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#but then he is absent for the entirety of the hell season!! not even mentioned afaik!! the writers really said cleo is the only character
opalsiren · 1 year
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rikki's dad in season one: notably absent at important moments when emma and cleo's parents are present, compared by rikki to a harrison bennett-level shitty dad
rikki's dad in season two: a sweet and engaged dad with a little bit of a temper like rikki but is capable of apologising, cares heaps about rikki, her friends, and boyfriend
rikki's dad in season three: absent the entire season, not even mentioned once when rikki's life is lowkey feeling apart, notably doesn't even attend her graduation, confusion abounds
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tobi-smp · 2 years
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I feel like the fandom puts a lot of unrealistic pressure on wilbur to help tommy with his problems without acknowledging that wilbur is still probably suicidal with his own bucketload of problems, and it's hard for him to be the same mentor figure he used to be to tommy because of the trauma he's been through. I feel like we expect wilbur to save tommy when he can't even save himself. Thoughts?
in my opinion, the problem is putting the expectation that one person is going to be able "save" or "fix" another person, that's not how relationships work.
wilbur and tommy are both actively suicidal, traumatized, and broken people who've lost their sense of self, sense of safety, and sense of trust over the course of the series. and there's this tendency in fandom that insists that there needs to be one savior figure to Fix Them to make it all go away. when what they actually need is a robust support system, a safe environment, and the space to help themselves heal and adjust (none of which is really possible on this hell server, but I digress).
I Do also think that part of the problem right now is exactly the fact that wilbur and tommy can’t seem to form consistent support systems. and when they Do have characters that are supposed to fill those roles there’s been this tendency in later seasons for them to just feel. Absent.
whether that’s phil giving terrible advice and being emotionally distant or tubbo having no idea what tommy’s been doing for the past year, characters who Should have deeply emotionally relevant relationships with the crimeboys kind of don’t right now and haven’t for a while.
so when it comes to hope for these characters in the narrative of the actual story, there’s a lot of people fixating on these two specifically being there for each other, because despite their schedules being just as inconsistent as anyone else’s their narratives are still Entwined. so the hope is that they’ll be allowed to have a satisfying arc together.
but this hyperfixation has, as I’ve mentioned, positioned one person as being responsible for the Entirety of someone else’s mental health and safety. there’s this co-dependent aspect for how the characters are treated in fan content. which I don’t think is necessarily abnormal for this or really Any fandom (people have a tendency to strip other characters away when they focus on their favs, it’s just a thing), but it sticks out in relation to These characters because of how important mental health is to their narratives.
people want wilbur to save tommy or tommy to save wilbur when what they need is Support. and yes, they can give that to each other, but they shouldn’t be the Only sources of that support. not just because they’re mentally ill and traumatized, but because that isn’t healthy for human beings In General. you need lots of people meeting your needs in your life.
though that said, depictions of unhealthy character dynamics aren’t inherently bad either, as long as they’re done with intentionality. it’s okay to explore themes of co-dependency and toxicity on purpose.
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and-stir-the-stars · 3 years
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This video about Castiel is very thought provoking and captures some of the tragedy of this unique character.
What do you think of the perspective below on Dean and Cas being mirrors for each other for at least some of their journey?
"Sometimes Dean's pattern reads as abused victim to abuser - his story almost mirrors Castiel's arc from an obedient soldier with an absent, neglectful father to free will but the accumulated damage warps him into an angry simulation of his father.
In his anger, he strikes out frequently at others, especially Jack and Castiel. Dean is so desperate in season 15 to kill Chuck, its like his last attempt to regain freedom and he pursues it to the exclusion of almost everything else.
His ending is a tragedy as he ends up circling back to the beginning and ends his life in the same bloody way to which he always resigned himself. His journey has been incredible but I wish he had been able to finish his fight for freedom."
Hiya, anon!!!
First off, that was a very great video; definitely left me pacing around my room multiple times in frustration over the way the brothers and the show treated Cas. I agree with everything the person in the video said; Castiel gave so much for Sam and Dean at every turn, and they almost never gave anything back, certainly not like they do for each other. My only qualm is that the person went into detail about how the brothers in general and Dean specifically mistreated Cas, but didn't mention Sam as much. For instance, the person mentioned Dean humiliating Cas in front of the angels who respected him in 9x22, but didn't mention that Sam himself 1) didn't disagree with Dean when he called Cas' family a "cult", and 2) even went so far as to justify Dean's reaction to Cas in private.
I can't say I've ever thought about Dean and Cas' stories mirroring each other back in their beginnings. That line about them being obedient soldiers with neglectful and abusive fathers who both learn how to genuinely question things does make sense at a surface level, and I can see how that dynamic would be compelling to a lot of shippers.
The thing that immediately catches my attention about that perspective is the bit about both of them struggling to grasp at free will. It's completely true; however, it's true in entirely different ways for each character.
For Dean, the free will he was fighting for was always for himself and Sam. Even in the seasons when they claimed to be fighting for humanity's free will, Sam and Dean willingly, with little to no qualms, worked with the angel stealing from Jimmy Novak what they were so desperate to keep themselves: their bodies, their family, their lives. And with all the times that the brothers work with angels or demons, and with how they endanger the world with the sole purpose of saving each other in later seasons, it's very hard to deny that Dean (and Sam) often cared far more about their own well-being than the world's when push came to shove.
With Cas, however, his journey towards possessing free will was never about himself. Cas' fight for free will was never about avoiding a horrible fate for himself-- he died multiple times, left behind and even killed his (angel) family, all in the name of humanity's free will. For Cas, the very act of possessing free will was an introduction into a world of pain and suffering. Suddenly, he had no clear-cut place in the world or an infallible direction in which to mindlessly strive, and suddenly he was capable of making the wrong choices. Cas' very first acts with free will were dying for the cause-- being killed by his siblings because it would buy Sam and Dean more time. His journey into free will was completely devoid of his own wants; it was all about giving humanity a choice, especially Sam and Dean. Throughout the entirety of the series, Cas rarely ever uses his hard-earned free will for himself, instead deciding to use it to sacrifice and give unto others. I mean, hell, the first thing Cas did with his free will after the Would-Be Apocalypse was try to give free will to other angels, and then to maintain Dean and Sam's free will by not dragging them back into a world of supernatural horrors, and to risk everything (including any hope of rekindling the remnants of his relationship with Sam and Dean, after thinking they had given up on the supernatural-- including Cas himself) to secure all of Earth's free will and safety with a civil war. Unlike Dean's, Cas' version of free will isn't about having the strength to say "no" to The Plan (be it Heaven's or their fathers' Plan) for his own sake, but about saying "no" so he has the opportunity and ability to help others-- often in the form of self-sacrifice.
