#betty's character is in prison but not completely gone

[pepimeinrad]

The second Hubert und Staller TV movie, ‘Unter Wölfen’ is pretty damn amazing. Lots of great people, utterly hilarious, one great long episode.

The only thing that would have made it even better would have been casting Maximilian Grill as Sebastian Kurz, partner to Melanie Eder, played by Bettina Lamprecht. There were several scenes with Betty, Helmfried, and Robert Schupp (another guest star, the one I originally watched the movie for, before I started watching the show), who were Max’ costars in the three shows he is/was a regular in (Betty’s Diagnose, Der Letzte Bulle, and Schloss Einstein). Having them all be policemen in scenes together would have been the greatest thing.

[diazpoems]

Me watching Riverdale S2:

THE WAY KEVIN IS RAISING HIS HAND TO THE MOTHERFUCKING SKY WHEN HIRAM ASKS FOR A VOLUNTEER FOR A WRESTLING DEMONSTRATION. THIS THIRSTY MOTHERFUCKER. HIS FACE IS PRICELESS.

I wish I could just jump into Riverdale and shake the characters and be like

Cheryl: Your parents fucking suck

Josie: Your parents fucking suck

Veronica: Your parents fucking suck

Betty: Your parents fucking suck

Archie: Your dads okay so far, I don’t know about your mom

Jughead: Your dad used to fucking suck but as a person, at his core, I don’t think he’s evil, and he’s getting better, but he’s got a ways to learn. I don’t know about your mom

Kevin: Your dad’s decent so far? Don’t know about your mom

Like especially Josie because I know it’s hard and that a lot of the trauma her mom felt probably manifested itself badly and Josie probably feels attached to her mom and like she owes her being a good daughter because her mom’s had it bad but like I also DON’T CARE. FUCKING TREAT YOUR CHILD RIGHT. I DON’T GIVE A SHIT WHAT HAPPENED. THATS YOUR CHILD. WOMAN UP AND BE A FUCKING DECENT PERSON. I DON’T CARE THAT YOU PUT A ROOF OVER HER HEAD, FOOD IN HER MOUTH, GAVE HER A SINGING CAREER (But continue to control it and not give her leeway to think and act on her own). SHE DON’T OWE YOU SHIT. FUCK OFF WITH YOUR WEIRD LIFE-FUCKING-SUCKED-FOR-ME-BUT-IM-ALSO-A-CLASSIST-BITCH PARADOX. MY DAD’S GOT IT MADE RIGHT NOW BUT HE HASN’T FORGOTTEN HIS ROOTS, HASN’T FORGOTTEN THE DISCRIMINATION HE FACED AND THE FACT THAT HE GREW UP SHIT POOR EARLY ON AND HE HASN’T DECIDED “Hey, let’s ridicule people for being in a similar position that I was in!”

Basically, this is me begging for for Josie’s mom to ✨fucking do better✨

Anyways yeah normalize Riverdale characters disowning their own parents ✌🏽🥰

Hmmm. If I wasn’t completely and utterly for the Serpents before, the white serpents learning to shut the fuck up and stand with Toni and her grandfather in opposition of the genocide and colonialism that was perpetrated by Cheryl’s great great grandfather? Hell fucking yeah

Dude I’m sorta crying at the scene with Hiram seeing Veronica in her confirmation dress because he’s a piece of shit but this is how it goes down, like it’s a whole thing

I love that I immediately knew the meaning of “Catholic chic”. Apparently that’s all going to church every Sunday for the formative years of my life accomplished

I hope Penelope Blossom dies in a fire :)

OH MY GOD, LOVE SIMON CAME OUT RIGHT AROUND HERE, KEVIN IS ASKING MOOSE TO IT, MY COMFORT MOVIE OH MY GOD-

Ugh, I don’t trust Midge. Something about the tropey-ness of her being The Girlfriend™️ and her face, as well as the fact that she played Gen in tatbilb, something doesn’t sit right. The haircut feels too manic pixie, like she’s hiding something. Bad vibes

NOOO CHERYL ILL GO ON A VACATION WITH YOU 😭 GOD IM SO GONE FOR HER

Aaaaand she did some fuck shit. Aaaand Toni is pretty. Aaaand there’s the internalized homophobia.

Jughead saying that growing up Betty’s and Archie’s windows being parallel always bothered him sounds more like a jarchie admission than a bughead one, I’m just sayin’

BETTY AND JUGHEAD’S REACTIONS WHEN THEY HEAR THE BED SQUEAKING IS ME. Like the little amused but lowkey confused and baffled expression on his face as he’s like “is that their solution to everything? Can’t they ever just talk?” Like no apparently not. Me too Jug, me too-

Idk Vee, maybe he’s asking questions about your father’s line of work and the business of his associates because your dad and mom are fucking evil

What the fuck Veronica. I mean yay because that just gets us closer to Jarchie kiss but like what the fuck Vee. Also Jughead is super cute, like why does the blue eyes black hair thing absolutely melt my weak heart, like I didn’t choose to fall for this pasty ass white boy but here we are. Also Veronica’s eyes are really big and dark and pretty like girl help im falling for these two-

BETTY LITERALLY POINTED IT OUT, C’MON NOW CW, I KNOW WE’VE MADE THE MISTAKE OF GROVELING WITH SPN BUT PLEASE IM BEGGING YOU WE NEED A JARCHIE KISS-

CAN HETEROSEXUALS PLEASE STOP FUCKING ALL THE TIME ON TV. WHY DO YOU HAVE TO SHOVE YOUR STRAIGHTNESS IN MY FACE. NOT EVERYONE IS STRAIGHT YOU KNOW.

“Entertain Jughead” 😏

DUDE. They were sitting ALONE. TOGETHER. In the WOODS. With them being the ONLY ones who haven’t kissed. DUDE.

C’MON MAN, THEY’RE STARING FUCKING LONGINGLY AT EACH OTHER

If there are weird gay ships for straights then Jeronica is the weird straight ship for gays

Ok so is there a legitimate reason why Veronica is faithful to her parents and defends them to a tee and partakes in their mob shit or is she just daddy’s little fucking girl. Like it isn’t her fault that she’s been manipulated but it pisses me the fuck off. And people who want her to stay with her parents because supposedly they’re the only ones who love her even though it’s toxic and warped? Like do you have a brain?

Archie and Veronica really love supporting gentrification, classism, and Vee’s rich daddy and mommy’s innocence huh

Look i actually agree with Reggie for once, get Hiram’s ass, deal with it Veronica

Wow, nice, shaming Jug for eating. That’s cool, Arch. That’s awesome. And no Betty, she doesn’t have everybody’s vote. Because Veronica’s parents are motherfuckers and when it comes to choosing between a murderer/abuser/rich/classist/gentrifying fuck and supporting your bestie uwu guess which one im fucking picking. Also, THANK YOU JUG for explaining to your friend that even though he lives in a fantasy land where northside Riverdale is the only one worth referring to when talking about Riverdale at all and thus the only one that matters and is worth protecting, the southside exists and people live and have grown up in the southside and building a prison there where it will be even more easy to profile and incarcerate southside residents under false or exaggerated pretenses ISN’T A GOOD THING. That his own friend isn’t quite apart of his and Veronica’s and Betty’s socioeconomic caste and that he’s not going to pretend like he is, he isn’t going to be quiet about it just because you’re friends again. That he’s not going to lay down and let Archie explain what a good move for Riverdale is when he clearly means northside riverdale, let him explain how the southside needs to be dealt with to someone who grew up on the southside and knows it more (not the most, I’m not saying Jug isn’t out of his depth with certain aspects of being a full southsider) intricately than him. LIKE FUCK. ARCHIE. WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU’RE TALKING TO. Like he just doesn’t get why building prisons and stereotyping and condemning all southsiders and gentrifying entire neighborhoods is really fucking bad and a big deal and it annoys me so much. Like yeah Arch, obviously you don’t see the big deal because it doesn’t affect you and you delude yourself that it doesn’t affect your friend either, but it actually is that bad.

In conclusion, Archie and Veronica and sometimes Betty are giving me headaches rn. Like I’m not saying Jughead is perfect at all but in this particular instance he’s the only one I agree with for the most part right now.

Yeah Arch, you see things differently because you’re not the one who’s on the receiving end of the problem

YES MOMMA ANDREWS. SNAP! GO FERAL! SHOW THAT SOB SOME CONSEQUENCES!

Ah, so this is the jarchie “break-up” scene. You know what. I feel no heartbreak. Get his ass Jug.

Get. His. Ass.

They sent Cheryl to a conversion institution. I’m literally crying. This isn’t an exaggeration. I feel like I want to cry. Just. God fucking damn it.

SHE DOESN’T WANT TO GET BETTER. SHE’S NOT SICK. YOU ARE. DIE. FUCKING DIE. BURN IN HELL. AND PENELOPE BLOSSOM TOO.

“That’s not how things go in Riverdale” is a veiled way of saying “don’t challenge the upper class and don’t try to stifle gentrification,” I hope you all know

[where-theres-smoak-2]

Charles/ The Voyeur Theories

I’m bored and its still hours away until the next episode so you all know what that means more theories and analysis. Today my topic of choice is Charles Smith and also theories on who may or may not be behind the video tapes. Obviously there are spoilers for all of season 4 including the latest episode. 

The Curious Case of Charles Smith 

Ok so first I want to talk about Charles. Lets be honest there have been moments where he’s been shady af such as listening in on Betty’s phone calls and visiting Chic. But the thing is, call me a fool, but I’m really like his character and I’m hoping that he’s not the bad guy and that his shady behaviour can be explained by the fact that he is a FBI agent. I feel like we went down the whole evil long lost brother route when Chic was impersonating Charles and I think it would be kinda boring to see it all again with the real Charles. So I figured we could go through the history of Charles and analyse how likely it is that he is a bad guy of the show or whether there is some hope that he might be a decent person. This means going back to the very beginning.

Right from the start Charles is established as a very mysterious character, there are alot of inconsistencies in the information we are given about Charles. Obviously the first time we hear about Charles is in season 1 when Alice confesses to Betty that she had a teenage pregnancy and she gave her baby boy up for adoption. But it’s not until later, in 2x10, that the storyline really kicks off when Betty decides to go looking for Charles in an attempt to ease Alice’s pain of losing Polly who had just cut all ties with the family. Betty meets with the social worker who tells her that her brother’s record was unsealed when he turned 18. This is where the first inconsistencies start to appear. Alice says that the Sisters of Quiet Mercy arranged for a quiet adoption, so we know that Alice believes that her son was adopted. But when Betty talks to the social worker she says that Charles stayed in the foster system and was never adopted. As far as we can tell it seems like he was raised at the Sisters of Quiet Mercy. The social worker then gives her the address of the Last Resort Youth Hostel, which is the last address they have for him. It is when her and Alice visit this hostel that we first meet Chic, he leads them to believe that he is Charles and alot of the information we get about Charles we actually learn through Chic. Unfortunately this does make it more difficult for us to unravel the web of mystery around Charles as we know that Chic is a liar. That being said, often with characters like Chic they will weave elements of the truth into their stories to lend credit to their lies. Now we have to figure out which parts of his stories actually happened and which parts are a complete fabrication. The one thing that we can be certain of though is that Chic and Charles do know each other. 

Chic instantly recognises who Alice is when she introduces herself stating that the Sisters gave him her address when he turned 18 and that they kicked him out. However this is another inconsistency as we later learn in 2x19 when Betty and Jughead go to the Sisters for information, that according to them Charles ran away from them. The bulk of the information we learn about Charles we learn in 2x19. When Betty confronts Chic with the fact that she knows he’s not Charles and they interrogate him he gives us some more details about Charles’ past. We find out that Charles and Chic met when they were both living on the streets. They then moved into the hostel together, this is something that is repeated several times throughout the series so we can reasonably say its likely true. We also know that Charles knew about the Coopers and that he told Chic about them. According to Chic, Charles described the Coopers as a perfect family that lived in Riverdale who gave him up for adoption, who didn’t want him and who never bothered to look for him. The way Chic describes it does make it sound like Charles had some resentment towards the Coopers. He then goes on to tell them that one day Charles had come knocking at the Coopers door and that Alice turned him away, pretty much slammed the door in his face. Alice does confirm that the boy in the picture did come to the door and that she sent him away, so we know this part of Chic’s story is true. Chic then spins a fable about how Charles was so upset that he went out on a bender which resulted him in over dosing on jingle jangle. Although we later learn this is false and Charles didn’t die, I do think the part about Charles being upset and going on a bender could be true. To me it does sound like a realistic reaction to that situation and the real Charles does later tell Betty that he is an ex addict which we will cover some more later. 

Betty isn’t satisfied with Chic’s story about what happened to her brother so she and Jughead go back to the hostel where they talk to a neighbour. She describes Charles as being ‘the nice one’, that he always used to greet her and carry her groceries. The neighbour then tells them that Chic and Charles were always arguing, that they were nasty and scary fights and that then one day there was only one, ‘the bad one.’ Charles was gone. The neighbour also tells them that she found blood stained sheets and pillows when she took the trash out. Which brings me to the next section. 

The Mystery of the Bloody Sheets. 

Thanks to the neighbours testimony we know that something horrific happened in that room, most likely a murder. We are given three versions of what happened two from Chic and one from Charles. 

Version 1

Ok so version one we know isn’t true but there could be some clues in it that can help us figure out what did happen. This is the first version that we are given and its when Betty is about to turn Chic over to the Black Hood in 2x19 and she demands to know what really happened to Charles. Chic tells her that he and Charles got into a fight and that Chic snapped, that he didn’t mean to hurt Charles. Here he implies that he accidently killed Charles when he lost his temper. What’s interesting about this interaction was that Chic was facing possible death at this moment and yet despite this he still lied about Charles being dead. 

Version 2

The second version we are given is again from Chic in 4x06. After growing suspicious of Charles, Betty visits Chic in prison where she again asks what happened. This time he gives a different account saying that they had brought a friend home and they started doing jingle jangle. They did a bit too much of it and things got out of control, Charles snapped, like some darkness had taken over him and he stabbed the guy to death with a pair of scissors. When Betty asks how she could know whether he’s telling the truth he asks why he would lie at this point. But here’s the thing we know he will still lie even when he could be at death’s door so I don’t see why he wouldn’t still lie when facing time in prison. It is also at this moment that Chic reveals that he knows Betty knows Charles is alive by asking her what Charles had said had happened. This is subtle but actually is a clue to the reveal at the end of the episode as it tells us that Charles had already been in contact with Chic before we see them together at the end of the episode. 

Version 3

So the thrid version we are given is the only one we get directly from Charles himself. The other difference is that this time the person being questioned is hooked up to a polygraph. It is worth noting that during Betty’s questioning the polygraph only picks up signs of deception once when Betty asks if Charles is hiding anything. Through out his story about what happened in the room that needle stays steady. Charles says that he went out for groceries one day and when he came home it was to find a dead guy in their bed. His insticts take over. He dissolved the body with lye in the bath tub, threw away the sheets and cleaned the room with bleach. Chic watched. Charles said that was the end of them and that he then left Chic. As for the thing he was hiding he says it is that he is an ex addict. As a side note though I do think that this is a cover he knew he had to give some piece of information to cover the deception so he went with the ex addict thing, in reality I think the thing he is trying to hide is that he has been visiting Chic. 

Ok so which of these three versions is the right one? Well I actually think its a combination of the 2nd and 3rd. I do feel like out of all of them Charles’ version seems the most accurate. He gives a lot more details which suggests he was being truthful, ordinarily when a person lies they give as little detail as possible so there’s less chance of them being caught out. Also Charles mentions the sheets and that the victim was in the bed which would tie in the pillows the neighbour found with the sheets, it all lines up exactly with what the neighbour said. But the thing that really sold it for me was how much it seems to fit Chic’s MO. Charles’ description of the events are eerily similar to what happened to the Shady Guy. I do think the writers wanted us to compare these two events. In both instances its Chic who kills the person but its someone else who is clearing it up in an attempt to protect Chic. In both instances Chic just sits there watching. Both times the body is dissolved with lye, and both times some piece of evidence is left behind and discovered by a third party, the sheets which are discovered by the neighbour and the car which is found by a guy scavenging for parts which he reports to the police. 

So what about version 2? Well as I said before characters like Chic will often have some elements of the truth in their lies. In both of his versions Chic is consistent in saying that someone snapped. In the first version he says it was himself, in the second that it was Charles. But the fact that he repeated this makes me think this has some truth to it. He also has mentioned jingle jangle on several occasions, first he says Charles OD’d on it, then he said he and charles were doing it together with a friend. We also know that Shady guy was a dealer and he had come looking for Chic so its safe to say that Chic had brought from him in the past. Then there’s Charles mentioning his past addiction. As it is a topic that keeps getting repeated I again think it holds some merit of truth to it and we can assume that both Chic and Charles were addicted to or at the very least using, jingle jangle around the time of the murder. The other consistency between the two versions is that the victim was brought home. So taking all that into consideration here’s my best guess at what I think happened. Charles left their room and went grocery shopping. While he was out Chic brought a client home with him. The reason why I think it was a client is because Charles says the guy was ‘some trick he had brought home.’ Trick is slang for a client of a lady or gentleman of the night shall we say. Also it would explain why the guy was in the bed when he was killed. Chic and his client started doing some jingle jangle and things got out of control. Chic was overcome by the darkness and snapped, stabbing the guy to death with a pair of scissors. Charles then comes home essentially walking into a messy situation. There’s blood everywhere, a dead guy in the bed and Chic is covered in the victims blood. His instinct to protect Chic takes over and he cleans up, moving the body to the bath tub and dissolving it with lye, he throws the sheets and pillows in the dumpster and washes everything down with bleach. After its all over he knows things can’t carry on the way they have. He leaves Chic and starts going to Narcotics Anoymnous cleaning up his act before eventually joining the FBI. 

After 2x19 Charles is only briefly brought up again in season 3 when Betty believes that the Farm have tricked Alice into thinking she is talking to Charles. Obviously we eventually learn that Alice really was talking to Charles. Then we see the real Charles for the first time in 3x22 when he shows up at the Coopers door and reveals that he works with the FBI and that Alice had been working with them to investigate the farm. 

Suspicious Minds

Since his introduction in 3x22 Charles has done several things that cast him in a suspicious light. Some are more sublte than others but the first major suspicion comes in episode 4, the halloween episode. After seeming to help Betty out with the prank calls we find out that Charles has bugged Betty’s phone and is listening in on her phone call with Jughead. Now this begs the question of why is he doing this? The obvious one would be that its because he’s a bad guy and is trying to get some information about Betty for nefarious reasons. There is another explaination though. We know that Charles is an FBI agent. We also know that he is part of an active investigation in Riverdale (the tapes). Now if we look at Betty and Charles’ relationship so far we might be able to figure out why Charles might have done this. We know that most of their interaction with each other was during them investigating the farm trying to find and extract Alice. The first thing I’d like to point out here is that we know that Betty’s isn’t the only phone that Charles and the FBI has been tracking, they also bugged Kevin’s phone. Now if it were just Betty’s phone I would say that it was highly suspicious but the fact that we know of at least one other phone makes it seem a little less suspicious. However you could argue that Charles had a reason to track Kevin’s phone as they believed, rightly, that he was still in contact with The Farm. What reason could he have for tracking Betty’s phone other than him being a bad guy? Well I can actually think of a couple of reasons why Charles would have a legitimate reason to keep an eye on Betty. To understand it we need to look at it from Charles’ point of view. We know of two occasions at least where Betty has acted recklessly and without talking it through with Charles first. Betty told Kevin about the fake witness and that Alice is an informant. When Charles finds out he is rightfully upset with Betty and seems to be in genuine disbelief that she had just revealed the identity of an active FBI informant to a, as he puts it, messed up kid. This was incredibly reckless and impulsive of Betty if she had been wrong it would have destroyed their entire investigation and it potentially put Alice in danger. And this isn’t the only time Betty acts out impulsively. She also then goes to the motel where the farm are hiding out without telling Charles. As a result she nearly gets caught in the crosshairs of a fight between Mercenaries and The Farm. The only reason that was avoided was because she happened to ring Charles at just the right time and get him to stand them down. My point is that if we look at it from Charles’ POV then Betty is a bit of a loose cannon. Now I don’t know about you but if I was an FBI agent working on an active investigation I’m not about to let a loose cannon like Betty run around unchecked. It’s likely that Charles is simply listening into Betty’s phone calls to make sure that she isn’t about to catch him off guard again or do something to derail or put their investigation in jeopardy. The other thing to bear in mind is that while we might have only been shown Charles listening into Betty and Jughead’s call that doesn’t mean that’s the only phone/ call they are tracking. As I said the FBI have an active investigation going on into these video tapes its possible that they are tracking all the calls that happen in Riverdale. Also we know that Charles is aware of the reputation Jughead and Betty have for playing the detectives and meddling in things so it would make sense for him to keep an eye on that as if they figure out anything then the FBI will also have that information. So I think we can safely say that there are many other legimate reasons for Charles actions here and it doesn’t necessarily mean that he is automatically a bad guy. 

