#doing a serious watchthrough of these series

[reflectingiridescent]

For the character meme...let's go with a hard one, Nate Ford! And also Sophie Devereaux, if no one has sent her to you yet. ;)

Yeah, let's do both!

(Send me a character!)

Nate Ford

do I like them: I've gone back and forth on this over the years, but I'm going to say yeah, yeah I do. S5 contributes A LOT to this as do multiple rewatches of the series (I did like...four in 2021 in the span of 3 months...it was kind of wild). Also personally healing my own relationship with my father (who was already passed when the og series premiered) helped with this a lot.

5 good qualities: smart, focused, really good at long-term planning, sees the big picture, protective of his loved ones

3 bad qualities: manipulative, arrogant, self-righteous

favourite episode/etc: I'm torn between what I feel is maybe the obvious answer (The Cross My Heart Job, "I didn't kill you. God killed you. I just made sure it took.") and the episode that has surprisingly popped up in my head for this prompt which is The Inside Job. I know that's a Parker episode, but like the dad stand off on the roof with Archie? "You're going in after her?" "Always was." ENDS ME.

otp: Sophie/Nate. I was what, 15 when this show came on? Since I was 15. HALF MY LIFE NEARLY.

brotp: Nate & Parker. I highly suggest doing a watchthrough with eyes only for the Nate & Parker dynamic. It is fantastic.

ot3: Hmm...see, again, I feel like the obvious answer here is Sophie/Nate/Sterling, which piques my interest, but I don't feel it the way I necessarily feel, like, Sophie/Nate and then Sophie with occasional secondary partners. (And for those of you who were not around this weekend to witness my quick and graceless descent into one such situation, here you go. One iteration of how that might have worked out.)

notp: I feel like the relationships on this show are so well laid-out without becoming uninteresting that this is actually hard because a lot of notps were explicitly not really made possibilities in the first place. Nate/Eliot maybe???

best quote: "I didn't kill you. God killed you. I just made sure it took." but honorable mention to "My name is Nate Ford, and I am a thief."

Honestly I really cannot stress how this dude is an extreme version of everyone at the American church/Catholic school I grew up at. Which is not to say I like it, but he's perhaps the most compelling exploration of the well-meaning yet self-righteous white man Catholic mentality that's graced my screen since Jed Bartlet.

head canon: Ok I'm going to do a combined one for Nate and Sophie since I'm doing Sophie next.

Omg I have so many mini ones, especially during that happy period when he's retired. But hmm, a lot of times when I think about retired Nate, I think about that Bob's Burgers Mother's Day episode where Lin gets into a series of unfortunate events and gets separated from her family. Bob takes the kids to look for her, and while they're looking, he takes suggestions from the kids about where she could be and learns about secret little rituals she has with each of them that Bob doesn't know about.

And I kind of like that dynamic for both Nate and Sophie. So like when Eliot, Hardison, and Parker come to visit, they don't always show up together, and they have little things that are just theirs. Like Nate and Eliot have their book club that they're both very serious about, Nate and Hardison have their long distance chess game that Hardison keeps up on a computer and Nate has open in a room in the back, and Nate and Parker are surprisingly adept at model ship building together.

Sophie gets better at boundaries over the years but is also a huge snoop. She finds out and gets a little weepy tbh.

And then the Sophie version of this is: Sophie & Eliot's side winery business which is propping up a way larger portion of the US economy than you'd think, Sophie & Hardison going out for elaborate theater/musical/concert/museum gala dates (he hacks them Hamilton tickets, front row, and looks over at her very enthusiastically at "Immigrants / we get the job done"), and Sophie & Parker stealing but also frequenting cult film things like Rocky Horror and The Room.

Sophie Devereaux

do I like them: Yeah, she's probably the fictional love of my life

5 good qualities: brilliant teacher (which I think she never would have discovered had she not met the crew), empathetic, appreciative of art (physical or other people's skillsets), also something about how she believes in very little and yet still pursues some level of moral right, also this is interesting because I have "selfish" down below but she's incredibly generous with both her heart and when it comes to teaching people and skills she admires

3 bad qualities: manipulative, selfish, turns deflecting into an art form tbh

favourite episode/etc: Everything is so hard with this show lol. I’m still going to say The Corkscrew Job because I love love that scene where she sells Madigan the exact same wine. It’s 100% just Sophie doing what she does best. But also The King George Job has that scene with her talking about her art skills and it’s absolute gilded perfection every time.

