#but she has upstaged and undermined him

[evil-sometimes]

And they both drown...

Sources: Persuasion - Jane Austen, Eurydice - HD, Umbrella Academy)

[coraniaid]

Speaking of Faith, Hope & Trick: that first conversation between Buffy and Faith must be so different from Faith's point of view.

I mean, the episode itself is very much told from Buffy's perspective. She's only recently reclaimed her identity as "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer" and she just started to reconnect with her friends as of the end of last episode. Of course she feels challenged by Faith's arrival; of course she feels like Faith's deliberately trying to upstage her. Of course she feels Faith is trying to intrude on her life. She reacted much the same way when she met Kendra, and that was when she was a lot less keen on being "the Vampire Slayer" and much more comfortable with her place in Sunnydale. As she tells her mother later, she's "just getting her life back […] not looking to go halfsies on it".

But think about it from Faith's side. Even while she's lying about where her Watcher is, she admits that she came all the way from Boston looking to meet "the infamous" Buffy Summers. She presumably set up the earlier encounter with the vampire deliberately to try to lure Buffy out (she's the one to lead him outside and she only starts fighting him seriously once Buffy and the Scooby Gang have arrived looking for her). She must have picked out her never-to-be-seen-again outfit and practiced her slightly too casual introduction of "I've got it. You're, uh, Buffy, right?" (as if she came all the way to California to meet some girl whose name she didn't quite remember) well in advance. She's already calling her 'B' while the vamp's dust is still cooling. You think she hadn't planned that too?

And Faith is trying to so hard to connect with Buffy in this scene. Yes, she tells a lot of "tall tales" (as Scott Hope will later put it) -- she wants to seem impressive! she wants Buffy to view her as an equal! -- but she's also the only person in the group who keeps trying to get Buffy to share things. It's not her fault that the rest of the gang talk over Buffy's attempts to talk about her own past battles or that they undermine her attempts to tell equally impressive stories. It's not even really her fault that she ends up sharing things about being a Slayer that Buffy as obviously been trying to keep secret from her friends (I mean, it's her fault a little, sure, but I don't think it would even occur to Faith to be embarrassed by anything she says).

"Did you really use a rocket launcher one time?" Faith asks, having already heard the story from somewhere and so done her best to convince Buffy that she too has done equally cool things (she hasn't). "What was your toughest kill?" she asks, having fled most of the way across a continent to escape a vampire she couldn't kill herself. "Isn't it crazy how Slaying always makes you hungry and horny?" she asks and "You and I are gonna have fun," she promises. What can that mean but: don't you feel the same way I do? Aren't you just the same as me? Aren't you glad I'm here?

Yes, Faith is jealous of Buffy's friends and her Watcher and her Mom, right from the start, but she didn't arrive in town looking to meet them. She came looking for Buffy; and look at how quick she is to accept Scott's description of her as "Buffy's friend" the next day. But Buffy (very understandably, from her point of view, because of experiences Faith has no knowledge of) just keeps trying to shut her out. The harder Faith tries to impress her -- by trying to win over Buffy's friends, and her Watcher, and her possible boyfriend, and her Mom -- the more aloof the other Slayer seems to get.

No wonder Faith gets annoyed by the rejection. No wonder she starts to get angry. No wonder she's ready to start exchanging threats once they're alone on patrols and the vampires aren't even showing up the way they're supposed to. Like she'll complain later in the season: she came to Sunnydale, she slayed, she did the good little girl routine, and what did she get? Not Buffy, that's for sure.

[oshinohoshi]

Oshi no Ko Chapter 159 Thoughts

This was a fun April Fool's Day chapter and I can't wait for the real one!

When I saw the spoilers about Akane dressed as Ruby I thought it was a joke. I said in my last chapter review that if this was set-up to catch Nino it would be so bad, but this isn't just bad. It's hilarious. We have reached the level of parody

It's fine. I can accept this. So, Akane pulls off a Ruby wig and -

I'm sorry, I can't. I snort laughed while typing this

OK. There's serious shit in this chapter. I'll try to focus

I miss when Akane was a person rather than a plot device

Ichigo finally did something useful. It doesn't make up for his culpability in Ai's death and the way he ran away but I'm still happy for him

So... about Nino/Ryosuke. I'm pretty sure this means that Nino only idolized Ai after Ryosuke did but I still headcanon her having an attraction/obsession for Ai as a teen and suppressing it. Nothing in this chapter says she didn't!

I'm not wholly against them having dated if done well, but I think it has pushed us into soap opera territory and away from a condemnation of misogynistic fandom and the systems propping the whole thing up

Because Ryosuke wasn't an incel. He was a hypocrite. Which could be interesting except that I have no faith that this will be expounded on

I complained about Nino becoming a paper thin villain but this chapter brought back some of her depth

"If Ai was nothing but an ordinary girl, what would that have made us, then?" hammers home her inferiority complex. If Ai wasn't perfect, then Nino was upstaged in her professional and personal life by a normal girl

If Ai actually got her feelings hurt, then the fight between them hurt Ai and Nino is partially to blame for it

(Thank you @penguinkyun for contextualizing this for me).

This panel goes hard.

The Ryosuke suicide panel affected me for two reasons:

Nino told him to die (no idea if we'll learn when she told him that, but anyway) and that's the second time she has expressed that and someone actually did

I will never have sympathy for the POS that is Ryosuke, but I am horrified to see him hanging like that. His last moments must have been torture. Although he doesn't deserve for me to feel bad for him, it still makes me queasy

I know Ruby upstaged Kana in a way that undermines everything about what we were led to believe would happen with Kana, but this panel melted my heart so much that I kind of ignored it (sorry). Sarina gets to have a real life with friends and she achieved her dream of becoming an idol. It tugs at my heartstrings. They just look so happy

What the hell is going on with Hikaru's expression. I can't stop laughing at it

I don't buy Hikaru as the big bad. This is just a fakeout all over again. Probably. I've given up predicting anything

It seriously concerns me how much I relate to Nino below. Dammit, Nino. Stop calling me out

Next week: Crow girl is the big bad. She pushes Aqua and Hikaru into the sea. Ruby dressed as Akane channeling Ai rappels from a helicopter to save them. I declare this peak fiction and take back all of my criticisms of the last couple arcs.

[justmenoworries]

Watching Justice League X RWBY (both parts) is such an amazing experience because you can't help but burst out laughing at seeing how incredibly insecure RT is about having RWBY stand next to DC characters.

They want to be acknowledged as DC's equal so bad, it's hilarious.

The DC characters are constantly made into jokes or just flat-out incompetent, just so a RWBY character can swoop in at the last second to save them or give them a heroic speech. No DC character can ever have anything cool for themselves, it needs to be undermined or undercut by someone from Remnant. Diana and Bruce have to lose to Blake and Weiss respectively because we need to establish how superior Team RWBY is in combat to these actual adults who have been wiping the floor with supervillains before Blake and Weiss were even a thing. Clark has to be put in his place by Ruby and Yang and isn't allowed to be leader because what else were we gonna do here? Acknowledge that Ruby's own leadership skills are severely lacking and have her learn from a fellow symbol of hope? Pfft, naah.

The RWBY characters have an almost pathological need to make fun of the DC heroes' aliases and no one points out the inherent hypocrisy there for Reasons. Like, how are you gonna make fun of names like "Batman" and "Superman" when y'all's team names are just edgy alphabet soup??? And your given names are shit like Raven Blessed Raven, White Snow or Sunshine Dragon (in languages from countries that don't even exist in your world)????

And the bootlicking, holy shit, the constant bootlicking.

Bruce is so completely fucking awed by the mere existence of Weiss and Yang he actually thinks about abandoning Gotham for Remnant, because that's not completely nonsensical and out of character at all. Diana is suddenly a callous jerk who dismisses the other Leaguers for not being "warriors" and connects more to Team RWBY because they, like her, are "warriors" (Diana, did the matrix glitch your brain and make you forget the literal fucking years the Justice League have fought by your side???). Vic is super into Nora because we needed to have a dick-measuring contest between him and Ren for Reasons. Clark needs to take a backseat to Ruby as leader because if anyone but Ruby "Power of the Special" Rose got to lead the group, RWBY stans would probably suffer an aneurysm. Oh and Jessica has insecurity issues and has to be given a peptalk from fucking Jaune of all characters!! (Oh, and she's also been white-washed because RT gotta do an RT.)

When someone from the DC universe does something cool? They immediately get upstaged or humiliated for daring to be characters in a RWBY world.

When someone from Remnant does something even mildly impressive? Non-stop praise, tongue-lashing and kowtowing from the DC characters.

And if you think this situation gets reversed in part 2, where the RWBY characters go to the DC universe, turning them into the fishes out of water?

You get to eat shit.

Because the premise to both parts is basically, "The Justice League cannot handle whatever messed up shit the bad guys are throwing at them and so they seek help from the amazing, strong, powerful, superior, magnificient, lauded, divine Team RWBY".

Part 1? Justice League gets trapped in the matrix with Team RWBY and since the simulation is of Remnant, the JL has to defer to the Remnant characters

Part 2? Grimm show up on the DC Earth and despite being back to full power the Justice League still can't handle them, so they call in Team RWBY.

Yeah.

The point of a crossover like this is to show the strength of both casts and how well they play off of each other.

But RT is so fucking insecure over Team RWBY standing next to actual heroes they couldn't help themselves.

It would be funny if it weren't so sad.

[raeflora]

Hi again! I would really love your opinion on something, (since you said that if I ever want you to write meta on something specific I can ask)

Do you think that most D**ir shippers are Dan fans rather than Blair l fans?

