#ep: sometimes you hear the bullet

[random-fandom-whump]

M*A*S*H S01E17

[firefly-fez]

My Top 5 Most Emotional M*A*S*H Moments in Emoji Form (So As To Avoid Spoilers)

5. 😷🗣✈️💥💔⚰️

4. 🧸

3. 🦅👀 😭🥇⏳+ 🧑‍⚕️🚫🪙📏#️⃣1️⃣

2. 👧🛟⏳

1. 🐓

[softie-bat]

my take on sagau ... ♡

if you cant tell , my mental sillies make me a sucker for the obsessive cult aspect of sagau (burn me at the stake i guess) but idk the whole "imposter" thing feels weirdddddd i always prefer creator!reader to be like isekai'd into teyvat yk (can you tell i used to be obsessed with the kuroshitsuji time travel au .....) ?? anyways have this while i decide if i want this to be a full series or just a mini series

notes : gn!reader , creator!reader , r is not traveler , they them used , this - like most of my writing - is self indulgent hinted with some projection , bulleted list cause its 4am when im typing this and acrylic nails suck , i mainly refer to reader as either r or creator enjoy <3 i wrote this while listening to this playlist ♡

okay so i feel like the self awareness began longgggg before this takes place ok

starts out with traveler , then albedo , then kaeya , etc

it takes a while but albedo finally finds a way to bring r to teyvat

i imagine that the acolytes can hear r when they play (esp the traveler)

if you're like me and dote on all of the characters you have they eat that shit uppppp bro

anyways so now r is isekai'd into teyvat yayyyy

it takes them a whileeeee to get used to being an all-powerful being cause like .......... ??? social anxiety ?? inability to communicate with neurotypical people ? depressive and manic eps ?????? mood swings ?????

eventually they kinda fall in the swing of things

damn if i was stuck in teyvat id just deal with it. you got some other way out ???

i view the acolytes as being obsessive in nature once r is like ....... there with them ( with due respect , that is the "creator" n all .... )

immediately wanting you to find a suitor ( or multiple )

by like the second month of being in teyvat r is WORNNNNN OUTTTT

everyone basically walks on egg shells around them oHMY GODDDDD

r has to basically beg the acolytes to stop being WEIRDDDDDDDDD

they feel weird being treated like a god ( well ....... )

they do kinda like their dreamy palace tho <3 its nice n has really cozy beds to nap in

their acolytes are also more than eager to nap with them om gee

r is a big fan of hanging out with the twins ( i like to think they're reunited when the creator comes to teyvat <3 ) they've all been to so many diff worlds they have a lot to chat about ( and also the twins are really the only charas to be semi chill around r )

oh ok random but also

r is visiting mondstadt and plays minecraft songs on the lyre and everyone goes CRAZYYYY

"it's their divinity's holy songs!!!!" cue the inner giggling cause its literally just minecraft music you memorized in like middle school

r is lowkey a huge flirt too once they get comfortable in teyvat ( they most likely hope this is just a dream and when they return home if they return home ...... that it'll have no real consequence cause it's EMBARASSINGGGG )

this leads to

well

jealousy lol

the acolytes basically beg them to find a consort or suitor or whtvr ( or even multiple :thumbsup: )

r tries to be fair and choose like 3 from each nation but cmonnnn ,,,,, wom en fdjfheskrf.vja

genshin makes me [ cries in bisexuality ] i wanna make out with like half of the characters

anyways def lots of fights between the nations about where their aforementioned palace will go ( r decides to station in inazuma , preferably near kokomi's shrine place ) and since r can still use the teleport points , it's fine by them if they wanna visit venti for some dandelion wine or zhongli for tales and tea

overlooking the whole imposter or villain au's i like to think being isekai'd into teyvat would be pretty chill

oooo r def likes to hangout / help out in bakeries n stuff

they're also besties with hu tao ( they kiss sometimes probably )

r and cyno have so many inside jokes pls help

idk maybe i'll continue this later or add onto it but im sleepy night guys

[greenygal]

Due South s1 recs, part 5:

Obviously there will be some overlap for the last three eps; I sorted the recs according to careful and considered judgment whatever seemed like a good idea.

Victoria's Secret, Part 1

Of all the things that hurt my heart about “Victoria’s Secret,” Fraser letting Ray down about the party is not least of them, and so I begin with Ray:

On a Cloth Untrue, with a Twisted Cue (Loose Affiliation, Part One), by spuffyduds (Fraser/Ray V, pre-slash)

Never again, by Silvina

Telling Stories, by Luzula (Fraser/Victoria)—Victoria tells herself stories about how else her life might have gone.

Come With Me, by Zabira (Fraser/Victoria)—In prison, Victoria remembers how it was at Fortitude Pass. Long, vivid, and painful.

Fade to White, by dance_across (Fraser/Victoria)—Victoria ties Fraser to his bed. Fraser isn’t saying no.

Safe, by ButterflyGhost (Fraser/Victoria)—Fraser is in her arms, and he can’t remember when he’s felt so safe.

***

Victoria's Secret, Part 2

Icebound Stream, by sisabet—A classic vid about the passion and violence of Fraser and Victoria’s relationship, also known as The One With The Polar Bears.

What Victoria did after Fraser fell and the train pulled away:

Five Minutes After, by Shayheyred

The Woman in Seat Thirty-Eight, by Melanie Mitchell

Invictus, by the_secret_history

When the Ice Cracks and You Fall Through, by Ride_Forever—I just love the imagery here.

Still Love, by xtricks (Fraser/Ray V, one-sided)—"He didn't even know who he was praying for. He was surprised the name of God didn't burn his mouth because if there were a damned soul walking tonight, it was him.”

Perfect, by Melanie M—Frannie slowly realizes that something is very wrong.

Alternate takes:

Dysmas, by MSSalieri—Fraser went with Victoria, and that’s all I will say.

Caroline's Vigil, by Gloria Lancaster—Fraser’s father gives him two visions of a world where he left. The vision of Ray has stuck with me for a long time.

Turns of Tempest, by Luzula (Fraser/Victoria)—Victoria puts aside her plan to betray Fraser. In the end, it doesn’t help.

Smeared, by belmanoir—An observation about fingerprints.

Welcome, by belmanoir—Fraser comes to the Vecchio house for the first time after VS.

Taken in Stride, by Brigantine—Short, but I am intrigued by the comparison of Ray’s parents’ marriage and Fraser’s relationship with Victoria.

She recited a poem, by gardnerhill—Sometime post-VS, Fraser’s been shot again, and as Ray works desperately to save him, the only poem he has is a prayer.

***

Letting Go

And Then Victory, by dance_across—Frannie sits with Fraser while he’s unconscious.

The Human Touch, by Voyagerbabe—A child in the hospital wants to know what happened to Fraser.

Gone, by spuffyduds—Ray hears from Victoria.

Letting Go, by MirrorMasque (Fraser/Ray V, one-sided)—There are things Ray won’t tell Fraser about what happened. Dark.

