#but on god ep3 really went off

[mitakun]

i've watched the triple MyGO anime ep yesterday but i can't stop thinking about tomori.. i think she is the most autistic character i've seen tbh and i definitely had a spiritual experience while watching it ngl

[murfpersonalblog]

IWTV S2 OST - Hella Spoilery

Daniel Hart woke up and chose violence, I see. (Link)

I don't wanna hear any of the tracks until I actually see the episodes they're in--the emotional impact will hit so much harder that way. But the titles alone have me like 👀👀👀

Ep1: What Can the Damned Really Say to the Damned?

We were already devastated by the strings in Ep1, such beautiful tracks, and my favorite scene in S2 so far, as Louis just cried his eyes out over knowing his baby girl could dream. It was such a perfect nod to Merrick, and Louis thanking her for showing him Claudia's diaries.

EMMY. 👏 WHEN? 👏

Ep2: Do You Know What It Means to be Loved By Death?

These definitely look like they're going in episode order--this is all Theatre stuff we've seen bits of in the teasers. I'm unsure about Ep3 & Ep4 though; I'm just going off of my hunches ATM?

Ep3: No Pain | Ep4: I Want You More Than Anything in the World

WOAH. 😲

I see you Mr. Gentleman Death, but hold on a sec--

Welp, it's official, Tale of the Body Thief is definitely cooking; the Raglan James leaks weren't lying! I am SO happy! And terrified!

If they're going by the order in the books, not the teaser/promo, then rule #4 is about Lestat, and "killing your own kind."

I have no idea why this track is way at the bottom of the playlist

But I suspect it's also related to this episode, and whatever goes down with the Coven/Theatre vs Claudia & Louis.

We were told in a recent review that "I Don't Like Windows When They're Closed" is the song Claudia performs as Baby LouLou; I am SO excited for this! It's gonna be WEIRD, I can feel it. 👶🏾🎼

These tracks are way at the bottom of the playlist and IDKY, but it's obvs Claudia as Baby LouLou, and that's just French for "I Don't Like Windows...."

Ep5: Don't Be Afraid, Just Start the Tape

The backstory we've all been waiting for! ^0^

And they already warned us that Ep5 was gonna be effing NUTS, so I imagine Armand will tell his story to DANIEL--in SanFran????

Ep6: Like the Light by which God Made the World Before He Made Light | Ep7: I Could Not Prevent It

👀👀👀☀️🔥💀🔥🎭🔥⚰️⚰️⚰️🔥💀🍿

Who TF is Francis? Francis of Assssi? XD

PLEASE let this be Lestat's POV when he first got to NOLA--I wanna know why he went there, and where he was BEFORE! Was he asleep? Is he STILL asleep in 2022?!

👀👀👀☀️🔥💀🔥🎭🔥⚰️⚰️⚰️🔥💀🍿

PLEASE let this be Louis discovering the Fire Gift as he lights those mofos up! 🙏🙏🙏🙏

The Garden of Satan is giving me Children of Satan/Darkness vibes--maybe this is about Nicki ALSO dying in a fire? 👀 Jfc this is too much.

Ep8: Unannounced Mystery Title

I'm gonna take a stab in the dark and assume the PLETHORA of songs left on this list are from Ep8, cuz I literally have zero context for it--all we know is that it will supposedly segue into S3 TVL.

The crooner is back! But will it be REAL Lestat? in 2022? Rockstar!Lestat!? Flashbacks to 1900s!Loustat? Or more DreamStat?

Yeah, I got nuthin.

Lestat mentioned Le Bucheron before about dogs vs lambs--

--so I'm wondering if this has anything to do with Les feeling like he's still being "herded" by lesser vampires?

Or perhaps GREATER vampires (Armand.... Magnus.... TWMBK?)

This is all giving me heavy TVL vibes!

HOWEVER--

"Followed Closely By My Madness" could be for Nicki, but we all know it could also be referring to LOUIS, a la Merrick. ☀️💀🔥⚰️👀

I am SO STOKED for this season, they better stop playing with me!

[royallygray]

JUST WATCHED EP3 TO THE END OF THE LIGHTNING THIEF AND OH BOY

I enjoyed that. Significantly. SOME OF MY FAVORITE THINGS (spoilers):

Hades is so fucking based? And for what? Like he's so chill he's chill in the books but Hades is cool as a cucumber

Pausing the show to rant to my friend about stuff that was inaccurate or just how cool stuff is. I love the show.

The funniest fucking thing was when Cerberus fucking broke through the clouds after Percy squeaked the ball and that was a literal jump scare and I screamed. It was fucking amazing.

I was so mad after Annabeth hugged Percy at the Arch and Grover didn't get a hug. LET MY FUCKING BOYS HUG OH MY GODS IDK IF THEY HUG IN THE BOOKS BUT GROVER LOOKED SO LONELY

Speaking of: GROVER IS THE MOST FUCKING AMAZING CHARACTER. HE GASLIT ARES. I LOVE HIM.

Speaking of, I also enjoyed Annabeth gaslighting Hermes.

I also liked screaming "LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA" when he was going up the elevator.

Also Medusa was kind of like... nice? And I got weirdly attached to her? Also where was the diner I wanted them to eat their hamburgers in the diner

grovers conflict resolution skills are. peak

the scene where he snaps at them after Medusa is dead is fucking amazing.

My friend and I were so upset that Percy and Annabeth didn't have the double stuf Oreo scene in the shitty animal trafficking truck

although when they got out of the truck and let the animals escape, I fucking adored Grover being like "the animals are safe" and Percy being like "I meant the humans" and Grover going "oh. them. well, the animals are safe!"

Fucking hated Echidna. Bitch. I enjoyed hating her. She looks like if a school counselor got sent to an insane asylum and broke out. I don't know how, but it works in my brain.

I was screaming the entire time they were at the Arch. I went summer o' 2023 and LIKE. IT WAS SO COOL. Also Thomas Jefferson? Legend. I went to Monticello and the UVA on the same trip. I fucking love architecture. Really hate that he had slaves. The architecture was really cool though. Not a good person, but he does like his fucking brick roads. Seriously. So many brick roads. He's a hypocrite politician who had slaves, he is, but also designed some pretty fucking cool architecture.

Anyways back to the Arch, I WALKED ON THAT GROUND THAT THEY WALKED ON YIPPEE :D

Also I was a little disappointed that Percy slipped off of the Arch rather than jumping but whatever

OMG THE HEPHAESTUS SCENE ANNABETH I LOVE YOU. I fucking loved that scene she fucking solved it.

Also Sally wanting Percy to be different from the gods because their family is shitty AF? sad. AND him actually being different and Annabeth believing in him? sad.

AND LUKE. SOMEHOW I LIKED LUKE AT THE END. AND MY FRIEND AND I HAD AN ENTIRE DISCUSSION.

LUKE'S REASONS WERE SO FUCKING JUSTIFIED AND IT MAKES ME SAD. Sure, he shouldn't've fucking SOLD HIS SOUL to Kronos, but gods. Luke. You were right. You are right. The gods should fucking carry their slack, and while I don't think Percy believed him at first, at least not completely, I think by Last Olympian Percy understands completely where he's coming from, because Percy has a lot of pent up emotions at the gods too and I think Luke got part of what he wanted. I think

ANYWAYS HERE ARE SOME PHOTOS I TOOK WHEN WE PAUSED THE SHOW TO TALK:

the second one of Ares (the contemplation face) is a meme. I guarantee it. I can't remember which meme, I just remember that I've seen that facial expression before.

the angles of Ares and Grover for the 1st Grover one (the weird above angle) were strange. like a detective scene. a strange detective scene. it was fucking hilarious.

Grover having his head out of the roof was such an amazing moment for me. I loved it. It's such a good picture.

also here's a meme I made

Thank you for coming to my ted talk and have a nice rotation of Earth's axis :)

[nierly-amazing]

Nier: Automata 1.1a Cour 2 reactions so far:

Ep1: Not sure I like how they revealed the whole 2E thing right away but the episode was good.

