possibility as some might think it is, but it is so overdone of a trope that it can’t exist nowadays without being subverted, which they can’t do here. and I think the writing room knows that, at the very least?

However, in order to manage my own expectations I’m going to assume they would be that obvious and would consider it as a plot point. If I get comfortable with the idea of them going that route then I personally can never be disappointed with what we get 😂

And we can maybe guess there’s a bit of a bigger wedding than last season based on some pap photos, but we don’t know whose wedding either. A big kathony wedding (even if it makes more sense for a scandalous one like theirs to be rushed) would be interesting bc I think Kate would feel very out of her element in that environment. It would usher in her life as Viscountess aptly which we know was hard for her bc she didn’t feel worthy. It could also be some kind of featherington wedding too (🤪🤪pls ignore me) which I would like to see. Or maybe even Edwina almost marries someone else who knows.

But like we discussed before the A/K + E dynamic at the ascot seems on point! And talk of silly tea time between the three of them makes me think we’ll be okay, whatever happens. Perhaps my methods of expecting and becoming okay with my least favorite scenario for this season is extreme but imma do what I have to do 🤷‍♀️ I don’t really want to be convinced away from this perspective either because if/when we get a better storyline I’m gonna feel so blessed.

Y’all do what you have to do to manage your anxiety about release. If that’s completely dismissing the theory then ignore me and do that.

(Also sorry about turning on and off asks like a maniac I like discussing but sometimes I just wanna reblog gifs instead)