Longer Ray-POV looks at the aftermath of Victoria’s Secret and the events of Letting Go:

A Single Bullet, by crosscountry07

In Between Time, by sheron

Such a Pathetic Pair (Loose Affiliation, Part 2), by spuffyduds (Fraser/Ray V, pre-slash)

And that’s all! Thanks, everyone, it’s been fun sharing!

[neurodivenport]

Okay, can you make a post of your hc's for Chase? I love hearing others opinions of him lol

thank u for giving me the opportunity to talk about my favorite guy, here’s a lil bulleted list of headcanons bc i think about him a lot

• this is an obvious one but he is the most autistic man i’ve ever seen in my life. sensory issues, hyperfixations, rambling, lack of social cues?? boy is autistic!

• his favorite genre of music is classical but i think he has a hidden love for disco. his siblings have caught him singing along to earth wind & fire in the shower sometimes and have definitely used it as blackmail

• he will never admit it but he’s very easy to fall for people. he’s been made fun of most of his life, the right kind of affection and admiration immediately gives him heart eyes. he falls very hard and fast whether its platonic or romantic

• despite that i think he does have a bit of trust issues when it comes to really opening up because of sebastian and reese, which is why he kinda comes off stand-offish or jerkish sometimes

• has a superiority complex with his intelligence but not really with anything else, i think he's pretty insecure outside of that realm, and unfortunately his family never helped with that :/

• huuuuuge star wars nerd. i always think about that one ep of the rats + leo at a fan convention.

• he’s bisexual 100%! i have an idea that he realized it because he realized that he liked looking at one of bree's boyband posters a little too much (he probably made her take it down with the claim "that's too girly for the lab" but in reality he was just simping)

• i think he's very observant. you may think he's busy & not listening but then a week later he'll bring up something that you even forgot you said. dudes head is a computer

• i think he has a huge list of guilty pleasure hobbies that he'd never tell anyone, he's a super genius with unlimited brain space, he's filled it up in other ways; sewing (kinda proven by ep 5 of elite force), crocheting, i think he composes music in his free time

thaaaats all i can think of rn. there's probably more but my brain is mush today </3

[door]

idk if anyone's asked this before - but could you talk about your planner/journal/etc setup? I'm reworking mine and I also just love hearing people talk about what works for them.

hi! i would love to! it's not very fancy, haha. I use a hobonichi weeks!

It's a spring start because that's what was available when I decided I wanted to try one last year, and I've found I like not having to switch to a new planner in the midst of everything else at the end of the year.

The weeks is the ideal size for me and provides space for all the things I need it to, so I just did the same thing this year. I wanted something with pre-filled dates that had some empty space but not too much (I considered the techo this year but i just cannot fill that much empty space on a daily basis). The plastic cover and dedicated planner pen are new innovations for 2023--I like them both a lot! I keep the Kaweco Sport with it all the time. It's the only pen I use with cartridges.

I am very much not a bullet journaler, so my weekly space tends to mostly be used for to-do lists and such, sometimes I'll decorate with washi tape or stickers. None so far this year, due to ~depression~

Here are some cute pages from last year's. I used to note down every podcast ep I listened to, but I think the time for that has passed. All my fountain pens are dry at the moment, hence only green ink in the current planner. This, too, is courtesy of depression.

I have a leuchtturm 1917 journal, but have accepted that I am really not a person who journals. I keep it in my work bag and it gets used mostly for note-taking when I attend conferences or lectures. It's very nice! I love the paper quality and the grid.

(these are older photos, from before my pens became sad)

[thealogie]

are there any mash eps from seasons 1-3 that are worth watching other than abyssinia henry and sometimes you hear the bullet? ive already seen the show as god intended (s4-11) but wondered abt the earlier seasons. from random clips ive seen there's a lot more sexist shit toward margaret so im not super enthused

Tuttle and Adam’s ribs come to mind. Yeah the sexism is a lot more overt but I’d honestly recommend watching the whole thing if you can stomach it. It’s interesting and there are little gems throughout

[sapphicscholar]

Hacks 2.03 and 2.04 Thoughts

Like Ava, I’m trusting the process even when it’s painful, and I’m still watching with an eye toward critical generosity. That being said, some (though certainly not all!) of my thoughts verge on the critical this week as a heads up. Thoughts are below the cut for spoilers (because I had to get this word vomit out so I could start my actual workday haha)

1. I’ve seen a few other people say this already, but the episodes feel a little more disjointed this season with the episodic nature of being on the road and on tour. I don’t mind that in and of itself, but I think it’s also led to this season’s feeling less cohesive in the overarching narrative at least in part because we’re being told more things this season vs. last season when we actually saw most of the action (e.g., we keep hearing that Deborah’s bombing, but, until ep 4, we were largely seeing her get laughs and punchlines in, even if they weren’t the best). So rather than *seeing* the process, we’re often hearing about it via meta commentary for better or worse (again, I think you do what you can with 8 episodes and what seems like an ambitious story to tell and tour to take the characters on)

2. I really loved the scene where Deborah steps in and makes Weed stop the bus to let Ava go look for her dad’s ashes, and the final “fuck it” moment of shedding her fur coat to climb into a literal dumpster to help look was exactly the kind of narrative payoff and emotional catharsis I know and love from this show!

3. Deborah’s always had the capacity for meanness and real cruelty toward others, but this season I feel like we’re seeing more of it directed at strangers, people in the workplace, and even fans--all of whom in S1 we saw Deborah being fairly collegial and even downright friendly with (which set her up from the start, imo, as different from, say, a Miranda Priestly, even though she could be just as cutting). Again, I think part of it is the seeing vs telling thing - I know theoretically that Deb’s frustrated about the tour going poorly, so it would make sense for her to be lashing out more. But because we’re seeing so little of it, I’m not feeling it as much

4. On the other hand, Deborah’s deliberately making Ava jealous (sometimes using and tossing aside others to do it) feels exactly the right amount of petty, and the way she’s doing it, MY GOD, it’s fucking L Word levels of gay 

5. Curious to see what we do with all of Ava’s very vocal pledges to clean living and very visible backsliding (largely encouraged by those around her, which makes sense! The entertainment business is a hard place for sobriety, as are a lot of the most visible spaces for queer life)

6. Look...I could write a whole separate post on ep 4 alone, but bulleted thoughts:

I get that it’s necessary for Deborah’s growth (comedic and personal) both to bomb in this painful obvious way AND ALSO to have some of the really shitty ways she’s talked about whole groups of people drawn out into the open, not for laughs but for scorn. THAT DOES NOT MAKE IT LESS PAINFUL TO WATCH. Holy shit an entire childhood spent in comedy clubs and bar basements, and that’s still in the top 3 worst things I’ve seen go down on a stage

The first 10 minutes or so...idk. I get that we’ve got a queer cast and not totally straight writing staff and all, but a lot of the jokes felt less like we were having a good in-on-the-joke kind of time and more of a laugh at the expense of queer women (like c’mon, why does the first woman to approach Ava have to be creepy about it?) Going into it (esp after having heard so much about how queer fans would LOVE this ep), I think I wanted The L Word Olivia Cruise episode vibes, and instead, it felt like I was watching Friends at first

BUT by the end, the episode felt like it had swung around enough so we could see that Deborah was the problem (the internalized misogyny, the way that she has such deep-rooted problems with a lesbian audience, the doubling down on it all), but I don’t think I personally ever shook my unease from the beginning of the episode

I really, deeply appreciated Ava’s conversation with Deborah during the manicure (so many thoughts about hands and queer erotics...). It gives a lot more nuance to conversations about sexuality than we generally get on screen. Esp after Ava’s brash comments in early S1, this felt like a chance for Ava to be serious with Deborah; she isn’t trying to shock Deborah to get the upper hand anymore, but is instead talking through a lot of things she’s had to process and think through herself, and I SO, SO appreciated it. 