Ep2: FUCK YEAH EXPLOSIONS SHITS HAPPENING OH NO EVERYONE IS FUCKED

Ep3: FUCK YEAH LOOK AT 2B BEING A MAJOR BADASS HELL YEAH SHE'S NOT DEAD (YET)

Ep4: PAIN SO MUCH PAIN AAAAAAAAAA HE WENT BACK FOR HER GOODBYE 2B 😭😭😭

Ep5: Had a feeling it would be A2 again. Reusing past Pearl Harbor Descent clips was eh but the new stuff was good

Ep6: OH my GOD this is FUCKING ADORABLE A2 and tHE KIDS POOR 9S THOUGH man they're really just having him run around being sad

Ep7: What. Wtf why did they just kill 21O right off the bat like that? He didn't even get to fight her??? A2 didn't finish her off either that was important for 9S' downward spiral! Also this boy hates flowers. Oh he's running around being sad more. YEAH more cute A2 and villager moment. What--Pascal immediately threw away his pascifism.

Ep8: Wait. Wait stop. Why tf is he immediately so violent??? Not trying to evacuate or even see if the hostile machines are a threat to them in the first place? 9S running around being sad more. Yep Pascal has a goliath and wants to kill. We know. A2 wtf you're going to lead the machines to camp if you send the kids there!!! NO MORE PUPPET SHOWS?

Ep9: Fucking...ZOMBIES?

[airenyah]

Hi, I came to report to you that your ql music research is rubbing off on me 😅 I was watching ep 2 of Ploy's Yearbook (for Joong and Namtan 😍), when suddenly I recognized a piece of music!! But I couldn't place it, so I tried to remember which series have I watched so many times that I'm familiar with the music. I reached the tentative conclusion that it must be from SIMM or possibly from Hidden Agenda (but I definitely connected it to JoongDunk). Maybe I need to do a complete rewatch of both series to confirm, what a hardship 😂 I just wanted to tell you that maybe aside from being a JD vampire bl truther, this will be your other legacy

oh my god, that's amazing!!!!!! i LOVE to hear that!!!!! i'm actually planning on making a side blog focused on shared royalty free music in thdramas, but that's something that is earliest going to happen in the summer if not in the winter. i wanna work my way through some of my fave shows first, because those are the soundtracks i'm more likely to recognize and i just wanna have them on my google doc before i go put everything in tumblr posts (which is also gonna take forever bc my google doc is currently at 100 pages worth of entries sjkfkjsfdj)

aaaaanyway, re: music in ploy's yearbook

was it by any chance desert caravan by ludvig moulin? i haven't watched ep2 yet (i was actually about to go watch it when your message came in and i couldn't help answering it first kjdkfdg), but i did see a clip of it earlier in jimmy's insta story and the scene had this music in the background. it has come up in episode 1 already as well. if it was this, then good job on connecting it to a joongdunk show because it actually has come up on hidden agenda a couple of times! i'm still missing the last 3 episodes on my music collection, but these are the time stamps so far:

ep1 pt1 - 0:13

ep3 pt2 - 0:20

ep4 pt1 - 4:32

ep8 pt4 - 8:08

And here are the time stamps for ep1 of ploy's yearbook:

ep1 pt1 - 11:10 / 17:41

ep1 pt2 - 1:50

ep2 pt1 - 9:38

ep2 pt2 - 0:27

ep2 pt3 - 3:09

ep2 pt4 - 3:07

you might also have recognized get up on that horse by spring gang as the music that plays in bad buddy at the beginning of ep7 when pat is in the car (ep7 pt1 - 1:20) or also in ep12 when patpran claim they broke up (ep12 pt3 - 3:45). oh but wait, it's definitely connected to joongdunk, you said? well, as it turns out this one has actually come up in star in my mind a lot. like. A LOT:

ep1 pt2 - 5:55

ep2 pt1 - 4:00

ep2 pt4 - 1:02

ep3 pt2 - 1:15

ep3 pt3 - 1:55

ep3 pt4 - 1:17

ep6 pt2 - 1:23

ep7 pt2 - 1:48

ep7 pt4 - 0:48

ep8 pt1 - 4:33 / 5:41

ep8 pt3 - 5:07

and here are the time stamps for ep1 of ploy's yearbook again for reference:

ep1 pt1 - 13:00

ep1 pt2 - 2:26

ep2 pt1 - 8:37

and here, have a bonus because why the fuck not: moonshiner's turn by martin landström. this one has shown up in ep1 pt4 of both bad buddy as well as 23.5 degrees. also found in ep1 of ploy's yearbook at:

ep1 pt1 - 18:53

ep1 pt3 - 6:16

ep2 pt1 - 0:35 / 17:30

well, i'm gonna go watch the new episode now! feel free to check back on this post in a couple of hours, i might edit it or add a reblog with all my findings about the music in ep2 😂

edit:

i've added the ep2 time stamps to the aforementioned ones! and i found new music as well!!

maybe the one you recognized as a joongdunk series music in ep2 was winning hand by ealot. it came up in star in my mind a couple of times:

ep1 pt4 - 3:00

ep2 pt2 - 2:20

ep4 pt2 - 9:16

ep8 pt3 - 4:17

it featured in ep2 of ploy's yearbook at following timestamps:

ep2 pt1 - 16:58

ep2 pt3 - 3:45

and there was some more bad buddy music as well (diggin' the drama by the new fools) and it amazes me that my brain immediately went "we know this!!" considering it showed up in bad buddy exactly one single time (ep7 pt2 - 13:45). bad buddy really has wormed its way into my brain in every single aspect in the last two years huh djkfkjdfg. anyway you can find it in ep2 of ploy's yearbook at:

ep2 pt1 - 11:10

apart from these, there were also two pieces of music that sounded increeeedibly familiar to me but neither shazam nor google could come up with any results! i'm gonna have to click through my "not found" list at some point, maybe they're already there. here are the time stamps if you're curious:

first one i can't find (ep2 pt3 - 2:06)

second one i can't find (ep2 pt3 - 7:09)

this is gonna bug me for a while....

[silvertsundere]

Silver Talks AniManga (23/07/23)

a p chill and uneventful week for me overall

however do want to mention, I stumbled across this bingo thing yesterday and was thinking of using it for my series list, instead of what you see under, I decided against it since I can't have the colour coding I've been using, or well, I could have it I'd just have to spend a bit of time editing it on PS instead of just copy pasting like I do now

I know basically no one even looks at these anyway, but if you do, tell me what you'd prefer from the 2 lists under this, the one with the pics/covers or the pure text I've been doing

Anime

Pokemon Horizons Ep14

we finally got our first capture of the anime and sadly it wasn't riko ofc this was to be expected from how the previous ep went but it's still wack next episode we're getting iono tho so that should be fun

Atelier Ryza Ep4

ryza is such a little idiot god I love her, was really channeling the megumin energy this episode too. was also p funny how she got scolded for being too good at alchemy

Zom 100 Ep3

nice episode once again, it was p funny how it started off in a host club and I was like "yooo just like stardust" and then they zoom way out and show the kamurocho sign and I was losing my mind, which I also did later when they showed damn anime ryan gosling lmao. anyway the friend guy is nice, looking forward to their shenanigans together

Manga

Dandadan Ch114

I figured the fight wouldn't end on this chap already but I didn't think this guy would show up to help, tho I also kinda forgot that he was on the way since it was so long ago tehe

Tenmaku Cinema Ch15

it's to be expected from how it's been doing in rankings but looks like tenmaku's gearing up to finish, it's a shame we can't get more of this instead of other stuff but oh well I'll savour it while it lasts

Blue Box Ch110

god their solo dinner was really good as expected, it's really funny to see how much of a tease chinatsu can be. I appreciate miura for taking the time and having plenty of cute scenes of them being lovey dovey together before going back to focus on sports for a while

Cipher Academy Ch33

anonimity-chan showing off was very cool but my favourite part nisio working this in as a code, it might be a week late but it's still v cool

Martial Master Asumi Ch6

nito didn't get clapped as fast as I expected but he for sure is gonna next chap, nice one tho