I listed about 5 others but I’m exercising self control and stopping at those two.

otp: Sophie/Nate, though I talked myself into Tara as a long-term secondary partner so thoroughly this week that I'm honestly struggling to function a little. I'm not opposed to Sophie/Harry either. Sophie/Grifting? Sophie/being alright and comfortable with herself.

brotp: Sophie & Hardison (though I need to heavily heavily emphasize how much I love Sophie & Parker)

ot3: Sophie/Tara/Maggie would be like super super cute down the road, I think!

notp: Omg I can ship her with so many people...but not Hardison. And I will be forever screaming about the scene where he calls her "mum" for the rest of my life, thank you.

best quote: THIS IS HARD. Let's go with "This life is not worth living without the people that make us want to tear down those walls; the thrill of vulnerability, the danger of opening your heart. It makes us feel alive."

[incorrectdmp]

DMP SEASON 4 EPISODE 8 OUT OF CONTEXT SPOILERS

hi so my notes took longer than expected and i like to do these after my second watchthrough in case i miss anything funny so sorry its wednesday lol. anywaysssss spoiler warning you know the drill help i made like 5 memes for this episode

You get one (1) skawakening, as a treat

AND I’M JAVERT

Upside down tim hortons 

Tall man make void go boom

Ezra: mom said it’s MY turn on the depression

Discord MLP Gijinka 

NANANANANANNAANANA CHAOS MAN

Dippin dots our lord and saviour 

“Oh my god get a tomb” -vinny

Pls send Val and Ezra to horny jail

Oops! All gunslingers!

The rickey rat reprise we never thought we needed

Hailey kills Valencia out of gender envy

Welcome to discord murder party, where we know what brazil is

Somehow the doodoodoos have gotten MORE terrifying

Serious Doos™ 

A series of unfortunate events REALLY is the perfect description of MG’s life huh

(image by cam)

The longest most painful round that feels like jumping into a never ending rabbit hole adorned by the doodoodoos and help i completely lost track of what’s going on atm

Help this scenario is BATSHIT AND IVE READ THE SCRIPT SO I KNOW WHERE THIS IS GOING IM IN FEAR THIS ISNT OOC SPOILERS ANYMORE IM JUST TYPING MY RAW BRAIN GOOP ONTO THIS PAGE

The wheels have no union 

Chat must choose between herbo and himbo

Invincentable marshall reid 

The gun was a lie

A very special game of sudoku 

Grace Garden takes Morgan hostage 

Chaos God directly comes for my knees by referencing my speedrun

Fanserver is canon

Let me slurp the trauma girl bathwater

Delicious jelly filled donuts ANGSTED

Damn these flags sure are redder than MG’s strings huh

If Morgan bad, then why sexy???

(because he’s played by steel, next question)

Morgan said gaslight and gatekeep but he’s working on the girlboss

So hey do yall wanna help me beat up morgan grayson

Cassie didnt need to murder morgan we all would have done it for her

Cassie gets her girlboss moment

shE’S GOIN OVER THAT CLIFF

CG no bulli >:(

I know i drew the art but like let me hug Charlie please

Percy: >:c (unpleasant percy, the thrilling sequel to pleasant percy)

Season 4 is the season where percy becomes unhinged

CG: yall stop simping 

CG: it’s grace’s turn on the brain cell

GET HIS ASSSS VINNY

HAILEY CANONICALLY CALLS CG A TUMBLR SEXYMAN

The awakening song makes its triumphant return and it’s SAD

YOU’RE GONNA CRY AT LEAST ONCE

Tumblr boy solidarity

this last meme got me fired from dmp so i formally apologize 

[project-paranoia]

Let’s Watch - My Roommate Is A Detective Episode One

There's this interesting thing about discovering cdramas where you watch shows from the last twenty years interchangeably and as a result I had no idea that My Roommate is a Detective came out in 2020 until I pulled it up on iQiyi.  I usually watch on youtube for no other reason than it's easy, but the youtube version doesn't have the intro and I really love the intro.

In my experience, intros in cdramas either spoil the whole show, are a feels reel, or are artistic - in the West there are any number of title sequences that try to be artistic but miss the mark because they're so highbrow they don't really mean or do anything. These intros in cdramas however stay anchored with object, characters, and scenes that actually have an impact on the story - they just make them beautiful.

On another note, a lot can and has been said about whether or not BBC Sherlock's legacy in the West in constructive or destructive in the way that it inspired drama and mystery shows.  In China however there are a number of mystery dramas which take very obvious stylish cues from BBC Sherlock, but don't fall victim to its foibles. My Roommate is a Detective is one of them, it embraces visual elements and framing, but with a much warmer palette and the titular character never looses his charm to fall into viciousness nor does he overstep anyone else's personhood - for all that he is childish.

These dramas are sleek and saturated with rich colours, every object feels polished and arranged by the art department, and the sets are gorgeous.  The show feels beautiful and young, like the inside of an old fashioned adventure novel with all the hate trimmed out and tossed away.  It's short, fun and a delight I'm excited to write about.

