#hierarchy 1x01

[1liv]

LEE WON-JUNG as LEE WOO-JIN in Netflix's Hierarchy 1.01

[ladyluscinia]

In an ideal world, DJenks could build on Lucius’s poly ideas in “we don’t own each other.” and Stede and Izzy’s (super limited) abilities to compromise with each other (via hostages) and they could both be with Ed and everyone in the love triangle is happy, but that seems super delusional at this point, even if it’d be so cool. So, what do you think a realistic happy ending for Izzy would look like?

I think I pulled up a link I wanted to include to answer this like a day or two after it was sent, and then I promptly got distracted and didn't actually type anything. Oops.

Anyway... happy endings.

So here's a post where I kinda speculated on this before that's worth reading. It brings up some tropes that I think are in the mix of possibilities and how I personally feel about them.

For an answer to your question... The way I kind of see the "compromise" situation coming out of S1 is that all the characters are falling on a sliding scale between two not-ideal extremes of piracy philosophy. One end has Izzy firmly planted as the extreme of Edward's default approach - iron fist, emotionally closed off, total focus on skill and discipline, ruling things through a balance of fear and awe that makes them really good at piracy but emotionally and interpersonally a disaster. The other end is probably Lucius as the extreme of Stede's approach - all focus on interpersonal relationships and emotional fulfillment, wanting to have fun and do no work, flaunting hierarchy, and generally failing piracy in favor of self expression.

(Note it's important that Edward and Stede can't truly hit their extremes - Edward is too seeking of attachment and frivolity even as he bristles at vulnerability, and Stede is too emotionally locked up like a clam to practice what he preaches and now has no money to fund a permanent enforced vacation. They don't really want what they perceive as their culture goal, which is good because both their goals kind of suck in different ways. The Kraken is doomed to collapse because it's further out than Izzy.)

The whole crew, Izzy included, needs to make their way toward the midpoint (which, given this is a romcom, is probably not a true middle but skewed a bit toward Stede and silly hijinks) in order to be successful AND emotionally fulfilled. And I think they can do it!

Like Stede's whole vacation boat and enforcing his own unskilled, atypical piracy in the early eps has already caused friction with his crew. They want to be badasses, face challenges, complete raids, etc. The fact they've grown to like him doesn't mean they've decided Stede's hobbies are better than theirs now, it just means they are more open to doing something silly with him and enjoying it than they were in 1x01. I don't think the show is going to end with "retirement" because I don't think any of the characters really want to retire (including bored-as-hell Edward). And if they are still being pirates - in fact, trying to be good pirates - then it's not unrealistic to think Izzy can chill out a bit via character development and get in on the fun.

This is a guy who met Stede and sliced his shirt up as a hello, and then did literally everything he did in 1x06. He's not an inherent buzzkill of a person lol. He's just stressed.

Izzy and Edward working out their shit is probably going to be a extended part of Edward's general character arc, but once they get through that I feel like Izzy's happy ending will be just moving from lurking on the stairs to being in the circle. Give the man a friend, a knife game, probably a boyfriend for the middle aged love parallels... and throw in a real, much scarier antagonist for S3 just to cement him on the Revenge side (*crossing fingers* please be Hornigold).

He'll do just fine.

[thestupidhelmet]

So would you say Hyde and Eric are like brothers and Hyde and Kelso are like best friends? Or would it be Hyde and Eric are best friends and everyone else is a close friend? But also Donna has a close friendship with Eric prior to/and during dating and she’s closer Hyde than Kelso and Fez. But then there’s also Hyde and Jackie ahhh lol Idk I’m trying to think of the hierarchy of friendships between characters. Like who’s closest to who etc😂

My understanding / interpretation:

Eric and Hyde Are Like Brothers.

Eric is the one Hyde would go to when Edna's abuse got too much for him, to the point of showing -- gasp! -- emotion, as we see in "Career Day" (1x18) when he's looking for Eric but Finds Red instead.

Hyde also shares his truths with Eric, something he does rarely with anyone else.

The Formans take Hyde into their home as one of their own when they barely have enough money to feed their biological kids. Eric shares his room with Hyde, and so on and so on.

Hyde, although he enjoys burning his friends, protects Eric from their other friends' burns -- and supports him -- when Eric is in true emotional dire straights. They bond with each other in ways they don't with anyone else, like brothers who love each other.

Hyde and Kelso Were Partners In Crime

Before (and even a little during in season 1) Kelso dates Jackie, Kelso is the friend Hyde can count on to do stupid, juvenile crap with, things Eric might not be inclined to do -- until he starts rebelling in season 1. Once Kelso became obsessed by sex, Jackie being his first chance at having it, Hyde loses his partner in crime of ten years. Fez replaces Kelso in this role.

Eric and Donna Are Best Friends from Toddlerhood

Eric and Donna grow up together (forget the retcon from "Class Picture" [4x20]). "That '70s Pilot" (1x01) indicates they've known each other from infancy, the Formans and Pinciottis being neighbors since before Eric and Donna were born. By the time they're four-years-old, Donna already loves Eric (as little kids do, not romantically).

Their friendship is a soulmate one that eventually turns romantic. They enjoy the same music, the Packers, etc., are intimately (not sexually) playful and physical with each other. They challenge each other to grow and change. Are completely comfortable, at home with the other ... until their romantic feelings essentially burst in season 1, which begins to transform their relationship.

Donna and Hyde Have a Different Kind of Best Friendship

Donna is the opposite of Hyde's main female influence (his abusive mom). She's unconditionally supportive, and he supports her -- even as her relationship with Eric transitions into romance (and then he goes all antagonist since he wants Donna himself romantically). They relate to each other on a level Eric can't because of their toxic home lives. Theirs is a special bond of mutual understanding, and once Hyde's role as Eric's foil is finished in season 1, Hyde becomes (again) someone Donna trusts in certain areas where she doesn't trust anyone else. See "The Relapse" (4x6) for a great example.

Eric, Hyde, and Donna Are the Inner Circle

The three of them have a special friendship intimacy they don't have with Kelso (and eventually Fez). They're a trio within their group of friends.

Hyde and Jackie's Relationship Evolves Several Times

First, they're mutual antagonists. Then, in "Prom Night" (1x19), they recognize each other's humanity, complexity, compassion, and vulnerability. The seed of a deep bond is planted.

Kelso cheats on Jackie with Laurie (a make-out) the very next episode after he reconciles with Jackie. Once Hyde catches Kelso cheating ("Red's Last Day" [2x02]), he's caught between his loyalty to Kelso and his protectiveness of Jackie (his personal moral code is being tested with conflicting drives), so he splits the difference. He'll do what he can so Kelso gets himself caught by Jackie. That way, to Hyde's mind, he does the right thing by both people: doesn't rat out his friend but also does let his friend get away with betraying and hurting Jackie without consequences.

After Jackie does catch Kelso cheating, Hyde takes on a strong protective role for her. He likely feels guilty for not straight-up telling the truth about Kelso, and he does what he can (within his tolerance level) to help Jackie not feel lonely or alone, to teach her how to protect herself emotionally from Kelso's bullying via his proxy Laurie, bolsters Jackie's self-esteem, defends her against Eric's hostility, initiates her into the circle -- making her an official member of the basement gang -- and goes to jail in her stead and keeps mum about that fact even though it makes him homeless.

Jackie's platonic idolization of him takes a turn after this incident. She mistakes her deep gratitude for love, but reality hits during her and Hyde's kiss in "Jackie Bags Hyde" (3x08). Hyde's left with unrequited romantic feelings that he suppresses. But his resentment is clear once Jackie and Kelso start to reconcile.

In season 4, Jackie and Hyde are friends -- said with a whisper. A definite comfort has developed between them, as well as a level of camaraderie. His burns toward her no longer have any bite.

By season 5, they've fallen in love.

Fez Is Closest to Hyde when Kelso Dates Jackie and Closest to Kelso when Hyde Dates Jackie

Hyde is Fez's protector, teacher in American teen culture, and closest friend (although Hyde's not above using Fez's naivety to his own advantage at times).

Fez and Kelso are antagonists until season 3. Then they become friendly because the girl (i.e. Jackie) they both want is hyperfocused on Hyde. They're not quite friends, though, until season 5 when they become best friends by the end. In season 4, however, Kelso tends to be a jerk to Fez, and Hyde gives Fez his support in several ways because *they* are friends.

Jackie and Fez

Once Fez's romantic interest in Jackie ends in "Ice Shack" (3x10), they form a friendship. They support each other and (mildly) betray each other, similar -- I believe -- to Jackie's friendships at school with people in her grade.

Donna and Jackie Eventually Become Best Friends

Jackie is Donna's first female friend, and Donna is Jackie's first friend who isn't a social-climbing backstabber. They grow very close, supporting each other through rough times and sharing good times. And, like most friendships, they don't always do right by the other, regardless of having no ill intent. They're teenagers, so that's not an uncommon phenomenon. (Happens in adult friendships, too, of course.)