However there is another action of Charles’ that does paint him as someone who can’t be trusted, a much bigger one. At the end of episode 6 Charles is seen visiting Chic in prison. Episode 6 is the episode where Betty is investigating Charles because she found out in the previous episode that he too has the serial killer genes. She visits Chic which results in him telling the FBI that Alice Cooper killed a guy and that Chic knew where the body was buried. Charles helps FP move the body elsewhere and this is the turning point for Betty and she decides to trust Charles. This is when we get the big twist where we find out that Charles and Chic had some kind of plan together, it seems like Chic went to the FBI to create a situation where Charles could ‘save’ the Cooper-Jones family essentially making everyone trust him beyond a doubt. It is then revealed that not only are they working togther to seemingly manipulate the Cooper-Jones family for some reason but that they are still in a relationship. There is so much about this scene that doesn’t add up and makes you question things. Firstly is the fact that when Charles was hooked up to the polygraph he makes the statement that when Chic killed that client he brought home it was the end for them, basically insinuating their relationship was dead and buried from that moment. The needle doesn’t move telling us that this statement is true. Yet we are then shown that it is untrue because we see that they are still involved to the point where they are telling each other they love each other. Now I’m not that much of a fool that I don’t recognise that as a FBI agent it is possible that Charles knows how to cheat a polygraph test. This could be one explanation for the discrepancy. However there was something about the scene as a whole that was bugging me and I kept watching it over and over trying to fiugre it out. I think what was bugging me is firstly how vastly different Charles comes across in this scene. He literally seems like a different person, everything is different, the way he holds himself, his facial expressions even the way he talks. In fact he kinda reminds me of Chic in his behaviour. I think the thing that makes me curious about the way he is talking to Chic is the tone of voice he is using. It reminds me of when a person talks to a child, particularly when they are trying to convince a child of something. I could be projecting here but to me it seemed like Charles was actually being manipulative. Another thing worth noting is that we are reminded on two occasions that Charles isn’t just working on the voyeur case but on others. FP when Betty asks why Charles is still in town says ‘He’s helping me with the tapes and a couple other cases.” Later when Betty tells Kevin that she wants to invesitgate Charles she again asks why is he still in Riverdale and again Kevin replies ‘I thought he was helping out Jughead’s dad with some cases.’ To which Betty asks ‘What cases?’ We still haven’t got an answer to this but it did get me thinking what cases are still open and likely being investigated by FP. We know its not the Farm case as that one has now been solved, Evelyn is behind bars, Edgar is dead and the rest of the Farmies are getting treatment. Case closed. The only other case I can think of that has lose ends is the whole G&G storyline. Now I know you are probably thinking but that one did get solved we found out who was behind it. But while that is true we also know that although Hal was killed and Chic was arrested, Penelope escaped. We as an audience know where she is but the authorities don’t which means its still an open investigation. We know that there is a connection between Chic and Penelope, that they formed an alliance and he sort of became her apprentice. So my theory is that Charles isn’t actually really with Chic. I think Charles and the FBI are using his past connection with Chic as a way to get information about where Penelope might possibly be. Charles reached out to Chic and began to build back up the relationship between them, the trust between them. Basically Charles is pretending to be in love with Chic so that he can get information out of him which is why the polygraph didn’t pick up signs of deception, because Charles wasn’t technically lying.     

To assess how likely this theory might be we have to look at Charles’ current behaviour but also his past behaviour and the character profile we have been given for him. We have several accounts of Charles’ character/ personality. The earliest chronologically in respect of Charles’ life comes from the Sisters of Quiet Mercy. In 2x19 when Betty visits them we get a couple of quick glimpses at Charles’ file. One in particular I think is quite interesting. This one, which is a behavioural report.

 So there are a few things I want to point out in this report. We learn that Charles at this point has run away 3 times. Now I know its not the clearest of pictures but I was able to zoom in enough that I could read some of what was written. Firstly as you can see underlined in green the statement ‘Isolation of Charles Smith from other students seems to have curbed his desire to run away. Although he seems to want to be inclusive.’ This tells us that Charles is a socialable person, the Sister’s punished him for running away by isolating him and he hated it so much that it would stop his attempts to escape, for a while at least. They even note that he seems to enjoy being inclusive. Charles likes to be around other people and he likes to feel included. This is kinda backed up by Charles when he tells Betty that he’s always wanted to know what its like to be part of a real family. It seems to me that back then at the Sisters, Charles was trying to find that with the other students but he found there was still something missing which is why he has started to try and run away. The second detail I want to draw your attention to is the line underlined in yellow. Here it says ‘Charles is growing to be more and more difficult, yet Charles has never shown signs of violation before.’ Again this is painting a picture of a very obdient young boy, a nice young boy. Other than him now suddenly trying to run away he hasn’t caused any trouble. There is no mention of him being violent or angry or mean to other students or anything like that which I feel like there would be if that was something he was doing. It does seem like the only problematic thing he is doing is running away which lets be honest anyone who was stuck at the Sisters would try. The last thing worth noting is the part underlined in blue. ‘Charles is a good student on average and this behaviour is unusual.’ Again we are getting this image of a well behaved, responsible young boy where even the running away is unusual for him. The overall impression from this report is that Charles was a good kid who liked to socialise with others but felt like he was missing something and so he started running away in search of a real family. 

This brings us to our next character assesment. This time it comes from the neighbour. The thing is the neighbour’s description is very similar to the one given in that report. By the time the neighbour meets Charles we know that he has spent some time on the streets and that he met Chic. Charles describes the period of time in his life at which he meets Chic as at his lowest. So we can assume that when the neighbour met Charles he wasn’t in the best of places. It is also possible from what we’ve been told by Charles and Chic that he had already started doing drugs at this point. The place where they were living wasn’t exactly the nicest. Yet despite all this the neighbour still paints Charles in a good light. She talks about how he always greeted her and carried her groceries again this is consistent with the ideas from the report that he is a social person. Again its telling us that he is a polite young boy and well mannered. 

The last description of Charles character that we get from a third party comes from Alice in 3x17. This is when Betty thinks Alice is talking to her dead son but we know that she is actually talking to the real Charles as at this point she is already working undercover for the FBI. We don’t get much from Alice and lets be honest she’s very biased considering she’s his mother. But that doesn’t mean what she says is irrelevant. She tells Betty that she would love her brother. This tells us that Alice believes that Charles has certain qualties that she thinks Betty will like. She also goes on to say that Charles is the most beautiful boy she had ever seen. Now here she could be talking about his physical looks but she could also be talking about his personality. I have heard people describe someone as being beautiful on the inside. This could also be what Alice means that Charles is beautiful all round, both looks and personality wise.  

All in all the general picture we get of Charles is that he’s a nice guy, he chats with his neigbours, he seems to want to help is family out, he helps Alice and Polly at the Farm, he’s helping FP with cases, he helps Jug with his research for the Baxter Brothers assignment and Betty with finding out about Bret and why she’s rejected from Yale and the prank calls. There are countless other instances that I could mention of him helping out his family members. There’s no denying that he has had a troubled past and overcome alot of difficulties but all in all I’m not seeing anything that would suggest he is some phychopath or bad guy. On the flip side of it though we’ve got the other Charles we see in that scene with Chic. Here Charles comes across as someone who is deceitful and willing to manipulate his own family, a vastly different person from what everyone else describes him as. So the real question is which of these two versions is the real Charles? 

The other thing we should look at is his relationship with Chic. Again we get given two very different versions of what their relationship is like. If we go by the scene in the jail then it appears like they have a very loving relationship, in someways you could say it was sweet. They are calling each other babe and telling each other they love each other. The fact that they seem to have come up with the plan against the Cooper-Jones family together implies that they are united. However we are painted a very different picture by the neighbour. According to her they had a very violent and volatile relationship, they were always arguing and from the sounds of it they were very ugly fights. If you go with what the neighbour says then they had a very toxic relationship. There is another hint of unrest in their relationship. I get the feeling that Charles might not have been too happy with Chic’s choice of work. If we are to believe Charles about what happened the night the guy was killed then Chic waited until Charles left before having a client come over. From the way Charles was talking about it I just get the feeling that this could have been something they fought about alot. Also the way Charles talks about how it was the end of them and that he started over makes me think that Charles leaving Chic was something that was a long time coming. I feel like this relationship had a huge negative impact on Charles. But again we have the question of which version of their relationship is the true one? One thing I will say is that unlike Charles or Chic the neighbour has no reason to lie which in my opinion makes her testimony more reliable.

Could Charles be The Voyeur? 

The main question on everyones mind is who is behind the video tapes that show up. Given Charles’ shady behaviour its not outside the realm of reason to think it might be him. So what evidence is there that suggests it could be Charles? Well firstly in the episode where the first video tape arrives literally right before Jughead asks Betty if Charles can be trusted. Then the door goes and Jug finds the tape on the doorstep. It can’t be a coincidence that the very first people to get a tape are Jughead and Betty and the Cooper-Jones household. Later more people get tapes but it all starts with them. It also does seem suspicious that they literally question Charles’ authenticity right when that tape shows up it does seem to be like the writers are trying to suggest a link between Charles and the tapes. It is possible that if, as I mentioned before, Charles really does hold a grudge against his family for not keeping him and giving him away then he might have left the video tape as a threat to them.

 A similar thing happens later in 4x17 when Charles says to Jughead that he would hate to see what would happen if The Voyeur actually got inside one of the homes. Woe and behold come the episodes end we discover the Voyeur has gotten into someone’s home and has now bludgeoned them to death with a rock while wearing masks of Jughead and Betty who were the first to get a video tape. Again this makes it appear like the writers are trying to create a link between Charles and the tapes. 

The other thing worth noting is that we have been shown Charles taking part in other forms of surveillance. In particualr tracking phones so it wouldn’t be that much of a leap to assume that he was also surveilling people through video tapes too. But here is one catch, Charles is in the FBI which means he has access to high tech surveillance equipment so if he were the Voyeur why would he use an old fashioned tape recorder when he could stick a tiny little camera inside someones house which would be much scarier to receive than footage of the outside. 

In my honest opinion I don’t think that Charles is the Voyeur. I think the writers are using him as a red herring. I don’t think that Charles will turn out to be a bad guy. But I do think that they are going to try and make it seem like he is before there will be a twist and we’ll find out he was just being a FBI agent and that he is a decent fellow after all. The reasons why I think this is one because they had that reveal of Charles and Chic way to early in the show for it to be legit in my opinion, I just don’t think they would show him as the bad guy this early unless something isn’t what it seems. The other reason why is because I couldn’t help but see a parallel between Charles’ story an another characters. FP’s, his father. Think about it, we know they both had tough childhoods that weren’t filled with much love and sometimes faced abuse. FP was beat by his father and Charles was forced into isolation by the Sisters and god knows what else in that place. Both felt abandoned by their parental figures, Charles felt abandoned and unwanted by the family that put him up for adoption and FP felt abandoned and unwanted by his father who went out for cigarettes one day and never came back. Both struggled with an addiction, Charles with drugs and FP with alcohol. Both found themselves in a sticky situation where they had to get rid of a body, Charles was with Chic’s client and FP Jason’s. In both cases these traumatic events lead to them straightening out their lives with both joining help groups. Charles goes to regular Narcotics Anoynmous and FP regular AA meetings. Both ended up going into a law enforcement type role. Charles became a FBI agent and FP becomes Sheriff. So you see they’ve walked down the same path and I do think this is a delberate move on the writers part. I think they are continuing to keep this similarity between the two going by having the viewers believe that Charles is guilty and then revealing that its actually someone else like they did in Season 1 with FP. I wouldn’t be surprised in fact if someone tries to frame Charles as being The Voyeur and just when it looks certain it is him they do the flip and twist to reveal it wasn’t.   

Whose Behind the Mask?

Ok so what if say its not Charles who else could it be? Well I do have a suspect in mind. We can get a lot of clues from that video tape Jughead found at the end of 4x17. In it we see two people in the woods. A male that is tied up and wearing a Jughead mask and is dressed the same way Jug usually does, it is obvious that whoever the person is they are very frightened. Then we see a female creep out from behind the trees and approach the male. She is also wearing a mask, one that looks like Betty and is also dressed up like how Betty usually dresses. She then proceeds to bludgeon the guy to death with a rock before holding it up menacingly and staring into the camera. What this tells us is that either the Voyeur is a woman or its more than one person and one of them is a woman. We can also see from the video that when the woman bends down to beat the guy you can see that she has dark hair. Now who do we know in the show that likes to dress up in masks, has a grudge against Betty and Jughead and likes to record people without their knowledge with a old style camera that requires video tapes? Donna and the Stonies maybe?

Here’s my evidence for why I think that the Stonies or more specifically Donna is behind the tapes. Firstly we know that Riverdale has a habit of bringing back villians. In pretty much every season a villian will seem to be conquered only to reappear a few episodes later to stir up more trouble. Penny Peabody does this, the Ghoulies, Chic, The Black Hood, The Gargoyle King and now Penelope Blossom. So it would make sense for Donna to pop back up as we don’t really know where she went after Betty threatened her. 

Secondly the first video tape arrives on Jughead’s doorstep in the same episode that Jughead starts at Stonewall and causes some waves with Bret. It could be that The Stonies did it then to put Jughead on edge because they saw him as a threat. The second set of video tapes arrives right after the episode where Jughead and Betty confront Bret and Donna about Chippens suicide and the episode where its revealed that there is a camera in Jughead’s room at Stonewall. The third round appears in the episode after Jughead and Betty take down the Stonies and threaten Donna. There does appear to be a correlation between Jughead and Betty doing something to upset Donna and the Stonies and then video tapes showing up on the door steps. The last one really escalates as it also contains a video of a murder taking place. 

I really do think that its Donna behind the Betty mask. We already know that she’s not opposed to someone being killed by a rock to the head. Also as I mentioned above the woman who killed the guy had dark hair. If you look at the pictures below.

Although its a little difficult to tell due to the fact they are wearing a different style of clothing, looking at the build of the woman in the Betty mask I do think its very similiar to Donna. In particular the shoulders seem to be the same width and the waist. Their arms appear to be the same length as does the length of their torso. As far as I can tell they seem to be around the same height though that one is more difficult to determine. Also the masks seem very similar in style to the bunny masks. They both have that cartoonish style to them. Then obviously the dark hair is a match too. I’m like 90% sure that Donna is masked Betty. We also know she’s got a reason to have a vendetta against Betty and Jughead also unlike her fellow Stonies she would be free to be able to commit the murder. Jonathon went missing we can assume that the others killed him to cover their tracks. Joan turned out to really be the child of a diplomat and leaves the country, Charles points out that she can’t return. Bret we can assume is put in prison for attempted murder. Donna is the only one who gets away scot free leaving her available to commit murders in the forest. 

However I do have another theory or something to point out. We don’t actually know when this video was recorded. We assume it was recently but what if it wasn’t? What if this happened before Jughead’s attempted murder, like a practice run? Or it could have happened right after and the Stonies were planning to taunt Betty with it but backed out when they realised Jug was still alive? Or it could have happened recently, right now we’ve got no way of knowing. What is interesting is that someone has been murdered yet we have had no mention of a missing person. But there has to be someone missing out there. It does make me think of what Donna said to Betty I think it was in episode 15 when she’s talking about the perfect murder and she says ‘No body, No crime.’ I do wonder if maybe Donna was annoyed that she hadn’t commited the perfect murder. I mean everything on the attempt agaisnt Jughead went wrong and we know that Donna was the mastermind behind it. Maybe her ego was bruised and so she decided to try again. I do feel like Donna might be vain enough to think I’m going to record this because even though there’s video evidence I’ve commited the perfect murder so despite that they still won’t catch me. One thought that unfortunately crossed my mind was that if it is more recent then it could be moose who was killed. We know that the Stonies targeted Moose in the past and Jug wondered if it was because they couldn’t get to him directly so they went after Moose as a round about way of getting at Jug. What if this is a similar situation where Donna has realised she can’t get to Jug so she kills Moose instead to get back at Jughead. We know that Moose was left with nobody after his dad was arrested, he tells us as much in the beginning of season 4. If this is true then it might take a little while to report him missing which would explain why nothing has come up in the couple of days the videos have been out. Alternatively, just like we don’t know when this murder took place we also don’t know where it took place. The reason why there hasn’t been a report of a body or missing person could be because it didn’t happen in Riverdale. I’m really hoping I’m wrong about this one though because I love Moose so hopefully he’s still safe with the military. 

Over all I do think that its much more likely that its Donna then it is Charles. She and the Stonies just seem to fit the MO more. They also seem to have more of a reason to go after Jughead and Betty and whilst the tapes are being sent to others the perpetrator does seem to have some fascination with Jughead and Betty. Also going back to my theory about someone framing Charles for it, Donna does now have a reason to go after Charles. One because he helped Jughead take the Stonies down. He was the one that provided the medical care Jug needed and who told Betty what to do to cover up the ‘murder’. He helped find the grandad and he was the one interrogating them all. Secondly another reason Donna could have to go after Charles is that she hates both Jughead and Betty, now more than ever, and Charles is the brother of both of them. If he got framed for murder it would hurt both of them. So yeah thats my theory on who I think the Voyeur may be and what I think mysterious Mr Charles Smith is up to. I can’t wait to see the next episode, I’ll probably post a review for it and some more theories after I’ve watched it. So as always thanks so much for reading and until next time guys.  

[safflowerseason]

veep rewatch - 3.02

Season Three, Episode Two - The Choice

aka - The One Where Dan Gets Seasick 

(It seems like a good time to begin this series again...)

Gary, to himself in the mirror: …When did you get your dad’s face?

LOL at Dan telling Richard not to be cute. 

Gary: Ma’am, instead of doing all this pre-campaigning, sometime in the next 24 hours, you grab a mic, you say, "I'm Selina Meyer and I'm running for President of the United States!” *beat* Selina: I’m just gonna use the bathroom really quick.

Kelly: This definitely does not do video. Amy: Then what were you doing?!  (I just think it’s hilarious the way Anna Chlumsky delivers this little line…that perfect outraged bemusement.)

Hahahaha Dan gets so seasick. He’s so terrible I don’t even feel sorry for him. (This also means his S2 line about power-boating on Lake Erie is now irrelevant, which is fine because I think this is a more hilarious canon fact about Dan.) 

Wendy, about Jonah: Look who I found in a basket on our front door. 

What the hell is Jonah wearing in this scene. What is that terrible cardigan. What is that T-shirt he is wearing underneath. What.

Criminal: Hey, I voted for you! Selina: Thank you very much, sir! But I’m afraid you have to go to prison!

The chaotic scene on the boat, with everyone yelling and speaking over one another about POTUS’s announcement is quite well done, reminiscent of the scene in the kitchen during Helsinki (another great Selina-Amy-Gary-Dan group scene.) 

Ben: Ma'am, I swear to God, we all thought he was gonna just eat some shrimp, rattle off a few platitudes, go home, watch Full Metal Jacket for the millionth time and fall asleep.

Amy: Has POTUS gone nuts? We can’t have a crazy president.  Gary: In Italy they do.  (Heh.)

Selina: I can't identify myself as a woman! People can't know that! Men hate that. And women who hate women hate that, which, I believe, is most women, don't you agree with that? 

Dan: I swear to God, I felt better on the fucking boat.

Dan: And as vice president, here's your choice, two doors, pro-choice, pro-life. That’s it. Selina:…Is there a third door?  Amy: What, like a woman's door?  Dan *scornful*: A back door? No.

Lots of little physical comedy bits in this episode…Dan being sick on the boat, Selina and the bathroom door, Richard and Kelli getting tangled up in the phone lines….Most of these bits require really coordinated dialogue as well, characters speaking over one another at the exact right moment…I feel like this kind of really specific and technical scene work went away in the later seasons, in favor of the characters just screaming outsized insults at one another. Which is a bit sad, because these scenes are so superbly done, and all of the actors involved really get to show off their technical skills as well as their mastery of the dialogue. 

There’s an argument to be made that the premise of this episode is not super realistic. I suppose it’s plausible that a lame-duck outwardly liberal but still old-white-male POTUS might reveal he has a more conservative view on the timeline for abortion. What’s less plausible is that Selina’s response requires completely rethinking her views on the topic, or that she’s run for high constitutional office in the United States without articulating a clear stance on the issue. The whole “what’s Selina’s position?!” drama is a bit over-blown. Why doesn’t she just reaffirm whatever her stance is? (I guess that is kind of what she ends up doing, by rehashing the book). And the notion that she could reverse her previous position to something more conservative that aligns with POTUS’s views does not actually make any sense politically, considering Selina’s party and her hopes for the future…like presumably POTUS has also pissed off other members of his liberal party? And he’s a lame duck POTUS anyway. Who cares? 

