#due to circumstances at the time I only had the chance to see season 1 and the movie. my siblings went on without me

[aeternallis]

Colin's jealousy just hits so well for me this season because unlike Simon and Anthony's jealousy (which mostly comes from male ego and physical lust), Colin's jealousy is born from something much deeper, beyond the surface-level, primitive instinct of seeing he has competition. That's not to say some of that isn't influencing Colin's actions, it most certainly is, but it's not the main force driving his emotions.

His jealousy doesn't come from out of nowhere, yknow?

His jealousy is born from shared history with one of the few genuine relationships in his life that he holds close to his heart, an unconscious, albeit cherished understanding that Penelope is a constant in his life. It's born from the slow, painful realization that he had lost her without even knowing it (further shaking his already flimsy resolve to try and fit into society's standards of being a typical rake), and whilst making a genuine effort to earn her good graces back, unwisely set himself up to lose her again.

Whereas Simon and Anthony's jealousy is superficial (and logically speaking, doesn't make much sense and only speaks to their self-entitlement due to their positions in society), Colin's jealousy is a humbling experience for him, which lends itself to his growth as a character and as a man. It's no wonder he'd described it as "a feeling that is like torture, but something he cannot, will not, does not want to give up."

Can y'all imagine Simon and Anthony having the same sentiment as that without it coming off as OOC? Simon was determined not to continue his family line and Anthony couldn't let go of his pride and obligations, pursuing Edwina until the latter had to set her foot down akjhdjsvbd If they had had any choice in the matter, both of them would have done their utmost to not have to feel anything towards their love interests pre-marriage. (Colin too made an attempt with that second brothel scene, but let's be real, it was half-assed at best)

Colin wants Penelope so much to the point he'd fully embraced even the torture of wanting her. And honestly? That's so damn refreshing to see, considering the typical romantic leads we usually see on television are trying to repress their emotions, not embrace it.

Colin yearns and wants, and he wants unashamedly. He's not jealous of Lord Debling; it's less about Lord Debling himself and the superb qualities he has that makes him an eligible gentleman specifically for Penelope and her circumstances, and more about being threatened by the concept of any other individual having the chance to establish that same emotional connection he has with Pen, and the possibility of that growing into something even more.

For all his kindness, Colin is actually quite possessive of that special connection he has with Penelope, and for a man who's already at odds and ends with his purpose in life and who he is in the grand scheme of the ton, understandably so.

It's why I knew in my gut during my first watch-through of s3 part 1 that although Colin had offered to help Pen find a husband by teaching her how to seduce men, he had never actually set out for it to be a successful endeavor. Lol If anything, it was just an excuse to be able to spend time with her. He had, albeit subconsciously, probably pictured the entire exercise to be something more along the lines of the incident with Lord Basilio, i.e. joking/gossiping w/ Pen about her prospective suitors and how unsuitable they are for her.

It's why Colin's excuses regarding Lord Debling about being a bad marriage prospect for Penelope sound so damn weak, his best reasoning being that he's "too particular."

For Colin, no man was ever going to be good enough for Penelope if it wasn't himself.

[askblueandviolet]

Hello! Welcome to the Blue and Violet Ask Blog!

As you might have guessed, this is an ask blog where you can ask the Mayor (Blue) and Macaque (Violet) from LMK questions! However, before anything else, there are a few things that you need to know.

General Things:

First things first, if you are not aware already, this blog is not based 'completely' on LMK canon! Instead, it is directly based and linked to the Blue and Violet Fanfiction series on AO3. Written by yours truly, me (haha!). Link to the fic series is in the bio/under the header. If you want to ask questions, please make sure you are up to date with all the chapters in ALL the fics in the series. (Also by the way YES THIS IS SHADOWPUPPET >:DDDD. If you don't like it and have a desire to assert your opinion regarding that? Then please, I kindly ask that you do not interact with this blog for your sake, my sake, and for the sake of everyone else who might want to enjoy this. Thank you :))).)

What this means is that the only things that Macaque and Mayor have experienced is within the context of this fanfiction series (which contains lots of establishment of how they know each other and their perspectives during seasons 1-3). Therefore, you definitely cannot ask these two about season four related things, because it hasn't happened to them yet!

Due to this, this blog will follow the timeline and events of what happens in the newest instalment of the series, 'Winter Mornings, Summer Nights' (previously, it was 'Colours'). After every chapter is posted, you will be able to ask Macaque and Mayor questions relating to what had happened to them in that chapter or any events prior in the fic series.

IMPORTANT: Whatever happens in this ask blog is NOT canon to the fic series. However, what happens in the fic series directly affects this blog. This means that nothing you ask or say on this blog will affect the Blue and Violet storyline.

Rules (or just... things to remember?) Regarding Asks:

I think I will be able to answer every question that you all submit. However, if I find a question too offensive, too uncomfortable, too strange (meaning I just don't understand it :'D) or something that will potentially spoil the future events of the fic series, then I will have to unfortunately ignore the ask. Either that, or I simply answer the ask with a silly picture of some sorts. On that note, please don't ask any character or me what will happen next! They probably don't know either! You'll all just have to wait and see ;D.

You can ask both Macaque and Mayor any questions you desire. However, I would highly recommend with each chapter posted, we stick to asking questions to whomever the new chapter's POV is in!

Also, if you wanted, you could also ask side characters any questions you wanted! Like Baihe, or any one of my OC's for Mayor's side of the story. But, keep in mind that this is technically a Shadowpuppet ask blog XDDD thus, they should be the main focus.

Not only can you ask the characters questions, but you can also just ask me questions about the series in general? Or just... Say something I guess? I've had people do that on my main blog, and it always makes me happy to see that people like what I am writing!

I will be honest, I am not expecting many asks to come to this blog. But, on the off chance I am overloaded with asks, please know that I can only work so fast! If it really does get too much I will temporarily shut the ask box, but I will make sure that every ask is answered to the best of my ability (Update: I look back on this statement and I realise oh how so very naive I had been)!

IMPORTANT: As of right now, it seems I should be able to answer one-two questions per day (although it could be less frequent due to potential circumstances in the future) so keep that in mind!

After experimenting with the ask box I have decided that the box will be open for 24 hours whenever it opens! This is just so that people from different time zones can like, have an equal chance to get something in if they want, haha. No cap limit on the box for now, just go wild!

Master List of Asks :D (WIP)

Key:

💙- Mayor

💜 - Macaque

🩷 - Baihe (because of how many times she appears, she deserves her own key, haha :DDD)

Colours

Chapter One Asks 💜🩷

Chapter Two Asks 💙

Chapter Three Asks 💜🩷

Chapter Four Asks 💙

Chapter Five Asks 💜(🩷)

Chapter Six Asks 💙💜🩷

Chapter Seven Asks 💙💜🩷

Chapter Eight Asks 💙

Chapter Nine Asks

Chapter Ten Asks 💙

Chapter Eleven Asks 💜🩷

Chapter Twelve Asks 💙

Chapter Thirteen Asks 💙💜

Winter Mornings, Summer Nights

Chapter One Asks 💜

Chapter Two Asks 💙💜

Chapter Three Asks 💙

Chapter Four Asks 💙💜

Chapter Five Asks 💜(💙)

Chapter Six Asks 💙💜

AND THAT'S IT! I... think? This post will update as time goes on the more and more I learn how to help this blog function to the best of its ability. So please check this pinned post every time before you ask a question :DDD.

[princess-of-the-corner]

So, more serious musings on Aware Lila.

I tend to gloss over post Season 3 stuff due to not really watching it extensively or at all and not liking what I heard though I will borrow bits and pieces from time to time.

With that in mind, Lila is where she's at in season 1 to 3.

IE, she has one mother, a Madame Rossi who is an Italian Diplomat recently moved to France. She is a woman who is evidently either profoundly gullible or profoundly checked out when it comes to parenting. Given Lila was able to stay home for six months based on a lie, despite efforts by the school to reach her.

Given her line of work I am going to say its the second one, as I know some people who work in the diplomat cores and unless you are a major nepotism hire, you are fucked if you aren't at least decent at your job and being easy to lie to will fuck you over.

With that reference point of RL in mind too I have a fun observation.

Its been noted to me that children of diplomats tend to come up a bit oddly. An anecdote I was told involved a six year old clicking their fingers for a wait, doing the finger swirl and casually ordering a round of drinks for their table of other children.

The main take away is that diplomat kids tend to be expected to or by dint of circumstances, start acting like mini adults.

This works well for Lila cos she is rather like Chloe in that both come off as presenting as older than they are in terms of fashion and manner and the like. Not totally, but of all the class they feel the least "Childlike" upon a quick glance.

Moving on from that, we know Lila lies a lot and wants people to admire her and she's convincing enough that she can usually get away with it for long enough periods of time that her mothers never noticed.

She's also prone to intense reactions that dwarf even Chloe's most bitter grudge holding given she spent six months locked in her room faking being in Achu. Even when it was clear the class still bought her deceptions she didn't go back.

I will note some of this could be tied to Hawk Moth as Nathalie did note they'd apparently been keeping an eye on or perhaps handling her in that interim. Still, girl has a temper and grudges and clearly doesn't see her mother as someone to confide in.

With all this in mind, here's what I think her situation is:

Her mother is a diplomat, and a fairly high ranked one. Enough so that Lila actually can occasionally get pictures with notable figures at events, which helps sell her lies.

This means she is an intensely busy person and they never stay anywhere for more than a few years. Meaning Lila's never really had a chance to put down roots that didn't get ripped out & her mother doesn't prioritize her needs.

Madame Rossi also expected Lila to be able to be 'mature' beyond her years when meeting others, dealing with her not being home and to otherwise get along well with others and not cause her problems.

I imagine she's very much one of those, "I work hard for you. Look at all the nice things you own because I work hard. Is it so difficult for you to just not complain, just not cause trouble?"

IE, neglectful, has high-ish expectations but only in the sense that Lila not make waves and if so barely checking in on her and prone to emotional manipulation like guilting or shaming.

So yeah, Lila' definitely abused. She's very much a latch key kid, but one who was chastized for being a kid and wasn't able to form long lasting connections to support her in place of a family.

To compensate for the utter dearth of affection and lacking sense of home and identity, she sought the approval of others but only in the most superficial sense. This means her mother won't complain, and she won't get attached, while still getting a form of positive affirmation.

If thing start to get hard, she will lie, neg, shame and guilt others to keep the con going. Because that's how her mother kept her pliant for as long as she did until Lila just stopped viewing her as anything other than another person to lie to to get what she wants. It is an incredibly empty life with a flashy mask.

Like with the others I doubt she will consider herself abused, though she might be the most willing to say it but the least willing to mean it. She'll likely be dismissive or defensive, quick to cast off the idea that her actions are motivated by anything other than desire or aren't justified. & that she likes having a mother who is so disinterested Lila can 'do anything.

She likely has a bit of Chloe's "I can make X parent do what I want by playing this role or telling this lie" and feigning it makes her happy to have the situation "In control" like that. But its just another way of trying to give herself the impression of control in a life she actually has zero control over. Where everything could slip away at any moment.

Why she reacts so intensely to what went down in Volpina is harder to say:

Is it just that she's never had this happen before and wildly overreacted by pretending to move away? Or is it that it evokes a different time she was uncovered? Or is t a trauma response? Or did it come down to just her being pissed off initially and then Hawk Moth continuing to stoke the flames to keep it going?

But I think this is a pretty good personality profile.

Or at least I hope so.

Oh yeah no 100% this is about what I have her for HC/LL aka: not conning a bunch of women

I also added things in for like. Her former classmates accidentally enabled her by giving her stories more attention than her, Lila learning the lesson of 'if one person unravels the lie, they all turn on me and act horrible' which causes her to discredit anyone who catches on, and her dad dying right before moving to Paris which is why she's scrambling so desperately to cling to this little 'happiness' she's created.

[whywhatswrongwithblue]

I said I’d elaborate on this later so here goes

WHY TENTOO X ROSE IS THE PERFECT ENDING

A lot of people think tentoo x rose is a happy ending only within the scope of the show—as in, it’s the best possible outcome considering that it’s a tv show and that David and Billie couldn’t have stayed on forever.

I fundamentally disagree.

(disclaimer that this is just my opinion and I think people can and should write whatever makes them happy!!)

Let’s imagine David and Billie were immortal and were willing to stay on the show forever—tentoo x rose is still the happiest ending they could’ve had.

Why? Here’s a few things we need to understand—

1) Doomsday would’ve happened even if Billie didn’t leave the show in s2

Doomsday, or a doomsday-equivalent, would’ve happened anyway. The Doctor and Rose would’ve been split up somehow simply because a relationship between an immortal and mortal is inherently doomed. Even if their separation wasn’t sudden and accidental, it would happen. The Doctor and Rose were doomed from the start, and this is a huge part of why the Doctor never actually acts on his feelings (he was only going to confess his feelings on BWB the first time because he genuinely thought he would never see Rose again.) I do believe that if Doomsday hadn’t happened, they would’ve eventually gotten into some sort of relationship, simply due to the intensity of their feelings, but it would never be carefree! The Doctor would be constantly burdened by the fact that he’s going to have to live for centuries after this human, and he’d never let himself be 100% open and vulnerable with the woman he loves. Because it’s going to really, really hurt soon enough.

2) Being immortal is NOT A GOOD THING

Now you might say, the earlier problem could be solved simply by making Rose immortal—she’d stay with the Doctor forever and she’d never have to leave him, but a constant theme throughout seasons 1-4 is that immortality is not desirable. There is a constant motif of “living too long”, whether it be from Jack, the Face of Boe (cough), or the Doctor himself. Things are only precious and meaningful because they end—the human way of doing things? Fast, and bright, and temporary? It’s the right way. One of the many reasons the Doctor loves Rose is because she’s human—it’s a big part of why he’s attracted to her in the first place. Besides, an immortal Rose would mean having to outlive her family, her friends, everyone she’s ever known—who else has experienced that? Oh, yeah. The Doctor. And I can’t imagine him wanting her to go through the same thing under any circumstances.

3) The Doctor wanted to be human.

The Doctor, and the Tenth Doctor in particular, wants to be human. It’s peppered here and there throughout the first four seasons, but there’s this underlying current of wistfulness in him (“I’ve never had a life like that”; “The one adventure I can never have”), not to mention the entirety of the Human Nature two parter, and I think to some extent Rose makes him feel human, and it’s his alienness that’s the big barrier in their relationship. She makes him want to be human, to be loved and to be free to love her as he wants to.

4) Rose constantly has to choose between her mum and the Doctor.

Now to be clear, there is no doubt in my mind that Rose would choose the Doctor over her mum. She has, several times, and I believe it’s totally in character.

But she shouldn’t have to! She shouldn’t have to choose between the Doctor and everything else that’s important to her, that makes her human. She shouldn’t have to be forced to never settle down because “the doctor never would” or to eventually become someone that isn’t Rose anymore, centuries and planets away from everything that made her her.

The Doctor doesn’t want this for her either.

Every time she has to make this particular choice, it breaks her heart, and it sure as hell doesn’t make the Doctor happy either. Tentoo gives her the chance to keep them both!❤️

5) The “happy” ending.

I know that ending up together and eventually having a kid is a very cliche happy ending, and I don’t think they’d be unhappy without a kid, but isn’t the sheer possibility a good thing?

It never would’ve been possible with the Time Lord Doctor, be it the differing physiology or the fact that he wouldn’t allow it to go so far. It would be something he could never give her, as his original self.

But tentoo could.

As has been pointed out in the discourse several times by @metacrisisdoctor (who you should totally follow btw!) so much of Ten and Rose’s season 2 arc is centred around domestics and settling down. They were always headed for this!

For a character as lonely as the Doctor to have someone to call his own, to not be the last of his species any more—that’s powerful stuff! He finally gets to have the full human experience, with all its ups and downs, and sure, it’s a very ordinary adventure but it is no less important 🥺

To conclude, Journey’s End is bittersweet, but it’s no roughshod, hastily put together ending because the cast wanted to leave. There was a LOT of thought put into it, and I will be forever grateful that a pairing as doomed as tenrose, somehow, MIRACULOUSLY, got a happy ending❤️

[void-speaks]

tell me about your ocs pls I wanna hear about them! Do they like soup? What's their favourite soup if they do

WATCH THIS– *EXPLODES*💥💥💥💥💥

Okay. Anyway. I'm normal now.

From the Original Universe kinda thingie idk what to call it:

Lucifer – YES. Definitely yes. In general, he prefers food that is rich in flavor, especially if it has lots of meat. Soup, however? Mushrooms. Put mushrooms in that shit and he'll eat it up. But the thing is, mushrooms anywhere else? No.

Michael – Honestly, Michael doesn't really... eat. Like at all. Since angels and Archangels alike technically don't need to eat, he just doesn't, because to him it's a waste of time. He does get why some of his siblings (referring to all types of angels in general) like to experiment with tasting human food, but personally doesn't find it appealing. If anything, he kinda dislikes eating.

Gabriel – Much or less the same situation as with Michael. He is much more willing to try human food and even enjoys it occasionally, and soup is one of his favourites! He just doesn't really see it as necessary. So to him it's basically like the stuff you eat only for holidays ykwim??

Uriel – Also same opinion as Gabriel. He prefers soup with noddles just because. In general, Uriel is way more tolerant to any and all kinds of food and doesn't really have any preferences, unlike his other brothers.

Raphael – This bitch will eat anything. Literally anything. I don't even know what's more to say. Naturally, he still has his preferences, but is totally down to just devour whatever's in his plate. But much like Uriel, he prefers soup with noodles, specifically like heavily seasoned soup.

Silas – There's only 1 type of soup Silas can tolerate, and even so he'd rather eat something else given the option. That soup is like the one with noodles and chicken in it (I literally do not know names of soups so pls don't kill me lol)

Armaros – Doesn't like eating food, but can tolerate it sometimes for his boy. Friend? Boy friend? Boyfriend? Who knows. 🤷 Oh and yea, he doesn't like eating soup at all. He can understand smoothies, but soup is something he'll never give a chance (unless under specific circumstances)

Adam & Eve – Well... They didn't really get to try soup. And can't now. Most foods they had was really basic stuff, like you know hunting animals for meat and then frying that shit. In their current state of being they cannot consume food at all. More specifically, they won't feel its scent or texture or taste.

And now other random bitches:

Ren – Literally only eats sweets. Nothing else. Maybe something salty or spicy to change things up from time to time, but veeeery rarely. Again, technically, he doesn't need to eat. But to make him more human and more of a comfort source to his host, he gobbles up chocolate bars like crazy.

Michael Waltz – He doesn't eat much because he just forgets too. His species doesn't really feel hunger despite literally being born from the Void. Still, he does prefer to eat like a normal human would. Except he doesn't eat normal. He eats almost all of his food cold (can't really feel temperature the same way as humans), mostly salty stuff because it's the most stimulating option. So when he does eat soup, you bet it's cold as an iceberg and just filled with salt to the brink.

Elliot – Elliot is a woman of simple tastes, preferring to watch the sunset with a hot cup of tea. Any soup is good soup to her when it's a cold winter day and she needs to warm up.

Kiki – Kiki doesn't eat. Maybe drinks the blood of her enemies. But ghosts or rather entities like her can't consume/digest food at all, unlike Adam and Eve

Michael Clarke – Due to his... erm... unique anatomy and state of being, his reaction to most foods changed drastically. Call it a side effect of having some unknown chemicals injected into your blood stream when you were like 12-14. Before that he would eat any food given to him, but now he's gotten very picky with what he eat, which is not a good trait to have in a world with very limited food resources. But, it's also fair to mention that his hunger comes very slowly. Like he can go days on end without eating and still be perfectly fine.

Adam Ray – this guy is definitely a fan of soup. Especially if eaten with bread and still super warm but not to the point of being hot. However, put radish and/or beetroot in there and he'll throw that shit up just as quickly as he ate it. Radish and beetroot are literally his mortal enemies.

Used to be uwo ocs but grown into their own thing:

Exorcist (listen it was just a placeholder title but then it stuck so hard that literally any normal name won't fit...) – This man is purely running on coffee and adrenaline and energy drinks. There is nothing healthy or even relatively normal about his diet. He will probabaly die by the time he reaches the age of 32.

Chaos (yes that's his name) – Not a big fan of soup, but can still eat pretty much any type if need be. Not much to say here.

Seth – Seth is a ghost so he doesn't eat now, much like Kiki. When he was still alive, he didn't like eating soup. He also hated almost every single drink beside black tea and maybe some soda, otherwise water was the get go drink. He died from drowning btw :)

Fate – Again, Fate is an entity that doesn't need to eat. Like Adam & Eve, while they technically are capable of it, it brings nothing to them, so they just don't.

Dionys – bitch only prefers to eat the most exquisite meals possibly known to mankind, when again, he technically doesn't need to eat.

Keith – Tolerates most food. He still has his preferences, but if you ever try to ask him, he'll only be able to tell what he doesn't like. Ask him what he likes and he'll freeze.

Most of these bad boys have been collecting dust on the shelves because a lot of them are based on a game, were specifically made for one fandom (like the uwo ocs) or evolved past being fandom characters but still got abandoned lmao. For example, Exorcist is the only one who survived out of all of them (aka one I still use). Kiki was based on a mobile Yandere Simulator-like game because I just really liked the combination of the hair and dress I was using + the fact that she could float. Adam Ray has two different variants – one is a Killer Frequency oc (commonly referred to as Rain), and the other one is just some guy I made up (commonly referred to as just Adam). Michael Clarke is a Dying Light 2 oc for my fic Rekindle (it's not finished and not published anywhere). Ren was originally supposed to be an OMORI character but evolved into being an oc. There are like a dozen other ones but I feel like they lack depth to be considered actual characters, so I didn't mention them. Not like half of the aforementioned ones are fully fledged, but still.

[thoughtsonpoldark]

Was wondering what you think are the most egregious departures from the book that the series made, not including S5, because that entire thing was egregious. Thanks!

Hi there,

I understand that there is creative licence for adaptions. I do enjoy the television show on this basis. However in terms of the most egregious deviations from the original story I would list 4 main ones to me as follows.

The storyline suggestive of Elizabeth being coerced or heavily influenced to marry Francis by her mother. I think this because it provided a false footing and foundation for the whole story which changes the essence of the real story quite significantly. The decision to do this made the television story one of a potentially (true?) love story of star crossed lovers denied the chance to live out their love. Not through their own choice (or just Elizabeth’s) but because of external circumstances. That is actually a story that belongs to Morwenna and Cuby in respect of Drake and Jeremy in the later books. Those were women who were truly denied their own choice due to the very explicit opposition of family as written into the story clearly by Winston Graham. It was the sole reason for the resistance by both women in giving themselves to their suitors initially. The false narrative for Elizabeth rejecting Ross builds in an unfairness, not just to Ross but also to Elizabeth. It is my view that in the original story Elizabeth made the decision to marry Francis because she did not love Ross at all or enough, while feeling that she loved Francis (better) as the man he was when they began a courtship and still when Ross had returned. The reader of the books can and should then assess Elizabeth as a person who made that decision with her own agency and only later came to ‘change her mind' back to Ross. However the television show makes her a victim of someone else's choice for her so that she too was robbed like Ross was of being with the one that she truly wanted to marry at the time had she not been explicitly prevented. It creates an even sadder story for her and an untold love story for her and Ross because it was then her mother and then Demelza that got in the way of their love rather than this being self inflicted. It also suggests that Ross and Demelza only became a great love by default rather than because Elizabeth blocked it as her love was not true or strong enough.

The night of 9th May 1793 with Ross and Elizabeth being made so overtly and immediately a consensual affair. As well as their interactions in the aftermath. The morning after scene gave the impression of a romantic loving night which contradicts Ross's post incident guilty thoughts in the original book story that he treated her badly that night. It also contradicts Elizabeth's book thoughts which are predominantly negative of her being treated violently and dishonourably by Ross. That is along with her accusation to him that he was a 'bully' to her that night. Obviously this is significant because it was a major incident in the story and the scripters decision to go beyond what Winston Graham showed and put what happened in the unwritten part of the book for that night clearly on one side of a fence rather than 'on the fence', changes how we viewers understand their relationship going forward. It can also minimise what was probably a more serious incident by turning it to pent up and unleashed sex between two consenting old flames and Ross consciously and wilfully cheating on Demelza, instead of a serious act by Ross when he was quite out of his mind and so out of character to the extent that even he later thought it was 'unexplainable'. As I see it that is as it was in the original story.

The fractured relationship between Ross and Demelza from the start of Season 3. Just like Season 1 starting with the false foundation of Elizabeth not wanting to marry Francis this narrative is another one which starts in very wrong footing. It covers Black moon which is the opener to the second set of books and which documents the wonderful rebirth of the Ross and Demelza's relationship. That reflected that the 9th May incident was really a defining moment which thankfully ended up dispensing with the spectre of Elizabeth in their relationship as a romantic threat and instead brought Ross to a newer more reinforced understanding that as Winston Graham said 'it was his wife he really loved'. Graham wrote in the opening pages of that book that 'The warmth of their reconciliation had been full of passion, had brought them closer in some ways than they had ever been before, all defences down.' Instead for the television show and for so many episodes Ross and Demelza were agitated and unromantic with each other. Viewers were denied seeing the passionate re-setting of their relationship as the positive after effect of 9th May and also that this period of even greater love was supposed to be a stark contrast to the out of the blue estrangement they went through after Demelza's affair with Hugh. Their happiness in the year and half beforehand had actually added to Ross's shock and hurt. As a result the show therefore created a new narrative that almost justified Demelza's affair for differing reasons than the book gave. Such a revenge against an inattentive husband.

The ongoing friendship with Ross and Elizabeth post that May night and Ross's interest and connection with Valentine which was built on in season 5. Season 4 did have scenes between Ross and Elizabeth that Elizabeth in the book who feared and lived on a knife edge over George's suspicions about Valentine would have resolutely avoided. They did not resume a warm supportive friendship in the original story yet in the series she dared to visit Ross alone in his London residence in order to seek counsel about Geoffrey Charles's reckless behaviour and he visited her at Trenwith while George was out (just missing his return). Ross also spoke briefly with Valentine, looking and saluting at him almost affectionately and as if embracing that he was or might be his father. I believe the scripter was trying to build a narrative of their connection as father and son and Ross being okay with this. Again these cosy scenes supported the idea that Valentine was conceived that May night in a less hostile scenario of consensual affectionate lovemaking, rather than in a more disagreeable, brutish and uninviting manner. Also the narrative for the last set of books was that Ross was very cagey and reluctant about his connection with Valentine. He did not want to acknowledge it. It was a new shadow on his life connected to Elizabeth that he tried to ignore and he certainly did not wish to develop a father son relationship until he was coerced into something near to this in the penultimate book. This was only because Valentine was out of control and this had unearthed Ross's guilty feelings and a desire to take some accountability. Again starting to build a warm connection between Ross and Valentine at this season 4 stage counters a very important narrative with runs through the later set of books of Ross not facing the consequences of his actions until he has to face what he had turned his back on for years, but almost by force. This of course is partly out of respect for Demelza and so the cosy scenes and feelings towards his illegitimate son so soon after his unfaithfulness also undermine his relationship and reconciliation with Demelza compared against the original story where he avoided Elizabeth for years and wanted to ‘forget’ about her and George.