Kelso and Eric Are Good Friends

Likely because they've been friends since first grade, Eric feels loyalty to Kelso. Eric gives most of Kelso's bad behavior a pass except when he learns Kelso made a sexual move on Donna. Yet Eric seems only to give Kelso that one time while Kelso consistently invades Donna's sexual boundaries. It's bad, OOC writing because Eric wouldn't allow Kelso to stick around if he violated Donna again.

That fact, unfortunately, is beyond the scope of this particular meta.

Eric and Kelso display a closeness in certain episodes, and they obviously care about each other. Kelso warns Eric about Casey for Donna's sake and for Eric's. Eric helps Kelso get a waiter job at the Holiday Hotel despite Kelso's atrocious, entitled, and vengeful behavior toward him in the same episode.

Eric worries Kelso will hate him for keeping Jackie's kiss with Todd the Cheese Guy a secret for a few hours. After Eric is punched unconscious (one punch did it) by a dillhole at a bar, Kelso -- along with Hyde -- defends Eric's honor and scraps with Eric's assailant and his bud.

I don't understand what makes up the core of their bond, but Kelso and, especially, Eric do feel genuine friendship for each other.

Eric and Donna Are Friends with Fez Because Fez Is Part of the Group

Donna and Eric each have one significant episode with Fez that demonstrates their care for him. But beyond that, their friendships are woefully underdeveloped. Donna does, however, set up Fez and Caroline on a date when Fez is too shy / scared / overwhelmed to do it himself.

Fez calls Eric one time at three am to make sure they're still friends, but that's essentially a joke to confirm Nina's claim of Fez's insecure neediness. Early in the show, Fez claims to hate Eric in the circle but immediately feels guilty and says he loves Eric.

And that's about it for Eric-Fez and Donna-Fez friendship-wise.

[sun-undone]

OBX details that make me feral (1/?)

The Pogues’ differing opinions on what to do with the money from the motel room in 1x01

This conversation goes by pretty quickly, but I absolutely adore it because it very clearly cements each of the Pogues’ unique worldviews. I just think it’s such a cool way to introduce the audience to their dynamic as a friend group and all the potential sub-dynamics within it. You can very easily start to map out these characters in terms of a moral hierarchy:

Kiara votes to give the money to Lana because it’s “bad karma” otherwise, which reflects her more idealistic outlook on life. She believes that bad things happen to people who do bad things. Since she is in a much less precarious financial place than the other Pogues, she has the luxury of thinking about the situation from a higher moral standpoint than them.

Pope also doesn’t want them to keep the money, but not because he has some deep, internal sense of right and wrong. He just doesn’t want to get caught and get in trouble. In terms of his morals about the situation, they only matter insofar as they matter to the police or other authority figures that could jeopardize his future.

JJ is the least morally conscious of the bunch, as he thinks they should just keep the money and “deny, deny, deny”. Probably due to a combo of Luke’s influence and his status as the lowest income Pogue, he doesn’t have the luxury to worry about the karmic consequences of his actions. He also isn’t concerned with his future being ruined if they get caught because he is fully prepared to not have a future anyway. 

The fact that he butts heads with Kiara here because of her privileged outlook introduces the potential for a very cool dynamic between the two characters. Kie’s “bad karma” approach vs JJ’s “eat or be eaten” approach is something that often comes up in small, comedic moments throughout the series (their very first lines in 1x01 about fancy towel warmers; JJ talking about how he loves plastic in 2x02), but I’d love to see it come up again in a more high-stakes situation. My fellow Jiara bitches, how do we feel about this??

And then finally, we get to John B, who isn’t concerned about karma or getting caught or finally having some money in his pockets. He looks beyond the question of whether to take the money and discovers the more important question of how did Scooter get the money in the first place. In my opinion, this not only cements John B as the leader of the Pogues, but it also introduces his more fantastical outlook on life. He’s more likely than the other Pogues to see a deeper conspiracy going on because he’s been holding onto hope for his dad for almost a year at this point, despite literally everyone telling him to give up and move on. We’ll see this outlook continue to rear its head as he gets more and more frantic about the treasure hunt, especially in the back half of the season. It seems so tame now, but I really think that this moment plants the seeds for how obsessive he gets about finishing his dad’s mission and finding the gold.

next post

[bluevalleybreakingnews]

If you could only pick 3 things to happen for each of the following dynamics in s3, what would they be and why?

Patvester

Hournite

Shivcat

Camney

Sportsnite

Okay, let's do this.

Patvester: 1. Sylvester belittles Mike in front of Pat and sets off his berserk button. 2. Sylvester gets a little bit more than upset that Pat is spending a large amount of time with Crusher. 3. Patvester has an actual adult conversation about everything that happened pre-season 1 and talk about why Sylvester hasn't been in contact since 2010.

Hournite: 1. Beth takes Rick's Hourglass from him because he's been abusing it and he needs to re-earn Beth's trust. 2. Beth has a similar moment with Rick to season 2's "talk to me like I'm Chuck" which leads to their first kiss. 3. "Gotcha" parallel but it's Beth saving Rick (I don't know what this would look like, but I honestly don't care, it's a top priority on my hierarchy of needs).

Shivcat: 1. Cindy apologizes to Yolanda, earnestly, but Yolanda (rightfully) doesn't forgive her. 2. Yolanda and Cindy have to rescue each other at two separate points across the season. 3. Yolanda is actually the first person to believe Cindy in her innocence after the whole murder framing fiasco.

Camney: 1. Parallel to Courtney being pissed at Pat in 2x10 and refusing to trust him/work with him when she really needs to be listening to him, but with Cameron obviously talking about EVRYTHING that Courtney lied about. 2. Courtney slowly realizing (after being quite defensive to her friends) that Cameron might actually be dangerous and that it's too late to course correct (which it might not actually be, but Court will be incredibly discouraged). 3. Homecoming double-date with Hournite which ends with Icehour duking it out in their finest suits (CW Stargirl I am on my knees BEGGING).

Sportsnite: 1. Unpacking literally ANY part of the 2x06 altercations. Maybe a heart-to-heart about their families now that both of them are more together than they were last season. 2. Artemis protecting Beth from some bullying attempt from the football team when Rick isn't there (it doesn't have to be physical, it could be like the Starcat 1x01 interaction). 3. Sportsnite. Dodgeball. Tag-team.

[howtosingit]

Whoops, I did a deep-ish dive into the 9-1-1: Lone Star writing room

I think we can all agree that, while on-screen representation is incredibly important, it can feel very hollow if there is not an equally diverse group of writers that are actually creating the stories. So many people have said it, but representation can’t just be in front of the camera; it has to be in all areas of production, from writers and directors to producers and casting directors and designers. 

Storylines on Lone Star have led fans to say things like, “It’s obvious they don’t have XXX in the writers’ room” or to just generally blame Ryan Murphy for everything that happens on the show... and that got me curious: who actually is in the writing room every week, breaking the episodes?

If you’re at all curious like I was, you can read under the cut.

So, I think we all know that Ryan Murphy is a co-creator and executive producer for Lone Star, along with Brad Falchuk and Tim Minear (who also serves as the showrunner). But, what does that actually tell us about their involvement in writing the show?

Murphy and Falchuk only have a writing credit on one (1) episode of the show: 1x01, “Pilot.” For every other episode, they are only credited as creators and executive producers. We also know that they are basically super producers, with shows currently in production on Fox and FX and Netflix. (And they are actually credited with writing more than 1 episode on those shows.) Most likely, Murphy and Falchuk are not sitting in the writing room for Lone Star every week, helping to break stories. At most, they might read scripts and give notes (though, since we know scripts are often finished really late, I’m sure there’s not even a ton of that happening, or it’s happening very quickly). Basically, I don’t think they’re active writers on the show and Ryan Murphy is probably not actually responsible for plot points we don’t like.

There are a number of other executive producers on the show as well, including but not limited to: Angela Bassett and Rob Lowe (co-executive producer for season 1). I also don’t think they are sitting in the writers’ room every week either.

So, that leaves us with who is actually credited as writing the episodes of the show, and that gives us this list - and they are (in order of importance):

CURRENT WRITING TEAM:

Tim Minear (showrunner, co-creator, lead executive producer) Rashad Raisani (executive producer) Jessica Ball (co-executive producer) Carly Soteras (supervising producer) Tonya Kong (supervising producer) Wolfe Coleman (supervising producer) Jalysa Conway (co-producer) Molly Green (executive story editor) James Leffler (executive story editor) John Owen Lowe (staff writer)

Differences between season 1 and season 2:

Jessica Ball, Jalysa Conway, and Wolfe Coleman were not with the show at all in season 1. 

Kristy Lowery (story editor, writer for 1x03) and Jill Snyder (writer for 1x07) did not return for season 2. 