- The intro song is also - as the kids say - a banger.  It's young and energetic and it's just a fun song

- I always get distracted at the beginning of these watchthroughs.  I'm very easy to distract.  Spoilers below!

- The way they handle the lighting and the characters alternates between making them part of the environment which makes them feel very big and doll like which makes them feel very small which given the themes of the show is very appropriate.

- I've watched almost all of these series before if you can't tell.

- The visual gag of what is ringing is a great way to show us the set and the characters personality, as well as a funny joke.

- (The blue robe and running music already has BBC Sherlock vibes if you want examples, this isn't a compare and contrast though, so this is the last mention of it.)

- The fact he's just running from the cops is great.

- So is that framing in the arches.  Can I take take a moment to cry for this great shot?

- So is that little whistle XD

- One thing I really like about the show is the little details they add.  The extras actually have acting direction and respond to the situation instead of just Walking Past.  It makes the actors seem more outrageous and funny and makes the world seem more alive.  Most directors avoid it because it takes extra time and effort.

- Fun fact!  The director - Zhang Wei Ke - mostly does movies including The Mutant Python 2 which is exactly what you would expect, but exactly what you would expect framed and filmed well. That's the way to do it; no matter what you do, do it well.

- Even small things like hearing the police whistle, seeing Lu Yao's face, and then seeing the police.  It's small things like that which lead to the emotional buildup for funny scenes.

- Also, honey no, what is that weird snake thing, I cannot watch ;-;

- Lu Yao is a goof and makes no secret of it.

- Also "deacon of UK's freemasonry" is an amusing thing to add for a lot of reasons

- The Mystery Begins!

- Some lines for the Common Lines Drinking Game

- This show moves so fast it's hard to write for ;-;

- Lu Yao is definitely a big goof he also uses that goofiness as a smokescreen for all the nonsense he gets up to, but it's real a lot of the time

- The First Clue

- Also, if they're rude to their staff they probably deserve the murder

- I love this bathroom, it's an artpiece and it's glam

- The Murder has arrived!

- Also the face work on these three is lovely

- The quick shots are great because they both show you everything you need to see and their speed distract you from thinking they're too important

- The scene of him vandalizing the car is so good, including the first try of bouncing the rock off the window, and the reveal of the night watchman

- Ah! Bai Youning is amazing and I love her.

- When you fun away from home and you go bother your friend at work

- The emphasis made on the blood like >_>

- The way the information was communicated about the murder is so smart on the part of the murderer

- Lu Yao pulling out his detecting skill, all his reasoning works particularly well because he uses multiple clues to come to a conclusion instead of just, there's ink on your sleeve, you went to Paris last summer

- Qiao Chusheng is so nice and patient with Bai Youning, he's a man who establishes himself quickly as being morally upright (considering his past) and someone who has filial piety

- Also, like, I get who Bai Qili is, I just love him and his birds and all the interactions between him and Qiao Chusheng

- Bai Qili also just has a lot of faith and fondness in Qiao Chusheng it's a really sweet relationship

- Uh oh Qiao Chusheng, you're about to bite off more than you can chew

- He thinking, he considering

- It's not easy to switch back and forth between being a bit silly and being a serious type police man

- And I do feel bad for not having more commentary, this show moves fast

- Lu Yao accidentally found another clue in the autopsy report

- Lu Yao's little face as he found a clue but doesn't want to give away the game

- As goofy as Lu Yao is, he does have moments where you can see a lot is going on below the surface

- Oof!  The facework!  The way Qiao Chusheng's eyes moved!

- It's smart for Lu Yao to play it so close to the vest, he doesn't know much about Qiao Chusheng's personal character yet and too much information too soon is like building a castle on sand

- Qiao Chusheng plays it so cool like he knew all along.

- He gets this little smile, it's great

- And that's it!  Thank you for joining!

[calliecat93]

ST: TNG S6 Watchthrough Episodes 2-5

Realm of Fear: Barclay’s back! So this time, our favorite anxious officer is dealing with a fear of transporters. Oh good, it’s not just a trait unique to the CMO’s! But seriously, I fully understand Barclay’s (and by proxy McCoy and Pulaski’s) fear of the things though especially with all the incidents we’ve seen with transporters in both series. I mean just a few episodes ago Geordi and Ro essentially became ghosts! But hey Barclay can eventually go through with it… but during the beam back, he sees some kind of lifeform within it. The poor man just cannot catch a break in any of these episodes! He’s convinced that he’s losing it and may have transporter psychosis, a condition that essentially causes hallucinations. Which him asking the computer about it… wow THAT scene aged incredibly well cause let’s face it, we’ve ALL read medical descriptions online and jumped to the conclusion that we had a serious illness without any actual professional conformation. It honestly makes the episode insanely relatable with Barclay’s anxiety, fearing that he has some kind of serious condition, trying to deal with the issue without seeking help which just makes it worst, and just being a walking bundle of nerves… well, more than usual. I… was actually in such a state not too long ago and am lucky to have a therapist mother who calmed me down, so needless to say he hit me like a lead balloon. I do like that once Barclay does come forward about it, the others take it seriously. Picard even notes that considering everything else, a lifeform in the transporter beam is very much a plausible problem that should be looked into. So I guess the lesson here is that if you’re concerned about something or fear that something is wrong with you, get help. But yeah, good episode! I think it’s my favorite Barclay episode~! Plus he got to save the day in the end, good job buddy~! 3.5/5.