I do hope we return to some of this because I think Ava can and should have a chance to talk to Deborah after that set... echoing a brief conversation I had with @softdeb, the molly-fueled awkward dancing at sea was, um, a choice, and I hope it’s not the last we’ll see of that arc

Also the question of Deborah’s relationship to desire and intimacy felt not nearly so settled as some comments in interviews made it out to be! It feels live and open to me. This isn’t an argument for canonicity or anything, but I do think there’s still much to be interrogated after that meltdown at sea

Oh Marcus... I can and will not talk about the puppy who deserves better 

Deborah’s phone call to Marcus was also so very good. I have a lot of care for both of these two deeply flawed, human characters--and a lot of thoughts about their history--and seeing them have this moment of being able to see each other/be seen while sitting amidst the rubble of all the ways they’ve fucked up was gorgeous. It’s what I’m here for in this show, and ending on that note was enough to make me hopeful

[marley-manson]

@charlesemersonwinchesteriii replied to this post:

I never really understood why people kept calling that scene a big hawkbeej moment, so I'm relieved I'm not alone in that haha. Also you make an excellent argument that Hawkeye doesn't actually "get worse" as the show progresses, which I'd never thought about before! I know people talk about his coping mechanisms becoming less effective in later seasons and I always just passively agreed with that cause I'm not super focused on him and also I've never watched any of the episodes in order (woops!) but now you're making me really think about it..... hmmm..... I can totally see this as another instance of fandom seeing a character arc where there isn't actually one, just like with Charles. Just for myself, the only concrete change I could point to noticing is the obvious and intentional "learns to Respect Women" thing. But I don't know if that's just me not being smart enough to see things lol

lol yeah to me it’s like, yep BJ’s def acting like a guy who’s known Hawkeye for a couple weeks and is totally out of his depth, which is fine and understandable but not really shippy to me. But also tbf I’d prefer that even if I was a huge hawkbeej shipper because I’m not much of an ‘instant magical connections and understanding’ person when it comes to romance tropes anyway.

But I mainly c/ped your comment so I could respond at greater length to the rest of it, so! I definitely don’t think you’re missing anything (and ik we’ve talked about it before but yeah I also very much agre with you about Charles).

tbf I think Alan Alda is the one who said that Hawkeye’s coping mechanisms get less effective, but it’s not the first time I’ve disagreed with his takes on the show lol. And I don’t have a fully solidified take on Hawkeye’s “character arc” tbf. But yeah my impression is that it’s not that Hawkeye changes, it’s that the tone of the show changes. Hawkeye does get more dramatic episodes and he does get more sad monologues as the show goes on, but he never stops balancing them out with humour and hope, he had plenty of sad monologues in the early seasons too, and he never falls apart to the extent that he did in Dr Pierce Mr Hyde or The Late Captain Pierce. Some of the later episodes reference the war getting to him and making him act out in petty ways, eg Dear Uncle Abdul, but like, so did Bananas Crackers and Nuts, the 7th episode of the show. Plus arguably his worst experience throughout the show, give or take GFA, was season 1′s Sometimes You Hear the Bullet, with Abyssinia Henry not far behind either.

He’s always been portrayed as someone who feels deeply and is greatly affected by the war and who’s barely coping - the funnier tone of the early seasons made it slightly less obvious, but it’s still pretty apparent. The dramatic tone of the later seasons gives the writers more leeway to show how affected he is, but again like, he’s never worse than he was in some of the earlier eps until the finale. And I tend to think that the prevailing idea that Hawkeye gets steadily worse emotional stability and mental health-wise throughout the show sells the early seasons short. If I mentally sort of compensate for the tone shift in my head, I don’t see Hawkeye changing - I just see the stress being framed with more black humour in the first half of the show and with more earnest drama in the second half.

I mean logically it makes sense that the more time you spend in a war zone the worse you’ll feel lol, and with the tone shift it’s easy to see why it’s such a common take. But yeah, I just don’t see it myself, at least beyond a potentially deliberate sense of exhaustion in season 11 when they knew they were wrapping up.

And actually I also think the respecting women angle is like, not really the case, imo? I think it’s something the writers were sort of trying for so it’s definitely telegraphed as a thing in several episodes, and it’s kind of become common knowledge that Hawkeye gets more respectful towards women so I def don’t think you’re wrong to pick up on it. I just think the writers failed to sell it at all lol. Like he presumably learned a lesson in Inga eg, but it’s forgotten afterwards as the show goes right back to using his now pathetic attempts at womanizing as a source of humour. He’s definitely less crass to Margaret when they become friends but he never completely stops objectifying her. He has a sad monologue about not wanting to date a 20 year old because he’s too jaded in Show Biz, but he turned down even just casual sex with a 20 year old in season 3 because she was too young for him, so that’s not actually a change, as much as the writers tried to make it seem like one.

And Who Knew (nonsensically) recontextualizes his womanizing as a fear of committment and emotional vulnerability (in the satirical seasons it was a distraction from the war) and suggests Hawkeye getting over that, but Who Knew is ooc, and again he goes right back to pathetic womanizing in other season 11 episodes, like Blood and Guts. He even hits on an orderly in the psych hospital in GFA lol, and the Hawk/Margaret kiss is a (frankly cute imo) throwback to early sexual harassment-y episodes like There’s Nothing Like a Nurse where he kissed her goodbye, or Abyssinia Henry where he told Henry to kiss her goodbye lol. So like, if the writers were aiming to show Hawkeye changing his attitude towards women, I don’t think they did a very good job, basically.

But yk I do think it’s fair to take the later seasons in the probable spirit intended and view Hawkeye getting less misogynist as an arc. I just don’t personally. But also I don’t think Hawkeye was ever misogynist in the way Inga implied, and I think the later show often misrepresented the womanizing a little to condemn it (eg Show Biz and Who Knew again) so yk. I just prefer a happy medium there lol

[tm-trx]

La Pluie, ep 11

Back at it, with adjusted expectations on lock.

sp*ilers below the cut:

My notes in bullet point form, as I was watching:

So Patts is mad. Why exactly? Who at? Tai for breaking their bond? Himself for losing his temper so badly? Just the whole situation? All we got was flashbacks to the argument and the break up, with no context of what he’s angry about. And then we didn’t get any clarification later when his friends were trying to help.

One thing I really love about this show is the friendship support that Tai and Patts have. Bow is by turns, quietly supportive and enthusiastically encouraging; and the vet gang are great advice givers.

