#i fully support the writers decision to break them up at the end of s2

[throwbacktears]

i said it once and ill say it again

Sonny with a chance is truly the most underrated ive ever seen. And thats on its creative and unique premise, writing, set, acting, characterization, and series plot progression !

[preppymayhem]

Do you think Pacey and Andie would have ended up together if Andie hadn’t cheated on Pacey? Why do you prefer Pacey/Joey over Pacey/Andie?

Okay so before I answer this question I want to preface this by saying that I generally do not think that the worth of a ship is determined by whether I feel it should have been endgame or not. Or in shorter terms, I do not think a ship being endgame in canon makes it better than ship that is not endgame. I also generally don’t require or need a ship to be canon to enjoy it or to like it. I cared a lot more when I was younger, but now I am in the words of Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon: “I’m too old for this shit”.

That is all to say that I very much liked Pacey/Andie, them and their romance in s2 was one of the best things in that season! I thought they were really good together and I def reblog posts of them any time it comes across my dash (which is sadly not that often). I think their relationship was important to both their development as characters both individually and together. And I’m not saying that it was a stepping stone to Pacey/Joey (it is great in its own right), but I do maintain that Pacey/Joey could not have happened if Pacey/Andie hadn’t happened. Like it is super important that Andie was in all likelihood the first person in Pacey’s life who loved him and saw and treated him as if he had value in and of himself.

(And I also don’t want anyone want to take this as like Andie “fixed” Pacey and so after he was good enough for Joey. I think that’s infantilizing and is an unfair reading to all characters involved and I get very wary when people start talking about relationships in terms of whether people deserve other people like they are rewards for getting a good report card)

So with all that being said, no I don’t believe that their relationship was ever destined for long term success even if she hadn’t cheated. How much this was due to writer intent or just accidental flaws in the writing I can’t say, but personally to me, I didn’t see them lasting at all past high school in any real capacity. Which I want to reiterate does not make them lesser or mean that they were bad for each other. I think it was evident to me especially in the latter half of s2 that there would come a time when the fissures that were present in their relationship would just open and separate them completely.

I think Pacey’s self worth was just totally in the rock bottom so he molded himself way too much so that he could feel like he was good enough for her, and Andie I think overly dictated what he should value and gave the indication that everything was on her terms which didn’t bode well.

But I also want to say the writing choice of breaking them up via Andie cheating was a bad and lazy writing decision on the writer’s part. Like I don’t necessarily think that the timing of it (them breaking up early in s2) was wrong, but more the how.

If I were to fix it and do it over. I would have had Andie just plain break up with him once she got out of the mental health facility. It would have been in line for her to come out and say “Hey Pacey I have to work on getting my life back to where I want it to be and I don’t think I have the capacity or ability to be in a relationship” and Pacey would resist but they would breakup, probs both would walk away thinking that once she got her life back they would reconcile. I think this was in line with the way Andie was ordering her life at the time and also doing it this way would have added extra layers of tension to Pacey’s character over the course of the season, AND would have made Andie’s selfless decision at the end to let the idea of them getting back together go when she realized Pacey had fallen for a Joey a real character growth moment for her. It also would have contrasted even more nicely with the way Dawson was handling the whole thing because it puts all couples and characters in a parallel.

But hey I am not tv writer now or in 1999 so what do I know.

And I should also cop to the fact that when I first watched Dawson’s Creek fully through, I already knew Pacey/Andie weren’t going to last so I had both consciously and unconsciously set my expectations accordingly.

As to the second question, my reason for preferring Pacey/Joey is more than the idea that either of them could never be happy with anyone else (a fact that I don’t believe at all) and more that I really just like how their romance was written, performed and developed. I liked the idea of two people who think they are so different and completely separate from each other, find out that they have something in common and actually like connect and that the other has things that they value and respect. Pacey values Joey’s ambitions, her intelligence and insights and the work she has put into getting to where she is in life and Joey learns (because as I have said Joey is little narrow focused on things and is prone too overly judge others for their ‘flaws’) to value things in Pacey that she perhaps struggles with. (I really think she at her heart fell in love with his ability to just go into things wholeheartedly without worrying about the risks and picking himself up after every setback) i think they both fell for the other when they were supporting and just generally being there emotionally for each other when they both thought they had been abandoned by the people they had loved (Dawson and Andie). And I thought it was just really emotionally resonant, well told and is a perfect example that when US TV can get this sort of u expected storytelling right, it just knocks most anything out of the water.