I am going forward with the rewatch and I have been reading stuff here andvon other platforms and I have noticed that most D**ir focus on what Dan feels or what Dan does for Blair, ignoring Blair's emotional and mental state at the time

Furthermore they seem to want to rid Blair from all the things that make her Blair (like her ruthlessness and scheming)

Idk... For me Blair wouldn't be Blair without the good and the bad. So it makes me wonder if these people just.... Don't like Blair very much.....

hi!! this is such a good question tysm and this is gonna be long so I hope u don't mind 🫶🏻 I think generally yes d*ir fans do seem to be more fans of dan than they are of blair, and I think there are a few reasons (that I've seen) for this. some of it comes from penn badgley fans as a lot of ppl who discovered him from you on netflix have then watched gg and like dan purely bc it's him. some of it also comes from this rehash of the idea that chuck's "bad" bc of the pilot and ignoring his development, and dan's "good" bc... he's not chuck lol.

ur right in that a lot of them don't want blair to be, well, herself. as I said in my other meta post there's a lot of focus on how blair's "better" when she's with dan. she doesn't scheme, she doesn't do anything, really, except from talk about movies and artists. they think that this watered down version of blair is her true self, even though if u watch the previous 4 and a half seasons it's obvious that's just not true. they want blair to be this girl who's content to spend her days visiting museums and waiting around for dan who she's clearly not. there's nothing wrong with her that dan needs to fix, and chuck didn't corrupt her. she can be interested in art and movies and still scheme and be mean. there's no mutual exclusivity to any of her personality traits, they can all co-exist and are what make her blair. like chuck said in s2 it's stupid to want her to be anything other than what she is.

also, ur so right again in that they ignore blair's mental state. she's obviously not in a good place in s5 and probably shouldn't jump into any relationship after her divorce. but dan pushes her into it. throughout the show she belittles him, insults him, makes fun of serena dating him, and generally just doesn't like him. while they're dating she still doesn't seem that keen on him. there's talk of how she's happier and smiling all the time with dan, but she's not. she effectively throws a tantrum being seen out with him and she can't celebrate his career, she instead undermines and upstages him. her behaviour doesn't seem like someone who's found her perfect match. it seems like someone who's in a confusing transitional period of her life and clings to the nearest man, like she did with carter in s2. if dan was this great perfect man he'd say he couldn't date her right away, let her sort herself out. but no, he forces her to be more than just friends bc, where she's so isolated from everyone else, if she loses him then she loses her only support system (the fact that she becomes so reliant on dan humphrey in the wake of her miscarriage is something for another post) so she kind of has to get into a relationship with him, even though she's not ready mentally.

in terms of liking blair, I think that most d*ir fans like their own version of blair, instead of the canon version. this might be connected to them often preferring dan, and then they just project traits onto blair that aren't hers. I don't know why they don't do this to serena btw, bc her relationship with dan is significantly more important, and she was far more willing to do "ordinary" things with him than blair. ultimately I think they want d*ir, and blair individually, to be something they're not and were never going to be. d*ir isn't sethmer or paceyjoey or whoever else they compare them to. blair isn't someone they can shape into fitting their ideas like dan does, she's her own distinct character and if they don't like her then they should admit it instead of mischaracterising her

[storygirl000]

ML Fic: Power Trip

Summary: Lila, in order to keep her sheep in line and punish those who defied her, puts extra time into prepping the class’ end-of-the-year trip.

Unfortunately, she underestimated just how far Marinette would go to upstage her.

Ao3 link here.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Something that always bothered me about “Marinette is the best at student council” salt fics was that Lila and/or Alya always have no idea what this position entails. I don’t think that makes sense; assuming Lila tried the same act at previous schools, she’d probably know the ins and outs of working on the student council by now. And Alya wouldn’t just forget her time as Marinette’s class rep assistant just because she hates her now; she’d most likely have a working idea of what that entails, too.

So I chose to make Lila smarter here than she usually is in fics regarding this subject. (No worries – she still gets her karma.)

00000

“I’m so glad you could all come!”

Lila smiled at all of her classmates, who’d gathered with her in Ms. Bustier’s room to discuss some important matters.

She heard Alix mutter something about the gathering being “mandatory” and “another example of Bustier’s favoritism”, but she ignored it.

“Now, as we all know, every year we do an end-of-the-year field trip to some amazing location. As your new Class Representative...”

She paused to shoot a quick smirk at Marinette, who either didn’t notice or didn’t care.

“...I propose that this year...we go to Disneyland Paris!”

Naturally, her lackeys cheered for her, and Adrien’s eyes lit up at the idea (she had to thank Gabriel for sheltering the boy as much as he had; it made him so easy to manipulate). The others – the ones that had sided with Marinette – seemed intrigued, but nothing beyond that.

Lila smirked again. This was almost too easy.

She quickly switched to her disappointed role model face. “Unfortunately, Ms. Bustier has ruled that some students will be unable to attend this trip due to all the unacceptable behavior they’ve demonstrated in the past. This includes being discluded from any fundraisers we will have to help fund this trip.”

It took all of five seconds for Marinette and her cronies to realize this meant them.

Naturally, Alya and Chloé protested the loudest, but they were quickly shut down by Adrien, who admonished them for daring to bring their drama into an official class meeting. Upset, they took Marinette and walked out, followed by everyone else who’d supported them.

This left herself, Adrien, Kim, Max (and Markov), Mylene, and Ivan.

Ah, well. She’d worked with less before. She could do this.

With that, they started planning things out.

00000

It didn’t take her long to secure approval from the principal and the school board for the trip. Ms. Bustier had volunteered to be one of their chaperones, and so had Mylene’s father.

With her calculations, she realized that they needed roughly $6000 for the trip. A little flattery (and a promise to keep spying on his son for him) had gotten them a $1500 donation from Gabriel Agreste himself, so that left them to raise $4500 more for the trip. Quickly, they went to work.

The first fundraiser had been a bake sale – Mylene had gotten the idea to theme it after fall, with cute leaf patterns and gourd-shaped cupcakes and the like. And besides, the bake sale was always their first fundraiser of the year. Lila had agreed immediately.

There was only one problem – their main distributor of baked goods was no longer a part of the fundraiser.

Whatever. They didn’t need her anyways.

The group dedicated an entire weekend to baking these treats, and started selling them at school on Monday (after obtaining the permission of the principal and making sure it didn’t collide with any other fundraisers, of course). By the end of the day, they’d raised almost $500.

During her shift, Lila had spotted a pair of boys walk past the table – an older boy in a blue hoodie, and a younger one in a red hoodie. She recognized them as friends of Marinette (Luka and Marc, if she remembered correctly). Listening in on their conversation, she learned that Marinette had apparently hosted a bake sale of her own over the weekend.

She was torn between confusion (why had Marinette done a bake sale?) and confidence (obviously it wasn’t a success). She chose the latter.

By the end of the day, she had Ms. Bustier chewing out Marinette for daring to undermine the class’ fundraiser.

$4000 to go.

00000

Next up was the annual homecoming game and dance. That, like all major school events, had its ticket money split between the various classes and the school overall, with the class that raised the most money getting the lion’s share.

Kim had volunteered to help drum up support for the school team with his girlfriend Ondine (who Lila had promised could come on their class trip after her class had unfairly excluded her for daring to badmouth Marinette). The duo sold tickets fairly fast, their enthusiasm likely playing a part in it.

Lila also noticed that Marinette and her friends were handing out pamphlets for some website – apparently, the former “everyday Ladybug” was trying to launch her own clothing line.

She snorted. Good luck with that – the world of fashion was cruel, fickle, and would probably eat her alive.

The game and dance came and went, and Bustier’s class had sold the second highest amount of tickets after Mendeleiev’s class. The teacher was concerned (they’d always been in the top spot before, for some reason), but Lila didn’t care; they’d gotten $1000 out of the deal, after all.

$3000 to go.

00000

As December came, both Max and Adrien proposed fundraisers for the season.

Max suggested candy cane messages. According to his calculations, these were always successful in previous years.

Adrien suggested that they have girls (and some boys) pay him for a picture of them kissing under the mistletoe.

Max’s idea was the one they went with, but Lila had to say, she was surprised – Adrien had never tried to use his looks to his advantage before. Perhaps her own cunning mind was rubbing off on him.

She could deal with that.

As Max had predicted, the plan was a success, netting them more cash than their previous endeavors. Everyone in school had wanted to send a message to someone else, be it a friend, a crush, or a teacher. Even Lila herself had gotten a few.

Over the course of the fundraiser, she’d overheard a conversation between Marinette (ugh), Juleka, Rose, and two girls from Mendeleiev’s class (Aurore and Mireille, right?) about some trip they were going to go on.

Hmph. So Marinette was going to force another class to accommodate her and her friends, huh? So be it.

She quickly told Ms. Bustier of this new development, and smirked as she watched the teacher chew out Marinette for daring to drag another class into her drama.

$1500 to go.

0000

Christmas and New Year’s came and went, and Valentine’s Day was coming up. And so was the Valentine’s Day dance.

Ivan was the one who came up with the idea to sell heart-shaped candy and Hershey’s kisses alongside the tickets, and everyone agreed it was a good way to get some extra money if they failed to get enough money to fund the rest of the trip. Lila agreed to it, but warned that she wouldn’t be able to help as much as she had before; after all, she had to start preparing all the necessary paperwork for the trip.

Sure enough, the plan went off without a hitch. The class once again managed to get the top spot, and the candy sales more than made up for what they lacked. They were going to Disneyland Paris.

She then had one last encounter with Marinette’s allies – Luka and Nathaniel were putting up fliers for a Jagged Stone concert. When she bragged to Nathaniel about how her leadership had netted them the trip, he’d given her a cold smile and an odd response.