All remaining season 1 writers (except for Tim and Rashad) got promoted for season 2: Carly Soteras and Tonya Kong went from producers to supervising producers, John Owen Lowe became a staff writer after only having one writing credit for season 1 (1x06), and Molly Green and James Leffler were promoted to executive story editors after being story editors in season 1. 

All writers are credited on every episode in some way, even if they are not receiving the actual writing credit for the script.

**I was also surprised to find out that Tonya Kong wasn’t credited on the show at all until 1x05 (according to IMDb), when she became a producer. I think this means she didn’t join the writers’ room until halfway through season 1, but I can’t be certain of that. Every other writer has full-season credits, even if they don’t have full series credits.

Takeaways:

It seems that Lone Star has a writing team of 10 people. It’s worth noting that 5 of them are male-presenting and 5 of them are female-presenting. There is at least one male-presenting writer of color (Rashad Raisani) and at least two female-presenting writers of color (Tonya Kong and Jalysa Conway). There is at least one queer writer (Tonya Kong). All in all, the writers’ room does appear to be primarily white and cishet, though I will not pretend to know how each and every writer personally identifies.

---

I’ll be very interested to see if any changes are made to the writing room for season 3. More than likely, there will be some promotions. We also know Lone Star is supposed to have more episodes this year (18), so they may add writers to help support that increased workload. Currently, each writer gets about 2 episodes a season, but that could increase to 3 for season 3 if they decide not to add writers. I’m sure they’ll add at least 1 (they went from 9 to 10 between seasons 1 and 2). At this point, we don’t know if any current writers are not returning for the next season.

---

So, I know that all the writers help to “break” the episodes in the room before specific writers take on the first draft, and the major arcs typically come from the showrunner... meaning that, in the end, everyone has a finger in each episode’s pie. But, just for comparison, here’s everyone’s specific episode writing credits for the show (click to enlarge, or open in a new tab):

And my biggest takeaway from that chart? I like the female-presenting writers much more than I like the male-presenting writers. Can’t say I’m surprised by that, honestly.

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Sources: IMDb, plus these articles on TV writing room hierarchy 

[myfandomrambles]

Adora, Catra & Trauma (Pt3)

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 4)

Full Show

An Analysis of the way Catra & Adora are affected by their respective traumatic experiences.

Relationship To Primary Abuser

Catra

Catra bases her identity around Shadow Weaver second only to Adora in power she has over her emotional states. Shadow Weaver abused Catra for essentially her entire life through psychological, emotional, and physical ways. We see her use her magic to immobilize Catra, terrorize her, and physical grab Catra throughout the show.

Starting from a young age she insulted and degraded Catra and said Catra's worth is based on rather Adora wants her. A key quote stated in Promise (1x11 ) 

Shadow Weaver:“You have never been anything more than a nuisance to me! I've kept you around this long because Adora was fond of you, but if you ever do anything to jeopardize her future, I will dispose of you myself.” 

 I believe this sets up the main dynamic better than anything.

Catra sees herself as worth nothing to Shadow Weaver, as only existing in relation to Adora and as always under threat. Catra deeply internalized this view of only mattering in how she measures up to Adora but continuously wanted to be more than a nuisance to Shadow Weaver. Catra is constantly pulled when it comes to shadow weaver between wanting love and being afraid, the essence of her disorganised attachment.

Up until Catra gained the right-hand man status to Hordak she was consistently in fear of Shadow Weaver. And afterwards, she didn't stop basing her worth on Shadow Weaver's perceptions.

Starting in season one Shadow Weaver and Catra show a mostly typical older child and abusive parent dynamic. Catra is willing to test boundaries but only so much. In  The Sword pt 2 (1x02 ) she says 

Catra: “Shadow Weaver is freaking out. It'd be funny if she weren't such a terrible person ” 

showing she has accepted and can have humour about the situation. This continues for a while in  The Beacon (1x10)  we see dissonance all at once saying she doesn’t need Shadow Weaver, seeks her approval, and even tries to offer comfort to Shadow Weaver.

In  Light Hope (1x12)  we see the first milestone in this dynamic with Catra overtaking Shadow Weaver in the social hierarchy. However, this doesn’t change the fact that Catra still feels a need to be close to Shadow Weaver and to base her value off of her. She continuously goes to talk to Shadow Weaver to try and prove she’s become better but only ends up with Catra subjecting herself to more of Shadow Weaver’s abuse.

In Signals (2x03) she bases what she should be doing off of what Shadow Weaver would have done. 

Catra “I bet Shadow Weaver didn’t have to deal with any of this"  

After this she goes to Shadow Weaver for the answers. Her stated autonomy isn’t present and we see Catra still seeing Shadow Weaver as the proper adult.

One of the most impactful moments takes place in  Light Spinner (2x06). In this episode, we see Catra deeply needs Shadow Weaver to love her and is protective over her mother. We can see Catra’s fear and unresolved attachment needs from her childhood fighting over how she should act. She has spent this season setting and then breaking her boundaries due to deeply wanting to be loved and respected. Catra is easily manipulated by Shadow Weaver’s semi-kind words and some of the only soft-touch she gets [before reuniting with Adora in season 5].

When Catra confronts Shadow Weaver Catra asks the questions every abused kid wants to ask:

"Why was I treated like that?" and "why was I never good enough?"

Shadow Weaver's response is one that is so common and destructive. "I suffered, so I think that’s what you ought to as well," and “You were never as good as your sibling” or in this case Adora.

Catra rejects some of this explanation and then returns another abused child question: "what could I have done? I was just a kid"

Shadow Weaver mostly brushes this question and Shadow Weaver maintains her power by knowing her child so well. Shadow Weaver hits where it hurts, pointing out that she's being made second best and replaced again. She plays on Catra feeling less than and being so scared of being abandoned to get what she wanted, a way out. This breaks Catra's resolve strongly; we see her spiral through hypervigilance, anxiety and depression.

We see how much this affected Catra when Adora’s explained Shadow Weaver went to the bright moon in Once Upon a Time in the Waste (3x03 ). Catra interprets this as Shadow Weaver abandoning her for Adora triggering a dissociative episode and leading into her suicide/homicide attempt.

The next time we see them together is in  Failsafe (5x11) . Catra’s immediate reaction to her being there is to move into hyperarousal of fight mode and then into flight and freeze. She is afraid and angry still, but she has finally put up more of a barrier, however, her presence still causes Catra to fear the loss of Adora.

Catra is deeply triggered by the touch of Shadow Weaver and it leaves her in a state of heightened flight response. This experience also brings out her older protective instincts we saw in season 1 and late-season 2 due to the way she knows Adora can get hurt like she’s been hurt by Shadow Weaver. Catra overhears what she thinks is Adora giving into Shadow Weaver setting up the next set of actions in  The Heart pt 1&2 (5x12-13) . Causing Catra to leave due to the manipulation she knows she’s experiencing.

When they next meet Catra is fully able to stand up to her stating it was no longer about her, a very strong statement. Even if she is still clearly hurt by the abandonment. Shadow Weaver is willing to help due to complex reasons, wanting to save the world as that’s the “side” she chose, and some degree of responsibility for her daughters even if it's twisted and more about performing and then anything resembling love. Catra is affected by this crying at the loss of her mother. We don’t get to know much about this fallout but it would be as complex as the history of adult children of abusive parents usually are.

Adora

Adora's relationship to Shadow Weaver, her mother and commander, is characterized by manipulation, fear and agitation. Shadow Weaver made her the golden child, the next hero and leader, responsible for others way too early and as an object to be used for power. All of these became the core ideas and schemas that Adora built her life on.

Adora lacked direct physical/magical abuse from Shadow Weaver but experienced a severe psychological and emotional abuse. An example is her being forced to watch and being blamed for the physical/magical abuse of Catra (Promise 1x11) . During their childhood, we see that the abuse worked to internalise the views of shadow weaver which gave Shadow Weaver an intense and continuous force in her life even when not present.

In  The Sword pt1 (1x01)  we see how Shadow Weaver wanted her to be the next force captain and believed her to be the best of the children she raised. We can tell Adora wanted to be the best having internalized these desires. Adora believed what she was taught wholesale on the ideological front as well and losing that belief when seeing the harm of war causes the first rupture in her connection to Shadow Weaver.

In the Shadows of Mystacor (1x07) has a few key moments. One is Adora admitting Shadow Weaver did “mom stuff” which shows Adora understands Shadow Weaver as her primary attachment figure, ie the mother. Another key moment of this episode is Adora rejecting Shadow Weaver’s control for the first time. She verbally states her autonomy, affirms that the pain is not her fault and that Shadow Weaver shouldn’t get to decide her life. Adora physically fights Shadow Weaver off and protects her new life, something that is one of the most powerful moments in their relationship. This is a rejection of not only her abuser but the life she was taught to want. She is choosing a new healthier life. This is solidified in after the confrontation she allows her friends to support her.