However, I think this is an example where it’s fine that a show about politics does not hold up to perfect realist scrutiny, because it still makes for a great episode of television where we see Selina really wrestle with her identity as Veep and as a female politician, and we get to dive deep into the stakes of a “controversial” political issue (in quotations because it shouldn’t be controversial) and watch how the team deals with it. 

Jonah: I’m going to be updating more than I'm actually dating…which is a shitload. I think in the BMTL universe, Jonah resurrects Ryantology and his unhinged videos are part of how he wins the presidency. This kind of aggressive-direct-to-the-people-straight-talk-cut-through-the-bullshit rhetoric is exactly how Trump appeals to his base (even though it’s not at all true that it’s “real”), and is certainly more interesting politically than Jonah advancing as a politician because he’s racist and sexist and hates vaccines. 

Kent and Sue begin their hilariously robotic flirting in this episode. 

Selina’s got so many great lines in this scene about gender politics and the politics of abortion, all of which I would put on a coffee mug or a t-shirt.  “Get the government out of my fucking snatch.” “If men got pregnant, you could get an abortion at an ATM.” “As a woman, I am not gonna put in a fuckin’ sentence ‘As a woman…’ I am not putting my eggs in that basket.” “This is about access to safe abortions for vulnerable women.”

Read alongside one another, these lines illustrate how conflicted she is, not about abortion, but about her identity as a female politician and in turn, how that identity is perceived by the public to influence her political choices and views. She doesn’t want to be a labeled as a feminist political warrior, but she is still clearly passionate enough about women’s issues enough to try and figure out a way to articulate her views without sacrificing her political future—a future that depends on the support of old, white men. 

Costume-wise, Amy stands out among the ensemble in another turquoise green dress (I am very into her snakesin heels). This one is a wrap dress that is a bit darker than her dress for Mike’s wedding. Selina is wearing a black top and a red skirt, in a not-so-subtle nod to her struggle over what to say in public about abortion. Dan’s and Mike’s ties both have red in them. Unusually, nothing in Amy’s outfit really links her to Selina or to Dan.

Selina: Well, he fucking fudged it. Now we know he’s running for President, that stupid bastard. 

Dan’s meltdown is very well done by Reid Scott. This season, he really brings out Dan’s more intense side, highlighting his obsessive and neurotic qualities that we don’t normally see (because Dan keeps them buried) and adding this slightly unhinged edge to the character. At the same time, he emphasizes how Dan struggles to keep up the usual facade that everything is easy for him. In the previous episode, we even saw a flash of Dan’s crazy eyes. I simply don’t understand how Mandel watched Dan’s arc in S3 and came to the conclusion that this character didn’t really care about anything except money and sex. All Dan cares about in this season is winning, to the point where he actually self-destructs. It will be really fun to observe how the writers and RS play out Dan’s journey with this rewatch. 

Amy to Dan: Go home. Take an Ambien. Take fifty!

Ben: I’m going home, and if anyone needs me…I don’t care.

Poor Gary in this episode. He fails so hard at trying to be an actual political strategist. 

Dan: Hey you, Ugly Betty, give me that burrito! Jonah: Don’t just give it to him, dude!

“This is what happens when you fuck with my office!” Dan literally is seconds from beating up Jonah in this scene…his dangerous side on full display here. Part of me wishes we saw more of this super macho physical enforcer Dan, but at the same time, I do think it’s a bit jarring compared to Veep’s regular tone as a show. (It also makes you wonder what Dan’s breaking point is, when it comes to physical violence.)

Selina: Well, I said nothing…a big, fat, morbidly obese nothing.

[staliasjeronica]

Riverdale 3.05 Thoughts *Spoilers*

- I’m still so pissed that Jughead brought my core 4 into this. Like, we know they’re not stupid so THANKS FOR MAKING THEM JOIN A GAME THAT HAS BEEN FUCKING KILLING PEOPLE JUGLYFUCK.

- Rob Raco is so fucking gorgeous. But I couldn’t help myself and saw spoilers so i’m mad. But i’ll rant when it comes up.

- Of course Joaquin fell... but ARCHIE THE TRUE FUCKING KING OF RIVERDALE BLOCKS HIM FROM BEING SHOT. Ya’ll really queerbaited the fuck out of us huh. Bitches.

- I can’t believe they’re actually making me agree with Betty. What the fuck lmao JUGHEAD YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE THE SANE ONE WHO TRIES (and usually fails) TO KEEP BETTY FROM DOING STUPID SHIT.

- Oh my GOD Jughead... you guys didn’t even know the game yet. Real life “quests” aren’t a part of the game you jackass. Jesus.

- Even though Jug is going fucking crazy... why does he actually look all cute and innocent? What is this episode doing to me? Also how is his creepy, mind-controlled-like demeanor much more tolerable than how he usually acts?

- Lmao Betty is so pissed that her boyfriend isn’t doing what she wants. It’s a nice rarity to see, even though Jug is trippin. If only they would allow him to be his own person in general.

- YES VERONICA GIVE HIRAM’S BITCH ASS THE SILENT TREATMENT.

- Wow, Hiram really is a dickhead for telling this all to Veronica simply to fuck with her. Also is it just me who somehow didn’t realize he had a tattoo?

- Why do they make Veronica stupid enough to tell people what she’ll do, and allow them to thwart her plans and incriminate her? OUR QUEEN ISN’T STUPID.

- YOU’RE GOING TO FUCKING BRAND HIM? They do realize that (if he does) when he gets out of prison, people will see he was fucking branded? Like??? Are you fucking stupid? Poor Archie... good thing he’s breaking out of jail!

- I don’t know why... but i’m saying everything is Marty Mantle’s fault. Don’t ask because I DON’T KNOW IT’S JUST A FEELING.

- Josie is so fucking done with Betty. Me too! Instead of, you know, letting them know and ask their parents nicely or something Betty’s like “yeah so go investigate your parents for murder”

- “Thank you for mansplaining my business to me” WE LOVE AND STAN VERONICA.

- CHONI. WOW THEY’RE STANDING FIVE FEET AWAY FROM EACH OTHER. Oh they were so totally fucking in that tent cOME ON.

- I know I wanted screentime for my babies but this ain’t it. GIVE ME THEIR FUCKING BACKSTORIES. Jughead if they die I will literally hate you. Like, no hard passes I will legit fucking hope you die with them because that’s the only way it’ll be made up. Although Sweet Pea with a bow and arrow? Hot af bye

- BUT SWEET PEA, MY MAN, IS STILL SPITTING TRUTH. “We’re your foot-soldiers in life, we gotta be the same in the game, down in the mud taking all the risks?” Because he KNOWS that Jughead only goes to them when he needs them for that kind of shit. In the beginning before Jughead joined, it was like that, too. Jughead had to show that he was all in for the Serpents. It sucks now that Sweet Pea can’t somehow overthrow him. Sweet Pea and Toni need to rule the fucking Serpents, if it has to be a teenager.

- And I thought that this scene with Cheryl, Sweet Pea, and Fangs where when they saw the fucking Gargoyle King... are you fucking kidding me Jughead you’re so stupid. I know you’re fucked up from the game but SO ARE SWEET PEA AND FANGS BECAUSE YOU’RE THE STUPID FUCK WHO BROUGHT THEM INTO IT. Also how funny would it be if she like hit his shoulder or something. I know she’s perfect but STILL. Might bring Jughead back to reality both from the game and the show in general.

- Why do Fangs and Sweet Pea act like they’ve never seen Cheryl use her bow and arrow with deadly accuracy?

- LEAVE SWEET PEA ALONE. YOU’VE “RULED” OVER HIM AND YOU ALWAYS MAKE STUPID DECISIONS. HE HAS A RIGHT TO BE ANGRY WITH YOU. IT’S CALLED BEING HUMAN YOU FUCKING HEARTLESS, TOXIC FORSYTHE PENDLETON JONES THE THIRD.

- “Don’t defy me again” um bitch how the fuck did they defy you? They were (horribly and dangerously) practicing with the bow and arrow. Sure, they wanted to take g&g to real life but that doesn’t mean they could without their whole g&g group. Fuck off Jughead. When they’re out of this spell we need Sweet Pea to shove reality into Jughead’s face about his bitch ass ruling

- FP please see how crazy your son is. Also I thought you gave Jughead rein over the Serpents because of your sudden drinking problem. Where’s the beer bottles bitch? If you’re okay please PLEASE take the Serpents back.

- MCKELLER BITCHES. KEVIN AND JOSIE. MY BABIES.

- OH NO SHE’S GOING TO SEE ARCHIE FIGHTING. NO. NO. NO. MY POOR BABY. Lmao the part where we thought we heard Joaquin sucking Archie off was fucking ice i’m quaking. See, many are angry that Archie and Veronica are having sex in the prison but guys it makes so much sense? Like? At least when they have sex it’s not gross or toxic. They haven’t seen each other in forever, and she just found out that he’s being used as some jockey to make the prison some extra money or whatever. LEAVE VARCHIE ALONE. But what I still don’t understand is that if they’re supposed to be broken up, what could that possibly be from? They’re completely, totally in love. Bughead, I could see, but Varchie?

- Betty... did you just accuse Sierra and Tom’s marriage as a smokescreen? INSTEAD OF BEING A BITCH AND COMPLAINING THAT THEY DIDN’T GIVE YOU WHAT YOU WANTED, TRY BEING ACTUALLY HAPPY FOR THEM (even though for some reason Josie is disgusted but whatever)

- REGGIE’S DAD FUCKING HIT HIM? MY POOR BABY.

- YES VERONICA BRING IN THE CALVARY.

- Ugh Jughead’s going to ruin the whole thing about the rescue mission by tying it to the game. Fuck off. But Betty is going to steal his bike... you’re going to leave him with no transportation, which is more dangerous with the gargoyle king? Betty since when did you learn how to ride a fucking motorcycle. They’re gonna force Serpent!Betty onto us aren’t they.

- NEW OT3 BITCH JOSIE/REGGIE/KEVIN

- Oh great this is the kiss scene that I get to watch and can’t enjoy because I know what happens... but imma like the kiss anyways because I’m not gonna let queerbait turn me into an even more bitter asshole than I already am.

- WAIT BITCH JOAQUIN WAS ABOUT TO CRY WHEN ARCHIE SAID HE WOULD COME BACK IF ANYTHING WENT WRONG. JOAQUIN HATES HIMSELF FOR HAVING TO DO THIS. FUCK THE WARDEN. AFTER IT HAPPENS HE LOOKS SO FUCKING SAD MY POOR BOY JOAQUIN!!!

- VEGGIE’S SO ATTRACTIVE!! But is no one really going to react to Reggie’s dad hitting him?

- This weird g&g and reality go-between is weird. But did anyone notice Sweet Pea tap Fangs’ knee in support? We love supportive boyfriends. Also the fact that his Pantera identity is being matched to Kevin’s role in the breakout is amazing. Too bad Kevin was a dick to Fangs when he was literally just trying to talk to him during the musical :)

- Wow, Mad Dog is alive. It was obvious he wasn’t killed off lmao. But also this isn’t fair? Archie was stabbed. I know this is illegal and shit but if you have a star player don’t you, you know, treat them well? I know the warden is in Hiram’s pocket (and apparently playing g&g thanks to spoilers bc i’m weak and don’t follow anything other than Riverdale atm), but come on at least make it FAIR

- It’s so weird how ALICE slays the Serpent look but Betty... not so much. Lili wore Alice’s clothes for an episode and decided “NO MORE PASTEL FOR BETTY” huh... still won’t make Betty the Serpent queen

- It’s amazing how, since VERONICA is the one who planned all of this, it’s going smoothly and actually makes sense. Thank God Jughead isn’t in his right mind or else him and Betty would be fucking this up. RAS TAKE NOTES. WE WANT MORE VERONICA PLANS, NOT STUPID, HALF-ASSED, WANNABE BUGHEAD PLANS THAT NEVER MAKE SENSE AND TAKE THE WORST POSSIBLE ROUTE

- You can tell Joaquin is fucked up because of the game. Here he is, with his Preppy (future husband, sorry Moose), and he’s not even acting like he normally would. Sure, he’s running for his life, but STILL.

- YES BRING MAD DOG WITH YOU

- KEVIN GOING AFTER JOAQUIN THAT’S LOVE BITCH

- VERONICA REALLY JUST FUCKING STOMPED ON HER FATHER FUCK YEAH BITCH

- OMG MAD DOG TRIED TO GET THROUGH THE GRATE BEFORE. THAT’S PROBABLY WHY IT’S LOCKED. Oh stfu Hiram

- BARCHIE REUNION. OMG WE’VE NEVER SEEN BETTY SMILE LIKE THIS. THAT’S LOVE BITCH. BARCHIE IS ENDGAME WE BEEN KNEW

- KEVIN IN A SERPENT JACKET. HELL YEAH. BAD FUCKING ASS.

- SWANGS AND CHONI’S SCREAMS IN VICTORY GIVE ME LIFE.

- APPARENTLY VANESSA IMPROVISED THAT KISS. I do hate how RAS hyped it up as a cute makeout or whatever but it’s literally a second long... bull SHIT.

-  YASSSSSSSS ARCHIE’S BACK BITCHES

- Betty... mace? Really? THEY HAVE GUNS. Betty this is why you’re not the Serpent Queen, you don’t have the guts, or the drive. But i’ll give you props for protecting Kevin

- HI, WE WANT AN ARCHIE/TONI FRIENDSHIP

- First of all, I wanna say that the pact throwback from the parents to their children is awesome. I love it.

- Also, THIS IS WHY VERONICA SHOULD HAVE MORE SCENES. She’s doing everything that Betty tries and fails to do. Her plan wasn’t stupid, it was dangerous, yes, but they could have gone gung-ho and fucked it all up. Betty (and Jughead) are extremely impulsive, while Veronica is quick and complex, making sure it is all perfect and done. Betty would have just winged it. TELL ME AGAIN WHY BUGHEAD IS THE MAIN FOCUS OF THE SHOW WHEN VERONICA, THE TRUE QUEEN, ISN’T? LITERALLY THIS EPISODE WAS THE BEST (second place goes to the parent’s ep) BECAUSE IT HAD VERONICA STEPPING INTO HER OWN ROLL AND PLOT, AND ALSO SECONDARY CHARACTERS WERE IN IT.

Extra: wtf were Sweet Pea and Fangs going to do witht hat Pillow? Mmhmmmmmmm

Extra Extra: Reggie is next to Sweet Pea, and bc of that headcannon of them being brothers, i’m screaming bye (since we now know Marty Mantle is a little abusive bitch ass, imagine Reggie finally, completely letting go of his dislike for the Serpents and living with Sweet Pea, which would be a great introductory for Sweet Pea’s life and shit, and them bonding. IMAGINE.

LMAO I THOUGHT THAT WAS THE END OF THE EP OOPS. Well... anyways.

- HERMIONE YES BITCH. TELL THEM.

- As much as I love Varchie, she’s right. Veronica is pretty obsessed with him but I know there’s a great explanation. I don’t know if I reblogged it or liked it or just saw it, but someone talked about it in a post and it was fantastic and well-put. Hiram, however... we all know he’s obsessed with Archie for some reason. Like, yeah he wants to torture his daughter for not siding with him (because he’s an insecure bitch), but with how he was when Archie was escaping... it was more like he was obsessed with him, and it wasn’t about hurting Veronica anymore, it was all about Archie. That brings up the point that it’s probably Hiram who was the Gargoyle King because young!Hiram brought drugs to the ascension and would make sure everyone was tripping to not see him/believe sober Alice. I believe that would be too easy but how else would Hiram go down?

- Why did Hermione say “the mess you and your daughter have made” your daughter? I know that’s kind of a parent thing but like... you could have just said Veronica.

- NO DON’T FUCKING PLAY G&G... SEE BETTY THIS IS WHY YOU DON’T HIDE SHIT, AND WHY YOU’RE NOT A GOOD “LEADER” now my other babies are playing the game and can get hurt because of you!

- Wow? Betty actually caring about Jughead’s well being? Mhmm... interesting. But honestly the first thing that popped into my mind is that she wanted to be alone with Archie (even though he’s finally asleep my poor innocent precious baby)

- WARDEN NORTON YOU’RE A FUCKING PUSSY ASS BITCH. Although i’m glad you’re dead... but you still fucking suck ass

- ofc Jughead randomly happens to come upon the fucking gargoyle king. 

[gunterfan1992]

Episode Review: ‘Come Along with Me’ (S10E13-16)

Airdate: September 3, 2018

Story by: Ashley Burch, Kent Osborne,  Adam Muto,  Jack Pendarvis, Julia Pott, Pendleton Ward & Steve Wolfhard

Storyboarded by: Tom Herpich, Steve Wolfhard, Seo Kim, Somvilay Xayaphone, Hanna K. Nyström, Aleks Sennwald, Sam Alden & Graham Falk

Directed by: Cole Sanchez & Diana Lafyatis (supervising), Sandra Lee (art)

In August of 2012, I had just moved into a university dormitory to begin my second year as an undergraduate. On one of the last days of the month (the date escapes me), I was relaxing in the hall recreation room with my roommate. To my left sat another friend, watching something intently on his laptop.

 His focus was remarkable, and so I was intrigued. “What are you watching?” I asked.

 He glanced over and responded, “Adventure Time!”

 I’d heard of the show, and seen a few clips. At the time, I was taken aback by its combination of high brow and low brow sensibilities. But I saw how much joy it gave my friend, I put down my guard and decided to give it a watch.

 He tilted the screen towards my face, and what was I greeted to? Why a geometric space-god with a flaming blue sword attacking a green individual in a bright yellow jacket. Suddenly, a boy and his dog were in the picture. What was going on?

 As it turns out, I was watching season four’s “Sons of Mars”, one of the show’s wackiest episodes. In time, I was enthralled by the bright colors and the silly jokes. There was Abraham Lincoln. There was death. By the end of it, I was won over.

 I still think fondly of that day (as readers of this blog might be able to attest), for it was then that I was introduced to my favorite show, Adventure Time.

For years, it seemed like Adventure Time was just an omnipresent facet of popular culture. From t-shirts to Happy Meal toys, Finn and Jake were everyone, blending into what Marshall McLuhan would call the “beaten paths of impercience.” When we all learned that the show was ending in late 2016, it was sad, but because there were dozens of episodes left to air, this reality never really hit me.

But this week, it finally hit me. The end was nigh.

At 5 pm today, I sat nervously on my couch as the intro started, and we were off to the races.

The episode opens 1000 years after the lives of Finn and Jake. We are greeted to two new heroes: Shermy (voiced by Sean Giambrone) and Beth (voiced by Willows Smith). The two are heavily implied to be Finn and Jake reincarnated, and the latter is likely a descendant of Jake himself. After an encounter with the Prizeball Guardian (last seen in “Grabyles 1000+”), the two discover Finn’s robot-arm. They decide to journey to Mount Cragdor (where the Enchiridion was once kept) to find the all-knowing King of Ooo.

Once our new heroes make the journey and reach the top of the mountain, we the audience learn that the King of Ooo is not our favorite charlatan, but rather BMO. After Shermy and Beth present our little robot with Finn’s arm, BMO begins to tell the story of the “Great Gum War”:

1000 years prior (that is, during the show’s normal timeline), Princess Bubblegum and her Uncle Gumbald had each amassed armies to take one another down. Just before the battles are to commence, Finn devises a plan to stop any blood shed: He calls one last meeting between the Candy Kingdom and Gumbaldia, and then, using the magic, nightmare-inducing potion given to him by Nightmare Princesss in “Orb”, he knocks everyone into a subconscious world, where he hopes that they will make nice.

Everything goes a bit haywire, but in the end, Bubblegum and Gumbald realize that their is no real reason for them to fight one another: they each want different things, and are rightfully ticked off at one another, but through dialogue they can likely work things out. Finn and Fern, too, realize that they share the exact same fears that they have locked in their collective “Vault”. Putting aside their differences, they team up and kill the grass-curse spider that has held Fern a prisoner for so long.

At this point, our heroes (and villains) wake up and decide to make amends. Gumbald, however, is tripped by Aunt Lolly, and after being splashed with dum-dum juice, reverts back to Punchy. Lolly, however, vows to maintain the peace with the Candy Kingdom.

Just then, King Man crashes out of the sky and reveals that he, Betty, and an unconscious Maja donked up in a major way. He and Betty were trying to use magic to summon the primordial space demon/god Golb so as to undo the magic of the Ice King’s crown. However, their magic was too effective, and they accidentally summoned Golb to this plane of existence.