[flamebearrel]

chocolate, whipped cream, nuts, cherries, gummy bears, and gumballs for the ice cream asks !!

Chocolate - If you could study anything, no concern about costs or future career options, what would it be?

Probably character design, or just generally looking at the process of making cartoons! I do plan to minor in graphic design though, at least that's tangentially related. Also cosmology (if only cause it was really interesting when I learned about it at the museum)

Whipped Cream - Ice Cream or Fro-Yo?

They're pretty on par with each other, though I have ice cream a lot more often

Nuts - Are you currently reading a book? What is it?

None currently. I'm sure I'll grab some soon

Cherries - Have you had any strange dreams lately?

Not me, but my siblings sure have. One of my sisters just finished up this summer class, and in one of her dreams robbers broke into our house threatening "TODAY WE'RE GONNA BE DOING PHYSICS"

Gummy Bears - What book series did you love as a kid?

There's two: Warriors Cats, which I dropped off around middle school midway through Dawn of the Clans, and the Spirit Animals Scholastic series, which I own the whole first collection of B)

Gumballs - What is your current streaming binge?

Been watching Ninjago with my sister over the past few months! She's already watched it all and wants to show me, so I kind of pick a season and then we do a couple episodes a day. I've gotten through the second half of season 6, seasons 13, 4, 11 (the Ice half), 8-10, and 5 and we're now back on s6 to watch what I missed. I also saw s1 a few years ago but forgot about most of it and don't really plan on watching the first three seasons so I'll just go off what she says

[varianism]

I’m gonna talk about Varian vs Cassandra’s betrayals because I need to post something on tumblr for once,,,

I’m just gonna say this first, this is not biased. Varian and Cassandra are my two favorite characters, just one had a better betrayal with a better reason than the other.

I’ll boil it down to a few things

1. Varian is significantly more pitiable and his tragic backstory involves something horrible happening to a loved one rather than just to him. Cassandra's motivation is entirely self-centered. He's also a teenager whereas Cass is a grown woman.

2. Varian's descent into villainy happens in believable steps. At first he resents Rapunzel for breaking her promise. I understand why she did so but from his perspective he left his dad to slowly freeze because he thought Rapunzel would be able to help him. It's understandable that he feels betrayed when she doesn't even try, regardless of the circumstances. Then he resents Corona because they apparently treat him like a criminal for "attacking" Rapunzel during the blizzard. Even then he isn't out for revenge yet. His main goal is still to save his father, though he is a lot more willing to do things like drug the guards in order to accomplish that. He only really starts craving revenge after Rapunzel decides not to give him the flower. And even then he still mainly wants to help his dad. He only goes tull villain when his plan doesn't work and he decides to kill the queen out of bitterness.

3. Varian was self aware. Even if he felt like the royal family deserved his hatred he still admitted that he was the bad guy. That he was “sinking pretty low”. Cass acted just as evil but seemed to think she had a right to do so. She was insulted by being compared to Varian. Frankly the opposite feels more justifiable.

4. Varian feels genuine remorse, and is grateful for the chance to redeem himself. In comparison Cass flip flops. She leaves Rapunzel to die because a ghost demon tricked her and then has the gall to feel betrayed when she sees that Corona is starting to prepare for her soon invasion. The fact that she could do all that and still feel like she deserved an apology was just awful for her character.

5. Arguably one of the biggest reasons and yet the easiest to ignore Varian was a major part of about 2 episodes before queen for a day. I don't want to devalue the relationship he had with Rapunzel, Eugene, and Cassandra because he instantly had great chemistry with all of them and I always considered him part of the main cast despite his few appearances. But the fact is he didn't even live in the same town as them. There is a huge difference between turning against the friendly princess you've met a few times and turning against someone who's shared multiple season's worth of life and death scenarios with you and basically sees you as a sibling in all but blood. To sum it up where Varian feels tragic, Cass feels entitled and where Varian feels reformed, Cass just feels placated. Also, Varian is far more impressive as a villain. Cass terrorizes the kingdom with the power of the moonstone but Varian did the same with only his personal abilities. That kind of gave his character more impact due to the contrast with his previous bumbling antics. Honestly one of the few things that bothered me about his arc is that his competence seems inversely related to his morality. As a villain he's a force to be reckoned with who backed the entire kingdom into a corner. Literally the moment he reforms he's throwing bath bombs instead of weapons.

Varian is actually a likable character and his dark turning point is one you can sympathize with. His dad is trapped and he's losing everything and the one person that can help him, doesn't help him and feels betrayed and it makes sense.

When Cass turns evil, her reason is worse because while yes her mom abandoned her but at least she was adopted by a man that DID ACTUALLY love her. (I really can’t word that in a way that doesn’t make me seem like an asshole?? So just know I tried,,,)

[series-and-movies]

Rafe Cameron - character analysis

(This post contains mentions of OBX s2 scenes, panic/anxiety, drugs and psychopathy. If you do not want/feel comfortable reading this, please don't! Also if you're anti rafe don't hate me please xoxo)

I've seen so many people call Rafe a psychopath/sociopath and honestly I don't think he is one. Other than the fact that psychopaths are rarely potrayed accurately in media and people not knowing the right terminology (even Drew himself has said that Rafe has psychopathic tendencies which, arguably, makes some sense). But from what I've seen so far, Rafe doesn't seem like a psychopath.

Why?

Because psychopaths feel no remorse or shame for their actions. Rafe has expressed those feelings multiple times, albeit not always verbally. He clearly feels regret for getting his family in this situation, and I don't believe that's just to please his dad.

Psychopaths also do not care about others and feel no connection to them, which leads to lying, manipulating, superficial charm to get what they want etc. Now, Rafe has lied a good few times, and definitely manipulates Barry to do shit for him in return for money. But he's not completely emotionless. He cares about his dad and Wheezie, he's often seen showing vulnerable emotions, which a psychopath would not do unless it gains them something. Also, his friendship with Kelce and Topper seemed genuine until he started losing it for real. The fact that he doesn't have many friends could also be due to his drug use, anxiety (being suspicious of others) or any other reason, and is not directly attributable to psychopathy.

They also generally do not learn from mistakes and do not have anxiety (although the latter is still controversial in current understandings of psychopathy). Clearly Rafe has some anxiety issues. Anytime he starts losing it (eg. s1 when Barry said he owned him now, s2 when he punched the wall in the island room) he starts breathing heavily, looking around sorta dazed/scared with those wide eyes, fidgets with his fingers. That to me seems like he's on the verge of a panic attack. And to dissolve that he starts screaming/punching things (or using drugs lol). Obviously that's bad coping, but it's not all violent tendencies. Also from season 2, clearly he's learned at least a bit from his mistakes.

Rafe truly believes he's doing the right thing. At least from his/his family's perspective, he tries to do the right thing. Now since his dad is Ward, clearly what benefits his family doesn't benefit everyone, but it seems like Rafe has a bit of tunnel vision in that sense. Even when he killed Peterkin, he immediately showed moral disengagement. Rafe STRUGGLES with the fact he killed someone. He doesn't ENJOY hurting others! He doesn't want to feel even worse about himself, so he tries to talk it right and make himself believe he did the right thing. Saying he saved his dad, saying Sarah was tearing their family apart. It's justifying behaviour to not feel miserable about his actions. A psychopath doesn't do this because they're so unemotional they don't even feel bad about what they did.

And lastly, (and i do truly hate myself for saying this), but usually psychopaths have a very prominiscious sex life. I know yall dirties wanna see Drew do a sex scene (mood.) but the fact that he doesn't seem to have any sort of sex/dating life seems contradictory to this.

The only reason rafe could be seen as a psychopath is because he truly believes the pogues deserve to get hurt, abuses drugs which occurs often in psychopaths and he's impulsive with little to no behavioural control. But these could be attributed to other issues as well.

Other than that, evidence of psychopathy is pretty much nonexistent. And it irks me that people call him a psychopath and think that therefore he does not deserve a redemption arc because 1. CLEARLY there is something wrong with him but it doesn't mean he can't grow and learn and heal? He's said multiple times that he needs and wants help, he wants to get clean, he didn't shoot the pogues when he had a chance to. He KNOWS something's wrong. He KNOWS he needs to change. Just because he's not capable of doing it on his own doesn't mean he doesn't deserve a redemption arc. OBX would be a real one if they show some good and realistic therapy scenes ! And 2. let's say he does show signs of psychopathy in s3, that still doesn't mean he can't get better? Psychopathy treatments are scarce and don't always work irl, but they're out there and it's worth a shot. I've seen people saying they want him to die, but if this were a real person, would you say the same? Even if he is a psychopath, he's still a victim of his circumstances, his environment, genetics and his dad. Take those factors out, would he not be capable of redemption?

Point being: Rafe is not a psychopath, he seems more anxious, possibly with vulnerable narcissistic tendencies, paranoid personality or psychosis, and severe attachment and drugs problems. He is not in itself a bad person, and for season 3 they need to give him a stable environment and hopefully give him some time/tools to heal. Lord knows he needs it.

[judyhopps934-mt-zd]

Thoughts on Miraculous Shanghai: The Legend of Lady Dragon

Warning: Spoilers! Other than that, have fun!

Also, if you want to watch the full English Dub, click here!

I love how we saw Fei's backstory as to how she became guardian of the Prodigious and how it was actually stolen because there are people who want money from her adoptive father's studio. It was also sad to see that the values her father implemented into her fade due to the circumstances they found themselves in. I speak for all of us to say that this girl needs a hug.

The intro as always is beautiful! Since it was not the first thing we saw, I was confused when looking through the episodes on YT.

I always enjoy Marinette's monologues, and this one was over how she looked forward to her holiday (it was like a vacation type thing). And how she looked forward to spend time with Adrien since his father was going to let him out. It was all perfect...

...until she went to deliver Uncle Wang's package and found out Adrien left for Shanghai at the last minute. But all is good though because she could go to Shanghai, deliver the gift personally, and see Adrien.

It hurts me to see that the writers made Marinette's purpose to go to Shanghai is to see Adrien when she can do that in Paris! It frustrates me that her character development goes back to square one, even as the protagonist of the show. People might point out this was before season 3, but I have a few points that say otherwise or that the writers are mixing things up. But first, the plot points and thoughts of everything else.

Also, I get that Marinette is 14/15/16 at the time of this episode, but how likely is it to send your child on their own halfway across the world??? On SHORT NOTICE??? I swear Sabine and Tom are too chill with this, but then again, there would be no story.

Also, I love how Ladybug and Chat Noir took the opportunity of their patrols without akumas to bond more. The Ladynoir in this episode I stan!

Gabriel you piece of trash! If you did not plan to spend time with your son, why take him to Shanghai when he was hoping to spend time with you?! And do not say "for business purposes" because even though Adrien is a face in the brand, at least don't give him false hope and that bs!

Nooro, thank you for trying to talk Gabriel out of it, but he is literally a wall (talking to Gabriel=talking to a wall)

I will say, the waiting for 15 years thing is very concerning.

Uncle Wang has been looking forward to see Marinette in person in Shanghai to learn more about her roots. He is ecstatic and its just heartwarming and heartbreaking when you think that part of Marinette's stay will be related to Adrien.

At least we see one thing that makes Marinette's stay not all about Adrien though: she is genuinely interested in her origins! Like when she asks about her family's traditional songs and about her mom, even learning her real name!

Speaking of which, Sabine's name is Xia Ping and only called herself Sabine when she started living in France. Also, I love her photo!

Bastille the bird that was around since forever is an icon!

Also, I can't believe Uncle Wang has not taken a break since Sabine moved to France, like what the hell??? Give this guy a break for goodness sake.

Thank you Gabriel for having one brain cell and allowing your son to leave the hotel! We still hate you for everything else though.

Its cool that Kwamis speak all of the languages. It is also the most logical thing because their wielder could be from anywhere. My question is are they taught the languages, does it form when a concept forms in the universe and they start existing, or like everything else is it magic?

Gorilla is iconic for two reasons: he is still a self care king, and he was willing to give Adrien some space to get action figures.

And now as I wrote that, this is where I am getting confused and start to believe this is post season 3: 1) Gorilla seems less anxious about being in a new place (unlike NY where he stayed in the hotel room the entire time), and 2) His obsession for action figures was shown in Party Crasher (season 3), which makes me wonder if the explanation is during season 3 or this episode hints at season 3. For the first point, it could be because Gabriel was not in NY to his knowledge.

Fei appears again and explains how she views the world and how she also uses that to help and take advantage of others.

She almost steals Adrien's phone and miraculous until Gorilla steps in. It hurts me because she is a good person but had to resort to stealing for a reason that we will explore soon.

Plagg, we always say your stomach causes trouble, but this time, you brought Adrien to Marinette's uncle...

...but also that ironically separated them as Marinette found them just as they climbed into the taxi.

This is also where Fei (wearing a disguise) crosses paths with Marinette and steals her purse. Then she went for the kwagatama and miraculous.

Things get worse for Fei as these boys that took a photo with Adrien earlier started chasing her. Then Marinette started going after them.

That is when she realized she was robbed and understandably, she was more horrified of losing her Miraculous.

Adrien shows up to Uncle Wang's home/restaurant. So many iconic moments happen.

1) Bastille says something about love between Marinette and Adrien. And Adrien responds with the line that makes us want to jump into the TV and talk some sense into him.

2) You say that "she's JuST a fRIenD" yet you stay over with her mom's uncle so you can surprise her lol. Adrien, you kill me and every other Adrienette fan with this contradicting statements.

Speaking of Marinette, she gets lost and has trouble communicating with others because she does not speak Chinese. And at some point says that she regrets not taking lessons?! Uh, what does this imply, that she refused lessons or that she did not have the opportunity for lessons??????? I NEED ANSWERS!

Can we say once again how talented and artistic Marinette is? Bad time? Moving on!

Uncle Wang is unaware of Marinette's tardiness, and Adrien just jokes about it. Considering that she is technically missing (reality is that she's lost), I don't think its time to joke about it.

The lady that gave Marinette some earrings that look like the Miraculous is so nice and bless her soul

The person from the pawn shop is the bad guy that we see at the very end of the NY special! And he knows about what happened to Fei's father! I am grateful that he sees no value in Marinette's stuff so he won't sell it for a lot, but I hate how he's greedy for money and was willing to exploit Fei's hunger for answers and Marinette needing her miraculous for personal gains.

Meanwhile, the boys from the photo with Adrien that chased Fei were trying to get Marinette's attention (they found her kwagatama when Fei dropped it running away and fighting them), but she thought they were gonna attack her. And then she bumps into Fei, who helps her escape.

Marinette finds comfort in Fei for being willing to "help" her (remember that she was gonna bring her to the pawn shop). She also finds Fei as a helpful, kind person who is brave: something that Fei does not see in herself, but does not have the heart to tell Marinette the truth.

Meanwhile, Chat has transformed to find Marinette and its the most endearing thing I've seen! Adrien, you blind oblivious fool! You care about her more than you think!

They arrive in the pawn shop, Tikki escaped the claw machine, and Marinette finds the earrings...for 100000 Yuan.

Fei, understanding what its like to have something entrusted to you be stolen, gets in a spat with the pawn shop owner in Chinese, accusing the owner for greed and accusing Fei for theft, while Marinette just stands her.

Also, when did Marinette become naive???????? I get that she's in another country and they are speaking in a different language that she does not understand, but based on the tone of their voices and shouting, I feel like she should have sensed something was off.

Fei swaps the earrings the lady gave Marinette and took the miraculous back. To the lady, this is why your soul is blessed. So bless your soul!!!

Apparently, Marinette realized what happened and said that Fei stole her earrings and feels bad for the man. Girl, you do not have to feel guilty for the man! He was about to destroy them before he thought about sentimental value! Also, he did not pay Fei anything for them! (Felt that this should be brought up because even though Fei was wrong in stealing her stuff, she was also robbed from potential cash and answers, therefore the man was owed nothing.)

The boys from Adrien's photo are actually vigilantes of Shanghai (and will be referred as such from now on), wanting to bring Fei to justice for stealing, which catches Marinette's attention, but not enough to ask any questions.

Also Marinette is not wanted as a criminal. She is missing as Uncle Wang called the police.

Fei still lives in the school, which has been in ruins. Despite not having much, she still offers Marinette a cup of what I believe is water (or tea?). See peoples, Fei is a good person at heart (if y'all aren't aware of it by now)

Gabriel saw and recognized Marinette. This is horrifying and if it is prior to season 3, we see why he tries so hard to target her. Or reasons why he targets her in season 4 along with everything else we know from "Truth".

Fei should have been given the chance to explain why she stole Marinette's things, but the pawn shop owner was like "you know, I might as well expose Fei myself"...

...and it really broke Marinette, who heavily trusted her. But she can't dwell on it for long...

...because AKUMA COMES FOR THE PAWN SHOP OWNER! AND HIS FAN SHOOTS KNIVES! AND HAS GREEDY MOTIVES! AND HELPED HAWKMOTH GET INTI THE CAVE WITH THE PRODIGIOUS!!!

Also, Nathalie was involved in obtaining the bracelet years ago. Again, the 15 years thing is concerning.

Marinette flees to transform, but not without telling Fei how she broke her trust and how she feels that Feinwas not genuinely helping her. It hurt me so much!

Ladybug transforms, hears Chat's voice-mail (to which she is swooned by the fact her kitty cares for her civilian self), and calls him. The best Ladynoir scene so far!

So the prodigious is like a jewel with powers, there is only one prodigious from what we see, and that one prodigious has multiple renlings that only the wielder can see. Oh, and the bracelet is like a key. Cool.

I don't like how Fei's Lady Dragon outfit looks whitewashed, but at least her hair is red instead of blonde (which still does not make this okay)

Epic Showdown between the akuma, Hawkmoth, Ladybug, and Lady Dragon. Hawkmoth corners Ladybug and Lady Dragon gets caught in some rocks.. All hope seemed lost...

...until Chat shows up and frees the akuma with the help of a basketball.

We learn something new folks: the same butterfly can create a different akuma. This is very frightening because...

The statue that determines who is worthy of the prodigious gets akumatized! The horror!

Also, if the statue says Fei cannot become the dragon because her intention to seek vengeance for her father is not noble and worthy, then what makes Hawkmoth think he will be successful in becoming the dragon??? Because it seems that his intentions are not pure or noble. Just saying.

Hawkmoth notices the akumatized statue heading to the city and all of a sudden remembers about Adrien. Confronting the statue, he gets turned into ashes(?).

CHAT, HAWKMOTH IN ASHES WOULD HAVE BEEN FOR THE BETTER IF THE STATUE DID NOT DESTROY SHANGHAI AND YOU WOULD NOT THINK AS SUCH IF YOU KNEW HE WAS YOUR FATHER! But I am not mad at you, just wanted to point out your irony.

ML WRITERS, WHY DO YOU KEEP KILLING OFF CHAT????? LADYBUG DOES NOT NEED ANY MORE TRAUMA AND THAT WAS COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY!!!! I AM SCREAMING INSIDE!!!!!

Fei is understandably upset and blames herself for what happen. I want to hug her so badly.

Marinette reassures Fei and forgives her, even though Fei felt that she could not be forgiven.

The structure they were standing on collapses and it was Fei as the Dragon who saved her, not Chat. Honestly, I love how it turned out as it strengthens their friendship, but I still prefer a Marichat alternative. WHERE IS THE MARICHAT PEOPLES???

Final showdown!

Poor statue guard was upset about the damage they caused as an akuma, but Miraculous Ladybiug fixes everything.

Fei learned an important lesson: let justice take its course, not enact revenge. But it was quite funny to have the pawn shop owner be flown away to court in a literal sense.

The bracelet has a renling-like creature, who is just so adorable, especially since they missed Fei and was waiting for the day they would be reunited. Aww!

Ladynoir version of the Moon scene from NYC! Except no dancing, just them challenging each other over who will get to Paris first if they traveled in opposite directions. No one shall ever know we were in Shanghai as civilians lol (Reminds me of my best friend when eating grapes during choral rehearsals)

Marinette, Adrien, Fei, and Uncle Wang enjoying a birthday (?) dinner was wholesome.

I love how Uncle Wang calls them boyfriend and girlfriend because of how they act around each other, yet Marinette and Adrien both deny it. Bruh, these children need to open their fricking eyes! I really wanted to jump through my phone screen!

The Shanghai Vigilantes came to return Marinette's kwagatama necklace. They are so precious even though we thought they were enemies in the trailer.

Even though they were at odds at first, love how the Vigilantes blushed when Fei played the accordion and she's just like "whatever". I stan an asexual queen.

Do I even want to know what Marinette accidentally said when she mispronounced "sister" in Chinese? Based on what Fei said, probably not.

Uh...NOW I WANT TO SEE MORE OF ADRIEN TEACHING MARINETTE CHINESE! While I do take some issue of Adrien (a white French boy) teaching Marinette her culture like most of us had issue with in "Kung Food", I also want to see them interact outside of school and hopefully bond. ML writers need to keep their word otherwise Adrienette stans will riot!

Love how the final scene turned out! Its just *chef's kisses*

Also, the hell with the business trip?? It was mentioned once again IN THE ENDCARD! It might not be as interesting, but I want to think that there was more truth to it.

Also, wifi troubles kept interrupting the show at crucial moments, but okay.

Overall, I live for the Shanghai episode! The animation is just as incredible as the NY special (which I also live for) and I love how this episode has a great focus on Fei and the prodigious. I mean, before the intro, she tells her story. And she has her monologues alongside Marinette's. In many ways, it's refreshing. Also, Ladynoir and Adrienette stans will be satiated with the scenes associated with each ship. Also, I love Fei's character development! And the final scene is wholesome!

I won't lie though: there are a few issues regarding whitewashing Fei's transformation and such. It is important to see these things and as a good friend of mine always says: you can enjoy something while also being critical of it. And that is very important no matter how devotive to something you actually are.

Anyways, we are being well fed with all the Miraculous content and I will see you all very soon! Also, get some sleep peoples! I know some of you aren't sleeping!

[anothersievefistedfind]

Photo © by Kelly Maron

Fugazi, Fort Reno, Washington, D.C. USA 8/13/2001 (FLS #1013)

Ever since 1968, Fort Reno has provided the space and opportunity for an annual free all-ages summer concert series. According to the Dischord website, “The Fort Reno Summer Concert Series is an all volunteer Washington, DC institution which has presented free shows in the park for more than 40 years. The bills often feature a mixture of young bands just starting out alongside more seasoned bands -- all from the area's fertile independent music scene.”

Even though Fugazi would play the Fort Reno Park premises in Tenleytown almost every summer since 1988 until their indefinite hiatus in 2003 (with the exception of three editions, see also some of my earlier notes via here), a great deal of these recordings unfortunately are incomplete and/or suffer from significant audio discrepancies. Luckily, this one from 2001 is complete and sounds really good too, not considering a handful of sonic glitches, a bit of interference and the audience being low in the mix because of the soundboard recording and outdoor acoustics.

Actually, chances of the event washing out on a regular basis due to torrential rains and thunderstorms have been as high as Ian donning a Soulside tee shirt for the yearly occasion. By contrast, the circumstances surrounding this show in August of 2001, i.e. Fugazi’s second to last stay at Fort Reno, played out differently (at least in a meteorological way, not in the way of Ian’s sartorial choices).

In the course of the set, Guy paints a clearer picture, “I know a lot of people drove from pretty far away to come out to the show tonight, and a lot of people drove not knowing if there was even gonna be a show tonight, and uh, for those of you who haven’t been around the last couple of years, almost every time we play here there’s like an apocalyptic rainstorm every fucking year and it’s always like we’re all nibbling our fingernails and watching the lightning explode and everyone’s freaking out and then we get to play one or two songs and then everyone has to you know run under the umbrella’s for a while, but tonight Mother Nature went off early and we got to play a full set [...].”

The performance presented here might feel a bit rough around the edges, which can arguably be chalked up to the fact that this is the last show Fugazi played in 2001, a one-off gig in D.C. about a month after a two-week trek across the Midwest of the United States and Canada, as well as to the fact that both 2001 and 2002 pretty much rank at the bottom of the list in terms of (the number of) Fugazi live performances, with 32 shows each (compared to 134, 129 or 123 shows in 1993, 1990 and 1995 respectively). Considering this, it is not all that surprising that this show is pockmarked with some instrumental slip-ups or even the occasional lyrical flub. 

Nevertheless, it still is an overall interesting and enjoyable listen and it does have a nice flow to it, with many seamless transitions and song combinations, which is pretty remarkable since the band draws heavily from a body of songs that had not yet seen an album release at the time.

The set list showcases 22 songs, or actually even 23 if you count the instrumental intro which might very well be the only documented live version of this specific “link track” (one of many such little improvs, or so the saying goes). 

Out of the titled live cuts, no less than 7 are taken off of The Argument and 1 song off of the Furniture EP, recordings which would both see their official release some two months later, in October 2001. A handful of tracks off of their previous work complete the set: End Hits (3), Red Medicine (3), In on the Kill Taker (4), Repeater (1), Margin Walker EP (1) and 7 Songs debut EP (2). Unfortunately, Steady Diet of Nothing is not featured this time around.

There is little banter here, aside from Ian (ironically) chiding someone for demanding some banter before introducing Cashout, Guy inviting people to join in the World Bank protests which were to be held in D.C. in September of that year (little did he know that another turn of events was about to unfold on 9/11), or Ian thanking (the late) Father George [Dennis] for his continuous involvement with the summer concert series since its inception.

Footage of this show is available through YouTube (part one via here and part two via here) as is some more amazing photography by Shawn Scallen (via here).

Interestingly, mention of this particular Fort Reno gig is made in an article by Dave McKenna published for the Washington Post shortly after, as well as in a recent October 15, 2021 article by Tom Breihan published for Stereogum, celebrating the 20th anniversary of The Argument album.

The set list:

1. Intro 2. Nightshop 3. Break 4. Smallpox Champion 5. And The Same  6. Full Disclosure 7. Interlude 1 8. Cashout 9. Public Witness Program 10. Birthday Pony 11. Do You Like Me 12. The Kill 13. Argument 14. Blueprint 15. Interlude 2 16. Five Corporations 17. Caustic Acrostic 18. Epic Problem 19. Interlude 3 20. Oh 21. Interlude 4 22. Bed For The Scraping 23. Burning 24. Waiting Room 25. Interlude 5 26. Number 5 27. Rend It 28. Sweet and Low 29. Outro

[streetlight11]

Somebody to you

Summary: Going on a school trip with your best friends is something you've ever wanted but luck wasn't on your side. Not only were you going to see your childhood enemy on the trip, but you had to share cabins with him due to unfortunate circumstances on your end. How would the trip turn out?