Man of the People: Troi is in love… again. Okay, not that I’m against romance, but do we have to do this as frequently as ST does it when we know it’s not gonna last?! Anyways, we have a negotiator, Alkar, and his elderly, very overprotective mother. Troi and Alkar start flirting… but then the mother dies, and Troi begins undergoing some changes. Not only is she becoming more rapidly negative, possessive and clingy towards Alkar, and outright violent, but she starts aging rapidly. It’s pretty much the aging disease from Unnatural Selection combined with the plot of Violations. So yeah, it’s another ’victimize Troi’ plot because we were just dying for more of that! Seriously, can the show just be nice to her already?! But yeah, Alkar is horrible. The reason Troi is acting this way is because he transmitted his negative emotions into her just like he did his ‘mother’ (who is actually a woman he previously did this to) and comes off just as horrid as the bad guy in Violations. While I hate how they keep doing crap like this to Troi, it is disturbing to see her act so completely unlike herself. She’s usually such a nice, comforting, cheerful person and to see her so spiteful, mean-spirited, and vicious even towards her patients is just… so wrong. Fortunately, Alkar got what was coming to him and Crusher manages to save Troi, which thank goodness that they allowed Crusher to be awesome at least. The episode is overall fine. It certainly freaked me out and there’s a message in there about monsters like Alkar who seem all nice but is actually a terrible person who has killed multiple women. That’s certainly still relevant and Picard calling Alkar out is very satisfying especially when he tries using the greater good as an excuse. It’s what helps me not rate this lower than I do… I just wish that they’d quit using Troi as the designated victim and just treat her better whenever she’s in focus. She deserves better. 3/5.

Relics: IT’S SCOTTY! OH MY GOD!!! So Scotty ended up stuck in a transport beam for 75 years... yes, really. But yeah, the TNG crew bring him out of it so he gets to see the Enterprise-D. It’s actually kinda nice since Spock’s guest appearance keeps him on Romulus and while McCoy did go onto the ship (or at least to Sickbay) in his cameo, that was off-screen... kinda sucks that he only got two minutes while Scotty got a full episode and Spock a two-parter tbh. Ah well. There’s also a continuity error cause Scotty assumed that Kirk sent the Enterprise after him... even though he knows that Kirk ‘died’ cause he was there when it happened in Generations. I guess tbf that hadn’t been planned yet and we can just say his brain is scrambled from being in a transporter beam for 70+ years, but still. Because of those said 70+ years, Scotty is completely out of touch with the changed times, and his engineering expertise and knowledge are decades out of date. It’s really just… sad. He wants to help and tries to get used to the way things are, but you can tell that he’s having a hard time with it. He feels like… well, a relic of the past. Especially when he goes into the Holodeck and brings up the image of the TOS Bridge and they used the TOS score, that was just… damn. Seeing it but it being utterly empty as Scotty wanders around and toasts to his old friends, just perfect execution. Heck seeing Picard on the TOS bridge was such a nice image~! This was such a joy to watch. I know that James Doohan had probably just come off The Undiscovered Country so getting back into Scotty likely wasn't hard, but still. He got much, much more than he ever did in either the show or the films tbh and he did an excellent job and I just feel so bad for Scotty throughout. Thankfully he got to prove that he’s very much still got it and a renewed sense of worth, free to explore the galaxy. His interaxtions with geordi were also good and truly feels like a nice, long overdue pasisng the torch moment that Geordi deserved. It was such a great episode and f was so respectful towards TOS as well, showing that despite its age, it is very much still valuable. That is the kind of respect that I appreciate in reboots/spin-offs so thank you TNG. 5/5.