In No Princess Left Behind (1x09) Adora is physically assaulted and violated mentally by her mother figure. This is an attempt to try and bring her back under control. Something we know she has been trying to do this whole time, a very visceral moment of how much Shadow Weaver believed she owned Adora. This is a harsh and traumatic event for Adora.

We don’t see them interact together fully until  The Price of Power (3x01).  We see Adora be willing to help Shadow Weaver both due to her ingrained responsibility and she doesn’t want to see her mother figure die. Adora also needs to know what’s going on and Adora is scared to not have some control in the situation. This fear of being out of control brings Adora to interact with her abuser.

Adora is also more confident that she won’t be directly manipulated anymore. She has learned most of Shadow Weaver's tactics and isn’t vulnerable enough for them to work. The conversation they have here shows this personal growth Adora has experienced.

Shadow Weaver: “I knew you were different. You were...”

Adora: “- Special? No, what you always told me was that I didn't matter. I was special only as long as I obeyed you.”

However, the conversations between them also break the precarious hold on some sense of self Adora gained over the past through SHadow Weaver revealing she is a first one. This adds self confusion and distances her from others. This is important because her connection to others is the most powerful grounding tool Adra has learned to have.

Throughout this season Adora is continually agitated and stressed about Shadow Weaver being allowed in her safe space of Bright Moon. In Pulse (4x04) we see Adora be upset about Glimmer having asked for magic help from Shadow Weaver. She is understandably afraid of Shadow Weaver’s power and is scared of losing another friend to the damage Shadow Weaver caused. Shadow Weaver is a walking trigger to her childhood trauma leaving her implicit memories of shadow weaver as a figure of pain, magic as bad and both as a threat to friends on continuously.

In Princess Scorpia (4x06) Shadow Weaver continues to cause problems for Adora even when not there as her Black and White thinking on magic and will to keep shadow weaver from having control feed into the relational struggles Adora and Glimmer are having.

In Mer-Mysteries (4x07) we see Adora and Shadow Weaver interact and Adora is sure that Shadow Weaver is the spy and is in deep pain over the fact she believes she is hurting Glimmer. However, we see them take Shadow Weaver’s advice because even Adora can admit Shadow Weaver is great at manipulating others.

We see their next big moments in Failsafe (5x11) Shadow Weaver is willing to use Adora as a tool again, just like she had done her whole life. Shadow Weaver also works hard to break down any sense of autonomy Adora has and her newly healed connection to Catra, someone who would push back on Shadow Weaver in the most knowing way. These acts are harmful and while Adora tries to push back on Shadow Weaver multiple times the painful truth is that Shadow Weaver still has a power over her. While her attempts to use the comfort/assault patterns fail, Adora does need to try and save Etheria so the internal and external objectification continues.

In  Heart pt 1 (5x12) we see Adora talking with the mirage of Mara. Mara is trying to get Adora to want to stay alive, to have self-worth, to take her own needs into account and to give herself grace. Adora herself is arguing back that she doesn’t have value on her own, she only matters in how she can be useful to others. Adora’s words echo Shadow Weaver of her having to be She-Ra and that she should be willing to die for it. Adora’s carrying this self-harming objectified view within her and it’s so defining of their dynamic.

This story ends in Shadow Weaver’s death, a complicated moment where Adora is clearly devastated by what happens and was almost helped by Shadow Weaver to be able to use the failsafe. The complications show through in her losing her mother, almost dying herself, and in an abuser doing one nice thing. This moment is complicated visually, narratively and relationally and is a good incapsulation of the lack of resolve abusive relationships with adult children can feel.

[A Word on “redemption” of Shadow Weaver

I don't believe shadow weaver is redeemed or a good person for her sacrifice. I think her reasons were complex but I don't believe she has ever had or a healthy love for her "daughters". I don't think we should consider this worthy of having forgiveness for her actions based on one singular action. Once action doesn't outweigh years of abuse and trauma.]

[atamascolily]

watching Star Trek TNG 1x01 - "Encounter at Farpoint" be like

oh, wow, these special effects were cutting edge once now I see what Galaxy Quest was a parody of Data just looks like he's relaxing in that chair instead of actually piloting the ship Okay, not sure why Picard has a telepath on staff--didn't think this was Babylon 5--but okay, sure, cool.

*Q appears out of nowhere*

gay very gay do the writers want me to think he's gay? why else would an alien entity dress as a 16th-century ship captain? Is he... flirting with Picard? Yup, definitely flirting. I ship it.

*Q keeps changing costumes* *Q plays cat and mouse games with Picard* You're not really doing anything to change my mind here, writers.

*Data trying to get out of the trial* *Data using his recording function to get Q to eat his own words* YOU'RE DOING AMAZING SWEETIE.

*Tasha Yar tries to jump a crowd to get at Q* we stan a legend

we also stan that 137-year old admiral who hates being beamed up and calls Vulcans "annoying". #LIFE GOALS.

so far, all the crew seems okay... ...oops, never mind, I hate Riker. Riker, please stop being a creep, Dr. Crusher is not into you.

hahaha, Picard and Riker have a conversation that is basically just lampshading Kirk for running off to have adventures instead of staying aboard ship like captains are supposed to, lol.

I'm with Picard on this one: why is there a literal CHILD on board?

oh, hahahaha, the telepath is Riker's ex and she's talking in his mind SUPER AWKWARD lol.

GEORDI LAFORGE!!!! <3<3<3<3!!

Data, you are amazing, please don't let Riker's stupid prejudices and nicknames for you get you down. I just want to punch Riker in the face ALL THE TIME. Is there a reason Deana Troi is wearing a miniskirt when Tasha is wearing pants? Is there no standard uniform for women, or is Deana not part of the ship's hierarchy? She's got a Starfleet emblem, but her title is "Counselor"

that asshole Riker tells Troi to open her mind when she's uncomfortable doing so and she does it and then falls to her knees sobbing with pain I HATE THIS ASSHOLE (this is even worse when I remember THEY USED TO DATE AAAAAHHHHH). And then he has to rush to the rescue *sigh*

oh no Dr. Crusher and Picard Had A Thing, too, didn't they??? I SEE THAT SIGNIFICANT HEADNOD OF MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING ABOUT THE PAST.

LOOK AT PICARD SOFTENING AT WESLEY LIKE EVERYONE ELSE ON THIS SHIP. D'aww.  

RIKER PULLS RANK ON TROI WHEN SHE CAUTIONS HIM, FUCK I HATE THIS DUDE. (Her title is “Lieutenant” here... Lieutenant Counselor?) the old city looks like Tatooine, lol

Tasha's bench looks so ergonomically uncomfortable if she's going to be using it while standing WHYYY love how Data moves in a way that doesn't look quite human The fact that Q approves of Riker just makes me hate him more. Q calling Picard "mon capitaine", I just... FLIRTING. HE'S FLIRTING. Picard is such an awkward turtle with Dr. Crusher LMAO. is it... yes, it is... A SPACE JELLYFISH? HECK YEAH. Q is such a sore loser and such a DRAMATIC ASSHOLE. and so clearly flirting with Picard

I love everything except for Riker. Maybe he gets better?

[stahlop]

Once Upon a Time 2x22 “And Straight On ‘Til Morning” Review

Reviews 1x01 1x02 1x03 1x04 1x05 1x06 1x07 1x08 1x09 1x10 1x111x12 1x13 1x14 1x15 1x16 1x17 1x18 1x19 1x20 1x21 1x22 2x01 2x02 2x032x04 2x05 2x06 2x07 2x08 2x09 2x10 2x11 2x12 2x13 2x14 2x152x16 2x17 2x18 2x19 2x20 2x21

That was an amazing season finale. Emma and Regina used their magic together to save Storybrooke! Greg and Tamara kidnapped Henry to Neverland! Peter Pan has been looking for Henry since Bae was a kid! Belle and Sneezy got their memories back! Hook tried to double cross Emma and then felt guilty! Neal is alive! Okay, I don’t care for Neal, but I guess Henry needs a dad right? 

Summary: Emma and the Charmings come up with a plan to steal back the beans and get the whole town of Storybrooke back to the Enchanted Forest through a portal before the trigger kills the entire town. In Neverland, Captain Hook discovers that Bae is Milah’s son, and is torn between going after his revenge or making Bae part of his family.

Opening: Neverland Island

New Characters:

Lost Boy Leader: We don’t get a name for the leader who comes to Hook for Bae, but he’s creepy. These don’t seem like the Lost Boys we grew up hearing about. Plus he looks like he’s at least 16, which seems a little old to be a Lost Boy. They’re more like the kids from the Lord of the Flies. I wonder if time moving more slowly actually lets them age really slowly. Anyway, he and his cohorts come to Hook’s ship looking for Bae since the shadow dropped him. He keeps talking about a him that runs the island (which we find out at the end is Peter Pan). Hook hides Bae so they can’t find him, but Lost Boy Leader tells Hook that if they find out they’re hiding the boy he will rip his shadow from his body and does this really creepy RIIIIP thing. So, getting your shadow taken from your body is a bad thing. Good to know. In the end, they get Bae and it turns out the boy they’re looking for is Henry!