“Oh, that’s alright. We already have a trip planned that we need to fundraise.”

Privately, Lila celebrated. With Marinette on their side, it was more than likely that Mendeleiev’s class was going to fall short of their goals.

After all, she was completely useless.

00000

The end of the year came, and so did the class’ (and Ondine’s) three days in Disneyland Paris.

Naturally, the whole trip had been amazing. They had plenty of photos and souvenirs to share with their less fortunate classmates (officially, to make sure they weren’t “entirely left out”; unofficially, to brag). And Lila had finally gotten Adrien to kiss her.

Lila had wanted to gather the entire class together so that she could make Marinette and her cronies feel even worse, but strangely none of them were there when she got back. Neither were several kids from Mendeleiev’s class (Aurore, Mireille, Marc, and Kagami) or Luka, for that matter.

She didn’t know why until her lackeys started sending her urgent texts.

She looked at them...and her stomach dropped.

It was an Instagram post of Marinette, Alya, and Chloé at an airport; Marinette was sitting on a suitcase, Alya was holding the phone, and Chloé pretended to be distracted by doing her makeup.

The caption read “Taking a trip across the states with all of our friends!!! It was originally gonna be the class trip, but that fell through.”

So that was what the brat had been planning.

Lila felt herself go pale.

00000

Lila spent the rest of the summer checking Marinette, Alya, and Chloé’s Instagrams (and Nino’s, which was likely gotten just to help rub salt in the wound). Each adventure felt more unbelievable than the last.

First was New York City, where Marinette had apparently managed to secure the group a tour of the Avengers Tower. There were photos of Chloé sassing Tony Stark (and Pepper trying her hardest not to laugh and/or give the girl an apprenticeship on the spot in the background). Of Rose and Juleka on Captain America’s shoulders, fangirling over him. Of Alix, who mostly took selfies with the Black Widow and Hawkeye. Of Kagami and Sabrina (of all people) helping Stark’s young interns (Peter, Harley, Shuri, Ned, MJ, and Riri, apparently) play various pranks around the tower.

Alya posted an interview where she asked the heroes questions about Paris’ own heroes on the Ladyblog, and the site’s traffic immediately tripled.

The next location was Miami, Florida. According to Marinette, this destination was meant to be more low-key.

Which meant they just so happened to enter a music shop that international pop star Austin Moon was frequenting at the time. And it just so happened to be the shop run in part by his girlfriend and frequent collaborator Ally Dawson.

Naturally, this lead to photos of Luka and Nino jamming out with the two of them and their friends.

And, apparently, Marinette decided to namedrop Lila. Because the next video on her Instagram was one of Austin’s manager angrily cursing the Italian’s name (and that of Adrien, for some reason) for bullying such an amazing girl and lying to her classmates about it.

Lila wasn’t surprised when she and Adrien were kicked out of the class’ group chat shortly afterwards. She was too numb to be surprised at that point.

Next was Gotham City, which naturally lead to photos with both successful billionaire Bruce Wayne and resident superhero Batman. And all their kids. And the nicer Rogues (often with Nathaniel and Marc loudly sassing their villainous plans in the background).

Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark had apparently gotten into a Twitter war over who was going to adopt the group first. Alya had responded by suggesting they get shared custody.

Next was Hollywood, California. Marinette managed to get photos with Finn Wolfhard and Mckenna Grace on the set of the new Ghostbusters movie (and their numbers, if the captions were to be believed). Chloé, meanwhile, preferred to take photos of all the hunky actors and beautiful actresses walking around.

Their final destination had been Hawaii. That one (much to Lila’s surprise) did not end with the class meeting a celebrity; however, they did get to meet students from a Japanese school that had apparently had the same idea as them.

Alya took photos with some kid named Mishima, claiming they had something in common. Other photos were taken with a pair of blonde kids (Lila didn’t know if they were siblings or not, but given their apparent romantic closeness, the latter was more likely), a brown-haired girl, and a blue-haired boy.

The most photos, however, were those of Marinette with a boy her age, with messy black hair and glasses. Judging from Alya and Chloé’s comments, the two were into each other.

Lila couldn’t take it. She’d thrown her phone against the wall at that.

How was Marinette having so much fun when she’d done her best to ruin her life?

00000

Finally, school started up again. Predictably, everyone was glaring at Lila when she entered the building – even her former sheep.

She was the first to enter the classroom. As everyone filed in, they shot a glare at her – or at Adrien, who’d apparently been dragged down with her.

Marinette was the last to enter. She stood in front of Lila’s desk, gave her a cold smile, and asked her one thing.

“So, Lila! How was your summer?”

Lila wanted to scream.

[themisadventuresofmomtiri]

I know everyone’s really invested in Cassandra’s redemption, but you know what? I don’t know if she really deserves redemption at this point. Every single time she’s presented with even the slightest chance to not be an asshole, she decides to do the exact opposite and dig her hole deeper.

And yeah, you can argue “Oh, that’s just because Zhan Tiri’s manipulating her,” and you know what? Fine. Let’s go ahead with the idea that some random ghost/spirit manages to totally undermine Cassandra’s relationships with Rapunzel and Eugene and everyone else in life including the man who fucking raised her in some unspecified (but arguably brief) time frame. If all it took for Cassandra to go from mild prickishness to being the full blown cactus was a couple of carefully planned words and a flashback to Gothel abandoning her to literally kidnap, imprison, and enslave an infant, then what does that say about the person Cassandra was to begin with?

What does it say about her that she’d rather cling to the fantasy that Gothel felt even a shred of affection for her and blame Rapunzel for...what? Cassandra being abandoned by an awful person and getting adopted by a guy who may have made plenty of mistakes in raising her, but honestly loves and cares about her? Oh no, what an awful fate. Someone really should’ve stepped in and made sure Cassandra found her way back to her total gallstone of a mother so she would’ve been spared the absolute tragedy of being raised by someone who actually cared about her.

There isn’t even an honest comparison between Cassandra as a villain and Varian as a villain. When Varian became the bad guy, it was because he’d had all other options closed off to him. He was a fourteen-year-old with no parental guidance or adult guidance in general left to him. No one seemed to give even half a shit about him; even Rapunzel, our heroine, focused more on her art block than checking in on the extremely distraught teenager who ended up tossed back into the worst snowstorm in Corona’s recent history. Which only makes sense because we know they had to make things happen so that Season 1 would play out the way they wanted it to; if Rapunzel had been kept true to character, she wouldn’t have needed to go on a goddamned scavenger hunt just to prompted into checking in on him. Varian didn’t need her to save Quirin right then and there; just Rapunzel making the effort to follow through on her promise would probably have been enough to keep the kid from spiraling. 

Varian’s choices once he got desperate were entirely his own, of course, but the point of all this is that he never should have been pushed to that point at all. Preventing his downward spiral would have been ridiculously easy, and well within the limits of Rapunzel’s original characterization. Varian was a good villain because he never should’ve been put on the path to become one. His motives were solid, relatable, and understandable. You could get exactly why he did the things he did, you could even empathize with him in some regards. You might not agree with his decisions, but you could understand how he got to that point. How, in his mind, his actions were justified.

Cassandra, on the other hand? If her villainy was even half as well-developed as Varian’s, I’d probably love the plot twist. If she’d discovered she was Gothel’s daughter and her villainy was focused on her inner conflict about whether that heritage means she’s just meant to be the villain or if she could be more than her lineage, that would be interesting.

Instead, we get to watch a grown-ass woman throw an extremely destructive hissy fit because “Mommy didn’t love me.” This dumbass grew up in the fucking palace. Are you really trying to tell me she had no clue how much damage Gothel’s selfishness and vanity wrought? That her initial reaction to learning that her mother was the reason a family was destroyed for eighteen years was anything other than revulsion and an internal conflict regarding her own nature is just absolutely revolting to me. There’s being upset because someone keeps upstaging you, and then there’s taking victim blaming to a whole new level. 

Cassandra becoming a villain certainly had an impact, there’s no doubt about that, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good one. Cassandra has made the choice to idolize a literal dumpster fire of a human being and burn every other bridge in her life for the sake of maintaining this delusion.

None of her actions since Destines Collide make any goddamned sense. I understand breakdowns. I understand being pushed to your absolute limit and cracking under pressure. I can understand learning a dark secret about your family’s past and reacting horribly to it. But the way her face-heel-turn was written was just horrifically sloppy and leaves no room for sympathy. There is no grey area here. There is no blame to share between Cassandra and whose who she thinks have ‘wronged’ her.

Cassandra got to grow up with a parent who honestly loved her and cared about her. Rapunzel got to grow up with a parent who was abusive and narcissistic and honestly didn’t give a shit about Rapunzel as a person beyond ensuring she’d stay meek and obedient and Gothel’s walking spa treatment.

So yeah, I honestly don’t want Cassandra redeemed. I think she’s way past the point where a redemption is warranted. The key to a feasible redemption is a willingness on the redeem-ee’s part to take responsibility for their shitty actions and work to make amends. Cassandra has brought a shovel and started digging every time someone put the bar on the ground. There are only three episodes left and that is NOT enough time for Cassandra to make up for this level of bullshit.

[thebluelemontree]

On this note: “ Another way of saying Littlefinger didn’t bet on Sandor is that he didn’t account for him.” I know people say that Varys was behind the bread riot, but there’s some speculation around that it was actually LF and Mandon Moore was one of his men. Moore abandons Sansa in the riots and I think that was staged. LF didn’t account for Sandor saving her. What he planned on doing to her - maybe an escape? IDK.