Another thing that jumps out at me is the implication that Cas and Dean's stories start moving in different directions when Dean starts following after his abusive father's footprints. I would argue that their paths diverge later, because Cas did briefly "become" his father.
Cas became remarkably similar to his father back in seasons 6 and 7: an untouchable figurehead, distant, cruel, warlike, ignorant of the needs of angel- and humankind alike. Cas did follow in his father's footsteps, but while Dean's father is just a man, Cas' is an all-powerful god. Because of this, Cas' power and grievances were amplified into cosmic proportions, meaning that unlike Dean's, Cas' journey of becoming like his abusive father could not be ignored by the narrative of the story. Cas was confronted by the narrative itself and by other characters about what he was becoming-- not just confronted, even; he was in essence overcome and defeated by the narrative, whereas Dean was allowed to fester unchallenged in his own abusive tendencies.
This is where I'd say that Cas and Dean's stories end up diverging: Cas was almost a completion of Dean's would-be arc, being forced to confront his own lashing out, and having the time (eight seasons, in fact) to recognize his mistake, to see what he became and why, and grow because of it without "circling back to his beginning."
That's not to say that Dean would have had the exact same reaction as Cas if he had actually been challenged by narrative. Dean and Cas' motivations and characterizations are obviously completely different, as seen by their views on free will; they're their own people, so of course their reactions to the narrative's push would never be exactly the same. I mean, Dean had 15 seasons to recognize where his story was going and to try to change it; yet for whatever reason, he never accomplished this, not even when pushed by the Mark of Cain bringing out more of the abusive nature that was already inside him. In Cas', what, season and a half stint of becoming his father, he didn't need nearly as much of a push to realize what he was doing was wrong and reach out for help, even with the Leviathan and Purgatory souls essentially doing something similar to what the Mark did to Dean by warping his mind and amplifying and twisting his greatest desires beyond recognition: the desire to be loved ("bow down and profess your love unto me"), and help everyone around him to righteousness by keeping them on the right path (or else).
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thetrap · 4 years
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why i think deancas just might go canon
i’ve been wanting to write this for a bit, but i haven’t really had the time until now. basically this is just a super unorganized collection of thoughts i have on why i think that dean and castiel actually have a fairly decent shot of becoming canon (and by decent shot i mean like.....a solid 5% chance. and that’s being generous). this is based off of the show itself (obviously), quotes from andrew dabb, and other things.
1. andrew dabb is deancas positive
i made a post a while back that never made it out of the drafts, but it was basically a summation of all the good deancas shit dabb has given us as a writer. here are the bullet points:
- the hug/"i'm not leaving here without you!" moment in purgatory (8x02) 
- "don't lose it over one man"
- "he's in love.....with humanity"
- cas/colette parallel ("dean. stop.") in 10x22
- just the fight scene from the prisoner in general like......wow
- sam/jess and dean/cas parallel in 12x23
- "we've lost everything......and now, you're gonna bring him back" + dean's just generally overwhelming grief in 13x01
- "and how is it that you lost dean? i thought the two of you were joined at the.....you know, everything"
and these are just the big moments.
also notable is the fact that an activist sent dabb (and some of the other producers of spn i think) a book about dean and cas and why the fans want it/why it would be a good thing for the show. a few years later, meghan fitzmartin (who wrote the most recent episode!) was hired as dabb’s assistant, went into his office and posted a tweet a with pictures of the book, saying something along the lines of “doing some reading for work!”
the fact that dabb actually kept a fanmade deancas book for years.....the fact that he’s consistently written episodes with really strong subtext for years.....the fact that the dean and castiel romantic tension has only picked up since he took over as showrunner (mixtape, lily sunder, cas’s death, dean’s grief arc, the entirety of season fifteen, etc.)......idk i just think it’s really interesting that there has been such a marked shift since he was put in charge.
2. the mixtape
i know this was a few seasons ago, but it’s still relevant because like. a mixtape is not platonic. this scene was not platonic. full-stop.
and it’s not even the act by itself; it’s also the dialogue!! “it was a gift. you keep those.” this is more than likely a direct callback to aragorn and arwen in lord of the rings (that’s the first thing i thought of, at least).
the fact that dabb let this slide, like......he knows what this looks like. berens and glynn, who wrote this episode, know what it looks like. they knew precisely how this would be perceived, and then wrote and aired the scene anyways.
and that’s not even getting into the camerawork. like what?? was this shot???
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yeah so. definitely not platonic.
3. the trap
honestly i thought about just posting this part of this overlong essay thing, because to me, this is the episode where i went okay, so this might actually happen.
there are SO many things in this episode that made me go insane the first time i watched it (”i left, but you didn’t stop me”) but the thing that stuck out to me the most was dean’s reaction to castiel saying, “you don’t have to say it. i heard your prayer,” when dean tries to tell him something.
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like?????? he does not look relieved!! nor does he look particularly happy!!
hell, if you go back and watch the video you can literally see him swallow his words down like....jensen ackles is the master of micro expressions and that shit is Not Accidental. this moment 100% gives the vibe that there is something that is not being said. the camera following dean as he gives cas a lingering look is really interesting too.
3. dabb’s comments about dean and cas in season 15
this part is actually sort of related to the point above, since a lot of dabb’s comments are in reference to “the trap.” here are some interesting ones that i want to point out:
But the Leviathan won’t be the focal point of the purgatory story. Rather, it’s about what Dean and Castiel are going through. “They’re not going to resolve the emotional stuff, but it allows them to redefine their friendship a little bit in light of what’s happened especially earlier this season,” Dabb says. (x)
the key thing here is that dabb said that, in 15x09, dean and cas are “not going to resolve the emotional stuff.”
now. i don’t know about you, but dean falling to his knees, praying to cas and weeping feels a lot like emotional resolution to me. like, sure, things will probably be awkward between them for a while, but surely this is the peak moment of their emotional vulnerability with each other, right? surely this is the moment where they’ve resolved the issue between them? like how the fuck does it get more intensely emotional than this??
yet dabb seems to be implying that it will, which leaves us with the million dollar question: what is left about dean and cas’ relationship to resolve?
keep in mind that as of 15x16, there hasn’t been much forward movement on that front; that is, we’ve had some cute moments between them, but in terms of serious conversation about their relationship, there’s been basically nothing. so we can assume that this development, whatever it is, will occur in 15x18, since dean and cas will be separated for most of 15x17, as cas will be off with sam.
aka the episode where cas will likely get yanked away by the empty. aka the episode with the teary (!!!) conversation we saw in the promo between dean and cas.
also notable from the above quote is dabb saying that dean and cas are redefining their friendship. like....redefining how? to what?? that wording is just really interesting to me.
another quote from dabb re “the trap”:
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(x)
it forces them to “start that process.” indicating yet again that the prayer scene between dean and cas is not the moment where whatever is between them is resolved. yet, from where we are right now, dean and cas seem mostly fine. which means that whatever they have yet to work out doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with their fight.
lastly:
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a really significant chunk of what happens to dean in 15x09 is him confronting his issues with cas. don’t get me wrong - there are other important things that happen in the episode - but the fact that an episode where so much time/emotional energy is given to dean and cas’ dynamic is considered a turning point for dean is very notable and, to me, speaks to the importance of their relationship for the rest of the season.
