#basically she cares but a lot of that care is misdirected and ultimately harmful though certainly not all of it

[kinetic-elaboration]

April 30: All the Old Knives

Tonight's movie was All the Old Knives. I... had sort of mixed feelings but I did like the ending a lot and since the ending was the last thing I saw, that's sort of coloring my impression of the movie as a whole.

My main thought through a lot of it was that it was very stylish, but I was having a hard time connecting with or caring about the characters. That made even the stakes, which were described pretty well and placed very high, seem lower and less interesting.

Even then, though, I wasn't bored and I didn't feel like the movie dragged. The only part where I wanted it to go faster was at the end, which was also my favorite part, and that was only because I was impatient to find out what was happening and what the final twist(s) were.

I figured pretty early, like even before I started watching, that Henry was the real mole because, honestly, duh. This is just, like, how you craft a story? It's a spy story so there must be a misdirect, and what you're led to believe is that it must be Celia. So it cannot be Celia. There are almost no other characters and most of the characters who do exist would be supremely unsatisfying twist-villains so--it's Henry. The only way it could be Celia is if there's a double-twist or double-misdirect and I was sort of expecting that at one point.

Ultimately, the actual twist was very satisfying, and I really did enjoy the last 20 minutes of the film. I know this genre at least some and I was really looking forward to the inevitable 'here is the whole story again with more information, revealing a completely different narrative' and that section did NOT disappoint. I especially liked the explanation of the recurring image of the blue ceiling.

Stylistically, the movie was very beautiful, and the puzzle-piece nature of the smooth cuts to the past and future and the recurring images and so on was extremely well done.

The spycraft stuff reminded me of my recent TTSS re-read/re-watch, so it was fun to get some more context into how some of this stuff works and also just... to get another example of it, even if this was a much simpler mole-story than TTSS. I did like that Henry's story was basically the opposite of Bill's: Bill betrayed his lover for some loose conception of his ideals, while Henry betrayed his ideals, and in fact directly caused harm to a lot of people, because he cared about his lover more than anyone else. And he did that in part because he'd already learned that caring too much about too many people would only cause himself harm, that he'd be asked even officially to treat human beings as something to be used. So he had to put all his loyalty in one person, and he did. You might think that being forced to betray Ilyas would turn him into a mole, out of anger or betrayal, but instead, that pivotal moment did create his motivation but in a completely different way.

I mean the EMOTION of all that, of those kind of trade offs and sacrifices, is really the heart of the spy narrative and I thought this was well done, when it got to that.

Before the last 20 minutes I was having a semi-hard time finding motivations or potential motivations though... That was another reason I figured it had to be Henry, because he had the only thing approaching a reason to betray the Circus Station: his history with Ilyas.

I liked the dream sequences with Celia imagining herself on the plane, because that could conceivably be read as her guilt, and in a sense it WAS (she didn't turn Henry in), but it's also her fear and her sorrow. It was also a good way to weave in how important it is that she has a family while most of the limited present-day events take place away from that family.

Hmmm, what else? The sets were very beautiful. I enjoyed CPine's 2012 long-hair-and-sweater look a lot. The sex was almost awkwardly hot.

I did not like the use of a cover of Love Song for the credits. Should have used the actual, superior, Love Song.

But other than that, the movie really did pick up a lot at the end, where the stakes suddenly seemed very high, and so was the uncertainty, and the characters became, at the last minute, people I cared about, at least some. I liked Celia as the spy pulled in for one last job. I liked the sadly quiet way it wound down. I liked the moral ambiguity. It left a good taste overall based largely on the ending, but the whole thing was stylish and slick, and its run time was not too long so I stayed invested through the whole thing.

Enjoyable Sunday night watching.

[lesbegays]

thinking about how i hate my boss’s husband <3

[wackygoofball]

What represent Brienne's dressing robe during latest scene? We see Brienne dressed as a woman, quite and confident... but in black ... black not blue! And furs bed with Brienne remember me the old scene with Bran / direwolf / Catelyn Stark... so sad...

Well, my guess is good as anyone’s, I suppose, anon, but it is known that Wacky loves to ramble - especially about costumes. Since it is a longer post, I will put it below the cut:

Colors are always a tricky thing because depending on the culture you take from, they may signify very different things (in some cultures, white is the color of mourning, in others it’s black, etc.). However, since the costume design is done by the wonderful Michele Clapton, we can at least go from the British context here for some ideas.