People say a lot of things in this fandom, let’s put it that way.  We see in no POV’s account that there is any evidence of attempted kidnapping on Sansa during the riot, let alone a whole conspiracy to commit kidnapping that was thwarted.  Let’s remember, Tyrek Lannister was the one that got snatched here (allegedly, technically he’s only known to be missing).  If anyone was specifically targetted, it was him.

The bread riot was always a powder keg waiting to explode.  No one person orchestrated it.  The Tyrells had cut off food supplies from the Reach when they stood with Renly against Stannis and Joffrey.  Prices are ridiculously high, and basic foodstuffs are scarce.  There’s rampant lawlessness in the streets as well as a bloody flux.  There’s open talk of rebellion among the guilds and merchants. Tyrion is burning down all homes and shops between the water and the city walls in preparation for Stannis’s attack.  This is going to displace hundreds, maybe thousands of poor people.  Joffrey is executing antler men and personally shooting bolts into unarmed, starving citizens.  Begging brothers are preaching damnation of the corrupt nobility, including charging them with incest, birthing monsters, and reveling under demonic influence.  The Lannister-Baratheons could not be more hated than they are at that moment.  We have to remember that at the time of the riot, Littlefinger was well away at Bitterbridge and then went on to High Garden to negotiate with Mace Tyrell for the then widowed Margaery’s hand.  He already has his man Dontos plotting with Sansa in the godswood, gaining her trust, so she leaves willingly when the time is right.  A second kidnapping/escape plot overcomplicates everything is totally unnecessary.  If Moore was supposed to be LF’s man, why wouldn’t he just lead Sansa away to a rendezvous point under the pretense of eluding the mob?  That would have been simple and plausible as her shield.  Just abandoning her in the swarm doesn’t speak to a plan that has to go off without any mishaps.  

On the other hand, Varys is the one official still in the city who was noted by Jaime to be conspicuously absent from seeing Myrcella off to Dorne.  Varys, who claimed to have informants all over the city, yet he never forewarned Cersei of any possible riot.  Again, it’s Tyrek that disappears without a trace.     

Sorry for the long wait.  I actually had to take some time to re-read and reflect on Mandon Moore.  I think it’s a really bad place to start the speculation with the assumption that he must be working for someone at all.  My conclusion is that he’s not working for anyone, and he doesn’t have to be to do what he does.  He is a guy motivated by naked self-interest and personal advancement, and that does not necessarily equate with greed or being in anyone’s pocket.  IMO, I think he has traits similar to a corporate psychopath (though he’s obviously down for murder too) than anything else.  Let’s just focus on how his characterization is described first.

Jaime had once told him that Moore was the most dangerous of the Kingsguard—excepting himself, always—because his face gave no hint as what he might do next. – Tyrion I, ACOK.

He’s described as appearing corpse-like with eyes that are “oddly flat and lifeless.”  He’s cold and emotionless.  Most notably, Ser Mandon has ties to no one.      

Lord Arryn brought him to King’s Landing and Robert gave him his white cloak, but neither loved him much, I fear. Nor was he the sort the smallfolk cheer in tourneys, despite his undoubted prowess. Why, even his brothers of the Kingsguard never warmed to him. Ser Barristan was once heard to say that the man had no friend but his sword and no life but duty … but you know, I do not think Selmy meant it altogether as praise. Which is queer when you consider it, is it not? Those are the very qualities we seek in our Kingsguard, it could be said—men who live not for themselves, but for their king. By those lights, our brave Ser Mandon was the perfect white knight. – Tyrion II, ASOS.

Of all the things said about him, nowhere does anyone suggest it is in Mandon Moore’s character to want anything outside of his career within the kingsguard.  He has a single-minded focus on duty and serving the king in an almost robotic level of obedience.  No one can tell what goes on behind that blank expression.  If a man’s motivations are unknowable, you can’t predict future behavior.  Mandon Moore does not strike me as someone who would fall prey to bribery or blackmail.  He’s not ideologically motivated, nor is he someone a conspirator can confidently rely on to carry out a task without risk of being double-crossed.  If we look at men Littlefinger has taken into his service like Ser Dontos, the Kettleblacks, Janos Slynt, Nestor Royce, Lothor Brune, Lyn Corbray, there’s always a glaring weakness to be exploited, be it greed, excessive/wounded pride, addiction, closeted homosexuality, desperation, debt, estrangement from family, desire to rise from the underclass, lack of better options, etc.  Mandon doesn’t have any of these vulnerabilities.  

So what did I mean by having traits in common with a corporate psychopath, though?  Varys talks about Mandon being “the perfect white knight” and possessing the ideal qualities of a kingsguard.  Certain types of corporate psychopaths can wear a facade of traits that the business world desires and values.  They can seem like the perfect employee that the company leadership can rely on.  They appear to be fearless and unwavering in their drive for success, sometimes even earning praise and recognition for outright ruthlessness.  Their sometimes apparent lack of emotions could be read as having the grit to do what is necessary in times of turmoil.  Most use manipulative tactics to discredit, undermine, or sabotage coworkers and superiors alike just to get ahead, which I will show is relevant in Moore’s case.  Everyone is either a potential pawn, patron, or enemy to be eliminated.  Not all psychopaths have superficial and grandiose charm, and no one would accuse Mandon of being charming, but he does put himself out there to be seen as indispensably valuable to the king.

Let’s go back to the bread riot and why Mandon Moore abandoned Sansa’s side as her shield.

Tyrion pressed blunt fingers into his throbbing temples. If Sansa Stark had come to harm, Jaime was as good as dead. “Ser Mandon, you were her shield.”

Ser Mandon Moore remained untroubled. “When they mobbed the Hound, I thought first of the king.”

“And rightly so,” Cersei put in. “Boros, Meryn, go back and find the girl.“  – Tyrion IX, ACOK.

I see no sign that there’s any duplicity going on here when he’s questioned.  Mandon Moore acted in a way he believed the king and the queen regent (his patrons) would approve of.  The traitor’s daughter’s life doesn’t mean anything to Joffrey, and she is only a secondary thought of the queen’s after they are safe within the castle; therefore, she is not a useful pawn to him.  If Mandon Moore shows any desire for anything at all, it’s this:  Sandor Clegane’s privileged position with the Lannisters.  Joffrey ordered Sandor to go after the peasant that threw the dung.  As Sandor is mobbed (and it would be reasonable to wager he’ll be imminently killed), Ser Mandon seized the opportunity to swoop in as Sandor’s replacement, dropping Sansa like a hot potato.  There is a reason he keeps being ironically regarded as the white knight in shining armor.  He’s a real Johnny on the spot that one.  Even if Sandor somehow isn’t killed, Moore still comes out looking like the kingsguard that did not falter in his duty to protect the king even in all the confusion and chaos.  It’s an opportunistic upstaging of a colleague to discredit his effectiveness at his job.  It proves shortsighted on his part because Sandor not only survives but has Sansa, still a valuable Lannister hostage, alive and in tow.      

This will come up again at the Battle of the Blackwater when Sandor finally breaks from the wildfire.  Tyrion orders Sandor to continue leading sorties outside the city walls, but he refuses.  Guess who chimes in?

Ser Mandon Moore moved to Tyrion’s side, immaculate in his enameled white plate. "The King’s Hand commands you.”  

“Bugger the King’s Hand.” Where the Hound’s face was not sticky with blood, it was pale as milk. “Someone bring me a drink.” A gold cloak officer handed him a cup. Clegane took a swallow, spit it out, flung the cup away. “Water? Fuck your water. Bring me wine.”

He is dead on his feet. Tyrion could see it now. The wound, the fire … he’s done, I need to find someone else, but who? Ser Mandon? He looked at the men and knew it would not do. Clegane’s fear had shaken them. Without a leader, they would refuse as well, and Ser Mandon … a dangerous man, Jaime said, yes, but not a man other men would follow. – Tyrion XIII, ACOK.

Since when has Moore ever shown any deference to Tyrion’s authority before?  Never.  This is a performance for his situational patron, part of Moore’s facade.  What is suggested by vocally taking Tyrion’s side is that Moore wants Tyrion to name him commander.  He would see the opportunity to take Sandor’s place by not only highlighting the latter’s disobedience, but his posturing implies that he wouldn’t hesitate to carry out the Hand’s orders.  It’s also a boon that Sandor’s behavior is quickly tanking any remaining confidence in his courage and leadership ability.  Moore must have thought himself the natural choice to assume command as he is a kingsguard and a capable fighter, but he could not have foreseen Tyrion absorbing Jaime’s counsel.  Instead, Tyrion decides to lead the sorties himself, shaming anyone that doesn’t follow as being less than a dwarf.  Being named the king’s standard-bearer, as Ser Mandon was, is usually considered a high honor.  A corporate psychopath wouldn’t see it that way.  It’s a piss poor consolation to being led around by someone he would consider a lesser man.  Battle is where a knight earns his commendations and honors, which we see in Sansa’s eighth chapter in Clash.  As commander of the sorties and his rival disgraced as a craven, Moore would have been the hero of the day should they emerge victorious.  Tyrion prevented that.  Moore would then be left with only one other option to assume leadership.  Tyrion has to fall on the battlefield.

“MY LORD! TAKE MY HAND! MY LORD TYRION!”

There on the deck of the next ship, across a widening gulf of black water, stood Ser Mandon Moore, a hand extended. Yellow and green fire shone against the white of his armor, and his lobstered gauntlet was sticky with blood, but Tyrion reached for it all the same, wishing his arms were longer. It was only at the very last, as their fingers brushed across the gap, that something niggled at him … Ser Mandon was holding out his left hand, why …  – Tyrion XIV, ACOK.