Theme: College au, enemies to lovers

Genre: a little angsty, slightly suggestive but nothing too serious, fluff ending 

WC: 7.8k

Pairing: Jeong Yunho x Fem!Reader

a/n: Hey there :) This one is a little longer than my other fics. Tell me if there's any mistakes! Anyways, hope you like it :))) 

“Okay everyone, so as you may all know, the school has decided to let a few selected classes from each course go on a field trip to the mountain lodge where you will get to take part in fun activities such as skiing. Those classes who are not selected for this trip will be going on a different trip respectively since they could not accommodate a whole resort for the entire school.”

The school’s principal said through the loud speaker, announcing the school trip to everyone on campus. After he called out the selected classes for each trip, the students were visibly excited. But even then, somehow, two students from two different classes couldn’t help but frown as they both let out a defeated sigh.

The thought of seeing each other on campus was already disappointing enough. But to be stuck on a resort with the other, definitely never crossed their minds. After class was dismissed, you packed your bags too slowly for Jennie’s liking as the older girl tapped your nose teasingly.

“Hey. What’s with the face? You okay?” Jennie asked.

“No? It’s already bad enough that I see his face here everyday. Why do I have to see him again for the trip?” You said in an annoyed tone, causing Lisa to exchange a knowing look with Jennie.

“Are you talking about Yunho?” Lisa asked, a small sympathetic smile appeared on her face.

“Who else?” You puffed your cheeks. You three soon left the classroom, only for Jennie to speak up. “Oh come on, Y/N… Let’s ignore him and just enjoy this trip, hmm? Besides, look on the bright side! Yeri, Jihyo, Sana, Chungha and Mina will be there too!” You could only groan, making the two girls laugh.

By now, everyone knew the two Tom and Jerry on campus. You would never go a day without at least one verbal fight with him. You had just entered the cafeteria, finding for an empty table when you spotted him from afar with your eagle eyes.

You internally groaned when he happened to turn towards your direction as though he knew you were right there.

Yunho gave you a cold stare before turning back to his friends, allowing his smile to reappear on his face as if nothing happened. You continued your day as usual, despite not looking forward to the trip that was set to due in a week's time. 

The week passed by pretty fast as you were unfortunately running late due to morning traffic. When you arrived on campus, you were at least 20 minutes late. However, apparently everyone was already given the chance to find a partner for each room and there were a total of 32 cabin houses that could accommodate a maximum of 9 people in each house.

You looked around to find your friends, but you nearly dropped your bags when you realized that they already had 9 people. With two girls whom you weren’t close with but you recognized them to be Yeri’s classmates. Jennie and Jihyo frowned, mouthing a series of ‘sorry’s and also saying that the headmaster didn’t give them a choice to wait for you.

You shook your head and smiled, telling them that it was okay. 

Just then, the headmaster turned to the latecomers only to speak up. “Do all of you have a cabin to join?” The 6 students shook their heads. Just then, a familiar voice spoke up from just two rows down.

“She can room with us. We have one extra spot left.” This made you turn your head, only to lock eyes with Jeong Yunho. Of course you would never agree to staying in a cabin together with him, but at that current moment, you had to weigh the pros and cons.

It’s either you stay with complete strangers who may or may not be the best of people or stay with an enemy whom you know almost your whole life and suffer with him for the next one week until the trip ends. What could possibly go wrong.

Eh, what the heck.

“Sure, I’ll stay with them.” You said as the headmaster nods, pointing his hand towards Yunho’s group of friends.

You hesitantly walked up to them but the minute you stepped foot in their circle, Yunho was quick to speak up.

“Just because I helped you, doesn’t mean I don’t hate you anymore.”

“Oh, I didn’t ask for your help anyway. And, don’t worry, I still hate you.” You said. Yunho made a face at you, earning a roll of your eyes. The rest of them who witnessed this couldn’t help but glance back and forth between the two enemies.

They were soon heading off class by class respectively. At this point, you were thankful that you could finally reunite with your best friends instead of being stuck with him.

The journey to the mountains took at least 4 hours but it was worth it.

When they arrived at the resort, it was a lot more beautiful than in the brochures. Everyone left the buses in awe at the spectacular scenery. Since it was almost the start of winter season, snow already began to coat the mountains and the roads in that area. 

The temperature was cold and breezy, making them wear warm protective clothings. You got excited when you saw the skiing park right beside the resort, pulling Lisa and Jennie over to the railings. “Wow look!” You gasped with a bright smile on your face. Both Lisa and Jennie did the same as they watched the people ski down the slopes professionally.

After they’ve all entered the main lobby of the ski resort, the headmaster made an announcement.

“Alright everyone. When the staff calls out your name, please come and collect the keys to your cabins. I’ve already told the staff workers here to label and assign each cabin to the respective groups according to what you chose earlier. After I have dismissed everyone, you are free to roam around, explore this resort before going to the main food hall for lunch. I will give you about an hour and a half of free time. Do I make myself clear?”

Everyone responded in unison and soon, the staff member began to call out the names of the student representing each cabin to come forward and collect the keys. After everyone was done, they soon dispersed to go to their cabins.

You stuck with your friends as you followed them to their cabin. Unfortunately, their cabin was at least 5 blocks away. Making it difficult for you to even sneak out and go to their cabin at night like you planned. Nevertheless, the cabin interior looked really nice and cosy. The wooden interior makes it even more warm and spacious.

“Wow! It’s so pretty!”

“This is nothing like the pictures!”

“I wish we could live here together.” 

A series of compliments were thrown the minute they entered the house. You were excited to stay in these kinds of cabins despite knowing you wouldn’t be sharing it with these bunch of people. The girls were about to explore more when you spoke up.

“Well, I’ll leave you guys to it. Text me if you guys are going anywhere fun!” You laughed.

“I’m so sorry Y/N! I really hoped for all of us to stay together.” Jihyo apologized, making you shake your head.

“It’s fine. We’re gonna see each other often during the activities anyway.” You said before you waved goodbye to them, leaving the cabin to go to your designated one on the other side of the resort. When you were just 4 feet away, you could already see the shoes scattered around the doorstep, making you sigh.

You didn’t have anything against the guys, because it was quite easy to say that you knew most of them on a name basis just that you aren’t close friends. However, the only person you knew the longest but also happens to be your enemy since high school, was obviously Yunho.

So when you pushed the door open, you immediately took in the wonderful pinewood smell of the gorgeous cabin. Completely ignoring the excited males running around the lodge.

“Oh, Y/N. Hey.” Hongjoong acknowledged you first, causing the rest to do the same.

You gave them a small smile followed by a nod before entering the cabin further. Once you were standing in the living room, just staring at Seonghwa who was wrestling Yeosang, a voice spoke up from the steps. “All the rooms have only one bed each, 3 queens and 1 king. We’ve already decided who rooms with who.” Yunho announced coldly.

“And…?” You paused, urging him to continue.

“And? Isn’t it already obvious who you’re rooming with? The boys figured you wouldn’t be comfortable sharing a room with someone you didn’t know. But I’m taking the bed. You can sleep on the couch.” Yunho said. You rolled your eyes, proceeding to walk in his direction before you came to a stop in front of him.

“I’d rather sleep in the kitchen instead of sharing the bed with you.”

“Be my guest.” He taunts. You could only growl before heading up the stairs. 

Hours went by in a flash and it was already dinner time. You were already exhausted from the activities you did earlier in the day. Already planning to take a shower and head to bed the minute you reach the cabin.

A few minutes later after everyone was dismissed from dinner to head back to their cabins and rest, as promised, you immediately went to your shared room with Yunho only to unpack your things and organize them a little before heading for a shower. You didn’t realize it had been almost an hour and it was nearly time for the lights to be out. 

Students were told to turn their lights off and sleep by 10pm. It was already 9:47pm. Yunho was downstairs with everyone else, probably still playing games.

You decided to take a quick warm shower. Taking only your towel and phone with you. You completely missed out your new clean clothes, thinking you could just get them later after the shower. About a good half an hour later, you had just stepped out of the bathtub shower completely wet but definitely fresh.

You reached for the towel on the rack and soon towel dried your body slightly before wrapping it around your body. You turned off your phone and left the bathroom. However, what you didn’t expect to see was a room filled with guys. You shrieked upon seeing them, making them flinch as they turned around to look at you.

“What the hell are you all doing in my room?!” You nearly screamed from both annoyance and embarrassment.

“This is my room too, darling.” Yunho said with a smug look on his face.

“And didn’t you say you were hanging out downstairs?”

“Mr Kwon was going around doing his rounding duties.” Mingi said bashfully, eyes clearly respecting your almost naked figure just desperately clutching onto your towel for your dear life.

“And why of all the rooms, you chose this one?”

“Because I said so?” Yunho replied for Mingi, making you scowl.

“Have I mentioned I hate you?”

“Not today actually, no.”

“The least you could do was warn me, Yunho.” You loudly whispered.

He rolled his eyes at you thickly. The room fell silent but you were still staring at your bag that was placed perfectly beside San on the ground. You wanted to tell them to leave but you thought it might be a bit rude considering you weren't exactly friends with them.

Somehow, Yunho could sense your uncertainty. With that being said, he got up from the bed and walked over to your luggage on the floor. He took the carrier and brought it over to you by the bathroom door. “Here. No need to thank me.” He said before turning back to go to his friends.

You couldn’t help but stare at his descending back, unsure as to why you suddenly felt a weird pull in your stomach. You ignored the feeling and soon disappeared back into the bathroom to change into a pair of sweatpants, a shirt and a thick hoodie.

You came back out a few minutes later with slightly dryer hair since you spent about 10 minutes blow drying it. You placed the luggage back beside San, taking out your charger and plugged it on the side table. When you turned around, the boys were still chatting and playing their card game only to speak up to Wooyoung and Seonghwa who were sitting on the side opposite Yunho.

“Move elsewhere. I’m trying to sleep unlike you owls.” You groaned as the two boys scurried away to sit nearer towards the centre of the mattress. 

Once you climbed onto the bed, Yunho raised his eyebrow up in question.

“Uhh, who said you’re sleeping here? You’re taking the couch.” Yunho said firmly with a hint of irritation in his voice but you couldn’t care less. “In your dreams.” You said as you turned to let your back face them under the covers.

You didn’t see his burning glare, closing your eyes to sleep. 

You fell into a deep slumber within 5 minutes, you felt lethargic as it took over your body almost immediately. A few minutes went by, the boys were still in the room playing a series of games from both card games to truth or dares. Remembering to keep their voices at a minimum. They were half way through playing Uno when they heard a shuffle coming from behind Seonghwa.

They watched as you rolled over in your sleep, only to face them.

But what made them feel so endeared by it was the way you laid. You were laying on your side, one hand tucked under the pillow. The other rested in front of your face, in a way covering your face.

Your hair draped over your face while your lips parted open very slightly. There was a few stifled laughter filling the room, only for Wooyoung to speak up in a hushed tone. “How is she so cold and feisty when she’s awake but so cute and vulnerable when she’s asleep?”

“I know right? Look at her.” Hongjoong giggled softly.

“You cannot not tell me you don’t find her attractive, even the slightest bit.” Yeosang directed his question to Yunho who was seen staring at your peaceful figure.

“I don’t know if I can answer you…” Yunho whispered.

The guys smiled as they continued playing the game. About half an hour later, Hongjoong was the first to urge the rest to head to bed since it was already late and that they should let you rest.

They left the room, not forgetting to clean the room after themselves. The minute everyone was out the door with only Yunho left in the room, he turned around to look at your sleeping figure. Yunho very quietly made his way to you, only to stop behind you. He carefully reached up, letting his hand hover over your face for a second.

He let out a soft sigh before he gently tucked your stray hairs behind your ear. Careful not to wake you up. Yunho couldn’t help but stare at you for a little while longer before he spoke up very quietly to no one in particular.

“What are you doing to me, Y/N?”

You stirred awake in the middle of the night, feeling the urgent need to use the bathroom. You got up groggily, only to shuffle your way to the bathroom. After you were done, you stepped out of the bathroom only to turn the lights off and head back to the bed. However, before you could lay back down, you saw Yunho curled up on the couch. From where you stood, his back was facing you but he looked fairly cold as his body was shivering slightly.

Despite the heaters in the cabin, the cold breeze from outside still managed to seep into the cabin.

You didn’t know why but you felt bad seeing him in that state. You wished you could just wake him up and call him into bed but you were afraid he might feel uncomfortable with it. So you opted to just take two of your jackets, one thick jacket and one full length windbreaker.

You quietly made your way to him, only to drape both jackets over his frame. He shifted in his sleep but never woke up. You carefully went back to bed, giving him one last glance before laying back down again.

5 hours later, Yunho woke up to a weird feeling of warmth engulfing his whole body. He remembered the night to be cold. For all he knew he was shivering last night. Yunho fluttered his eyes open, looking around to see what was the cause of warmth. That’s when he notices the pile of jackets on top of his frame.

He knew for a fact that it wasn’t his. With that being said, he glanced behind him only to see you still fast asleep on the bed. He couldn’t help but smile as he got up to take a shower.

Minutes turned into hours, they were all gathered by the ski lodge to go snowboarding. They stood according to the people in each cabin. You were standing between Jongho and Yeosang, while Yunho stood behind you.

They managed to follow the safety guidelines correctly, only for you to join your friends instead of sticking with the boys. They of course didn’t stop you from going. However, that doesn’t mean Yunho would choose to stop keeping his eye on you from afar. Others might think he’s just figuring out ways to torment you and cause you to make a fool out of herself since they always fought with one another.

But in reality, he was keeping an eye on you to make sure you never hurt yourself because after last night, he suddenly had a change of heart towards you. He just doesn’t want to admit it yet. You were racing down the hill with Yeri a few feet behind you, wanting to challenge each other to see who could win.

You were reaching the bottom but you didn’t notice the boulder ledge right in front of you until a voice called out to you from ahead. It was Chungha and Mina.

“Y/N, watch out!”

You didn’t have enough time to react, your nervousness took over the board as it began to wobble. You were just about to hit the boulder when somebody came swooping in from your left, toppling you over the hill instead of the ledge. Your heart jumped out of your chest as a scream left your lips.

You couldn’t even bother to see who saved you from plunging to your death as your bodies tumbled down the hill mercilessly. But the person who saved you, was holding you tightly against them. Putting a hand behind your head to protect it. Just when you finally rolled to a stop, that’s when you carefully pulled away. 

You could hear a whole series of voices calling out to them but you couldn’t care less.

You were about to thank whoever that saved you but your words got stuck in your throat when you realized who it was. You were laying on top of him with your hands tucked between your chests. His arms were wrapped around your body, keeping you close to him. Snowflakes coated his hair and little on his face, probably the same for you.

Your faces were just inches away from each other but nobody wanted to pull away. “Are… Are you okay?” Yunho asked softly.

“Y-Yeah… you?”

“Mhm.”

With that, you carefully got off him. While Mingi and Hongjoong helped Yunho up, Jennie and Sana rushed over to help you.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” You asked him again, definitely not buying his answer since he practically took most of the hit. You knew he was at least in a mild pain but he put up a strong front. “I’m fine… really.” Yunho said. And for the first time ever, he flashed you a genuine smile that somewhat made you feel something in the pit of your stomach.

After dinner, they all headed back to the cabin where the boys were all tired and agreed to rest early for the night. Yunho showered first before letting you use the bathroom. Needless to say, the two of you didn’t argue much ever since the incident earlier. You simply talked to each other when you needed to.

You left the shower wearing a hoodie and a pair of loose pyjama pants. Yunho was just taking a few pillows from the bed when you stopped him.

“Yunho… uhh, you can take the bed. I’m not sleeping yet.” You said. Of course he took this chance to sleep on the bed, he did feel unsure if he should let you sleep on the couch. Before he could say anything, you left the room not forgetting to remind him again slightly louder.

“Sleep on the bed.” You soon closed the bedroom door only to head downstairs to make yourself a cup of tea. You could feel yourself starting to catch a cold, hoping the tea could cure your sickness.

You didn’t know how long it had been since you went downstairs. After what felt like forever, you finally went to wash your mug before going back up.

You came back to find Yunho lightly snoring on the queen sized bed. The cabin was still chilly despite the heaters so he had a hoodie on. The thick duvet covered up to his waist. He was laying with his stomach down, arms tucked under the pillow to support his head. He was facing the couch but he looked too pure and peaceful for you to even feel creeped out.

You found yourself smiling softly at him before going over to the couch. You laid there for a moment before you too fell asleep.

It was almost 4 hours later that he woke up to go to the bathroom. He turned off the bathroom lights and closed the door, ready to head back to bed when he saw you on the couch. You looked like you were shivering even though you had a thick hoodie on.

Yunho’s lips tugged into a smile as he walked up to you only to stop behind your figure. He shook his head softly at you before carefully slipping his arms underneath your knees and torso. Yunho swiftly lifts you off the couch, earning a very light groan from you. He carried you all the way to the bed, tucking you underneath the duvet before climbing in beside you.

Once he was sharing the space with you, Yunho gently pulled you against him until you were practically side hugging him. After he managed to find a comfortable position for both of you, that’s when he finally relaxed. He made you rest your head on his shoulder while his other arm rests on top of his chest. 

Your right hand was tucked between your bodies while your left arm was draped over his stomach.

Immediately, the warmth was too nice to ignore as he soon fell asleep not before planting a very chaste kiss onto the top of your head. Yunho had no idea why he did that. He just felt like doing it.

The next morning, you woke up to an unusual warmth hugging your body. You never felt this warm during the previous morning when you woke up. You thought it was the heater’s work so you instantly relaxed further into the warmth. Just then, you felt a soft squeeze on your waist, making you open your eyes.

You carefully looked down to see an arm hugging your waist from the back. You didn’t have to turn around to see who it was. Just this alone was enough to make your cheeks flush red.

You mentally shook your thoughts away before you cautiously slipped out of his grasp to take a shower and got ready for breakfast. Thankfully, neither of you acknowledged it to avoid any awkwardness.

Hours went by and the activities today were less tiring but it did drain a bit of their energies. The boys were quite charged that night as all 8 of them gathered in the lounge area of their cabin. It was already half past eleven at night. The boys were just playing Jenga when Wooyoung noticed a figure stepping foot on the ground step by the stairs.

“Oh, Y/N. Are we being too loud?” He asked with a slight crinkle in his face, afraid of you lashing out. But instead, you smiled while shaking your head.

“No… I just… I couldn’t sleep…” You admitted to it shyly, fiddling with the hem of your hoodie before looking up to accidentally lock eyes with Yunho. Just then, Yeosang spoke up, asking if you wanted to join them. It took you less than a second to nod in agreement, making Yunho scoot over a little before patting down the space beside him.

Minutes ticked by as you watched them play, occasionally joining in. However, your eyes started to become droopy. Sleep was slowly taking over you as your head felt light with each passing minute.

Just then, right when Mingi was about to pull out the Jenga wood, Yunho felt a sudden weight on his left shoulder making him glancing down. That’s when he saw you resting your head on top of his shoulder. Since he couldn’t see if your eyes were closed or not, Yunho gently pat Jongho’s thigh who was seated on his right.

“Is she asleep?” Yunho whispered. The younger boy leaned over to take a peek. Curiously enough, the rest did the same.

“Yeap.” Jongho said softly in return, a smile gracing his lips. Yunho felt your hand grow limp on his sides before it dropped to his upper thigh, close to his hip bone. He glanced back up to see the rest of them smirking and giving him suggestive looks before one by one began to tease him.

“Looks like you’re finally weak for her huh?”

“Are you sure you hate her? You definitely don’t look like you do.”

“Sure, push her away if you hate her.”

“Do you need us to give you more proof that you’re actually in love with her?” Yunho simply glared at all of them, hoping you didn't hear any of this and thankfully, you didn’t.

About an hour later, everyone was heading to bed so while everyone was going to clear up the mess, the boys told Yunho to bring you upstairs. Yunho gently woke you up, shaking your arm softly.

“Y/N? Hey… wake up. Let’s go sleep upstairs, hmm?” His voice soothing to the ears. You stirred awake only to tilt your head up, too tired to realize how close your lips were. But of course, Yunho was too awake to notice the distance.

“Let’s go back to our room.” Yunho said as you nodded, struggling to stand up. Once you managed to find your balance, you made your way up with him to make sure you didn’t accidentally hurt yourself while going up the stairs.

Once they were both in your rooms, you walked over to the couch, making him stop you. “Woah, where are you going?”

“The couch?”

“What? Why?” He asked, genuinely confused.

“I thought you didn’t want me to sleep on the bed?” You asked, clearly still groggy from the nap. This made him let out a soft chuckle before walking to you. Yunho slides his hand around your waist only to guide you to the bed. If you were slightly more awake, you would have turned into a blushing mess. Once he sat you on the bed, he urged you to sleep.

“Then, where are you sleeping?” You asked with a small pout on your lip. Damn, you were making it so hard for him. “It’s okay. Just sleep. I’m not gonna do anything.”

“No, no, I know… It’s just… I want you to sleep with me… I mean, share the bed. It’s not too comfortable on the couch to be honest.” You finally admitted, making him smile. Yunho couldn’t help but chuckle softly at your words even though it was the most innocent thing he’s ever heard from you.

He gave in to your request, quickly taking off the hoodie he was wearing, only to leave the thin sweater he was wearing underneath. He soon climbed into bed after turning off the main lights in the room.

The minute he laid down on the mattress, you instantly craved for his warmth just like the night before.

Yunho allowed you to lay however you wanted, resorting to your head on his chest while your hands were hugging his torso. He could feel your legs tangle with his. The warmth engulfing you nicely. The both of you soon fell asleep without even waking up in the middle of the night unlike the previous nights.

The next morning, you both stirred awake around the same time. Neither of you realized the position they slept in until you moved your head slightly to feel his lips brush against yours. You were laying on your back with him on his side, so close to you as he hugged your waist.

Initially, your head was turned away from him but when you woke up, you turned your head to the opposite side. That’s when your lips accidentally brushed over his. Your heart almost leaped out of your chest while he grew awake when he felt that small skin ship. The room fell quiet for a second, simply just staring at each other. You were the first to pull away, climbing out of bed to excuse yourself to shower.

A few hours later, they had just gone back from husky sledding and ice karting. They were all gathered to eat dinner. Yunho was seated with his friends while you sat with your friends a few rows down from him.

But from where he sat, they could clearly see each other. Halfway through dinner, the host announced a quick game of run and hide. The objective of the game was for the leaders of each course to try and find the hidden treasure located somewhere in the resort. However, there will be a surprise during the game. Whoever finds the treasure and successfully brings it back to the dinner hall wins.

You turned to Lisa and Chungha who were seated opposite of you when you heard them squeak.

“I would rather stay here.”

“Me too!”

You couldn’t help but laugh as your eyes naturally found its way to Yunho’s. Your gaze lingered on each other for a minute before you looked away. The selected leaders were being called upon, with you being one of them.

Even though you were dreading this idea, you didn’t want to disappoint your classmates and course mates. You got led to the front along with 4 other students. You looked around to see that they were all students you weren't familiar with.

Besides, since you were going against each other, being in alliances wasn’t really important. However, your strategy soon got thrown in the bin when Yunho was pulled up to a stop beside you. You looked at him for a brief second, only to see a small smirk on his face. You tried to hide your smile by looking away but your lips gave it away and he definitely saw it.

The instructions were given, brand new torchlights were distributed and everyone was ready to find the hidden treasure. Once the whistle was blown, all 6 students dispersed to find the hidden treasure.

You and Yunho went separate ways at first. You went to the east side of the resort while he went to the west side. They were told that the treasure is not hidden in the cabins so you avoided doing that. The only areas that were out of bounds were the cabins and the forest that led to the mountains. Other than that, every other place is accessible.

You carefully searched through the trees along the pathway, searching along the cabin houses. Everywhere you could think of. 

You were too busy searching for the treasure that you didn’t notice the person wearing a scary mask walking down the path with chains tied to his wrists. The man looked scary as he had a weird way of walking, almost like he was limping.

You were about to turn the corner when someone grabbed your wrist and pulled you back, using one hand to cover your mouth from behind. Once you were both squatting down behind the small bush, you let out a soft yelp as you felt yourself crash against a firm back. You glanced back to lock eyes with Yunho who whispered to your ear.

“Don’t scream…”

You were about to question him when the chains being dragged on the floor, followed by a low growl made you whip your head forwards. You clutched onto Yunho’s forearm out of fear as he slowly removed his hand from your mouth. His other arm was still wrapped around your waist. 

“How did you know I was here?” You asked when you turned around to face him. 

You tried to ignore the close proximity but he was doing nothing to hide his wandering eyes that travelled from your eyes to your nose, down to your lips and then back to your eyes. “I saw you searching through the bush and then I saw him.” Yunho said before looking back down at your lips again. This was enough to make your heart skip a beat as you turned back around to hide your blush by peeking out the gap to check if the coast was clear.

“I think we should-” You said as you turned around to talk to him when you saw the man dressed in the same way as the previous scary dude just metres behind Yunho.

“Go! Get up!” You yelled as you grabbed his hand and soon the both of them ran out the little alley between the two cabins. You ran hand in hand only for you to realize that there was more than one of them.

“This way!” Yunho said, bringing you back to the main building of the resort. You made your way to the other side of the building, only to come to a halt when Yunho spotted a treasure chest sitting behind the reception counter. It was hidden on the bottom shelf where no one could easily see unless they went close to the counter.

“Excuse me! Can you pass me that treasure box?” Yunho said to the clerk working behind the counter. She went over to the treasure box, only for you to see that you’re being cornered by the scary looking people.

“Yunho…” You warned by tugging on his sleeves and of course he got the signal.

The minute he took the treasure box, he quickly laced his fingers with yours and soon bolted down the lobby towards the main outdoor food hall. The two of you ran despite being chased by the scary looking men.

You were just a few feet away when a few same looking men blocked their paths right at the side entrance of the hall, making you both halt your steps. The other students who were watching gasped and screamed at you to take the other entrance on the other side. Yunho turned to you and asked if you could sprint. When you nodded, he told you to run around the back of the hall and go to the other entrance.

He managed to distract the men while you ran and when you successfully entered, you went straight to where the host and the other 4 students were. Who had treasure boxes too but they were empty.

Yunho managed to enter the hall, a few minutes later with a smaller treasure chest in his arms.

The host opened your boxes at the same time, only to reveal that your box was the correct hidden treasure, earning your course the win. Everyone cheered as you turned to Yunho who had a bright smile on his lips.

You then remembered what happened earlier beside the cabin. The memories came flooding in and you couldn’t seem to get that out of your mind.

Yunho took a few steps closer until he was right in front of her. You weren't sure what he was doing so when he pulled you into a hug, you found herself smiling against his chest. Both their friends were definitely shocked by this comeback but nevertheless they were glad that you two wouldn’t be fighting anymore.

After dinner was over, they all headed back to their own cabins. You hugged your girlfriends goodbye before joining Yunho and the others. They were walking down the path in silence while his friends were occupied with chatting to each other. The two of you were walking a few steps behind. Neither of you said a word until he spoke up first.

“I didn’t think you could run that fast.”

“I used to be a part of the track and field back in high school, remember? Or maybe you just didn’t realise since, you know...” A soft chuckle left your lips, making him do the same.