Schisms: Riker is having sleep problems. He can’t fall asleep at night, falls asleep at impromptu times, and still feels tired afterward. It’s okay buddy, I go through that constantly. But more strangeness happens as incidents like Geordi’s VISOR shorting out occurs and many of the crew find that they have an hour gap in their memories, including Data. So what’s going on? As it turns out… alien abduction. Yes, really. Various crew members have been captured/tested by aliens and poofed back as though nothing happened, but with repressed memories such as laying on a surgical table. It kind of reminds me of Conspiracy where we have an alien race plotting who knows what and we get no real resolution concerning them in the end, though like with that one I think that the ambiguousness actually makes the whole thing scarier. Oh and we also don’t have the possession plot and the graphic bits. So it was overall good. Freaky for sure especially with reveals like Riker’s arm got amputated then reattached and he can’t remember any of it. Not much else to say tbh other than that it’s solid. Also loved Data’s poetry, you keep expressing yourself and your love for your cat buddy~! 3/5.

[fabrickind]

Revolutionary Girl Utena Episode 3 Liveblog

Join me this week for episode 3: social anxiety, heteronormativity, authenticity, and schools with way too much goddamned money for their own good.

This one starts again with the fairytale framework, which was missing in episode 2. I’m making a note of this because I’m going to keep track of which episodes have this opening and if there are any similarities between them. inb4 ‘this is the episode where Nanami is introduced and that’s why there’s the fairytale since her episodes tend to have that opening

For this episode, I think it’s a combination of things. One is the somewhat obvious answer that we, as an audience, need to be reminded of this backstory. I think that it also speaks to the themes of this episode, though, in reminding us that Utena’s goal is to become a prince. Of course, as we come to find out, both the flashback and the goal of becoming a prince are false ideals, and the brilliance of this show (as I keep saying) is that it outright tells you this from the start, but in a way that makes you want to take it at face value. We will keep this idea in mind throughout this episode -- everything is precariously constructed, there’s a lot going on behind what we actually see, but we’re cued to take it all so earnestly, at face value.

And here we introduce one of Utena’s major concerns for the first arc: Anthy has no friends! We should give her some friends!

On the questions raised last liveblog about whether to take Chu-chu at face value or not, I think that we should take Anthy’s assertion here fairly literally, and this is one of the few times that I think I’m going to advocate taking anything in this show literally. I think that Chu-chu is her friend.

This exchange is interesting to me

Utena asks Anthy to stop calling her “Utena-sama,” and all of Utena’s fangirls call her that, but Utena writes it off as “a joke.” This scene seems to be calling attention to a weird sense of performance going on here. For the fangirls, it may be a joke on the surface level, but there seems to be something more authentic underneath that, especially considering that they all do it and that it seems to be a recurring thing. Oh, and Wakaba exists, of course. I’m not sure if this is Utena wanting to think that the probable actual thirst of the schoolgirls is a joke, or if it’s seen as a joke on all sides but they’re actually quite parched.

With Anthy, this seems almost inverted. Sure, she’s completely serious about being the Rose Bride. But she has no actual respect for Utena at this point, and while on the surface it may seem like she’s being deferential to her fiancee, deep down, she’s simply performing a surface-level role. It’s much more a “joke” to Anthy than it is to the fangirls.

(On a side note, my browser is flagging “fiancee” [the feminine form] as possibly incorrect spelling when I place “her” in front of it, but if I place “his” in front of it, it doesn’t. I get what it’s doing, but it’s still quite the heteronormative spell checker!)

Speaking of heteronormativity

Throughout this series, especially early on, “normal” and “heteronormative” seem to fully converge. Here, Utena wants to be seen as perfectly feminine (despite her clothing choice and fiancee) and as, more importantly, straight. To her, “normal” means “wants a boy rather than a girl.” Yes, there’s shades of “this whole dueling system is weird and I’d rather have a lover I met in an everyday way than someone I accidentally won in a duel” but I feel like the emphasis is placed on the gender of the love object here, and on Utena fitting into a model of heterosexual femininity.

Of course, no one believes her. At least, I don’t. The way to seem “normal” isn’t to parade around in a so-called “boys” uniform and declare your desire to be a prince. Her actions are seriously at odds with her words here.

  And then this asshole shows up.

That hair says otherwise, Touga. That’s major character hair right there.

And Utena provides one of her better reaction faces at what has to be one of the worst pick-up lines in anime history.

[insert joke about Anthy knowing him in the biblical sense]

(Though maybe that joke is more appropriate for the movie, where that’s actually a major plot point)

I wish I could edit out the snippet of video where Touga tries to play with Utena’s hair and she slaps him away and dramatic music plays. Everyone in this series is so extra and I love it. 

Oh no! Touga is wearing the ring! We have to go from “this guy is a total fuckboy who deserves to be slapped” to “could this guy be my prince?????” in the span of a few seconds! I guess Utena being the most oblivious character ever is part of her charm, though...