Undead Unluck Ch168

the tournament arc came and went and next we have.. a high school arc??? honestly never expected chikara to be the next person but eh it seems like it'll be a fun arc from the set up

My Hero Academia Ch395

idk why I didn't expect for this chap to be the aftermath of the fight but that's what it was, doubt toga actually actually died but we'll see not much more left now, next chap should be the start of all might vs AFO and then it's just deku vs shigaraki left

Akane-banashi Ch71

incredibly good chap as it's come to be expected. despite all the stuff in this chap I still don't think akane is gonna win but I really hope I'm wrong

Ayakashi Triangle Ch137

haven't talked about it in a bit but we're deep in a battle arc rn, shouldn't be the end tho, I'm expecting them to have 1v1 fights against the baddies later. but anyway new form for matsuri? very exciting stuff too bad we'll have to wait 2 weeks

[standardquip]

Gungrave live reactions

for the entire series CW: sexism(?), racism(?), vulgar language, I am a 36 year old man who did not censor my thoughts as I was watching it. This took a little over a month and is just a compilation of discord messages I sent

gotta say the opening scene of the first ep is great I wish his name wasn't "Brandon Heat" though I'm sorry but that's a lame name Especially for an anime ok his anime name is "Beyond the Grave" Glad we got that established

I'm about 2/3 through the first ep and this is definitely a 90s anime 😂 (not that there's anything wrong with that)

gungrave ep 2 They named the black kid kenny I will be very surprised if kenny doesn't die this ep

someone died in ep2 It was not kenny I am genuinely shocked here's to ep3

kenny has finally died But so did a lot of other people RIP Kenny

It's going a lot harder (emotionally) than I was expecting, given the first ep I'm just starting ep4 now

so far my biggest problem with gungrave is that brandon seems like a mute character but he talks sometimes But the times he talks make no sense, they're not really that important So the whole decision to not talk a lot seems super awkward instead

yeah edgy teen show is definitely ep 1 and not any ep after that (so far) (I'm only on ep 4)

another thing that bugs me is all the pans are weirdly fast but the mute/not actually thing brandon does bugs me way more than the pans

ep6 I like harry more than brandon didn't anticipate that

oh god the audio delay on this ep is horrible I hope it's just this one ep and not the rest of them

ep11 of gungrave bold strategy, cotton.gif let's see if it pays off it only worked out because of plot armor

ep12 of gungrave Brandon got a hair cut and looks like a real yakuza now

… I hate it

gungrave ep14 normally I don't care about fictitious relationships or how problematic they are but maria has convinced herself she loves her grandfather, who raised her, because brandon broke up with her and orchestrated a perfect moment And now she's pregnant by her grandfather and like this is scummy in so many different ways but mostly I just feel kinda 😩 about what it says about maria's intelligence in fact all the women in this series (actually now that I think about it, there is literally ONLY TWO) are just really fucking dumb

ep14 has some real beautiful compositional symbolism (unsure if that's the accurate term) Harry wears white and brandon wears black harry is in the shadow and brandon isn't harry tries to get brandon to betray the family and of course brandon won't. He goes to shoot harry. But doesn't and starts crying the gun lands precisely in the middle. Implying brandon's thinking about it? Or maybe it's just for symmetry. idk

this scene really slaps you over the head with symbolism. I don't care. I'm a fan

damn this show took a fucking turn

oh good just in time for Harry's break down ep15 is where the grey haired brandon comes in!

Maria is the dumbest bitch ever "I just found out brandon is alive! Oh I didn't see him myself. An aide of mine said they talked to him" Maria: Cries from happiness "Oh just knowing he's alive is enough!" bitch please supernatural stuff isn't known in this canon do you just believe everything you're told? wtf This is some pregnancy psychosis shit

damn you think Harry went crazy with power but he really went crazy with power

damn what's in this suitcase that makes it weigh so much ep18 brandon finally comes out of a coma

ep18 is where ep1 left off

while watching gungrave I had some fever memory recollection of an anime called Heat Guy J So I looked it up It seems to be a combination of robocop and minority report?? Also it has a werewolf apparently

ep22 of gungrave I think I can fit this in before I need to leave this is totally gonna end with mika, who is like 17, dating brandon/grave if it doesn't, I'm gonna be surprised so all three women in this show will get with dramatically older guys and also be stupid idiots

hm ok brandon/grave only has 10 days of life left unless they magically come up with a different way to make him live so there's 2 eps to figure that out and/or have sex we'll seeeeeeeeeee oh, 4 eps actually Whatever anyway I'm out for a few hours to the family function

gonna attempt to finish gungrave I'm starting ep 23 of 26 gonna play them at 1.5x normal speed good mika (16ish) professes her love for grave (40+, died once) and grave is like "I'll be your guardian and protect you but that's all" Good We don't need yet another pedo relationship in this anime

ep24 "promise me you won't die before me" the girl who married a guy 30 years her senior says 🙄 oh I guess this was foreshadowing She got shot and died

grave is literally falling apart like bad pottery ep25

lmao harry, the guy who has no issues murdering literally anybody, swerved to avoid a cat in the road

the crash from the cat was so bad his whole life flashed before his eyes. This ep was a huge flashback oh grave's hair is white instead of grey now I guess because he's almost dead… again ep26 Last one

it's over they killed eachother

[erinchristmaselvis]

https://www.tumblr.com/erinchristmaselvis/713409107826180096/the-boy-is-mesmerised

Right?! Like this scene completely caught me off guard was not expecting this at all! But it makes total sense, he thought he lost her she thought he was never going to see him again so when they’re back together they were inseparable on that boat (until pope conveniently interrupted) and yes if he didn’t come up those stairs they 100% would of kissed, god I’m spiralling again cannot stop starting at this gif it’s perfection.

And season 4 really is coming guys, pre production is starting at the end of this month. Summer bts?! I’m so ready. The wait for season 3 was too long thank god we won’t have to go through that again.

ME TOO! And I think it caught the whole fandom off guard.

I've talked with a few people after watching each other episode on Feb 23rd and I remember us losing our mind about the reunion hug and replaying it over and over again when someone who was already watching ep 3 came in and yelled at us to go watch ep 3 NOW. I didn't think we would get THIS in ep3. Still haven't processed it to be honest.

JJs head was still in pougelandia where the thought of them being together got less insane with every day they spend there together. Once they set foot on the obx again he was remnided that it makes no sense in the real world and his wall went up, not to protect him but to protect Kie.

I'm SO excited for S4 production to begin THIS MONTH. hell yes. I'm ready to go crazy about every little crumb we get.

[whenthechickencry]

Umineko EP3. Replay Part 4

God damn, they went weirdly hard in this scene on console.

I don't really have a lot to say about this scene other than it''s really goofy to compare how Yasu used magic to how Tohya does lmfaoooo

He's just throwing an actual tantrum omg I remembered him leaving but not him literally crying at Beatrice

you are so bad at lying

Nanjo on panic mode when they actually check her corpse lmfao.

I also don't really have a lot to say about this scene - it's a good scene made to help you understand the world after a lot of people gave up in episode 2, it is said by Virgilia because that is someone whose words you trust right now, it's also a little boring to get explained stuff like this again on reread lol.

Eva is an accomplice this time so she should know about Kinzo's situation so I am pretty sure she is just fucking with Natsuhi as she does in episode 1 - though I guess she might have also been recruited later when shes just kind of walking around solving the epitaph.

Of course, the trick here is just to leave everything prepared except the first and last rooms where Shakannon are, and Shannon would run from the first room to the last one after her corpse was discovered... the fact that they left the master keys is pretty risky though, they could have decided to not follow the order at any time and fucked things over....

Battler immediately figures it out too!

I imagine Beatrice was a bit hesitant to use this since it might be above Battler's grade, though I think the fact she did shows she trusts his intelligence more than before.

This is probably one of the first times you see Beatricce really flair around - Battler is off the trail by now but she still has to figure out a way to word things without saying things that give her away! It's pretty exciting to read even knowing the solution.