Character Observations:

Past Hook/Hook:

Hook is looking at a hand-drawn portrait of Milah. Smee makes a comment about how beautiful she was and that they’ll avenge her death. Dude, it’s practically your fault she’s dead. You let Rumplestiltskin know about the bean. I’m surprised Hook let’s Smee talk about Milah at all since he never knew her. But I digress. Hook thinks the boy that they pulled from the sea will be a perfect bargaining chip for him. Hopefully, that will be their key to surviving Neverland. Hook goes to talk to Bae and finds it odd that he doesn’t want to go to Neverland. He calls him a hero when he tells him about saving his family by going with the Shadow in their stead. Bae calls Hook out about not knowing what it was to be a hero, but Hook reminds him that pirates saved him. Bae reveals that his mother was killed by pirates and his father left him. He uses the words that he was a coward and that strikes something with Hook. He’s suspicious right off the bat and demands to know Bae’s name. He doesn’t want to give it, but Hook basically threatens him and when he confirms Hook’s suspicions, he tells him it’s a pirate's life for him. On first viewing, I figured Hook was upset because he knew this was Milah’s child, but after several viewings, I can now see, especially with the look he gives Smee, that the fact that he’s the Dark One’s son, is the bigger emotion that’s winning out. The Lost Boys are coming to the Jolly Roger and Smee is adamant that they give Bae to them, but Hook’s need for revenge is too strong and he will save Bae from them. The Lost Boys come on board and Hook is pretty confident when talking to them. He says he doesn’t know about any boy from the sea and the leader tells him that he’ll have his shadow ripped from him if he’s found to be lying. Hook keeps a smirk on his face the entire time and doesn’t seem bothered about what the boy is telling him at all. They are satisfied that the boy they’re looking for isn’t there and leave. Hook immediately looks to make sure Bae is okay (even though he knows the Lost Boys didn’t find him). Bae thought pirates only cared about themselves, but Hook tells him he has a lot to learn. They both smile at each other as though a new level of trust has been achieved. Hook teaches Bae how to steer the ship. He carves the directions into the ship to help him out, and even ruffles his hair when he does a good job. Aw! Hook subtly asks Bae about his father abandoning him, but Bae doesn’t want to talk about it. Hook relates his own story about his father abandoning him on a ship because he was a fugitive. That’s enough common ground for Bae to tell Hook his father is the Dark One and his dagger is where his power comes from. He tells Hook how his father chose his power over him and abandoned him. Hook seems conflicted about what to do with this information and what to do about Bae. Smee wonders why Bae is still on the ship and reminds Hook what he will do to them if they find Bae aboard. Hook reminds him that he is the captain and anyone who disagrees can walk the plank. Hook is angry that someone like Smee would dare to question his orders. Smee is just asking to be thrown overboard. I get that he’s the newest member of the crew (as this is only a few months after the events of The Crocodile, but he really needs to learn the hierarchy of the ship, the main one being, you don’t question the captain’s decisions). He’s also angry because he’s pretty much decided that he will think of Bae as Milah’s son, and not the son of the Dark One. Bae comes out and attacks Hook with a cutlass, because he found Milah’s picture on Hook’s death and has determined that he’s the pirate that killed her. Once he get the cutlass away, Hook tells Bae the truth about how much he loved Milah, how Rumplestiltskin crushed her heart in front of him, and how he’s wanted revenge ever since. Bae takes from this that his mother abandoned him too. Hook tries to convince him that Milah regretted it, that they were going to come back for him one day, and that fate obviously had a hand in bringing them together now. He wants them to be a family like Milah wanted. He’s practically begging, but Bae rejects him, accusing him of using him to kill his father. Hook tells him that he did, but his emphasis on the word ‘did’ makes it sound like that part of his life is over and he would give it all up for Bae. Bae is in tears and blames Hook for tearing apart his family (I mean, yes and no. He gave Milah the opportunity to leave her life, but she made the decision to leave). He even says Hook might as well have ripped Milah’s heart out and the hurt in his eyes is crushing. Bae wants Hook to take him back to the Darlings, but Hook tells him they can’t leave Neverland. Hook is hurting, and he’s truly upset that he can’t help Bae, but he does offer to have Bae stay on his ship under his protection. Bae would rather fend for himself. He tells Hook he wants off his ship and calls him pirate again. Hook looks devastated. He finally got a piece of Milah back and he’s rejected by him. Bae is ready to go and Hook questions if he’ll be able to survive on his own. He says he’s never had a choice but Hook reminds him that he has a choice now, to stay on the ship with him. They can be his home and family. Hook even goes as far as saying he can change for Bae, but Bae doesn’t think he’ll ever be anything but a selfish pirate. Hook looks like he’s going to cry with the warring emotions playing on his face (seriously, Colin O’Donoghue just nails Hook’s facial expressions so well). But he can’t show the emotion to his crew, so he reverts back to revenge-obsessed Hook, and that’s when the Lost Boys show up. Bae realizes the Lost Boys are there for him, and Hook confirms it because it’s what’s best for him and the Jolly Roger. Bae tells Hook he’s just like his father (choosing himself over Bae, which is bullshit because Hook tried to get Bae to stay with him but Bae rejected him, so sorry Bae, this is on you, not Hook), and Hook does not like that comparison at all. Hook aske the Lost Boy Leader if he will be pleased, but he just leaves. Hook looks down at Bae with the Lost Boys and you can see the regret on his face for reverting to selfish Hook so easily, but what’s done is done and he has to live with it. He cuts through the directions he had carved on the ship for Bae in regretful anger.

In Storybrooke, Hook is with Greg and Tamara in the mines where they are looking for something to activate the trigger. Hook questions who is telling them what to do and they inform him that it’s not his concerns or their concern. This raises Hook’s concern as they have no idea who they’re taking orders from. Tamara goes all religious about their cause on him before telling him about Regina’s trigger. Hook doesn’t seem too thrilled about the fact that they plan on killing the entire town and everyone in it. Greg reminds him that Gold will be one of the people killed, but it still seems more than Hook can stomach. Hook isn’t sure that Gold won’t be immune to this trigger, but Tamara assures him that all of ‘his’ kind will be taken out. They say they are willing to die for their cause, is Hook? Hook does not seem to like the fact he’ll have to die to exact his revenge, but he tells them otherwise. Hook goes to the loft to help Emma, David, Mary Margaret, and Regina stop the trigger. David immediately punches him in the face for the last time he ‘helped’ them (in Tiny), and threatens him with his gun. Hook doesn’t feel this is that threatening since they’re all about to die from the trigger as it is. Emma’s pissed because Regina told them Hook was working with Tamara and Greg, but Hook insists he’s changed sides (again), because he values his own life over his revenge. They come up with a plan for Regina to slow down the trigger in order for them to steal back the beans, and Hook just happens to know where Greg and Tamara are so he gets to help. David says he’ll go with him so he doesn’t try to steal the beans for himself. Regina and Henry have a nice moment and Hook is reminded of the things one goes through for their children when they care for them. David and Hook pull up to the cannery and go searching for Tamara and Greg (why wasn’t that David’s first thought as to where they might be?). David questions Hook’s motives, but Hook says wanting to live is motivation enough. They come across Greg and David just holds him at gunpoint asking for the beans, not even asking Hook to keep a look out for Tamara, who comes up behind them and tries to shoot David. Hook tackles Greg and the container with the beans break and they both go after them in the most ridiculous fight scene because Hook never uses his hook to help him out. Greg apparently gets away, but Hook has managed to snag one of the beans. David wants to get the rest, but Hook manages to convince him not to and steals the bean from Hook. Then there is this whole scene where Mary Margaret convinces Emma and the whole town to try to save Regina by putting the trigger in the portal instead, and they agree, and Hook’s not having it. He thinks they’re all mad (and he would be right, seriously, just kill Regina already. Let her die a hero so she can actually feel like she did something useful for once in her sorry life), and takes the bean from them. Emma desperately tries to appeal to him by telling them how alike they are and how he can change to by giving them the bean and being a part of what they’re doing. It seems to work, as he gives her the bag he had the bean in. He asks her why she’s really doing this and she tells him Henry’s father died. When she inquires who his father is and she tells him Neal (Baelfire), Hook looks distraught at the notion of Bae being dead, and probably at the fact that he’s letting Bae’s son end up alone because he totally swapped the bean out and has left them all for dead. He ends up having a change of heart when he sees the directions on his ship that he had carved out for Bae (or rather he feels guilty because Bae just died). Emma’s understandably pissed at him, because she thought he only cared about himself, but he says he just needed reminding that he could care for others. He gives Emma the bean. He looks adorably confused when Regina tells them they need to go because he thought they were saving the town. David tells them they already did. Emma tells him that Greg and Tamara took Henry through a portal and he does the right thing and offers his ship to them. Hook and Gold agree to call a truce, although neither one seems happy about it. Gold uses the globe that Cora gave him to track Bae in The Cricket Game and Hook recognizes that Henry is in Neverland. He looks both equal parts scared and relieved. He takes the bean and throws it in the water and they all hang on tight as the ship goes into it.