4. dean/cas and sam/eileen being set up as units
i’m of the opinion that sam and dean will (by choice) go their separate ways at the end of the show. i think this for a variety of reasons that i wrote about here, and to add onto this, i think that dean/cas and sam/eileen are, in a way, being set up as two units.
this theory comes from two points:
1. the fact that eileen got brought back at all
this isn’t to say that eileen isn’t an interesting character all on her own/outside of her romance with sam, but the fact that they brought her back and then proceeded to set her up in this romance feels really significant to me. what’s especially interesting is how, even after she leaves in 15x09, we get a continuation of their romance in 15x14. i don’t necessarily think that she’s sam’s endgame in the sense that the final episode will show sam going to her or whatever, but i do think that part of the reason she was brought back was so that sam would have someone who he loves/someone he could potentially build a life with after he and dean defeat chuck.
2. the way the two couples were portrayed in “the trap”
like....just watch the future scenes in the bunker. there’s very much a sense that these are two couples living together. and “ever since the mark made cas go crazy, ever since i had to bury him in a ma’lak box.” note the use of i, not we. and then dean/cas and sam/eileen are directly paralleled when dean tells sam he needs to give it up after eileen’s death, comparing it to how dean has given it up after having to bury cas in the ma’lak box.
5. dean does not do Well without cas
this is probably an understatement. there have been a couple of notable instances in this season where the viewer is given a glimpse of what happens to dean when cas dies/is in danger of death/is separated from dean (in case the whole ass widower arc in s13 wasn’t enough).
two of these are from “the trap”:
1. dean freaking out/crying/praying when he’s separated from cas in purgatory
2. dean giving up on life/hunting after burying cas in the ma’lak box in the future world
3. dean’s reaction to cas temporarily going to the empty in 15x13
the one i want to spend the most time on is number two, in large part because sam was witness to it and i think that this might get brought up in 15x17.
part of my spec for that episode is that cas will tell sam about his deal/sam will find out somehow, and in reaction sam might tell cas about how dean reacted to his death in s13 - a conversation that was notably absent from the show when cas finally returned in 13x05. i also think that he might mention no. 2 above, basically telling cas that if he dies, dean is done. that he won’t be able to handle it/move past it. the show has been telling us this over and over for a while now, and it’s only been emphasized more in season 15. i think that 15x17 is the episode where this will finally be verbally expressed.
to me, all of this emphasis on dean giving up when cas is gone isn’t for nothing. in my opinion, it’s being done very purposefully to set up an endgame where dean and cas are together in some sense of the word. and a lot of what i’ve said above is what makes me think it’ll be a Romantic together.
5. bobo berens’ three part deancas saga
so we all know that berens is pretty much spn’s foremost deancas warrior, and what i want to point out here is how this season has been utilizing him as a writer.
this season, berens has three solo episodes (he wrote “galaxy brain” with meredith glynn):
1. the rupture
2. the trap
3. despair (formerly known as “the truth”)
so far, these first two episodes have had major deancas moments. you could even label them as:
1. the rupture (the breakup)
2. the trap (the reconciliation)
3. depair (???)
keep in mind also that berens wrote 14x18, where the dean and cas sort of had a preliminary breakup. he’s been in charge of this arc for a while, and the fact that so much of his writing this season has been deancas focused.......i don’t know, i just think it’s significant in part because, while berens has always been deancas positive, he also writes plenty of episodes that aren’t focused on dean and cas. but now, in the final season, the dean and cas emotional arc has been handed to him, and it’s been the primary focus on his writing.
(sidenote: berens was promoted to executive producer for this final season)
to me, this is all leading to a big moment between dean and cas in 15x18 - and the fact that it was at one point called “the truth,” only to be switched back to despair - makes me think that there will be some sort of confession involved. my money is on cas being the one to say it (especially since this would line up with the leak), especially given the glimpse we saw of (what might be) this moment in the promo. which leads me to...
6. cas does not cry
i saved this for last because the promo where we see teary-eyed cas is actually what pulled me back into this shitshow.
cas does not cry. like. ever. he got a little teary in 15x15, when jack told him of his plan to sacrifice himself, but we have never - never - seen him shed actual tears. and in the promo, particularly that shot where cas says “you have fought for this whole world,” it 100% looks like cas is about to cry cry.
cas has seen his son die. he has seen dean die. he died himself, over and over and over. and we have never seen him cry.
yet for some reason, in this moment of vulnerability with dean, he’s crying. i find it highly unlikely that cas would cry because of his impending death, for a number of reasons (for one, he wouldn’t want to upset dean more than he has to). so, assuming he’s not crying because of his own death, then what is making cas so emotional that he is genuinely crying for the first time in the twelve seasons he has been on the show?
my guys.....i can only think of one thing.
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heller-a-good-time · 4 years
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I offer a theory about tonight’s episode and the finale and yes it’s a long shot but I’m just writing this to make both myself and all of you feel a little better.......
From the very beginning of this episode, something felt off.
Dean tells Sam and Jack what happens to Cas and everyone has a very underwhelming reaction to it. Not to mention, they gloss over how exactly Cas died.
For the entirety of the episode they don’t seem very effected by Cas’s death.
Next, we’re told that Lucifer was brought back from the empty despite the fact that only a few episodes ago we were told chuck had no way of doing that. We can obviously chalk that up to bad writing and most likely it probably is. But it’s crazy that they seriously created a plot hole for episodes that are so close to one another. This is usually something we see happen between different seasons.
Also, despite everything that Lucifer has done in this show, the brothers are almost too quick to trust him. Granted they do have some doubts at the very beginning but the brothers would usually put up a bit more fight than that considering how much Lucifer has taken from them over the years. Dean has struggled to trust Jack for several seasons because of what he’s done and specifically what happened to Mary. And yet Dean trusts Lucifer in the space of a couple of minutes.
Then, there’s the ending.
When Chuck finally decides to end Dean and Sam, he says he can “Get his hands dirty” despite the fact that in an episode earlier in the season, Sam accuses him of being too afraid to get his hands dirty.
Chuck is defeated almost too quickly for being God. And the way he begs for Sam and Dean to kill him as they drive away also just doesn’t seem like God.