Golb begins to use his chaos magic, mutating candy kingdom and Gumbaldia citizens alike into grotesque monsters.  Ice King is summoned by King Man and told to try and stop Betty from completing her ritual, but in the commotion (which sees Maja literally explode) they, along with Finn, are accidentally swallowed by Golb, where they start to get digested.

Things start to go downhill fast. Golb’s monsters are extremely effectively, and decimate Bubblegum’s forces and those of her ragtag allies. As Bubblegum is standing on a rock, one of the Golb-monsters lunges at her and seemingly crushes her!

Marceline turns around and seeing the death of her past paramour, loses it. Unleashing both the beast and magic girl inside her, our favorite vampire turns into the Dark Cloud, last seen in Stakes and absolutely wails on the Golb-monster, tearing it to bits. She is absolutely furious that her best friend has been smooshed.

But luckily, it turns out that Bubblegum’s advanced battle armor had a handy shield, and she was saved from any danger. Marceline is overjoyed, and flies into the candy monarch’s armies, weeping tears of joy. The two hug.

And then comes the Bubbline kiss.

As Marceline and Bubblegum were holding each other close after the latter was very nearly squished, I knew it was now or never.

I was on the edge of my seat, as a tearful Marceline tells PB: “Even back when we weren’t talking, I was so afraid that something bad would happen to you and I wouldn’t be there to protect you and... I don’t want to lose you again!”

There’s some cute back and forth, and then the two quietly, effortlessly kiss.

The debate online as to whether or not the two were in a relationship has raged on- and offline since “What Was Missing” first aired years ago. As the two’s friendship evolved over the years, I came to believe that a romantic relationship was the next logical step for both the characters and the show itself to explore. Marceline and Bubblegum are unique in that they are two strong, intelligent, and emotionally complex female characters who often spend time exclusively with each other; the two ace the Bechdel test, a fairly rare occurrence in modern media.

It’s a bummer that the show waited until the very end of the series to canonize their relationship, but perhaps that makes it all the more rewarding? We have worked towards this culmination, and now we have a fully-acknowledged lesbian relationship between two major cartoon characters! How ground-breaking! Furthermore, regardless of when this canonization happened, the confirmation that Marceline and Bubblegum are “more than just friends” will inevitably help to undo some of the erasure that queer communities have faced since the dawn of media (if not time).

To sum up my feelings, let me just leave you with a (heavily) modified quote from Virginia Woolf:

“‘Marceline liked Bubblegum...’ Do not start. Do not blush. Let us admit in the privacy of our own society that these things sometimes happen. Sometimes half-demon vampires do like sentient pieces of Bubblegum.”

(Of course, I am curious as to what their future holds. We seem them together snuggling in the epilogue, but they are not around one thousand years in the future. This is, honestly, the biggest question that will bug me about the finale!)

Despite taking a literal pounding from Marceline, Golb’s evil creatures pull themselves back together and march towards the Tree Fort. Jake gives chase, but is not able to reach them in time: they smash Finn and Jake’s beloved home, and seriously injure poor BMO.

Jake is beside himself! His house is gone! But then, BMO comes over to him, and lovingly calms him down. BMO points out that Finn and Jake have long been a parent to the little robot, and now it is time for BMO to be the parent. And then, BMO begins to sing a tune “for his son Jake”, entitled “Time Adventure”.

"Time Adventure", written by storyboard artist extraordinaire Rebecca Sugar herself, encapsulates the best of the series: it's sad but uplifting. Melodic but rough-around-the-edges. It celebrates the wonders of life while also admitting that we can't really see all there is to it. Some people online criticized it for being too obvious (yes, the song’s title is just a flipping of the show's title), but in some way, I find that it's the most poetic and philosophical thing that its ever done.

When I was 11, I had my first real panic attack. I was out with my family when I was struck by a thought that has not left my head since: I'm going to die. Not that I can die, or that death might hurt. No. I am going. to. die; presumably, my consciousness will disconnect and I will not exist. I want to believe in an afterlife, but it’s an idea that seems oh so very hard to accept when faced with what we know about nature (but that’s a whole ‘nother discussion). These revelations horrified me, and it has taken years to really process what death actually means—and I’m still not there. None of us really are.

But as I’ve aged, I've been comforted by some rather Stoic ideas, like the idea that what will be will be and we should not stress about things that we simply cannot change. I also like the idea that we are all part of the cosmos, and while we will die, we don’t cease to exist: we just merge back into where we came from.

These musings are adjacent to another comforting idea: the fourth-dimensional view of time that BMO sings about:

Time is an illusion That helps things make sense So we're always living In the present tense ... Singing, will happen Happening happened [...] And will happen Again and again 'Cause you and I will always be back then

It’s true. Perhaps my “arrow-of-time consciousness” will be blasted into nothingness once I die, but I’m not ceasing to be. I eternally am. What happened is happening will happen. “Time is an illusion/That helps things make sense.” While this idea might not extinguish a fear of death, it’s a nice thought. And just like Adventure Time, when you combine enough nice thoughts, you often get something beautiful.

And beauty is all that was really needed for our heroes. It turns out that Golb is a creature of chaos, meaning that the only weapon that the citizens of Ooo can effectively use is concordance—harmony in music. It might seem a little silly that “beating the baddie with music” is how Golb’s minions are defeated, but considering the sort of magical role that music has played in the show, it’s not too much of the stretch. It also remains me of how the show used (and subverted) “defeating a baddie with heart” to great effect did in Stakes.

BMO (who hilariously declares, “My art is a weapon!”) is joined by Marceline and Bubblegum, and soon by Jake and the rest of the crew. Their combined harmonizing weakens Golb, allowing Finn and Simon to escape from his belly. However, Betty decides to remain behind. She realizes that the singing has also reset the ice crown’s phantasmal magic. Putting it on, she wishes for the power to ensure Simon’s safety, which entails her transforming (in a stunning sequence that IndieWire writer Eric Kohn refers to as “straight out of Don Hertzfeldt”) into Golb him(her?)self. Golb promptly leaves this reality, dropping the crown onto the ground. Gunter grabs it, and—despite Jake’s warnings that the naughty penguin will wish to become Orgalorg once again—Gunter merely wishes to turn into the Ice King (or, “Ice Thing”).

Finn and Jake return to the ruins of their tree fort, where they plant Fern’s seed. A new tree immediately sprouts from the ground, with the Finnsword embedded within it. Bubblegum arrives on the scene and thanks Finn for directly disobeying her. She gives him an appreciative kiss on the cheek and then muses that he is getting taller.

We cut back to Ooo 1000+, where BMO wraps up the story. Shermy and Beth still have questions (just like the audience!) about ‘Phil’ and Jake, and Marceline and Bubblegum. BMO shrugs these questions off, saying, “You know, they kept living their lives.”

Shermy and Beth set out to find the “Ferntree” to verify BMO’s story; they eventually realize that the large tree reaching up to the heavens near their stomping grounds is almost certainly it.

We cut back to Finn and Jake, who are sitting around the Music Hole from the episode of the same name. The hole tells our heroes that she has a new song for them, and she begins to sing “Come Along with Me” (which every Adventure Time fan knows is the show’s closing number).

While the Music Hole sings, we see Shermy and Beth climb to the top of the tree. We are also greeted to a montage of what happened to all our friends in Ooo:

Lumpy Space Princess is crowned a bonafide princess (or perhaps even a queen)

Ice Thing and Turtle Princess get married

TV becomes a private detection (just like his grandparents!)

Sweet Pea graduates from school and eventually becomes a super-huge hero, who carries Finn's Nightosphere-sword

Aunt Lolly and Bubblegum seemingly make up and learn to love each other as family members

Lemongrab gets one of Jermaine’s paintings to hang above his bed, which brings him peace

BMO blasts Moe's harddrive into space with the help of Banana Man

Flame Princess and NETPR get popular and perform at Hamburger Hills Cemetery to a huge crowd

Magic Man is the happy King of Mars

Simon spends quality time with Marceline and Bubblegum, and seems to try and summon Betty back using Prismo’s wish magic (sadly, it doesn’t work)

Marceline and Bubblegum, meanwhile, are shown snuggling on the couch in the former’s house; it is implied that they are raising Peppermint Butler, who once again is showing an interest in the dark arts

Humans return to Ooo, and Finn is likely reunited with his (digital mother)

We also see what the Jiggler, Tiffany, the Crabbit, Susan Strong/Kara and Freida, the Candy Kingdom citizens, Tree Trunks and Lemonhope are up to

The episode ends with Shermy and Beth finding the Finnsword in the Ferntree. After Beth pulls the sword from the (metaphorical) stone, Shermy holds it up, just like the show’s title card.

So now let’s talk about what worked and what didn’t. The last half of the finale, if I do say so, was wonderful. Nothing to complain about here: we got arc resolutions, emotionally touching moments, and a nice sense of closure. In regards to this latter point, I specifically like how the show gave use an ending but emphasized that this finale was not really the full-stop end of the characters that we know and love—it was just the end of the story that we’re privy to. As BMO says, everyone kept living their lives and the world kept on spinning. That’s a very nice way to end a show like this, and it feeds into the existential ideals of Adventure Time: there is no grand, overarching story that has to have some big punctuation at the end. Finn and Jake are heroes, but long after they’re gone, the world will still be here, and there will be other great heroes to take their place.

With all this said, I must admit that the finale’s first half is something of a missed opportunity. Opening with Shermy and Beth was a totally inspired move (and the new intro is gorgeously animated, courtesy of Science SARU Studios), but I believe the show lingered on their introduction for just a little too long. Likewise, the weird trippy nightmare portion of the finale was about 15 minutes too long. We did not really need 1/4 of the episode to be devoted to wacky dream imagery that both “King Worm” and “Orb” did more effectively. And given that the show chose to linger on these sections—sections that, in the grand scheme of things, are not super essential—the final portions of the episode came across as a bit rushed. The storylines are all satisfying, but it would’ve been nice if we had gotten a little bit more focus on Betty, Simon, and Finn, or Simon and Marceline, rather than Bubblegum and Gumbald’s wacky nightmares.

And speaking of Gumbald, his ending was a total cop-out. I’m not too torn up about this, given that he was never the main baddie in this episode (that was Golb), but his deciding to make peace and then accidentally reverting to Punchy was contrived and anticlimactic. To go back to a criticism I had of “Gumbaldia”, if the show had been given just a little more time to flesh his character and motivations out, I think his role in the finale would’ve been much better served.

But like I said, I wasn’t too torn up about this, because the main focus of this episode was on Golb and the horrors that such a being could unleash upon Ooo. And the show did this wonderfully. Indeed, it was quite exciting that the show finally had a villain that Finn couldn’t just punch a lot until it died (remember, he beat the Lich this way). Golb was, arguably, invincible. It was only the extremely broken magic of the ice crown could do anything.

Speaking of satisfying, “Come Along With Me” also gives Fern an excellent conclusion. The poor grass-doppelgänger was never evil, just confused. By finally coming to terms with his existential crisis of a life, he and Finn were able to patch things up. Sadly, this came at the expense of his dying (the scene in which Finn and Fern kill the grass-curse spider was quite fun). But even in death, there is life, and Fern’s demise allows a new tree to replace the old tree fort. How sweet is that?

Finn coming to terms with his disability was also a nice touch. As I mentioned in my review of Islands, Adventure Time seems to have a somewhat pessimistic view of technology. With this episode, Finn loses his robot arm once and for all, and instead of having PB build him a new one or dabbling in arm-magicks, he decides to let it all be. This is a very important lesson for the show to emphasize. Finn is still Finn with or without his arm. By constantly trying to ‘fix’ himself, Finn was trying to fill a hole that didn’t need to be filled. After experiencing all this Golb biz, it seems that Finn has come to terms with his essence and who he is as a person. And arm or no arm, he is still Finn.

But as satisfying as I found the episode to be overall, I still have some lingering questions! What happened to the Candy Kingdom that resulted in it getting totally razed in the future? Why was the Prizeball Guardian built? What happened to Marceline and Bubblegum, given that they, in their own ways, can evade death in various ways? These of course are questions that will likely never be answered, and they certainly can be filled in in the minds of fans, but these quandaries are probably going to bother me for awhile! (Heck, I just want to know what Marceline and Bubblegum’s future looks like: I don’t really care too much about that other jazz!)

As I write this, I’m both happy and heartbroken: I’m happy because my favorite show of all time has just aired perhaps the most satisfying finale that I have ever seen. I’m heartbroken because the story is now over.

But hold on.

Like BMO and Co. sing in “Time Adventure”, just because the story is over from my point of view does not mean it has slipped away into the ether of oblivion.

It’s comforting to think that in the fourth-dimensional view of existence, I still am in that rec room with my friends, watching “Sons of Mars” for the first time. In a way, I’m eternally laughing and smiling at the jokes. I’m eternally still realizing what a wonderful program Adventure Time really is.

And in that way, it’s true what they say: the fun will never end.

Final Grade:

Season Grade: Were this a standard season, I would probably have been a little harder on it. The Gum War, having been developed two or so episodes, really came out of nowhere and needed more time to be properly developed. It also seems a little odd that the series finale is at least partially focused on an antagonist who was only introduced this season. But these issues were not the fault of the production staff; they were problems with the show being cancelled by the network and the staff having to tidy-up everything before it was all over. Muto et al. honestly did the best they can with the hands they were dealt. And make no mistake, the result is pretty good, even if things are rushed. Yes, there is a lot to love about season 10. It’s got humor and heart, action and adventure, and plenty of romance! It’s not my favorite season by any means (that’s a tie between season 4 and 7), but its episodes are definitely in the upper-tier of the series, as far as quality goes.

Series Grade: Do I even need to say this?

[douxreviews]

American Gods - ‘Git Gone’ Review

"That was vulgar. I’m a vulgar woman. Anger and grief have… have really just made me vulgar."

American Gods gives us the Gospel According to Laura, and answers a few questions to boot.

OK, it's cheating just a little bit to end two episodes in a row with the exact same cliffhanger, but wow, what a trip it was getting there the second time around.

So, at the end of the previous episode, Shadow enters his motel room to find his recently deceased wife, Laura, sitting on his bed waiting for him. Expectations, then, were that we'd pick up at that same point and get to see their inevitable confrontation over the whole 'died while orally servicing his best friend' situation. But 'Git Gone' takes a different path, and instead goes back to before the show even began and tells the whole thing again, but this time from Laura's perspective.

This is by no means the first show to do an episode dedicated to re-staging things we've already seen, but from the perspective of one of the other characters, but there's a reason that shows like to do it, and it's not just the cost savings of re-using existing sets. The primary virtue of this setup is that it allows you to fill in a lot of character information, while revealing information about events you've already seen that we didn't know at the time. Case in point, we've already heard the phone conversation between Shadow and Laura in 'The Bone Orchard'. but now we know that she literally had his best friend naked on their bed while she was talking to him. That changes how we feel about Laura during that conversation a lot.

So, let's talk about Laura.

For the first three episodes, Laura has essentially been a woman in the refrigerator. It's an insidious trope, which can be boiled down to the idea that stories tend to treat female characters as someone to kill so that the important character, i.e. the man, can be properly motivated to do whatever the story needs him to do. It's a pleasant relief then to find out that, no, Laura has been having a fairly eventful story of her own, and her untimely death was only the middle part of it.

The thing that 'Git Gone' makes clear about Laura is that she is fundamentally self-destructive. The very first decision we see her make is to attempt suicide in her covered hot tub by breathing in the titular bug spray, and that appears to have been brought on by nothing more than the casino she's working at telling her that she can't shuffle the cards by hand anymore, but she likes shuffling cards so she's super sad about it. She's clearly smart and perceptive; it takes her all of three seconds to understand the con that Shadow is trying to pull at her blackjack table. She's also basically kind, since her response to his con is to point out the casino's security measures and what they'll do to him when he's caught, then takes his bet and tells him to finish his drink and go home while he can. But when Shadow approaches her afterward and tries to ask her out in a reasonably polite fashion she's not interested. She only becomes interested in him once he starts getting stalker-ishly creepy. The same is true of their sex scene. She's bored out of her mind when he's being a courteous lover, and slaps him full in the face for no other reason than to see what he'll do. That's just not a safe thing to do to a guy you just picked up after he attempted to rob your casino, and whom you know absolutely nothing about. Which is why she does it.

The sequence of scenes where we see Shadow grow happier and happier while she grows sadder and sadder tell us everything we need to know about Laura. She likes Shadow, but he's nice. And when Laura has something nice in her life, Laura is immediately compelled to destroy that thing. That's why she suggests the casino heist that gets Shadow sent to prison. That's why she starts sleeping with Robbie while Shadow's away. Note the way that Laura only slept with Robbie the second time because he had accepted her statement that they shouldn't. Note also how she was clearly just as bored during her sex with Robbie as she had been that first night with Shadow. It was never about the sex, it was about inviting things into her life that would cause as much damage as possible. When Audrey mentions that she wishes Robbie looked at her the way Shadow looks at Laura, you can feel how little Laura values it. How much she needs to destroy it, in order to prove to herself that she doesn't deserve it. Honestly, season one doesn't give us much in terms of Laura's early background information, and the book gives even less, but note that Laura's mother appears to be at their wedding and her father isn't. I suspect there's a lot of interesting backstory there, and I hope we get more of it in the future. People this self destructive don't just happen for no reason.

And hey, we mentioned Audrey a moment ago. Audrey, and I'll make no bones about this whatsoever, is my absolute favorite character in the show, despite only being in two episodes of the first season. The scene between Audrey and Laura in Audrey's bathroom is absolutely the centerpiece of this episode. That scene works on every conceivable level. It's simultaneously hysterically funny, heartbreakingly sad, and the weirdest thing you're likely to see on television. And it all comes down to the fact that both Betty Gilpin as Audrey and Emily Browning as Laura play the absolute emotional truth of the moment, despite the fact that the moment is a zombie with diarrhea on the toilet in front of the woman whose husband she died while blowing. Oh, and she stopped by to borrow craft supplies. The whole thing is basically, what if The Walking Dead was a production of the Hallmark Channel, and those two actresses make it work. Audrey is confronted with the woman she thought was her best friend but was sleeping with her husband. Who died while betraying her. When Audrey speaks the line 'I found out my husband was cheating on me and dead in the same sentence' you absolutely feel how much pain she's in, and it feels real. Despite the zombie diarrhea and the craft supplies, it feels like genuine emotional damage that she has no idea how to work through. It's amazing.

Then Audrey gets her craft supplies, sews her friend's arm back on for her, and drives her where she needs to go. Because she has no idea how else to respond to the situation. And if anyone is capable of getting through the following exchange without falling in love a little with Audrey, then that person has no soul. As Audrey is sewing her dead friend's arm back on and discussing the way that friend slept with her husband:

Laura: "I feel terrible about it." Audrey: "Oh, F*ck your feelings."

Quotes:

Laura: "Is this your first time trying to rob a casino?" Shadow: "A casino? Yeah." Laura: "Well, you’re really not very good at it."

Shadow: "All l know is there’s more than I know."

Laura: "There’s no farm upstate for old dogs."

Laura: "I have a perfect plan. You will never get caught." Cut to Jail Laura: "How did you get caught?"

Laura: "I lived my life. Good and bad. Definitely not light as a feather."

Audrey: "…Laura?" Laura: "Hey Audrey." Audrey:

Laura: "Audrey. Audrey. Don’t call the police." Audrey: "Get out of my house, you zombie whore!"

Ibis: "Don’t move. You’re still tacky."

Bits and Pieces:

-- Nice fake-out at the beginning with the Egyptian theme casino. The casino's name was 'The 26th Dynasty' Apparently that was the last Egyptian dynasty before they were invaded by the Persians. I don't know if that's at all important, but information is always nice.

-- Mrs. Fadil's post-death scene with Anubis last week served the important function of letting us understand what was happening to Laura this week. It's a little weird that Laura would be the province of an Egyptian death god though. They hand waved it last week with Mrs. Fadil remembering the old stories, but all we get here is that Laura is Anubis' concern because of the manner of her passing. That seems like a curiously specific thing for an Egyptian god to care about. Maybe she had to sign a release when she started working at the casino or something.

-- The hot tub is a visual metaphor for nothingness and oblivion. Watch the episode with that in mind and it opens up a world of interesting interpretations.

-- Do people leave their TVs on for the cats while they're out? It made total sense that it was the death of Dummy the cat, who Laura claimed to not even like, that drove her completely off the rails and into the affair with Robbie.

-- I'm not sure why, but the Egyptian eyes on Laura's work uniform bow tie really freaked me out. Like, to an irrational degree.

-- Laura's dialogue, 'When you die, you rot,' is shown over the images of her and Shadow's wedding. That was a nice directorial touch.

-- I liked the visual cue of Shadow leaving his wedding ring on the statue of the Eifel Tower when he went to the gym. That's a real thing, I take off mine myself to work out.