[insert joke about how Touga definitely means it in the biblical sense]

In this Student Council meeting, Miki uses the stopwatch almost right away, after Touga says that Saionji lost again. I think he’s timing when his own line should be. As per last episode, Saionji himself is still not present. Also still no weird antics at the meetings.

Anthy slap count: 3 For those participating in the drinking game ;]

So the latest Anthy rumors are about “what she did to a popular boy” (Saionji), which...middle school rumors often get things wrong, yes, but this is also the role of the Rose Bride. She’s taking on the blame for everything that went wrong, even if Saionji is the one who was an abusive asshole and is now being dramatic and refusing to leave his room.

This does make me think, though...do you know? do you know? Doesn’t that sound like the start of someone about to share some juicy gossip? I wonder how much of the Shadow Girls plays are basically the level of highly allegorical, surrealist rumor, and if we should take them as such?

I am a firm believer in the idea that Nanami is the only other character in this series who has the potential to be a protagonist, only she’s the protagonist of the wrong show (that and she doesn’t interact with the system in the way that Utena does, which is what allows for Utena to make it to the end of the dueling game). (I never said these liveblogs were spoiler-free :P) I think that her introduction here is an indicator of that -- she’s introduced in much the same way as Utena is, only without quite as much pomp and circumstance to her unveiling. There’s a strong visual parallel here, though, and to my memory, the only other character to be given this type of introduction. That is, she’s given the slow tilt up her body, starting at her feet, with the spinning rose frame, much like Utena was. Other characters may have the rose frame, but not that same level of “self-important theme music and the slow reveal of the character” that Nanami is given here.  (I know Juri has her very sad theme music mostly used in highly emotional moments, Anthy has theme music but she’s a more major character, Miki sorta has theme music but it’s mostly used in other places...do Touga and Saionji have theme music at all? Do any other side characters have theme music to the level of Nanami? Maybe Nemuro [not Mikage]? It seems as it it plays almost every time there’s something related to her on screen.)

I always go to beat up girls I don’t like with the school’s Forbidden Forest™ in the background.

Actually, I wonder if this is some sort of really weird foreshadowing -- that’s where the dueling arena is, and this is pretty much a cropped (and daylight) version of the shot that opens the Shadow Girl plays for this arc. I’m probably reading too much into it and it’s just a nice, convenient location to get into fights at. You know. In front of the big, ominous forest that all schools have.

The editing and angles in the next scene are nice -- of /course/ Anthy is playing cards with Chu-chu and Utena is just sitting in the corner, stewing. Isn’t this how most friends spend their evenings?

That is exactly the reaction I have to all of the party dresses in this episode.

Utena insisting that Anthy go to the ball and make lots of friends is an interesting moment for me

There’s that fake Anthy smile we all know and love.

I can’t remember my first watchthrough of the series and how I reacted to this particular moment. I wonder how many first-time viewers (who don’t yet realize just how complicated Anthy is) take this response at face-value, and how many realize that Anthy is quite literally obeying orders here, even if Utena didn’t intend it as such?

This scene seems to really align us with Utena’s perspective, though, in wanting Anthy to go and make friends, and having us feel sorry for Anthy for being shy, not for...well, being the Rose Bride and having been abused and tortured her whole life. Utena is trying to make Anthy into that perfectly normal girl that she so desperately wants to be herself, and is coming at this from the perspective of having average problems, not highly symbolic magical problems.

The Shadow Girls play here is a bit obscure. On the surface, it’s about how the ball is just an excuse to catch a man, and how the girls are shameless for wanting to do so, and yet our actors move back and forth between playing the town gossips and actually participating themselves as the prince and princess archetypes. That all seems relatively straightforward -- words not lining up with actions, judging others but having the same desires (even if someone queered by the fact that the prince is one of the same actors as before), setting up what happens between Utena and Anthy as explicitly romantic.

But why are there two dogs? There’s one dog when the SGs are playing the town gossips, and then two dogs when they’re the prince/princess at the ball. 

Another question of “just how rich is this school?”: they sure do seem to have a /lot/ of fancy dress parties. No industrial-looking cafeterias or gyms strewn with cheap steamers and girls in JCPenney dresses here. Nah, we have classical music and champagne. I bet the tuxedos the boys are wearing are ones that they own, not even rented.

On the point of the fangirls “joking” about calling her “Utena-sama”: clearly, they’re all /hella/ thirsty. I don’t think they’re joking as much as Utena wants to believe they are.

Yes, Utena. Yes it is.

Besides being one of the best visual representations of social anxiety I’ve ever seen,

this is also something to keep in mind come episode 34. As we get more information about her backstory, this comes to be a surprisingly authentic reliving of trauma for Anthy, and not just a display of anxiety or shyness for its own sake.