I do hate that the big Tien and Tai conversation is set a week after the break up, because in reality they are so close that they would have talked at least the next day, if not that night. But I know that tv production reasons trump narrative at times. So I’m sure they had to try and bridge some gaps with one conversation. It still feels awkward.

Oh look at that: Lomfon figured out that it wasn’t actually love he was feeling and apologized. Kid gained another level in maturity. HAH Tai just said the same thing. I’m good. LOL

It’s literally only been a week and Patts is ready to throw in the towel and resign. And he said he’d already been thinking of it? When? Sometime earlier in the week? Before Tai started talking back during rain storms? Context please, Patts.

The Wedding

I can’t get over how gorgeous Tai’s mother is. She’s stunning.

So Tien is the only one who knows that Tai has lost his soulmate bond. He really is a good brother for being able to keep such a personal thing to himself until Tai is ready to tell others.

This conversation between Tai and his parents is breaking my heart in the good way. It is definitely something he needs to hear. I was so glad when they said they could still hear each other. I was half expecting that we’d find out they had lost their bond at some point, and that it contributed to the separation. I think it would have worked either way, to show Tai that a soulmate bond isn’t everything he thought it was, but I do think it is better that they still have it. It’s the way I was hoping this world worked. I’m guessing that platonic bonds are a thing too, just maybe not as common.

But Tai, I need you to tell them you broke your own bond. (It’s unclear whether his dad knows that aspect of the break up.) I need that reveal. For the catharsis.

Oh, a family group hug is okay too, I guess. I just love them all. Even you, Uncle Nu.

Where I’m at now:

Depending on how next week goes, I have tentatively put it on my rewatch list. Because I need to see how it works with different expectations going in from the very beginning.

“No matter what will happen, please don’t leave each other alone.” ow ow ow [i love it, give me more.]

[castle-dominion]

castle 7x8 kill switch

the esposito train bomb episode liveblog

Heehee I'm so excited for this!

I tried to kms today so I got the day off from school after getting home from the hospital. I'm not going to spend much time doing homework tho I'm going to watch castle instead I think after a cide attempt I deserve to watch some Castle.

Married <3

RC: We’re like Nick and Nora Charles. KB: Ooh, like McMillan and Wife. RC: Hart to Hart. KB: Turner and Hooch. RC: Turner and Hooch aren’t even married. KB: Yeah, but you still remind me a little of Hooch.

Yay samebrain moments but give me ryan & esposito being smart too not just becks & sometimes castle. Oh no I just remembered this episode. Forget my wish.

My man the guest star has nice eyes.

Sounds like money laundering to me Healthcare fraud, I mean tbh Canada has pretty bad healthcare in comparison to some places, it is only good compared to the usa.

whose desk is castle at? whose family photo?

RC: I feel the heavy hand of conspiracy. KB: Yeah, well, what else is new? "skullduggery" the federal teat RC: No. But I will once you identify who met Paul at the park. XD Talks to both, hands to becks

Ran the image past tense *is running it now* RC & me: Jared Stone, misdemeanor computer trespassing? TE: Otherwise known as hacking.

KR: You have to admit, Castle’s theory is surprisingly logical. *RC nods* KB: Yes. And it’s conveniently unburdened by evidence. btw where esposito? Oh there Craigslist???? srs?

YAY CAR SCENE MY GUYS JUST CATCHING UP

Espt's face! Bro u'r already a dad, what about tommy & joey? KR: Well, you know, the thing of it is, is you know what it’s like not having a father. You’d make sure your kid never felt that way. JE: Maybe I’m ready for more than that. Coming from mr fear of commitment! Also does anyone else remember the episode in s8? {the sonjia ruiz episode?} JE: Did you hear that? That sound? KR: No. What sound? *looks around the car* JE: That’s my biological clock ticking. Tick, tock. Tick, to-- *Laughs* KR: We were having a genuine, honest moment here. And you had to-- ruin it! by,, being a jackass!, W--

JE: Hold on hold on slow down slow down Me: Again from the top now again from the top now & tell me everything tell me everything?

"hang tight" love the diction yay train station finally new york Lost him XD Earbud phone call Holding it like youre playing President His voice sounds cracky & dry

JE: Hey, bro. (listens) Yeah, followed him down into the subway. I’m looking for him now. KR: What, you lost him? JE: No, I didn’t lose him. I just … don’t have visual contact. KR: That’s kind of splitting hairs, isn’t it? Look, I’ll head down there and I’ll – JE: No, you stay there. I’ll – wait, I see him. He’s at my 12. He’s moving fast. He’s scared, like someone’s after him. "my 12" I love clock directions

YOU are the one following him!

Ryan's probably hella afraid rn w his partner on the train

lol acab. Do that tag babey.

Her gun would NOT be set up to shoot. There is no bullet in the chamber & the safety is on. This is a semi automatic so you don't need to cock in between each shot, but you do need to pull once once to get the bullet in the chamber.

People have taken their guns all the time, like I think the ninja ep or the hong kong ep, obv 3xk, & several times to beckett. But why does SHE have a weapon? Is this was USA cops are like? I thought that just la police nationale had guns for cheap cops who report people for silly graffiti.

His own hand is on his gun now. If it was good for the plot Esposito would have shot him already probably. Esposito itchy trgger finger rn. But aren't new yorkers used to this they just don't pay attention to guns pulled on the subway?

Is that REALLY how the brakes work? all the sparks like that? Where is the engineer? Do the lights do that?

Say ok & do it SLOWLY & remove the ammunition bro

Ooh intense. Love this all. Phones & guns & blunt instruments & acab wow jared so valid bestie. But also these people are trying to get to work.

It's just a phone bro but yeah good job everyone

Why are you yelling at him NOW of all times? I thought it would be best to keep things quiet on your end, radio silence. Seaking of radios why aren't you on the radio already & are you recording the phone call? (& why is Ryan's contact jjust "Ryan" not his full name? Oh wait I just realized, Ryan was silent until now for radio silence purposes & now he's yelling bc "javi"'s phone has been taken away.

title card & I have been watching this for like four hours or smth. No probably closer to two. Granted I've also been doing a million other things.

Bella & Ty my beloved. But be quiet & let the captor think. Grant also my beloved.

Apologize bro.

Evacuating because the brake was pulled duh or wait no they SHOULD wait for the intercom & THEN leave. Yeah. Except espt was phone ryan. yes PLEASE hit redial.

Nobody was talking bro! Except.. they were

Girl these three get their weapons taken All the time

Marisa Aragon & Javier Esposito. First names babes.

Love Grant. What a man.

JS: I think you’ll get your chance. ... (so good)

My bonvolio chorus here from VG: I’ve just been informed that Jared Stone, a person of interest in the Paul Reeves case, drew a gun on a subway and took hostages, including Detective Esposito. *KB is SHOCKED* At this point, it’s not clear why Jared Stone … VG: Right now, our sole priority is to gather any and all information on Jared Stone so the hostage rescue team will know who we’re dealing with. All intel comes to me so I can forward it directly to HRT. They should be on the scene right now.