-- Three episodes later, we find out that it was Laura who killed all of Technical Boy's henchmen and saved Shadow from the lynching. Wow, zombie Laura is apparently quite strong. And can kick you in the balls so hard your entire spinal column flies out the top of your head, which was a funny sight gag.

-- Mr. Jacquel, a.k.a. Anubis, told Laura that after this was all over he would complete his task and send her to oblivion. So now Laura has a matching doom over her head to go with Shadow's promise to let Czernobog smash his head in when it's all over.

-- I'd have liked to have known what happened to Audrey after she and Laura encountered Jacquel and Ibis. I assume she just dropped Laura off and went back home, but it would have been nice to see it.

-- Absent entirely this week - Wednesday, Mad Sweeney, Bilquis, Media, Technical Boy, Czernobog, The Zorya sisters, and Mr. World.

A great episode that gave us a lot of character work and some intriguing answers, but at the expense of paying off the previous episode's cliffhanger.

Three and a half out of four hot tubs.

Mikey Heinrich is, among other things, a freelance writer, volunteer firefighter, and roughly 78% water.

[thebibliomancer]

50 More Days of Comics! 04/50: Revival #42 (2016)

Of all the ‘supernatural weirdery besieges isolated town’ this comic by Image is the most ‘billed as a rural noir’ of them all.

And it comes with a recap page! Which should be, like, the bare minimum a serialized piece of fiction should offer. Seriously.

“For one day in rural central Wisconsin, the dead came back to life. Now it’s up to Officer Dana Cypress to deal with the media scrutiny, religious zealots, and government quarantine that has come with them.

Dana is called to a farm where she encounters a distraught woman, angry that she has been denied death. It appears her sister, Em, is killed, until Em stops the enraged ‘Reviver’, revealing herself to be one as well.

Now as the military locks down the quarantine zone after a rebellion of the Revivers, Dana and her sister have gone their separate ways. What was once their hometown is now an apocalyptic wasteland where nature has betrayed itself, and no one dares trust anyone else.”

I don’t love the term Reviver. I feel like every zombie-esque fiction has to try to give their own name to the zombie-esque thing and the vast majority of them are clunky and acts like this is a world where somehow zombie media doesn’t exist and people wouldn’t instantly leap to using the term zombie.

Although, these zombies do seem different. There’s something about disembodied souls called Passengers which can possess people and the Revivers are less ‘all we want to do is eat your brains’ and more ‘numb to emotions and accomplishment but otherwise the people they were.’ Mostly.

As issue 42 is pretty close to the last issue 47, there’s a lot of events and character arcs and stuff built up. This issue moves several of those threads forward. And I’m not really sure whats been happening in those threads because a recap page can only do so much.

So here’s what we have going on.

Carol and Luke Borchardt hunkered sadly in their home. Carol desperately listening to the nothing on the radio since the town has been completely cut off by the military quarantine. And Luke morosely saying it’s the end of the world and what they deserve for turning their creepy daughter over to the Reviver prison camp.

Carol insists that she did what she had to for the family but then the creepy daughter shows up and shoves her down the stairs, saying all manner of creepy things. Like creepy not-zombie children are wont to do.

Luke pulls a gun on creepy daughter Jordan but flees out the basement window once she starts being creepy towards him and tries to get a soldier to help but the soldier has apparently been possessed by a Passenger and rifle whips Luke.

Carol grabs the gun and shoots Jordan and flees while creepy, undying daughter says Carol has made them all so angry.

Meanwhile, the military quarantine. Reasonable General Cale has been replaced with ‘lack of concern for niceties’ General Hauser. And he brings with him a scorched Earth policy and probable homophobia. He intends to prevent the Passengers from escaping quarantine by destroying all available host bodies inside the quarantine. But dun dun dun General Cale’s wife and son are in there!

So that’s why she sneaks inside the quarantine later in the issue to try to get her family out of there and runs into Carol who tells the general she knows what created the Passengers. But for strategic reasons (?) Cale insists that Carol let herself be possessed by one of the Passengers.

Meanwhile, a motorcycle gang led by Jackson lays siege to the Rothschild police department, wanting to empty out the armory, shopping spree style. Sheriff Cypress, an officer, and assorted terrified citizens are barricaded inside and Jackson promises that if his gang has to force their way in, they’ll be quite indiscriminate. Unfortunately, one of the gang captures the father of the sheriff’s grandson and takes him as hostage to try to coerce the sheriff.

Elsewhere when, Reviver Ross Patrick tries to go home but his mom throws his DnD figurines at him insisting her son is deeeeeead. Ross and his fellow escapees from the prison camp all decide to hide out at Ross’ car lot.

They’re a morose lot.

“We’re the Revived. We died and we came back, and no one wants us.”

“Not even Heaven.”

“Especially not Heaven.”

And having saved the first and last for last, pregnant couple Doug and Betty flee through the snow, trying to avoid the military by staying off the roads. They run into weird fitness and secretly behind the Reviver-thing old man Lester Majak who takes them into his warm house.

“I’m not a religious man, but I know well enough to never turn away a pregnant woman in need of shelter.”

But no good deed by a bad dude goes unpunished because Doug and Betty apparently plan to murder-rob Lester and smack him over the head with a log when he goes to get wood for the fireplace.

He’s ‘saved’ by Dana Cypress who scares off the murder-robbers but then holds Lester at gunpoint accusing him of being the one who murdered her sister at the beginning of the series.

Its just not Lester’s night.

So an interesting series. Very different from typical zombies what with the not-eating people and the disembodied souls who are weak to salt and also that this town just had to put up with being the dead people walking around town for a while, getting media attention, religious extremists, human trafficking from people who wanted to be immortal, a prison camp for the undead, and eventually a military quarantine. You don’t tend to have the rest of the world interacting in these isolated supernatural weirdery stories.

The series has ended so I might give the whole thing a read if I can find a good bundle deal.

Also, this issue has a teaser of Kill Six Billion Demons, the comic that all my friends rave about but that I have only interacted with sporadically. So that’s cool too.

[onceuponamirror]

Are you doing metas? Could you do one on Veronica this season, why do you think she could be on board with something like literal slavery? I just don’t get her this season.

disclaimer, oh my god this got way out of hand

THE FOXTROT WITH POLITICS

for starts, i think we should at least be asking ourselves the extent of which the riverdale writers are tackling the scope of the prison industrial complex. i would love it to be complex and honest—because honestly i can’t think of an example of a show that has actually approached the topic—and i’m sure that, if nothing, networks like the cw, that cater mainly to teen audiences, are aware of the growing interest in politics a lot of teenagers currently have. (see: nationwide marches yesterday)

currently, it seems that the show is framing the prison arc more as a the people vs. the board of conformity issue, as that’s been the central beat that keeps popping up in regards to the southside. 

this is kind of a broad-brush approach to a much more nuanced discussion—of classism and racism—and the kind that riverdale keeps shooting itself in the foot over, as it desperately wants to be seen as progressively political and topically current but also have no real sense of time, and thus nearly all of it feels anachronistic, not to mention potentially irresponsible in terms of the simplification of the topics and/or who it’s framed around (see: the AV club discussing archie bringing a gun to school, or jughead as the central figure of a profiling arc)

like, in 2.15, i already had read up on the prison industrial complex, so that reveal had actual resonance with me, but i saw a lot of confusion floating around tumblr, particularly in the audience that isn’t american—time in the episode that was spent focusing on jughead making very cryptic bram stoker references (and archie regurgitating them) could’ve been spent instead explaining the horror that is for-profit prisons, so that this reveal that has actually been building for nearly thirty episodes would’ve been much more impactful across the board. 

and yet, real world grittiness (and not for the sake of aesthetic camp) did work in season one—i keep thinking of that very jarring scene of discovering the guy who had overdosed on heroin (needles!! on the cw!!) and that was an example of how riverdale can exist out of time and yet comment on it. (but then it completely dropped that narrative, so who knows)

but it’s also hard to see a way of the show directly introducing the topic of for-profit prisons without getting into the level of their antagonism, overall evilness, and yes, modern day slavery. 

which brings me to your actual question, and i’m sorry it only took me like 500 words to get to, lmao. 

VERONICA LODGE, AND THE NO GOOD, VERY BAD TURNING OF THE CHEEK

the reason i brought up all the stuff about the PIC is because—i really don’t know how deep the writing is going to delve into how awful for profit prisons actually are. 

thus, in some ways, it’s “unfair” to hold veronica, a single character, to standards the show/writing refuses to meet. right? i think we’ll have to see how deep the show dives into this topic before making that final call. 

so. that said.

honestly—hear me out—i have been actually enjoying the arc of turning veronica into something of a villain; when we opened with her in season one, she was already reformed, but we kept getting glimpses into her as a spoiled princess, a bad girl, a mean girl, etc, and part of what made me really like her character was the self-awareness and the desire to be a better person.

but character growth untested basically amounts to tell, not show. if we don’t see her actually struggling with the right choices, her reformation at the start of the show isn’t as impactful. and i’ve said this before, but i’m really tired of fiery-sacrifice redemption stories; i find it far less relatable when it’s one dramatic decision that atones for all sins. 

i’d rather see a character struggle daily, over time, and consciously have to make the choices that are harder but right. because in real world parable, very rarely is morality a singular sacrifice. now more than ever, as we culturally embrace social justice and bettering ourselves, i want to see someone (esp people in power) take the time to self evaluate and live with their choices and question their privileges, etc. and deal with it over time. (which is of course is a complicated discussion because veronica is a woc, but i’m not gonna get into that)

so while veronica felt in over her head in season one, realizing the scope of her father’s crimes and the impact it had on people, season two has been designed to have her embrace it, because they’ve framed it as “what else can she do?”

and in all fairness, what can she do? these are her parents, they’re hyper protective of her—and in many ways, she’s had tighter reins than betty—and she decided early on that the best way to steer them towards morality was to get her foot in the door. 

as i’ve outlined in earlier metas, veronica is a character who thinks of herself as very mature (and in some ways, she is), but that also means she overestimates what she can really handle. i think she really went into it with good intentions, but she’s certainly aware that she’s losing herself in it. 

i said after 2.13:

having archie around is also something veronica sees as necessary, because her love for someone she sees as good and pure is what she believes is keeping her on the right path.

but then she’s wandering right off of it anyway, and she doesn’t know how to have her cake and eat it too. it’s interesting that veronica’s sense of conflict comes not from the family business and how many people that’s hurting and effecting, but from hurting archie specifically—i think it says a lot about the path she’s on right now, and how tenuous it is, but potentially how sacrificial too.

[…] i keep talking about the show writing itself into corners, and sometimes it’s deliberate, like this. hard to see another way out of it unless it’s veronica turning on her parents—but what does she not already know that would have her do that? hard to see a way that doesn’t basically follow archie and/or fred getting hurt. so we’ll see. 

(and yes, in 2.15 archie really committed to the lodges world, but let’s not forget a defining characteristic is that he’s basically an indecisive flake. a well intentioned one, but—we already saw him start to walk back on his desire not to know everything, to worry about his own father’s safety, and i think the lodges likely playing dirty and potentially throwing fred into the line of fire is going to make archie want to pull out, which will likely be the thing that causes veronica to realize how far down she’s gone.)

and in terms of her consistent characterization, i actually think this arc has been much more carefully handled than jughead jumping into gang life. 

she’s always been capable of extreme compartmentalization. she’s capable of being very vindictive. and these are parts of her personality that are pretty suited to her parent’s world; something i want to see her come to terms with. and based on the 2.16 promo, she’ll start to. 

whether or not that makes her dig her heels in more or start to falter, we’ll see. 

way too tl;dr, i’ve been talking about this since literally the premiere of s2, so i’ve been enjoying it, especially as i think it sets her up for a very complicated and ultimately satisfying real redemptive arc going into s3. growth without the work isn’t lasting growth! 

how that actually plays into the prison industrial complex is a lot more complicated, because the discussion is complicated. we’ll have to see how much nuance the show actually gives it, because it would come down to the intent of the overall writing, not the individual character. 

relevant veronica metas: 1, 2, 3, 4

relevant readings on the prison industrial complex: 1, 2, 3, 4

[starlightafterastorm]

On repeat and clockwork for the end of year recs!

I’m giving two recs per prompt for this question cuz I read a ton of fics this year and there are so many I want to rec. 1 Bughead and 1 non-Bughead. I wanna give love to my other ships too. 

On Repeat: Rec one of the fics you re-read most often this year

In The Still of the Night by BlueLongHand Incomplete. 54 chapters. Just under 90,000 words

BEAUTIFUL fic that sort of fits in canon season 1 but then diverges wildly after the finale. Which is fine because it’s written so well that I wish this were canon instead of season 2. Amazing characterization and wonderful communication as well as expanding upon moments we didn’t get to see in season 1. 

OH LOOK. Betty and Jughead actually have in depth conversations about their insecurities and Betty’s struggle with her mental health! And they both admit that they can’t fix each other but that’s not gonna stop them from supporting each other! IMAGINE THAT. 

Promises to Keep by Kimberly_T. Incomplete. 18 chapters. 173,000 words. Hasn’t been updated since Sep, 2015 (COME BACK PLEASE)

Zutara fanfic. Canon Divergence. Very well written take on the “Katara becomes a prisoner” trope. Takes place after the episode with the pirates and ends cruelly at the Crystal Catacombs. Again, ends on a cliffhanger but is still SUCH a beautiful story I can’t help but go back and re-read it wishing this was how it had happened. 

Clockwork: Rec a fic you loved this year with a great plot 

Romeo and Juliet Are Dead (The Readiness is All) by @burberrycanary

DARK. SO DARK. BUT MAN I WOULD HAVE BEEN ALL FOR IT IF THE SHOW HAD GONE THIS WAY. IT WOULD HAVE HURT SO BAD BUT I LOVE THIS FIC. 

Ok first? @burberrycanary has one of the PRETTIEST writing styles. I love the descriptions and the imagery and the visceral feelings it evokes. 

Ok look. Riverdale keeps hyping up this “darkness” for this season but they can’t seem to make any one genre or storyline stick. Or actually explore consequences unless it’s for a tired love triangle nobody wants. 

But this would have been a great way for them to really lean into the psychological horror and still be dramatic and NOT be super dumb about plots that make no sense or are just for shock value. I’m not happy about where the show’s gone this season but I would happily read like 200,000 more words on the angst of THIS Black Hood drama and Betty’s subsequent therapy. Because girl needs it. 

Her Life and Her Death by magicmoon111

Game of Throne Jonerys fic. Incomplete. 29 chapters. 136,000 words. 

COMPLETE AU and mixes both show and book canon. Dany never escaped with Viseryon to Essos but was taken in as Stannis Baratheon’s ward and is betrothed to Ned Stark’s bastard son, Jon as an attempt to shame the last of the Targaryans. Follows Dany and Jon as they grow up and how they adapt in their environments and how being betrothed changes their destinies. 

AMAZING fic honestly. SO GOOD. not beta-read and some grammatical or spelling mistakes here or there but honestly I don’t even care. It’s supposed to be a whopper of an epic that I’m assuming spans to their adulthood. Dany and Jon are only 10/11 at this point. It honestly givesreally great insight into a lot of different characters and their motivations beyond Dany and Jon and how their presence changes a TON of events. I love it. It’s honestly one of my favorites. 

Thanks for the ask! Go enjoy all the fics and don’t hesitate to ask for more recs!

[negahc]

February 17th, 2020

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our Forum: Slavery & the Cinema. Dr. Kevin Mace, an associate professor of communication at Brenau University, discussed the portrayal of slavery in American cinema and how it has changed over the years from Birth of Nation, to Gone with the Wind, to 12 Years a Slave.

Our next Forum on Tuesday, March 10 at 7 PM will be presented by author Lisa M. Russell who will share her research writing Lost Towns of North Georgia.

This week in the Cottrell Digital Studio, students met two Georgia natives of different eras. Girl Scouts Founder Juliette Gordon Low met three different 2nd grade classes telling them about her childhood, what inspired her to create Girl Scouts, the challenges she faced when she lost much of her hearing, and her travels around the world.

The Founder of Georgia, James Oglethorpe, met students to discuss his life, work as a British soldier, Member of Parliament, social reformer, and military leader. Students were particularly interested Mary Musgrove, the cultural mediator and translator between Oglethorpe and Yamacraw Chief Tomochichi, who helped to negotiate agreements and maintain peaceful relations between settlers and native tribes.

Libba Beaucham (left) portrays Juliette Gordon Low and Ken Johnston (right) portrays James Oglethorpe in the Cottrell Digital Studio.

Webcasts are free to all Georgia educators thanks to the Cottrell Digital Studio. More info at www.negahc.org!

The winner of our latest Caption Contest is...Cliff Ashbridge! Read all of the caption entries at this link.

Caption by Cliff Ashbridge

Benny Andrews was a renowned artist, activist, and author from rural North Georgia who created collages with bold textures and imagery that depicted the African-American experience. He was born in a small rural farming community near Madison, Georgia where he and his family worked the cotton fields as sharecroppers. His mother wanted a good education for her children, and Benny would walk three miles to attend Burney Street High School. He was the first member in his family to graduate. He then attended Fort Valley State University on a scholarship but left school to enlist in the U.S. Air Force. After serving for four years, he studied art at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Benny Andrews working in a studio

Having no previous formal training in art and never having been to an art museum, Benny’s style was created by what he had as a child. His brother, who would later become a well-known novelist, would save the pictures from magazines, newspapers, and comic books for Benny. Benny would copy the drawings and then make them his own, often with exaggerated gestures and subtle facial expressions.

The Way to the Promised Land, 1994 oil and collage on canvas

During art school, Benny discovered a love for collage and the textures that could be created. After receiving his degree, he moved to New York City where he became an established artist. Over the years, Benny taught art to youth in underserved communities and also established an art program for the New York state prison system.

Confinement One, 1996 oil and college on canvas

Confinement One (Detail), 1996

Throughout his career, Benny Andrews received much recognition for his unique work and the way he portrayed the experiences of African-Americans, the Holocaust, war, and revolution. He passed away in New York in November of 2006.

Sky Sash So Blue, 1997 oil and collage on paper

Here's a heartwarming story from our reading program, Gainesville Reads. Volunteer Tutor Phyllis Shalvey and her student Katie had recently read a story that involved tulips. Katie was not familiar with tulips so they looked up a picture together. During the next week, Phyllis found tulips and brought them to tutoring to help Katie develop her awareness and take time to sound out unfamiliar words. When Phyliss and Katie met for their next tutoring session, Phyllis had the tulips displayed in a vase next to an empty vase. She and Katie practiced sounding out and writing the word "tulip." Phyllis told Katie that every time she came across an unfamiliar word in their reading and took the time to sound out the word, Katie would earn a tulip in her vase. With every word she sounded out, and every tulip earned, Katie was delighted! By the end of tutoring, Katie had acquired a lovely bouquet. When it was time for games (a reward for students at the end of their session), Katie wanted to continue with her workbook to earn the remainder of the tulips. She went home with a well-deserved bouquet! Great work, Katie, and what a wonderful idea, Phyllis!

Gainesville Reads is a program developed by the Northeast Georgia History Center to offer free one-on-one tutoring in reading for elementary students. Learn more about the program at www.negahc.org/readingprogram If you are interested in becoming a tutor for Gainesville Reads, we have openings for Mondays from 4-5 PM and 6-7 PM. Complete this brief form and we'll be in touch! https://negahc.typeform.com/to/bTRO2f

Who are they?! Raiders from the North Land. Where are they from?! The North Land. What do they want?! Your Land. In this episode, Ken and Glen discuss the rise of the phenomenally successful Scandinavian raiders from the North Sea who carried their name to Normandy, England, Ireland, Italy, Sicily, and the Middle East. Listen now at this link!

Thanks for listening! Questions? Comments? Talk to us at thenagaincontact@gmail.com

This week From the Archives is the Parker Brother’s 1976 board game Holly Hobbie Wishing Well Game. Mr. Parker established the George S. Parker Company in Salem, MA in 1883; in 1888, his brother Edward joined the company, and the name changed to Parker Brother’s. The Parker Brother’s Company made popular games such as Rook, Monopoly, Clue, Risk, and Sorry. The company remained a family-owned business until 1968 when it was purchased by General Mills, the food company that manufactures such products as Annie’s, Betty Crocker, Yoplait, Pillsbury, and Old El Paso.

Holly Hobbie is an American writer and illustrator who wrote the Children’s Books Toot and Puddle in the 1960s. Originally, the character in her stories was nameless, however, after a contract with American Greetings, the character was named after the author, Holly Hobbie. In the Holly Hobbie Wishing Well Game, players would try to guess each other’s secret wishes, and the player with the last remaining wish won the game. The game in our archives has all the pieces and is in excellent condition, perfect to play a game or two!