Ser Mandon’s sword comes down in his right hand and nearly kills Tyrion.  What Moore could not have anticipated was getting iced by Podrick Payne before he could finish Tyrion off.  There’s a simple elegance to Moore’s motivations being strictly his own.  There’s no complicated conspiracy needed to explain any of his actions.  He’s just a shark in a suit of armor.  But what about Varys implying there was a conspiracy to kill Tyrion with Moore as the catspaw?  It seems to validate Tyrion’s suspicions that it was Cersei, or at least someone.                  

Bronn had turned up all he could on Ser Mandon, but no doubt Varys knew a deal more … should he choose to share it. “The man seems to have been quite friendless,” Tyrion said carefully.

“Sadly,” said Varys, “oh, sadly. You might find some kin if you turned over enough stones back in the Vale, but here … Lord Arryn brought him to King’s Landing and Robert gave him his white cloak, but neither loved him much, I fear. Nor was he the sort the smallfolk cheer in tourneys, despite his undoubted prowess. Why, even his brothers of the Kingsguard never warmed to him.

… [the Barristan part already quoted above]

And he died as a knight of the Kingsguard ought, with sword in hand, defending one of the king’s own blood.” The eunuch gave him a slimy smile and watched him sharply.

Trying to murder one of the king’s own blood, you mean. Tyrion wondered if Varys knew rather more than he was saying. Nothing he’d just heard was new to him; Bronn had brought back much the same reports. He needed a link to Cersei, some sign that Ser Mandon had been his sister’s catspaw. 

Let’s not forget Varys benefits by furthering the rifts within the Lannister regime.  He can easily play to Tyrion’s paranoia by suggesting there’s more behind Mandon Moore’s murder attempt than there was.  He smiles and mentions Moore’s origins in the Vale, a gesture at Littlefinger most likely; however, there are no substantial breadcrumbs left behind to connect Moore to anyone.  We’re even reminded twice that Bronn’s investigation turned up nothing except what was already well-known.  There’s just no there there.  Tyrion is doing the same thing as the conspiracy theories by assuming that Moore has to be in someone’s pay, but his reasoning is faulty.

Jaime had always said that Ser Mandon was the most dangerous of the Kingsguard, because his dead empty eyes gave no hint to his intentions. I should never have trusted any of them. He’d known that Ser Meryn and Ser Boros were his sister’s, and Ser Osmund later, but he had let himself believe that the others were not wholly lost to honor. Cersei must have paid him to see that I never came back from the battle. Why else? I never did Ser Mandon any harm that I know of. – Tyrion XV, ACOK.  

He mistook Moore’s commitment to duty and obedience for having honor.  And yes, he did unintentionally cross Ser Mandon. He just didn’t know it because he couldn’t read the guy.  He couldn’t see beneath the surface, and that is why Jaime is correct in calling him the most dangerous.  One can never know for sure if this type of corporate psychopath sees you as their pawn, their patron, or their enemy at any given moment.  There’s no way to mount a defense against that unless you can understand who you are really dealing with.  Tyrion was just very, very lucky that he brought Podrick Payne with him into battle.                            

[hellyeahheroes]

Self-Defeating Nature of Spite

Dan DiDio clearly is bitter that Cassandra got to be Batgirl after Barbara. He was clearly bitter since the day he got his position and has been working to undermine her. But it occurred to me how his method of going about it, in essence, boils down to two steps...that inherently contradict one another.

DiDio seems smart enough to be aware that if he cannot get rid of Cass then he needs to make sure people no longer want her as Batgirl. However, he picked two methods that seem to have been editorially enforcing for years over various writers, that show that he is trying to eat his cake and have it too.

a) He wants to create a new identity for Cass, one that can upstage her time as Batgirl and hope people will like it more. This is the role of making her Black Bat or Orphan.

b) He wants to make sure Cass will not overshadow Barbara. Either morally, hence the whole horrible evil Cass debacle. But more importantly, he wants to downplay her role, have her pushed aside or even removed from the frame completely and if he cannot, to have her be nothing but support to “real heroes” like Batman, whose skills are more an informed ability that never matter when it really counts and who is constantly upstaged by everyone.

You see a problem? If he keeps constantly erasing her, turning her into a background prob or freaking Worf, it is no wonder that no identity he gives her, be it Orphan or Black Bat, have gravitas and fandom love that Batgirl has. Moreover, I think anyone who actually ends up liking her in these new identities will sooner or later get introduced to her Batgirl series and likely blown away with how awesome she can be when given a chance.

DiDio’s own spite is self-defeating and he is constantly working against himself in his own efforts. It, of course, doesn’t help that ever since getting Barbara to be Batgirl again he had her overshadowed by her time as Oracle anyway. And seeing the whole “evil Oracle” arc you can see a pattern emerge with him (See also Jason Todd and how DiDio had him back as a villain because he cannot stand Dick was ever allowed to stop being Robin...except unlike Cass, Jason was allowed to be badass as Red Hood, was allowed to be a hero of his own story, and actually did form a new identity people liked).

- Admin

[rhysand-vs-fenrys]

ROWAN!!!!!

Thank you for the ask!!

Favorite thing about them:

He’s constantly surprising you. Like, he does the whole sweet and even brooding things, but then in KoA he just casually stops in the middle of his arch-enemy’s camp to skin a man alive (god that was hot).

Least favorite thing about them:

A lot of his humor is quiet-humor that doesn’t really come out when anyone besides Aelin is around, which can make him kind of this looming, dull presence sometimes.

Favorite line

“You collect scars because you want proof that you are paying for whatever sins you've committed. And I know this because I've been doing the same damn thing for two hundred years. Tell me, do you think you will go to some blessed Afterworld, or do you expect a burning hell? You're hoping for hell--because how could you face them in the Afterworld? Better to suffer, to be damned for eternity...”

Random headcanon

As a General and Whitethorn Prince, Rowan has a lot more experience leading a country than Aelin. He takes some of the more tedious jobs he knows she’ll hate. He also is careful to never upstage her. If she makes a mistake, he will subtly offer her ways to correct it or give advice on the DL so no one thinks he’s undermining her authority. 

Unpopular opinion

He’s one of the least interesting males, just because he wears it all on his sleeve. Aedion, Fenrys, and Post-Collar Dorian are more interesting. Chaol is the same level of interesting.

Song i associate with them

"Daughter of the Sea” from World of Warcraft (MV linked). No idea why it reminds me of him, but it does.

Ask Thing: Send Me A Character

[leftlovetragedy]

Moffat and his final problem with women

I can’t help but notice that Steven Moffat does have problems with female characters on his shows. Maybe when you watch a lot  of his works, only then you’ll notice it, but it is what it is. And the problem is? He writes Faux Strong Female Characters (FSFC). Why Faux? Well, here is why: 1) Irene Adler  

In ACD’s canon she works for herself, has her own personal life and doesn’t care romantically for Sherlock, is the one who outsmarted Sherlock, departed on her own terms into sunset and made Sherlock actually have respect for women ( “He used to make merry over the cleverness of women, but I have not heard him do it of late” - Watson about Sherlock in ACD’s lore). ACD wrote this Irene in XIX c. In BBC Sherlock? Yeah, on the surface  she is that cool dominatrix, comfortable with her sexuality, who blackmails powerful clients,  has a hold of  state secrets and even whips Sherlock at one point. But in the end? She doesn’t outsmart Sherlock at all, in fact she loses to him because of her feelings for him! That’s right, Sherlock is so damn cool and special dude, that Irene loses because of her emotions, using his name as a password for her very important mobile, which contains all the important info she uses as her protection. In a blink she is begging Sherlock, with tears in her eyes, saying that she is  toast without her mobile. At the end of episode it gets “better” when Sherlock actually rescues her from terrorists in Pakistan in a total classical damsel-in-distress trope. Not only that, but we learn from this episode that Irene works with Moriarty and in fact her plan to trick Holmes brothers wasn’t her plan (”I had all this stuff; never knew what to do with it. Thank God for the consultant criminal. Gave me a lot of advice about how to play the Holmes boys” - says Irene in BBC Sherlock). So Irene in BBC Sherlock needs consulting  from Moriarty to work out a cohesive plan, loses to Sherlock in the game of wits because her wits were very much affected by her sentiments towards Sherlock and needs to be saved by him with wielding sword action. Steven Moffat wrote this Irene in XXI c.

2) Mary Morstan | Mary Watson 

In ACD’s canon she and Watson met because of the case, she worked for some time as governess, they married and then she died. 