So for me it was the narrative and the writing. And I also just really loved their dynamic all throughout. Unfortunately from s3 onwards we just get more time to see them together than we got with Pacey and Andie and that just sort of sealed it.

I know this is long and I had to keep myself from going off on a hundred tangents, but thank you for asking! I love talking about this stuff and unfortunately Inso rarely get into active enough fandoms and ships where I get to talk about it so thank you anon!

[shikai-the-storyteller]

Mae Catt’s Cyberverse Q&A

Here’s a neater version of some key Q&A responses from Mae Catt’s Cyberverse stream. 

Please note: not everything is verbatim, and also note that Mae Catt said “Don’t take things I say as the end-all be-all.” She’s a big supporter of fanfic writers!

This Q&A session contains spoilers for Season 3 of Cyberverse. For a (somewhat) more comprehensive transcript, please refer to this post.

Q: Megop rights?

“Oh absolutely, duh.”

Q: What does Optimus do when he’s not giving speeches / being a leader when they were all hanging out on the ARK?

I think he reads, he seems like a heavy reader. It’d be cute if he read really bad Earth romance novels. He seems like a guy who needs a break from everything.

Q: Does Optimus have hobbies?

Not to borrow from Rung, but doesn’t it seem like Optimus would make model ships? Very quiet, very focused detail-oriented hobby. *pauses* Oh duh, he also plays basketball.

Q: How did the Decepticons learn to stream? 

Because they’re deceptive! Megatron knew he should dedicate some time to winning the hearts and minds of humans. Starscreams’ funeral was not the first time they streamed. Optimus would use the official media channels (like the news), not a streaming service. Megatron would try to speak more directly to the people.

Q: Is Optimus the type of streamer who would take 10 minutes to figure out how to un-mute his microphone?

Optimus is a dad. He has no idea what’s going on with streaming. Optimus would say embarrassing things while Bee and Hot Rod were in the middle of streaming something.

Q: Is Megatron dead?

In discussions we wanted to kill him. We wanted to do a reverse Optimus death. However, in the final product, I kinda enjoy the ambiguity rather than the final decision. Can’t remember if we were decisive about that in the script.

Q: Did the Titan mind Decepticons living in them?

The Titans want to be cities. They want citizens. They want to be lived in, that brings them joy.

Q: Does Megatron do anything for fun or is he too angry?

I want to say he’s too angry, he has fun beating people down but I don’t think he’s had fun for a long time.

Q: How would you feel about a female Optimus Prime? 

[GAY LAUGHTER] 

The question is: do you turn Optimus Prime into a woman, or do you take characters like Elita One and uplift her? I would want to lean more into giving Elita One more oomph, I do love how Optimus doubts himself and if he’s worthy of being a Prime.

(Mae Catt talked a lot about representation and later mentioned how there's more pressure to write the girl characters well, especially because of the need for better representation. They wanted more girls in the show, and they planned to have Jazz be a girl).

Q: Elita prime when?

All the time, in my heart!

Q: Did you plan to have ___ character in the show?

Almost every character was discussed at least once. 

She really regrets that they didn’t get to have Beast Machine Obsidian or Rumble and Frenzy in the show, and says she would’ve loved a MTMTE-style Ultra Magnus / Minimus and Transmutate. She didn’t know what Obsidian’s personality would be, it was just a “Look how cool he is!” sort of thing.

(Note: We have Mae Catt to thank for Whirl getting into Cyberverse)

Q: What was your favorite episode?

“I Am the AllSpark” because of the Megatron and Starscream dialogue (which she wrote). Also S2 04 Soundwave and Shockwave.

I enjoyed writing Starscream most, Clobber and Hot Rod became a joy, S2 E4 was my first episode, and it was fun getting into Hot Rod’s voice. It was hard doing Optimus’ voice, I’d always pass it off to someone to look at it.

Q: Did you ever plan to have Hot Rod become Rodimus?

Rodimus was never considered for the show because Optimus dying has been covered to death, but we were adamant about portraying Hot Rod as someone who wanted to be a leader. Hot Rod is someone who is learning to be a leader.

(On that note, when someone asked if she thought Bee would ever become Prime, Mae Catt said:)

I don’t think Bee would be a Prime. Windblade and Hot Rod would be a better Prime. He wouldn’t want to be a Prime. He’s the #2 to Primes!

Q: Did Megatron always plan to return to Cybertron?

Megatron’s priorities changed when he saw his doppelganger. Realizing he was a horrible tyrant, that scared him enough to return and not kill Optimus and make peace no matter what.