Captain Bigalow/Bigelow depending on the transcipr or the captions & Detective Ryan. Sir he's a hack-- *I pause it to liveblog*

Solid <3

KR: Hey, Beckett. I’m sorry. KB: Kevin, no one could have seen this coming. (first names <3) KR: No, no. He’s my partner. I should have never let him go in there alone. KB: We’ve gotta focus on getting Javi out of there. So once you brief HRT just head over to Stone’s apartment. (First names <3) KR: .? Leave the scene? (Aaaah) KB: Look, there’s nothing that you can do that HRT isn’t already doing. And if we want to help Javi out, then the best thing that we can do is find out who Jared Stone is and why he is doing this. And some of those answers might be at his apartment. It’s the last thing KR wants to do. KR: Okay. I’ll check it out and let you know. KB hangs up.

Idk how much I want to clip I just want to clip So Much

Lanie!

Can't they remontely access people's phones? grave disruption of trust & privacy?

Ooh I love becks' voice rn. Good for the plot to have a cam tho ig. love it.

Wow. yay. another cop.

Love Jared playing classical music to either get him happy, calm him down, or get him pumped for killin. Or calm himself down. (Fic idea: esposito like music to calm down. vent fic.) She is like me, doesn't rly know what's going on but still rly skilled & aware. I kind of haate Aragon but I also kinda like her.

JE: I might need you to back me up. Can you do that? (Back me up, great words.) She nods. MA: What’s your play? JS’S condition is getting worse. He’s jerky and nervous and keeps taking hits off his inhaler. JE: Talk to him. Try to get him see the light, then disarm him if I get the chance. (Cheers ig) MA: I should talk to him. (JE does a double take which I sadly will not clip) I’m the one wearing the Kevlar. (tru) JE: Yeah, but I’ve already got a rapport with the guy, so… (Also true) MA: A bad rapport. (She isn't wrong) MA: I know what this is. I’m just a transit cop. (Or he trusts himself more since he has training in this???) MA: You gold shield guys always acting like you’re better than us. JE: We are better than you. (Asshole) (But he's right in the sense that he has more training & experience relevant to this. probably.) He smirks. She glares at him. He ignores her. JE: Mr. Stone! (JS takes his earbuds out) Permission to speak? (polite. smart.) JS: (gestures With His Gun) Go ahead.

wdym not here?

just *has a bomb* like ok

Ooh a dead man switch, interesting...

Plot twist!

Good point, 1% does not take the subway. Heck even the 2 & 3 %ers don't take subway.

he remembers which phone is espt's?

Julian & LT XD remove your shoes so valid bro

Wealth management. obv lol. You know I lost some people close to me & inherited a little over a thousand canadian since watching this the first time & now I actually need to know how to manage wealth. Some of tha advice my grandpapa's money guy told us was like,, 20-50 years out of date, or weird (like "if you teach your 30 ppl you do good but if you make 3 people teach 30 pl each for you then you get 90 people for the work of only doing 3" & I'm like 'what so the three original ppl I taught don't get paid for teaching 30 ppl? that isn't meritocracy (what ppl think

Wealth management. obv lol. You know I lost some people close to me & inherited a little over a thousand canadian since watching this the first time & now I actually need to know how to manage wealth. Some of tha advice my grandpapa's money guy told us was like,, 20-50 years out of date, or weird (like "if you teach your 30 ppl you do good but if you make 3 people teach 30 pl each for you then you get 90 people for the work of only doing 3" & I'm like 'what so the three original ppl I taught don't get paid for teaching 30 ppl? that isn't meritocracy (what ppl think capitalism is), that is employee abuse & a pyramid scheme' but go off) but a lot of it is also good & smart! You know the math where you smoke a cigarette a day (except sundays) & it's $10/pack & there are 12 in a pack & so you do the math & could afford a house if you didn't smoke? Yeah well you don't smoke so why don't you have a car? Pretend you smoke. Put away five dollars every week, & then it eventually adds up. They say "& one day you can put away $10/week or $50" but that is partially only if you start getting paid more, which these days often doesn't happen. (Ofc you can increase it some ways by like being aware of your costs & then you will find you have that extra to put away but the big numbers? You need a better paying job.) Oh & one of the worst pieces of advice: "For five years I didn't see my friends at all, I missed all their weddings, & now I'm rich. Now I'm rich I only work an hour & a half a day & it's a job I like (talking to people & doin money math) & my friends all hate me" like girl of course they hate you. You could have been almost as rich as you are now but have better relationships. Ofc he does have friends who are also wealthy so like good for him but still man. You deserve to see your friend's wedding. You deserve to say "No, I am NOT working this day" because your boss values you. Your boss should value you enough to let you have days off; your boss should NOT value you BECAUSE you never request days off. Also, not everyone wants to be a rich business owner (who does So Much work genuinely, at least in the first few years,) & then retire. Most people Like working! He said so himself! He likes his job talking to people & doing math! His son in law still has a job because he likes being occupied! My mom is a volunteer coordinator, volunteers exist! People want to work! We just don't want to work until we break & then retire & do nothing but golf (ew). The cognitively disabled factory worker who likes repetitive tasks & is highly trainable but not necessarily a good individual thinker or problem sovler still deserves to live without breaking their body & still deserves to retire or cut their hours if they ever want.

Sorry, just. Wealth management. Yeah heheh. ONE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED NOT FIFTEEN HUNDRED

Maldives? (btw I like tory's standing desk.)

VG/HRT: What kind of pizza does Esposito like? mkes me insane. but what if he likes plain cheese? KB: Uh .. pineapple, olives, and double jalapeños, sir. Makes me Even More InSane

the point of a shredder is to destroy important documents. Acab. (why make lt hold it why not just put it down on the side??

btw they have everyone sitting on normal seats now not just the floor

They literally just went to your address & saw you board a train bro Me & JE: What’s White Knight?

bOB <:( I like Jared. He's like "Yeah I'm fine. They're fine. I want them to not be hungry. My goal is not to hurt these people, let's get them some food." But he forgot to give his demands until prompted. Arin Wilson released from prison! I love captions btw. JS: "Erin Wilson" but RC: "Aaron Wilson" btw his eye contact with the camera sooo good. & I like gates' necklace btw. He is looking not-ok tho, progressively getting worse at such a pace I barely notice it

RC: So she’s a hacker, too? Me: So she’s a hacker too!! RC: It’s a non-extradition country. Ohhhh RYAN IS BACK MY MAN someone should give him a hug. Him & Parish Yay background characters

Yeah they know that girl shut up

"soul mate" tbh that's cute. I like jared minus the fact he's holding a train car hostage JE: Well, why didn’t you give Bob more to go on so he knew who you were talking about? true JS: I want to keep him off balance. Maintain control. valid ig? JE: You get that tip off the internet? ‘Cause it’s not a very good one. bro not a good thing to say JE: What’s White Knight? Doesn't tell us anything (good for the plot) JS: You. The husband. Go. Get the food. I know you’ll come back. He's right ig, but what if he doesn't

My adhd would NOT let me hold that thing

I love him & his free erin wilson website wow white knight we have a word now. I bet it is paul reeves but that wouldn't make sense

Oh no don't make ppl give birth in the middle of this {Wait after seeing this a second time, she Knows what it's like to be preggo} JSDHFKLASDJH PIZZA but hm, did they get everyone else's pizza orders? why does espt look so shocked but aragon also knew she'd get a specific order? I mean they KNOW espt is there of COURSE they;d give him his fave Lol aragon I love her

that is a crappily made pizza but at least it has a lot of toppings. Tbh it was probably made by a teenaged line cook. Also it does not look like it has been cut...