This is a cute line haha. I think it shows that even if he has improved a lot he still has a lot to learn - after all pushing on Kanon is actually what he should have done in that game even if 'Kanon' isn't the culprit!

Team Beato is freaking out here, rightfully so! One wrong word to this repetition request and she either gives her game away or makes the mystery basically unsolvable!

You can tell by now they are really having fun together lmfao. Ronove realizes how difficult the situation is and asks for time.

Um, ah that's a way to interpret that interaction Rosa, though maybe she meant it sarcastically.

These are the hints they are talking about Taiwan, though there when they start talking about the symbol for Maria's name and stuff is where I kind of went "no way I'm getting the answer to this" when I first read it lol

I imagine Kinzo didn't like that since it gave 2 possible hints to the puzzle - you could link village to Maria as stated and then you could link 'Maria' to the church and give a kind of shortcut to the answer.... also I guess everyone is in agreement Maria was disliked by Kinzo even though he probably met her like, 3 times tops after she was a baby. It's kind of interesting how both of Yasu's games had her assume the family wouldn't even bother solving the epitaph - but as soon as someone with an idea of what actually happened writes a story suddenly the family cares!

This line always makes me chuckle - especially Natsuhi's ???

It's a bit funny how they just spell out what they will do later and yet it still feels like a betrayal somehow, doesn't it? I think it's trying to make you lie to yourself so you understand a bit more about why people choose to live in magic. Also these lines pretty much spell out Beatrice motivations - to make Battler accept her.

I think by this point Eva was probably already recruited - I think she wouldn't be this bold and remark about how she isn't scared of the culprit otherwise.

Interesting how Eva knows this! I kind of assumed she sincerely thought her stupid - but I guess this makes sense! There's a reason why she asked her for help specifically earlier!

Woah that's a line I didn't expect lol - I guess it shows how Eva's spite for others is also her feelings of insecurity.

Seeing Eva break is kind of cute - I guess I would too if the thing I wanted since I was born but was always denied would be given to me magically!

The way the game plays the creepy music before switching to Happiness of Marionette I think really highlights how this huge amount of gold being found will just lead to greed and not actually anything good...

Kinda funny how this is the opposite conclusion Eva seems to have gotten in her actual, real, life after Rokkenjima.

Man, this family is so fucked.

Guess this time Yasu told Eva this was a prank too - I wonder if she gave Eva any hints about the epitaph on her way as well.... also this entire scene is really tense as you can tell they are both ready to kill each other as soon as negoations break off. Also if Eva just wasn't destroyed by her greed and actually told the siblings there wouldn't be any more murders by Yasu - but I am sure the siblings would uh. Figure something out between themselves anwyasy.

Of course, the purpose of this scene is to get you thinking into what makes someone a witch. If the Golden power was granted to Eva upon finding the room, how did the original Beatrice get it?

The sponsorship system is interesting - in reality, it was probably something Yasu made up to play with Maria.... though there is a lot you can say about Lambdadelta and Bern based on who they sponsor but I'll probably have more to say about it later.

It's kind of funny how many things you can imagine this line is referencing (or a combination of things) from Takano's efforts to get her grandfather acknowledged, to Satoko's efforts at improving herself for Satoshi to Satoko's efforts to trap Rika in GouSotsuMeguri - I don't really have a very well developed theory on WTC as a series since I read things wildly out of order and am a rather new fan and didn't even finish Ciconia yet - but that's part of the reason I am rereading now.

[superbattrash]

I now have a new favorite character and went through the “I hate you, ok maybe not, you’re ok I guess” process with another character. So ya know. Cool

Sandy ep3

I’m gonna be thinking with a British accent if I keep watching this, my brain is stupid like that. I absorb accents, I should watch something American after this

Oh great, demons, huh? Oh, a dream? That doesn’t bode well. Or maybe it does, I don’t know yet, this is all a little confusing to me

280? Okay, you look great then, Hettie

Lol you thought she was gonna respect you simple for your name? That’s cute, sandy

A possessed princess? Okay, I’m listening

Oh HE’S possessed? Christo is totally a supernatural word, man, I know this one, he’s totally possessed, oh god ew, I can’t watch this, I might be sick

He’s kinda fine tho, ngl

Yeah, you totally brushed off the actual sandman, Constantine. Oh you do simply just not care. Cool

Oh you’ve lied so much he doesn’t believe you anymore, Ethel, that sucks but you kinda very much did that to yourself, you know

Ruby for the truth seems fair enough, doesn’t it?

Oh god no, don’t force romance into this please, I was actually having fun for a second…

…am I supposed to like her? At all? 🥲

Oh a new raven!! Matthew, awww, hello Matty!! Oh he’s a cutie, I like Matthew

Johnny is gonna take that from you, Ethel, you realize this, don’t you?

I’m sorry but the camera angles here are so fucking creepy

Lulu is totally his master, don’t be mean, sandy, just let Matty stay, look how cute he is. Honest, too, and so charming

It’s a very bright nightmare, Joanna. Oh the kid is gonna die, isn’t she? Of course she is, that’s why you’re so bitter, you sent her to hell with the demon, oopsie, huh? Left with an arm. That’s. Okay, ew

YOU love objects, you idiot. For once we agree, Joanna. Oh no, don’t poke at his trauma, I was starting to warm up to you. Don’t be an actual asshole now

I’m sorry, E, I don’t trust your kid. He’s made from Roderick’s DNA, he’s not good. Oh he’s a killer, great great great. DONT DO THAT, DONT GIVE HIM THAT WHAT THE FUCK, ETHEL

“Why?” Because humans are stupid, Sandy, it’s not like she left because she didn’t love her. Wait, does that mean we get a bi or gay lady? She seems like she might be another main character of sorts. Ok I can respect that

I also think your lady friend might be dead or in bad shape, Joanna. This is too much like a trap. Rachel, sorry, I’m bad with names. They’re doing the “hi”, okay, that’s kinda cute ig. Oh god no this is horribly awkward. You don’t deserve Rachel, Joanna, sorry, she’s too good to be true

Aw Matthew, baby, you’re so cute 🥺

They’re banging, sandy. They’re banging, don’t go up there. Don’t be that way, don’t do it, for once Matthew is right

You don’t sound sorry, J. But oh!! Oh she’s bi, that’s so nice, I like that- oh no. Oh god no, this can’t be good.

YOU did that?!!!?! Sandy, please tell me you didn’t do that to her. Oh thank god, it wasn’t you, I thought I was gonna have to hate you for a second there

Oh god. Oh no. No, that is so horrible, oh no. Poor Rachel :( SHOW SOME COMPASSION, SANDY, she didn’t mean to hold the sand, please help her??? I know you’re not actually human so you don’t feel our feels but please make her feel better, can’t you fix her?? This is so sad, Alexa okay Despacito

Oh. Oh my god, what are you doing? Is that helping? Is she dead?? Is she trapped in a good dream???? Oh no :(

Okay so you do love your son, sort of, I think. He’s totally gonna be a villain, ain’t he? Because she’s so dead now. 116 years that’s a lot, Johnny. She’s already gone. Oh great, now he’s more insane, that’s just. Great. Poor, handsome security guard OH MY GOD EW WHAT THE FUCK

Jesus Christ I need to watch something with small kittens after this, I feel sick 😵‍💫

Corin, don’t talk to him, don’t make him more evil :( ….this entire scene is kinda sweet though if I don’t think about the rest of the show, I mean

You really don’t like yourself, huh, Jo? Not even sandy thinks you’re that bad, just a little… misguided, perhaps. You’re not THAT bad okay, I don’t hate you

Just bring Matty, he’s a good bird!! He just wants to help, sandy, NO! NO DONT MAKE HIM SLEEP? oh okay this is how you travel, alright, never mind

[chidoroki]

Fairy Tail: 100 Year Quest EP3

aka: let's get down to business

I like how to title screen actually focused in on the water dragon now that we’ve officially met him. That would be cool if the same happened with each dragon going forward.

“Great Water God Dragon! Why would you bring a bunch like that to the temple?” Kinda impressed the voice of Karameel sounded familiar to me at all, especially from someone like Olivier from No Guns Life.