Also, this entire season, we’ve seen Dean absolutely furious over what Chuck has done to him and his family’s lives. He has been so hellbent on killing him that he pointed a gun at his own brother just two episodes ago. Even last episode, he tried to take Death on by himself because he was so motivated to kill Chuck. And then when he’s finally at that moment he’s been waiting for, he barely seems to care. Granted, it could be argued that Cas’s death might’ve made him finally realize how reckless he’s been the entire season. But everytime Dean has ever lost someone he usually has two responses. Getting himself killed or revenge (with the exception of Sam’s deaths where he obviously desperately tries to bring him back but I’ll talk more about that in a second) It’s been a consistent pattern with him throughout the show. And yet all of them are absent here. They’re not even acknowledged.
And also, them sparing Chuck wasn’t them being heroic. Killing him would have been mercy in this instance. Instead, they force him to live as mortal with no family—because he killed the only son who still trusted him, and he has to spend the rest of his life knowing he couldn’t defeat Sam and Dean. This specifically reminds me of that scene when Dean was demon back in season 10 when he spared the man who had traveled all that way and trained his entire life just to kill Dean for what he did to his father. And Dean spares him. Not because it was the good thing to do. Because the man would spend his entire life knowing he missed his one shot and that was ultimately a worse punishment than death. And they do the same thing to Chuck in this episode.
When Jack brings everyone back, the boys don’t even seem to care that now all of their friends and Eileen are alive. Sam doesn’t even mention her despite the fact that two episodes ago when he first heard about everyone “going back to where they belong” his first concern was Eileen. He was also completely gutted last episode knowing she was gone and he doesn’t even mourn her in this episode.
Also, when Jack becomes God, Dean doesn’t even ask him to bring Cas back. Despite the fact that this is once again one of his common responses we’ve seen consistently throughout the show when he loses someone. And especially considering how Cas died, Dean should especially want him back. Even when not interpreting his feelings romantically, Cas has been his best friend for 11 years. And they finally have the peace that Cas helped them fight (and sacrificed his own life) for. Dean would want Cas back. Especially since he knows now from earlier on in this episode that God has the power to do that.
Jack then decided to not go to the bunker with them. Despite the fact that for the three seasons he’s been in, the only thing he’s ever wanted was a family and to be accepted. (Let’s not even mention the fact that the brothers were both just chill with a 3 year old running the universe now. Even if it is Jack. He’s literally three. But whatever.)
The boys head back to the bunker and celebrate their “big win” if you can even call it that. They are completely content with being all alone. They lost Cas. They kind of lost Jack too. And they’re fine with it.
Literally last season, a bunch of hunters from the alternate dimension that they barely knew were all murdered and they were more upset about the bunker being empty after that than they are at the end of this episode.
They do a toast to all of the people they’ve lost along the way in a bit too good of a mood, which is something that these characters would never do. We’ve seen them grieve every person they’ve ever lost prior to this episode and they always believe the blood in on their hands. Yet now they’re suddenly content with the people they’ve lost. Even if it was their own faults.
The entire show has been about family. And yet half of their family is missing in this ending and they’re okay.
The entire show has also been about how the two of them have a crippling codependent relationship and how that always seems to start trouble. Instead of the brothers finally acknowledging this relationship. They now live happily in the bunker. Probably still codependent on each other.
Which means neither of them were forced to learn a damn thing.
My point is this episode feels very off.
And people who have watched 15 seasons of this show more than likely recognize that.
And there’s so many things that seem wrong and ooc that it almost feels as if it’s on purpose.
And that’s why I’m starting to wonder.....
What if it is?
There’s one more episode to go and what if, just maybe, they reveal that the episode that we just watched tonight isn’t what really happened. Maybe it’s the cheesy “it was all a dream” trope. Who knows?
The biggest reason why I believe this (besides the fact that I’m just a salty bitch and I need to find a way to calm myself down) is because this ending aligns almost perfectly with what Becky said about Chuck’s final ending earlier on in the season.
I now provide you the examples:
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Just saying.....
I think that this might just be another variation of Chuck’s endings that they were forced to play out. Or something like that.
Because there’s just so many things that don’t fit with the entire rest of the show.
From what I’ve seen online thus far, people are very upset with this episode. Because they’ve watched 15 seasons of this show and they can tell when something just isn’t right.
And in a way, if this episode was purposely made to feel off to then reveal in the finale that none of this was real, it would pay respect to the fans who watched the show for all these years. Because they’re so familiar with the characters and the way plot lines usually play out that when all of a sudden it felt like Opposite Day watching this episode, they picked up on it and they were supposed to.
(Also another thing that I just realized I forgot to add, maybe this is just me, but a lot of the scenes in the montage at the end were very random??? Like a lot of them were insignificant scenes from the show. Ya know? I just think if any of us put together a montage for this show it would probably feature very different scenes. Like way more important ones. Maybe this fits into my theory? Maybe I’m absolutely reaching too damn far with this one. Idk. Please tell me I’m crazy)
Maybe this episode relied on fans having extensive knowledge of this show and it’s past. Maybe this episode wants you to believe something is off about it. Because they’re going to rip the rug right out from under you in the finale.
Hell, maybe this entire season has been a lie. We’ve seen Dean specifically do things he would never do in previous episodes. Point a gun at Sam. Tell Jack he’s not family. Be completely on board with sacrificing a family member. And Sam has been practically wallpaper in this season but maybe let’s not get into that too much. And hell, I’m gonna say it: Destiel went kinda canon when we never in a million years ever thought it would. Maybe all of these things are supposed to tell us all of this season wasn’t real? Maybe. Dunno. I think I’m actually just going insane? Yeah that’s probably it.
I’m really just spit balling here. Mostly because I was very upset by this episode. But maybe some of you feel the same and even if this is nowhere close to where the show is heading in its ending, I just wanted to maybe provide some comfort to those who feel the same as me.
Or maybe I’m completely wrong and this episode was just bad.
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chidoroki · 4 years
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Norman - 22194
March 21st is here and it’s time for yet another birthday post. I already rambled on about Emma and Ray on their special days, so now it’s finally time to complete this full-score tradition with Norman. It might not be as detailed or long as the other two, since he was absent for a good chunk of the story, but it doesn’t make him any less important! I’ll be honest now, the boy isn’t my favorite character (he doesn’t place anywhere in my top ten for this series either) so I probably missed some moments worth mentioning but I did my best to praise this child anyway!
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(spoilers for the entirety of The Promised Neverland, so if you haven’t read/completed the manga yet, consider this your first warning, because I’m once again going from start to finish with this.)
Since I want to stay consistent with the other two posts, this will focus on the manga timeline, as season 2 is, well.. it’s own thing. I’ll mention some things but don’t count on much. With that, let’s go.
- He achieves a perfect score on Grace Field’s daily tests, alongside Emma and Ray.