Lunch & Learn: The Story of George Shaw Thursday, February 20th, 2020 from 12:00-12:45 PM Included in General Admission

From Slavery on the banks of the Chattahoochee River to Freedom as a Sailor in the US Navy, Hall County native George Shaw’s life took quite a journey. Join us to hear about his odyssey and about African Americans in the Civil War Navies.

This event is included in admission. Feel free to bring your lunch as you enjoy the program!

Lunch & Learn: Girl Scouts Founder Juliette Gordon Low Thursday, March 5th, 2020 from 12:00-12:45 Included in General Admission

Meet the Founder of Girl Scouts, Juliette Gordon Low (or “Daisy”) during this Lunch & Learn! Daisy will tell the story of how she founded the Girl Scouts, stories from her childhood, her experiences around the world and more.

Family Day: Women’s Work March 8th, 2020 from 1-4 PM Free! Thanks to the Ada Mae Ivester Education Center

In conjunction with National Women’s History Month the History Center take a special look at the role of Women as they work at home and in public through close to 300 years of Georgia history.

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Inside the Ben Jones Barber Shop of Washington, Georgia in 1910. Mr. Jones stands near the front wearing a bow tie. The shop was once located on the square and served patrons for decades. Source: https://dlg.usg.edu/record/dlg_vang_wlk037

[jerepars]

Lionheart Extended Story Notes

Hyperlinks appear in blue (underlined on mobile). The story is posted here.

This chapter was a mission and a trip to write. As such, I think these notes are a doozy. I also think that this is utterly and completely self-serving, just more I can look back on in five years to recall what the hell I was thinking.

Like I said in the notes for the second chapter, I think that this whole story might just be character study and development. 14400+ words of character study. 5500+ words of a final chapter that thoroughly describes an alternative subculture that pretty much anyone reading won't relate to or won't care about. Wow. I think I might have outdone myself this time. I have truly gone off the deep end.

Jughead found American Graffiti on their hotel room TV. He paid mild attention to it while sitting at the small table where Betty had arranged the leftover snacks when they’d arrived before noon. The pitter-patter of his typing barely registered as his fingers flew over the surface of his laptop keyboard, a burst of inspiration from the city’s vibrancy hitting him.

Last time I referenced The Gaslight Anthem and how they often reference Bruce Springsteen. "High Lonesome" is one of those songs and it directly references "I'm on Fire" (actually there are multiple references to a bunch of different bands/artists in this song), the Springsteen song that I took inspiration from for the mood of the previous chapter. The rhythm of this song is always something I come back to when I think about lyrical prose, like the paragraph above. There are lines in the song that go and the pounding in the street was your heart in four-four time and the patter on the bar was just this one night and only to get by. I'm pretty sure I've described a heart beating in four-four time in a story before. So I went with 'pitter-patter' talking about typing, which isn't at all sophisticated, but it's there because of what it makes me think of.

But Betty wasn’t trying to be anyone else other than Betty. Her lips were painted in a mauve tone, the perfect mix of a shy violet and pink, with a brown undertone. That mauve was her color of the night, a study in contrasts. Innocent but sexual. Warm but cool. Ethereal but dangerous. A guiding light tinged with darkness. Beautiful imperfection.

So this is probably a good time to explain the chapter titles for the story. Every chapter title is actually a color in the Kat Von D line of makeup. I originally wanted to name every chapter after one of the liquid lipsticks. But there's no white liquid lipstick, so I had to get a little more creative and name the previous chapter after an eyeliner. One of the first things that came to mind when I decided I was going with the color theme in every chapter was that I wanted Betty to be wearing this mauve tone. Essentially, I wanted her to be wearing Lolita.

The reason I went with the color names from the Kat Von D collection is because of how they're named - they're references, too! The blue-toned red, Nosferatu (Chapter 1), is a horror movie. The rose color, Melancholia (Chapter 2), is not in reference to the 2011 film (I don't think), but the temperament of melancholia. The bold white, Neruda (Chapter 3), is in reference to the poet, Pablo Neruda. And this mauve with brown undertone, Lolita, is in reference to the book by Vladimir Nabokov.

It's weird (I'm weird, I'm a weirdo, have you ever seen me without this stupid hat on - that's weird, etc.) that I chose chapter titles based on makeup, of all things. But it seemed fitting.

They showed their IDs at the will call table set up by the basement entrance (it was an all-ages show so Jughead didn’t have to use his Delaware one) to collect their tickets and checked the set times posted on the door. There were people outside smoking, chatting, and laughing. Betty and Jughead listened to the first band from outside, enjoying the spring air, since the time spent finding parking meant that the show had already started briefly before they arrived. They talked about Hot Dog and Archie’s newest conquest and Jughead’s last collect call conversation with FP from prison.

Their topics of discussion presented them with some irony. They both wanted so badly to get out of Riverdale. They’d even scrambled to make their weekend plan work. So they could leave. But the town never left them.

Honestly, I still feel like this. And maybe a big part of who you are, who you grow up to be, is knowing where you came from and what you've left behind. No matter how far away I get from where I'm from, in distance and in mindset, part of it is always there. I wanted to include this part because I think that for people who don't forget where they come from--which I think is most people--it holds true.

They made it inside the venue during set change, just before the second band took the stage. The album of a not-hardcore band that Betty had on her New Jersey playlist played through the PA system while the stage was set up with a drum kit and amps. It was different than outside. The ceiling was low and the walls were wood-paneled. There was a colorful carpet that resembled a children’s patchwork quilt set down on the stage. The air was warm. But it wasn’t just the room full of body heat and chatter that made it feel that way. It was the same way that Betty’s choice of lip color made Jughead feel. It was an attitude.

Initially when I wrote this, I thought about the details of the all-ages venue that is local to me. But then I got sucked into the rabbit hole of my own love for research again. Over the years, while looking at tour dates and photos and videos for bands in indie/metal/punk/hardcore scenes, the venue that I've seen most for shows in Philadelphia has actually stuck with me. So the above description is based on the basement at the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia. I always wondered why a church would be hosting bands that play grindcore or have upside down crosses and demons on their merchandise. Even simpler than that: why would a church be hosting bands that have explicit lyrics in their songs?

Eventually I found out that it's actually a really important venue to Philly's independent music scene. Kids involved in the local scene actually refer to the venue colloquially as 'The Church'. Typing in "First Unitarian Church Philadelphia" on YouTube yields years worth of video footage of bands, including the kind that Bughead would be there to see, playing the basement.

So. From Yelp, here's what it looks like empty, with the wood-paneled walls and low ceilings. Here's a picture where you can clearly see the carpet on the stage. And the not-hardcore band on Betty's New Jersey playlist on the PA system during set change? That's all because I watched a video of Lifetime playing at The Church from 1997.

The kids around all kind of looked like him, dark clothing and too many layers for the temperature of the room. Except instead of the scowl he usually carried on his face, everyone seemed genuinely happy to be there. He noticed the smiles that reached laugh lines. Handshakes and hugs as eyes met across the room; friends catching up and friends making new friends. It was just an all-ages show on a Saturday night. But it seemed to be so much more. Something therapeutic. Something sacred. Something special. In that room, with those kids, everything was unbreakable. The world couldn’t get to them and break their hearts.

I suppose this is the part of these notes where I reveal that a lot of what I was inspired by when thinking about this story, writing this story, writing this chapter, is probably regarded as cheesy hardcore? And that's okay. I know I'm cheesy.

Bane's "My Therapy" and Have Heart's "The Unbreakable" (there's even a Neil Young reference in the lyrics of this one) played a role in that paragraph getting written.

The room was filled closer to capacity when the second band started. They were a pretty big youth crew band from California that had toured for a few years. On another night they probably could have been the headlining band, but it was one of Philadelphia’s very own who’d close out the night later on.

It was a conscious decision to not ever name any bands that Betty listens to, including the ones that play the show. I knew that I wanted to include a youth crew band in the lineup because it's my story, I can do whatever I want, right? The one I have in mind is Fury from Orange County. It's really easy to get jaded on modern hardcore. But Fury gives me hope.

But actually being there to experience it was still different than any video on YouTube. The energy created by the intermix of the band and the crowd was on a different plane of intensity than could be delivered in the high quality of 1080p or even 4K. To be there in person, to feel the beat of the drums in their chests, to stand on the outer edge of the circle pit, and to hear the passion with which lyrics were yelled out with closed (but not clenched) fists and fingers points, it was a warm blood rush. It put the fire in Betty’s eyes again.

I think that video work at shows is getting better. There are videos out there of live sets where I do get chills. But it still isn't the same as being there, in person. The energy can't be matched. I chose to reference Defeater here because "Warm Blood Rush" feels intense from beginning to end.

When the band finished and the house lights came back on, Betty told Jughead that she’d spotted someone eating deep fried zucchini and wanted to investigate. Since the venue was a church basement, there was a kitchen for light concessions. He leaned against the wall and pulled his phone from his pocket as she walked away. There were several people leaning against the wood-paneled walls. He opened the Yelp app and was met with hundreds of results of his earlier query: cheesesteaks. Only he would look up food just as his girlfriend had gone off in pursuit.

One of the articles I read about The Church mentions the serving of vegan chili and one of those probably-inappropriate-to-be-wearing-at-a-church band church that the narrative alludes to. I've never been to this venue or even Philadelphia. But if chili's been served there, I feel like there would be a kitchen somewhere, right, because it's a church basement? And I felt like by the time Bughead makes it to this show, set in the future, there would definitely be deep fried zucchini instead of chili.

“Hey man,” a voice to Jughead’s left interrupted his review reading. “You should check out Jim’s.”

When Jughead glanced up, there was a kid beside him, on his own phone, casually checking NHL box scores. Jughead’s natural reaction was to wonder why the guy was being nosy, glancing at someone else’s business, making comment about it. He was used to the prying eyes in Riverdale; the ones always telling him he didn’t blend in, the ones who dismissed him, the ones that had made him seek solace on the south side. But he remembered where he was, he remembered that this was supposed to be a scene set apart because of open minds and hearts, so he responded, “Is it near here?”

The guy nodded and quickly explained it was just a few miles away on South Street and it would be open late after the show. The kid—Scott—introduced himself and they talked briefly about the band on Scott’s shirt. When Jughead brought out his sarcasm as the conversation continued into a new topic, Scott didn’t seem to mind, and threw it right back at him with his own. It wasn’t with malice or ill intent that either of them did it. Actually, Jughead noted, it was kind of friendly. It reminded him how far from Riverdale he was.

The words open minds and open hearts, the things that set us apart from "Can We Start Again" meant so, so much to me as a teenager. They still do. I think they always will.

So...here's how deep my crazy goes. I looked at a bunch of lists that rank the best cheesesteak places in Philly. And then I checked what time they were all open until on Saturdays. And then I checked how far they all were from the venue. I settled on Jim's, which according to Google Maps is two miles from where they would be. It's open until 3 AM and is on South Street.

I also wanted to include this interaction between Jughead and this stranger to show how different it is from home for him. In Riverdale he's this outcast sarcastic kid who has two friends. But maybe out in the real world it's not like Riverdale. Maybe a taste of the real world would do Jughead some good.

No sooner than the word ‘fun’ was uttered did the drummer begin to build a tempo with his sticks, all kick drum and snare. The low, heavy bass tones were next, producing a hollow rhythm that matched the drumming. The guitarist intentionally made a feedback loop between his guitar and amp as he strummed dissonant chords, creating a sound that was tense, cutting through the air of the room. As the band played together, Jughead recognized when the drawn out instrumental part flowed into the intro to one of their songs.

Like I said earlier, not including any band names was a conscious decision that I made. The same goes for not including any lyrics within the story. That could have been a good way to show what the content of the music is, the meaning behind it, what makes it so special, etc. But that's not how I wanted to do it. So here's the thing. When I was younger, the stories I wrote included lyrics very often. It always felt like I needed them to be there, because they encaptured the feeling of what I was writing. And it was always something I wanted to get away from. I wanted to get to a point where the content was all my own. I wanted to get away from using lyrics as a crutch that was so fully integrated into the stories.

A few years ago when I got back to writing stories, I was finally able to do it. I wrote a story where the main character is in a band (not a hardcore band, haha, an indie rock band), in the studio recording an album. Of course I made references to music within the narrative and dialogue, but there was never a point where I went to typing out lines of entire songs within the story to help build the story. I relied on descriptions and feelings evoked by the character and by the song(s) rather than just plainly using the songs. That wasn't an easy place to get to for me. It felt like something I had to earn, to get my writing to that place.

This absolutely is not a knock on anyone who uses chunks of lyrics in their stories. I still read those stories. And I'll still love them. Just, for me, I don't want to do that anymore. I guess what I'm saying is that I don't want to go back to before. A big part of what I even like about writing is the challenge. So I want to keep challenging myself to be better than I was years ago.

That being said, it took me a while to figure out who this band they were seeing is, and what the intro song is. When I was writing I always imagined "Some Came Running" because it's one of my favorite songs to see live and I know that I have been to shows where it has been the opening song, and to stick with the theme of me listening to so much Bane while I was writing. But then they couldn't be going to see Bane because they're not a band anymore. So then I thought "The Red, White, & Blues" because I still love it (also there's a lot of plaid flannel and shaggy hair going on in this video, which makes me think of Jughead, which I think means that the hardcore scene circa 2010 was Jughead-esque, haha) but realistically I don't think that's been an opening song for a while now. Then it dawned on me that what I needed to think about was what Philly band could play the show and what song could they play first?

The intro that's described in the paragraph is "We Will Not" by Paint it Black. And that would be the band that they go to see. It made a lot of sense. They're from Philly. They might even be the biggest hardcore band out of Philly in the last decade. Their sound is on the melodic side of hardcore. Their singer/vocalist does address the crowd and say meaningful things in between songs. And oh look, they used The Church's carpet for a show flier a few months ago. If the premise of this story was true, if hardcore was the thing that Betty needed, I have no doubt that for her first show she would choose something like this, that's melodic, that's full of venom but also thought provoking and socially conscious.

Once I had this sorted out I started to think about when the last time I saw Paint it Back was. And it was so long ago that I'm pretty sure it was when they played with the band Ceremony around the time they released Rohnert Park, when they were still kind of a hardcore band. As such, I ended up listening to "Sick" over and over again (I think I could listen to that drum beat for hours) and I think that may have leaked into the paragraph, too. I could imagine the "Sick" intro leading into "We Will Not" if it was the same band.

Also, last thing, the vocalist/singer for Paint it Black, Dan Yemin, was the guitarist in Lifetime, who I referenced as one of those post-hardcore bands on Betty's New Jersey playlist. Without even realizing what I was doing...everything is connected. It all comes back around full circle. It's also interesting (maybe just to me) to note that Yemin is actually a practicing clinical psychologist who works primarily with teenagers and young adults. Given what we know about Betty's mental health issues, I think it just makes PIB all the more the right choice.

He closed his eyes for a moment, focusing on the sounds that filled the room and ricocheted in his chest. He wondered if the way it made him feel was something he’d never be able to put into words and describe perfectly. When he’d listened to it before, with headphones or through speakers hooked up to his old record player, he’d noted the intensity and urgency of it all. That was tenfold when it was living and breathing, in the flesh, staring him in the face. It gave him chills and hair-raising goosebumps.

This is really just a shout out to Modern Life is War's "Hair Raising Accounts of Restless Ghosts", which is urgent, desperate, melodic, mid-tempo hardcore at its finest. It's a reminder that the intensity isn't just about how loud and fast a band can play. When that shines through and can bring those hynotizing chills even in places that have stupid barricades, it's a beautiful thing.

He was a witness to community that night, more than he’d seen anywhere else. That was a bit baffling considering he was from a small town and had a foot in with a biker gang, two things which were meant to have inherent community qualities. It was different the way these kids treated each other, with a natural respect and even love. To someone who didn’t know, it probably looked violent and turbulent, the same that he’d thought at first listen. But it was actually vehement passion with a purpose. The actions of the room flirted on the edge of violence and danger but always remained at controlled chaos. It was about coming together and letting what darkness they held in their hearts ring out in that safe space rather than becoming destructive in their day-to-day lives.

To Jughead, it was like Betty, like her color for the night. It was a representation of her, part of who she was and wanted to be. It was her big dreams. It was how she saw the world, still with optimism, how she was determined to make a difference with her lionheart.

Speaking of my cheesiness and liking cheesy hardcore, I named the story after the song "Lionheart" by Have Heart. If it's cheesy and it's wrong to love it, I don't ever want to be right. When I was writing and looking for videos of live sets that could give me chills and goosebumps through YouTube quality video, this consistently came up. I watched several different videos of it live and each time it would move me. I even found a version from a show that I was at several years ago and it made me feel lucky all over again that I got to have that experience.

Beyond that, I wanted to choose a song that represents Betty, or at least the Betty that I introduced in the first chapter. I think Betty does have a heart of a lion. And I think she does have a fire in her heart. At Have Heart's last show, Pat, the singer starts off the song by dedicating it "to the prettiest girl in the room" before he goes on to explain what words by singers like Aaron Bedard (the vocalist for Bane, a band that I have severely over-referenced in these notes) mean to him - which totally resonates with me. And I thought, hey, Betty Cooper is probably the prettiest girl in a lot of rooms, right? The song closes with the words I'm doing my best and I'm doing my part, don't criticize me, man, when there's no fire in your heart. It's very Betty. So I had to name the story after this song.

Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail. It was set in the same position as one of her signature ponytails and just as tight, but nowhere near as neat as a signature. It looked like she’d used her fingers to comb her hair into place and tied it back hastily when the heat inside the venue had risen. Stray baby hairs framed her face like a halo. She was a little disheveled—imperfect hair, sweaty temple, flaked mascara fallen to the high points of her cheeks. But her cat eyeliner could still cut a bitch. The pout of her lips was still adorned perfectly in that temptress shade of danger and innocence.

She was good girl Betty and pure Betty and real-life Betty Cooper all at once. Jughead was sure that he loved every version of her. Every marvel. Every color.

I thought it was fitting that through the course of the show, when it came time for Betty to put her hair up, it wouldn't be a messy bun or a quick low ponytail. I thought it should be a classic Betty ponytail as best as she could manage. It seemed to be symbolic for her bringing different parts of herself together in that space, in that moment.

Her indignant outburst earned her a chuckle from Jughead. He’d been too busy letting her take charge, immersing herself in the moment while she’d been discussing ‘zines and an upcoming hardcore music festival, to think about sharing the food that she’d bought. He’d even downed all of the water without a second thought. He looked her in the eye as they continued their walk. “I swear I’m not mad, Betty. Not even a little bit. I’m just thinking. Trying to commit everything to memory. You were amazing.”

The mention of the hardcore music festival is actually referring to This is Hardcore, an annual festival that takes place in Philly every summer. I wanted to work it in to the chapter somehow since it hits two checkmarks of what this chapter is with the city and the music.

And finally, so that I end this on a much poppier note, Jughead's last bit of dialogue is a reference I made to Motion City Soundtrack's Commit This to Memory, an album I listened to a lot in the twilight of finishing this, because in my heart of hearts I'm always just a 15-year-old pop punk kid.

[thorias]

Random thoughts watching Riverdale episode 9

Why exactly would Cheryl not inherit the Blossoms’ maple syrup business? No reason is given, they just say that it certainly wouldn’t be her. Why not? 

Polly has cut off all communication with her family for some reason, even with Betty. This might be a little out there, but I’m starting to think that Polly might not be the innocent victim she appears to be. A lot of things about her recent actions just don’t quite add up. I think it’s possible that she’s manipulating this situation somehow, though to what end, I can’t say. 

Alice barges in and stops Betty and Jughead from sucking face. God help me, I am now on Alice Cooper’s side. Lord, this show has messed me up. 

Why is Hermione afraid to tell Fred the whole truth about the ownership of the drive-in property for fear that he’ll walk off the project? She’s seen his books, she knows he needs this project to stay in business. He’s committed whether he likes it or not, so what harm could coming clean do at this point? 

It’s a credit to Madelaine Petsch’s acting that when Cheryl asks Archie to be her escort to the tree tapping ceremony while giving him some pretty obvious ‘fuck me’ eyes, that I’m honestly not sure what her intentions are. This could be her manipulating him for one reason or another, or she could be genuinely interested in him or it could be both. Neither one would surprise me. 

Ethyl reading a poem in front of the class was a startlingly emotionally naked moment that makes me wonder if this girl has grappled with depression or suicidal thoughts. I should have known that no aspect of my childhood was safe from this show by now. 

Archie declines to be Cheryl’s escort because he has a girlfriend, but then agrees to it once Cheryl’s mom offers to put in a good word for him at some fancy music academy. This really shouldn’t be a problem as long as Archie explains the situation to Val first and then behaves himself. 

“Being ruined sucks,” says Veronica Lodge, who lives in a huge luxury apartment. I appreciate her trying to make Ethyl feel better by bonding over their similar experiences, but the two situations are hardly the same. 

