#bbc ghosts s5e5

[parttimesarah]

Been thinking about this for a while.

I’m never going to think about this episode the same…

Because now I know what else happened in that room!…

And, like, they got this…

But this was the closest he could get…

And that’s why he’s so bubblingly happy here…

.

.

.

Imma need several minutes.

[smartcookie27]

Posting this again because the episode has finally aired, so less people have to worry about spoilers now (but just in case you haven't watched the new episode – there are spoilers here!).

[kami-ships-it]

[glowinggreeneyes-e]

Imagine the guilt Havers has - like James came all this way, had to find him, had to be there, had to see him and tell him everything they’d never dared speak in wartime.

And then his old CO is ridiculed, pointed and laughed at, different to the other men, just because he wanted to see you. And then he dies.

Havers must think it’s his fault to some extent, maybe to a large one since he isn’t really known after the war (Button House Archives: ‘unknown soldier’), stuck with his own questions and time stolen from him. From them both.

He’s stuck with the regret of not reaching out to James, not finding him first, even leaving him all those years ago without another word said in between.

That sort of guilt is indescribable.

[real-globophobe]

Yes, because you'd know all about being fraudulent and resourceful, wouldn't you Cap?

[kits-ghosts-corner]

he was found. anthony was found by someone who had lost him. he gave the man who found him again an item that wasn't his, "mislaying" it in a way. and james, a supplanter who was where he shouldn't be, was the one to find him. who was found by him, in the physical and emotional sense of the phrase. he followed him. he followed and found him and was found by him.

don't talk to me. don't look at me. if you see me crying, carry on walking, ignore it.

[lerry-hazel]

The Captain's Death, Part 3

I know, getting involved in "universally aknowledged" fandom issues has never done me any good, but I don’t think I can let this one slide.

I mean, initially I didn't mind politely ignoring the blatantly half-arsed plotline, but now it's starting to bother me how easily everyone seems to dismiss and accept the utterly shitty thing the Captain did – for no – good – reason – whatsoever!

Because “nothing would have happened” if he had waited by the gate for Havers to leave the party. Nothing would have happened if he had used his knowledge of the house to find a quiet corner to confront Havers in private. Nothing would have happened if he had arrived with no medals, and Cartwright would have assumed an exception had been made for the Captain as a CO of Button House, and wouldn’t have asked him about Versailles, which, rather than the upside-down medals, had actually started the whole mess –

– and then, nothing would still have happened. Because – assuming a heart attack in a diligently athletic person of 45 was induced by 10 seconds of public humiliation, and the Captain wasn’t always supposed to die then and there – he would have made it across the room, and, regardless of how fervently his feeling were returned, Havers would have been forced to awkwardly ask him to leave and wait to have the discussion away from the crowd.

Which brings us back to what the hell the Captain had been thinking in the first place, long before it came to trespassing, theft and disrespect of uniform. 

Well, at least tmblr stopped showing me that god-awful Cartwright-kicking picture every time I check out the Ghosts tag: calling your favourite character on his indecent behaviour doesn’t constitute a valid reason for a vicious physical assault, people!

[45gayfrogs]

!BBC GHOST S5E5 SPOILERS!

The Captain really is too gay to function(literally)

[natjennie]

bbc ghosts without faces - s5e5 "carpe diem"

[certified-scoundrel]

(BBC Ghosts season 5 spoilers!)

the fact that some people get pissy when characters that are canonically queer don’t straight up say “i’m gay” because its not ‘real’ representation will never fail to upset me- especially when it doesn’t make sense for the character to say it.

The Captain is gay. He doesn’t need to look into the camera lens and say “I like men” for us to know that, y’all. I know we’re so used to queer baiting that people feel like we need that moment for something to be queer representation, but c’mon guys. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure this out.

Even before s5e5, there are so many things that show him being queer (e.g.- the naked dude in the house after Allison’s party, how he acted around the AD Adam, EVERY SINGLE TIME HE MENTIONED HAVERS), but it would be insanely out of character if he used the word gay to describe himself. Do you seriously think a WW2 officer would come out directly? In my opinion, him telling the story of his death was his version of our modern idea of what coming out looks like.

If “i-…i-“/“I know” and “anthony”/“james” aren’t enough for you, you need to work on your media literacy because characters shouldn’t have to spell out their feelings for you to accept them as real.

[parttimesarah]

A good deal of the BBC Ghosts fandom after S5E5…

[m0ose-idiot]

BBC Ghosts S5E5 spoiler without context

[aktf7wcbh]

*BBC Ghosts s5 obvious spoilers*

I can’t stop thinking about the s5e5. I have been in awe of it. As this is the final season, I think we all were expecting Captain’s ‘coming out’ scene. I mean ‘coming out’ of his sexuality. When he was interrupted in the group therapy session of s3e5, we all were on the edge of our seats because that seemed like his ‘coming out’ scene.

What we saw in s5e5 instead was something different, and something profound and emotional. It was more complex and multilayered.

By the way, I am fond of US Ghosts and their ‘coming out’ scene with Isaac and Hetty was nice (including the fact that other ghosts already knew about Issac’s sexuality).

I knew BBC Ghosts wouldn’t recreate that kind of conversation. That kind of conversation was already made by Humphrey and Lady Button in s2e6, regarding the different values. Lady Button was originally offended by same-sex marriage, and perhaps by homosexuality or queerness. However, she understood them in the end.

We actually don’t know what exactly Captain talked and shared with other ghosts. We saw the flashback scene of the party, but it didn’t show his ‘angle’ in that recreation. Presumably, he ‘confessed’ that he was not actually a decorated officer and was no ‘hero’. His sexuality might be, or might not be the focus. The simple fact that he came back, sneaked in and faked himself to get into to Button House just for seeing Havers would explain.

Even if he has never used the terms (such as homosexual), the whole story is full of queer undertones - or rather, overtones. Captain had to fake himself to ‘blend in’, and his disguise/secret was revealed. ‘Have you no shame?’ This is, undoubtedly, a queer story. It is not subtext, it is explicit. His queerness is overlapped with the concept of masculinity in the military (bravery, heroism) too. This storytelling is multifaceted, but doesn’t strike me as ‘shying away’ from explicit queer representation. This is pretty much on brand for BBC Ghosts.

At first I thought the reactions of other ghosts were a bit blant. However, after the rewatch, I thought it was perfect - only Lady Button said ‘you are a brave man’. It can be interpreted that Captain was/is brave to follow his heart and be himself. The fact that it was Lady Button who commented also added layers. What she said was quite comforting, especially given that she was most likely to be ‘conservative’ (obviously in the modern sense) on queer identity.

I’m really curious how long they planed this backstory. I have heard that Captain’s badge was upside down from the start, so I guess it was from the beginning. Such a fascinating story building; I like when TV serious has consistency.

[glowinggreeneyes-e]

his last words were literally Havers’ name I’m going to be sick

[sunshine-soprano]

BBC GHOSTS S5E5 SPOILERS ‼️

captain this havers that does anyone else think that achy breaky heart was simultaneously the best and the absolute worst song choice considering the captain’s manner of death

[captainpangolin]

BBC Ghosts s5e5 spoilers, kinda

(Captain name reveal reference)

...Which Captain James is gayer?

Why are captains always fruity? This keeps happening, I feel like.

(Trick question)