I’m actually fascinated by these moments, since they seem to be one of the few places, especially this early on, where we are allowed to see something authentic from Anthy rather than the mask she wears. Of course, we don’t realize it yet. I wonder how much of this is her allowing the mask to come off for a bit, and how much is that her trauma is too difficult at this moment to keep hidden? She does a very good job of hiding it the rest of the time, so it’s interesting that we get this scene. Or is it simply a performance of trauma, and not authentic at all?

Back to shitposting: Yuuko is the only one in the entire goddamned episode who has a passable dress.

I’ve actually looked to see if there’s a fabric that dissolves in alcohol, and the closest I can find is a rare type of rayon that dissolves in a combination of alcohol and...something else, ether maybe? It’s been a while since I’ve looked it up. Still very impractical for a garment, and nothing is going to dissolve that quickly unless that dress was made of rice paper or something.

Though, it’s mostly to give Utena an excuse to act the Prince and save her girlfriend from being humiliated and naked in front of a bunch of strangers.

I love these kinds of early series pranks, though. I feel like as we get further into the series, the whole thing becomes almost like a giant prank somehow (the cars. the cacti. the severe shortage of men wearing shirts.), but all of the problems are very serious and heavy, so it’s interesting to see the early episodes seem to take themselves so seriously and yet all of the problems are things like “someone spilled wine on someone at a party.” 

I would do the [insert obligatory joke about how she was wearing the uniform underneath that dress somehow], but that’s not actually what happened here. She’s not in her school uniform. She had her magical girl transformation. 

Of course, this is to visually set up the idea that she’s acting as the prince here. But it begs the question: whose powers cause her transformation to happen? Does this solve the mystery of why only Utena seems to get a transformation, no matter who is in possession of the Rose Bride, if those powers are somehow inherent to Utena, not to Anthy? And if so, what would that mean for the framework of the show?

Cosplay goals: make the tablecloth dress actually out of a tablecloth. Is it possible? No. But I can try.

Actually, the quick change seems to be another magical girl transformation, rather than an actual outfit. ~Suspension of disbelief~ is overrated.

And our main ship is established. Now, for the delicately constructed life of these two to come crumbling down over the course of the next 35 episodes once we learn more.

That concludes this week’s liveblog! Congrats if you made it to the end, as usual. Next Sunday (July 2nd) is the scheduled date for our next liveblog. 

A quick closing note, since I never actually talk about the next episode bits unless they’re somehow important -- it seems significant that Utena mentions that Miki has only fought one duel before this, but I can discuss that next week. Or, probably, the week after.

[calliecat93]

ST: TNG S5 Watchthrough Episodes 22-25

Imaginary Friend: An officer is concerned about his daughter, Clara, having an imaginary friend as he worries that she’s not making real friends. Troi assures him that it’s not an issue and perfectly innocent and will fade as she settles and makes real friends… except her friend Isabella isn’t quite as imaginary as everyone believes. Or at least she was imaginary… until a ball of light alien got on board and took up becoming Isabella. What is it with this show and alien balls of light that causes problems?! So when I read the description, I was expecting to dislike it going off the summary alone. Like I said with Hero Worship, this feels more like an episode you’d see in a children's show. Which things go exactly as I’d expect in this kind of episode, the not-to-imaginary-friend causes problems that get the other kid into trouble and wreaks havoc. Kinda like that one Powerpuff Girls episode Imaginary Fiend, only we get to see the imaginary friend she she is far creepier than Patches was. I just feel bad for Clara. She’s a sweet little girl who's both lonely and due to Isabella getting them into trouble or made to do things she otherwise wouldn’t do. Isabella comes off as one of those toxic friends who bullies and pressures the others into doing things they know they shouldn’t do and oh golly is that relatable no matter the age. This episode is just cute. Not overly-so, we still have the Problem of the Week courtsey of Isabella, but still they managed to make what would otherwise be a childish or horrifying episode depending on how they played it into something cute without overdoing it. I can imagine this being a good one for adult ST fans to watch with their young kids. It made me think back to when I was that age for sure. I was very much the kind of kid who tried to listen to my parents/grown-ups, but it didn’t alway work out and I did get shifted around to different schools for a bit (finally settled on one by First Grade) so I could relate to Clara on that level. Like I said, just a nice, easy to watch episode and one that I think kid viewers can relate to. 3/5.