Regina: She has healed from being electrocuted which, I think was just that morning, so good job Mother Superior in your healing abilities. She’s happy to see Henry when they bring him home, but then an earthquake rattles the town and Regina confirms that the trigger has been activated. Henry realizes he’ll be alone and Emma insists that this is Regina’s fault and she needs to fix it. Regina is upset because she can’t fix it and Emma starts yelling at her and Henry doesn’t want him two moms fighting. Hook comes by to try and find a way to stop it, but Regina tells him there’s nothing they can do. She could possibly slow it down a little, but the outcome would still be the same, just slower. David has the idea to get the beans and get everyone to the EF while Regina slows it down. Regina takes this time to tell Henry she’s sorry she couldn’t be the person he wanted her to be, but she’s trying, and she loves him. Aw, look at Regina trying to change for Henry for the third time this season (which is seriously only about six weeks total, despite it moving from spring to winter within 4 episodes). Regina looks on the verge of tears during this whole speech to Henry. Emma and Regina go to the mines and find the diamond. Regina lets Emma know that delaying the trigger will take all the magic she has, and Emma figures out this is a suicide mission on Regina’s part. Emma thinks there must be another way, and Regina, finally, FINALLY, admits fault in this whole thing. She feels it should take her life since she created it. Emma wants to know what she’s going to tell Henry. Regina tells her to tell him she finally did the right thing. She wants to die as Regina and not the Evil Queen. She starts using her magic on the diamond. Regina is stunned when Emma, David, Mary Margaret, and Henry come down to the mines with the idea to put the diamond in a portal. Henry tells her that her dying for them makes her a hero, so they’re all going to be heroes by sending the trigger through the portal instead. But then Emma discovers that Hook took the bean and their plan isn’t going to work, and they’re basically all going to die except for Henry. Regina looks thoroughly saddened as Emma, Mary Margaret, David, and Henry give their tearful goodbyes. Regina reiterates to Henry that she wishes she was strong enough to stop it and that’s when Emma realizes that she and Regina together might be. And it works! But Henry was taken during the confusion. Regina and Emma get to the docks just as Greg throws a bean in the water and he, Tamara, and Henry all jump in. Regina is heartbroken, because there is nothing they can do to find him without a portal. Hook happens to come back with the bean right then, and Regina just wants to find Henry. She is thankful for Hook offering his ship, as he really doesn’t have to. Regina wonders where they took Henry when Gold uses his blood on the globe. She asks Hook where he was taken. I’m not sure if this was bad direction or editing and she was supposed to be asking Gold, or she just figured Hook was well traveled so he’d recognize it better, but it just seemed weird that she asked Hook. He tells her Neverland and they all look worried. They all hang on for dear life as the ship drops through the portal.

Gold: He is watching Henry swing from afar and notices the pointy boulders all around (weirdest playground design ever). Now, I’m not sure if the next part is all in his head or actually happening, and after several viewings I still haven’t figured it out, but he starts pointing his cane at the rope and making it frey. He is shaken out of his murder fantasy/possible actual murder when David, Mary Margaret, and Emma come to the park to speak to Henry. They wonder what Gold is doing there, and he says since Neal won’t speak to him he’s spending time with his grandson (from afar). David ends up telling Gold about Neal and he’s absolutely gutted. And bravo to Robert Carlyle because this is the most vulnerable we’ve ever seen him. He looks like he’s just about to open the flood-gates and he’s trying so hard to keep it together in front of David and Mary Margaret. They ask for his help in stopping the trigger, but he feels this is his  fault and his price to pay for bringing magic back to Storybrooke. Mary Margaret tells him they’ll all die, he’ll die, but he’s okay with that. He gets back to his shop to find the dwarfs ‘looting’ through stuff. Leroy informs him that Mother Superior finally found a cure for the whole losing memories while crossing the town line thing, you have to drink the cure from something that was meaningful. Gold is incredulous that Mother Superior happened to find the cure the day Storybrooke is about to self-destruct, but Leroy tells him that she’s been working on it all along, and it’d be better for Sneezy to know who he is and be with his family if he’s about to die. Leroy happened to get a dose for Belle too. She reminded him of who he was once (Dreamy), he wants to return the favor. He pleads with Gold to not let her die as Lacey. Gold reluctantly takes it. Lacey comes out and questions what just happened, but Gold tells her it was nothing. Lacey and Gold are drinking to the end of the world (why isn’t Lacey questioning what is happening outside?) when she spills her drink. She goes to clean it up with Bae’s shawl and when she doesn’t understand the importance of it, that’s when Gold finally realizes he needs Belle, not Lacey. He looks so sad in this scene. Like he couldn’t believe he didn’t automatically give Lacey the potion right off the bat and how selfish he was being about all of this. He gets the teacup pieces from out of his cabinet (the teacup was smashed way more than that when Belle threw it), and magics it back together. Lacey comments about it, but Gold puts the potion in the teacup and a glass (to make it look like it’s just liquor for both of them), and Lacey drinks it. She changes immediately, and Gold breaks down. They kiss and he apologizes for waking her up to die. She realizes that Neal is dead, and Gold cries to her that he’s failed. This scene was so nicely done. And while it’s definitely not the moment for Belle to be angry about how he used her as Lacey,  I hope they had this conversation after Storybrooke didn’t end. After Greg and Tamara take Henry through the portal, Gold and Belle just happen to be walking by the docks where it happened and find out what happened. David and Emma beg Gold to help them but he tells them it’s impossible. He tried for years to find Bae without a bean and he had to resort to a curse, so even being the Dark One has its limits. Fortunately, Hook decides to come back with the bean, and Gold has the globe to help them find Henry. He and Belle have an emotional goodbye as he tells her to stay behind and gives her a cloaking spell to put around Storybrooke so it will be impossible to find. She wonders how he’ll find his way back to her and realizes that he doesn’t plan on coming back. He reminds her of the prophecy and how Henry is his undoing, and he will do whatever it takes to protect his grandson and honor Bae. A complete change from the Dark One we’ve seen before, putting others before his power. Too bad he has to leave Belle now that he’s finally become the man she always thought he could be. Belle reminds him that the future isn’t always what it seems, so we’ll see how this prophecy plays out next season. They kiss and she tells him that Bae would be proud of him. He watches her go, probably for the last time. He gets on the ship, calls a truce with Hook, and finds Henry through the globe. David wonders who Greg and Tamara really are, and Gold informs him that they’re just pawns and even they don’t really know who they’re working for. Seems like Gold knows a lot about Peter Pan and he may be the only person he fears, which doesn’t bode well if the Dark One is afraid of someone. Guess we won’t be seeing a nice and friendly Peter Pan.