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- He is, without a doubt, the smartest kid the house has ever seen, as he passes each test flawlessly and has maintained a 300 average.
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- He’s a complete strategist who is capable of achieving victory (even in something simple as tag) by observing his opponents moves and analyzing their weaknesses in order to counter.
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- Knows how to pick locks. The scene from ch1 was left out but we see him doing so later on in ep02.
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- Stays relatively positive and calm after learning about the truth of the farm.
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- Even going as far as giving Emma a reassuring smile, which I think is impressive given the literal nightmare fuel they’ve just witnessed. 
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- I’m giving him half credit for suggesting the idea of there being tracking devices, since anime has him reveal this possibility while in manga it’s Emma.
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- Both of them realize what determines the shipping order and that the demons favor their brains.
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- This silly panel that I love dearly.
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- Made sure to do a sweep of the entire house beforehand to make sure their escape planning doesn’t get pick up on.
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- Figures out that Isabella only knows the children’s locations when she checks the tracker and that it can’t identify who is who.
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- Has the nerve to lie right to Isabella’s face.. not that she believes it, but still gutsy nonetheless.
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- Knowing the house probably wouldn’t have any rope, it was his idea to use the spare tablecloths.
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- Had a feeling that Ray would reveal the harsh reality of how dangerous it would be to escape with all the children, which turns out to be correct.
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- His laugh in ep02 is so precious.
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- This statement being 100% accurate.
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- Manages to convince the logical Ray, who we know now has spent many years coming up with a solid, safer escape plan, to join in and assist with their crazy and reckless plan instead. Having Ray on their side also grants them many advantages.
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- Absolutely hates to lose, which is a good mentality to have in a world where your life is a stake and your time is limited, which eventually leads him to consider every possible opportunity to stay ahead of his enemies throughout the remainder of the story.
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- Realizes that the trackers must only send out a signal upon being broken, which we found out to be true in Ray’s one-shot chapter.
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- - Him looking completely terrified in this panel.
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- He managed to catch all the Grace Field kids in a game of tag even after they received advice from Ray about how to survive longer.
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- The goddamn intimidating energy he gives off here is fantastic.
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- Despite his body being physically weak, he manages to survive and win against Krone during their game of tag.
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- Just like Ray some couple chapters ago, Norman is completely serious about this idea.
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- Suspects there’s a traitor among the kids and swiftly comes up with a plan to lure them out.
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- This panel of him “dead” from the first side story.
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- He has a feeling the spy is Ray, so he moves up the day of the escape to catch him off guard and send him into a panic.
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- Even though the anime didn’t include it, he managed to throw off Krone as well with some fake footprints to keep her off their backs.
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- Was honestly considering on leaving the spy behind while the rest of them escaped, though he doesn’t seem real happy about the idea, considering the traitor is Ray.
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- His plan on fishing out the spy was flawless as he finally calls Ray out by revealing that the information he gave about the ropes and where he hid them were fake locations.
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- Not only was Ray the first one Norman suspected, but he caught onto him way back when Krone first came to the house. All the information Ray was feeding them helped Norman come to this conclusion as well.
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- Along with Emma’s words about believing that no one in their family is truly bad, Norman refrains from cutting Ray off to allow him to become their trump card. This was a risky move itself, knowing Ray could sell both him & Emma out at any time. Norman tends to prioritize victory, so while staying alive is absolutely necessary and that could’ve been achieved without Ray (as he could’ve just used Ray then ditch him later), he still decides to make the offer as realizes that in order defeat Isabella, Ray’s full cooperation is essential.
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- Realizes that it was Ray who hid Little Bunny in the first place and lead Norman and Emma to investigate the gate that night, which leads him to believe that Ray isn’t really an enemy.
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- He’s also left handed. Yes, that’s important. Not only for later in the story but because we’re superior. I’m sorry y’all had to find out this way. 
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- This stupid, little face he makes.
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- Suspects that Ray doesn’t actually plan on escaping at all and intends to kill himself.
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- Just like Emma and Ray, Norman also recognizes and understands morse code.
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- Look at this precious child, not even angry after getting punched and knocked over. (because i certainly would be)
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- Finds Ray’s hidden supply of oil which confirms the method for his future suicide. This also helps Norman later on when he comes up with a refined escape plan by using the fire Ray plans to start.
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- Figures out Krone’s true intention about why she wants to join forces with the kids in the first place. 
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- He ends up accepting Krone’s offer anyway, because despite the large risk, any information that can snag out of her would benefit them.
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- You mad lad, look at you, taunting the bringer of death yet again while a smile on your face.
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- And he still manages to find some strength to smile while upon death’s door.
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- Not for long though, as once he’s given the chance to be alone, he finally breaks down. Having the cup overflow with water really helps demonstrate how impactful the thought of dying hit him as Norman was overcome with so many emotions that he didn’t even have the strength to hold onto the cup or his facade. It’s then he starts to feel scared and sorry for himself but away from Emma and Ray’s eyes as to not worry them.
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- His entire internal monologue as he comes to terms with his unfortunate situation and flips back to his determined “I can’t lose” attitude to help everyone else escape. Also, his theme ‘22194’ hits especially hard.
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- For someone with weak, physical abilities, he manages to climb the wall on his own.
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- Though the cliff stopped his escape, he used that opportunity to survey the surrounding area of the entire farm to rely his findings to the duo and provide them a safer escape route.
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- Completely adamant about his decision to accept his shipment in order to give the rest of his family a chance to escape. (hell, id’ be terrified right now)
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- This hug that is sure to break everyone’s hearts.
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- Quick to react to Emma’s last ditch effort and prevented her from slamming her already busted up leg into the ground.
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- Not only did he predict that Ray would start a fire to distract Isabella and on which day, he also left behind the pen and key he received from Krone along with a new, detailed plan (which he managed to come up with in only a few hours by the way) that would allow the kids to cross over the cliff.
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(post season one spoilers below. again, focusing on the manga timeline, so any new season 2 events will be mentioned sparingly.)
- Like Ray, Norman was able to figure out how the pen worked well enough to see Minerva’s message regarding B06-32.
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- Since he doesn’t show up again for quite some time post-escape, there isn’t much to talk about.. but at least I can make fun of him thanks to extra pages, like how he wouldn’t have enough strength to use a bow.
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- But hey, props to s2ep10 for actually giving us Norman shooting an arrow. He was pretty decent with it too, as he hit his target on the first try behind a darn smokescreen. The manga did show him holding a bow in ch161, but that’s it.
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- Not relevant to the actual story at all, but his smarts certainly make anything possible.
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- I’m sorry but these tiny failures of his bring me great joy.
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- Though the tests at Lambda are harder than those at Grace Field, Norman still managed to get every question correct. Every single day he was there. Even when the facility manages to increase the difficulty of the tests, he continues to pass each one with flying colors.