I Borg: Yep folks, we’re finally checking in on the Borg again. So here’s a scenario: as we know, the Borg are all part of one collective hive mind, tight? Well… what happens when one becomes seperate from that collective? Well in this episode, the crew find one of the Borg on an Away Mission who had crashed onto a planet. While pretty much everyone else wants to leave him as dead, Crusher refuses and has him brought onto the ship for treatment with Geordi assigned to observe him. Needless to say, as this is the first showing on the Borg since The Best of Both Worlds, the effects of that episode still run deep. Picard is still traumatized and haunted by what the Borg did to him and while he tries to keep it internalized, he’s… not handeling having a Borg on board well. Thia includes making a plan to essentially infect the Bog an send him to poison the entire collecive. Yep, Picard is planning genocide with Crusher being the only one against this plan, though Geordi later sides with her. Even Guinan is all for it. It’s understandable due to what happened to Picard and the viewpoint that the Borg are essetially mindless drones… but Dear Lord that’s messed up. This does allow some more exploration for the Borg. As it turns out the one they rescued is named Hugh, and he’s actually not a bad guy at all. He’s a very curious, almost child-like being and as Crusher and Geordi interact with him, it’s clear that he’s formed a sense of individuality to the point of not wanting to rejoin the collective. He’s not even being malicious with the asimilation threats, he legit doesn’t realize that it’s a bad thing, and is open to explaining how things work and let them examine his parts.

This was an excellent episode. I’ve been wondering if they’d show the Borg again, and not only did they but they took a fantastic approach. The themes of individuality, assimilation, and humanity are very well done. While I morally disagree with Picard’s plan, I fully understand why he feels that way and not even just due to trauma. The Borg will keep assimilating and assimilating until nothin is left… but is it right for us to eradicate them? Hugh shows that they can develop the concept of individuality and as the others interact with him, they find that they can’t go through with it. Even Picard, when acting as Locoutus to test Hugh, finds that indeed he can’t go through with it. Which makes the ending even sadder when Hugh chooses to go back to not endanger the Enterprise. There’s a brief hint that he retained his individuality as he’s taken away while Geordi watches… but it’s still just so sad. Hugh is great and he hdeserved better dang it! But yeah, I really enjoyed this one. In fact, it may be late in the seaosn, but I think that we finally got one deserving of a perfect score~! Yay~!!! 5/5.

The Next Phase: When assisting a damaged Romulan vessel, Geordi and Ro get lost during transport. Well… now you see why McCoy and Pulaski hated the things. They are assumed dead… but of course one of the mains and a regular reccuring character aren’t going to be offed like that unless their name is Tasha Yar. They’re alive, but to put it simply, they’re ghosts. They can see everyone else, but no one can see them nor can they physically interact with anything except each other. I guess this is what Kirk was going through from his POV in The Tholian Web XD Ro is convinced that they’re legit dead while Geordi thinks that something else is going on. There’s some really nice, somber moments here. Data askin to conduct the memorial service, Ro thanking Picard even if he can’t see/hear her, Data and Worf discussing how best to present the service and Data talking about how Geordi accepted him… it’s some really nice stuff here. Ro’s reactiont o Riker wanting to do a eulogy for her was also amusing XD Anyways, I don’t understand the science behind what happened, but it was fun to see Geordi and Ro work together and piece it all together. The fight between Ro and te bad guy was also cool and also hilarious. You’d have to see it to get why XD But yeah, another solid episode with a fun plot, nice character moments, and a cool dynamic with Ro and Geordi. Also Data’s way of conducitng a memorial service and Ro and Geordi’s respective reactions? Perfect. 4/5.

The Inner Light: Picard passes out… and wakes up with his wife concerning leaning over him. Picard is now Kamin and he is in a village where everyone seems to know who he is. He’s understandably confused but goes along with it, and it soon becomes normal life for him. We all know Picard by now. He’s serious, focused, diplomatic, and married to his job. He gave up any chance at a normal, domestic life when he signed up for Starfleet and he never looked back. In this episode, he is given the chance to have that life. He clings to his Starfleet ambitions at first… but he ends up investing in this new life. He has a wife. He had children. He’s part of a pretty tight-knit community. Picard gets the life that he claimed that he never wanted, and finds that maybe that’s not quite true. To the Enterprise, whose left with Picard’s unconscious body, it’s mere moments. For Picard? It’s for 30 years. He even goes through having grandchildren for goodness sake! It’s an interesting episode with some strong emotional moments, such as Picard’s wife dying and the ending of the episode. It’s one of Patrick Stewart’s best performances for sure, and that’s saying a lot! Mind you… considering that it isn’t real it kinda muddies the impact up a bit and the probe putting Picard through that while I understand the reason… is pretty shitty. Did Picard REALLY need a second mass trauma?! Though I supposed it was very much real to Picard. How do you go back to life as it was after that? He’ll certainly carry the memory of those people forever, as the ending signifies. God that ending… I was doing alright until then, and that’s when I finally started tearing up. One heck of an episode for sure. 4/5.

Alright folks one more episode to go along with the S6 premiere and S5 will be done~! We’re so close to finally finishing the series~! Yay for accomplishment~!!!