In BBC Sherlock on the surface she got an upgrade in badassery. She is  a former assassin, who now tries to have a new, normal life  with John Watson and has a baby with him, very skilled, very clever, with quick reactions,  quite an intellectual match to Sherlock and often more clever than her husband John. Yet in attempts to make a strong skilled character Moffat  screws up, cause this really smart, professional trained ex-assassin  uses perfume while she goes out to kill a guy who blackmailed her; can’t figure out that her USB flash drive has a tracking device and goes to a meeting with a person, who is responsible for her  fellow assassin  ex-colleagues being taken down, without any weapons or protection (you know, there’re such things as bullet-proof body armour that could be worn under your clothes in the situation like this, surely ex-assassin should know this ). And the result? Mary is killed in a most ridiculous fashion by some bored secretary, because she jumped in front of the bullet trying to save-you guess it right - Sherlock from being shot. ACD also had Mary dead, however without fanfare, silliness and without  Mary dying for Sherlock or without giving Mary a little baby girl, leaving this girl motherless as a result of Mary’s death in the name of Sherlock. Steven Moffat wrote Mary as this super pro,  smart and experienced, who at the same time makes spectacular dumb decisions which undermine her supposed smartness and proficiency, who gives up her own agenda, her new life with her husband and daughter, the new life she wanted after retiring and worked for and finally got - because of Sherlock. Because Sherlock is so special and important here, that female character must die for him.  3) Eurus Holmes

The secret sister of Holmes brothers made up by Moffat and Gatiss.   Locked in a secret prision (facility), she is a genius from childhood, killed Sherlock’s best  friend when they were little kids, manipulator (can actually hypnotise people with talking or something and make them dance to her tune), master of disguise, can arrange wild games of survival, can escape her prision at her own will, etc. On the surface she is uber nemesis to Sherlock, maybe in some ways more dangerous than Moriarty himself! But all her talents and wits in the end were all about getting attention of her brother Sherlock and hanging out with him. Yeah, in the end it was all about Sherlock being so special and important that his super smart sister didn’t really want anything else and as soon as Sherlock got a proper hold of her, Eurus was tamed, cause she pretty much didn’t have any other agenda in life. She has visits from her brother now and they can play their violins together.  Awww. That’s it! Apart from making it all about Sherlock (again!) the whole twist with super secret sister who suddenly appeared out of the blue was just bad writing on the level of juvenile fanfiction. But Sherlock is not the only one of Moffat’s title characters who is that damn special  and cool, so female characters must bend for him in that way or another. Look at Doctor Who! 4) Missy

Missy, female regeneration of The Master, the old nemesis of The Doctor. On the surface she is dangerous, smart, cunning, with evil glee and no boundaries. She can kill and mock, and scheme.   Yet her  first plot in the series was to raise the Earth's dead as an army of Cybermen - and give this army as a gift  to The Doctor!   Missy then suggests that she and the Doctor can still hang out together again and return to Gallifrey together. Eh? Missy’s last plot in the series was to be saved by The Doctor from execution. Then The Doctor locks Missy in his vault under the university campus - and Missy begins to reform and see errors of her ways! Apparantely nothing helps a woman to reform like being put under lock and key by a guy in his basement and giving guidance to this woman! Her arc ends with Missy wanting to help the Doctor and getting killed because she chose The Doctor’s side.  In other words, the first ever female version of the Master aka Missy died for the Doctor, was tutored by him and basically wanted to hang out with him more than anything else. Riiight. Cause The Doctor is that special, you know. 5) River Song

Professor River Song. Archaeologist, child of Tardis, has a Time Lord DNA, time traveller. On the surface brave, witty, smart, strong-willed. Still she unfortunately got the shades of Moffat’s treatment of his female characters. She was raised by the Silence to kill the Doctor but fell in love with him and became his wife.  In her childhood as Mels she was obsessed with the Doctor, when she regenerated into River Song  she entered the University to become archaeologist  in order to find the Doctor  through time and space. She was ready to screw time and space and history, by defying a fixed point in time because Doctor meant too much too her . As a result time shredded into a reality where all history happened at once. She finally fixed it by fake-killing the Doctor, but then she was sentenced to several life sentences for this murder and served the sentence to make the Silence believe him dead, and though she often escaped her prision to spend time with The Doctor, she always returned to her cel. Like another gig of female character being locked up for the sake of main male protagonist. Okey dokey. In the end River didn’t allow  The Doctor to sacrifice himself in the Library in order to save people there, and took his place, dying as a result of this. The thing is Steven Moffat here has a female character who is very much emotionally fixed on his main male protagonist, who can easily  become putty in his hands at times because of this. And dies for him. See the trend?  That’s why it can be called FSFC. Sure, Moffat’s female characters may use guns or whips, act dangerously and independent on the surface, throw around quirky and  quick-witted lines, have some adventures, use word “sexy” a lot , go against main male protagonist, even go after his life - but in the end they get upstaged by this main male protagonist either because it turns out that  they have real strong emotional attachment to him and it makes them lose or give up or join his side, or because this main male protagonist is so special and important in general, that they just feel obliged to make sacrifices for him. Or combination of these variants. As a bonus: many of those  FSFC can be really flashy and have a “bad girl” vibe. Moffat obviously has a kink for “bad girls” and likes to write them, so the main male protagonist, be it Sherlock or Doctor Who, can get an upper hand over those bad girls. IDK, probably it makes it all the sweeter for Moffat.   Irene, Missy, River, Eurus all have it in them. Irene is a dominatrix and string-puller and flaunts it; Missy, while cosplaying Mary Poppins in her looks, openly refers to herself as “bad girl” and surely acts like one; River a playful time travelling criminal/scientist/adventurer has enemies-to-lovers trope played out with the Doctor in spades ( “ They engineered a psychopath to kill you -Totally married her"). Eurus  has a lot of very, very bad girl about her. Heck, even Mary Watson has some of it in her, due to her dark past as assasin for hire. This whole thing is very troubling and it seems many of Moffat’s  female characters can be "strong” only until they submit (in one form or another) to or in the name of main male protagonist. Because Moffat’s main male protagonists are that cool and special and awesome, so it must be about them and their awesomeness in the end, when the dust settles.

[biofunmy]

‘Extremely Evil Misconduct’: Thailand’s Palace Intrigue Spills Into View

BANGKOK — The denunciations have swirled through Thailand’s gilded palaces with the rhetorical extravagance of a Shakespearean history.

The official consort to the king was accused of trying to upstage the queen and “undermining the nation,” leading to the stripping of her royal titles after less than three months on the job.

A grand chamberlain was removed for “severely immoral acts” that allegedly included forcing a paramour to undergo an abortion.

And last week, four more courtiers, two of whom were described as bedchamber pages, were removed for “extremely evil misconduct.”

Nearly half a year ago, King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun was crowned in a lavish spectacle culminating in the placement of a 16-pound crown on his head. Since then the 67-year-old king has assembled a court whose intrigue frequently spills onto the pages of the Royal Thai Government Gazette, which normally records more anodyne matters.

The explosive details of the palace purges stand in contrast to the reserved tenor of the seven-decade reign of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, his father. At the time of his death in 2016, King Bhumibol was the world’s longest-serving royal. He did not leave Thailand for decades, and he was often pictured in rice paddies or factories with his subjects.

King Maha Vajiralongkorn spends much of his time in Germany and has not continued the tradition of communing with ordinary Thais, at least in photos that have been made public. The king has taken high-profile steps that appear to have bolstered his authority.

Last year, he assumed oversight over the Crown Property Bureau, whose fortune, believed to be upward of $30 billion, helps make him one of the world’s wealthiest royals.

In February, he quashed the political candidacy of his elder sister, Ubolratana Rajakanya Sirivadhana Varnavadi, calling her attempt to run for prime minister “highly inappropriate.”

Last month, he ordered two infantry units in Bangkok, the capital, moved from normal military command to that of his royal corps.

“This direct taking of control is something that we haven’t seen since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932,” said Tamara Loos, the chair of the history department at Cornell University and an expert on Thai monarchic traditions. “It’s a slide toward something that is very different from his father’s behind-the-scenes way of operating.”

The recent announcement that four palace insiders were being stripped of their royal and military titles capped a tumultuous week, which began when the king’s official companion was publicly purged.

On Oct. 21, an announcement in the Royal Thai Government Gazette stated that Sineenat Wongvajirapakdi had been divested of her title of noble consort. She was accused of “ingratitude” and of scheming against Queen Suthida Vajiralongkorn Na Ayudhya, the king’s fourth wife.

Ms. Sineenat’s actions “caused the royal household staff to be discordant,” the official statement said.

A nursing college graduate, Ms. Sineenat had enjoyed her official position, which is separate from that of wife, for only a matter of weeks. The title of noble consort had not been used since Thailand abolished absolute monarchy and polygamy more than eight decades ago.

Two days after Ms. Sineenat was stripped of her title, several other courtiers, including a senior representative of the king in many ceremonies, a nurse and a veterinarian from the royal canine division were dismissed for what was termed “severely evil misconduct using their government positions to seek benefits for themselves.”

Similar phrasing was used last week to describe the purported misdeeds of four others. Two of the courtiers were accused of adultery, which was deemed “an offense of the principles of the royal household staff.”

“You wouldn’t imagine that this is the language of a government gazette,” Ms. Loos said. “It’s more like a tabloid.”

The king, who is known in some official pronouncements as “the sacred lord over all heads,” has been married four times. His first wife, who is also his first cousin, retained the title of princess even after their divorce in 1991. They had one daughter.

His second wife, with whom he had five children while still married to his first wife, was an actress. She and their four sons live overseas, but their daughter, Sirivannavari Nariratana, carries out royal duties in Thailand.

A fashion designer, Princess Sirivannavari made headlines last year after a Thai entertainment host who panned a gown she had designed was threatened with criminal prosecution.

Thailand has strict laws against criticism of the royal family. Offenders can be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison for each count of lèse-majesté. Because complaints can be lodged by anyone, not only the police, human rights groups say the law, meant to protect the monarchy, has been twisted to suppress political dissent.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, multiple academics and political commentators in Thailand declined to comment on the slew of firings recorded in the Royal Thai Government Gazette.

The king’s third wife, Srirasmi Suwadee, was considered a princess until she and at least nine of her relatives were purged five years ago, after the palace alleged that they had used their royal connections to illegally burnish their wealth. Ms. Srirasmi’s parents were jailed for lèse-majesté.

The pair had one son, Dipangkorn Rasmijoti, who is considered the heir apparent to the throne.

The king’s marriage to his fourth wife, Queen Suthida, a former flight attendant, was made public in May, three days before he was crowned.

It was on the king’s birthday this year, July 28, that he named Ms. Sineenat his noble consort.

The Royal Household Bureau later released pictures of the two together, including images of Ms. Sineenat flying a plane while wearing a camouflage-printed sports bra and another of her cradling a white poodle, which was wearing what appeared to be a black leather onesie.

The king has owned a number of pet poodles, one of which was granted the military rank of air chief marshal.