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- Since he noticed someone who’s right handed also takes the same tests he does, he makes an attempt to communicate with them via a Rubik’s cube. He waits patiently for five months until he finally gets a response from Vincent around Christmas 2046. 
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- Dealt with the experiments/drugs that were forced onto him and the seizures that resulted from them.
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- Even with the tight security and surveillance, he somehow acquired explosives and successfully blow up Lambda and escapes with the survivors.
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- Again, not significant to the story, but seriously dude? You just fainted and yet you still get this crazy question right effortlessly?
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(post time-skip)
- Contacts Lucas moments before the B06-32 shelter gets blown up and gives him the numeric code that eventually leads Emma’s group to the “Jaw of Lion.”
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- Destroyed numerous mass production farms since his escape from Lambda.
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- As well as save countless children from other farms and used the Paradise shelter found by Smee’s network to give them a sense of safety and taste of a normal life.
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- The darn glow-up he receives, like sweet lord child, are you sure you’re still 13??
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- - His cute, squishy cheeks though!
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- He may look like he’s in his thirties, but still has the strength of a child. (see anime? this is how strong ray’s slap should have been!)
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- Learned a great deal of demon history and gave that lengthy lesson about the demon’s genetics and how they inherit the characteristics of whatever they eat and evolve accordingly. 
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- With Emma’s wish about saving everyone and lively happily still on his mind, he thought of a safe and certain method in order to create such a future for all the children raised as food.. which ends up being complete extermination of all the demons caused by a civil war. His plan also includes ending the Ratri clan as well. How cheerful.
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- Are you surprised to learn that Norman getting tackled by the younger kids is my favorite panel of him?
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- You weak, little bean, I’m sorry I enjoy making fun of you so much.
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- Successfully forms an alliance with Lord Geelan and his clan by offering revenge on the royal family, the five regent houses, as well as the Ratri clan, thus putting Geelan in full control. In return, it would grant Norman the full release of farm children, permission to self-govern and some much needed power in terms of demon strength.
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- He knows full well that the entire alliance is a lie and both parties are only using each other, though in works in his favor, as it will send the demons to destroy each other without the lose of any human lives.
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- This absolute powerful panel that the anime decided “nah, we’re gonna change this too” because they’re cowards.
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- Narrowed down possible locations on where to find Sonju and Mujika. Sure it was with the intention of killing our demon friends but his map was accurate.
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- Survived who knows long with his seizures at level 4, and because of his severe condition, he’s completely set on following through his plan and succeeding before his time runs out.
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- Seems to enjoy blowing stuff up, such as the imperial city’s bridges to send the place into a panic and trap all the citizens.
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- Advised the Lambda crew on how to effectively fight against the queen by attacking relentlessly.
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- Let loose a poison that causes not only normal demons to degenerate, but the royal family as well, such as the five regent heads and the queen who’s name is too long and complicated for me to ever remember, who all have the cursed blood. (at least that’s how effective it was in manga, in anime it did absolutely nothing to vylk)
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- He somehow managed to learn, speak and understand the demon language, which, according to Shirai (vol16 author notes), is actually an uncommon language nowadays. (and we’ll unfortunately never know how this language actually sounds, thank anime..)
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- Do I even praise him for killing a demon and well.. all this? Sure in the anime he tried killing Vylk, but old demon was fair more innocent compared to the royal family, so I have no idea.
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- I will give season 2 some credit and say I prefer their take on the “right now you look like a small child, shaking with fear” panel.
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- But not too much credit, as they didn’t give us the full trio hug as the manga did!
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- Then again the anime did have him about to apologize to Vylk and Demon Emma for his actions, which is something, I suppose? since in ch154 he says he didn’t regret killing the queen and royals, which I guess is justified because they were the bigger problem, but oh well.
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- Might have apologized to Ayshe for killing her father? Can’t be sure but that’s the unanimous consensus in the fandom right?
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- Instantly comes up with counter moves and directions for the entire group upon hearing the enemies locations from Vincent during the GF raid.
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- I honestly can’t look at this panel anymore and not laugh about it.. because reasons.
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- He just keeps on winning. (also he looks real good here, i’ll give him that.)
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- He and everyone else are skeptical about there being no “reward,” and for rightfully so.
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- Upon learning that Emma is missing after everyone crossed over to the human world, they all adopt her optimistic attitude and swear to find her no matter where she might be.
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- After a stressful two year search, the kids finally find Emma and Norman is so overcome with emotion that he busts out into tears of joy, despite finding out that she lost her memories due to the reward. All that matters to him is that Emma was safe and happy and he accepts her just the way she is.
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And I guess.. that’s it. I’m sorry again, I know this is truly the weakest post out of the trio and I have no doubt I glanced over a whole bunch of great moments but it still had to be done! Making fun of him probably wasn’t the best thing to do on his special day either, but I assure you this child is very powerful. Who else do you know that is capable of sending an entire fandom into a panic and rage furiously by just simply showing up?
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Ah ha okay, now I’m done. In all seriousness though, this lad is great and through everything he has endured, he definitely deserves to be celebrated today, so happy birthday to our boy Norman!
49 notes · View notes
jokocraft · 7 years
Text
[long meta] the hidden depths of voltron S1 E6
part 1: lance’s literal awakening and keith’s metaphorical one 
(if you already know where I’m going with this, you might find part 2: an entire subtextual plot in S1 E6? - in this same post - more interesting)
I’ve been rewatching season 1, and I got to episode 5 with the bonding moment and was like yeahh but then I got to the beginning of E6, with everyone waiting for lance to be released from the healing pod, and I was like wait. I never really thought twice about the scene before, but this time around I was like...hold the phone. 
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what is keith’s reasoning for being impatient in this scene, anyway? like, if everyone else can wait a few ticks for lance to wake up, why can’t you? 
is this just your Personality, to be an impatient nuisance sometimes, haha queue comedic intro? well, while keith is often impatient, it’s usually during situations involving life or death decisions. and since lance isn’t about to die, and the timing of his release from the pod doesn’t put anyone else’s life at risk...
since i trust the vld writers enough at this point (at least with keith, i guess...?) to not make characters do shit for no good reason, i don’t think keith was being impatient for the hell of it, especially to do with someone he’s made a point of *Shrug* Not Really caring about -- that is, until shit went down in E5 and keith dropped that pretense like it was hot and didn’t hesitate to initiate the famed bonding moment.
my point here about this scene in E6, is that it’s directly linked to E5′s bonding moment, like 100%. maybe you’re like DUH OBVIOUSLY - and you’d be right, cause it’s obvious to me now and I was probably just being really slow on the uptake - but nevertheless, i don’t think we should hang up the the phone there...