Emma: Everything that Emma does in this episode is so that Henry won’t have to grow up the way she and Neal did. She is finally acting like a parent and doing what is in the best interest of her child. She also seems to finally acknowledge Mary Margaret and David as her parents, at least when she thinks she’s going to die. She has to start by telling Henry about Neal’s death. Poor Emma, ever since coming back from the EF she has had to tell Henry about Archie’s death and about Regina killing him (which luckily, neither were true). They all arrive back at the loft where the first earthquake hits and Regina confirms that the trigger has been activated. Henry realizes that he will be alone since he’s the only one who wasn’t born in the EF. Emma lays into Regina about it being her fault and that she needs to figure it out, but Henry tells them they need to work together. Emma is not happy when Hook shows up to help them because he was working with Greg and Tamara. David comes up with the idea to steal back the beans, so while he and Hook go to get them, she and Regina will go to slow down the trigger while Mary Margaret and Henry go to tell the townspeople about the portal idea. Emma can feel the magic from the trigger as they get closer to it. She says it feels like the oxygen is being sucked out of the air. Regina tells her it’s the magic being sucked out that she’s feeling. Regina informs Emma that slowing down the trigger will take all her strength. Emma realizes that when Regina said goodbye to Henry, she wasn’t planning on making it out of Storybrooke. Emma thinks there has to be another way, she doesn’t want Henry to lose two parents in one day, but Regina says there isn’t another way. Emma doesn’t know what she’ll say to Henry. Regina tells her that she finally became the person he wanted her to be. Emma walks away and turns to say something else, but Regina starts working on the trigger, so Emma leaves to meet back at Granny’s. When she gets there David tells her he has the bean, but Henry wants to know where Regina is. Emma tells him the truth (for once), and Henry is distraught that Regina will have to die. Henry’s insistent that they can save her and brings up the wraith, which gives Mary Margaret the idea to send the trigger through the portal. Emma doesn’t think they should do that because there is no guarantee that it will work, whereas sending everyone back to the EF would definitely work. Emma doesn’t think anyone would agree to go anyway because of how risky it is, but Archie apparently speaks for the entire town and says they would follow the prince and princess. Emma still doesn’t think it’s a good idea. Mary Margaret asks for the chance to be a parent and do the right thing, but Emma is afraid Henry will be left alone, and she doesn’t want him to grow up like she did. And she says this directly to David and Mary Margaret who look upset, or course. Another earthquake hits and Emma is adamant about using the bean to get the townspeople through and not for the trigger. Mary Margaret is adamant that she still has to atone for killing Cora, but Emma reminds her that she had to kill Cora. Mary Margaret says she took the easy way out and they should have taken the hard path, and if they take the easy path they’ll be building a future on Regina’s blood. I mean, I don’t have a problem with that, but apparently, Emma does, or at least she has a problem with her parents thinking she’s okay with it, because she agrees. But Hook doesn’t and takes the bean from them. Emma uses the fact that they’re loners that only rely on themselves to convince him to go along with their plan, but it isn’t until she tells him that Henry’s father, who happened to be Baelfire, died that day, that he seems sympathetic to their plight. They go down to the mines and realize there isn’t a bean in the pouch. Regina tells them she can’t contain the trigger much longer and Emma realizes they’re all going to perish. She calls her parents mom and dad for the first time and they are all distraught. Emma finally remembers that she has magic and thinks that both she and Regina can stop this thing, which they do. Unfortunately, while they were doing that, Greg and Tamara kidnapped Henry. They run to the docks and find them jumping into a portal. Emma tries to go in after them but David stops her because the portal is closing. She needs to find a way to get to Henry but there are no options. Hook decides to come back and help them, much to Emma’s chagrin, because she wants to still be pissed at him for leaving. She thought he only cared for himself, but he says he just needed reminding and gives her the last bean. She’s shocked. She tells him that they have to get Henry and he offers his ship, which they all immediately get on with no provisions or extra clothes or anything. Emma shows her trust in Hook by giving him back the bean so he can use it to open the portal. And they are off to Neverland.

Mary Margaret/David: They are basically still very optimistic that everything will work out. After they tell Gold about Neal’s death they expect that he will want to help stop the trigger, but he doesn’t, and they’re in shock. David comes up with the idea of stealing back the other two beans to get the whole town back to the EF through the portals (and he gets to punch Hook right before the idea hits him). He and Hook go the buddy cop route to get the beans back. David points his gun at Greg but doesn’t see Tamara behind him who shoots at him (and grazes him), before he runs after her. She trips and falls but Greg saves her before Hook comes and stops David from going after them, because he has a bean. David is a bad cop. I mean, I know he has no formal training whatsoever, but he couldn’t have told Hook to look behind him and make sure Tamara didn’t get the jump on them? I mean, that’s basic cop training 101. Anyway, he steals the pouch that Hook put the bean in. At Granny’s, Emma has to tell Henry about Regina’s sacrifice, which neither Henry nor Mary Margaret are happy about. Henry mentions how they rescued Regina from the wraith and that gives Mary Margaret the idea to put the trigger into the portal. Emma isn’t too keen on this idea because there is no proof that it will work, but Mary Margaret is still feeling guilty over killing Cora and feels she still owes Regina. She thinks she took the easy path by killing Cora, and she’d rather take the hard path, and helping save Regina with an unproven method is the hard path and will help give her closure. She also guilts Emma about it by saying that this is a chance for her and David to be good parents by helping Regina. Ugh! Emma finally agrees. They all go to Regina and fill her in on the plan and she has the same reservations as Emma, but Hook has stolen the bean so it’s all for naught. Mary Margaret and David realize the gravity of the situation when Emma calls them mom and dad and wait for the end to come. Luckily, Emma helps save the day with her magic. Somehow, in the blast that happens when Emma and Regina stop the trigger, Mary Margaret and David lose track of Henry and he gets kidnapped. They’re all running around looking for Henry and find that Greg and Tamara have jumped into a portal with him. David has to stop Emma from jumping in after them because it’s closing (very similar to when he tried to jump in after Emma and Mary Margaret in Broken). Hook comes back to help save the town but David tells him they already saved it in a very superhero-type way. David stays back to untie the ship (when did Hook tie the ship to the dock, he just docked?), and overhears Gold telling Belle the town isn’t safe. David says they can’t leave people in danger, but Gold has that covered. David leaves the conversation when it starts becoming a little more personal between Gold and Belle.  As the ship heads toward the portal, David questions who Greg and Tamara are. Gold tells him they’re merely pawns, and the person they’re working for is someone to be feared, which doesn’t bode well for our heroes.

Greg/Tamara: They’re pretty much idiots. They’re willing to die for their cause, even though they really don’t know what it is. They think they’re trying to rid the world of magic, but they don’t even know who they’re working for. Eventually, they figure out that Henry is the real prize for their boss and somehow manage to kidnap him. And then they use magic to open up a portal to go to somewhere where there is most likely magic, so they’re also major hypocrites. I hope we aren’t chasing them all next season.

Henry: He’s all about the Regina love in this episode. I get that she raised him, but this little love fest that he and Regina have been having lately is completely contradictory to how they’ve been all season. Henry has barely seen Regina because she’s been too busy trying to kill his family, but he believes her outright when she says she loves him and he tells her he loves her. Last season he didn’t believe she loved him whatsoever, that’s why he went and found Emma in the first place. So, their whole relationship in this episode was super weird. I know Henry doesn’t want her to die, but they also don’t have the type of relationship for him to not let her try to be a hero. That’s exactly what he’s been wanting her to do all season. And then he manages to get himself kidnapped and taken through a portal.

Questions:

How does Smee know the Lost Boys could hurt or kill them? When they come on board the ship, the leader asks Hook if he knows who they are. How does Smee know what they could do if they’ve never officially met?

What playground is Henry at? This is not the playground Regina built in Fruit of the Poisonous Tree.

Who builds a playground with a wooden swing and sharp rocks all around it?

What kind of app is Greg using that is navigating the mines and telling him where the dwarfs pickaxes are?

Why does Smee wonder why Bae is still aboard the ship? It’s not like the Lost Boys have come back for him since they checked the ship the first time.

How do the beans not activate when the glass bottle they’re in shatters? Do they specifically have to be thrown by someone with the intention of opening a portal to work?

When did Gold go back for the teacup pieces? He left right after Belle threw them against the hospital wall.

Seriously, Hook, you have a hook. Why aren’t you using it against Greg to get the beans?

Where are the townspeople that Mary Margaret and Henry were supposed to be gathering? The only people we see are Archie, the dwarfs, and Granny. Are the rest of them waiting somewhere else? Why are Archie and the dwarfs making decisions for the amount of people in the town?

I get that Emma doesn’t want to lose her family, but is there a reason she can’t leave Storybrooke with Henry to prevent him from being alone? Why does she have to stay and be killed with everyone else? I’m sure her parents would understand needing to go with her son. Hell, even Regina could have left town with Henry.

At what age would Bae have been old enough? He’s practically 15 by this point. 13 probably would have been a decent age to go back for him.

Where does Bae think Hook is going to drop him off when they can’t leave Neverland?

I get that Bae is angry, but why does he think Hook’s a selfish pirate? What part about having a home on his ship and being a part of his family says selfish?

If Hook had already called the Lost Boys, what was he going to say to them if Bae had taken the offer to stay on the ship? Would he have told the Lost Boys Bae was off limits?

Where did the backpack that Mary Margaret is wearing come from? She doesn’t have it in Granny’s, but then she has it when they go to Regina in the mines? Did they stop at the loft for some reason to pack up some things? Is it her purse? What is it and where did it come from?

Here’s what I’m wondering about the trigger. Why would Regina make a fail-safe that would kill her too? She had no way of knowing if she would be allowed out of the town’s borders. How does the trigger know who to kill? Does it have some sense that only kills people from the EF? Even though Henry was born here, both his parents were from the EF, so why wouldn’t that include him. Does the trigger only work in the town that the curse was in? Or does it feed on magic in general? Why not just throw it over the town border where there is no magic for it to suck up? Otherwise, sending it through a portal into another place with magic doesn’t make sense either, because wouldn’t it just suck the magic there?

How did Greg and Tamara manage to not only kidnap Henry, but get him out of the mines without him screaming and struggling? And how did they know the exact moment that the trigger would blast everyone back for him to get taken in the first place? Too many logistics had to take place that just could not have happened.