“Sorry if I scared you earlier.” He apologized.

“It’s okay. For all we know, you actually helped me from getting caught.” Yunho let out a laugh as they turned to enter their cabin.

He let you walk in first, holding the door for you. Such a gentleman. Once they were in, Wooyoung immediately took off his windbreaker and yelled happily. “Hey guys! Should we watch a movie tonight?” A series of yes went around only for you to turn to Yunho who was already staring at you expectantly.

“You can join them if you want. I think I’m gonna rest for a bit. I’ll see if I wanna join after.” You said, making the boys nod.

They all soon dispersed to their own rooms as Yunho followed behind you. Once you were in your shared room, he told you to shower first and so you did. But while waiting for you, Yunho sat on the bed in silence. Just thinking about how good it felt to hug you earlier and be that close to you.

Of course cuddling in bed is nice but you’ve never been that close in public. And for some reason, he liked it. He didn’t realize how long he had been sitting there for until he heard the bathroom door unlock. And out comes a freshly showered you with only a towel wrapped around your body. If he were to guess, you probably forgot to take your new clothes again.

“Forgot to take your clothes again?” Yunho asked with a soft chuckle, making you giggle with a nod.

He watched as you walked to your luggage, only to squat down to find your clothes. Once you took the clothes you wanted to wear, you excused yourself to go change and he just nodded. About 3 minutes later, you came back out looking as cozy as ever and all he wanted to do was hug you.

“Your turn.” You simply said, seeing him nod in response. When he disappeared into the bathroom, it was your turn to sit on the bed. You were just scrolling through your phone, looking at the pictures Lisa took of you at the ski lodge when you heard Yunho left the bathroom.

You looked up to find him walking out with just grey sweatpants on and nothing for his top.

Has he always been this toned?

You looked away to avoid him from thinking you were a creep, only to hear him chuckle. A few seconds later, he walked to you, stopping in front of you. Since you were sitting with your legs dangling off the bed due to using your phone while it's charging, Yunho had to stand almost in between your legs. That is if he took a few steps forward. 

“Are you really not coming down?” He asked.

“I… I don’t know.”

“Come on, let’s hang out for a bit. When have we ever been this close without actually being on each other’s throats?” His comment made both of you laugh as you realized he was right.

Just then, he extended his hand out for you to take. So you did. However, before you could go far, you tugged on his hand while staying in place. Yunho turned around to look at you, silently asking if something was wrong. But instead of talking, you decided that actions definitely speak louder than words.

With that being said, you took two small steps only to lean up, pressing your lips softly on his. You could feel his breath hitch in his throat when you kissed him. Your lips soon curved into a smile as you felt him snake his hands around your waist.

He pulled you against him, only to guide you gently back down onto the bed. He scooted you up a little before climbing onto the mattress, resting in between your legs while he hovered over you.

Your lips never once parted. 

Yunho hugged your waist as he carefully slid his hands underneath your hoodie. He slides his hands up your sides while he kisses your lips passionately before making his way down your neck. You were playing with his hair, feeling him kiss your neck when there was a sudden knock on the door. 

It made both of you jump while he pressed his forehead into the crook of your neck. He planted a quick kiss to your collarbone before he pulled away to speak up. “What?”

“Hyung. Noona. Are you guys coming down to join us?” Jongho’s voice sounded muffled from the other side of the wooden door, making you giggle softly underneath him.

“Yeah, we’ll be down in a minute.”

“Okay!” Jongho said, and once he was gone, Yunho turned back to you with a small smile that melted your heart. “Do you still want me to say I hate you?” He whispered as his eyes lingered on your lips.

“Only if you want me to say I hate you too.” You teased.

“Yeah, I definitely don’t want that.” Yunho said before kissing you on the lips again, feeling you wrap an arm around his head to play with his hair. Something he was weak for.

Yunho gently caressed your sides, messaging the skin on your waist. His hands remained respectful so as to not touch you inappropriately without your consent. Just when he wanted to pull away, you purposely bucked your hips up, brushing your lower half against his.

A soft groan left his lips as he sucked in his breath. “Look who’s being needy now.” He teased.

“I’m not the only one.”

Yunho emitted a low growl from his throat, only to kiss you again. Except this time, his kiss was slightly rougher. He kissed his way down your neck, only to leave a mark on your skin where your shoulders and neck meet. You hissed when you felt him bite your skin. Yunho pulled away to see his art, making you blush.

“Are you seriously marking me now?” You asked with a laugh.

“Why not? At least now people know we’re no longer enemies.” He shrugged, earning a soft slap to his chest. 

He couldn’t help but give you his cute toothy grin before kissing you on the lips again and soon helped you up. He threw over a shirt before they headed downstairs to find the boys already scattered around the living room. “Oh yay! You guys made it! Come on, we’re watching Infinity War!” San announced as they made extra room for Yunho and you.

You ended up sitting in between Yunho and Yeosang, but the minute you sat down, the other boy noticed the bruise growing on your neck. This made Yeosang smirk as he tried to come up with an excuse to make you leave the room for a bit.

“Y/N, can you help me get the box of soda on the counter? I forgot to take it.”

“Sure.” You soon got up to leave and the minute you’re gone, Yeosang turned to Yunho with a knowing smirk on his face.

“So, you two finally got along?” Yunho got confused at first but then when Yeosang pointed to the spot in between his neck and shoulder, the boy finally understood what Yeosang was referring to. He could only whisper a quick “shut up or I’ll kill you” before you came back.

The rest of them smirked at Yunho as well, only for you to get confused. “Is everything okay?” You asked.

“Oh yeah, everything’s okay. Is everything okay with you?” Hongjoong teased, making you frown.

“Yeah…?” Some of them were seen giggling and you were still confused. So a brilliant idea flashed into Yunho’s brain, wanting everyone to shut up. With that being said, he gently cups your chin and turns your head to him only to kiss you outrightly in front of the others. You immediately melted against his lips, ignoring both the screeches and giggles coming from all the boys.

Yunho bravely kisses down your neck to go over the spot that was now bruised, only to lick the burning skin. Yeosang faked a gag as he groaned in his spot.

“Okay, okay! We get it. Jeez.” Yeosang said, earning a laugh from the others. Yunho pulled away with a smirk on his face before placing a chaste kiss on your lips.

“Good. If any of you open your mouth about this to anyone, I’m gonna keep doing that in front of you.” Yunho warned teasingly, making them agree to the deal. your cheeks were burning red now as you turned your face to bury them in his shoulder.

Yunho could only chuckle as he kissed the top of your head lovingly, making your stomach do a flip.

That night before you went to sleep, you broke the news to your friends in your group chat. Everyone went crazy but they were happy for you. It was quite needless to say that almost all of them had expected this day to come sooner or later.