YAY STUFF IS HAPENING

VG: HRT thinks the Erin Wilson demand is a ruse. Why? Why do they think that?

HOLD ON SHE'S AT THE 54TH Making convo lol fuck the military acab & these poor guys holy shit fuck the military. They're designed to be the same person tho. POC, quit the military, became a cop, 54th, kinda pissy but also in a straight-backed sort of way (lol miliraty)... they are the same person. I like espt's voice when it goes low & soft like that.

JE: Hey, why did you become a cop? MA: (shrugs) Got out of the Army. It’s what made the most sense. JE: Me too. You miss the service? MA: Some parts. Not others. JE: Married? Kids? MA: No. Don’t do this, okay? Don’t try to take my mind off of what’s coming. I don’t need anyone holding my hand. JE: You know, you’ve got a chip on your shoulder the size of Stonehenge. I was just trying to get to know you a little bit.

THAT'S what they meant by flicker!?!?

Be quiet aragon.

Lil bro: what if they just killed Esposito? Me: That'd be one way to get a different actor...

They don't know you have a dead man switch Jared... You have never said you have a bomb... Except I mean at the very start they knew espt was on the phone with another cop He has experience using a gun? His aim is good enough? He had a gun? in his back pocket? with the safety off? Good way to lose a buttcheek

Ok Lanie she actually likes him cool cool but what about ryan? What about Esposito's mom? I mean I wouldn't call Esposito's mom until he's actually dead...

True! We're so focused on stone now that we have forgotten about paul reeves! Like Lightbulb Len!

Lanie smart moments?

Beckett just mentioned the flu virus & now I suddenly remember what Lanie noticed.

I remember WHY he was instructed to stall for time JE: He passes out and releases that switch we’re all dead. Yeah legit

Girl why don't you have your shoelace ALREADY out? you said NEXT PUFF what if he took the next puff BEFORE you got your shoelace out?? Hold on a sec, her shoes are NOT cop approved. At least his are steel toed & black. JS: Don’t worry, everyone. It’s almost over. See? He actually cares about these people sort of. Or at least he doesn't WANT to hurt them.

I'd be hella careful y'all... She knows what to do itiod. But watching it slowed down to see things my deaf ass had trouble reading his lips & then I noticed: why do they kick him down first?

Yay ryan!

h5n1 I remember that. We were talking abt it in my martial arts class when one of our instructors was a doctor & she was giving us info at the start of covid.

One person terrorizing you to espt terrorizing you lol.

Lethal? Yeah don't y'all remember the influenza epidemic when they had interviews with ppl & over the course of like a 40 minute interview they would go from perfectly fine to dead? & now we get shots for it every year & the majority of people (those at the top of the bell-curve or one end of it; abled, not old, etc) don't die from it.

VG: There is a vaccine Lil bro: but it's one million dollars. Castle, pay up. & even if it is lethal, that doesn't mean it is going to kill everyone, it is just ABLE to kill you!

JS: You’re not the priest. KB: No, but I can take your confession. Good line

Jared was just a patsy, a scapegoat, a pawn to be sacrificed. A fall guy. He doesn't WANT to get others sick!

RC: The lab from which the virus went missing, Latham Pharmaceuticals? They’re the same company that makes the vaccine Sounds legit, sadly.

Ooh I like Beckett's outfit!

I can't believe her job is literally to investigate government scams & she's doing this

"I didn't think ppl would get killed, they could just buy the vaccine & that's how I get rich!" Poor people exist, anti-vaxxers exist, people who are really slow at doing stuff (like me) exist!

Is he just... shoving his gun into his pocket? At the hospital? I went to the hospital yesterday bc I wanted to kms & they had to confiscate my razor (I forgot I had multiple & ended up bringing one with me by accident-- also kept my ethnic knife (which my instructor called a mezzaluna when it is actually an ulu bc I may not be inuit but I sure as hell am native) which, oops, but I didn't want to not get it back; I wanted to still have it) anyway they don't let you have guns or ammunition in hospitals wo why does esposito have his gun here??

Aragon wearing normal clothes!

JE: You did all right down there. I don’t care what they say about transit cops. MA: Mmm. What they say about gold shields is even worse, mostly because it’s true. lol acab

JE: We make a tight team. MA: Bonds forged in the heat of battle. You know how it is. JE: Yeah. Fuck the military, I’m so sorry for you MA: I wasn’t straight with you. I have a five year old son. He’s confused. (What's that zoom about?) JE: Uh … you said that you didn’t have a family. Why hide that? (Ye, y) MA: I didn’t want you worried about me being a mom down there. (Oh. Valid JE: (scoffs) You are a piece of work, Marisa. MA: Who’s Lenny? He is confused. MA: Or is it Lanie? (Thinks it’s a man’s name at first, She totally clocked him.) He freezes. JE: How do you know about her? MA: On my last tour an IED blew out my eardrum. I got pretty good at reading lips. You were saying her name before you took down Stone. (I’m hoh in one ear & I’m adhd so I watch ppl’s lips but I struggled to see what he was saying. I actually thought it was “I love you lanie I lov–” yk?) JE: Yeah, I don’t … I don’t remember that. (Lying bc he likes marisa– until she revealed she has a kid & is possibly married? Or he actually doesn’t remember?) MA: Who you think of in that moment? It has weight. Don’t trade what’s real for something that isn’t. (Valid but Lanie is happy where she is. Or at least she was but now she’s cryin watching javi in the train) MA: I’ll see you around, Javi.

What's that music?

Lil bro: When esposito starts a company selling air Me: (Like in the Lorax?) Lil bro: Javi-Air

The person who sits by beckett is Det Sch (I can't see the rest)

Yay he's back@ He ruins it by being a jackass again

Lanie!!!

I thought this was where the line "we both deserve something more" came from & i was "is he proposing or breaking up I can't tell" but ig I was wrong

Yay drinks

CASTLE DAD MOMENTS XD XD XD

In the TWO DAYS I've had off school I've only managed one castle. I just love them too much & do other work. I should go back to giving myself a 1.5 hour limit. That was back when I had recently seen the ep tho. Tbh this was worth $100 & a trip to the ER. I got some time to bleach my bones, sleep in, watch castle, make a soup... Now all I need to do is shower, see my doctor, catch up on chores, catch up on homework, & do everything else I need to do before I go back to school. Ugh.

[kinetic-elaboration]

November 2: Love Is Blind 3

I feel like the theme of this season’s Love Is Blind is “men with no emotional maturity and the women who are probably too good for them.” Not that every man is like that, but the ones who are scream the loudest. Scream like... warning lights. (I’m only on Ep 5.)

Alexa and Brennan: Literally had to google his name because I already forgot it. And found some spoilers, somehow (??), whoops. Anyway, he always seems way more into this relationship than she does but that just may be the way she comes across on camera. They got engaged so early in the pod portion that I’ve already forgotten why they clicked with each other and now they seem like such an odd couple, but hey, nothing troubling about them so far, we’ll see what happens.