Oh, and Mercphobia and Mars share va too but somehow that didn’t set off any bells in my head. Then again, I’m used to the Black Clover dub instead so that explains that I suppose.

Okay no, wait, they really have Carla’s guild mark on her arm. I wasn’t just seeing things last week nor was it an error? Because I’m like 99% sure it was originally on her back like Happy & Lily’s.

“That’s true. He seems harmless.” “That’s not true. I may not look it, but I have killed many people in the past. Like they were vermin.” Well damn, way to change the mood. Such a nice shot of Mercphobia though.

The way he so casually smiles after saying Karameel was nothing more than a meal he once found at sea is too good. I get he had a change of heart once she became attached to him but he looked so soft saying that.

Ichiya and his three cheerful boys were not on my bingo card of who we would see today. Yes I forget things. Nope I haven’t gone back and reread the chapters like I said I would.

Ah right, Jellal still asking around for clues about this Touka chick.

“If that woman’s guilty, then Levy’s in danger, too. I’ll never let her hurt Levy.” Gajeel is a sweetheart.

Pfft Juvia shielding Gajeel’s eyes. Good job girl.

Levy’s goddamn blank-pissed off stare upon seeing Gajeel onto of Juvia like that! AAAHA!

Thank god my memory didn’t fail me about Levy being pregnant.

It did, however, fail regarding the white mage stealing Merc’s power. Whoops. That’s kinda important, huh?

So, Kagura knows about Touka being in Fairy Tail because “they introduced her to me when I visited Magnolia last month.” With how quick everything happened, I assumed it’s only been a couple days since she joined but whatever. I guess that make's Levy's annoyances more reasonable if Gajeel has been out playing detective this whole time.

Also, it’s nice to see Kagura being able to chat with Jellal so normally after everything that happened. Glad they're on better terms nowadays.

“What?! It’s Fairy Tail again?” Surprise.

I like how they mentioned a while ago that there’s oxygen inside the temple so no one has to question how Natsu’s fire is suddenly working when it previously didn’t outside underwater.

Ayyyoo hold up, the animation is looking so good! I’m really loving this new art style they got going on!

Putting our hot head on a boat is such a dirty move considering new gen slayers don’t get motion sickness for whatever reason.

“My sword must he strong to protect my friends.” Help I’m falling in love with Erza all over again.

“I cut her strength itself.” BITCH. That I remembered and I still hate it.

Okay, listen, I’ll be one of the many people who would gladly allow Jade (HSR) to step on me, but someone like Kiria? NAH. Foot off the queen’s head please! How dare you!

Aww I love how Wendy went full dragon mode and rushed in to help Erza though!

Gray bringing out the ice demon stuff too!

Hello sir freezing the whole damn ocean, I see you!

Jellal’s tedious search finally comes to an end, huzzah.

Man.. this whole waiting for episodes thing sucks. I binged watched Fairy Tail however many years ago so I didn’t have to worry about it, but now I have no choice! Ahh! I want more! They’re doing so well.

[acacia-luna-royal]

SPOILER ALERT!! SPOILER ALERT!! SPOILER ALERT!!

If you haven’t watched KinnPorsche Ep3 yet, DO NOT READ THIS!!

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Okay, now if you have watched KinnPorsche Ep3, then OH MY FUCKIG GOD GUYS, LOOK AT THIS MAGIC:

WE GOT A KISS!!! WE GOT THEIR FIRST FREAKING KISS HOLY FUCK! AND IT’S ONLY EPISODE 3! I CAN’T BREATHE, MY HEART HURTS!!

This kiss was so damn beautiful. It was soft, gentle and heartwarming. Kinn really took a chance here as you could see the confliction in his eyes as he leaned forward, probably because he was nervous that Porsche might push him away, but Porsche went in for more and I think you could see the weight lift off of Kinn’s shoulders as he relaxed and continued kissing him. I rewatched this scene like 20 times just to take in every single flutter of movement between these two and it truly was so beautiful, my heart was literally in agony, I thought I might combust.

I cannot believe we were already given a kiss and it’s only episode 3, like, literally, I feel blessed to be alive right now. It was so unexpected but so gratifying and pleasant. I am forever grateful and it makes me even more excited for every weekend to come now.

[one-strugling-bean]

Random thoughts on HTTYD RttE S3 (Ep1-7)

Ep1 - Dagur is a lot of fun honestly, but I'm not sure how far this newfound "good faith" of his goes

Wow, he's a good fighter

I'm kinda afraid of that antidote, ngl

Hiccup, da heck? Why did you throw yourself out of the cavern??

Aww, the little sad look on Dagur's face when Hiccup yelled "I hate you"

Okay, yeah he is a good guy now

Well, more of a wild card really - I have 4 seasons ahead of me, I wouldn't be surprised if Dagur went back to the dark side at some point

The ep ends, and the only thing I know for sure is Astrid's not gonna be happy when those two get back to the Edge

Ep2 - Snotlout's high pitched yell is so funny, but I feel bad for laughing

Hookfang casually screeching at the Fire Worm Queen

Uhm, what history?? How do those two know each other? I wanna knowwwww! Im guessing it's from the first 2 seasons

Hiccup has so much patience for his team, istg - no wonder he's super snappy to his enemies

Okay, this Cavern Crasher looks super cool in all his originality (i mean, green fire, how cool is that??) but he's also a bit disgusting

The Fireworms babies are so so precious, and their cave looks really cool

He's singing the baby a lullaby?! How is he being so soft, omg

Ha, Hookfang's awkward grin when the Queen looked at them

"Ho, ho, no you don't!" You go, Fishlegs! No one touches baby dragons on his watch

Hookfang got himself the worst possible babysitting job ever - he's gotta protect a hundred baby dragons, their mother, and his dumb of ass rider

Queenie is such a cute nickname

Hookfang is the real MVP of this ep

Another cute Hiccup&Snotlout interaction - Hiccup is really supportive of everyone, it's sweet

Ep3 - Fishlegs' 2nd name is Justin?

Wow, Astrid and Ruff look weeeeird like that - and why is Gothi also wanting him??

Uhm, are we not gonna comment on Fishlegs dreaming of Snotlout confessing to him dressed as a bride too? No? Okay, then

"Why would Hiccup put you in charge?" Uhm, he's the only one with common sense, for starters

Okay, that throwing-the-pot thing is not cool, guys, please stop it,it's giving me ptsd

I want Fishlegs to punch one of them, but I don't think it'll happen - not now at least

Okay, I feel like Hiccup was a little harsh there. Fishlegs should not have to be their babysitter, they're old enough to know their actions have consequences. Before being disappointed in Fishlegs, he should be so at the others

Meatlug is such a sweetheart

So is Fishlegs

They actually kept the name Smidvarg, that's awesome

I would prefer to fight an angry Monstrous Nightmare over giving any money to Snotlout too

"-but he usually geeks out with me!" I love the nerdy friendship these two have, it's so sweet

Yay, Darkvarg!

Those two nerds are adorable

Ep4 - We're off to a great start already, with tired dad Hiccup

Oh, more of Spitelout huh - not sure how i feel about that

I kinda wanna see Snotlout's handwriting now, after he criticized his dad's so harshly

Spitelout built an entire house by himself in a month?

Hiccup deserves credit for being able to realize "Asia Fondue" was supposed to be "deja vu"

Snotlout is basically cradling Hiccup in that trap

I'm not understanding all this fear - compared to the last few we've seen, this one doesn't look too scary honestly

Snotlout was super confident about the S thing

Okayyy now it's getting dangerous, Snotlout please don't try to fight Stoick

Hiccup, ever the peace-maker

God, David Tennant is such a good voice actor, and the accent is so satisfying to hear, I caaaaan't

Okay, for once Stoick's comment was unnecessary, I don't think Spitelout knew of the underbelly thing either

Yeahh, Snotlout doesn't want to fight Stoick and Hiccup on this, he'd leave with them if his dad wasn't there

Hiccup really has the Jogersons' psyches well thought-out huh

Yayy for reconciliation! I think

I don't understand what was the meaning behind Snotlout and the yak, but it was cute that he saved it

And of course, he named it too

Ep5 - So remember when I said, way back there, that this show was gonna like to hurt Astrid a lot? Yeahhhh surprise, surprise

I really would like to meet the Thorston family

Wow, they all look serious for once, Snotlout even asked her, all worried, if she was okay, damn

The Buffalord reminds me so much of an Ivysaur, he's sho cute

Oh and he puffs! Niiiice

Okay, that was a cute Hiccstrid moment

Oh my lord seriously?? Hunters now??