The two of you fell asleep in each other’s arms, with him holding you close. Yunho was happy to say the least. Since he’s actually had the longest crush on you just that he never admitted to it. He pretended to hate you because he was too shy to tell you how he really felt about you. He was just glad that both your classes were chosen to go on that trip.

~~~

[ramblingguy54]

True Colors: An Emotionally Fantastic Serious Game Changer.

If we’re to look back at Reunion as Season 1′s dramatic pay off for Amphibia’s message of toxic friendships, as Anne & Sasha’s conflicting dynamic showed us, then True Colors is a colossal expansive note on this big theme of the series. True Colors makes Season 1′s finale look like a walk in the park for what angst goes down between our three main heroins in Season 2′s climatic resolution. Everything that can go wrong does go oh so painfully wrong for these three kids. Anne, to no one’s surprise, gets double crossed by Sasha leaving things between them a Hell of a lot more bitter than they were previously, as if that couldn’t already be topped when Sasha tried to kill the Plantars before. Anne has had enough of her lies and manipulation not being afraid to tell Sasha straight up how awful of a friend she’s been in general, even hitting her where it hurts most of all saying, “No, I’m done listening to you! I’m done trusting you! You’re a horrible person and I am done being FRIENDS with you!”, going so far as to get a shaken reaction out of Sasha dropping her brave face act, making this girl try to wipe away the frog family.

Right off the bat, True Colors makes it highly evident this isn’t just another story of stopping a bigger threat, but one hitting much closer to home, overall. Yes, King Andrias is certainly a dangerous villain, who makes his presence and intimidating nature known to the others by True Color’s final act, which despite this Amphibia isn’t entirely putting him at the forefront, rather focusing on a more intimate study of Anne, Sasha, and Marcy’s big emotional conflict. This finale knows exactly where to put its focus of importance on, so I love that instead of it being action packed we’re getting the spotlight shined on just how screwed up these three of a friendship have, in spite of Marcy claiming in The Dinner episode, “We’re supposed to be friends for life. We don’t split up!’ . Very ironic stuff right there, indeed.

True Colors’ most powerful strength it adds to Amphibia’s ongoing profound story about healthy friendships is the thorough deconstruction of these girls defined “ideal relationship” as people. Before Anne came to the world of Amphibia this kid was afraid to stand up for what she believed in, even knowing especially well that stealing the calamity box was morally questionable, but did it anyway. Sasha was super manipulative, abusive, and used her power to control people, like she did a lot of toward Anne in their lives. Marcy, while very smart, wasn’t the most competent physically, who soon grew into being more independent without needing to rely on Anne always having to be there for her. These three were changed immensely by the events of being thrust into this world of sentient amphibian creatures. Anne benefited morally most out out of all three in taking up the mantle of responsibility and ironing out her own issues. She’s become a much stronger person all around. 

This episode asks us an important question though in nutshell with, “Have Sasha & Marcy truly changed for the better?”, since Anne has reached a point in her arc feeling genuinely content with who she’s become and the bonds that have been made with the Plantar family shown most notably with Sprig Plantar. Hence the whole purpose behind the song, It’s No Big Deal, with Anne feeling proud for who she is, yet not noticing a bigger issue right underneath her nose. That previous episode was meant to bring Anne’s happiness up only to bring it all crashing down in a devastating display of new revelations in True Colors. Every dramatic emotional beat isn’t just earned. Each significant moment is completely knocked out of the park by terrific voice acting, beautiful animation, and music composition that gave me serious emotional goosebumps. True Colors did exactly as Not What He Seems accomplished for Gravity Falls in shaking up its own respective dramatic stakes just when you thought it couldn’t get any higher for these protagonists. Shit seriously hits the fan here.

Did it ever occur to you, Anne? Sasha? That one of you knew more, than she was letting on? That ONE of you might’ve gotten you stranded in Amphibia on purpose...?

The big bombshell twist of Marcy playing a part too in getting them into this whole debacle completely flips everything upside down. Sasha pushed Anne into taking the Calamity Box, yes, but if Marcy never sent that photo because of her desire to stay with them together forever, then they wouldn’t have been stranded in basically a world full of dangerous creatures and who knows what else. Easily my favorite part of the episode, considering it adds more nuance to a situation that defined Amphibia’s story. It wasn’t just one person’s fault at the end of the day. Sasha bullied Anne into taking the box, Anne didn’t put her foot down to make a stand for something morally questionable, and Marcy took advantage of them both to benefit her own selfish desires for supposedly a “happy ending” not involving them staying apart, due to her parents moving away for a new job. All three girls played an important part on why they got landed into Amphiba. It’s why Anne’s statement to King Andrias, “The three of us may have made some mistake, but you...You’re evil and I’m gonna stop you!”, holds such a real weight to it, as this story continues to solidify how genuinely fleshed out their dynamic is.

Marcy’s super desperate plea to be understood by Anne & Sasha when Andrias revealed her getting them thrown into Amphibia purposefully was hard to watch. On one hand, I felt for Marcy because she didn’t want real life circumstances to tear apart that close connection she had to Sasha & Anne. Sure, she could’ve just kept in touch with them over the phone or chatting online, too. However, Marcy had known them since very early childhood. When you’ve been so attached to someone it can be a devastating thing, depending on just how vulnerable you are emotionally, to start drifting apart. Marcy represents that embodiment of toxic need for togetherness and couldn’t bear to let a possibility, like moving away, throw a wrench into her happiness and friendship, as well.

Never mind Marcy wanting to stay permanently in a different reality, rather than face her’s, but it made this person feel like something more. It gave her a chance to feel truly special in being able to live out a fantasy dream of having such power and freedom that a kid, like herself, couldn’t have had. The freedom to know she is plenty capable of making it out there on her own without Anne having to watch this kid like a hawk. So, to have someone, or something, try taking it away from her terrified Marcy of facing a terrible truth. That she isn’t strong enough after all to live a life without Anne & Sasha by her side completely, where Marcy will never feel truly worthy enough to blossom into her own person. It’s why that line, “I just...didn’t want to be alone...”, carries such a deep pain to it all. Marcy just crumbles into pieces accepting her greatest weakness. As much as Marcy fumbled the ball big time, it’s so easy to empathize with her on the idea of feeling competent enough. Marcy never meant to hurt Anne or Sasha, but the sad crushing punchline is she very much did.

Speaking of which, Anne had every right to be upset and mad, obviously. Anne has been missing so many things from her life before everything went off the wall. Hopping Mall especially highlighted Anne’s emotional desire to give anything just to hear her mother’s singing again. This teenager has been really dealing with a lot of grief in general quite honestly. Anne got into a high stakes battle against Sasha to save new friends, who’d practically became like an adopted family, which left the poor girl traumatized and heartbroken over the end result. She thought finding Marcy would help compensate for it and eventually be able to mend those complications with Sasha to boot. It’s simply painful to see it all blow up in Anne’s face to know not only Sasha betrayed her trust yet again, but realizing Marcy also played a part of responsibility in getting them thrown here. Matt Braly really just decided to slap future trust issues onto Anne finding out Hop Pop, Sasha, and Marcy were all super dishonest in their intentions at one point or another. Damn, I feel so bad for her.

It makes their embracing hug back in Marcy At The Gates so much harder to watch. Anne was super glad to see her again. Anne had wondered what became of Marcy or even possibly started to think she could even be alive at all. Then come to find out later on Marcy having intentionally ripped her away from a normal life must’ve felt worse then what happened with Sasha. Anne, already done with all of Sasha’s bullshit, thought she could at least expect better from Marcy not letting her down, but that too wasn’t the case. Marcy is very much as flawed as Sasha in what she has done. To think, Anne wanted so badly to get back home, yet she’s staring the very person dead in the eye, who ripped her away from it to begin with. Marcy knew Sasha would talk Anne into taking the box from that thrift shop, even if she wasn’t completely certain it would successfully teleport them away. Regardless of whatever good intentions someone can have in why they did what they did, it still doesn’t absolve them of said mistake. Fact of the matter is, Marcy tragically made her own bed, by choosing to mess with forces she couldn’t begin to comprehend and now has to face consequences, in spite of her not deserving them.

What really got to me was when Marcy tried to spin around Anne’s personal growth and close friendship with the Plantars as all entirely thanks to her. When she said, “I gave you this! I gave you everything!”, I was like, “Nope, that couldn’t be any further from the truth.”, seeing everything that has culminated in Anne’s journey of bettering herself. Marcy didn’t give Anne anything, but a one way ticket to cutting the kid off from her family, presuming she’d be fine with this idea. It’s all kinds of messed up, however what it boils down to is Marcy undermining Anne’s independence and agency. Anne’s moral judgement in decision making was what allowed her to create this new life she made for herself in Amphibia. Anne’s honesty as a whole led her down a path of togetherness, while Marcy’s lying landed her in a result of not wanting to be alone, costing her so much.

“I don’t believe this. We were so focused on each other we couldn’t see what was right in front of us!”

True Colors excels at earning each of its emotional beats because they line up with character motivations down to the last letter. Anne doesn’t want to trust Sasha anymore because of their already rocky past, which leads to her helping King Andrias regain control of his kingdom. Sasha not keeping a lid on her temper, wanting to rule over Amphibia, and trying to reinforce that power dynamic with Anne & Marcy only made things worse for her image of a changed good friend. There wasn’t a chance in Hell Anne would hear Sasha’s reasoning after she flat out tried to take away her frog family, by attempting to use the Calamity Box a bit ago in the episode. Marcy wanted to believe there was a happily ever after in seeing this world traveling idea as their only chance for salvation as friends for life, but it turned out to be something much more sinister, when learning of Andrias’ backstory and his true scumbag nature. All three of their motivations come clashing together, blinding them from a much bigger danger. Something that effectively puts everyone at stake.

Amphibia’s Season 2 finale works so excellently, given it covers important dramatic elements it’s been stirring around since Season 1′s early rumblings. Amphibia is a story centered around people’s need for emotional connections. True Colors builds miraculously off what Reunion already did quite well in showing friendships can become rough and they are never easy to deal with. When you have to make a stand it can be a tough pill to swallow on the reality check of maybe this “good friend” of your’s isn’t as nice as you previously thought them to be. Anne having been hurt one too many times now by her former friend sends that message close to home, so much so even Sasha begins to question her morality as a human being. It poignantly encapsulates how this trio’s complex friendship is a serious growing issue needing to be reexamined, overall.

What if Anne’s right..? What if I am a horrible person...?

Something I absolutely love to pieces about True Colors, also a testament to Season 2′s darn good writing, is how much introspective we get from each character on what they’re feeling. We’ve seen plenty of Sasha’s vulnerability before in other episodes centered on her issues, but now we’re getting to the root of it. Sasha is really taking everything more to heart, little by little. Sasha’s understanding what kind of an effect she has on people, seeing the damage it has caused made evident by Percy and Braddock in Barrel’s Warhammer. Grime once told her, “Some dreams have a price and not everyone is willing to pay it.”, where she’s questioning that idealism every passing minute the invasion plan proceeds further into reaching success. Sasha isn’t sure what to do with herself anymore feeling aimless. Those previous episodes had a real impact on her priorities more than she cared to let on with Sasha’s typical tough girl act. This kid has let her guard down more, which scares and confuses Sasha. She’s always used to playing the role of protector it contradicts everything Sasha stands for when the roles are totally reversed because now Anne has made her feel the tremendous change in their growth as individuals.

Sasha’s lifestyle has been all about control that after somewhat learning to be more considerate to Anne & Marcy’s feelings she feels beyond conflicted about what truly matters to her. The most screwed up part of it all is Sasha didn’t want to fight anymore, taking up a pacifist approach after seeing what King Andrias had been hiding from everyone. It’s a fitting punishment for Sasha to try bringing Anne over to work together once more, but getting her pleas for companionship outright ignored. Anne was correct that Sasha had wasted all the chances to be reasonable. Boonchuy tried to hear out Sasha before at The Third Temple. One wanted to start things over again to iron out their serious issues, but the other was driven by bitterness, while only remorseful to a degree at best, of seeing their once weak friend become so independent, mature, and stronger that it drove her up wall. Sasha wanted to take away that “problem” being the Plantars, since in her eyes they’re the source of Anne’s strength, driving a wedge further between the two girls in their heated Reunion 2.0 battle.

True Colors demonstrates the horrific price of no trust, communication, nor teamwork from the three main girls that Andrias smoothly took advantage of, as if they were fiddles. 

“That’s the thing about friends isn’t it? The more you love them, the more it hurts when they go.”

King Andrias is quite literally what I wanted Lunaris to be, where DuckTales’ Season 2 finale didn’t impress me on doing. He’s a serious big baddie to the main cast, who follows through on his threats of violence to demonstrate his wide array of arsenal and power. Andrias doesn’t just emotionally manipulate characters, like poor Marcy, but utterly crush them without an ounce of remorse for his actions. When he dropped Sprig out that window after Anne willingly let him have the Calamity Box back I thought they were legit gonna kill this boy off. The way Anne’s flashback montage of her good times with Sprig were eerily shot really didn’t help either on that note. Anne’s Calamity power finally activating is easily up there among stuff, like Dewey risking his life for Della’s disappearance in Last Crash, where the cinematography is shot and animated brilliantly. You feel Anne’s blind raging sadness in every hit she landed on those robots and Andrias. If anyone didn’t believe Sprig was like a little brother to Anne, then I dunno how anyone couldn’t view their bond anymore as such after this hugely defining scene. Anne went bloodthirsty when she believed Sprig to be dead further evidenced when she hugged him in relief afterwards exclaiming, “Sprig!? You’re alive!? Oh, thank goodness...”, which cuts deep so damn much.

Anne was ready to fight every one of Andrias’ troops in that castle to the death, if need be. Before Sprig came back from falling, thanks to Marcy’s quick acting, to comfort Anne, her only goal was to slaughter every opponent in that throne room, along with making Andrias pay dearly for even daring to lay a single finger on anyone of the Plantars. I’m not gonna lie, this pivotal power up reminded me so much Gohan turning Super Saiyan 2 after Cell curb stomped Android 16 into pieces with a smirk on his face. Anne Boonchuy’s maddening outburst is a classic testament to the idea of, “Piss off the nicest person and they’ll make it their mission to instill the biggest kind of fear/terror into you.”. showing this kid at her most vulnerable mental state, yet. Sprig & Anne’s cathartic embrace really messed me up in reinforcing just how these two respect, love, and would go above any of their limitations to help the other out. Sprig’s “death” scene was a masterful bait by the writers into making us think someone was gonna die and it was gonna be a poor kid, no less.  

However, it was actually all just a bait and switch for the real, “Oh, shit. They really just did that”, moment with Marcy unexpectedly getting run through with Andrias’ gigantic sword. In a last ditch effort, Marcy wanted to atone for what she had a hand in getting them all into. Marcy was ironclad determined in making her own stand for what was right trying to save the people she endangered. Akin to what Sasha did in Reunion for saving Anne’s life, Marcy does the exact same here. Although, unfortunately this time, no one is here to protect Marcy from escaping death, like Grime catching Sasha from plummeting at Toad Tower. Marcy couldn’t react in time because she was so focused on helping her dear friends out. She wanted to prove to herself at least one time, “I’ve screwed up so much stuff with my friends. Maybe, just maybe. If I get my friends back home, it’ll prove I’m not an entirely crappy person for setting these events into motion.”. Marcy’s own deep seeded remorse is what saved Anne & the Plantars, while being the cause of her own untimely demise at Andrias’ hands.

This scene is what no doubt encouraged the warning sign for younger viewers Disney decided to make for them. It’s impressive how far Matt and his crew are willing to go for intense dramatic content. Andrias trying to crush Polly with his fist after destroying Frobo with casual ease, dropping Sprig out of the window from up sky high, and stabbing Marcy with his powerful sword displays his cold blooded brutality. Doesn’t matter who you are. If you get in the way of Andrias’ plans for multiverse domination, then he’ll throw anyone into their own grave, be it man, woman, or child. That’s the mark of a truly terrifying antagonist.

Andrias didn’t care who had to be hurt or manipulated to get back the box, so he could invade other worlds with Earth being his next prime target for invasion. Marcy’s fate is a horrifyingly poetic statement, since Sasha stated to Anne in a flashback from Marcy At The Gates, “One of these days, she’s gonna get herself killed.”, with True Colors tying back to this line in a disturbing manner. Something that sends chills down my spine is we get to see the full extent of how far Andrias shoved the sword through her body. We don’t just see the entry point of where it hit her, but it even zooms out to show the whole thing. Real talk, I got serious Avatar The Last Airbender vibes from this scene. Reminded me so much of Aang getting suddenly zapped with lightning by Azula when he tried to enter the Avatar state. Marcy didn’t want to be alone so badly she ended up inevitably dying alone trying to send Anne back home to their reality. One Hell of a way to close off Marcy’s last moments in Season 2, until her inevitable resurrection happens in Season 3 now that King Andrias has her in a tube tank that looks tied to his master.

True Colors ends on a deeply bittersweet cliffhanger leaving the fates of Sasha & Grime totally unknown if they’ll get away by the skin of their teeth, or get captured by Andrias’ soldiers and robots. Anne finally returned home with the Plantars, but at a deadly cost of leaving her other close friends behind in Amphibia. After all the isolation, heartbreak, and endurance she went through with her frog family Anne finds herself at a total loss for words. Once again, Anne is in a state of solitude of not knowing if her friends are really okay or not, mirroring the start of Season 1 when she landed into Amphibia’s world. It’s safe to say to say that, “Finally me and it’s no big deal.”, lyrics have aged terribly for Anne’s realization of finding her own identity came at the expense of getting separated from friends she’s known since kindergarten. Definitely see Anne becoming a lot more protective of the Plantars now more than ever after watching Marcy drop to the ground from being stabbed in front of her eyes.

Amphibia’s Season 2 finale is exactly how you capitalize on a winning story telling formula of dramatic writing, lovable characters with layered depth, and increasing the stakes of your story in an organic manner. True Colors is a finale that should be talked about for a long time to come, as it not only showed how worth the wait it was, but reinforces why Amphibia is a truly great series. It’s unafraid to take its characters to dark places in a way that feels totally earned.

Amphibia Season 2 is everything a sequel to a first film should be.

[mexcraziness-art]

Monkie Kid/JTTW OC: Liang Xingti

Okay, so this bio is going to be pretty messy, mostly because I’m really tired these days, but also because I’m still reading Journey to the West, and still waiting on the new seasons of the show. So I can’t go into details too deeply until I find out more, this is more of a general outline of what I have in mind for her so far!

Name: Liang Xingti (亮星体),Tong Bi Yuanhou (通臂猿猴) Nickname: Gab Gender: Female

Liang Xingti, also known as the Long/Magic Armed Gibbon or just „Gab”, much like Wukong, she’s one of the Four Spiritual Monkeys, see the one and only mention in Journey to the West:

„The third kind is the magic−armed gibbon that can catch the sun or moon, shrink mountains, see what is auspicious and what is not, and fool around with heaven and earth.”

History: Xingti was born from a cloud after a full solar-eclipse, as the circumstances of her birth concerned Heaven she was soon taken in by Taibai Jinxing, the Gold Star of Venus, as a discipline. She grew up in the Heavenly Court, and was trained in combat by Erlang Shen. Despite now being a Heavenly Warrior she was mostly running errands for Jinxing and the Jade Emperor. After Wukong showed up in Heaven she was really intrigued by him, as she never met a monkey like her before. She developed a strange mix of appreciation and irritation towards Wukong as time went on, and after he became the Great Sage Equaling Heaven the two of them became semi-friends, usually sparring together. Wukong also showed her a new perspective on life, and she began to internally question her life and role in the heavenly court. When Wukong rebelled against and rampaged through Heaven she tried to fight him as well, and meanwhile normally they were pretty evenly matched, she didn’t stand a chance, as her doubts held her back and Wukong’s rage filled War Form was simply way out of her league at the time. After the Buddha trapped Wukong under the mountain her doubts in Heaven increased, now with added guilt on top. After Heaven banished Sandy, and their treatment of Bai Long Ma, she finally had enough and tried to leave Heaven. She was warned by her master Jinxing that Heaven might take this as an act of rebellion, so she was forced to stay, but she took more and longer trips to Earth. When she heard Wukong was freed she occasionally visited him and his company of their Journey, though his situation left a bad taste in her mouth. After this she spent the next few hundred years doing the same, running errands for Heaven and fighting demons on their orders.

(The following is mostly relevant to the 4+1 Monkeys AU)

In the present day she was sent by Heaven to Earth to find Wukong and get help to investigate and try to capture Macaque for reasons the Jade Emperor didn’t share with her, this lead to her being suspicious about her mission from the start. When she went to Flower Fruit Mountain to get Wukong’s help, she ran into MK, and soon found out that Wukong trains him as his successor, which lead the two of them to having a fight, and Xingti leaving to capture Macaque alone. However she was followed by MK who offered to help her, which she accepted, endangering MK in the process. Of course Wukong showed up last minute and the two of them captured Macaque. Later Xingti revelaed she doesn’t want to turn Macaque over to Heaven until she finds out more about their motivations, so she decided to stay on Flower Fruit Mountain with Macaque as their prisoner until they find out more, which left Wukong less than impressed.

Personality: Having grown up in Heaven, Gab was a model discipline, she never questioned authority, or the orders she was given. She was trained to be level headed and controlled as Heaven was vary of her possible wild nature. After she met Wukong and started to question Heaven she slowly became more rebellious, second guessing her orders and asking too many questions. As she spent more and more time on Earth and away from Heaven, she developed a loud, brash and snarky personality, she has a crude sense of humor, and likes to mess with people for the fun of it. She’s playful but likes to see just how far she was push someone by annoying them before they get pissed off. However also having grown up in Heaven, she grew up pretty isolated, and making meaningful connections is pretty hard for her. She doesn’t handle rejection well, and gets quickly angered when she feels confused or conflicted about something, specially if it’s relationship related. She also uses this to hide her sensitivity, which she views as a weakness. She mostly tries to show the affection and fondness she has for someone by being an absolute pest in their lives, and hope for the best.

Powers and Abilities:

She has all the standard abilities of a Spiritual Monkey and a Heavenly Warrior, including: -Immortality -Super strength and super speed -Chi manipulation -Cloud Generation -Flight

Other Abilities: -36 Heavenly Transformations (much like Wukong, she can’t change her tail) -Cloud Clones -She can use the essence of the Sun and Moon for various spells and magical abilities, she can also cause full lunar and solar ecplises by forcing the sun and the moon to move in place, this gives her a full power boost however this is also one of the things that can kill her. -Size changing of objects: She can change the size of anything to any size at will. -Fortune Sense/Opportunity Sense: She can sense how favorable a situation/decision could be.

Weapon: Her staff, made out of a droplet of Sun and Moon, is her signature weapon. She usually keeps it in her belt on her back, in it’s basic Handle form. She can command it to grow into a staff, which is how she usually uses it in combat. And at it’s strongest, she can summon a Sun and Moon blades on each end, as it’s third form.

Relationships:

Sun Wukong: She has sort of a back-and-forth relationship with Wukong. She loves to annoy and pester him and constantly challenge him to sparring matches, as they’re one of the few people who actually pose a challenge to the other. She likes to get a rise out of him, to knock him down a peg from his high and mightiness. She also loves to constantly remind him of his embarassing events in Heaven. Generally she’s just a little shit towards Wukong, but in a friendly, familiar way. To Wukong she’s more of an unwelcome nuisance that he’d rather avoid, but at the end of the way they both hold a fondness for eachother, just locked away deep, deep down, due to their shared experience with Heaven, and really both of them would rather die than ever admit it out loud.

MK: Much like Wukong, she likes to bully MK in the friendly way. She constantly pesters and makes fun of him, sometimes even „showing him some fighting moves” just so she can knock him around a bit. She sees the potential in him, how powerful he could become, and how he’s better than any of them ever were. However this is also the reason she doen’t go easy on him. Despite all this she has a soft spot for MK, when she’s not messing with him, she’s always telling him cool stories of her and Wukong’s old days, that didn’t make it into the legends. She also always makes sure to tell the embarassing bits about Wukong.

Macaque: Her relationship with Macaque is… complicated and a massive WIP to put it simply, so this one will be super brief.

After they captured him, Xingti basically became his de facto prison warden. She constantly followed him around and just kept an eye on him in general. Because of this she soon became super intrigued by him, not only beause he was the second Spiritual Monkey she ever met, but mostly because she felt as if they were on a common wavelength. After Macaque’s initial escape attempts, and various arguments with Wukong, she set out to try to understand him and his past. As time passed and Macaque actually warmed up to them they grew pretty close. As it turns out they have a similiar sense of humor, and both of their favourite hobbies is making Wukong miserable, she quickly grew a soft spot for Macaque and before she even realised it she had all but developed a crush on him. Macaque had soon noticed the obvious changes in her behaviour, and as he had been faking his redemption this whole time, he decided to take advantage of her feelings for him. He played along and peretended to fancy her as well, they have even developed sort of a romantic relationship, (this whole thing of course didn’t leave Macaque as unaffected as he liked to believe) and things were actually pretty good, until Macaque saw an opportunity to betray them and make it hurt. This of course left Xingti more than emotionally devastated, and she swore to make Macaque pay herself. This is pretty much what I have in mind so far, I'm sure I left out a lot, I'll add them later when I remember them! And hopefully I'll draw a ref of my other OC, Mandy, the 4th Spiritual Monkey soon as well!

Art by @mexcraziness-art

Liang Xingti and 4+1 Monkeys AU belongs to @mexcraziness-art

Monkie Kid belongs to Lego

[mooncaps]

The parallels between Catra and Glimmer keep sticking in my mind. They don't quite mirror each other exactly, visually or thematically, but there's a lot of overlap. They're similar in so many ways, but the inverse of each other in certain ways as well. Their natures are so alike that if their circumstances had been swapped, they'd probably just become each other.

So, I guess I’m picking up my shovel and digging into this. I wanna examine the ways they’re alike, the key ways they differ, what shapes each of them, and why their intersecting journeys are significant. There’s a lot to unpack and this is gonna be a long post, but if the subject matter sounds interesting to you, then read on.

Their parallels are most evident in Season 4, but are also woven throughout the show. I'm thinking back to 1x07 when Adora explains to Bow and Glimmer what being raised by Shadow Weaver was like and Glimmer, without missing a beat, says: "Okay, sure, Mom stuff." Completely nonchalant, with a casual shrug, as if nothing sounded out of place. All of these characters are impacted by being embattled in a militaristic conflict, of course, but Catra and Glimmer are both getting particular parental experiences from their mother-figures, the only parent in either of their lives. Notably, they don't have the same experience. Angella's a much better mother to Glimmer than Shadow Weaver is to Catra. Shadow Weaver is abusive, manipulative, power-hungry, and especially cruel to Catra above all others. Even when Angella is harsh, she's constructive and supportive.

But both of these children end up with a strong desire to prove themselves on the battlefield. Both want their mothers to be proud of them, to recognize them as worthy. Catra spends the early part of her life suppressing the urge to prove herself, pretending not to care about it while secretly being deeply upset when she finds herself overshadowed by Adora. Glimmer, on the other hand, openly thirsts for opportunities to be a great commander and earn recognition for her accomplishments. They both have somewhat of an inferiority complex as well. Catra comes to decide she doesn't want to be the sidekick. Glimmer is insecure about being the princess who has to recharge.

In 1x08, Glimmer's jealousy toward Bow and Perfuma is essentially a microcosm of a key dimension of Catra's arc for the show. But Glimmer is much quicker to learn the lessons and grow. Due to her experiences, Catra's walls are much harder to break down. I'll swing back around to that point later.

As Season 1 draws to its close, Glimmer and Catra both gain a little more independence, though they do it in very different ways. Catra does what Glimmer wanted to do at the beginning of Season 1. She presents valuable tech and a valuable ally to her commanding officer. Glimmer gets closer to her mother and they both start to understand each other better. Catra defeats her mother-figure in combat. Glimmer and Catra both gain favor in their respective armies and get the much-desired chance to prove themselves in the Battle of Bright Moon.

In 2x02, Glimmer and Bow take Catra hostage and the ways in which these two characters differ are really highlighted. Glimmer is tempted more than once to be as ruthless with Catra as Catra would be with her, but Bow talks her down when push comes to shove. "We're not them." Catra doesn't have a person in her life who talks her down. Not anymore. Catra sees the reliance on friendship among the Rebellion as a weakness. "It's why you're never going to win."

With the environment she grew up in, Catra's understanding of concepts like friendship and love are primarily in relation to power and manipulation. She's quick to seize upon the closeness between Glimmer and Bow as a way to force Glimmer to use up her magic. Catra's own love for Adora is, in the early days, selfish. She doesn't want to share Adora, whether with friends in the Horde or friends in the Rebellion. And it's why she believes that Adora doesn't feel the same way. If Adora wouldn’t take things to the same selfish extremes, then she must not feel what Catra’s feeling. This is what Catra believes because her experiences have given her this very specific, and flawed, understanding of love.

Glimmer's relationship to love is different. She comes from a more supportive environment and even in the rare instance when she does trend toward selfish love, she's more able to accept and understand the flaws of it.

But focusing on 2x02: Glimmer and Catra push each other's buttons. Each of them instinctively knows how to hurt the other one, though Catra is more willing to inflict that hurt. They’re both paying attention and learning each other’s vulnerabilities. The one moment where Glimmer touches a nerve with Catra is: "How did Adora take years of this? She didn't run away from the Horde. She ran away from you." And Catra immediately pushes back: "You think she's not going to leave you behind too, Sparkles?"

It's somewhat telling that Catra sees Glimmer as having taken her place in Adora's life. Again, similar, but not the same. The relationship between Adora and Glimmer is different to the relationship between Adora and Catra, but Catra, with her limited and warped understanding of love, can't tell the difference anymore than she could when Adora first befriended Lonnie. Catra sees Glimmer as having the same place in Adora's life that Catra used to have. And as much as Catra wants, at this point, to tell herself she's over Adora, she's still angry.

So we’re kind of flipping between parallels and inversions, but a key factor starts to become clear at this point. What Catra and Glimmer hate in each other is what they fear in themselves. Glimmer hates that Catra took her as a hostage, but she's also frustrated that she can't be just as cruel when she has Catra as a hostage. She wants to be cruel, and yet she hates herself for wanting it. Catra hates seeing Glimmer step into the role of Adora's sidekick and she mocks the Rebellion for "the power of friendship" because she hates how vulnerable she felt after opening her heart to Adora. She wants a loving relationship, and yet she hates herself for wanting it. Catra and Glimmer see their own perceived flaws, weaknesses, and shortcomings in each other, which is why there's so much friction between them. It's really an interesting concept that develops further as the show goes on.

The next minor point of interest is 2x04. Glimmer sees the primary conflict as being between herself and Catra. It’s not much, just a little look into how Glimmer is thinking about things.

Seasons 2 and 3 are paired together in terms of themes in a way that other seasons aren’t. At the end of Season 2, or midway through the story threads, Catra loses her mother-figure. At the end of Season 3, Glimmer loses her mother. Once again, the circumstances differ. Angella is truly gone, but Shadow Weaver has simply switched sides. Glimmer’s arc going forward is very much driven by Angella’s absence, whereas Catra’s arc is driven by Shadow Weaver’s presence...as an enemy combatant.

And Shadow Weaver doesn’t just join the Rebellion, she starts working her way into Glimmer’s life. Her opening pitch that gets Glimmer to free her plays on a familial connection - the fact that she taught Glimmer’s father. They go to the Fright Zone together and of course they run into Catra, who discovers Shadow Weaver quite literally taking Glimmer by the hand.

All of this sets the stage for Season 4, where the Catra and Glimmer parallels are at their strongest. The two of them become much more similar to each other in this season. Glimmer is now receiving guidance and familial connection from the very person who shaped Catra into the person she is.

Both Catra and Glimmer effectively take control of their respective armies. Glimmer literally becomes queen and, in the very same episode, Catra seats herself on Hordak’s throne. Glimmer is reluctant to take the throne, Catra is eager to. At the end of the episode Catra says to Hordak, “I think you and I are going to do great things together.” This line echoes what Shadow Weaver said to young Micah and baby Adora. And of course Glimmer is also stepping into her mother’s role.

From there, the two of them find themselves on similar paths. In 4x02 they both have the same idea to recover Mara’s ship. In 4x04 Glimmer wants to think like Catra and asks Shadow Weaver to teach her. Glimmer ends up in a fight with Catra and Catra marvels at Glimmer’s tactical decision to use Adora as a decoy. Where Glimmer was previously unwilling to be like Catra, now she’s determined to do anything for victory. And of course the idea to use Adora as a distraction came from Shadow Weaver and Catra’s recognizing this change in Glimmer’s tactics without quite realizing why it should feel familiar.