Why are Gold and Belle just strolling along the docks? The trigger just got stopped, 5 minutes ago, and they’re taking a stroll? I’d think they’d be doing more important things now that Belle has her memories back and they’re no longer going to die.

How did Phillip get away from the wraith? Will we see this story next season?

Wouldn’t it have made more sense to be below deck when going through the portal so they don’t accidentally fly off the ship?

Observations:

Hook has a slight limp in the past with no explanation (yes, he’s still recovering from his skiing accident in real life, I get it).

The Lost Boy Leader has a pretty nasty scar on his cheek. 

It’s nice that the trigger gives people time to save themselves and doesn't just make the town immediately explode. That must have been for Regina’s benefit to get herself out of town if she ever felt the need to trigger it.

I’m pretty sure Hook pockets the bean before they even go to Granny’s when they show him putting it into his leather pouch. It looks like he puts it up his sleeve.

A hair from Pinocchio’s head, someone who was returned to who they used to be, is the key ingredient for the memory potion to bring back Sneezy and Belle’s memories.

Hook’s reflections about his life and revenge don’t always jive. In The Evil Queen he made it sound like death would be welcome once his revenge was had as he had nothing else to live for. In this episode he tells David he would prefer to keep living rather than kill Gold.

Mermaids aren’t nice as Hook refers to them twice as being a curse to men in the ocean.

It’s not possible to leave Neverland even if you’re in it’s waters.

Hook has a pretty good throw, considering they have to go at least two ships lengths to get to the portal.

Portals in the water are much bigger than on land.

So that was the season 2 finale! We are off to Neverland for season 3 so that sounds exciting. Greg and Tamara need bad things to happen to them. Hook is along for the adventure! Moe Hook is always good. Maybe this adventure will mellow him and Gold out about their feud. Oh, and Neal is alive. Why? What more does he need to do and how is he going to do it from the Enchanted Forest?

Please leave comments and reblog! Let me know if you’d like to be tagged in future reviews.

@searchingwardrobes​​​​ @thisonesatellite​​​​ @justbecauseyoubelievesomething​​​​ @laschatzi​​​​ @profdanglaisstuff​​​​ @mariakov81​​​​​ @lfh1226-linda​

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[thelegendofclarke]

We really don't have reason to think Sansa "gave" WF to D tho. We've all been watching waiting for the Starks to get WF back. They did in s6. They haven't lost it. When Ned said the same words to Robert in 1x01 it was a courtesy to someone of higher rank. It didn't mean WF was no longer Ned's. It doesn't mean it for Sansa now. I think Doran said similar to Myrcella abt Sunspear. Doesn't mean royal visitor now owns the place or will kick out family. And I don't think D wants to.

Sorry anon but, like I told another anon last night, I really don’t buy into that one either. It’s playing on semantics and pretty much just ignoring the context of the Westerosi hierarchy and how monarchies function in general.

I mean obviously this is not a “this is my house now get out!” situation. I haven’t seen anyone even try to argue that when they say the Starks relinquished the North tbh. That’s using such a literal interpretation to the point of almost reductio ad absurdum. Saying “the Starks don’t ultimately control the North but it’s still their’s” doesn’t really make much sense to me, because there’s not really going to be a operational difference. How is it theirs if their ownership of it is still subject to the power of another? That’s more like renting, not buying; they have a lease, not a mortgage. The King/Queen has absolute power over the lands considered to be part of their kingdom, that’s one of the major facets of being a King/Queen. And for me at least, using this argument kind of inherently contradicts the argument that Sansa and the Starks “did the right thing” for the greater good. Because the way you are presenting it, they aren’t really doing anything.

Sure, it can be considered a hospitable greeting; but we are splitting hairs here. The fact that it could be considered a hospitable greeting doesn’t change the reality of the situation as a whole. Symbolic relinquishment of control is still relinquishment of control. In the grand scheme of things, there will be no functional distinction. Or else what would even be the point of having them bend the knee in the first place?

[todaydreambelievers]

Meta Monday: Pilot (1x01)

It’s Meta Monday!! 

Time to write up your thoughts about the Pilot - and anything that might incorporate the episode.  

Some questions to think about: 

What was Kurt’s life like before glee club?

What were any of the kids’ lives like before glee?

How are characters different or the same than their later incarnations?

What was the history of glee club between when Will was there and Sandy? 

Who was Hank? And why was in one of the ‘titanic two’?

What’s Blaine up to during this time? 

Does Glee handle the whole school hierarchy thing well? 

What drew people in to watching the show based just on the pilot? 

What are some themes the pilot kicks off that last until the very end of the show? 

Does it hold up now that it’s over? 

Would the show have lasted had Kurt not been created? 

Tag: Meta Monday

[spaceorphan18]

SO’S GLEEEPISODE RANKING: NO. 61

I started a Full Glee Episode Ranking between seasons 5 and 6 over two years ago now (!!!). My opinions have changed somewhat since then (retrospect is an interesting thing), and I need to include the thirteen season six episodes I neglected in my original list.  With the two year anniversary of the show being over a few months away, I thought I’d count down to by posting an episode every day.  I’ll tag using: glee episode rankings

Here we go…

61. Pilot (1x01)

Written by: Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, Ian Brennan Directed by: Ryan Murphy

So - I’ve reached the half way point on my list! Yay!! Interestingly, around the 80s was when I started to like the episodes more than I dislike them, but now we’re getting into really good episodes.  

So I have the pilot here.  Because I wasn’t sure what to do with it really.  On the one hand, it’s a solid and fascinating start to the story.  It’s very funny, and moving, and captures the attention enough that people want to keep going.  On the other hand, I don’t think it holds up as well on rewatch - when you’ve (I’ve) become invested in other stories and characters who are barely there or aren’t there at all.  

The story, as we all know, is about Will - a tired high school teacher in a bad marriage, looking for a way to relive his high school glory days by starting up the glee club again.  The cheerleading coach wants to squish him, and put him in his place for taking her finances.  The guidance counselor has a crush on him.  The football coach has a crush on her, and blames the poor Spanish teach for all his issues.  This sounds like an excellent premise on paper, doesn’t it? [sarcasm]

And then we have Finn - a kid whom Will sees as himself at that age, and takes this conflicted jock under his wing.  Finn’s not a bad guy, but just wanting to figure out his place in high school hierarchy, and feeling torn between his cheerleader girlfriend and jock bffs, and his newfound love for singing.  

Meanwhile, we have our ragtag group of kids, spit on by society; a black girl, a disabled boy, the gay kid, and the Asian-goth girl, led by an ambitious Jew, coming together to form the actual glee club, and becoming unlikely friends.  This sound way more promising than two white dudes paralleling each other’s stories about what it is to be a man? Too bad - they only get about five minutes of screen time.  

So, yeah, the pilot’s good, but just doesn’t interest me the way it did when I first started it - especially when the faults kind of show through the cracks.  So I gave it the honorary middle of the list spot.  

High Points: 

Sue - I’m gonna give her some credit, she’s actually pretty funny in the pilot, and Jane Lynch really was one of the strongest actors they had on the show.  

The New Directions (nude erections) joke was pretty inspired. 

Rachel, Mercedes, Kurt and Tina’s auditions! (And Artie’s there, too) Hello adorable bbs! I wish you were here more! 

Howard Bamboo.  Who doesn’t like Howard Bamboo?

This episode does have some fantastic one-liners. 

Low Points: 

The pilot focuses a lot on Will and his life, and y’all probably know by now, I don’t really care about any of it. 

The pilot, and really the first portion of the show, really does rely heavily on stereotypes.  I’m glad the show could break out of that a bit. 

Puck and Quinn - gah, such awfulness in their limited appearance. 

Music: 

The pilot has a different relationship to music than the entire rest of the series.  Because of that, I’m just going to go over the songs that were fully released.  

On My Own: Yes, give Lea Michele a Broadway classic that both fits her character and shows off her talent.  This was a good choice all the way around! 

Rehab: The Vocal Adrenaline stuff is pretty funny.  The song itself isn’t all that great. But in context it works amazingly. 

Leaving on a Jet Plane: I’m surprised Will didn’t sing more at the beginning of this show, tbh.  Matthew Morrison’s awful character sometimes hides the fact that he’s, indeed, a very good performer, and I think he does well with this one. 

Don’t Stop Believin’: Oh, man, this song gave me chills when I first heard it.  There’s a reason they kept coming back to this one, because it was magic the first time it came together.  I wasn’t completely sold on the show until I heard it, and it made me sit up and listen.  Brilliant, and classic, one of the best things the show ever did.  

Final Verdict: The Pilot was an incredibly entertaining piece of TV, unlike really anything that had been on TV up until that point.  It’s really pretty funny, moving, and engaging.  However, the show turned far away from these original story lines, and I can’t say that I’m too invested in any of the stories told in this episode - especially when the stories I’m interested in are barely there.  

[artac13]

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