To my mind, there are four interpretative planes on which I can see this operate (others may certainly find more and/or better ones, but those are the ones that come to my mind:

1) I suppose the straightforward associations of the color black in this context are mourning, death, endings, and sadness already pre-mediated in the dress before the two even say the words and Jaime rides off. She basically *is* wearing a mourning dress for the loss she is about to suffer (if not for long… I remain certain of that). It makes her standing there alone all the more heartbreaking. She merges with the background, she becomes visually more and more one with the darkness of the night. In that same vein, it creates a very stark contrast to Gwen’s naturally pale complexion, which puts even more focus on her face (whites and blacks have the greatest contrast in the color scale).

* Side note: Also note the texture of the dress. It’s roughspun and thick. It’s a tough fabric that stays very much in place and does move around a lot. Since it is very thick, it signifies protection (against the cold), too.

2) It’s a neat way of establishing visual connections between the two right in that scene and in connection to earlier scenes. Black has been a dominating color for both lately. Jaime, upon riding North, takes up a black cloak he repeatedly wears, even in that episode. Brienne also features a dark coat edging on black.

It’s been the predominant color of the North. I think that may also be some level hidden inside particularly for Brienne who’s gotten quite cozy up in the North even though her *identity* bears the color blue. She is *not* a Northerner and her time with Sansa is actually long since up, if only she finally found an impetus to make that step… oh wait! ;) And yet again, that perfectly mirrors her with Jaime whose ultimate landing place is not Winterfell either. Winterfell was about getting them together, but it’s not mean to be the place where they ultimately stay together. This black unity was a comfort they enjoyed while it lasted, but it was only ever there for a time because both their houses, both their colors, both their duties are calling.

In some shots during the goodbye scene, Jaime’s red leather jacket also appears almost black due to the darkness of the night.

See how they almost look like they are one piece color-wise? They are building a visual unity not just through the physical touch, not just by her cupping his cheeks or him rubbing his (black!) glove against her wrist for comfort. They are creating a visual unity in that darkest hour. In this shot in particular, it’s even hard to tell where one part of clothing begins and another ends.

It can also be regarded as a neat callback to their lovemaking scene. The tunics they wore were either *really* dark gray or just plain black. Be it as it may, the *look* black in those shots.

Jaime and Brienne wore different style tunics, but the shirts were still harmonizing, creating unity even before they dared to physically touch and undress in that chamber. In that way, the color black, even before the goodbye already pre-mediated visually what was about to go down. This callback to their unity may be one of the big hints here already.

3) Black is not just the color of mourning in Western culture. It is also a color that signifies status and authority. Judges wear black robes, referees have black clothes oftentimes. I have noted elsewhere that I was mesmerized by how regal and lady-like she looked in that dress. Gwen knows how to carry a dress, so that certainly added to it, but it really has something dignifying about itself, teh simple cut just fitting perfectly and all. Let’s not forget that Jaime and Brienne are basically still some of the few actual adults in the room, considering that we have a bunch of young adults calling global shots. I think that may also be a hint because this is a *mature* Brienne of Tarth we are seeing, we are seeing her carry herself with dignity and authority. If a spec of mine turns out to be true, then that posiitions her at last as a lady about to take charge *in her own right* rather than continuing to play bodyguard for a teenager who has others who can take good care of her in her stead.

4) Black is the color of mystery, of the unknown. Part of the reason why a lot of people are afraid in the dark is because we don’t typically see what’s in the dark, a fear that was deeply embedded into our system because of our ancestors who had to fear to be eaten by wild animals that sneaked up on them in the middle of the night. Evidently, that’s not what’s happening in that scene, but black still has something mystifying. It leaves you in the open. And I think that is also the big giveaway with regards to the misdirection I believe they are seeding here. His leaving is a mystery *to her*, she reckons the reason but her heart cannot comprehend it (also due to a lack of information, which is the figurative equivalent of *leaving her in the dark* about certain things, including the threat on his life thanks to Bronn and Cersei posing a threat by extension therefore).

So. Why black, you asked, anon. I think there are many reasons why. It fits the aesthetic of the overall scenes, creates visual unity and calls back to earlier moments of unity and closeness, it pre-mediates the sadness and grief we are about to witness for them both while at the same time showing that there is a connecting matter between them.