Why is everyone at this tree tapping thing dressed in black and red? Was the wardrobe department instructed to make this get together look like a cult? Because they succeeded. Also, I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many gingers in one place before. 

When Archie tries to talk to Polly about Betty and she kind of avoids the issue, I think the implication is that Blossoms are luring Polly into their sick, twisted web, but why do I get the strange feeling that she’s not the one getting played here? 

Archie actually defends Cheryl from the asshole board members of the Blossoms’ company. It’s an admirable thing for him to do, but Cheryl is probably going get the wrong idea about this. And I can’t really blame her for that either. Given the peeks we’ve gotten into how emotionally abusive her home life is, any simple act of kindness she receives is bound to be misinterpreted. 

Archie quickly gets roped into being Cheryl’s escort at some other Blossom family function and I have no idea what’s going on. Is this Cheryl’s dad wanting to make his daughter happy (unlikely) because she’s taken a shine to the big dunce or because he wants to use Archie for some reason or another because -- as this show can’t stop pointing out -- he looks a lot like Jason? 

Archie is going along with this for now, though it seems that helping Betty figure out what’s going on with Polly is a big motivating factor. How many awkward situations is he going to let that get him into before he pulls the plug? If I know Archie, too damn many. 

Betty’s parents might be the most spiteful characters on this whole show. Her dad doesn’t want his own daughter living with them just because she’s pregnant with a Blossom’s babies, so her mom kicks him out of the house. In turn, he fires her from her job at the newspaper just to be a dick. Why are so many of the adults on this show complete assholes? 

Archie asks Mr. Blossom to forget about the music school thing in exchange for giving his dad a break. Archie is doing so many nice things for people this week that I can’t help but feel that the other shoe is about to drop and he’s going to revert to form any minute now.

Mr. Blossom calls Archie “son” while dressing him up like Jason. Do I even need to comment on this? 

Everyone is telling Archie that the Blossoms are trying to buy him and I’m inclined to agree. Val asks him if he wouldn’t rather get into this music school on his own merits, but Archie seems to think he needs that door opened for him. I suspect there’s a part of Archie that doesn’t really believe in himself, which is probably why he puts so much stock in these mentor figures he’s always seeking out. Grundy “believed in him” and he valued that so much, he wound up in a forbidden relationship with her, Mr. Castillo wasn’t impressed with him and he almost gave up as a result, and then there was the stage fright thing. Archie seems to suffer from a lack of confidence that isn’t overtly noticeable until you look closer. 

Veronica dissolves into tears upon hearing of Ethyl’s dad’s attempted suicide because he lost all his family’s money from being in business with the Lodges. Betty comforting her is sweet, but I’m pretty sure Ethyl is in more need of comfort right about now. I suggest Ronnie suck it up and go find Ethyl instead. She could use a hug too. 

I think if arranged marriage was a thing in this country, Clifford would have suggested it on the spot when he talks to Archie during dinner. He’s pretty much struggling to not bring it up. How little faith must the board of directors have in Cheryl (again, why?) that they think having freaking Archie by her side would make her better suited to run the company? Archie may have good character deep down, but why is everyone just acting like the first half of the season didn’t happen here? 

Ah ha! So Polly IS masterminding this situation! I’m not sure why she thinks the Blossoms had something to do with Jason’s death since losing him appears to have screwed them in several different ways, but who knows where this is going. Cheryl’s crazy grandma doesn’t seem entirely trustworthy; maybe she’s the culprit. 

It was good of Veronica to own up to what her father did to Ethyl and her mom, but did Ethyl seriously not know Ronnie’s last name? How on earth is this new information for her? 

Archie tries to make Cheryl feel better and she’s so touched, she kisses him. He doesn’t exactly stop her, but he doesn’t give the impression that he enjoyed it either and then leaves immediately, so Archie is ironically displaying more self-control than his comics counterpart here. Didn’t see that one coming. 

Archie actually leaves the Blossoms’ party, throwing away everything they promised him in the process. Huh. I think Archie actually deserves a lot of credit for this. He’s recognizing a toxic situation and choosing to get out before it gets worse even though he’s screwing himself over by doing so. Kudos, Red. There’s hope for you yet. 

Jughead thinks the Blue & Gold’s operating budget is bigger than that of the town newspaper? Um... how? 

Val breaks up with Archie, weirdly enough, NOT because he let Cheryl kiss him, but because he’s supposedly ignored her and ditched her ever since they started dating. I’m confused. In what way has he done that prior to this episode? Seriously, I don’t remember this ever being a thing. From what little we’ve seen of their relationship, Archie looked to be treating Val just fine. Where is this coming from? 

Fred putting the breaks on this thing with him and Hermione is a wise decision. Whatever problems Archie has when it comes to dealing with women, he probably gets them from his mom. 

If the Blossoms conspired to get Hiram Lodge sent to prison, does that mean that they just exposed Hiram’s crimes or that they framed him for something? Since this show has gone to such lengths to hammer into us what a rotten, scheming lowlife Hiram is, my guess is it’s the latter. 

That last scene indicates that Cheryl is about to go full blown super villain on Archie and Polly. Just because Archie backed off when she kissed him? Good grief, Cheryl’s ego must be more fragile than Betty’s mental state and that’s really saying something. And what exactly did Polly do to piss Cheryl off (that she knows about)?

[lovelifeandfate]

David Boreanaz has had great success in television. For the past twelve years, he’s starred as FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth on Fox’s BONES, now in its final twelve-episode run on Tuesday nights. The character has gone through just about everything: getting shot, a near-death experience, wrongful conviction and jail, marriage to his partner, forensic anthropologist Temperance “Bones” Brennan,” played by Emily Deschanel, fatherhood, the death of his brother and much more.

Before BONES, Boreanaz spent eight years, and gained a major fan following, as the vampire with a soul Angel, who he played first on BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, then spun off onto ANGEL. Boreanaz directed an ANGEL episode, and has become one of BONES’ top directors, with eleven episodes to his credit. He is also a producer on the series.

With BONES coming to an end, Boreanaz participates with his cast mates, series creator Hart Hanson and current show runners Jonathan Collier and Michael Peterson in a Q&A session.

During the panel, Boreanaz talks about shooting the last twelve episodes, knowing it was the end. “I think we got so much in the twelve episodes, quite honestly, that we could have done it in twenty-two episodes. These twelve episodes are packed with moments and bringing back characters [played by] Cyndi Lauper, Betty White. It feels like a full order. We really jammed in a lot of stuff.”

Boreanaz has often expressed his belief that the chemistry with Deschanel, romantic onscreen and with a strong friendship in real life, has been crucial to the success of BONES. How does he feel about the chemistry in the final season?

“It’s the same. I maintain that we go back to the relationship. Starting the series at the onset of getting an order for a pilot to shoot a show, and reading the script, and knowing that there’s a relationship there between these two, that was really, for me, a point into jumping back into a series so quickly and understanding [it’s important] to work on those relationships outside of the work environment, and working with our acting coach, and bringing moments to hart and using our improvisational stuff to say, ‘Hey, we would like to change this, or work with this,’ and always go back to the relationship. To me, the last scene in the last shot with Emily is the same moment I would have [in] the first scene of the pilot with Emily. I also maintain that was the most important part of the show”.

Two years ago, there was a season finale that could have been the series finale. Was Boreanaz ready to end BONES at that time?

“I don’t really think about when it’s going to end. For me, it was really moment to moment. When you’re working on the scenes and you’re working on the episodes, it’s always about being present in the moment. With that, when we go off the stage, the next moment is whatever that moment is and wherever that takes you. So I think a little differently with that. When we always think about, are we going to get picked up or is there going to be another [episode] order, I think that was a conversation that was internal between us at certain times, but I never thought, ‘Oh, this is when it should end,’ or ‘This is when it should.’”

As for favorite guest stars, Boreanaz and Deschanel almost talk over one another in their enthusiastic recollections. “There are so many to choose from,” Boreanaz begins. “I remember Heavy D and how great he was in the opening season, and how heartfelt and warm and genuine of a person he was, and how great Wong Fu’s was, and how I enjoyed going back to Wong Fu’s and having Booth pull up and have a drink and talk to Heavy D about some stuff. It was pretty emotional, and so I really liked Heavy D.” He also cites Eric Millegan, who is back this year as Dr. Zack Addy.

Deschanel adds, “I love all the people that we’ve already mentioned. I would say Linda Lavin was on the show playing a judge, and I’m a huge fan of hers from when I was a kid, and I’ve stayed a little bit in touch with her. Stephen Fry …”

Boreanaz thinks of more guests. “Hal Holbrook, Michael B. Jordan. Also, when we went to London and shot, we had some tremendous actors over there that were just fantastic to work with.”

“Indira Varma,” Deschanel suggests.

“Yeah,” Boreanaz agrees.

Deschanel next says the name of the actor who portrays Brennan’s father, Max. “Ryan O’Neal. He’s here so much, you don’t think of him as a guest star, but …”

Boreanaz finishes the thought. “He was more like part of the family to me.”

Millegan, also on the panel, proposes the actress who has played D.A. Caroline Julien for most of the show. “And Patricia [Belcher].”

“There’s a lot,” Boreanaz declares.

“All of them,” Deschanel decides. “All of them are our favorites”.

Something Boreanaz says he wishes he’d had a chance to do during BONES’ long run was play Booth as an old man. “I still want to do the old man episode. I actually went and got fitted for the prosthetic. One of the episodes I wanted to do was where we’re in prosthetics and we’re old. I wanted to play the old Booth really bad, and it just didn’t work out time-wise. It was hard on the schedule; it’s hard to get people in and out of makeup. It was very difficult.”

With so many TV shows coming back for limited-run follow-ups – Fox’s PRISON BREAK, Netflix’s GILMORE GIRLS, Showtime’s upcoming TWIN PEAKS – does Boreanaz ever see himself returning to Booth for a BONES reunion movie or miniseries?

“For me,” Boreanaz replies, “It’s really a moment of where I am in my life with what I’m doing. It’s very hard for me to answer that question honestly. I don’t know what’s going to happen in six hours. Everything is possible in life, but I tend to like to go forward. I don’t like to go backwards. When I’ve got ice skates on my feet and I’m playing hockey, that’s probably when I most like to go backwards, or if I’m doing some historical research. But in general, I don’t like reunions and I don’t like to go back. For me, it’s really about going forward.”

But he doesn’t completely rule it out. “It’s hard for me to answer that question. Look, I’ve grown with this character for twelve seasons. I love him. He’s great, but we’ll see what happens.”

After the panel, Boreanaz makes himself available for a few more queries.

Does he feel there are any boundaries in directing television?

“No. Boundaries for me – you prep and then you throw everything out the window and I create with the actors. I’m an actor’s director, and then what I’ve learned, especially working on the show and with [director of photography] Bobby Altman is lenses and sizes and how to manipulate stuff. So I’ve gained so much through that, and lighting, and how to light scenes, and working with gaffers and best boys, to me, that’s really the art, is knowing what everybody does, and knowing how they do it, and then forming that and bringing it all together.”

Might Boreanaz direct a feature film? “Sure, why not? Any theatre, sure why not? I’d love to do anything. I’m a worker, so I think for me, I’m forty-seven [laughs], I think, so I think I’ll start to pop when I’m late fifties, sixties, into that genre, maybe, but I think I have a longevity in it, so …”

Is he looking more towards acting or directing right now? “Producing, creating, directing, acting – I’m a triple threat, baby,” Boreanaz laughs. “I’ve got a good track record, I’ve been blessed, I’ve really paid the price of being down on the front, in the war room, and knowing how to shoot a show and what it takes. And I know budgets, I know above and below costs. So we’ll see.”

[victoriabondblog]

The Bewitching Salem Witch Trials

by guest blogger Audrey Blake

The Salem Witch Trials is one of the most famed–and tragic–events in American History. Today, the area is a thriving tourist community filled with “witches” willing to tell fortunes and help with all kinds of ailments. But its beginnings were grim and heart-wrenching.

Early in 1692, in the village of Salem, Reverend Samuel Parris’s daughter, Betty Parris age 9, and his niece Abigail Williams age 11, were stricken with a sudden and mysterious illness which brought fits “beyond the power of Epileptic Fits.” The illness persisted beyond normality and the village doctor, William Griggs, was brought into the household. The girls screamed, crawled under furniture, threw objects, and contorted themselves into horrifying positions. They also described pains of being “pinched and pricked with pins”. Even the physician was baffled. So, like any rational man of medicine, he diagnosed the girls with “bewitchment.” Soon, many other girls in the village began exhibiting these strange behaviors. Among these were also 12-year-old Ann Putnam Jr., Abigail Williams, Betty Parris, and Elizabeth Hubbard. (They were later joined by others in the finger-pointing and theatrics.)

This unfortunate diagnosis ultimately set off the infamous Salem Witch Trials in the which resulted in the imprisonment of more than 200 people, nineteen of whom were found guilty and executed by hanging. One man, Giles Corey, was pressed to death. This surprised me because I thought witches were burned at the stake or drowned. Apparently, there were many ways to execute a witch.

To add to the senseless tragedy, five more died in prison, including an infant, Mercy Good. Her sister, Dorothy Good, only four years old at the time, was also imprisoned for her mother’s ‘involvement’ in witchcraft. She lived another decade or so, but she was so damaged by her treatment in prison that she became insane.

It is hailed as the deadliest witch hunt in America’s history.

What many people don’t know is that while some of the events did happen in present-day Salem, the majority of the trials took place in Salem Village which is present-day Danvers, Massachusetts. Neighbors of Salem Village considered the population as “quarrelsome.” There were arguments about property lines, grazing rights, and church privileges. Like any small town, there were fights and feuds in which the entire community was involved. It all seems petty now, doesn’t it?

I’ll back up a bit to give some background. In 1672, the villagers had voted to hire a minister of their own, apart from Salem Village. The first two stayed only a few years each, departing after the congregation failed to pay their full rate. Ironically, even one of the ministers, George Burroughs, was arrested at the height of the witchcraft hysteria and hanged as a witch in August 1692.

The first ordained minister of Salem Village’s choice was Samuel Parris. He received ￡66 annually “one-third part in money and the other two parts in provisions” as well as use of the parsonage. Salem Village hired him in June of 1689 and raised his benefits in October of 1689, which conflicted with a 1681 Village resolution which stated that “it shall not be lawful for the inhabitants of this village to convey the houses or lands or any other concerns belonging to the Ministry to any particular persons or person.” Whoops.

Reverend Parris’s delay of his acceptance of the position increased the village’s divisions, and he was not seen in a good light by his own congregation. To make matters worse, this so-called man of God deliberately sought out “iniquitous behavior” and made up-standing church members suffer public penance for small infractions. This reminds me of my zero-hour high school teacher making me stand in front of the class and explain why I was five minutes late one morning. Humiliating! This increased Salem Village’s tension. (Also, remember that Parris’s daughters’ diagnosis of bewitchment started the witch craze.)

Additionally, thanks in large part to the church minister who audaciously called himself a Christian, rumors of witchcraft swept the villages neighboring Salem prior to the outbreak of the hysteria in 1692. Cotton Mather, a minister of Boston’s North Church, was a prolific publisher of pamphlets, including some that expressed his belief in witchcraft.

In these pamphlets, Mather illustrates how Boston mason John Goodwin’s eldest child had been tempted by the devil and stolen linen from the washerwoman Goody Glover. Honestly, I would be pretty upset if some kid kept wandering into my yard and stealing my linens, too. I think Goody Glover had something going here. Nonetheless, Glover was seen as a disagreeable old woman and described by her husband as a witch. (I’m hearing the line from Princess Bride…”I’m not a witch–I’m your wife, and after what you just said, I’m not sure I want to be that anymore!”)  All joking aside, his unkind description of his wife may have prompted the formal accusation.

Four of the six Goodwin children had strange fits, which quickly became associated with witchcraft. These symptoms included “neck and back pains, tongues being drawn from their throats, and loud random outcries.” Other symptoms included having no control over their bodies such as contortionism, flapping their arms like birds, or trying to harm others as well as themselves.

Tituba, Sarah Good, and Sarah Osborne were among the first to be accused and arrested for affecting Betty Parris, Abigail Williams, Ann Putnam Jr., and Elizabeth Hubbard. At the time, a vicious rivalry was underway between the Putnam and Porter families which resulted in polarizing the people of Salem. These disagreements often escalated into full-fledged fighting based on their opinion of the feud. I suppose an accusation of witchcraft was an easy way to get rid of an enemy, considering the gullible and superstitious nature of the people in this town.

Tituba, the first to be targeted, was reportedly a South American Indian slave belonging to Samuel Parris. She was accused of telling the girls stories of enchantment which included sexual encounters with demons, swaying the minds of men, and fortune-telling. While centuries later Tituba’s involvement in the witch hunt hysteria is hailed as the catalyst, there was no evidence to support this. It’s likely that she did tell stories from her native land. Who wouldn’t? I’m sure she meant no harm.

Sarah Good was a homeless beggar accused of rejecting Puritan ideals, choosing to torment and “scorn [children] instead of leading them towards the path of salvation”.

Sarah Osborne was also an easy target; she rarely attended church meetings and she had remarried–to an indentured servant. The villagers of Salem also disapproved of her trying to control her son’s inheritance from her previous marriage.

One thing is clear: each woman was an outcast in some way and each exhibited many of the character traits typical of the “usual suspects” for witchcraft accusations. Each woman was interrogated for several days starting on March 1st, 1692 and then sent to jail.

During the month of March, others accused of witchcraft included: Martha Corey, Dorothy Good, daughter of Sarah Good–who was only four years old at the time–Rebecca Nurse from Salem and Rachel Clinton in nearby Ipswich. Martha Corey had expressed skepticism about the credibility of the girls’ accusations and drew attention that way. However, the accusation against Martha Corey and Rebecca Nurse rocked Salem; both women were fully covenanted members of the Church. They were good, God-fearing women.

Now anyone could be a witch.

The hysteria increased. Accusations came flooding into the courthouses. Sarah Cloyce, Rebecca Nurse’s sister, and Elizabeth Proctor were arrested in April. John Proctor protested his wife’s arrest and was arrested himself that same day. He maintained his innocence as well, and openly and strongly criticized the court’s use of spectral evidence.

The accused were brought before John Hathorne, a relative of famous writer Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Jonathan Corwin in Salem Town.

Giles Corey, Martha Corey’s husband, was also arrested with Abigail Hobbs, Bridget Bishop, Marry Warren, and Deliverance Hobbs. To save their own lives, Abigail Hobbs, Mary Warren, and Deliverance Hobbs all confessed and began naming additional people as accomplices. As a result, Sarah Wildes, William Hobbs, Nehemia Abbot Jr., Mary Easty, Edward Bishop Jr. and his wife Sarah Bishop, and Mary English were all arrested and brought to trial.

May brought more accusations but some suspects began to evade apprehension. Names poured in, some brought on by those arrested. Sarah Osborne, meanwhile, perished in jail on May 10th, 1692. At the end of May, the total number of people in custody was 62.

Complete hysteria.

The first person to be brought to grand trial was 30-year-old Bridget Bishop. On April 19th, 1692, she was examined by John Hathorne – patrilineal ancestor of famous writer Nathaniel Hawthorne – and Jonathan Corwin. During Bridget’s questioning, the young girls Elizabeth Hubbard, Ann Putnam, Abigail Williams, and Mercy Lewes testified that she was hurting them. Even small motions Bishop made, like looking upwards or shaking her head, caused the girls to cry out in pain, thus solidifying the jury’s beliefs that she was a witch. She was described as having an “immoral” lifestyle, wore black clothing and odd costumes. Bishop was vehement that she was innocent, repeating that she had no idea who her accusers were, that she had never seen them before and she had never made any deals with the devil. Below is an excerpt of her examination:

The Witch House, the house of one of the judges of the Salem Witch Trials, Jonathan Corwin

Bridget Bishop: I am no Witch.

John Hathorne: Why if you have not wrote in the book, yet tell me how far you have gone? Have you not to do with familiar Spirits?

Bridget Bishop: I have no familiarity with the Devil.

John Hathorne: How is it then, that your appearance doth hurt these?

Bridget Bishop: I am innocent.

John Hathorne: Why you seem to act Witchcraft before us, by the motion of your body, which seems to have influence fluence upon the afflicted.

John Hathorne: I know nothing of it. I am innocent to a Witch. I know not what a Witch is.

John Hathorne: How do you know then that you are not a witch? #[and yet know not what a Witch is?]

Bridget Bishop: I do not #[understand] know what you say.

John Hathorne: How can you know, you are no Witch, & yet not know what a Witch is:

Bridget Bishop: I am clear: if I were any such person you should know it. — Excerpt of the Examination of Bridget Bishop, as Recorded by Samuel Parris (http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/texts/tei/swp?div_id=n13)

Despite her pleas, Bridget was convicted and executed by hanging on June 10, 1692. Chilling. The only evidence the judges had were the cries of ‘pain’ by underaged girls, and poor Bridget’s personal choices of clothing.