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i think that - well, with the “cradled you in my arms” line, we all kind of know - that keith took that bonding seriously to some extent. but to what extent? just seriously enough to be annoyed with lance’s response? personally, I think keith took it seriously enough that he truly believed a major shift had occurred between them - a shift, if my thoughts here are on the right track, he’d probably been hoping for (perhaps only subconsciously) since this scene: 
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it’s from the tail end of S1E2, after they successfully form voltron for the first time. i referred to this frame as “first time keith realizes that lance is actually kind of cool”. the way I interpreted this was that now, keith can no longer see lance as >insert stereotypes here< and predictable, but rather as someone interesting and possibly full of surprises and definitely worth paying attention to after all. but in this episode, keith’s still too closed off emotionally to acknowledge at maybe his new perspective of lance is making him wish things between them were different - not so they could be BFFs like lance and hunk are, but something else....something he can’t yet put into words (space ranger partners). 
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god they r all 3 uber-dorks okay
anyway
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back to E6, I’m now imagining that keith has spent the last 24 hours secretly relishing the idea that he’s finally (for the first time in his life??) got himself a friend that is both a peer and someone that he feels instinctually closer to compared to other peers. (shiro is of course someone he feels instinctually closer to, but he is not quite a peer in age or maturity. the stuff can you do with a mentor/idol is definitely not the same stuff you can do with another shitting teenager like yourself).
buuuut we all know keith’s about to be disappointed when reality rears its ugly head and lance says some bullshit to allura again. “classic”. and so, from keith’s perspective, the reality is this: despite any shift between them that lance definitely felt (he saw it with his own eyes dammit), lance must have nevertheless interpreted it in a way did not put them the same page. fukin sux
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poor keith. don’t we all hate when we hype something up in our minds and it turns out we were totally off the fucking mark all along? I imagine right now that he’s busy mentally burying his disappointment six feet deep. (note to remember for later: you can also see in the image above that shiro has the highest tolerance for lance’s shit.)
((((((( also eye-narrow worthy, but....perhaps...meaningless........hm: 
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when coran presents the ticker when the topic of ticks vs seconds comes up, hunk and pidge come over to look instantly. allura is shown walking over to the group moments later at 22:00 into the episode. shiro is shown watching from where he stands a few feet away. and keith is just ... ... ... absent from this exchange for 4 seconds before he’s briefly shown finally walking into the frame at 22:04. for four whole seconds he was just...what? staring, I guess? at lance, waiting, probably feeling determined to Be There when lance woke up. but not so determined that he’d risk someone calling him out for it. (but shiro is likely an exception for him: shiro doesn’t have his back turned, and so keith must trust him not to raise an eyebrow if keith kinda wanted to, you now, Be There.) )))))))
anywaaaaaay
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we know that burying disappointment not so simple as pushing it away and never feeling it again. because like keith, when present reality doesn’t match our perceived reality, we’re like, “wtf? where did i go wrong? how did i misinterpret this? was I delusional?” and sometimes we’re like, “no, fuck you reality, I was not delusional, not this time, I was not wrong.” And voila, here you see keith in all that frustration: he’s planted himself as much in lance’s line of sight as he can without just straight up taking the yellow mouse’s seat right in front of the bowl of goo. keith clearly intends to be acknowledged. or at the very least, to glean some clue from lance’s behavior as to why he’s being Capital-I Ignored. 
keith stays quiet during the conversation at the table until lance make a quip about the mice besting them all, and keith makes his salt known:
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BITCH WHAT HTE FUCK? DID U NOT SEE HOW VALIANT I WAS PROTECTING YOUR ASS? I WAS THE SHIT! NOW STOP SPOONFEEDING THOSE FUCKING MICE I SWEAR TO
lance goes onto totally dismiss what keith did and this is....honestly not what keith expected
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lance isn’t even making a dumb joke, he’s just being an asshole, plain and simple. keith now is like *softly* bitch what the fuck. “We had a bonding moment. I cradled you in my arms!” keith says, trying to look indignant, because alternative emotions are supposed be buried six feet deep.
but it’s no use, he’s stonewalled and subject-changed. and while we the audience know that the overly-defensive tone of lance’s stonewalling practically confirms that he remembers, we can only hope that lance realizes this too and is able to feel a pinch of salty relief. 
it’s my conclusion that the whole point of these beginning scenes is not just to have some character interaction and a bit of thrown-in development, but to provide legit exposition and rising action to the fully-fledged subtextual plot of ep6. Read part 2 below, an elaboration of what I mean by this. 
part 2: an entire subtextual plot in S1 E6? 
(apologies to anyone else may have posted similar conclusions and I just totally missed them)
so here i get into are more circumstantial stuff. maybe my reasoning is clouded by ship-goggles, or maybe it’s the opposite, when armed with the interpretation lens that season 3 is all but dreamworks-signed confirmation that Keith and Lance’s relationship is intended to be something more than BFF friendship, and always has been, and everything about their relationship from S1E1 to S3E7 is very deliberate in order to make their future endgame as believable, nuanced, and in depth as is possible for a younger audience show. 
assuming that this interpretation of S3 is not totally mistaken, then I contend that S1E6, in its entirety, is a far more momentous step in their relationship than all previous S1 episodes combined, including the bonding moment. 
basically, hunk wants to fulfill his promise to save his girlfriend shay, but allura decides a new incoming distress beacon needs to be looked into first. they arrive, and very unlike shay’s introduction (S1E5), characterized by dull colors, distrust, and caution....
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E6′s introduction to rolo and nyma is characterized by brightness colors, camaraderie, and repose. some quality irony here. tbh, It’s a fantastic way of fLipPing The ScrIPT if you ask me Hunk.
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also I suppose it should be mentioned that shay is meant to be noted for her tattered clothes, androgyny, and lack of traditional beauty (but we aren’t fooled, shay is perfect) while rolo and nyma are clearly typed to be MUTHAFUCKIN SEX BEASTS. nyma is very overtly feminine and rolo is equally masculine.
as expected, lance swoons and does his gig. even says “Name’s Lance” which uh, de ja vu anyone ahem episode uno?  as the episode progresses, it becomes clear that lance is going hella overboard, b/c even shiro (who, remember, has the highest tolerance for lance’s shit) is like for the love of fuck-
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that night, there’s a bonfire, and rolo starts getting into his backstory. it’s worth noting that that besides space parents shiro and allura, keith is the only other paladin there listening. anyway rolo mentions sendak, immediately acknowledging him as a major threat. the point of that: considering just earlier in the episode, keith mentioned sendak’s threat to lance and lance promptly didn’t give a shit.....