I think part of the big message for Brienne’s black dress lies on the color (see above) but also the fact that it is a dress. Beside the callback to Ned and Cat parting ways, we see here Brienne at a very vulnerable moment. She appears to him after she laid her feminity bare before him and started to embrace it. She holds herself (because of the cold), only to receive a massive blow to the femininity she finally allowed herself to be part of her life. That is what makes this moment even more heartbreaking than it is because of Gwen and Nik acting the living shit out of that scene and perfectly illustrate the vulnerability Brienne is feeling and the pain Jaime is feeling for saying those things and leaving now, even if it is with almost utmost certainty in an effor to protect her from further harm.

As to your question about the furs… interesting thought. I never really thought about Bran’s bed and the furs, because it just seemed to me that furs were simply the kind of thing to find on a bed in the Northern regions due to the cold.

Buuuut interesting thought, really.

If we compare the shot of Bran’s re-awakening after the fall…

We see fur, we see Ned killing Lady, and then Bran opening his eyes. Also interesting how Ned’s clothes seem to fit in rather neatly here.

While the order’s switched up a bit, we also have shot of furs, guy brooding, about to make a tough choice, and then someone awakening.

INTERESTING.

I don’t know what to make of that, I really don’t, but I find it VERY interesting. So thank you for that observation, anon. Mayhaps the visual callback to Bran we’ve been waiting for? The foreshadowing that Bran had his hands in Jaime’s leaving? So many possibilities with that little robotic guy. Ugh.

Anyway, those are my two cents, maybe three.

[orionsangel86]

14x02 - Episode Review - Without the Bells and Whistles

Bucklemming colour me impressed. This episode was a rich character driven story that left me full and satisfied and that is something I NEVER say about Bucklemming. I am amazed at how character focused these first two episodes are and truly hope that Dabb keeps up the momentum among writers. It is a change of pace with the show, and a change of focus, but it is WORKING so far.

As always with BL episodes there were some pacing issues and clunky dialogue in parts, but damn Dick Speight Jr is doing a fabulous job making the show look beautiful. As with 14x01 there is a lot to discuss, though I will try to be brief as I have a desperate need to write a separate post about Cas because my angel had me in tears in this episode and he needs an essay written about him in it.

Without further adieu, a long review is under the cut.

Michael and the Bait

Firstly Jensen did spectacularly in this episode. Such a drastic difference from 14x01 and I’m not sure if that’s because of Dick being a more hands on director or Jensen finally making a choice but he has settled into the role and plays Michael as a sinister psychopath on a mission. Michael has far more personality in this episode. He is more interesting to watch and managed to hold my attention unlike in 14x01. This makes me happy.

So what’s the deal guys? Michael spends this episode focusing on his monster experiments, brags about owning Dean, and then just leaves? Obviously that’s not what happened. The clue is in the key moments:

“Why be the hunted, when you can be the Hunter?”

“Rule no.1 you can’t have a trap without bait. Rule no.2 Once the trap has been sprung, you don’t need the bait anymore.”

Michael’s plan has been set in motion. The scene with the vamp girl being foreshadowing for the bigger picture, the bigger goal. Is Michael going after the hunters? If his plan is to make a world where Monsters are in charge, then the hunters need to be eradicated. It makes sense. It also therefore makes sense that you would set your sights on hunter central – the bunker. So Dean was let free so Michael could keep a watch on the bunker and it’s residents through him. As far as the rules go, if Dean is the bait, then releasing Dean is Michael not needing him anymore directly. The trap itself is the mystery, but I suspect we will find out more about exactly what Michael has done in 14x03, and it will most likely all have to do with this mysterious scar. I don’t think Michael is hiding “in” Dean so much as has an “open connection” to him where he could jump back in at any time without Dean’s consent. But we shall find out soon enough I’m sure.

Mary x Bobby

Obviously I support this ship, but I support it even more seeing as they have now paralleled Mobby to Destiel in two episodes in a row.

“My FBI is a little rusty”

This week, Bobby is our Cas mirror and Mary is our Dean. The fond pat on the back was the only hint we got that this was romantic, but like with 14x01, I ask you to try to find a single viewer who doesn’t see “something there” between this generic heterosexual couple? They are continuing to show their relationship through nothing BUT destiel parallels and it continues to delight me that this is now the shows go-to way to portray romance.