"Fishlegs, I thought you were above name-calling!" God I hate him, but I love his dialogues

No medicine works that quickly, but sure

Also, yeah Buff is gonna puff out as soon as they try to move him, so the hunters are losing today

That was a powerful ending that I was not expecting

Ep6 - I'm honestly not sure who's gonna be proved wrong by the end of the episode, Hiccup's paranoia, or the gang's carelessness

Of course the chicken has a meal plan

It's annoying me that they're swimming with their clothes on, but I'll close my eyes to it

So the dragons aren't okay

You cannot tell me the other riders didn't hear Fishlegs' screams

It was something in the water I'm guessing, since Toothless is okay

Okay, maybe I'm biased, but isn't it always Toothless the last one standing, or the one dragon that doesnt get hurt, or the only one that notices something's wrong? Like, what about the others? Are Toothless' skills that above the other dragons that he notices what none other does?

This was a salty comment, but I do wonder

Omg, Gobber actually tried to follow Tuff's regime for the chicken

Tuff's chicken completely threw off Both Gobber and Stoick, that's great

Wow, they really all blame Hiccup, was not expexting that

Tuffnut saves the day!!

Omg, the Grimoras are so creepyyy, ew

Where did Fishlegs get those rocks?

Sooo, Snotlout and Hookfang burn down places together for fun? Okay, you piromaniacs

Tuffnut has a genuinely cute relationship with his chicken

Ep7 - God, of course those three would notice something like that

Also, all of them ganging up on him, and Fishlegs is just able to hold them all - everyone is so tiny compared to him, I wonder the damage Fishlegs could do if he wasn't so gentle

"Who said it's a she?" Snotlout keeping all options on the table like the dumbass bi he is

Snotlout is so delusional i love/hate it

Fishlegs' annoyed face and the little tsk before "Pretty much" was everything

Even Hiccup?? Jesus, no privacy

The shots they take at Hiccup's leg are really funny, im sorry

Aw, Fishlegs does have a crush on her too! We know she does because it was mentioned way back in S1 i think

I just noticed Snotlout's hut has a statue of him holding it, my god

I really wish someone would mention that Snotlout also went through a phase of crushing on Fishlegs, bad, even if it was while he was Thor. That would probably be funny

Awww, I kinda ship them now, they're so cute!

Aw, she has her own hut? It's so tiny and cute

Like, I know she's not staying, but I can't tell why yet, and I really don't want this to end in heartbreak...

These scenes with the Nadder flocks and then Toothless and Windshear are a nice reminder that the dragons are still, well, dragons - the others are already so well-trained I forget they were wild before and had to be trained

I hate myself for this, but I can't help but think Heather is using Windshear as an excuse... There's something else here

Hookfang!!! No, let go of the tsundere dragon!

Sooo, Tuff speaks spanish, okay

"Beans, Snotlout. They're called beans!" "Beeeans~" Omg, these two i swear

Wow, so she is staying, okay, nice, I'm gonna enjoy seeing where this is going

Soo, that's it for the first part of S3

This was a long one, hope that's okay :T

[anunvalidcritic]

INVINCIBLE: S1-EP8

(DISCLAIMER: MY OPINION IS MY OWN AND CAN BE DEEMED INVALID TO THOSE WHO DON’T CARE FOR IT.)

It’s the last episode.... Let’s dive in boys, girls, and non-binary folks!!!

                          WHERE I REALLY COME FROM

Is it just me or did this week go by really fast??? (went by to fuckin’ fast bcuz I fuckin’ forgot!)

alright so we’re starting off by staring at the grass... that’s a pretty calm start..

nvm it’s raining blood

INVINCIBLE looks sick asf

well, I’m glad that was his first reaction

“It’s me Mark, It’s just me.” - OMNI-MAN 

BRO VILTRUMITES ARE FUCKIN’ SAVAGES

DEBBIE has always been a baddie

Bro OMNI-MAN’s storyline is fuckin’ amazing

“You love me, you love Mom! I know you do.” - INVINCIBLE MARK

go ahead and that shit out now my dude

“Do you have any idea how long we live? The older we get, the slower we age. Viltrumite DNA is so pure you’re nearly full-blooded. You’ll live for thousands of years. Do you understand what that means? Everyone you know and love will be gone before you even look thirty.” - OMNI-MAN 

well damn thanks for dropping this knowledge on us, sir.

ICONIC DIALOGUE

OMNI-MAN - “I do love your mother. But she’s more like a... a pet to me.”

MARK - “A pet?”

OMNI-MAN - “This is the only way, Mark.” *as he reaches for MARK’s shoulder*

MARK - “Don’t touch me!”

NO THIS MOTHERFUCKER DIDN’T!!!!! DID Y’ALL HEAR WHAT HE JUST SAID!!!??!!?!?!?! I CAN’T DO THIS BRO!!!!!!

go off MARK, talk yo shit!

“I don’t give a shit about Viltrum. And I don’t care if I live a fuckin’ million years. This is my home and I won’t let you destroy it!” - INVINCIBLE

Bro, don’t let your daddy beat yo' ass! You are a grown man now.

dude, this title for the last episode is fucking exceptional!

those dudes in the jets are gonna lose their fuckin’ lives

You know, it’s unfortunate that they know that shit is just a distraction for him and not life threating. 

He didn’t have to demolish that man like that...

this man is ruthless

“Did seeing that man lose his life distrube you? Did it hurt you?! Well, let’s see how you handle this.” - OMNI-MAN

👁 👄 👁

Don’t you just love it when motherfuckers just stop and stare when they see a disaster happening??

Now I understand that the building is more than likely collapsing on it’s own, but I wouldn’t be surprised if his dad is pushng it from the other side. 

They’re really fuckin’ up Chi-Town right...

I could’ve told you that woman wasn’t gonna make it...

as evil as this man is... his character is amazing 

I love seeing MARK rage this dude just goes in!

“For the first time in your life, I’m telling you the truth.” - OMNI-MAN

what is he aboour.

THAT WASN’T FUCKIN’ NECCESSARY!!!!!!!!!!!!

... their suits need more than a deep dry cleaning

He didn’t have to swerve MARK like taht!

the clouds look nice...

okay, that’s enough OMNI-MAN!!

I wish they would’ve at least kept ZACHARY QUINTO’s voice because I miss the guy

See, this episode is a prime (pun intended) and I mean a PRIME example of how raising your kids with a good upbringing is important. If MARK was raised the way OMNI-MAN had intended to raise him, then he would’ve been a complete asshole... an extremely strong asshole, but an asshole. 

you know this is very triggering... RIP GLENN

“You wanna die for this planet? Fine. What’s seventeen more years? I can always start again... make another kid.” - OMNI-MAN

FLASHBACK

YOUNG MARK = LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL

“Look at Mark. You and I made him. He’s ours. When he feels joy, we feel joy. See that look on his face. How can you see this and not feel the same way. As we get older it’s harder to feel that.” - DEBBIE

GOD! Can Sandra Oh be my fuckin’ mom!?!?!