Raven and SK: How are their spoilers out already? Infuriating. Is this from episode 10? The will they won’t they is the secondary reason to watch this show (the first is the occasional gossip and drama). Anyway, I was super skeptical of them at first but I was/am warming up to them. The thing is that Raven comes across...not poorly, but unemotional and distant, and very controlled--she’s not a great reality contestant because she’s not just blathering drama all the time, and that is probably to her credit as a person. Respect for the way she talked about Bartisse in ep 5, straight up “I dodged a bullet there,” because she did. And no matter how lackluster her chemistry with SK sometimes seems, at least on camera, the line “I want to love you the Raven way” will always be romantic.

Matt and Colleen: Colleen was a hot mess in the pod section tbqh. Matt was, per Raven’s astute observation, forgettable. So far I feel like his forgetableness is wearing off on her. Like with Brennan and Alexa, I wonder if he is more into her than the other way around, but, also like with Brennan and Alexa, that might just be because he’s a Talker, relegating her to smiling and nodding. I like Colleen and I hope that no matter what she ignores Frat Boy of the Year, Cole.

Cole and Zanab: He has the Frat Energy of a Barnett or a Shayne but the My Hot Wife Isn’t Doing It For Me and That’s Your Problem Now Energy of a Shake. I don’t actually fault people for not being attracted to other people because hey, it happens and I also can’t really fault reality contestants for talking about stuff because if they didn’t, it would be boring, but telling people how completely un-attracted you are to your absolute hottie of a fiancee is wild to me. Like shut up, no one wants to hear you complain about how she’s “not your type” (especially when she is remarkably similar to his professed “type” except for...what could it be??). Kinda love how Alexa specified that she hadn’t even asked him anything, he’d just unloaded these thoughts on her all on his own. Zanab’s passive-aggressive qualities are hard to watch, as are their passive-aggressive arguments, and they appear painfully incompatible, but I will always be Team Zay over Team Cole because this dude NEEDS to shut up.

Bartise and Nancy: Cole doesn’t win the Needs to Shut Up Prize, though, only because Bartise is in this season. Exhibit Two on why 25 year old men actually maybe shouldn’t settle down and get married? I hate saying that because 25 is a full grown Adult but like... This guy’s not ready. Nancy could be having Tantric Sex with Cringe Sex Phone Operator what’s-his-face right now and instead she settles for this guy, can’t stop blathering about what a hottie Raven is. Best part of this “love triangle” is undoubtedly that he can’t even have a little flirty side piece with Raven because she sees through it and doesn’t think it’s cute--like I cannot explain how much joy I got out of him blah blah blahing on to her about how much they both love fitness and how hot she is, and she’s just like “uh huh, uh huh” and then to the camera, “I have never been so turned off in my life”--like it’s on par with Paolo from The Circle France writing a dissertation to Virginie and her answering “Ok”--and the worst part is that Nancy, despite her flaws, doesn’t deserve having to deal with this Man Child for however many weeks... Just don’t marry him, girl.

[himboholhorse-moving]

medical shows that r also sitcoms are fun in their first seasons because it's like "haha funnie times with the gang :)" and the next episode is "so now you've been given a plot twist and someone is dead. let's talk about human mortality, how you can't change the fact that people die, and that you can't save everyone"

[irrelevantlyvalid]

hello fellow mash enjoyers i sobbed my eyes out during sometimes your hear the bullet and would just LOVE to know which other eps will emotionally destroy me so that i can mentally prepare!! for context i am on s3ep5. thank you♥️💗🙏💖😘💕💚💞❣️

[savegalkissy]

Thought the finale was okay but admittedly felt a tad underwhelmed ;-; if you could rewrite the ending what would you change? Like for me I think it would’ve benefited from having at the very least one more episode? So like ep 24 could’ve instead been more focused around everyone snapping Lupin out of tomoe’s control, which would also double to really showcase how insidious tomoe is, because honestly there was so much potential for her to be a big villain like her whole unhinged rant of 1/2

“Eventually getting Lupin under her control was genuinely creepy, and I think it would’ve been terrifying if she had somehow managed to escape at the end but anyways, maybe during that Zeni shows up and helps in snapping Lupin out of it bc he deserved more screen time and then they do during the last minutes and then it moves on to the real final episode, the last scene being lupin actually reacting to the fact he has a bullet in his chest lmao, honestly thought that him being under tomoe’s Influence was acting like a sort of mental block against the pain which is why he kept going lmao, but yeah Lupin is down for a bit at the start of the finale which would deal with the box and mattea though haven’t thought that far but yeah! That’s my take on it so now I’m curious to hear yours :D”

Thank you for the ask!! I’ll be real, if i were to change things I’d have restructured the entire season completely. Mostly cause those fucking Sherlock episodes were a slog to get through for me. BUT. Being generous. I think the first major thing is make the both of these characters come together in the plot. Sherlock thought Lupin killed his best friend, or at least that’s what we were made to believe. He surely could have been able to investigate his backstory! And the raven just being some disparate group was lame as fuck. I’d have cut away the connections to some more unsavory aspects of British history they made the characters there have, and made it something sort of focused on one of the women from the later part of the series.

From there, we have foreshadowing to Tomoe, and even Sherlock potentially helping the gang find her/find lupin when he goes mama crazy.

I’d also have had more time with hypnotized lupin, and the introspection it brings being in one’s mind verse. His plot armor crap is funny sometimes, but it’s not conductive to a drama. Let him be vulnerable, especially when the implications of a woman like tomoe are that she specifically seeks out impressionable minds and becomes a figure they can be vulnerable around to exploit it

Speaking of vulnerability. CHARACTER MOMENTS. FUJIKO AND LUPIN’S MOMENT IN THE ALLEY WERE SO GOOD. WE NEED MORE OF THAT. I mean if we were really being indulgent to me specifically he’d also be having a kiss with jigen Goemon and Zenigata but. If I can’t have that, give me more of their reactions to this, of their thoughts and concerns and their own vulnerabilities. Show me WHY lupin can say “I’d rather spend me time with these people” instead of telling me. Also Zenigata. Zenigata, trying his best to save Lupin. Zenigata when all is said and done, offering Lupin the thing these last few parts have been suggesting he is doing- salvation from the life of a thief. In his case, I imagine he’d try to appeal for the chance at a fresh start for him, the whole rehabilitation stuff, so he can heal. And that could be where the idea of “his past is just another thing to tie him down” comes from, which would endlessly frustrate the detective cause wow, took away the wrong lesson didn’t you Lupin?

Also yeah!! Killing her like that was not only fucked up, but felt extremely OOC for both Lupin and the franchise itself! OOC for lupin not cause he doesn’t kill; but because I would expect some build up to it at least, or some reasonable justification as to why. I can in my own head justify it as a response to the fact this whole situation must have been horrifying and made him feel weak, but I’d like to see him give hint to that first. Also it’s just. So final. Of course actively killing a character before but having them come back is nothing new, but it’d be very hard to convince anyone you could have saved an elderly old lady from being shot in the heart, then stabbed multiple times and left in a burning building (also lupin Zenigata is gonna be fucking disturbed when he has to check that out later you realize)

[multimetaverse]

HSMTMTS 2x01 Review

New Year’s Eve was a great way to return to HSMTMTS especially after such a long gap. Let’s dig in!