On a slight side note, Bobby being from an apocalypse AU world, he is the classic hunter right now who only sees in black and white, and the way he went for the vamp girl even after she tried to explain how she had never harmed a human. Bobby’s take on things this season will be an interesting one as it’s a continuous theme in this show to explore what makes a monster, something that dates back to John Winchester days (the ultimate black and white hunter). Also his understandable suspicions about angels making the dynamic with Cas a potentially interesting one. I wonder if this Bobby will ever utter the phrase “family don’t end with blood”?

Nick – It’s a chicken and egg situation

*sigh* I’m still not won over, and I probably won’t be. I expected this episode to be Nick heavy, and the flashbacks irked me because I simply don’t care. But I get that they would be necessary for a general audience. My lack of care is my own issue. It doesn’t matter how much Mark P acted his arse off trying to give us a decent performance (his first in years), I’m still not gonna be a fan. I’m still gonna skip those scenes in subsequent re-watches but that’s just me. I just don’t find it interesting even if he is being embedded into the story in a way that is paramount to the plot and the characters own struggles and development. I will acknowledge that importance and move on. I suppose the take away from Nick’s role in this episode when not specifically tied to Castiel (which I will yell about later) is whether or not he murdered his wife and child before he was possessed by Lucifer. The set up in the episode, the scripting and the direction implies that yes, he did. Though that could be a misdirection.

At the beginning of the episode, when he was asking Castiel what would possibly make him say yes to Lucifer to begin with, he had seemingly forgotten all about the brutal murder of his family, until Cas reminded him. Perhaps he had just repressed the trauma to the point that he had removed it from his mind to save himself further torment – but then murderers do that as much as grieving widows. Interestingly of all the things we learn about the murder case, we never actually learn Nick’s whereabouts, only from Castiel saying “you weren’t there” which is entirely unreliable because how would he have known other than from reading about the case himself? We know Nick’s neighbour is jumpy around him, so what did the neighbour actually see? We know his wife and child were killed with a hammer – an extremely intimate murder weapon and one that has been meta’d before in relation to Demon!Dean. Strangers don’t murder people with a hammer. It’s the weapon of crimes of passion, of extreme emotional connection to the victims. There is nothing cold and detached about a hammer. People who pick hammer’s to kill seek out the mess and extreme violence that they cause. It’s horrific and so much more gruesome than a knife or a gun. To kill an infant with a hammer? Even worse. To then see Nick murder the neighbour in the same violent attack, it is very easy to assume that he was the original killer as well.

If we assume Nick was the killer what does this mean for the canon of the show? Is this how Lucifer picks his vessels? What does this say about Sam? Who had to consume gallons of demon blood before he could contain Lucifer, Sam who had to be “corrupted” from a young age to prepare him? Was Nick already corrupted enough thanks to his apparent violent streak?

OR was this new kill with the hammer a result of what Cas called Lucifer’s “influence”, the “damage on his psyche”? Did Lucifer create the monster? Or was the monster already a part of Nick? If the season is going to continue the themes of previous seasons in exploring the shades of grey between men and monsters, then Nick is a key component. Is he the innocent victim of the devil? Or is he a tormented killer, who just so happened to get what he deserved? How would this affect the boys? If they are already struggling to find compassion towards a man wearing the face of their abuser, how does this potential new bit of information fit into that story? Perhaps, if Nick really is the killer, once this is found out it gives the writers an easy way to ultimately have him killed off without any guilt of tormenting and villainising an innocent. My money is actually on this theory. Plus it gives me a reason to continue hating him for the hell of it. But hey, that’s just me.

Castiel – The Angel with Too Much Heart

Oh Cas. What DON’T I have to say about you in this episode? I was amazed by Bucklemming’s dedication to Cas as a character and devotion to getting him right for once… I feel like I have slipped into an alternate universe because of this.