NOLAN still ain’t shit....

~~~~~~

I like how he had that flashback while he was beating his son to a pulp

homeboy has to get dentures now...

only a narcissist would say some shit like this

“You dad, I’d still have you.” - MARK

that’s fuckin’ heartbreaking....

ik it’s not funny but MARK looks horrible..

looks like OMNI-MAN went back home cryin’

AMBER feelin’ like a complete dick as she should!! (I was rooting for y’all)

how long was he out??

DEBBIE you married an evil motherfucker, but it’s not your fault

Who tf cursed MONSTER GIRL?? She must’ve said or done some foul shit... And who tf fucked up CECIL’s face??

let it out DEBS let it out..

ik tf AMBER just didn’t!! deadass thought it was EVE...

lol the way WILLIAM saved that was hilarious!!

“We can try but it’s literally all anyone is tlking about in the world” - WILLIAM 

come on now dude

😆 I could’ve sworn DUPLI-KATE looked asian and not white like EVE. WILLIAM is trifflin’

I was gonna say during the montage clip I knew one of those species looked familiar.

MARK + ALLEN THE ALIEN = BEST BUDS

Mars is gettin’ fucked up from the ground up.

ICONIC DIALOGUE

ALLEN THE ALIEN - “What’s the plan in the meantime?”

INVINCIBLE - “Finish high school, I guess.”

ALLEN THE ALIEN - “Oh, alright good. Sounds good. What is high school?”

_____

I liked the way it ended! It’s unfortunate that we must bid ado to this lovely grotesque show of INVINICBLE, but alas we must in order to move onto greater things and the world beyond. Hopefully, they’ll get confirmed for a second season because I really don’t want them to end on such an extraordinarily high point...

List of Episodes with link :) ~

EP1 - EP2 - EP3 - EP4 - EP5 - EP6 - EP7 - EP8

EDIT: Thank god Amazon has decided to renew the series for not just the second season but a third as well!!!! FUCK YEAH!!

[evilwickedme]

ok so to sum up my feelings for leverage: redemption, season 1(a): (long post warning, there’s a tl;dr at the end)

I knew that Hardison wouldn’t be in most of the season due to Aldis Hodge being a busy bee nowadays, but I didn’t realize that meant he’d only be around for the first two episodes. He was sorely missed, not only because of my attachment to him, but also because he’s usually the grounding factor in the group dynamic, and his role as info guy and tech guy was split evenly between two characters who had their own issues.

That said, Hardison is absolutely a highlight of the two episodes he’s in. his speech about redemption was everything I could’ve hoped for (plus, more evidence for the Jewish!Hardison pile...). I wish we’d gotten to see more of his dynamic with Breanna because what we saw was funny and sweet and we don’t generally get to see Hardison taking care of somebody who so desperately needs taking care of. I hope that Aldis Hodge is around for more episodes in 1(b), because what we’re left with feels a little hollow.

Sticking to original leverage characters for now, for the most part the leverage crew still felt true to the original series as characters, even if the show itself was a little bit confused at times. The actors understand their characters and embody them so well that I think one could give them the trashiest script ever and they’d still sell it. Sophie is a particular focus in 1(a) because of Nate’s death, and she’s particularly well written as a result.

That said, I’m super bitter that we saw little to no mastermind!Parker. Parker’s character being given the mastermind role was a big deal and it feels like they’re walking it back because they feel uncomfortable with it. It is eventually given an in-text excuse, but literally in the last episode, and it was not a particularly convincing reason, and in fact contradicted moments from previous episodes (Sophie leaving for a client meeting and ignoring Parker in ep3 comes to mind). It’s frustrating, it makes the end of the original leverage feel pointless, and letting Parker make a decision once in a while is not the same thing at all. The original series repeatedly showed us that while everyone in the team had their strengths, Parker works problems and solves them in unique, interesting ways, and other characters’ days in the limelight tended to be comedic or even failures. It’s a broken promise, and a pretty major broken promise at that.

On a more positive note, Parker’s dynamic with literally everyone was fantastic. She’s possibly the best written character this season. They’ve taken the autism out of the subtext and into the text (although obviously still undiagnosed), and given her coping mechanisms that were taken seriously in the text even when they were played for laughs, which I appreciated. Her attempts to mentor Breanna were sweet, her friendship with Sophie was electric and at times (CRIMES) hilarious, and as usual, she has a fantastic dynamic with Eliot that makes my heart burst. If you don’t think they’re romantically involved, at least acknowledge there’s a life partnership here. They’ve spent the last decade together.

(We’ll get to Harry.)

Eliot isn’t given much arc-wise, which is frustrating since he’s my favorite. He’s being presented as the goal at the end of a redemption arc, ie to keep working at it every day until your soul heals or whatever, and it doesn’t reflect the message they’re trying to convey via Hardison’s speech and our two new characters. He’s got his moments, but I think they under utilized his potential.

Breanna!!! Breanna’s my new favorite, except for Eliot. She’s hilarious, she’s insecure, she’s nerdy and excited in a way that’s similar to Hardison but still distinct in its inherent teenage-girl-ness and I LOVE IT. Unlike the previous series, where Hardison’s “age of the geek” was often a joke played on Hardison, we’re at the point where Eliot and Parker are both right there with him, and so they accept and even appreciate Breanna’s nerdiness. Also, canon gay character? In YOUR Leverage? It’s more likely than you think.

(No, I never thought they’d make ot3 canon on screen. I hoped, but I didn’t think it would actually happen.)

I think Breanna’s the character that will be the most interesting to see grow. She’s got a lot of potential and a list of crimes a mile long (or more). I adore her with all my heart. I want to see her tiktok account.

Harry. Oh, Harry.

It took me a while, but I do like Harry. It took a while, because the narrative positioned him at the same level as Nate back in episode 1 of original Leverage. But in episode 1 we didn’t know the other characters. We had Nate as the POV character, and so we cared about him because we were seeing the world through his eyes. (This is TV Studies 101. I know this, because I took TV Studies 101 in 2019.) In Leverage: Redemption, we no longer have a POV character, for several reasons:

Nate, previously the POV character, is dead.

As it is, by mid-season 3 of leverage Nate was no longer a POV character. This is, coincidentally, the point where the leverage writers realized they had four other characters in the main cast they could do something with, and in-universe, Nate accepted that he was a thief, not a special Good Man.

Sophie is sort of a POV character for the first episode of the revival, but only for the first few minutes. Afterwards, the series settles into the groove of seasons 3-5, i.e., the entire crew is our POV. We know our crew, and we love them as is.

Narratively, however, Redemption insists on positing Harry as the POV character, because it is his redemption we are pursuing most vehemently. And I think they really relied on us already knowing the actor - I’ve never seen him in anything before, so to me he was a completely fresh face and they put almost no effort into selling him to me. Beyond being competent and consistently mildly baffled by the antics of the leverage crew, I honestly don’t know who this man is by the end of EIGHT episodes with him. I have a much better handle on Breanna by the end of 1(a), and I can tell you I knew all five of the original leverage crew better by the end of the first episode of the original series than I do Harry. What’s the name of his daughter, John Rogers. Is he still married. How old is the daughter. Why is none of this worth mentioning. Give him a sense of humor that isn’t reacting to other people’s shenanigans. I’m so frustrated. It’s bad writing.

I did manage to grow to like Harry by the end, but I’m pretty sure this is down to Noah Wyle’s charismatic portrayal of an under-developed character, at least partially. And I never stopped being frustrated at not knowing who this man is at all.

The two highlights of the season are undoubtedly episodes five and six. Episode five was the first time I felt like the episode was more than a collection of good moments between the main cast and mediocre moments between the main cast and also the main plot. The issues with pacing and tone that I suffered through for most of the season were mostly non-existent in ep5 and 6, and at least in episode 5 I attribute that to the pared down cast. They had time to focus not only on our actual characters - Sophie, Parker, Breanna - but also on the case. This is the only client from 1(a) I am going to remember next week without googling it first, mark my words.

Episode six worked for the exact opposite reason - it completely disregarded the client and plot and immersed itself in the characters. Breanna gets a moment to shine, but everybody else gets their bits and I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the script that was most fun to write. The characters felt natural, real, and captured the found-family dynamic that’s been missing all season for the first time.