Vladimir Lenin once said that, ‘’ there are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen". It’s been almost a year and half since S1 ended but this past week has seen revelation after revelation as the fandom has resurrected itself and promotion for S2 kicked into high gear: Joshua Bassett came out, Frankie and Joe confirmed that they are a real life couple, Larry seemingly confirmed that S2 will only have 11 eps rather than the 12 initially ordered, and perhaps most importantly Olivia revealed that she and the main cast are under contract for 4 seasons and made clear that she’s leaving the show as soon as her contract is up.

I really enjoyed this premiere, it felt like picking up right back where we left off. I’m guessing that S2 was originally supposed to premiere around Christmas or New Year’s but the holiday decorations and real Utah snow add a charming aesthetic to the ep. Tim Federle deserves credit for giving HSMTMTS more of an ensemble feel which is no easy feat with a cast as large as this show has. It likely won’t last due to covid restrictions  but at least for tonight we got to see all the characters hanging out together acting like a real group of friends.

The dialogue tonight really reminded me of Glee and I think I mean that as a compliment. Miss Jenn in particular seems to be doing her best April Rhodes impression minus the alcoholism. 

The rini scenes tonight were lovely. Perfect gift was a great song and I loved the rini duet during the music in me as the world faded around them leaving just the two of them. The Harry Styles reference is funny in light of Josh’s coming out interview. Of course, it’s hard now to separate Nini and Ricky and Olivia and Josh. Their chemistry shines through as 2x01, 2x02, and possibly parts of 2x03 were filmed pre Jolivia breakup which seems to have happened around summer 2020. Whether they can keep that same chemistry later on in S2, not to mention future seasons, remains to be seen.

A major theme tonight was communication and clearly Rini need to work on theirs. Poor Ricky had to learn that Nini’s moving to Denver the night before she leaves town which has to remind of him of his mom effectively abandoning him. Ricky saying that he’s never gonna breakup with Nini ever again sure sounds like foreshadowing for a disaster though the odds that this time Nini initiates the breakup are pretty good. 

I’m glad that the show is continuing to delve in the Bowen’s divorce story with their house being sold and Ricky and his dad having to move into an apartment. Divorce is expensive and the division of assets typically leave people less well off. Mike Bowen needs to work on his communication skills but he’s rocking that beard; it takes him from depressed divorced dad to depressed divorced daddy.

Seblos was cute and in a nice change of pace Disney doesn’t seem to be cynically teasing them then cutting their scenes. It was refreshing to see them just being a couple and to hear Carlos casually refer to himself as gay. In that regard tonight’s ep didn’t seem like it was a Disney show at all and it’s major progress that there are now two main gay characters on HSMTMTS. We learn that Carlos is rich which seems likely to be a source of conflict with Seb who comes from a large farming family.

Bet on It was really fun and I liked that Ricky apparently couldn’t stop singing it. The medley of HSM 2 songs was fun but I’ll be real with you wildcats, I never thought HSM 2 or 3 were nearly as good as the first movie so I’m not sad that they’re doing something else this year.

Wild that Big Red’s mom also calls him Big Red. Salt Lake Slices seems poised to be a big part of S2 both as hangout spot and work location for some of the characters. Redlyn are sweet together but sometimes Big Red comes off as a closeted gay guy which isn’t ideal for a het pairing that is supposedly a big part of S2.

Nice to see Gina so excited to have sleepovers with Ashlyn. We know from 2x03 that Gina contends with being single on Valentine’s day and from her glances at Ricky tonight she’s clearly not over him. Tim’s playing with fire and I can only hope he knows what he’s doing. I liked the little detail of Kourtney having AOC on her vision board, it feels true to the character (hopefully AOC gets elected president one day if the USA doesn’t collapse into a fascist dictatorship or civil war before then). EJ’s beard has got to go but I like that he seems committed to being a better version of himself; very doubtful his plan to go straight to Duke like his forefathers doesn’t change by the end of the season. 

Derek Hough did a good job of playing Zach as a subtly condescending man who managed to swiftly undermine Miss Jenn’s confidence, we’ll see what he and North High bring to the table.

Looking Ahead:

Next week are auditions for Beauty and the Beast, we know Ashlyn gets the role of Belle and EJ has conveniently removed himself from the running for Beast which presumably clears the path for Ricky to take the lead. There’s been some controversy over the casting choices and I’ll save my comments about it for the 2x02 review.

We get to see Lily who looks like a meaner version of season 1 Gina, we’ll see how much depth she actually ends up getting. Howie is introduced in 2x03 and Antoine likely shows up later on. Jack likely shows up towards the end of the season.

Howie seems to have a connection with Kourtney though the character synopsis does say he gets close to a wildcat or two which certainly leaves room to slide him into Gina’s plot. We know Antoine is into Ashlyn so that’s another love triangle to look forward to. Jack was described as having wanderlust and most of the cast seems not to have filmed with him so I think it’s likely that he plays a role in convincing EJ to take a gap year rather than head straight to Duke. 

A translation leak on TikTok reveals that in 2x03 Gina is sad that she’s only gotten a Valentine’s Day gift from her mom. A brief clip from the promo shows up her on her porch at night holding a heart shaped box of chocolates. If that’s supposed to be from a secret or semi-secret admirer than it has to be from either EJ, Ricky, or Howie. If it’s a platonic gift then it could be from anyone, we’ll see what Tim has up his sleeves.

Nini moving back to SLC is a question of when not if. It’s going to be very difficult to bring her back in a way that’s justified and also doesn’t leave the time she spends in Denver looking like a total waste. Frankly, I’d rather the show just bite the bullet and bring her back with as little fuss as possible.

We’re possibly around a quarter way through HSMTMTS given that the mains have 4 season contracts and presuming that the show is not cancelled earlier. At the very least the show will be radically different after S4 if they try to continue it as Olivia has made very clear that she’s going to leave asap to pursue her burgeoning music career full time (notably she’s only done the bare minimum of promo for S2). 

Looming over the remaining seasons of HSMTMTS is what the professional relationship between Olivia and Josh looks like especially since in many ways the show is built around Ricky and Nini. Off screen relationships have often caused on screen problems and dating a co-worker is rarely a good idea since even clean breakups leave lingering resentments. Obviously the Jolivia breakup was not clean, Driver’s License, Deja Vu, and Good 4 U (which is a certified bop) were clearly written from a place of hurt and in some ways were written to hurt. It’s no surprise that Joshua has dropped his duet with Sabrina Carpenter from his EP; someone on his team at least is trying to stop the damage to his reputation. There’s a decent chance that Olivia’s songs becoming such hits has irreparably damaged Joshua Bassett’s reputation among the same pool of largely young women that he’s targeting his music towards thereby cutting off his music career at the knees. If nothing else this behind the scenes drama should keep things entertaining for a while.

Until next week Wildcats