Some things happen at different times for these two, but there’s so much overlap. Glimmer starts the season dealing with boring meetings and itching to be out in the field, jealous of her friends. For Catra, she starts the season in the field, but as her plans advance she finds herself stuck in the Fright Zone while Hordak does the field work.

Both of them are focused on success, no matter the cost. They both become so stubbornly obsessed with winning the war that it fractures their friendships. They reject all counsel and push away the people who care for them. In spite of being hurt by losing the trust of their friends, they both double down on trying to win, expecting total victory to be the thing that brings them peace of mind, the thing that makes everything worth the cost.

There’s a push and pull between the two of them throughout the season. Neither can succeed in their chosen path without destroying the other. And yet they can’t seem to destroy each other without losing themselves. Metaphorically, destroying each other would mean destroying their own shortcomings, and both of them want those weaknesses and doubts erased, but neither of them can manage to strike the final blow.

Catra gains the upper hand in the war by having Double Trouble work the cracks in Glimmer’s friendships. Glimmer gains the upper hand by having Double Trouble drive a decisive wedge between Catra and Hordak. Double Trouble’s duplicitous allegiances and feigning of friendships are key developments on both sides of the battlefield and their services are weaponized by both Catra and Glimmer to target each other. Double Trouble essentially acts as a messenger, sent from both of these two characters to tear the other one down. Catra and Glimmer personify to each other what they fear in themselves and Double Trouble gives voice to the doubts of both characters, acting on behalf of each of them in turn.

Double Trouble gets to Glimmer by suggesting that Adora is undermining the queen’s authority. They work from an understanding of Glimmer’s genuine desire to be a great queen. However, and this is a key point, when Double Trouble confronts Catra, the tactic is completely flipped. “You try so hard to play the big bad villain, but your heart’s never been in it, has it?” They work from the understanding that Catra’s apparent desire to lead the Horde to victory is not genuine. As opposed to Glimmer, whose heart has always been in it; her heart’s so in it that she becomes blind to the risks of her plans.

Part of Double Trouble’s speech to Catra can apply to Glimmer’s insecurities as well. “They didn’t believe in you, didn’t trust you, didn’t need you, left you. But did you ever stop to think, maybe they’re not the problem? It’s you. You drive them away, Wildcat.” Obviously it applies to Catra, but it also describes what Glimmer has just been through with Bow and Adora. Glimmer and Catra have so many overlapping fears and this messenger sent by Glimmer to throw Catra off balance ends up making this statement that labels Glimmer’s recent mistakes just as accurately as it does Catra’s.

The key difference between the two of them comes down to their hearts being in it. For all the similarities between Catra and Glimmer in Season 4, this climactic moment emphasizes that, for Catra, a lot of it is an affectation, a costume.

Which brings me to an element of the visual storytelling. I recently read an interesting post about the thematic significance of Catra’s mask. I also made my own post about the change to her hair in Season 4. The visual storytelling has many facets in this show. This post is about parallels though, so what I’m focusing on now is the fact that Catra and Glimmer both change their costumes in Season 4. The first scene of 4x01 features the reveal of Glimmer’s new look and the last scene of 4x01 features the reveal of Catra’s.

One of the first things I noticed about Catra’s outfit is that her new black sleeve and shoulder armor are covering the area that was damaged in the portal reality. At a guess, I’d say she wants to guard against feeling whatever that felt like again. Again though, my focus is on parallels. Let’s have a look at their outfits side by side.

Glimmer’s is essentially an evolution. She’s growing more into herself. She now has both shoulders covered. Hard to say if these shoulder pads are decorative or could serve a protective function. They kind of look metallic. Her legs are newly covered; her neck and chest are newly exposed. There are a few changes to Glimmer’s outfit, but not a lot that’s truly new to her.

For Catra, there are a few new elements in her outfit. The single sleeve, the fingerless gloves, and at the shoulders she seems to have upgraded from fabric to something that looks more like it could be armor. Her legs are more covered than they were in her previous outfit, but there are still small exposed gaps. Her feet were never covered before, but now there’s a partial covering. And there’s also what fandom has dubbed the “boob window,” though this show isn’t one that gives focus to things like cleavage. The new elements for Catra bring her outfit a little bit closer to Glimmer’s.

I’ll be interpreting exposed skin as representing vulnerabilities. Of particular interest to me is the fact that they both wear single sleeves now, one white, one black, and they cover opposite arms. Glimmer has no mask on her face; Catra has no cape covering her back. Glimmer’s boots seem especially enforced at the heel and toe. Catra’s heels and toes are exposed. You know how I’ve been saying that they see their own shortcomings in each other? Now Catra is visibly vulnerable where Glimmer is guarded and vice-versa. The particular asymmetry of the sleeves brings to mind ideas of imbalance, both internally and between them.

Catra’s sleeve looks durable; Glimmer’s sleeve looks decorative. Glimmer’s sleeve leaves a gap of skin exposed below the shoulder pad; Catra’s sleeve covers the full length of her arm. On Glimmer’s unsleeved arm, the glove barely covers her hand; Catra’s glove covers a portion of her forearm. Remember 1x08, that point I said I’d come back to? Glimmer’s quicker to learn the lessons. Catra’s walls are harder to break down. Now it’s visually represented in their outfits.

I’ll reference the visuals as I go on, but let’s get back to thematic analysis. As the Season 4 finale draws to a close, Catra and Glimmer end up together and both have been brought low. Double Trouble has just seen through all of Catra’s walls and read her for absolute filth. Glimmer has to reckon with the fact that her own hubris nearly got everyone she’s been fighting for destroyed. Both have come closer to total victory and closer to total defeat than they’ve ever been. Coming off a string of mistakes and pushing away the people who care about them, they end up together.

Glimmer has the chance to attack a willingly defenseless Catra, but spares her. Moments later, Glimmer is threatened by Horde Prime, but Catra’s intervention saves her. It’s a layered action from Catra, certainly not altruistic, but it saves Glimmer nonetheless. I think something in each of them feels hesitant to see this person, in whom they see their own flaws reflected back at them, destroyed.

And now they’re stuck with each other, quite literally cut off from everyone else. They’re each wrestling with the weight of their own failures and shortcomings, so of course they’re both trapped with the metaphorical representation of everything they never wanted to face in themselves.

They’re together, and yet they’re separated. A barrier stands between them. Catra is at liberty to move about the ship, but there’s nowhere to go and no escaping the watchful gaze of Horde Prime. She’s frustrated by this illusory liberty: “If I’m a prisoner, you might as well make it official.” Glimmer, on the other hand, is in a cell and she wants out, even though there’s nowhere to go. For a brief moment, the barrier is taken down when Catra and Glimmer are invited to dine with Horde Prime. One very effective way to bring people together is to give them a common enemy. They’re only physically together when they’re united in defending themselves against him.

Horde Prime understands the similarities between the two of them and breaks through both of their walls at the same time with the same tactic. “You Etherians are all alike. Such strong connections to one another. It’s what makes you weak.” It’s the unguarded vulnerabilities in Glimmer that poke holes in Catra’s plan of “parsing out information like a bargaining chip.” Though Catra and Glimmer have a common enemy now, they’re not yet coordinated and working with each other.

So we return now to the scene from 5x03 at the top of this post. Even the way it’s framed is significant. The scene could presumably have been presented from the other side, but seeing it from this angle allows me to infer some things about what’s being communicated.

They start out facing each other and we see their sleeved arms. Neither is quite ready to trust the other, so their walls are up. When they stand face-to-face with what they fear in themselves, they put their guards up. They’re both more-or-less equally guarded and equally vulnerable, but the guarded side is what the show’s creators are showing the audience, as well as what Catra and Glimmer are showing to each other in this moment.

The scenery around the two of them shows a stark contrast. Glimmer’s cell is brightly lit with simple architecture. Much of the space around Catra is dark and complicated.

As they open up to each other emotionally, they turn back-to-back and we’re shown their unsleeved arms. When they look away from what they fear in themselves, they let their guards down. Both of them lay a hand on their unsleeved arms, almost as if they’re subconsciously worried that they might need their walls at any moment to defend these vulnerabilities.

Their body language relaxes, though only fractionally in Catra’s case. Glimmer is a little more at ease, but Catra won’t let herself be quite as open and unguarded. Her fingers remain on that unsleeved arm, alert and ready to defend at a moment’s notice.

I’ve talked a bit about walls and defensiveness, but the way these two came to construct their walls is also important. Glimmer and Catra have both experienced hardships in their lives. Both of them grew up with only one close friend. They both felt pressure and a desire to prove themselves and they’ve both endured great tragedy in their young lives. Glimmer has developed more of the emotional tools to work through her pain and begin to heal. Catra is only at the beginning of the healing process and her pain comes from a very different source.

Glimmer spent the majority of her young life believing her father had been killed and then she lost her mother as well. Catra was either given up or orphaned and then taken in by an abusive family. Both experiences were surely traumatic. Catra’s walls are tougher for a reason though. A few reasons. The primary reason is that the source of her fear and pain was also her mother-figure.

Being traumatized by someone who should be on your side is different than other sources of trauma. And because Shadow Weaver is her parent, Catra also bonds with her and wants her approval. This is emotionally confusing and compounds Catra’s issues. Wanting love from Shadow Weaver is one of the reasons Catra hates herself for wanting love at all.

Not only is Catra traumatized by her parent, she also lacks any other parental guidance to help her process her trauma. Glimmer, even after losing her father, still had her mother. It’s after losing her mother that Glimmer really starts to lose balance emotionally. Though Catra had Adora, that kind of comfort is not the same as having the calming influence of a supportive parent to help a child cope with their trauma and assure the child that things will be okay. Further to that are the wedges that Shadow Weaver (and later Light Hope) employed to ensure that Catra and Adora would doubt each other. Then finally, Adora left the Horde and whatever comfort Catra had received from her turned poisonous. This was the thing that threw Catra’s sense of safety into chaos and unraveled any semblance of emotional balance. For much of the show, wanting love from Adora is one of the reasons Catra hates herself for wanting love at all.

This is all a roundabout way of explaining why Catra’s walls are so much thicker than Glimmer’s and why everything around her is dark and complicated. Glimmer has her own walls and coping mechanisms, but they’re constructed differently. Catra is largely driven by defensive panic responses. Glimmer is reactive and even reckless at times, especially after losing Angella, but she’s generally more able to slow down and sort through her feelings. Glimmer’s walls are constructed in such a way that they don’t impede her ability to grow and heal. Glimmer’s walls don’t keep as many things away, but her capacity to let the right people in is the trait that serves her best. The contrast between these two characters speaks volumes.

Season 5 is where Catra and Glimmer begin to learn from each other. They get past the initial reaction of simply being disgusted by seeing what they fear in themselves. They both make some appeals to each other for information and help. The barrier between them comes down again and Catra enters Glimmer’s space.

The audience is shown both sleeved arms. Walls are up. Catra uses both hands and takes Glimmer by the sleeved arm. The cake is in her unsleeved hand; it was an appeal to her vulnerable side. The full appeal from Catra that acknowledges Glimmer’s walls is the one that actually reaches her and gets Catra the information she wanted. It’s an appeal so strong that it can reach Glimmer through her walls, not just some simple ploy to prey on her softer side.

“You can’t tell him.” Glimmer uses both hands and takes Catra by the unsleeved arm. This is an appeal to Catra’s vulnerable side. And it echoes something that has previously frustrated Catra. “It’s always the same with you, Adora. I have to do this. Oh-oh, we have to do that.” This appeal to her softer side isn’t enough.

“Do one good thing in your life.” Glimmer uses both hands and takes Catra by the sleeved arm. The audience is shown both of their unsleeved arms. They’re both vulnerable here. It’s this appeal, which acknowledges Catra’s walls, that reaches her. Catra still reacts in fear, a response pattern that runs deep with her, but the message reaches her through her walls.

After processing some of her emotions, Catra returns, offering Glimmer her unsleeved arm. This is a vulnerable action from Catra.

Glimmer takes Catra’s hand with her sleeved arm.

This is the turning point. They represent each other’s insecurities, each vulnerable where the other defends. Glimmer has the tools to balance out Catra’s vulnerabilities. Glimmer’s sleeved arm meeting Catra’s unsleeved arm is like saying: “I’ve got your back.” If they’re confrontational to each other, or if they ignore each other, they’re both equally defended and equally vulnerable. But if they stand side by side...

...they can compensate for each other’s vulnerabilities. They embrace and understand the insecurities they were afraid of and together they have the tools to present a balanced front that can protect them both. Neither one of them was going to be able to succeed alone, but together they can accomplish more.

Catra knew where the teleporter was and could have escaped on her own, but that would not be success. As Glimmer pointed out, even if Catra runs away it won’t matter when Horde Prime destroys the universe. As Catra pointed out, Adora would still come to rescue Glimmer. It’s their combined knowledge that leads to the solution.

Getting Glimmer out is the key, but Glimmer is unable to do this alone. Catra has the knowledge of the teleporter, Catra has the knowledge as well as the physical combat skills necessary to overpower the clones, and Catra has to be the one to take down the barrier that divides the two of them. Only Catra is in a position to achieve this. In terms of emotional metaphors, Glimmer is ready to let Catra in, but that fact alone isn’t enough. Catra has to be willing as well.

And the plan succeeds. It’s Catra’s most vulnerable action yet and she stands willing to sacrifice herself. Catra sends Glimmer, this metaphorical representation of her own insecurities, to Adora. This action is the very thing that ultimately saves Catra. She’s stuck with Horde Prime and her defenses are all ripped away, but it’s this show of vulnerability that affords Adora and company the opportunity to come in prepared and save this defenseless cat. Glimmer’s willingness to forgive Catra is significant for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that Catra is the party most responsible for the conditions that led to Angella’s sacrifice, and Glimmer cites Catra sacrificing herself on Horde Prime’s ship as the reason she’s willing to help Adora go back and save Catra.

And once she’s saved, when Catra next gets the liberty to determine her own outfit, as she treads a path of vulnerability and learning to follow her heart...

...the sleeve and fingerless gloves are gone. The costume she put on when she took her seat on Hordak’s throne has fallen away. That’s not who she wants to be anymore. Now she’s ready to start on the path of growing more into herself.

The push and pull contentious relationship between Catra and Glimmer has reached its conclusion, but there are still a few moments of interest. In 5x08, there are several instances where Catra questions what seem to be tactically unsound decisions from the Rebellion and they shrug off the concerns. Near the end of the episode, it’s Glimmer who questions the tactics and Catra who shrugs it off. This shows that they’re both getting more comfortable with each other and also both getting more comfortable with the parts in themselves that make them similar to each other.

In 5x10, when Catra finds herself in trouble, trapped and confronted with rising water, she calls Glimmer, knowing now that Glimmer is someone she can trust when she comes up against the limits of her own vulnerabilities.

In 5x12, Catra goes to Bow and Glimmer, looking for Adora. Glimmer informs Catra that Adora left them behind. Catra says: “Of course she’s gone. That’s what she does, isn’t it?” Glimmer was caught off guard by this, but Catra has recognized this vulnerability in Glimmer since Season 2. “You think she’s not going to leave you behind too, Sparkles.” This time Catra’s not just here criticize; she’s here to help. She warns Bow and Glimmer about Horde Prime’s plans and volunteers herself to take over helping Adora. Glimmer comes up against the limit of her vulnerabilities, but she can tag in Catra to help her now.

In the literal sense, this shows the value of letting other people in. In the metaphorical sense, it shows the value of accepting oneself. Learning from others, finding the common ground, gives us a fuller understanding than we can achieve on our own. No one can do everything alone, but working with people who are skilled where we come up short, guarded where we are vulnerable, and open where we are closed off is what unlocks the potential to accomplish things that would have otherwise been impossible.

I love that message, but I also love the metaphorical message. Glimmer and Catra have repeatedly seen in each other the things they were afraid of in themselves. Hating each other is tantamount to hating themselves and their acceptance of each other is tantamount to accepting themselves, which makes both of them more well-rounded and helps them to move forward.

And those lessons, to me, are among the most significant things about their intersecting journeys. They accept the differences in each other, they recognize the similarities in each other, and they come together to build each other up. It’s at once a journey of learning to accept others and a journey of learning to accept themselves. They learn that greeting their shortcomings with anger is ultimately self-destructive, ignoring these vulnerabilities is perilous, and it’s only through acceptance that they can begin to understand themselves, compensate for their limitations, and better themselves.

They each look into a mirror, see their own insecurities staring back at them, then decide to give that person a hug and say: “I’ve got your back.”

[eagles-translated]

Analyzing the writing of Eagles

Here's a post I've been wanting to make for a while! I've expressed my thoughts on some of the storylines in previous posts, but I've never done a complete post on the writing of the whole show. I've divided this post into separate parts, focusing on each season and its plot points. Keep reading to see my analysis of the writing in Eagles! 👇 Word Count: 18k

If you've stumbled upon this post from the Young Royals or the Beartown tag (tagged them since I've drawn some parallels from those shows), here's a brief summary of what Eagles is, which you can watch with English subtitles here. This post contains Eagles spoilers from 1x01 - 3x10.

Eagles is a Swedish TV show that revolves around a few teenagers living in the Swedish ice hockey town Oskarshamn while experiencing friendship, love, and rivalry on the ice.

To start this off I would like to say that I have no experience with professional screenwriting and if anything, this is just a way for me to procrastinate on actually writing my own projects.

I love experiencing new stories and when I discover one I really like it's just natural for me to branch off with "what ifs" and to start wondering how the story would've turned out if some things were changed. Sometimes it's with a storyline improvement in mind, and other times it's just out of plain curiosity.

You might feel like this post is leaning towards the critical side, and I can definitely understand why since there are a lot of small details that I've picked apart from all seasons. I added a section for each season with things that I thought were really well done so this post wouldn't be too negative.

I actually did enjoy all seasons and I feel like the quality of not just the writing but every single thing has steadily increased each year.

Season 1: Tropes and clichés

Eagles premiered its first season in 2019 and was, despite many negative reviews, a big success among its target audience. Every episode on SVT Play amassed around 700 000–800 000 views and there didn't seem to be any doubt that the show would get renewed.

What the critics had issues with were that "Eagles rarely takes the unexpected path, and feels like a slightly soulless product of studied target group thinking a little too often," (Karolina Fjellborg in Aftonbladet) and "In Eagles, the characters seem to be locked in the role of a "teenager" but the humanity is missing. They've simplified the construction of the character," (Django Lorentzson in MovieZine).

Eagles was unfortunate enough to constantly be compared to SKAM in its infancy, and that's a tough comparison to live up to. SVT sort of shot themselves in the foot as they were the ones who contributed to it. While the show was still in the casting process, SVT wrote an article hyping the show up as a Swedish SKAM (which has since been edited, but led many to falsely believe that it would involve all the familiar SKAM characters with some hockey elements sprinkled in).

So, why exactly did critics think the first three episodes of the show were predictable and soulless? Well, it's pretty simple. They'd seen it all before. The setting, the characters, the storylines—just in different TV shows and movies.

Season 1 for me is nostalgic and very enjoyable despite its clichéd nature. I also felt like I'd seen the show before due to its generic storylines, but there is a reason why tropes are tropes and why clichés are clichés. It's because they're tried and true, and actually somewhat good writing tools as long as you expand on them. The keyword here is to expand—a story doesn't magically become good simply because you mimic something another writer has done. Tropes are fine to use but you can't just apply them and stop there. Everything in a story needs to be developed in order to be good.

It's safe to say that it's pretty much impossible to write a story without any tropes that have been used before. Striving to avoid clichés at all costs in hopes of making your story as original as possible is harder than it sounds, and almost impossible to boot. Here's a great piece of advice for aspiring writers written by a user on Carvezine:

[...] if you look down at your story and are worried it’s already been told before – don’t spend another second thinking about it. It has. A million times. The only difference is that it hasn’t been told by you. Accept that regurgitation is part of writing, and just do your best not to regurgitate the same way as the guy next to you. We’d all do well to acknowledge there is at least a portion of our stories that are really someone else’s. [...] Beyond that, write with the motivation that if you don’t get around to telling your story, eventually somebody else will.

Even the greatest books have storylines with some clichés. And that's not really a bad thing, either. Think about it. How many times have you decided to binge a TV show solely because it reminded you of another series? Or picked up a book simply because you love a good enemies to lovers romance, a battle between good and evil fantasy, or whatever it might be?

I found this article from Masterclass that perfectly describes what tropes are and why they're used. It's written from the perspective of novel writing but it is still applicable.

A trope in literary terms is a plot device or character attribute that is used so commonly in the genre that it’s seen as commonplace or conventional. For example, a trope in superhero stories is a villain who wants to take over the world. Tropes are popular for a reason—if something has been written about over and over again, there’s a good chance that it’s something readers enjoy reading! Tropes can be helpful, but a novel made up only of tropes will quickly start to feel stale and predictable to readers. That’s why you need to read up on tropes—and then innovate. Deliberately taking a favorite trope and turning it on its head is a great way to put your own unique spin on the genre and keep your readers interested.

Eagles, in its first season, didn't really do a lot of expanding upon the tropes they used and it's understandable that they were still trying to find their footing. I can also imagine it's difficult to do so when you only have eight 20 minute episodes in the season.

However... There definitely should've been more work put into these characters to make them their own. It's tricky, yes, but still achievable if you don't abandon them in their cookie-cutter form and try to actually decorate them with something unique and fresh.

So, how did they write their characters?

Felicia's character and backstory

To start off, Felicia is a famous influencer known for starring in a reality show next to her former NHL professional father. There's already a clear disconnect because it's hard to relate to a character with such a public past and large following. But it is 100% possible if you let the viewer know the character has humane qualities just like the person watching the show.

Look at Wilhelm from Netflix's Young Royals, another Swedish TV show. Wilhelm is the prince of Sweden, set to attend a prestigious elite boarding school, and is the heir to the throne. That doesn't exactly sound like a relatable scenario, does it? And yet the writers make it work because when we're introduced to Wilhelm we realize he's just like everybody else. He wants a normal life, he latches on to his older brother for support, he has anxiety, and he struggles between following his heart versus doing what his family is expecting him to do. A lot of these factors are relatable among the audience.

So, let's look at Felicia Kroon. She is in many ways portrayed as the main character of the show. Eagles starts off with her family having moved to Oskarshamn and the following episodes focus on her developing relationship with Ludde as well as her traumatic past. There's almost too much focus on Felicia here, and I'll get back to that.

Comparing Felicia to Wilhelm from Young Royals, they're both well-known teenagers with famous parents. Of course they have different circumstances considering Felicia is Instagram popular and Wilhelm is a blood royal, but in the grand scheme of things they're similar. Felicia is even referred to as a "Kroon princess" because of her last name Kroon bearing a resemblance to the Swedish word kronprinsessa, meaning crown princess.

The students of their respective schools treat their attendance as a big deal when they first arrive and then Wilhelm and Felicia start spending time with the "popular" crowd despite not really fitting in there.

I personally found it easy to relate to Wilhelm but difficult to relate to Felicia. Some people may feel differently, but her character is basically a popular party girl who attracts the attention of one of the school's star players and is "welcomed" by the popular crowd on her first day of school. I put welcome in quotation marks because Klara, the leader of the girl group, isn't exactly the most welcoming person but she does welcome Felicia to the school. My point is, Felicia doesn't have a lot of relatable traits in the first episodes.

Felicia then goes on a date with the guy she's met, Ludde. Okay, so there haven't been that many layers to her character yet. We're at the third episode and so far she's been kind of flat.

Near the end of the third episode, we get some depth to the character and we hear her back story.

Felicia: [...] We don’t have a good relationship, my dad and I. And that’s probably why we moved from the beginning, because he’s an idiot. We’ve never been close, but… Elias and he have been since they’ve had hockey. [...] And mom has been really involved, so… And I… They’ve never really cared about me. And… And I haven’t really been a problem either. I’ve had good grades, good friends, and… I don’t know why I’m telling you this. I don’t talk about it to people. [...] I just felt so fucking lonely and invisible. I was worried all the time, couldn’t sleep, panicked because I couldn’t sleep… So I started going out more. It went overboard. It started affecting school, my grades slipped… I started taking things to be able to concentrate. Everybody does stuff like that. And then I still couldn’t sleep, so… I started mixing with sleeping pills. And there’s always wine and booze at our place. I don’t want this to come out, that’s really important. Ludde: Of course, I’d never tell. Felicia: One night, something happened that made me… Act out of control more than usual. I woke up the next morning in the hospital. So they sent me to rehab. It was really rough for mom and dad that I was suddenly in focus. When I woke up, dad wasn’t even there. Ludde: What made you take too much that night? Felicia: I’d forgotten my phone at home, so I ran up and got it while my friends were waiting in an Uber. Then I came into the hall and I heard noises. You know, like, when somebody is doing it. Ludde: Okay. Felicia: And I thought it was really weird because mom wasn’t home. So I went into the living room… Dad was fucking my mom’s best friend. On the rug below the couch.

This gives Felicia more layers and does separate her from every other "popular pretty party girl" trope that you see on TV. But this is a huge info dump, and that's a problem. I would've liked to see this happen on-screen instead of only being told what went down. The golden rule of Show don't tell, as people like to say.

Show, don’t tell is a writing technique in which story and characters are related through sensory details and actions rather than exposition. It fosters a style of writing that’s more immersive for the reader, allowing them to “be in the room” with the characters. In his most commonly repeated quote, Chekhov said, “Don’t tell me the moon is shining. Show me the glint of light on broken glass."

This back story could've been more impactful that way if, perhaps, the show began with Felicia in a hospital bed with a strong headache and hazy flashbacks of that night where she saw her dad sleeping with another woman. Then we're introduced to her mother and brother sitting next to the hospital bed tired and worried, and Felicia notices her dad isn't present. They tell her Felicia is being sent to rehab and then there's a time-jump before we see the Kroon family having moved to Oskarshamn.

That's just an idea I threw together at the top of my head, but you get my point. It would've been more interesting if we knew from the beginning that Felicia had a traumatic past like this, leading the viewer to want to know more about what actually happened.

We did get a brief flashback at the very beginning of the show—we see Felicia partying with her friends and taking some pill before lying unconscious on the ground. There's also a glimpse of Ludde's car accident with Andreas yelling at him to get out of there.

That segment only lasts for around 45 seconds and it's easily forgettable upon your first viewing of the show. It's also hard to even recognize Felicia in the dark nightclub setting with the flashing lights. Some dialogue in that short scene could've made it more memorable, because I found that when I first watched season 1 I remembered Andreas yelling at Ludde despite that being drowned out by the music.

Ludde's backstory was way more well-done, in my opinion. We see him having crashed the car and bleeding from his head. He looks terrified and almost frozen by fear, needing to be pulled out of the car by a panicked Andreas yelling at him to bring Ludde back to the reality of the situation. We see Andreas yelling and pointing, telling Ludde he needs to run now. It's more powerful when we get to see it.

And in episode 8, when we learn the truth of what happened, it's not a long and dragged-out monologue. It fits into what's going on in the story. Felicia and Ludde have known each other for a few months now and are much closer than they were on their first date. They've had disagreements and fights, but at this moment they're in a good place.

And it feels like the right moment for Ludde to come clean about what happened to him.

Ludde: Hey… There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you. Felicia: What? Ludde: About… My brother. It’s not really as everybody thinks. Felicia: What do you mean? Ludde: That night when he crashed… It wasn’t Andreas who drove the car. We were on our way home from one of his buddies. We’d had some fun drinking. And then… I’d just started learning how to drive. So I nagged and nagged at him. Felicia: So you were the one driving? But he’s an adult- Ludde: He was drunk as hell. He was going to leave the car, but I thought it was so cold and it was only three blocks away so I thought that I could drive. Felicia: And what happened? Ludde: It was slippery and really dark… And a car came. I hit the brakes in time, but it… Yeah. Right after he pushed me out of the car and yelled that I should run home straight away. He really didn’t want me to get into trouble. So, yeah… It was fucking bad luck. I want to just gather everybody and scream that it was me. Felicia: Hey… I love you. Ludde: I love you too. I love you so fucking much.

As Ludde is telling Felicia what happened as the other car came, we see a silent flashback of it along with Ludde's voice narrating. We see Andreas pulling him out of the car and yelling. Cutting to this scene that we've already seen in the beginning but might've forgotten about is a smart choice and makes the story Ludde is telling more real. We see it unfolding as Ludde is telling this to Felicia. It's a powerful scene.

We then see Felicia hugging Ludde from behind, a sign of support with no words needed. She tells him she loves him and Ludde says it back. It's an honest and sweet moment that comes at a perfect time in the story. It's not too early like Felicia's backstory was.

I sort of understand why Felicia's backstory was info-dumped because it was right before the drama of Mats accidentally spilling the beans to Klara's family. They wanted the audience to know what happened to her early, so they could move on to the plot point of Felicia thinking Ludde was the one who told everybody.

But we don't need every single detail of Felicia's story. Let it come organically. The only thing that was really needed was for Ludde to know that Felicia had struggled with drug use and was sent to rehab for this storyline to work. The reason why could've been saved for later, and it would've made for a more interesting reveal. Maybe just have Felicia allude to seeing something that night, but don't tell the viewers right away what it was.

In 1x06, Felicia is incredibly upset when she hears that her dad was the one who told Klara's family what happened to Felicia in the US. And rightly so.

Felicia: Don’t you get it? You ruined everything! Mats: What? Felicia: You told the whole damn town about me! About the US! Mats: I really didn’t mean to disclose you- Or disclose us. Sorry. Hey, sorry. Flisan, please. Hey. Felicia: Did you tell them you fucked mom’s best friend too? Yes, I saw you.

If this had been the moment where we first find out what Felicia saw, it would've been more surprising. Our reaction would've mirrored Mats's, and it would've been more heart-wrenching to know that Felicia was traumatized by an affair her dad had only to be cheated on herself in the very same episode.

Ludde's problematic nature

One of the scriptwriters of Eagles, Fanny Ekstrand, was interviewed in the behind-the-scenes documentary Edvins Skådisdrömmar. In this interview, she states:

Ludvig, he's the one who's been the easiest to retain the personality of. Because he's so... He's calm and friendly, but he makes dumb decisions. Ludvig isn't a typical hockey guy. He has a bunch of other qualities—music being one of them.

I found myself slightly disagreeing with this take, despite knowing Ekstrand is literally a part of the writing team and most likely helped shaped Ludde's personality. I just interpreted Ludde's character (at least in season 1) differently.

I also didn't find him that much different from any other typical hockey guy just because he happens to have another interest. That's a bit like saying Archie Andrews from The CW's Riverdale isn't a stereotypical jock because he also plays the guitar.

In season 1, we see Ludde break into the rink because he wanted to test out the ice. He just loves hockey that much. He also uses it as a way to express frustration and anger, which we saw in 1x05. He flirts with the new girl in school and in the beginning he even uses it as a tactic to gain a position on the main hockey team. This was confirmed by the creator Stefan H. Lindén in his Q&A, where he said:

My idea has always been that Ludde was blown away by Felicia and that he really likes her but that they both initially interacted and met to go swimming because Felicia knew it would piss her dad off and Ludde knew that it might throw Elias off since they were competing for the same position in the team.

I would say that the characteristics of a typical hockey guy would be someone like Adam—obsessed with the sport, flirting with girls, going to parties, and just spending a lot of time in the rink. Ludde checks off all of these points. However, I will give this the benefit of the doubt since season 2 Ludde seems to change a lot and it's easier to interpret him as the calm and friendly guy he was supposed to be in season 1.

So to me, Ludde wasn't calm and friendly at all. In season 2, yes, but when we're first introduced to him?

Ludde shows anger issues and violent tendencies in 1x05 when he head-butts Elias and breaks his nose. It's violent and messy. He then yells at Felicia to leave when she's trying to communicate with him and belittles her drug problems solely because she's rich. To me, Ludde wasn't a nice person in 1x04 either when he let his friends make suggestive comments about Felicia and what she was like in bed.