While episode 2 is the weakest episode, I don’t actually have much to say about it. I am disappointed in episode 8. For a mid-season finale, I really expected them to do something. Instead, it was an episode about Nate Ford that copped out of being about Nate Ford (both with fake-Nate and with the new version of him being relayed to us). I would have told the writers to give that energy back to episode 1 and write an episode that’s about anybody who isn’t Harry, oh my God. I know I said I grew to like him but so many episodes were about Harry. He’s the newbie! Why didn’t Hardison get an episode that was actually about him, considering he was only around for two episodes? Why does Eliot have to be the butt of the joke when the theme of the series should directly tie back to him in a much more meaningful way? The last episode parodies their own tagline by saying Eliot isn’t just a hitter, but it deftly avoids noticing that they’ve turned him into nothing more than very muscly comic relief, including in that very episode!

Also, I hated the Marshal. Eliot actively looked uncomfortable around her.

tl;dr

The season took a while, that’s definitely true. But it did find its footing eventually, and by the halfway mark of 1(a) it finally felt cohesive again. The characters were played fantastically even when they weren’t well-written, and if nothing else, the humor landed every time. It still has its kinks and problems to work out, but if you look at it as a brand new show rather than a continuation of one that went off the air over eight years ago, it’s actually doing rather well. I’m choosing to judge it in both lights - according to its own standards, it establishes its identity in episode five; according to Leverage standards, it establishes its connection to its roots in episode six. Either way, I thoroughly enjoyed 1(a), and continue to have high hopes for 1(b).

fic writing will commence in three, two, one...

[stray-tori]

Link Click: commentary + post-watch thoughts (spoilers!)

Comments from while I was watching:

link click episode 2 has one of the best pre-established mechanic jokes I've seen in a while fkdjhd (un-consented high five, smh CXS)

i'm assuming it only happens when Lu is holding a photo (edit: I think it’s when they look at it? bc of the climax... unsure though) though because otherwise they could never hold hands and that'd be very tragic

ahem IS THIS A JOJO REFERENCE 

yooo episode 4 beginning already hitting hard. i love pain... hell yeah

oh. it wasn't real (maybe?). oh well pff- but still nice angst so.

first off, goddamn the angst of witnessing a death in those circumstances with his own trauma oh man ;-; second, thats a setup for main duo (trio?) separation if i've ever seen one (edit: :>)

it’s sobbing time

"i'll do it as a repayment for the milk tea you got me in the rain" "ah. the person who's buying it for you isn't me" me, trying hard to conceil my squealing bc this story is so much more than me having my gay goggles on: haha. aw. :)

THEY WENT OVERSEAS TOGETHER??? *ahem* haha. i am okay. 

AH it's coming together. I love it ohmygod Is Lu going to reject the case bc it's likely that she died oh man bc of CXS’s interference- 

aww man protecc cute but lies hhhhhh

DID- DID THAT GUY JUST USE THE K.O. TISSUE ON HIMSELF BC OF THE SMELL OH MY GOD HE'S SO DUMB idshjd

CHENG XIAO SHI YOU SUICIDAL MFER GET OUT OF THE SERIAL KILLERS CAR and of course the picture is from Emmas case OF COURSE god, CXS. i pray for your sanity in this already 

NO NO NO NO NO ARE THEY SYNCING UP TWO MURDERER ATTACKS RN OR AM I STUPID LU- OH GOD. OH GOD. OH GOD. I KNOW I SAID IT SEEMED LIKE SOMETHING LIKE THIS WAS SET UP BUT I DONT WANT IT ANYMORE- AHHH I LOVE THIS BUT AHHHHHH

oh it was a plan. okay epic. I would have liked to be informed about this more BUT EPIC. also can he appear where he wants??? or did they start the dive in the photo room. very confused. i was prepared for angst oh well.

the predestination paradox is confusing but wooo 

di-did i skip an episode what- (edit: yes, 5.5)

.......... i... i am... quite speechless. this better get a 2nd season. Why can't CXS get a bREAK holy shit

i know i wanted murder but I didnt even get real angst about it T^T what a mean cliffhanger. but interestingggg- seems they're not the only supernatural people around.

They better give me juicy angst if they’ll backpaddle on it.

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idk why episode 5.5 exists as 5.5 and not as a regular episode, it also doesn’t really make sense between 5 and 6 / I don’t think it chronologically belongs there. I think it makes more sense before ep3, that is to say before the basketball-arc. Because it’s weird to have them accept a case when they originally wanted a break / the atmosphere is currently EH-

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the time travel

I’m very confused about the time travel aspect of it... or well not really that, but moreso how they deal with the butterfly effect.

I think they use a sort of predestination paradox, i.e. their timetravels are already included in the present because they come from the future. This is evident in ShanShan’s case.

But I’m confused about it because doesn’t that technically mean that no matter what they change, it isn’t really going to change anything because it already happened that way bc the past includes their timetravels?

But that’s not the case because they sometimes also show an "original" version of the scene they change which implies it did at some point happen that way.

(SPOILERS) I'm concretely talking about ShanShan gushing about the message she got. Which is something we saw before they jumped. But at that point the message was already received so shouldn't what they see be what CXS does (i.e. sitting up, bruting(TM))?

I could accept the paradox of the present including the future time travel already for plot purposes but then they show stuff as if it didn't happen which then confuses me. Esp since we see the security cam picture Update to include CXS later.

The only way i could see it working with that is that... The timeline only "saves" the actions that CXS does IF they change something (i.e. ShanShan gushes but it doesn’t matter, it only matters if she diverted the attack or not. I wonder how she remembers that scene? She just blacks out, like after she drank too much?) - But even then his plotting was integral to it changing so i don't think it could just be ShanShan doing her thing as before and then once the attack happens it switches to CXS's iteration of the scene. And if there was an iteration where they travelled but didn't receive that message, wouldn't ShanShan be dead in the “first” iteration (I mean it’s not completely unlikely that we’re just in the 2nd iteration of the loop in the storyline)? And they would have never gotten that phonecall. Therefore i am just confusion shshsh, like the paradox in itself i can accept but I get confused about the “original way” things happened, especially because it doesn’t consistently jump into it in the middle of a paradox (the ShanShan apartment dive) vs. being the first loop (security camera in the child’s case, in Emma’s case I think it’s the first time Guang entered it so it’s possible CXS would have been on it even if he did it before he dived back -- though technically he checked it out when he denied the case too, so I do think it updated??).

Unless CXS was always on the security cam footage but the police officer seemed to only notice him after he jumped into it, which... confuses me.

I’M JUST CONFUSED AND I DON’T HAVE ENOUGH BRAINCELLS TO DEAL WITH IT.

It makes sense on some abstract plane of existence, I THINK- But i just. low brain.

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final thoughts

I really loved it!! the emotional stuff hits quite heavy; I love how Emma’s case is a sort of throughline through the story, while also being a great pilot, showing off the dark themes pretty quickly.

I hope in s2 we can get more focus on the other characters as well! They’re nice but it does feel like the biggest focus is on CXS, which makes sense. I love how we get only small snippets of how their friendship came to be but I’d still like to see more of that; and of course see how the show deals with multiple supernatural forces (and if that person’s is also something photo-driven or if it’s only present spirit control).

I’m also not sure if they’ll backpaddle on the cliffhanger or if s1 was just the setup for a sort of saving someone timeloop. Which could be quite oof because the show established that death is a major note and all that :) (which does beg the question if red-eyes is a sort of corrective force? after all if it wasn’t for them, Emma would be alive... god,, i can feel the brainfuck already pff-)

Despite my confusion with the time travel it's moreso an exploration of people's lives more than it is a real twist-heavy time travel story anyway (I like how they actually use the mechanic of the time travels, i.e. the clapping, instead of the actual time travel as the finale’s solution!! bc that's much more easy to grasp and therefore feels more established and grounded to me than a purely big brain time travel solution).

Especially because while the existential/logic questions of the timetravel are very confusing, I think the story largely utilizes it in intuitive ways. I just think too much dsuhdjs

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also the op is a banger *head bangs*

also-also I love that the OP can also be understood as “come back from the dive... back in time” as in... “Come back in time”, which... I guess he did not come back in time, huh TvT i’m hurting myself with this interpretation but I love it pff-