Several women associated with the king have also attained high military positions. Queen Suthida was named a general in the king’s bodyguard corps, while Ms. Sineenat was a major general before her downfall.

Ryn Jirenuwat contributed reporting.

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[newyorktheater]

At one moment in “Stuffed,” a scattershot play about our disordered relationship with food, Lisa Lampanelli talks with disdain about a skinny friend of hers who turned down dessert, saying ‘I’m not hungry.’

“Not hungry!?! Not hungry!?! What the F- does being hungry have to do with eating a goddamned dessert?”

It’s a funny line, expertly delivered by an experienced stand-up comic – experienced both in humor and in eating issues. If “Stuffed” offers many such nutritious morsels, unfortunately they are not the dominant flavor in this over-spiced but thin stew.

Lampanelli, who begins the show by bursting out of a padlocked refrigerator, tells us from the get-go that she has lost and gained over 372 pounds in her 56 years. But she waits almost to the end to explain that she has had weight-loss surgery. (“People think, ‘Oh, she got surgery to lose weight! That’s cheating. She took the easy way out.’ I used to think that, too…”) Her weight-loss surgery helps explain the incongruity of the svelte figure before us in a pink pantsuit and oddly purpled hair delivering so many fat jokes. But there’s no such easy explanation, except perhaps inexperience, for the odd hybrid that Lampanelli has created. “Stuffed” is overstuffed with one-liners, confessional monologues, lame parodies of morning talk shows and presidential debates, and awkward interaction between Lampanelli playing a version of herself and three actresses playing characters: Marty (Lauren Ann Brickman) is fat and proud; Britney (Eden Malyn) is a recovering anorexic; Katey (Marsha Stephanie Blake ) is a skinny woman who can’t gain weight.

There’s no plot, or even a sense of forward motion, and Lampanelli undermines any possibility of character development with her staccato writing. Much of the “dialogue” are riffs that are indistinguishable from lists. Excerpt from their riff on salads:

Lisa: I’d rather eat a gun than a salad

Britney: Unless it’s got croutons . . . Marty: . . . bacon bits . .

Katey: . . avocado . . . Marty: Mmm! Fat Girl Salad! Britney: You know what I love? A wedge salad!

Lisa: Cobb salad!

Marty: Fried chicken salad!

Katey: Taco salad!

Britney, Lisa and Marty: Taco salad!

A little of this goes a long way, and there’s a lot of it.

Lampanelli’s fellow cast members are fine actresses but the playwright and star, with a background in stand-up not theater, simply doesn’t know how to employ them to best effect, and they wind up seeming peripheral and upstaged.   A small, odd indication of this is the way she takes a hand microphone out of her pocket to deliver her solo lines, but none of the three other actresses get microphones.

Those unacquainted with Lampanelli’s humor need to be warned that it is often deliberately and defiantly, um, tasteless: Within a minute of bursting out of that refrigerator, she’s making a joke about her mother’s private parts. These vulgar jokes can feel as if they don’t belong in the same show as the serious monologues. One of the best is Lampanelli’s charming and sad story of her relationship with Big Frank, a terrific man, but one who was 400 pounds and wouldn’t commit to losing weight even though his obesity was killing him. It’s a hint of what Lampanelli was aiming for, and it’s far from the only moment in “Stuffed” that works. But the loose structure of the show doesn’t hold them all together, making its 90 minute running time feel much longer.

Still, there is something in “Stuffed” that will surely stay with me, a vivid summary of the love-hate relationship with food. It’s a little sculpture sitting on a shelf on the kitchen set — a three-letter word, but it’s unclear whether the word is “eat�� or “fat.”

Stuffed Westside Theatre Written by Lisa Lampanelli with additional material by Ashley Austin Martin Directed by Jackson Gay Scenic design by Antje Ellerman, costume design by Jessica Ford, lighting design by Amith Chandrashaker, sound design by Elisheba Ittoop Cast: Lisa Lampanelli, Lauren Ann Brickman, Eden Malyn, Marsha Stephanie Blake Running time: 90 minutes, no intermission

Tickets: $79-$89

  Stuffed Review: Lisa Lampanelli Riffs on Food At one moment in “Stuffed,” a scattershot play about our disordered relationship with food, Lisa Lampanelli talks with disdain about a skinny friend of hers who turned down dessert, saying ‘I’m not hungry.’

[politicaltheatre]

He Was Expendable

He was expendable, just one more disposable hanger-on and not the trusted, necessary insider he once seemed to be.

That's certainly nothing Steve Bannon ever wanted to hear, or ever would. He'd rather have his version, the way he's telling it right now, the way he'd already been telling it since long before he was in the White House, let alone fired by the man he put there. He did put him there, right?

He was the intellect, the man of ideas, the architect of everything the Trump presidency was supposed to be. His hands may not have been on the steering wheel, but his fingerprints surely were. He may have been a campaign late-comer, but he was there all along in spirit. Without his extreme right-wing, bullying, lying, race-baiting website, Breitbart, serving as a beacon for Trump and those sick and tired of having to be accountable to others - the ones who ended up voting for him - Hillary Clinton, her corrupt Wall Street friends, and the "Deep State" would now be in power. It's all true. Right?

It has a ring of truth to it, but the best lies always do. If you buy Bannon's own post-mortem, he left the White House because his vision for America has been highjacked by the “Deep State” and Beltway insiders. As for Clinton's inability to separate herself from he Wall Street ties, it certainly played a large part in dooming her campaign but that was only because it was and remains an argument anyone could and did make about her. For years. Her failed attempts to deflect it by focusing on her sex didn't help. Her failure to engage with angry, white lower and lower middle class voters didn't help, either. Nor did her inability to sound authentic about anything. At all.

She had an experienced team surrounding her, one that had won elections for her, her husband, and for other Democrats, but they failed her (and us). The problem, as likely as any other, was that her team was filled with like minded men and women, ones who would not question flaws but instead tried to make those flaws work or, failing that, tried their damnedest to spin them far away or, failing that, ignore them and pray for the best. They failed.

This is the trouble with assigning credit or blame to any one man or woman. How necessary was Bannon to Trump's success, and how necessary is he now? It's a bit of a chicken and egg thing. To hear Bannon tell it, he has to be one or the other, if not both, just not when it comes to failure.

The two things Steve Bannon has been good at in his life, so far as we can know, are bullshitting and pushing people's buttons. They are also, not coincidentally, the things that truly define Trump, his entire administration, and everyone working for Bannon at Breibart. The naked racism that played so well for candidate Trump at rallies certainly did encourage the open, naked aggression by white supremacists (and by Trump's other, "fine" people), but was it truly central to the support of those who voted for him and those who gravitated to work for him, or is it for them just a cost of doing business to get the things they told themselves and keep telling themselves that they really want?

Whatever those voters told themselves back in November, the rise in hate speech and right wing violence is one of the few actual achievements of the Trump regime. In the seven months since his inauguration, the president has accomplished astonishingly few of the items promised for his First 100 Days. Replacing the Affordable Care Act and "draining the swamp" have been utter failures, the former because Republicans campaigned for almost a decade on repeal without ever expecting to have to follow through, and the latter because Trump filled his administration with the very Wall Street insiders he claimed would come with Clinton, a result that was predictable for anyone who cared to google who Donald Trump's friends are.

The policy of hiring to lead government agencies only those who would promise to destroy them, which may be Trump's most lasting legacy, is known to have been the brainchild of Mr. Bannon. He called it, "deconstructing the administrative state". While waiting for their Republican allies in Congress to act, those men and women - those who have even been appointed - have engaged in a process of de facto deregulation - "returning regulatory authority to the states" - that has federal departments and agencies either passively ignoring or in some cases actively undermining their legally mandated duty to enforce regulatory laws and thereby protect the American people from the very corporations Trump, Bannon, and their campaign surrogates claimed to hate.

The rest of Trump's achievements also came in those same first few weeks of his administration, mostly in the form of hateful and hate filled executive orders, which were written, in whole or part, by Bannon and the equally seemingly out of nowhere and still very much employed Stephen Miller. Trump's apocalyptic inauguration speech was co-written by them, too.

Bannon could, and did, rightly claim that he was responsible for his president's most successful month and a half. That month and a half and Bannon's public role in decisions in the White House ended with a glowing puff piece on his life published in the ever accommodating, Rupert Murdoch-owned Wall Street Journal.

According to the story publish way back on March 16th, the only thing more impressive than Bannon's grip on policy in the White House was his creation myth. Bannon, it told us, began as a classic 1970s "lefty", a fan of once, current, and probably future California Governor Jerry Brown. You can't get more '70s lefty than that. Along the way, though, following one entirely avoidable economic tragedy, he somehow embraced right wing autocracy as a solution to...ending left wing autocracy.

This, we were expected to believe, was Saul seeing the light and becoming Paul. It's a story we've heard probably too many times, if only because we insist on failing to learn lessons that might prevent bullshit artists such as Bannon from trying to foist it on us yet again. The point is that it's supposed to be some sort of mystery what turns a "died-in-the-wool lefty" into an autocratic bully, and that because of where this man supposedly started we're supposed to accept that he really was a swell guy all along.

No. Bannon never had any epiphany, nor is he some secret liberal or a deep cover agent provocateur working towards a communist utopia. Even if the loose, linear details of his origin myth are somehow true, the fable of his motivations is just one more lie. Looking only at Bannon's actions, he has simply followed the same tragic, impatient, rightward trajectory of other brutal authoritarians before him, men history will remember far longer than Steve Bannon and, if we’re lucky, Donald Trump, men such as Josef Stalin, Benito Mussolini, Adolf Hitler, Mao Zedong, and Pol Pot.