In 14x01 Cas was physically beaten, and in 14x02 he is emotionally beaten. I can’t help but wonder if this spells gloomy foreshadowing for Cas in the coming episodes. I want to write about this in depth as this episode is a fascinating insight into Cas’s psyche and his character arc going forward BUT I am leaving that for a separate post so in this review I will just sum it up:

Consider what happens to Cas in several points:

He overhears Bobby saying “angels ain’t known for their veracity” about Jo – that he doubts she was telling the truth. Cas shrugs it off and “tends to agree with him” but the awkwardness is obvious. This isn’t the Bobby who saw Cas as a son after all.

He is told he cannot go along on the mission to save Dean because his “angelic presence would be sensed by Michael” therefore his grace has rendered him useless.

He is made to relive his own possession by Lucifer “you were in a lot of pain, and Lucifer saw a vulnerability and he exploited it” though not talking about himself, the implication is obvious to anyone with a good memory of previous seasons.

He is made to relive another dark chapter of his history when his grace was stolen and he was human. Cas gives Jack a heartfelt positive speech that does show he is in a better place now “I had Sam and Dean, but I had something else that was extremely helpful. I had myself. Just the basic me, as Dean would say without all the bells and whistles” (which btw is so so good for human!cas meta) but the truth is actually far more depressing than Cas lets on, and the pain of what happened at that time, how Dean kicking him out of the bunker only encouraged the view that without his grace he was useless and unwanted by Dean – hence jilted lover.

He is surprised by Nick trying to “snap” him to oblivion which could easily be a trigger for Cas bearing in mind Lucifer has blown him up before via that very gesture.

He had to relive his “greatest regret” and what he did to Jimmy and his family. “You’re just a stone cold body snatcher, you’re no different from Lucifer” and you can SEE how much that pained him. How much Nick twisted the knife at those words.

He was told by Jack that he wanted to meet “The only real family that I have left” which is a slap in the face to poor Cas who sees Jack as part of his own family (and his reaction to that line is heart breaking).

Then the worst thing, he is made to face the possible conclusion that Dean may have to die to save the world. “Dean doesn’t matter” oh boy. No hate to Jack who doesn’t really have any real reason to put Dean ahead of the world, but to Cas, who is in love with him? Yeah that’s the killing blow right there.

Right at the end Jack says “Do you think he’d want it any other way?” and Cas KNOWS Dean wouldn’t, because they have been in that situation before as well, and when that happened Dean asked Cas to take him out. So he had to relive that painful moment as well. One that he refused, and because he refused to fight Dean, got beaten to a pulp after proclaiming that he would “be the one to watch you murder the world”. I have no doubt that Cas would still take that view over the alternative.

So Cas was emotionally beaten all episode. Forced to live through his worst moments and biggest regrets, and then have to face the fact that putting Dean above saving the world just isn’t right and he needs to prepare himself for that eventuality. If this episode and the last have told us anything, it’s that Cas is once again in a pretty low place. That much beating, both physical and emotional, are going to have an impact, and I am now really concerned about where Cas disappears to in episodes 4 to 6.

There is so much more to discuss, specifically in relation to what his view of his grace as “bells and whistles” could mean for human!Cas meta writers, not to mention the basic fact that any argument now about Cas hating being human just isn’t true. He still had himself, and he still believed in himself even when human, and even if he didn’t back then, he does now. He doesn’t see that period of his life as a total negative. That is HUGE.

Summary

A+ episode for Cas development. Amazing as that is being a bucklemming. It has also left us with lots to speculate and theorise which is always a great thing - keeping people tuning in. The Michael!Dean mystery as well as the Nick mystery probably won’t get revealed any time soon, but are enough to have people talking about them for a while. 

Sam was still very much in Leader mode, though didn’t really get to do much this episode, but the way I see it, 14x01 was for Sam, 14x02 was for Cas, and I fully expect 14x03 to be a Dean heavy episode (which is fair since I am sure we are all missing him by now). Jack is also one to watch. His inner turmoil is textually acknowledged several times over and seeing as he is basically a mini Cas, the possibility that Jack could decide to do something drastic is probably very likely. I wonder if we will see Kelly’s parents again any time soon - I kinda hope not as I reckon that would spell certain doom for them. 

It was a strong episode, and I enjoyed watching it (other than the Nick stuff). Probably my second favourite Bucklemming episode if I was to rank them all now which is very impressive (11x18 will always be top imo).

That’s all for now, as I am in the mood to write some Cas stuff. As always if you read this far kudos and please reblog and comment and send me asks as I love all that stuff. :D