Omar: I can tell you one thing - you’re not borrowing my towel today cause I don’t know where that dick has been. Adam: It’s nice when she sucks, right? Omar: Can’t you tell us some more, does she bite you or is it just really, really nice? [...] Adam: Is that what you sound like when you’re coming? What does she sound like?

This was described as "locker room talk" and the writers probably wanted to show an authentic view of what being a hockey player is like. I understand that. But it's a little problematic when it's later swept under the rug and treated like something that we're just supposed to accept.

Elias: [...] it’s not very fun to sit in a hockey locker room where people are talking about how nice it is to fuck my sister. Felicia: Ludde would never say anything like that, you know that. Elias: He wouldn’t? It’s a locker room, Felicia. That’s the only thing they talk about.

It did not sit right with me how Felicia seemed to be the one Elias blamed in this scene, and Ludde and his friends never faced any real consequences for what they said. Elias did lash out at Ludde, but there was no severe consequence for Omar and Adam's comments.

Compare this scenario to another Swedish show, Beartown on HBO. Beartown is similar to Eagles and focuses on a hockey team in a small town with one of the star players hooking up with a girl who's recently moved to their small town.

This girl is raped by the hockey player. And because of his status as the star of the team, he has almost the whole school behind him. The girl however is labeled as a lying slut. It's unfair and frustrating to see it happen, but it's authentic and done in a way that doesn't glamorize the ugly side of hockey culture.

Eagles is not as dark as Beartown so this comparison might be a little unfair. Beartown's whole storyline did revolve around this incident while in Eagles the hockey culture is treated more as a side thought. It's like they decided to throw in a taste of what goes on in a locker room just to create drama without really addressing it further.

Beartown did a much better job of portraying the problematic and toxic elements of hockey culture without making it seem like it's just something normal that we should accept. It was honest and raw. If you haven't seen the show, this short video does a great job of depicting how much thought was put into the toxic hockey culture, winning mentality, and subsequently hockey players thinking they're entitled to do whatever they want.

So, to respond to Ekstrand's quote from Edvins Skådisdrömmar—I did not experience Ludde as a "good guy" who only makes dumb decisions at all. In season 1, he's a bad person for letting his friends sexualize a girl he likes and letting her brother hear their disgusting comments. He's a bad person for fighting with her brother and later yelling at her, saying her drug issues are insignificant despite acting supportive of her only two episodes earlier.

I don't mind conflicts like these because they drive the story forward. I didn't particularly like Ludde in season 1 because of the reasons I just stated, but they're necessary to create drama and make the show interesting.

It's just weird to me how one of the writers is saying that Ludde is a calm person and a good guy when that is not at all how I interpreted his character.

Eagles is a show targeted towards a young audience, among them probably a lot of easily influenced pre-teens. What kind of message does this send to them when the guy letting his friends sexualize a girl he's slept with and on top of that laughing at their inappropriate comments is referred to as the good guy?

Klara is mean... What else?

From the moment we're introduced to Klara, it seems obvious that she'll play a living and breathing version of the infamous Alpha Bitch trope. She's also a prime example of the basic Popular is Evil trope and has her own Girl Posse consisting of Sara and Amie.

Klara feels threatened by the arrival of a potential new popular girl, Felicia, and does everything in her power to bully Felicia to show dominance. She barely shows any good sides of herself.

The only instance I can think of where we sort of see season 1 Klara in a positive light is when she talks to Amie in 1x05 about their friendship and then accompanies Amie to her audition for the school band.

Klara: Ever since Felicia started at school… It’s felt like you only hang out with her and that you’ve forgotten about me. She like took you from me. Amie: But I haven’t forgotten you. Klara: No, but do you get what I mean? Amie: I get it, but I haven’t forgotten you. Klara: No, I know. Amie: I know, but it just turned out that way when school started. Klara: Okay. Amie: But I’m sorry. Klara: It’s fine. Amie: Are you sure? Klara: Yeah. You can make it up to me when you go on your world tour.

Klara is really supportive of Amie's musical endeavors, but she also uses her support as a way to alienate Felicia from the girl group. It's very on the nose and kind of feels suffocating in the way it's written.

Klara: Amie, did you remove the clips? Amie: Yeah, she said they weren’t good. Klara: She’s just jealous. It’s so obvious. I mean, I’m jealous. You sing absolutely amazing. I don’t know, I just think it was really rude of her to sit in the cafeteria and criticize you like that Amie: Yeah, maybe. But she apologized. Klara: But still. That clip of you in the bathroom… Like… Sorry, but I’d be so mad if someone had posted something like that of me. I mean, you were standing there without makeup, completely non-fixed up. And the whole thing with her filming you without you knowing. That’s really weird. You don’t do that. Don’t you think so?

I'm sure there are plenty of people who act like this in real life. And maybe that's part of the problem, because Klara in season 1 really isn't an interesting character. We've met this person before and we know exactly what she's like. There's nothing new to discover. So season 1 is essentially just Klara being petty and rude every chance she gets, and to me it felt like a large part of her character was written just to stir up drama.

In 1x06, we see Klara backstab Amie by filming her making out with Ludde at her Halloween party. But I thought it was established in 1x05 that Klara feels like Amie was taken from her? And if Klara actually cared about Amie and didn't want to lose her as a friend, she wouldn't just stand by and watch with her phone recording the whole thing. It doesn't make a lot of sense.

Klara even made that whole point about how it was really weird of Felicia to film Amie without her knowing. So why would Klara do it, when she expressed that's weird and not something a normal person does? Is that supposed to be foreshadowing? Because if so, that's a clear contradiction and not how foreshadowing works.

When Sara happens to see the video on Klara's phone she immediately says that Klara should delete it.

Sara: What is that? Did they know you were filming? Klara: No, of course they didn’t know. Sara: Oh my god, Klara. You should probably delete it. Klara: I’m going to! But it’s crazy, right? Sara: Yeah, god. But seriously, delete it. Klara: I’m going to.

So Klara says she's going to delete the video. But it's still unclear why it was filmed in the first place if Klara insists that she's going to delete it. It's not like she filmed it just to show it to Sara either, since Sara wasn't meant to see it and only saw it by chance while swiping through Klara's photos on her phone.

It doesn't make sense for Klara to film a video like that of her best friend that she's supposed to care about. It doesn't make sense for Klara to film a video of anybody without their knowledge when she previously made a big deal about how you shouldn't do that.

What Klara's character is, is a bad attempt at the classical mean girl. She's clichéd, boring, and full of tropes.

Even her eventual character development is riddled with tropes like the Heel Realization where a character realizes they're actually one of the bad guys. This realization seems to come in 1x08, where Felicia calls Klara out on her behavior.

Felicia: You know what, Klara. I’m so fucking tired of your fucking comments. You didn’t get to be Lucia this year. Poor you! Was dad unable to fix that? Cry then, Klara. Cry. You’re so fucking mean. Everybody here is tired- Everybody here is scared of you. Even those who liked you once, they can’t take it anymore. Klara: That’s not true. It’s not true. Felicia: Yes, everybody is scared of you. You know what? Look around. Show people some fucking respect. Klara: Well say something, Amie! Amie: What is there to say? She’s right.

Klara needed a wake-up call like this. It's just unfortunate that she goes back to her mean girl behavior and posts the video after Amie insinuated that Klara wasn't a real friend. Klara already knew that Amie felt that way since she said Felicia was right in her assessment of everybody being scared and tired of Klara. So wouldn't it have made more sense for Klara to post the video right after that moment instead of during Amie's performance?

Or rather, why not pull a Subverted Trope and not have Klara post the video at all after she realized how horrible she'd been acting? That would've made me respect her so much more and be a great introduction to her character development in season 2.

The Halloween Incident

To me, the whole Halloween episode was questionable. First off, we never got actual confirmation of what happened in that room between Amie and Ludde. Some viewers insist that they only made out and others believe they went all the way. Here's what the creator of the show, Stefan H. Lindén, had to say about this in a Q&A post he did:

I think if you went into the writers room of Eagles and asked all of us what really happened in that room [between Ludde and Amie at Klara's Halloween party] we would all have different answers.  I know what happened, but I’m not sure we will ever truly know for sure, unless Ludvig or Amie eventually are open enough to admit to anyone what really happened.

This is kind of a vague answer, but that's fair considering that when Stefan did this Q&A the latest episode that had been released was 2x05 and he probably didn't want to spoil anything. However, looking back at this answer knowing how the season turned out I still feel like it's unclear what happened. It's also strange that Stefan seems to be saying that they never actually decided what happened between them since the writers "would all have different answers".

1x06 was just an odd episode for me overall. Lots of things felt rushed and underdeveloped. Let's not forget that this episode also contained, in my opinion, some of the weirdest lines in the whole show (along with Elias's strange monologue about plague vampires).

Ludde: Hey, I only have like 3%. Do you have any power? Adam: Are you wondering if I have a power bank in my shorts? It’s coming-

Ludde: I like shellfish. (said to Amie, wearing a lobster costume)

Up until this episode, Ludde has shown zero interest and attraction towards Amie. We are basically told that Ludde only hooked up with Amie because he was so drunk that he practically had no idea what he was doing.

In 1x02, we see a drunk Amie try to kiss Tobbe and upon getting rejected she moves on to make out with Adam. She gets overly friendly when she's drunk so the fact that she makes out with Ludde later is... Weird, but not entirely out of the realms of possibility.

Ludde on the other hand is moping about Felicia all night. He regrets how he yelled at her at the end of 1x05 and it shows. He's trying to drown all his problems in alcohol and it seems to be working, because when it enters his system he seems to be on top of the world.

What I found kind of ambiguous in this incident was if Ludde even remembered what happened that night. He was drinking so much compared to Amie, who doesn't really need as much alcohol before she reaches her "overly friendly" state. I thought for sure that Ludde was oblivious to the situation when he woke up in his bed the next day and immediately messaged Felicia.

There are just so many questions to unpack here that were never answered. What prompted Amie and Ludde to go into that empty room? Why did Ludde come with her? Why didn't Adam seem to care about this, when he'd been sitting next to Ludde and taking care of him most of the night? And as I wrote before, why would Klara film this video of her best friend when she previously expressed that was a weird thing to do?

There's just too much in 1x06 left unanswered. The Amie/Ludde hook-up was a badly executed plot twist because there wasn't anything hinting that this would happen. It just came out of nowhere.

Unbalanced screentime and Elias's wasted potential

A large portion of season 1 was dedicated to Felicia. This was kind of a let-down for me since I thought more focus would be placed on Eagles as a hockey team (after all, that's what the show is named after). I also thought more attention would be on Elias since he's the talented star player who's supposed to live up to his father's legacy.

The show starts with a couple radio hosts hyping up how Elias Kroon, son of the legendary Mats Kroon, is going to join the Eagles hockey team.

Host #1: [...] It’s finally official. New center in the junior team - Elias Kroon, son to the legendary NHL-pro Mats Kroon, who has now chosen to move home from the US to his hometown where Elias will play in his father’s old club Oskarshamn Eagles. Host #2: This is so freaking cool. Who doesn’t want a Kroon on their team? Host #1: We hope that he’ll take a spot on the A-team.

But we don't learn a lot about who Elias actually is in the first episode. The attention is on Felicia and her interest in Ludde.

Elias is so discarded that he barely has anything to say in the first couple of scenes we see him in. Here are all his eight lines in 1x01, and I'm not even joking.

Elias: Yes. Elias: Shut up. Elias: Ow. Elias: It's fine. Elias: Really? Elias: Fucking hell. Elias: I'll stay here. Elias: No, it's fine.

In 1x02 he has even fewer lines. Three, to be exact, and all he says is that his injury is a sprain and that it's fine. Essentially just an echo of two of the lines he had in the previous episode. It's nothing new.

There's a way to have a character stand out when they don't have many lines, but Elias just fades into the background with every other extra. There's too much time spent on having other characters talk about Elias than us actually getting to know him. So when we do meet him, it's pretty underwhelming.

Compare Elias to his sister who gets so much more attention from the writers. I don't really understand why either, since I thought Elias was a much more interesting character than his influencer sister. Felicia's character only seems to revolve around a guy. I wonder how many times we've seen that before?

In 1x02 we see the Eagles hockey team play their first game, but Elias is unable to play and has to sit in the stands for what was supposed to be his debut match. Why? Because during a hockey practice session in 1x01, Adam rams his stick into Elias to purposely injure him. I mean, fair enough. Adam is trying to get Ludde on the main team since he and Elias are competing for the same position. The shot of Adam smiling after Elias sprains his wrist is a bit too on the nose, but whatever.

What this does is minimize Elias' presence in season 1 by a lot. We don't see the son of the legendary NHL professional play an actual game until 1x05, which is more than halfway into the season. It's kind of disappointing but I understand the injury is done to dramatize his situation.

Elias barely gets his own storylines in the first few episodes. He just has things done to him instead of acting on his own. When we do see him on screen he gets injured by Adam, reprimanded by his father, and later told he can't play in his debut game.

His sweet side (or any side of him, really) isn't shown until 1x03 when Amie wakes up at the Kroon house and Elias reassures her that they didn't do anything together and that she can borrow Felicia's clothes.

Elias doesn't really do much for the plot until he hears Ludde's friends objectify Felicia and he starts a fight with Ludde and confronts Felicia about it. That's when it feels like Elias is actually a part of this show instead of just being an extra shoved into the background. His actions are finally affecting the plot.

Elias's potential in season 1 was hugely wasted. The only episode where we actually got to see him shine was 1x07, when he travels to Karlskrona with Amie. We find out he doesn't want the hockey arrangement his dad has planned for him and that he's actually a pretty goofy guy who likes making jokes (and eating green candy).

If less time was spent with Felicia and the distribution of every episode's 20 minutes was more balanced, season 1 could've been massively improved. It got much better in season 2, but season 1 suffered and made many people think that Felicia was a basic and unentertaining character.

The side characters and their comic relief

So one thing that I found really disappointing with Felicia's amount of screentime is that we barely got enough time for the other main characters, let alone the side characters.

What I mean here is that the only people we really know on the Eagles hockey team are Ludde and Elias. Ludde's friends, Adam and Omar, just feel like comic relief sidekicks. We don't really know what they're like, besides the fact that they like to make jokes and mess around.

This issue is largely created by the short running time the episodes have along with season 1 only having eight episodes in total. That's definitely understandable. It did get better in season 3 where we see Ludde having a deeper conversation with Adam and Omar and they finally don't just feel like the comic relief characters, but actual people with layers.

Ludde: I’m going to quit hockey. Adam: Are you serious? Omar: What the hell are you saying? Ludde: It’s not the same anymore. I’m not passionate about it. I… Yes, it sucks, but… I’ve thought about it for a while now. Omar: We make jokes about it and all, but… Yeah. It wouldn’t be the same without you. Kingelikingen. Adam: I get that it’s a tough choice. But yeah… You’ll work things out. You and Felicia. You always do. Ludde: You guys are pretty awesome sometimes, actually.

This scene was really sweet, and I wish we could've had moments like this between the guys in season 1. Just one scene to show that they're not just the "typical hockey guys". It feels like Ludde was the only person on the team in season 1 who wasn't just a background character. Even Elias, who you would assume should be at the forefront, isn't properly developed until 1x05 where we see him defending his sister and starting a fight with Ludde. Otherwise, it very much felt like Elias was kept in the background.

There are also guys on the team called Herman, Simon, Näslund, Ekbäck, Hoffmann, Berglund (even Montell, which was a fun nod to the show's director)... But who are they, actually? Do you even remember their names? To be honest with you, I don't. Because they're just names—not actual characters.

None of the other guys on the team get any depth. They're just sort of there as extras and to give the audience a sense of comedy with their "hockey team shenanigans". This was illustrated in 1x08, where Adam and Omar make their teammate Liam do a "sexy dance" on a table because he lost his virginity. Or a more extreme example—Jönsson, who only exists to be the comic relief and the unlucky guy who just can't catch a break.

In 2x04, Jönsson is told by Jack to do extra time in the gym and gets told off when he only spends a few minutes on the exercise bike. Later, Jack also makes a joke about how he should get Jönsson a defibrillator. In 2x09 Jönsson invites Ludde, Adam, and Omar to come to his mom's place to hang out. After he's left, Adam makes a comment about how there's no way he's going to "rot" in Jönsson's apartment that doesn't even have a balcony.

Don't get me wrong, these scenes aren't bad and I don't mean they should've been scrapped. Comedy can absolutely have its place in a show like this. Let's take the scene where Ludde flashes a couple of unfortunate old ladies on his first date with Felicia as an example. It feels like something a teenage boy would do to try to make a girl he likes laugh. It's a brief scene and it's nice to see Ludde being able to goof off only moments after talking about Andreas. We know that's a touchy subject for him.

However, it feels slightly overdone sometimes with how almost everybody on the hockey team is only there for comedic purposes and to fill space. It's more refreshing when they're shown to be multi-dimensional. I wish this is something that the writers would've considered when the show is literally titled after the hockey team, yet most of the hockey players are hardly in the story.

To add to this, it felt like Sara and Tobbe completely disappeared from the story in season 2. With Sara we understand that she probably didn't want to hang out with Klara anymore after knowing she filmed the Halloween video and posted it on Instagram, so that's fair. But it would've been nice to see Tobbe stick around in season 2, and I'll get back to why I think that.

The potential of season 1

When I look back on season 1 I feel really nostalgic. No matter how many small details that irked me, I can't deny that the setting of the show is beautiful and I really appreciate the depiction of it. Instead of showing Oskarshamn as a boring small town, we're shown the beauty of it which is incorporated into the storylines.

Some examples would be Ludde and Felicia's first date at Gunnarsö and walk through Havslätt, the gorgeous view of the Oskarshamn harbor from Klara's house Villa Högklint, and Badholmen where the school band performs and we later see Elias and Amie walking by in season 3. All these places are listed on the Eagles Oskarshamn site and I feel like they did a great job tying the storylines in with the locations.

Another aspect of season 1 and its writing that I really enjoyed was Elias and Amie's budding relationship. They just have a natural chemistry together and the dialogue between them also felt authentic and sweet.

Season 1 is just a very polished teen drama overall compared to some of SVT's previous series.

Back in 2007-2010, SVT used to air a soap opera-style show focusing on a few teenagers living in Gothenburg that was called Andra Avenyn (translation: Second Avenue). I was only seven at the time but I watched this show religiously as it aired three times a week. Just mentioning the show brings a lot of nostalgia.

Andra Avenyn amassed around 500 000 viewers per episode and was, just like Eagles, nominated for a Kristallen television award. But how good was it, really? If I take off my rose-colored glasses for a second and actually consider the show's highly dramatized storylines and unlikely scenarios, it had a tendency to drag on (which usually happens with soap operas). It didn't offer a realistic view of teenage life and on IMDb it currently sits at a rating score of 5.6 stars out of 10.

Comparing this old teen series to SVT's newer one, Eagles season 1 was a huge improvement and continues to be the most popular teen series that SVT has aired so far.

This idea and all the characters have lived in Stefan H. Lindéns mind since 2008, while Andra Avenyn was still on the air. It's actually amazing how high the quality of most TV shows has risen since then. Eagles has a rating score of 7.4 out of 10 stars on IMDb and has become internationally known in a way that Andra Avenyn never was.

Eagles season 1 laid the groundwork for SVT's most successful teen series of all time, and that's a huge achievement.

Season 2: "Subverting expectations"

When Eagles came back for season 2, the script made it kind of obvious that the writers had listened to the critique of season 1 being predictable.

I did find season 2 a huge step up from season 1—the directing was so much better and when it came to the script we got a deeper look into all the characters that they hadn't really scratched the surface of in the first season. My main disappointment however was that it felt like they threw in a bunch of weird plot twists just for the sake of "subverting expectations".

The core idea of subverting expectations can be great if done correctly. You lead the audience to believe they know what's going to happen, but then you surprise them with an unexpected and clever twist.

A post in Cinematography written by Mason Leaver defines the phrase of "subverting expectations" as:

[...] a method of surprising the audience with some element of a story, be it the plot, themes, characters, etc. This goes beyond a “twist” in a film. Expectation subversion actively works within the genre of a story, and attempts to reinterpret or subvert the conventions of that genre, breaking patterns in surprising and interesting ways. However, this method of surprising the audience is not always well received- it can sometimes be the source of heavy criticism from fans of the tropes which have been subverted.

This included "unexpected" relationships such as Elias/Klara and Amie/Ludde. The former actually worked, but the latter? Not so much.

Amie's crush on Ludde—make it make sense!

Amie and Ludde were my biggest issue with season 2, and it felt so out of character of Amie to be head over heels for Ludde. They work great as friends but romantically they're a huge mismatch.

But they have music in common, I hear you say. Yes, they do. But having a shared interest doesn't mean people are automatically a good match. You have to consider their chemistry and overall compatibility.

Before actors are cast in a show or movie where their characters will be romantically involved with each other, it's common to do what's called a chemistry read. Here's a neat description from an article in Backstage written by Caroline Liem:

Chemistry is the complex emotional or psychological interaction between two people. If this were a romantic article, it would be about love. Instead, we are discussing the astonishing rapport between two actors, and how that connection is achieved in order to book [...] the role. A chemistry read is an opportunity to read with actors being considered for a role opposite yours, usually lead roles. The main purpose is to see how you instinctively connect and work with the other actor.

This obviously wasn't done for the actors playing Amie and Ludde, since there didn't seem to be any intention of having their characters be involved in a romantic relationship.

That was even confirmed by Stefan H. Lindén in his Q&A of season 2, where he said that a love triangle between Ludde/Felicia/Amie was planned but later scrapped.

I can confirm that from the beginning of development of the series and the first version of the storyline a triangle drama was at some point intended for season 1 but later removed  – however when creating the characters, Ludvigs skill in music and arts was always there from the beginning so by knowing that, we always knew that interactions would appear between them. When looking back at Season 1, in the first scene by the lockers when Amie tells Felicia who Ludvig is, she does know exactly who he is and she is well aware of that his friend Tobias is a music guy that Amie wants to get to know. Also when looking at it, when I was the same age as Ludvig and Amie I, and I am sure a lot of people can relate to it, fact is that we never really knew if it was love or friendship in the beginning.

Knowing that the triangle drama was scrapped for season 1, it makes sense why it seems so arbitrary. There was no groundwork laid down for this pairing before it was hastily thrown together in 1x06 for a cheap plot twist. This continues in season 2, where Amie and Ludde start spending more time together. Yet it's hard to see Ludde as a potential love interest for Amie in the way the writers want us to. They still come off as friends despite having hooked up at a party.

I mentioned that Tobbe should've stuck around for season 2 and here's why. Tobbe was written to be the leader of the school band that Amie later joins, and he was friends with Ludde before the video was posted. He would've been a perfect fit for the Amie/Ludde music storyline but he's completely absent. He had the potential to be the person who could've helped them with the song a little and then later picked up on whatever there was going on between them.

I think the Amie/Ludde storyline could've hugely benefitted from a scene between Amie and Tobbe, where Tobbe asks if she actually has feelings for Ludde and we get to hear exactly what Amie is feeling. Maybe she's torn, not wanting to get together with Ludde because of how much they hurt Felicia, but at the same time finds it hard to suppress her feelings. A scene like that would've allowed us to get into Amie's head and make the Amie/Ludde storyline much clearer.

To add, this storyline was in desperate need of more interest from Ludde's side. There needed to be some indication from him that would make Amie believe he liked him back, even if that wasn't the case. All we get is Ludde complimenting Amie's song and then a hug in 2x05 when Amie says the record label in Stockholm wanted a meeting. And apparently, that was enough for Amie to think Ludde was interested in her despite him blowing off the Stockholm meeting and Amie hearing Ludde say that the Halloween incident was a mistake.

Ludde and Amie don't really mesh as well as Elias/Amie do or even as well as Ludde/Felicia do. Elias and Amie had sparks flying from the very first scene they shared. That pairing is one of the main reasons why the show became popular internationally, and why is that? Because of the actors' chemistry.

Amie and Ludde are a clumsy attempt at throwing together two people who don't really work together with the intention of "subverting expectations". And I suppose that's what the writers wanted to depict—an awkward crush that doesn't really make sense, which I'm sure many people have experienced as a teenager. That part is fine. But what I didn't like about this storyline is that Amie had no good reason to believe Ludde would be interested in anything with her beyond a platonic friendship.

While season 2 was airing, I was convinced that Amie wasn't actually in love with Ludde. She was just lonely after the aftermath of the Halloween video and mistook her feelings for Ludde as love when she just appreciated his company. Here's what I wrote:

So as we know, Amie kissed Ludde in episode 6 when he was in the hospital after having been injured during the hockey game against Karlskrona. She immediately seemed to regret having done that and ran out without an explanation, leaving Ludde alone and confused. I honestly don’t think Amie has any romantic feelings towards Ludde. I think she might mistake her feelings for a crush or something, when in reality she’s just lonely and appreciates Ludde always being there for her and giving her compliments on her musical ability. Ludde was complimenting Amie at the hospital, saying she was amazing, and I think Amie was just really touched by that and maybe wanted to thank him somehow, and ended up kissing him. And then she freaked out and left because oh my god did she really just kiss Ludde. It was an uncomfortable and awkward situation and that’s probably why she ran out. However, I really believe that if she had just stayed to explain and apologize, Ludde would understand and they could’ve just laughed it off. But this is a drama show so of course that wouldn’t happen! Do I think the writers are making them into a couple? No, definitely not. They know that season 1 was sort of predictable and cliché, so they’re making season 2 as different as possible by including these unexpected pairings such as Klara & Elias and Amie & Ludde. But Amie and Ludde won’t ever be a couple, because Ludde is still very much hung up on Felicia. I don’t see them as a couple either - yes, they have music in common, but they work way better as friends than in a relationship.

In Edvins Skådisdrömmar, which is a behind-the-scenes documentary of Eagles season 2, writers Fanny Ekstrand and Michaela Hamilton discuss the writing of the show in the documentary's third episode. The third episode is mostly focused on the lead-up to the scene where Amie kisses Ludde at the hospital. Adrian Öjvindsson, who plays Ludde, says:

Filming the kissing scene was [...] awkward and weird, actually. And that's how it ended up. Yandeh and I haven't really had any intimate scenes. In this case you could take in that it was weird, because that's also what the scene wanted to depict.

When Edvin reads the script, he describes the scene as a "nightmare" scenario. I agree. And the lazy build-up to this Awkward Kiss trope doesn't make it any better, because just like the Halloween incident this doesn't make a lot of sense.

It's supposed to be awkward and weird, just like Adrian said. But he also mentioned one of the most important details: Yandeh and I haven't really had any intimate scenes.

Before this kiss scene, there was nothing that indicated any chemistry between them. No accidental hand-touching, no longing stares, no nothing. Just a friendly hug. A proper build-up to the kiss scene would've made it feel less out of place.

The love confession from Amie to Ludde in 2x10 really threw me off as well. The confession to me made no sense and honestly felt like a prank call. There was no feeling behind it and zero reason for Amie to believe that there was a chance Ludde liked her back.

At the end of 2x08, Felicia goes to Ludde's house after he's confessed the truth to the police about the Andreas situation. Amie happens to overhear the conversation and she hears Ludde very clearly say that he's not interested in Amie.

Ludde: Felicia, there’s nothing between us. Between me and Amie. It was really the biggest mistake of my life. Felicia: Goodbye, Ludde. Ludde: Felicia, please!

Amie, now having her heart broken, crosses Ludde's name off the contract while crying. She knows he doesn't feel the same. So why would Amie even bother to call Ludde up to tell him she's "in love with him"?

Amie: [...] Hey, Ludde… Ludde: Yeah? Amie: It feels really weird to hear our song now. Because I know who the lyrics are about. And… And I… I really like you. Or, well… I’m in love with you. I just need to know how you feel. Or if you feel anything. Just tell me. Ludde: I’ll always want to be your friend, Amie, but… It’s Felicia I’m in love with.

This moment is on par with the awkwardness from the hospital kiss between them in 2x06. The second-hand embarrassment with this one was really rough, and what I don't understand is why this was even added to the script when Amie had already gotten the confirmation that Ludde didn't think of her in a romantic way. This storyline could've ended in 2x08 after Amie overheard the conversation between Ludde and Felicia.

It really didn't need to drag on for the whole season, essentially making Amie's whole storyline in season 2 about a guy. Her moment of finally getting signed to the record label was ruined when it could've been regarded as a fresh start if the storyline had just ended where it should have.

What this storyline did instead was ruining my favorite friendship of season 1, which was Amie/Felicia. This mess made it so hard for them to reconcile and they didn't end up properly addressing it until 3x09, spending almost two whole seasons mad at each other. It sucks that the writers decided to drag out their fighting and disagreements for this long when they could've instead shown two girls in solidarity who don't let a guy get between them and their friendship.

Amie apologized in 3x03 for how she hurt Felicia, but Felicia made it clear in 3x06 that she still harbored ill will towards Amie for what happened at Halloween (which in the timeline of this show was more than a year ago).

Felicia (to Amie): Are you going to start slobbering with [Elias] now too? Just give me back that sweater first, I don’t want slobber on that. Thanks.

I talked about how much I disliked the Amie/Ludde storyline in this post, with my main reason being that it really messed up the character dynamics that were established in season 1.

This storyline [of Ludde and Amie hooking up]—along with Amie falling in love with Ludde—is by far my least favorite one because it messed up the whole character dynamic. I feel like Amie and Felicia won’t ever go back to the kind of friendship they had in season 1 before the Halloween incident because the trust was so broken, and Amie really should’ve tried harder to apologize to Felicia like Ludde did instead of going after her best friend’s ex in season 2.

If there's just one thing I could change about this show, I would 100% get rid of the Amie/Ludde storylines. There is nothing that annoyed me as much as those storylines did.

Amie's musical ambitions

I've talked about this a bit before in another post because this was something that really bugged me about Amie's character in season 2. Here's what I wrote:

I honestly still feel like Amie’s whole storyline with sending in a rather basic demo written by two teenagers with little to no experience and then getting praised on it [by the Stockholm music producers] with comments such as “it’s going to be a real summer hit” felt so unrealistic to me. Maybe they only said that so Amie would accept their offer or something, but that’s still very strange because she would have still said yes without a doubt. I can understand that they thought Amie was marketable as a person and there was this bonus with her having gone viral before on Felicia’s Instagram, but that demo did not seem good enough for me to be immediately released as a single and then have them decide on the spot that Amie would be given a contract. I mean, come on. It never felt earned because we never really saw Amie struggling with her songwriting journey to achieve this dream. Sending in one demo to one record label and having them immediately want to make a whole album with you just doesn’t happen in real life unless the song is extremely good or you have a very unique voice. Amie is really talented but there are hundreds of people just like her, if not thousands. I was never convinced by her getting signed so quickly in season 2. I understand that they wanted to establish her as a successful artist [at the beginning of season 3], but that felt so rushed. I was so sure that the record label would screw her over and steal the song rights to record it with another artist who was already established, and that we’d have to see Amie work even harder to achieve her dreams. But we didn’t get that at all. Where was the struggle? [...] Of course I wanted to see Amie achieve success (and I was happy when she did), but the journey there was so bizarrely easy. She didn’t start to seriously work on making her music career become a reality until season 2. Amie had dabbled in music prior to that, like when she auditioned for the school band and did that performance of Follow, but she didn’t truly start to work towards it until season 2 when she decided to have her work sent to professionals in the business. And then, just five episodes later, she gets contacted by the record label in Stockholm. To put this into context—season 2 took place somewhere around March, and episode 5 around three weeks into April. So when Ludde first started helping Amie it took less than two months for her to get signed. You could argue that the song was just that good or that Amie is just that talented, but it never felt like a realistic storyline to me.

It's tricky to write a storyline like this when you only have ten 20 minute episodes in the season and a limited amount of screentime for every character. All that is understandable. But it's strange that they didn't opt for a time jump to really sell this storyline and make it believable.