Martha Corey’s memorial

“There were four execution dates, with one person executed on June 10, 1692, five executed on July 19, 1692 (Sarah Good, Rebecca Nurse, Susannah Martin, Elizabeth Howe and Sarah Wildes), another five executed on August 19, 1692 (Martha Carrier, John Willard, George Burroughs, George Jacobs, Sr. and John Proctor), and eight on September 22, 1692 (Mary Eastey, Martha Corey, Ann Pudeator, Samuel Wardwell, Mary Parker, Alice Parker, Wilmot Redd and Margaret Scott).

Several others, including Elizabeth (Bassett) Proctor and Abigail Faulkner, were convicted but given temporary reprieves because they were pregnant. Five other women were convicted in 1692, but the death sentence was never carried out: Mary Bradbury (in absentia), Ann Foster (who later died in prison), Mary Lacey Sr. (Foster’s daughter), Dorcas Hoar and Abigail Hobbs.”

Giles Corey’s memorial in the Salem Witch Trials Memorial park in present-day Salem. The memorial stone had accidentally been engraved on the wrong side; so Giles’s name is on both sides of the stone, sentencing poor Giles to an eternity of being pressed to death.

Giles Corey was one of the few males accused of witchcraft. He refused to enter a plea when he came to trial in September, so he was tortured by way of peine forte et dure, in which stones were piled on his chest until he could no longer breathe. While under torture, the magistrates tried to make him talk. He famously said “more weight!” instead of acquiescing. He endured for two days before ultimately perishing. “His death was a protest against the methods of the court.”

Once they were convicted witches, Rebecca Nurse and Martha Corey were excommunicated from their churches and denied proper burials. As soon as the bodies of the accused were cut down from their gallows, they were thrown into a shallow grave and abandoned.

Supposedly, family members later dug up their remains and reburied them in unmarked graves in family property. At least they cared enough to do this. I can’t imagine the horrors their families must have endured. To be accused of witchcraft and then to be discarded like trash… These women deserved so much better. It’s quite sobering to think that not even these wonderful ladies were unable to avoid the witch hunt. One would’ve thought that they, of all people, would’ve been safe.

No one was safe from the hysteria.

Eventually but much too late, “the court was disbanded by Governor William Phipps in October of 1692. The Superior Court of Judicature, formed to replace the “witchcraft” court, did not allow the spectral evidence. This belief in the power of the accused to use their invisible shapes or specters to torture their victims had sealed the fates of those tried by the Court of Oyer and Terminer. The new court released those awaiting trial and pardoned those awaiting execution. In effect, the Salem witch trials were over.

As years passed, apologies were offered and restitution was made to the victims’ families. Historians and sociologists have examined this most complex episode in our history so that we may understand the issues of that era and view subsequent events with heightened awareness.” (http://www.salem.org/salem-witch-trials/)While visiting Salem, known as The Witch Town, it was clear the residents were not afraid of the history their town harbored. Many psychics, ghost hunters, and other paranormal enthusiasts make their home here. Even the local law enforcers carry a badge with a witch riding on a broomstick. It’s really cool! I find it ironic and poetically just the Salem area has now attracted the very kinds of people it was trying to eradicate.

The town itself is a town like any other, though with some of the oldest houses I’ve ever seen! Near Halloween, it becomes a huge tourist attraction for Ghost Tours, haunted houses, and of course staying in the extremely famous and haunted Hawthorne Hotel. The residents I stayed with expressed their exasperation of the touristy time of year. I can agree.

Narrow streets packed with people made it a bit claustrophobic. Posted signs attempt to keep tourists from parking in areas where Salem residents need to be. And let’s not mention the ‘quiet zones’!

I read and watched The Crucible in high school and became morbidly fascinated by the happenings during these trials. It all began with a group of girls began wildly accusing people of witchcraft simply because they didn’t like them. Although, to be fair, some scholars have suggested many were hallucinating due to a poisonous fungus growing on bread. Regardless of the cause, the wild accusations and the actions of those who jumped to irrational conclusions resulted in death and torture of many innocent adults and children, affection generations. I wonder if those girls eventually realized what they had done and had some sort of regret. Who is to say what really went through their heads?

A fun fact: Abigail Williams did flee Salem like in The Crucible, but she reportedly became a prostitute. Mercy Lewis went to live with her aunt in Boston, eventually marrying in 1701.

The judges were as much to blame as the girls for allowing their judgments to be swayed by prepubescent children seeking attention. Reportedly, John Hathorne showed no repentance for his involvement in the Trials. Nathaniel Hawthorne added the ‘w’ into his own last name to be disassociated with his ancestor.

Residents of Salem leave fresh flowers and other trinkets on the memorials of those killed during the trials every day. It is a touching and sobering reminder of what transpired and what could have been avoided.

An eerie silence follows the entering of the graveyard in Salem. So many were broken, so many were worn away by the elements, their names lost to time… It is one of the few graveyards that I’ve been in where I felt like crying.

On that grim note…Happy Halloween!

 Bibliography:

Ray, Benjamin, and University of Virginia. “Bridget Bishop Executed, June 10, 1692.” Salem Witch Trials Notable Persons, 2002, salem.lib.virginia.edu/texts/tei/swp?div_id=n13.

“Salem Witch Trials.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Sept. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem_witch_trials.

sirisaac-dev. “Salem Witch Trials.” Destination Salem, 29 May 2018, www.salem.org/salem-witch-trials/.

Wallenfeldt, Jeff. “Salem Witch Trials.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 28 Dec. 2017, www.britannica.com/event/Salem-witch-trials.

By Phil Edwards and Estelle Caswel  https://www.vox.com/2015/10/29/9620542/salem-witch-trials-ergotism

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The Bewitching Salem Witch Trials published first on http://donnahatch.blogspot.com/

[carolwbond]

The Bewitching Salem Witch Trials

by guest blogger Audrey Blake

The Salem Witch Trials is one of the most famed–and tragic–events in American History. Today, the area is a thriving tourist community filled with “witches” willing to tell fortunes and help with all kinds of ailments. But its beginnings were grim and heart-wrenching.

Early in 1692, in the village of Salem, Reverend Samuel Parris’s daughter, Betty Parris age 9, and his niece Abigail Williams age 11, were stricken with a sudden and mysterious illness which brought fits “beyond the power of Epileptic Fits.” The illness persisted beyond normality and the village doctor, William Griggs, was brought into the household. The girls screamed, crawled under furniture, threw objects, and contorted themselves into horrifying positions. They also described pains of being “pinched and pricked with pins”. Even the physician was baffled. So, like any rational man of medicine, he diagnosed the girls with “bewitchment.” Soon, many other girls in the village began exhibiting these strange behaviors. Among these were also 12-year-old Ann Putnam Jr., Abigail Williams, Betty Parris, and Elizabeth Hubbard. (They were later joined by others in the finger-pointing and theatrics.)

This unfortunate diagnosis ultimately set off the infamous Salem Witch Trials in the which resulted in the imprisonment of more than 200 people, nineteen of whom were found guilty and executed by hanging. One man, Giles Corey, was pressed to death. This surprised me because I thought witches were burned at the stake or drowned. Apparently, there were many ways to execute a witch.

To add to the senseless tragedy, five more died in prison, including an infant, Mercy Good. Her sister, Dorothy Good, only four years old at the time, was also imprisoned for her mother’s ‘involvement’ in witchcraft. She lived another decade or so, but she was so damaged by her treatment in prison that she became insane.

It is hailed as the deadliest witch hunt in America’s history.

What many people don’t know is that while some of the events did happen in present-day Salem, the majority of the trials took place in Salem Village which is present-day Danvers, Massachusetts. Neighbors of Salem Village considered the population as “quarrelsome.” There were arguments about property lines, grazing rights, and church privileges. Like any small town, there were fights and feuds in which the entire community was involved. It all seems petty now, doesn’t it?

I’ll back up a bit to give some background. In 1672, the villagers had voted to hire a minister of their own, apart from Salem Village. The first two stayed only a few years each, departing after the congregation failed to pay their full rate. Ironically, even one of the ministers, George Burroughs, was arrested at the height of the witchcraft hysteria and hanged as a witch in August 1692.

The first ordained minister of Salem Village’s choice was Samuel Parris. He received ￡66 annually “one-third part in money and the other two parts in provisions” as well as use of the parsonage. Salem Village hired him in June of 1689 and raised his benefits in October of 1689, which conflicted with a 1681 Village resolution which stated that “it shall not be lawful for the inhabitants of this village to convey the houses or lands or any other concerns belonging to the Ministry to any particular persons or person.” Whoops.

Reverend Parris’s delay of his acceptance of the position increased the village’s divisions, and he was not seen in a good light by his own congregation. To make matters worse, this so-called man of God deliberately sought out “iniquitous behavior” and made up-standing church members suffer public penance for small infractions. This reminds me of my zero-hour high school teacher making me stand in front of the class and explain why I was five minutes late one morning. Humiliating! This increased Salem Village’s tension. (Also, remember that Parris’s daughters’ diagnosis of bewitchment started the witch craze.)

Additionally, thanks in large part to the church minister who audaciously called himself a Christian, rumors of witchcraft swept the villages neighboring Salem prior to the outbreak of the hysteria in 1692. Cotton Mather, a minister of Boston’s North Church, was a prolific publisher of pamphlets, including some that expressed his belief in witchcraft.

In these pamphlets, Mather illustrates how Boston mason John Goodwin’s eldest child had been tempted by the devil and stolen linen from the washerwoman Goody Glover. Honestly, I would be pretty upset if some kid kept wandering into my yard and stealing my linens, too. I think Goody Glover had something going here. Nonetheless, Glover was seen as a disagreeable old woman and described by her husband as a witch. (I’m hearing the line from Princess Bride…”I’m not a witch–I’m your wife, and after what you just said, I’m not sure I want to be that anymore!”)  All joking aside, his unkind description of his wife may have prompted the formal accusation.

Four of the six Goodwin children had strange fits, which quickly became associated with witchcraft. These symptoms included “neck and back pains, tongues being drawn from their throats, and loud random outcries.” Other symptoms included having no control over their bodies such as contortionism, flapping their arms like birds, or trying to harm others as well as themselves.

Tituba, Sarah Good, and Sarah Osborne were among the first to be accused and arrested for affecting Betty Parris, Abigail Williams, Ann Putnam Jr., and Elizabeth Hubbard. At the time, a vicious rivalry was underway between the Putnam and Porter families which resulted in polarizing the people of Salem. These disagreements often escalated into full-fledged fighting based on their opinion of the feud. I suppose an accusation of witchcraft was an easy way to get rid of an enemy, considering the gullible and superstitious nature of the people in this town.

Tituba, the first to be targeted, was reportedly a South American Indian slave belonging to Samuel Parris. She was accused of telling the girls stories of enchantment which included sexual encounters with demons, swaying the minds of men, and fortune-telling. While centuries later Tituba’s involvement in the witch hunt hysteria is hailed as the catalyst, there was no evidence to support this. It’s likely that she did tell stories from her native land. Who wouldn’t? I’m sure she meant no harm.

Sarah Good was a homeless beggar accused of rejecting Puritan ideals, choosing to torment and “scorn [children] instead of leading them towards the path of salvation”.

Sarah Osborne was also an easy target; she rarely attended church meetings and she had remarried–to an indentured servant. The villagers of Salem also disapproved of her trying to control her son’s inheritance from her previous marriage.

One thing is clear: each woman was an outcast in some way and each exhibited many of the character traits typical of the “usual suspects” for witchcraft accusations. Each woman was interrogated for several days starting on March 1st, 1692 and then sent to jail.

During the month of March, others accused of witchcraft included: Martha Corey, Dorothy Good, daughter of Sarah Good–who was only four years old at the time–Rebecca Nurse from Salem and Rachel Clinton in nearby Ipswich. Martha Corey had expressed skepticism about the credibility of the girls’ accusations and drew attention that way. However, the accusation against Martha Corey and Rebecca Nurse rocked Salem; both women were fully covenanted members of the Church. They were good, God-fearing women.

Now anyone could be a witch.

The hysteria increased. Accusations came flooding into the courthouses. Sarah Cloyce, Rebecca Nurse’s sister, and Elizabeth Proctor were arrested in April. John Proctor protested his wife’s arrest and was arrested himself that same day. He maintained his innocence as well, and openly and strongly criticized the court’s use of spectral evidence.

The accused were brought before John Hathorne, a relative of famous writer Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Jonathan Corwin in Salem Town.

Giles Corey, Martha Corey’s husband, was also arrested with Abigail Hobbs, Bridget Bishop, Marry Warren, and Deliverance Hobbs. To save their own lives, Abigail Hobbs, Mary Warren, and Deliverance Hobbs all confessed and began naming additional people as accomplices. As a result, Sarah Wildes, William Hobbs, Nehemia Abbot Jr., Mary Easty, Edward Bishop Jr. and his wife Sarah Bishop, and Mary English were all arrested and brought to trial.

May brought more accusations but some suspects began to evade apprehension. Names poured in, some brought on by those arrested. Sarah Osborne, meanwhile, perished in jail on May 10th, 1692. At the end of May, the total number of people in custody was 62.

Complete hysteria.

The first person to be brought to grand trial was 30-year-old Bridget Bishop. On April 19th, 1692, she was examined by John Hathorne – patrilineal ancestor of famous writer Nathaniel Hawthorne – and Jonathan Corwin. During Bridget’s questioning, the young girls Elizabeth Hubbard, Ann Putnam, Abigail Williams, and Mercy Lewes testified that she was hurting them. Even small motions Bishop made, like looking upwards or shaking her head, caused the girls to cry out in pain, thus solidifying the jury’s beliefs that she was a witch. She was described as having an “immoral” lifestyle, wore black clothing and odd costumes. Bishop was vehement that she was innocent, repeating that she had no idea who her accusers were, that she had never seen them before and she had never made any deals with the devil. Below is an excerpt of her examination:

The Witch House, the house of one of the judges of the Salem Witch Trials, Jonathan Corwin

Bridget Bishop: I am no Witch.

John Hathorne: Why if you have not wrote in the book, yet tell me how far you have gone? Have you not to do with familiar Spirits?

Bridget Bishop: I have no familiarity with the Devil.

John Hathorne: How is it then, that your appearance doth hurt these?

Bridget Bishop: I am innocent.

John Hathorne: Why you seem to act Witchcraft before us, by the motion of your body, which seems to have influence fluence upon the afflicted.

John Hathorne: I know nothing of it. I am innocent to a Witch. I know not what a Witch is.

John Hathorne: How do you know then that you are not a witch? #[and yet know not what a Witch is?]

Bridget Bishop: I do not #[understand] know what you say.

John Hathorne: How can you know, you are no Witch, & yet not know what a Witch is:

Bridget Bishop: I am clear: if I were any such person you should know it. — Excerpt of the Examination of Bridget Bishop, as Recorded by Samuel Parris (http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/texts/tei/swp?div_id=n13)

Despite her pleas, Bridget was convicted and executed by hanging on June 10, 1692. Chilling. The only evidence the judges had were the cries of ‘pain’ by underaged girls, and poor Bridget’s personal choices of clothing.

Martha Corey’s memorial

“There were four execution dates, with one person executed on June 10, 1692, five executed on July 19, 1692 (Sarah Good, Rebecca Nurse, Susannah Martin, Elizabeth Howe and Sarah Wildes), another five executed on August 19, 1692 (Martha Carrier, John Willard, George Burroughs, George Jacobs, Sr. and John Proctor), and eight on September 22, 1692 (Mary Eastey, Martha Corey, Ann Pudeator, Samuel Wardwell, Mary Parker, Alice Parker, Wilmot Redd and Margaret Scott).

Several others, including Elizabeth (Bassett) Proctor and Abigail Faulkner, were convicted but given temporary reprieves because they were pregnant. Five other women were convicted in 1692, but the death sentence was never carried out: Mary Bradbury (in absentia), Ann Foster (who later died in prison), Mary Lacey Sr. (Foster’s daughter), Dorcas Hoar and Abigail Hobbs.”

Giles Corey’s memorial in the Salem Witch Trials Memorial park in present-day Salem. The memorial stone had accidentally been engraved on the wrong side; so Giles’s name is on both sides of the stone, sentencing poor Giles to an eternity of being pressed to death.

Giles Corey was one of the few males accused of witchcraft. He refused to enter a plea when he came to trial in September, so he was tortured by way of peine forte et dure, in which stones were piled on his chest until he could no longer breathe. While under torture, the magistrates tried to make him talk. He famously said “more weight!” instead of acquiescing. He endured for two days before ultimately perishing. “His death was a protest against the methods of the court.”

Once they were convicted witches, Rebecca Nurse and Martha Corey were excommunicated from their churches and denied proper burials. As soon as the bodies of the accused were cut down from their gallows, they were thrown into a shallow grave and abandoned.

Supposedly, family members later dug up their remains and reburied them in unmarked graves in family property. At least they cared enough to do this. I can’t imagine the horrors their families must have endured. To be accused of witchcraft and then to be discarded like trash… These women deserved so much better. It’s quite sobering to think that not even these wonderful ladies were unable to avoid the witch hunt. One would’ve thought that they, of all people, would’ve been safe.

No one was safe from the hysteria.

Eventually but much too late, “the court was disbanded by Governor William Phipps in October of 1692. The Superior Court of Judicature, formed to replace the “witchcraft” court, did not allow the spectral evidence. This belief in the power of the accused to use their invisible shapes or specters to torture their victims had sealed the fates of those tried by the Court of Oyer and Terminer. The new court released those awaiting trial and pardoned those awaiting execution. In effect, the Salem witch trials were over.

As years passed, apologies were offered and restitution was made to the victims’ families. Historians and sociologists have examined this most complex episode in our history so that we may understand the issues of that era and view subsequent events with heightened awareness.” (http://www.salem.org/salem-witch-trials/)While visiting Salem, known as The Witch Town, it was clear the residents were not afraid of the history their town harbored. Many psychics, ghost hunters, and other paranormal enthusiasts make their home here. Even the local law enforcers carry a badge with a witch riding on a broomstick. It’s really cool! I find it ironic and poetically just the Salem area has now attracted the very kinds of people it was trying to eradicate.

The town itself is a town like any other, though with some of the oldest houses I’ve ever seen! Near Halloween, it becomes a huge tourist attraction for Ghost Tours, haunted houses, and of course staying in the extremely famous and haunted Hawthorne Hotel. The residents I stayed with expressed their exasperation of the touristy time of year. I can agree.

Narrow streets packed with people made it a bit claustrophobic. Posted signs attempt to keep tourists from parking in areas where Salem residents need to be. And let’s not mention the ‘quiet zones’!

I read and watched The Crucible in high school and became morbidly fascinated by the happenings during these trials. It all began with a group of girls began wildly accusing people of witchcraft simply because they didn’t like them. Although, to be fair, some scholars have suggested many were hallucinating due to a poisonous fungus growing on bread. Regardless of the cause, the wild accusations and the actions of those who jumped to irrational conclusions resulted in death and torture of many innocent adults and children, affection generations. I wonder if those girls eventually realized what they had done and had some sort of regret. Who is to say what really went through their heads?

A fun fact: Abigail Williams did flee Salem like in The Crucible, but she reportedly became a prostitute. Mercy Lewis went to live with her aunt in Boston, eventually marrying in 1701.

The judges were as much to blame as the girls for allowing their judgments to be swayed by prepubescent children seeking attention. Reportedly, John Hathorne showed no repentance for his involvement in the Trials. Nathaniel Hawthorne added the ‘w’ into his own last name to be disassociated with his ancestor.

Residents of Salem leave fresh flowers and other trinkets on the memorials of those killed during the trials every day. It is a touching and sobering reminder of what transpired and what could have been avoided.

An eerie silence follows the entering of the graveyard in Salem. So many were broken, so many were worn away by the elements, their names lost to time… It is one of the few graveyards that I’ve been in where I felt like crying.

On that grim note…Happy Halloween!

Bibliography:

Ray, Benjamin, and University of Virginia. “Bridget Bishop Executed, June 10, 1692.” Salem Witch Trials Notable Persons, 2002, salem.lib.virginia.edu/texts/tei/swp?div_id=n13.

“Salem Witch Trials.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Sept. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem_witch_trials.

sirisaac-dev. “Salem Witch Trials.” Destination Salem, 29 May 2018, www.salem.org/salem-witch-trials/.

Wallenfeldt, Jeff. “Salem Witch Trials.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 28 Dec. 2017, www.britannica.com/event/Salem-witch-trials.

By Phil Edwards and Estelle Caswel  https://www.vox.com/2015/10/29/9620542/salem-witch-trials-ergotism

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