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even from profile view, keith’s expression in this frame ^ is distinctly similar to his expression from before (last frame from part 1), e.g. wide eyes revealing vulnerability, small frown, etc. i would take a gander that this is the moment that keith decides to...let things play out, rather than support hunk’s suspicions. 
(why? maybe because he sees lance being a dipshit and if hunk’s right, and these people are liars and cheats, then lance is going to get what he deserves. but, i admit, such a theory has no basis in canon.) 
meanwhile lance is being a dipshit and lets nyma inside the castle while the others aren’t looking. she plays him like a fiddle to get to the lions specifically, and at this point, the keen viewer is really starting to wonder why he’s being so dumb. 
and this is important: I do not believe the writers were making him dumb because that’s his Personality. Just like keith’s impatience with the healing pod, there’s gotta be a reason behind his behavior beyond “that’s just how he is, that’s just what’s happening right now, don’t look into it too hard”. 
I believe - going off of lance’s highly defensive refusal to acknowledge the bonding moment with keith earlier - he’s in a rather delicate emotional state right now, whether he consciously realizes it or not.
regardless of what keith might believe at this point, I think the reality is that lance sure as hell did remember. and although lance’s interpretation was probably different, it was different in the opposite way keith probably imagined (i.e. an even more dramatic and sentimental interpretation than keith’s). but the real divide between them at the beginning of E6 is their reactions to their own interpretations of the bonding moment: 
keith reaction: omg a real friend?? for me?? maybe jesus does love me
lance reaction: lies jesus lies i have never had a gay thot in my entire life nope
one of the big reasons I’m fairly confident I’m not just making lance’s reaction up totally with ship-goggles is because of this slap-in-the-face parallel: 
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of ALL the things that could have been done, nyma is cradling lance in her arms, the very thing lance wants to deny even to himself ever happened with a certain someone else. 
if you’re followin my theory, i think it could go like this: 
because of the bonding moment, keith’s mind promoted his relationship with lance from we’re-both-in-voltron to F IS FOR FRIENDS, but i think from what can be seen of lance’s vastly exaggerated womanizing behaivor all E6, lance’s mind promoted his relationship with keith from grumpy-voltron-frenemy to ... 
...
...
... something he can’t yet bring himself to put into words (space ranger partners, italicized coughcough)
honestly, the frame of lance in nyma’s arms is a little depressing when put in context with the beginning of the episode. what is lance thinking, in this moment? or trying not to think about? is he telling himself on repeat: this is what I want, this is what I wanted, this is how it’s supposed to go, this is who it’s supposed to be -- he’s 100% blushing when she asks him to take her on a ride around moon, holding him like this. 
this post is cancelled if keith’s explicitly mentioned cradling is somehow not intended to be totally parallel to this scene right here with lance blushing. 
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(sorry little baby cuban, but it is not mindless bromance that is in your future.)
immediately after this, lance seems to check back into reality, and shows some resistance to nyma’s request. but then: 
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TRIGGERED
chances are, nyma made an educated guess that lance - like any hopeless romantic douche (psa i still love lance with my whole soul) - would react stupidly and competitively when threatened to be bested by another suitor. but there is a smidgen of possibility that she’s smart as FUCK (which there’s plenty of evidence of) and she knew that there could be only ONE1 reason lance could be overcompensating so obsessively. and out of other TeenPaladins, keith’s the hottest. i wouldn’t put it past this chick to put 2 and 2 and 5 together to get 69 and be correct. 
bonus: she mentions how the minerals of the kinetic spring “reflect off the water, making a rainbow”. Also, I’m almost certain someone has pointed this out before, but I guess I’ll do it again - the bisexual flag colors are pink, lavender, and blue, and this background..!.............but that’s just whiteboard conspiracy silliness, surely.    surely. 
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necessary? i think not
((((((( also on a related note, i’ve watched this clip below like eight times because I have a feeling that this sequence is some kind of subtle parallel or reference to something as well. on the surface, lance appears to be surprised and blush when nyma rests her head against his armpit side and starts laughing.
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it just caught me off guard like, why would this bit be included? we already know that lance is infatuated with her, so what’s the point? why waste time and frames to keep making the same point? ... oR is there some other point that’s trying to be made and I am blind to see it? right now I can’t come up with anything, but if you have any ideas, definitely let me know. )))))))
meanwhile...
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keith stap.
and so lance’s massive fuck up comes to a peak, and he’s so desperate for this thing with nyma to work (so desperate to prove to himself that nothing’s changed, he’s still the same, a beautiful girl is still what he wants, what he needs) that for one sad moment he’s actually willing to believe nyma’s a dominatrix before he’s willing to believe that she’d been playing him all along...
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(how can I be mad at this boy?) 
the others start the pursuit to save lance, and i think that it’s clever how keith was given the spotlight in the blue lion’s recovery via navigating the asteroid belt. that pursuit scene was very flexible in its requirements for how it needed to go, technically keith’s role doing that was interchangeable, and so the whole sequence could have been designed in a way to cater to another lion’s strengths. but. 
“This kid can flat-out fly,” says rolo. the title of this episode is “Taking Flight”. why would the title of this episode, in which, tbh, keith hardly does anything for a majority of it, be dedicated to this relatively predictable space car chase?
A: because it enables keith to say that he got is lion back. I saved your ass AGAIN and this time you can’t deny it! 
and because of this experience, lance now has come to understand (to at least some extent) that there’s no point in wishing that he’d had his Magical Moment of Connection™ with some cool and pretty girl like he’d always imagined.
maybe, very very deep down, he’s begun to realize that the moment was only magical in the first place because it was with keith. 
keith, who keeps coming through for him when it matters most. 
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the episode comes full circle, and - going along with my theory so far - the real conflict has been resolved. One might argue all that this “subtext” was just a subplot to the main plot of learning their lesson with the bounty hunters and always listening to hunk because he’s right and shay is 1000% more pure than rolo and nyma combined, tattered clothes be damned. 
Or like me, one could argue that all that non-subtextual stuff (not counting the interspersed, juxtaposed scenes of Overarching Plot, Starring Your Hosts Haggar and Zarkon) was just an external plot chalk full of thematic parallels tailor-made to accommodate the true purpose of the episode: for lance and keith to come to terms with each other in the aftermath of the subtle but major shift that’s occurred between them. 
lance took a big step in this one episode by going from total denial to verbal acceptance (for everyone to hear) of a bonding moment, in fact, existing.
and keith did good by accepting lance as he is and choosing not to continue resenting him for how he first reacted. its safe to say that keith progressed in character even more than lance, which I think is why he wins the focus of the episode title, because what he learned was that if he wants a deeper friendship with lance, fate’s not going to hand it to him in a healing pod. he has to do his part developing it. he has to work for it. 
knowing keith, that’s a pretty tall order. but at least this time, keith got to Be There for lance after all.
Here is a follow up post: link 
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