Eagles uses time jumps a lot, but somehow this particular plot point was omitted from that and kind of glossed over. I don't really understand how they expected us to buy this storyline. The viewers aren't stupid, and more effort should've been put into this storyline.

In the post where I wrote this, @gajana18 also had an interesting thing to add:

[...] it's equally unrealistic that this huge record company would be hounding Amie, a teenage onehit wonder essentially to come back to the label- don’t they have other bigger artists?

This is a very strong point. Considering how Amie kept expressing that she wanted to finish school and then proceeded to ignore their calls, it's weird that they didn't just decide to discard her contract when Amie clearly wasn't taking her singing career as seriously as they wanted her to.

So, back to season 2. Maybe they could've gone with the record label stealing the rights to Amie's first song and screwing her over. This fuels her to try again and after a time jump of a few months we see Amie having worked really hard on a new and better song. Maybe even a whole album. And this time, she's learned from her past mistakes and improved her songwriting. This time, she's successful in her endeavor and it feels so much more earned after knowing the struggles she's been through to get there.

I also feel like a storyline like that would've made people sympathize with Amie more in season 2. It was really hard to root for her when she had nearly screwed Ludde over by not giving credit to his songwriting and saying "fuck him" when he didn't return Amie's feelings.

Klara's character development

When we're introduced to Klara in season 1, she's a stereotypical mean girl with wealthy parents who is the popular girl at school and has her own followers.

In season 2, the writers decided to develop the character. We find out Klara has issues at home and her mom is barely there. When she is, her parents will start fighting. Klara is feeling really lonely and doesn't really hang out with her friend Sara as much as she used to.

I appreciated the added depth, but it seemed like a drastic shift. The changed perspective could attribute to that but when you step back and really look at s1 Klara and s2 Klara, they're like two completely different people.

Maybe Klara's reputation suffered after she posted the Halloween video? Maybe she had a change of heart after Felicia finally confronted her during Lucia? I mean, I guess.

But what most fans (including me) didn't like about Klara in season 2 was that there were no clear consequences for her after she posted the Halloween video. Klara still hangs out with what seems to be the popular crowd and she has people to go out with. In a post I wrote last year about my thoughts on season 2, I wrote this:

I actually wish that Klara would’ve become more ostracized from her school friends to emphasize how alone she is, but she seems to still be pretty popular so that was kind of disappointing. I thought the fall-out of her posting the video would be worse, but I guess not. Anyway, I like that they’re taking a disliked character and making her into a better person. Feels like it’s been done a few times before, but I still appreciate them doing it. I hated s1 Klara for being so one-dimensional, but s2 Klara is well on her way to being a pretty good and nuanced character.

Her character development sort of comes a little out of nowhere, though. Her reputation wasn't ruined by posting that video and she didn't really lose any friends besides Sara (she had already lost Amie prior to posting that video considering what Amie said to her after Lucia in 1x08).

So what prompted Klara to become this whole new person who actually considers other people's feelings in a relatively short amount of time? Here's a conversation between Felicia and Klara in 2x07.

Felicia: Was there anything in particular you wanted to talk about? I understand that we’re not best friends just because you and Elias are together. We’re not here without a reason, right? Klara: No, I get that this feels weird for you. And if you don’t trust me after everything that’s happened - or that I’ve done. Felicia: Klara… Klara: I know that I haven’t acted like the world’s best person. And I regret that. Sorry.

But why does Klara regret her past behavior? What made her realize she hadn't acted like the "world's best person" if the ramifications from posting the Halloween video were so minimal?

Was it the relationship with Elias that made Klara change? No, I don't think so. When they first start talking at the bar in 2x03, Elias tells Klara that he doesn't always agree with Felicia and that he has his own viewpoints. In 2x07, he says Klara wasn't the one who messed up, but rather Amie and Ludde. And in 2x09, the script tells us that the Elias/Klara relationship seemed to bring more change to Elias rather than Klara.

Felicia: What did you do to him? Klara: What? Felicia: He’s smiling. Elias is like a whole new person since he met you. Klara: Stop. Felicia: I mean it!

So what made Klara change? In 1x08 she's mocking Felicia's drug problems and posts a video that will for sure ruin Amie's reputation. But at the start of season 2, she's suddenly become more withdrawn and considerate of people's feelings.

I can only name one factor that actually makes sense, and that's the fighting between her parents. Klara seems to turn into this quiet child when she has to listen to her mom and dad yelling at each other. This is something that didn't really begin until season 2, when Ola's company GECED started going under. This storyline was very well done.

But the other things, like Klara's reputation and friend group which you would assume would be affected, remain as they were in season 1.

Jack's sudden character change

Jack came into season 2 as a charming and charismatic character, seemingly fooling everybody into thinking he was a good guy. He knew the Kroon family from before and both Felicia and Elias were none the wiser when it came to the eventual reveal of his true colors.

Here's what Stefan H. Lindén had to say about the Jack character in his season 2 Q&A:

Bringing Jack in was actually originally not my idea, it came from my writer colleagues after that they revised my storyline notes for Season 2, while I was still down in Oskarshamn shooting Season 1. We had always intended for a character to come in and raise the stakes but I never imagined it to be Jack. When we started to develop the character, we all started liking him so he was kept in the story. Like with any new character we never really know who they are and what [the] point of them for coming in is [...]

Personally, I feel like the point of Jack's character is pretty obvious. When he first comes to Oskarshamn he is very much the embodiment of the new love interest coming in to date the girl who has broken up with her previous lover, while the previous lover still loves her and does anything he can to get her back although she's dating someone new. Jack is the Romantic False Lead trope who later becomes an alpha-dog Jerkass.

What I found interesting about Jack compared to Klara (in season 1) is that Jack isn't just a bad guy. He's very clever with his manipulation tactics and can easily charm people with his good looks and charisma.

When Felicia accuses Jack of cheating in 2x07, he manages to spin the whole thing around and make Felicia apologize to him and say it was stupid of her to believe he would cheat on her. I talked about this in a post while the season still aired, before Jack's true colors were revealed. Here's what I wrote:

I still don’t know if Jack really is cheating on Felicia with Olivia (the girl that texted him) but I would say he is. Jack is incredibly confident and charming, which makes him able to easily lie and manipulate people. We know he’s not an entirely good person since he’s already lied to Elias about not knowing that Mats would bring him back to Eagles. I wouldn’t be surprised if he really did hook up with Olivia and ended up being a really good liar. The fact is that not only did he deny it but he then shamed Felicia for blaming him and causing a scene, ultimately shifting the focus in the argument to her and making Felicia feel bad that she even confronted him in the first place. Jack says that maybe they shouldn’t even be together, which causes Felicia to backtrack and apologize. It’s actually pretty impressive how Jack was able to spin that around to blame Felicia and make her apologize.

Jack is able to take a small detail and use it as ammunition to get what he wants. In this situation, he brings up the girl in the Stockholm club that Felicia partied with and also kissed.

Jack: You shouldn’t accuse me, either. Felicia: What? Jack: I saw on Instagram, you and some girl in Stockholm. Have I whined about that? Coming here and blaming me for things, it feels really immature. Felicia: Fuck. Sorry, Jack.

Jack wasn't bothered by that at all. It happened before Felicia and Jack were even an official couple, and all they had done was hooking up at a party while Felicia was high. Jack, having cheated on Felicia, couldn't care less about the random girl Felicia kissed. That was just something he used to manipulate her.

When we discover that Jack is actually cheating on Felicia, he immediately reverts to a one-dimensional "evil" character. He's become the 2.0 version of Klara in season 1—written in just to stir up drama.

This "master manipulator" version of him just goes down the drain and Jack turns into a manchild who starts petty fights, files a police report because Ludde pushed him, and says to Felicia "I'm gonna tell on you!". Alright, maybe those weren't his exact words, but you know what I mean. It's a sudden shift and you start wondering how Jack was able to hide this version of himself so well before.

In 3x05, Jack sees Ludde and Andreas after a hockey game and fumbles trying to find any insult he can to hurl at Ludde. Everything he says from that point on is just line after line to really solidify that Jack is the bad guy. You didn't forget that, right? Here, let's have Jack call Felicia a druggie so you know just how shitty he is. And have him call Andreas a junkie later for good measure—there, that should be enough for people to understand that Jack is the villain here.

Jack: Johansson! Ludde: What the hell are you doing here? Jack: What does it look like? Ludde: I guess it’s you I should thank for the victory. Nice work. Jack: What is Felicia doing these days, then? Does she miss me? Ludde: Hey, you’re shutting up now, do you get it?! Jack: Jesus Christ. Do you think you can save her? What do you think she even sees in you? You two play in different leagues, Ludde. Ludde: You have no idea what we’re like. Jack: Come on! You should leave her. While you can. She’ll just pull you down into the dirt with her. You’re no hero, Ludde. Isn’t she still doing drugs? Once a druggie, always a druggie, right?

Jack is a horrible person, but at least he was able to pretend to be a good guy in season 2. And that was actually really fascinating. I wish we could've seen more of Jack's manipulative side that he showed in season 2 instead of making everything coming out of his mouth be a half-assed attempt at insulting the other person. That's a pretty boring villain, in my opinion.

Jack's backstory of his father being an alcoholic and him starting to resent the whole Kroon family because they had everything growing up while he didn't is interesting. It would've also made more sense if his anger was only directed towards the Kroon family since they're the ones he grew up with. They're the ones he was after the whole time.

His anger towards them feels cheapened when Jack also starts insulting Andreas (who he's probably never met before) for no good reason. It's like Jack's human qualities are just gone and all that's left is this empty shell made to start fights. His backstory didn't really make anybody sympathize with him, either.

The improvements of season 2

What I liked about the writing in season 2 was that they explored new ideas and had some solid storylines (besides the mess that was Amie and Ludde). Elias and Klara actually worked pretty well as a couple, even if they were pretty much the 2.0 version of Felicia/Ludde as the "wealthy, popular pretty girl starts dating the star player on the sports team".

Felicia finally gets some more depth. The scene at the end of 2x02, where Felicia and Leila park their car near the harbor and just start crying, is so powerful.

2x05 is also one of my favorite episodes of the show, as well as the ending montage of the 2x10 season finale. In Gameday, we had a very touching scene between Felicia and Mats where they finally communicate. It's not the most understanding conversation but it's a start. It's an interesting contrast between their talk in 1x06 where Felicia revealed she saw Mats cheating on Leila versus the talk they're having now.

Another one of my favorite scenes is when Felicia and Ludde meet up at their bench in 2x10 after Ludde has called her up asking Felicia to come if there's any chance of them getting back together.

The dialogue is simple and to the point. There's no long-winded love confession for the sake of drama. It's a moment that the whole season has been building up for, and when we finally get there we realize that this is how love should be.

Easy and simple.

Ludde: You came back. Felicia: Yeah, I did. Ludde: Do you remember our first date here? Felicia: No. I’ve forgotten. Ludde: I was so freaking nervous. Felicia: Everything you said… Did you mean it? Because you hurt me, Ludvig. And I… I’ve really tried to hurt you back, but… It’s not possible. I can’t… Not love you. Do you think… Do you think it can be us again? Ludde: What do you think? Felicia: I don’t want anything else.

Ludde admitting how nervous he was on their first date is sweet and shows us how much they've been through. Felicia is struggling to find the words to say and she's acknowledging how hurt she was, but still can't seem to find it in her heart to hate Ludde. It's honest.

Another plotline that I think was a little underrated in season 2 is the GECED company going bankrupt and Ola, Klara's dad, is under investigation for financial crime. This isn't a storyline you would usually see in a teen series. It's much more serious. It also gave us a really touching and poignant scene in 2x08 between Ola and Klara sitting on the floor of his office, where Klara has to comfort her father who starts crying.

Ola: When you were little you used to sit like this. On the floor, while I was working. You had your own room, but you wanted to sit with me. “Help daddy work”. Mom’s doing the right thing by leaving for a while, don’t blame her for that. Klara: What, you can’t just leave because things get a little tough. Ola: Maybe you should get away for a while too. You know, I never wanted you two to… That you… Everything’s gone. Klara: It will be fine. It will be fine. Ola: Sorry. I’m sorry.

In 2x09, Klara is at a party when she notices a bunch of missed calls from her dad. She immediately senses something is wrong and rushes home to find her dad having attempted suicide. It's executed very well and I really liked the more serious tone they went for in season 2.

It set up season 3 perfectly, which continued with the darker themes but balanced them very well with the more light-hearted moments.

Season 3: Finding one's footing

Season 3 was a highly anticipated season. I thought the season 2 finale was masterfully done and it left me wanting more. When season 1 finished on its cliffhanger of the video leaking, the focus only seemed to be on that.

But with season 2 there's Felicia/Ludde getting back together and Ludde having been sued by Jack, Jack threatening that he would leak all of the Kroon's family secrets, Klara's dad passing away, Elias deciding to get on the train and go to the draft combine anyway, Amie having finally become a recording artist but being isolated and heartbroken... There's so much to unpack, and it's a lot more interesting than the ending of season 1.

Where's Jack?

Jack is supposed to be the main villain but he's gone for most of the season, failing to show up until 3x05. In the season 2 finale Jack makes a huge deal about how he's going to destroy Felicia's life. He's threatening her in a very violent and abusive way.

Jack: [...] I know a lot about you, Felicia. And your nice family. It’s enough for me to leak to one news site. I can destroy you. Do you get it? I’ll tell them everything. The drugs, the cheating, your abortion! Felicia: Shut up! Jack: Hey. Huh? Did you seriously think I wanted to be with you? The little Kroon princess, who has gotten everything for free her whole fucking life! You and Elias! Like spoiled brats! You don’t understand what it means to fight for something!

In 2x10, Jack decides to report Ludde for assault but he doesn't follow through on destroying this family that he hates. If there's anything Jack seems to despise above all, it should be the Kroon family, right? So why did he fight back with Ludde but not the Kroon family?

I expected Jack to leak all the Kroon secrets at the beginning of season 3, but Felicia seems strangely calm at the funeral which I'm assuming only takes place two weeks or so after Ola's passing in the season 2 finale.

Then, a whole year passes with no indication that Jack is ever going to leak anything. As season 3 was airing, I commented on how strange this felt in an ask I received:

One of my main questions about the time jump is the whole thing with Jack saying he was going to ruin Felicia’s and the Kroon family’s reputation in the press. It seemed like nothing really came of that? I’m pretty sure that detail hasn’t been abandoned entirely and that Jack will come back (we’ve already seen a glimpse of him in the third episode), but it feels strange that Jack threatened to leak all her secrets and then just never did. I got the impression that Jack was a person who, when having his pride wounded, would do pretty much anything to get back at the person who insulted him. And yet there’s no mention of where Jack has been during that time or what he’s been doing. I feel like I would be pretty paranoid about this if I was Felicia, but we don’t see this haunting her until episode 3 when she sees a flash of Jack before realizing it was just some random guy. It seems strange that Felicia was relatively at ease during the funeral (which I assume took place not long after Jack first threatened her) and after the time jump. We don’t really know what’s been going on during that year, but Felicia seems to be fine and like she hasn’t had any thoughts of Jack at all. Maybe she assumed that his threats were empty and that he wouldn’t actually leak anything to the press, which is reasonable but at the same time I don’t understand why Jack has yet to do anything after a year. He was really pissed off in the season 2 finale, after all.

Going to repeat one of the things I wrote here because it deserves to be mentioned twice, and this point is one of my biggest issues.

I got the impression that Jack was a person who, when having his pride wounded, would do pretty much anything to get back at the person who insulted him.

I feel like this was kind of a plot hole that wasn't explained. Jack is ruthless and doesn't hold back at all when his true colors come out. He has no problem talking about the sexual relationship he had with Felicia in front of her father. Jack is just that horrible.

So what prevented him from ruining the Kroon family's lives earlier, when it seems to be the thing he's wanted for years?

Michael's predictable predicament

Michael first appears at the end of 3x04, where he calls Amie up to tell her he's her father.

Man: Hey! Sorry for calling so late. Is it Amie? Amie Condé? Amie: Yeah. Man: I saw you on TV the other day. I’m Michael Condé. I’m your father.

In the next episode, we get a voice-over of the continued conversation between him and Amie.

Michael: [...] I understand if it’s shocking. I’m in Oskarshamn for work for a few weeks and— Could we meet up someday?

So, it's clear what the writers are going for here. It's the estranged father who returns into the child's life when they've become successful. We're made to believe it's a Daddy Had a Good Reason for Abandoning You trope when Michael meets up with Amie and tells her why he left.

Michael: So Petra, she— Has she said anything about me? Amie: Well… That you moved from Sweden before I was born… That you’re working as a lawyer. That you didn’t want to see me. Michael: I was… I was young when we met. Your mom and I. And everything went really fast. I was in love, but she had feelings for somebody else. And when she found out that she— That she was expecting you, then… She didn’t want me there. She said I wasn’t father material. To some degree she might’ve been right, but… I wasn’t much older than you are now. I had just gotten into a law school in Berlin. When I finally came back to Sweden, then… She didn’t let me see you. I had already lost you by then, but I want you to know that I— I’ve thought of you. And about a week ago, I… I’m seeing you. On TV. There you are. With my last name. I’m so proud.

However, it's pretty easy to identify the holes in Michael's story. To be honest this whole storyline was predictable from the very start. Before Michael even came into the story, I made this post which pretty much summed up Michael's whole character when we didn't even know he existed yet (this was when 3x03 was the latest episode that had aired).

I don’t think we’ve heard any mention of Amie’s dad in the whole series except for 3x02 when Amie was being interviewed and was asked about the Condé name where she said that while Samuelsson was from her mother’s side, and Condé was from “the other side”. I found her word choice a little interesting. I don’t think Amie’s dad has passed—but rather that he’s alive and just chosen to not be a part of her life, which is why Petra seemed to be a little offended when asking Amie why she didn’t want her last name anymore. This might also be why Amie said “the other side” rather than “my dad’s side” because they have an estranged relationship. [...] I’m not really sure if they’ll do anything with Amie’s dad (maybe they’ll go for that trope where the parent who previously abandoned their child returns after the child has accomplished something big/something major happened and the parent wants something from them for personal gain?).

When we actually get to meet Michael and hear his explanation of why he left, I wrote this post pointing out some of the holes in this storyline.

Michael meeting Amie only after she’s become famous is a little suspicious, but it’s understandable if he previously thought she didn’t want to meet him and then sees her with his last name on national television. Obviously he would contact her after that. I feel like there were some question marks with Michael’s whole story though, and the fact that his work just conveniently happened to send him to Oskarshamn after he’d just seen Amie on TV. Maybe I’m missing something here, but how did he know Amie had gone back to Oskarshamn if he saw her living as a pop star in Stockholm? Was this information about Amie quitting the tour and going back to her hometown even online? If Elias (who actually witnessed Amie saying she was done and quitting) seemed taken aback when he saw Amie in Oskarshamn, then how did Michael know?

I do think Michael will return for season 4 though, so hopefully this storyline will be straightened out a little. We don't really know what Michael has been up for the past few years and if he has a family of his own. Maybe he'll contact Amie again to tell her she has some younger half-siblings?

They ended on sour terms, but if Michael does have his own family it's something Amie deserves to know and she can decide whatever she wants to do. I'd also like to see a Michael/Petra reunion, but I'm getting a little ahead of myself.

This storyline wasn't bad, and I do appreciate we got to find out what the situation with Amie's dad was. I also liked how I was able to sympathize with Michael. He's not entirely awful, even if he did put a lot of blame on Petra. It's one of those situations where you don't really know what it's like to be in Michael's position unless you've experienced it, and it's very realistic.

Plot holes

Some of the plot holes of season 3 that I've already mentioned are how Jack waited a whole year before leaking the Kroon family's secrets and how Michael conveniently knew Amie was in Oskarshamn when nobody seemed to know she was coming except her mom.

I actually don't mind that it was never explained how Michael got Amie's phone number either, because that's usually pretty easy to find with a Google search. Things like addresses, economic status, and even your criminal history are easily accessible in Sweden when googling someone's name. So finding someone's phone number is probably fairly easy as well.

On the other hand, one of the most glaring plot holes appeared in 3x08. In this episode entitled Lost, the Kroon family is frantically searching for Felicia who has gone missing. Leila and Elias knock on Petra's door to see if Amie is there and might know something about Felicia's whereabouts. Petra tells them Amie isn't there and they leave.

Someone left me an anonymous ask which I answered in this post, pointing out how it was strange that Elias didn't just call Amie to ask her when she wasn't at home. We know Elias has her number because they've been talking on the phone and texting each other several times before in the season.

In 3x08, when Elias and his mom go to Amie's house and ask Petra if Amie has seen or spoken to Felicia or whether she's home, I couldn't help but wonder, uh Elias why not just call Amie and ask her if she has seen or spoken to Felicia? [...] if Elias had called her and she heard how frightened him and his family were and police being involved she would have told him and then there would be no point in the 3x09 episode really.

This is a very strong point. You could argue that maybe Elias just didn't think of that but if they went out of their way to visit Amie's house only to not find her there, it would seem like calling her instead would just be a logical next step in the situation? Here's what I wrote in response to this ask.

This is an issue I had with 3x08 and 3x09 as well. I had a hard time actually enjoying the moment between Felicia, Klara, and Amie knowing that her family was getting increasingly worried for her and even thought for a short moment that Felicia was lying dead at the bottom of the ocean. All that could’ve been avoided. To add, it didn’t make a lot of sense to me that when Klara finally decided to call someone she called Amie instead of Elias. An ex-friend of Felicia’s instead of her brother who could’ve helped a lot more. What was Amie supposed to do when she showed up at the hotel, exactly? I know there was the thing with Klara only knowing Amie’s number off the top of her head, but there is no reason why she couldn’t have gone down to the reception while Felicia was sleeping and asked to use a computer just to get a quick message to Elias. Like, “hey, Felicia attempted something bad but she’s safe with me, we’re at this hotel in this room but she didn’t want me to call anybody, I don’t know what to do”. That would’ve been so much better than keeping quiet about the situation for nearly 24 hours. I know that Klara probably has trauma from leaving her dad at the hospital after his suicide attempt and that she probably didn’t want to go against Felicia’s wishes. I understand the first part 100%. But Felicia was in a very bad place emotionally and was thinking that her whole family hated her when that wasn’t the case. I feel like in a situation like that you kind of have to be the bad guy just to ensure the family that Felicia was safe. Even if everything turned out alright in the end, it could’ve gone so much worse if Felicia had wanted to be kept hidden for longer. [...] Elias calling Amie would’ve been an easy solution to this whole debacle but we would’ve lost the drama. It’s still somewhat of a plot hole though, like you said.

I understand it was done this way for dramatic effect, but that doesn't really patch up the plot hole.

I also found it strange how many people turned on Felicia after Jack ruined her reputation in the press. I talked about this in an ask I received.

I don’t understand why the public turned on Felicia so harshly. And Leila too, for that matter. The way Jack told the story about how these two women had things done to them should indicate that they’re not the ones to be blamed. If I read this article and found out an 18-year-old girl got pregnant by a “violent criminal” who forced her to abort and then abused her I would not be angry with the girl. I would be angry that she was physically abused and also outed on her sexuality for being bi. If I read this article and found out Leila had been cheated on by her husband repeatedly with her best friends, I wouldn’t be angry at her. I would not agree with the decision to turn to alcohol (same as Felicia turning to drugs), but I wouldn’t blame them. And I feel like a lot of people should’ve been on Leila’s side after finding out the reason why they divorced. I don’t understand why people are saying they’re disappointed in Felicia and calling her fake when she’s been through so much trauma in her life. I feel like if this actually happened in real life, all the blame would be shifted to the men because they’re the ones who—in this story—are painted as the bad guys (with the exception of Jack, considering he was anonymous).

I got another anonymous ask sent in after this, pointing out how the anger directed towards Felicia was considerably more about her drug use rather than the abuse she endured. Here was my response to that:

[...] the drug use should’ve been understandable considering the stuff Felicia had been through was also written in that article. I don’t know. I can understand people unfollowing her if they didn’t want their young children to be exposed to all the controversy, but it’s still strange that everything Felicia received was hate messages. Did everybody just skip over the part where the anonymous source stated that Felicia was violently forced to have an abortion by an ex-criminal and probably did so out of fear for her life? Yes, we know this is fake, but why didn’t anybody seem to mention this? [...] they seem to have written this storyline with the idea in mind that the public was against the whole Kroon family. Felicia got comments such as “So fucking disappointed in you and your family”, “What a nasty fucking family”, “You and your family are so fucking disgusting”. So I think Leila received plenty of hate for drinking instead of divorcing her husband sooner and basically turning a blind eye to all the problems her family went through. That’s what Jack told the press, at least. The anger seemed to be directed towards every member of the Kroon family and that didn’t make a lot of sense to me.

Again, this is something the writers did to dramatize the situation and they kind of forgot to consider that what Jack actually told the journalist wasn't as incriminating for Felicia and Leila as it were for Mats and Elias.

The magic of season 3

What season 3 really excelled in, to me, was delving into some more serious topics as well as showing the gradual development of Amie and Elias' relationship. Amie and Elias are the prime example of how a slow burn is so much better than having a couple get together too fast, like Felicia and Ludde did back in season 1.

While season 3 was still airing, I wrote a post dedicated to questions I had received about Elias and Amie. Here's one of the things I said about them:

I think Elias’ interest in her really started to grow after he saw how caring Amie was to Felicia, and later on connecting with her on how they both ended up back in Oskarshamn after following their dreams which didn’t exactly turn out the way they expected. Yes, Elias has always sort of been watching and admiring Amie from afar, but that interest didn’t start growing until he actually got to know her. The experiences they had in the US and Stockholm, respectively, probably changed their mindsets and in my opinion it makes so much more sense for them to get together now than it would’ve in season 1 or season 2.

I still believe that Elias and Amie are the best-written couple of the whole show (at least so far), because they just make sense. We'll see what season 4 has in store for them because we have yet to actually see them in a romantic relationship, but I feel like their personalities and characters just fit together really well.

Another thing I really appreciated was the depiction of Felicia and Ludde's declining relationship. Things like that happen so easily, and I liked how we see Felicia do this huge gesture of planning a picnic for Ludde in 3x04 but there were still underlying problems between them. It's like that in real life too—no matter how big of a romantic gesture you make, communication will always be the number one priority in any relationship and that's where Felicia and Ludde fall short.

The obvious disconnect between them when it comes to money is also important. It's been like this from the beginning, but season 3 gave us an actual conversation about it.

Felicia: Please, I can’t talk about this. Seriously. It was stupid of me to bring this up from the beginning. Fuck, I get such anxiety talking about the future— Ludde: You get anxiety? I’m the one walking around with no money in my account. Mom and dad had to get a loan to pay off mine and Andreas’ fines. I’m playing on a shitty old synth, and living off you like some leech. That’s anxiety. Felicia: Everything isn’t about money. Ludde: Says the one who has money. Felicia: Move out then, if it’s so fucking hard to feel like a leech.

This felt very realistic. Of course a person like Felicia wouldn't think money is everything when she's never experienced financial issues. She's able to move out into her own one-bedroom apartment as soon as she's turned 18, it seems, and doesn't worry at all about the cost of furnishing and decorating it. She didn't even pay for it herself, because Mats mentions he's the one on the mortgage loan. It seems like Felicia has never had an actual job either, and that's starting to worry her because she has no idea what she should be doing.

Felicia: [...] I don’t know what I’ll be or what I’ll do in the future. I don’t know that. Ludde: You’re still an influencer— Felicia: Don’t say I’m an influencer, please. Do you think I want to be that my whole life? It’s not even a career. I'm— I’m graduating next year, and I… My grades suck, and— I have no plan. I only have you. Not like that—I have you. That’s what I have. I want to be here, in Oskarshamn. I don’t want to go to the US and chase some dream and be a hockey wife. That’s not a life. Sometimes I wish neither of us had a plan, just us together here.

Felicia's character finally offers something interesting here, which I've waited for since season 1. She's not just a party girl anymore who has issues with drugs. She's a privileged teenager who is co-dependent on the guys she meets and who has anxiety about the future, to the point where she wishes she could stay in Oskarshamn in her little apartment forever stuck in limbo.

She has to face a harsh reality when Ludde decides to break up with her, and later on when her name is slandered in the press and people all over the country are sending her hate messages. Her own family is furious with her and Felicia has nobody. She's pushed away a lot of people and her mental state is just crumbling in front of our eyes.

It's a strong storyline and actually very well executed. Almost everything gets taken away from her, and at the end of 3x07 you can almost feel what Felicia is feeling. We've been with her through this whole journey, almost, and we understand why she feels like suicide is the only answer.

It's tough to watch that final scene of 3x07. It's greatly amplified by Alva Bratt's superb acting, but the writing of the journey there is also amazing. It's very difficult to write a sensitive storyline like this.

Overall, I don't have a lot of critique towards season 3. I loved most of the episodes. I elaborated on this further in a separate post:

[Episodes 3x04 and 3x05] showcased what Eagles should be all about so well, which is relationships plus the struggles you go through as a teenager in a small town, and then of course hockey. The hockey game episodes are really good, even if I don’t think 3x05 topped 2x05 (the game where Ludde got tackled and knocked out). I loved the contrast in Date night of the budding relationship between Elias and Amie and then that fight between Felicia and Ludde on the cliff. [...] It was interesting to see how this sweet gesture from Felicia turned into a fight between the two of them. I thought that was very realistic, because no matter how big of a gesture Felicia made to apologize there were still underlying problems that they needed to talk about. I also loved the “non-date” between Elias and Amie in this episode. It was cute to see them goofing off before the movie started and then talking about it on the way home. I liked how Elias could connect to her on how they had both returned to Oskarshamn. The recent episodes that dropped last week (3x08 and 3x09) were very strong and discussed some important subject matters [...] They were dark, but not necessarily bad because they needed to happen. However, I have to say that I prefer Eagles when it’s about hockey and teenage relationships. 3x04 and 3x05 made me kind of nostalgic for season 1 and I liked the vibe they both had.

Eagles season 3 is in my opinion the best season of the show so far, and we haven't seen any signs suggesting that there is any reason for season 4 to not be even better.

Season 4: Hopes and wishes

Considering how each season has been increasing in quality bit by bit, I have pretty high hopes for the writing in season 4. I'm excited to see how the transition from teenager to young adult will be portrayed in the main characters, and what their future will hold for them after they've graduated.

My main questions are if Felicia and Ludde will find their way back to each other or if they'll remain broken up (that would be realistic as well), if Klara will reconcile with her mom, what's in store for Elias's hockey career, and if Amie will leave her label and maybe opt for something more independent.

I also want to see how Felicia deals with the new home she's checked in to, and if Ludde will in fact go to the school now that it seems Andreas will be getting into trouble again.

Amie and Klara are kind of wild cards here, because it somewhat feels like they've already reached their happy endings. Amie is famous and successful in her pop music career, and Klara has found her place as a businesswoman following in her father's footsteps. Maybe these developments should've come in season 4 instead of rushing them.

Nonetheless, I have faith in the writers. The writing suffered a little in seasons 1 and 2 but it has gotten better. Most of the things I pointed out about season 3 were just small details in an otherwise stellar season.

In conclusion...

This post was critical, but I tend to be critical of every show I watch. Eagles is still a very special show for me and having grown up in a Swedish small town myself I'm very fond of the show and its characters.

So huge thanks to the creator, Stefan H. Lindén, for making this show a reality and also to the director Carl-Petter Montell for contributing to the writing in season 3. And of course the writers of the show which include Michaela Hamilton, Fanny Ekstrand, and Anton Nyberg (plus Amanda Adolfsson who helped write 1x02 and 1x05 and Simon Ekbäck Nordström who is credited for helping with the hockey scenes in 3x05).

I hope you guys enjoyed this long, long post and major kudos to you if you read this far!