To a lesser, or perhaps more easily digestible, extent there is also former labor activist Ronald Reagan, who swung Right during the Red Scare of the 1950s. There are countless others throughout history, all of whom made that same journey, all of them using failures of the Left to provide certainty and a uniform movement with immediate results as an excuse for cracking skulls and breaking eggs. Some, such as Reagan, may genuinely have lost faith with the Left, making horribly misguided choices from relatively benign intentions; the rest, the ones with the blood of millions on their hands, just wanted power and in right wing demagoguery found a means to that end.

Impatience defined them all just as it defines Bannon, his president, those who remain in the White House, and all those who continue to support them. Power and the instant gratification it promises is all they want, no matter what they say. Bannon's actual history, putting the lie to the Journal's white wash, is available for all to see, courtesy of the same internet he uses to cultivate fear and hatred, the same means he has used towards his terrible ends.

You, of course, do not upstage someone like Donald Trump, which is what that story and Saturday Night Live's Death costume served to do. Headlines this weekend weren't that Bannon was still the dark figure guiding the president like a puppet ("You're the puppet!!"), but that Bannon had long been on his way out. That, too, has a ring of truth to it. Stories about puppetry and front page origin myths for lieutenants are cardinal sins in politics. The leader is the leader and the ones behind the scenes keep their heads and egos down. That's not a guideline, that's a rule, certainly in the White House of Donald J. Trump.

It would be nice to believe Bannon's removal was all about Trump's White House correcting itself, about newly-minted Chief of Staff John Kelly throwing critics of Trump's defense of racists a bone, or even just an answer to Bannon’s bloviating, self-aggrandizing interview with The American Prospect, but we all know that's about as true as anything you'd read on Breitbart. Many with track records supporting racists, including Sebastian and Katharine Gorka, Jeff Sessions, Stephen Miller, and, of course, Kelly's boss, remain.

Painting Bannon as a scapegoat for racists in the Oval Office would for Trump be a signal his own failure. Instead, Trump tweeted his enthusiastic support for Bannon's return to his racist, right-wing propagandist roots, as well as Bannon's self-proclaimed "war" on any who would oppose him.

Bannon it seems, whether in the White House or not, is not expendable. He is, in truth, essential, at least to Trump and what Trump stands for. Bannon is a bully's bully, a racist's racist, and an advocate of violence. Trump needs Bannon and people just like him spreading his gospel over the short attention span of social media. He needs people who, like him, see lie, racism, fear mongering, and violence not as evil but as means to an end.

What is ultimately and sadly true is that they are. Lies, racism, fear mongering, and the threat of violence are things people use to acquire and hold onto resources, and to justify not having to be accountable to those who suffer as a result. They are short term means to short term ends, but try to explain that to people who can’t see beyond their own short term needs.

Take away lies, racism, fear mongering, and the threat of violence and you take away the oxygen on which right-wing power thrives. That terrifies Trump. When he chafes at condemning the violence of white supremacists, that's why. Trump will always have Bannon. He will always keep him. He's just keeping him out of his spotlight.

- Daniel Ward

[showbizchicago]

Reviewed by: Jim Schneider

Lyric Opera is drawing to the conclusion of their 2016-2017 series with a new production of George Bizet’s classic opera about out of control passion, Carmen; an opera containing some of the most well-known melodies and loved by many.

When it premiered at the Opera Comique in Paris on March 3, 1875 it was considered one of the most scandalous operas to ever be performed and, seeing it again made me realize why. Carmen is what I refer to as a down and dirty opera that generates from the groin; it is hot blooded, Spanish and as seamy a story as any found in romance fiction today.

Carmen, a Spanish gypsy who men find devastating, works in a cigarette factory in Seville, Spain occupied with soldiers. A young girl, Micaela (in one of the strongest, most well-rounded performances of the evening by Eleonora Buratto) is in love with a Spanish soldier, Don Jose, and has come with a message from his mother telling of her approval of Micaela as a wife for her son. Being the dutiful son he tells her he will follow his mother’s wishes.

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The bell rings inside the factory signaling a smoke break for the girls where Don Jose meets Carmen for the first time and instantly falls in love with her. Carmen teases him by tossing a flower at him before going back into the factory. Shortly screams are heard in the factory and the girls run out asking the soldiers for help. Carmen has slashed another girl across the face with a knife, a foreshadowing of things to come.

Carmen is arrested by Lieutenant Zuniga (superbly performed by Bradley Smoak) and he tells Don Jose to lock her up. She pleads with Don Jose and offers him her love if he will let her escape, which he does.

Now considered a traitor by his men, Don Jose is forced to leave his regiment and he runs into the mountains with Carmen. Six months has passed and she has grown tired of her controlling new lover and wishes to be rid of him. Being a gypsy and superstitious she draws cards from the pack to let her know of their future and comes up with the death card; she realizes that Don Jose will be the end of her.

Glamorous bullfighter Escamillo, (in an outstanding comical performance by Christian Van Horne who possesses a velvety bass voice rich in tone) enters and Carmen is immediately attracted to him, which enrages Don Jose, threatens to kill her if she leaves him.

In the final act, which takes place at the bullfighting arena where Carmen is waiting for her new lover, Escamillo when she is warned about Don Jose being in the crowd. Carmen, unapologetic and unafraid, laughs this off. After the crowd has gone inside to witness the bullfight Don Jose approaches Carmen and pleads for her not to leave him. Carmen, although still very much in love with Don Jose, does not want to be controlled by any man at the cost of her freedom, and rejects him again. Since he can’t have her he kills the only thing he has ever loved and the curtain falls with him weeping over her dead body.

The libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halevy combined with Bizet’s lush, passionate and memorable score makes a compelling opera; it is intimate in scope and gets lost in vast spaces.

Director Rob Ashford’s inspiration for Carmen derived from a famous Picasso painting “Guernica” which he translates into his conceptual design. He has also moved the action from 1875 to the Spanish Civil War of 1936-37 where fascists attempt to overthrow democracy (quite timely and relevant with what is going on in America at present with the demonstrations).

Rob Ashford’s concept unfortunately comes off passionless and unengaging in the much acclaimed Lyric production, lacking any true passion. If fact this is the most passionless production of Carmen I have seen. I never got the feeling that Ashford really understood the through line of the opera and that Carmen was a woman capable of intense love and does love Don Jose. However her Achilles heel is that she is largely a character who does not want to be controlled by passion or love. It appears that Ashford has directed his Carmen (sung beautifully by Russian soprano Ekaterina Gubanova) to remain distant and aloof which limits the complexity of his heroine and completely undermines her character development, making for a shallow and clichéd characterization. It is apparent that Gubanova is highly capable of delivering such a Carmen but her hands appeared to be tied and, as a result, she just wanders across the stage striking poses, fanning herself and falling into the trap of every cliché of a heartless and cold Gypsy prostitute.

In the role of Don Jose baritone Joseph Calleja does not fare much better, only acting from the head; his body and gestures are largely stiff. It is apparent why the Lyric engaged him as his voice is one of the finest tenor voices in opera. However he appears lost at times and director Rob Ashford has not done him any favors when staging his big aria where he confesses his love for Carmen “La fleur que tu m’avais jetée” with him downstage facing out and her lying upstage directly behind him on a table with her back to him. Much of the problem with the lack of chemistry between Gubanova and Calleja lies in the fact that they are seldom singing to one another but always facing out and at separate places on the stage; they cannot and do not connect for much of the evening.

The scene in Act two with the revolutionary Gypsies singing about the gypsy way of life, Dancaire (Emmett O’Hanlon), Remendado (Mingjie Lei) and Carmen’s good friends Frasquita (Diana Newman) and Mercedes (Lindsay Metzger) works very well and all four give delightful performances.

I also must fault the set design by David Rockwell as being one of the most singer unfriendly designs I have recently seen in opera, most apparent with the dramatic final act and layout of the entrance to the bullfighting arena where the singers are forced to play out because we lose their voices if the try to face one another. The result is a highly unnatural, look front and deliver staging of an opera that demands a highly naturalistic approach and visceral connection between the main players. Ashford’s production is highly presentational which works completely against Bizet’s score and the action of the libretto. I will credit him with the wise choice of translating many of the recitatives which are sung into a naturalistic dialogue, making the opera more accessible to non-opera goers.

Julie Weiss’ bland costume design is largely devoid of color and reinforces the passionless world of Ashford’s vision, lacking in individuality of characters by having all of the women in the cigarette factory in variations of the same black dress.

In contrast Donald Holder’s lighting design is Technicolor and provides the scorching heat and vibrancy which should have been carried through the rest of the design.

As always the Lyric chorus was in outstanding form and produced a tremendous wall of sound in their crowd numbers. Likewise the Lyric orchestra under the baton of Harry Bicket played Bizet’s score with passion and urgency.

Choreographer Rob Ashford states in his notes of the important role of the dancing in Carmen and his dancers and choreography are top notch. However I often found them to be distracting, especially when they mirror the action of the main couple, thus creating a further barrier to the intimacy of the story, drawing the eye away of action that should take precedence.

I think that Rob Ashford’s idea of making his Carmen more theatrical and less operatic is a wise move for engaging newer opera patrons. In fact this is the perfect opera for a new opera-goer. However much of it did not translate or form a cohesive whole. As a result we are given a mixed bag of ingredients instead of a fully baked vision.

Carmen runs at Lyric Opera of Chicago through March 25th. Tickets are available at www.lyricopera.org.

Lyric Opera’s Newest CARMEN Is Beautifully Sung, Poorly Acted Reviewed by: Jim Schneider Lyric Opera is drawing to the conclusion of their 2016-2017 series with a new production of George Bizet’s classic opera about out of control passion, …