Q: Which death hurt you the most?

Starscream. (Slipstream’s hurt too).

We didn’t want to kill people off willy-nilly for shock value, but in certain instances it made sense. Like, the audience will fall in love with Slipstream because she’s becoming good, so she has to die. (She apologized for that sounding harsh). We killed Prowl because it was Shadow Striker doing the killing and he’s a self-sacrificing lieutenant. I almost wanted Starscream to emerge from the Judge’s head untouched, but I’m ultimately glad that idea got shot down.

(She circles back to this comment later, so I’m making note of that here since it wasn’t a direct response to a question)

When I was desperately trying to save Starscream’s life even though I brutally murdered Slipstream, I wanted Starscream to have amnesia and have a redeption arc. I wanted him to have a Windblade shard and have it be kind of like Castaway, where the only person he talked to was that (and the shard only had 5 phrases it could say). Eventually Bee would befriend him and he’d wind up with the Autobots.

I wanted to write Starscream kind of like an abuse victim who expects the worst of the Autobots, but I wanted him to warm up slowly to them. I wanted to have a Starscream and Optimus episode where Starscream messes up on something and Optimus is like “you did your best and that’s what counts”, a response which is totally new to Starscream. But obviously we didn’t have time for that.

Regarding redemption arcs (a continuation from the previous question, and a huge highlight from the stream):

Re: the potential for Starscream’s redemption arc “A redemption arc needs to be facilitated by a character acknowledging that what they did was wrong. He would have had a laundry list of excuses for it, even if there was all that evidence to the contrary, but the character needs to acknowledge that reasons don’t matter because people got hurt [by their actions]. [The character] needs to intend to do better. Let them try and let them fail, they don’t need to do a 180, it’s hard work to be a better person.”

NOTE: Mae Catt also made a few more comments re: the idea of a Starscream redemption arc on her Tumblr page.

Q: Did Megatron really kill Starscream?

The Starscream beatdown was super severe and they were like “holy frick they’re really going for it” when they saw the storyboards. According to Maecatt, Megatron didn’t kill Starscream when he slammed him down (which is a bit confusing since the show definitely made it seem like Starscream died). 

Q: Did Drift die? Why was he a double-agent?

According to us, Drift did not make it, but I fully endorse whatever you want. We needed a double-agent, someone who would (seemingly) kill Hot Rod. (She says they went with Drift because of his history in the comics).

(Later on in the stream)

Maybe Drift is alive, maybe he’s rethinking his decision and he’ll come back later. Drift would’ve been helpful in S3 for sure, maybe he’d come back with Repugnis or something.

Q: Why are you so mean to Percy? 

He's so mature and pragmatic that he can take it, and is willing to take one for the team bc he understands that it's what he needs to do. (In response to someone’s comment about his personality) Yes, he’s calmly feral.

Q: Is Skullcruncher Percy's bouncer now that he's running Maccadam's? 

Oh totally.

(She later mentions that Percy has permanently taken over Maccadam’s. Also: Skullcruncher is a lady! She misses Mac, but Percy takes good care of her).

Q: If Tarn is the perfect Decepticon who's the perfect Autobot? 

A firetruck alt mode, and an Autobot insignia as a face. Nat (her fiance) and I talked about it a lot. Optimus SHOULD be a fire truck, it makes the relationship between him and Ratchet a little more fun since Ratchet is an ambulance, and Optimus has an ax. It just makes sense! 

(She agreed that the perfect Autobot would be Thunderclash after the chat said that).

On that note, Mae Catt said they used Tarn for the show because: “OBVIOUSLY (the perfect decepticon) should look like this guy. A faceless mindless Decepticon that only serves Megatron”.

Q:  What sort of documents DID Optimus work on in the archives? 

Probably historical archives and working on stuff about all the Primes. Something like the French / American revolution equivalent, which informed his speech writing for Megatron and his own ethics.

Q: Did you always plan to make Optimus socially awkward? 

We “found” the social awkwardness for Optimus. Optimus was depicted as a father figure in S1 (implying it’s because S1 is from Bee’s perspective), S2 / S3 we were able to explore more and found the limits [writing him] and found it was hard to maintain that level of heroic dialogue. Optimus would feel awkward about it too. Randolph did an impression of Optimus’ speech for the Party Down episode. “[Optimus] can’t not be in war-mode.”

Q: Were Optimus and Megatron ever friends, or did they just work together on the speech stuff? 

Oh hell yes, I think [the story] is always enhanced when they’re friends and when Optimus really believes in what Megatron was working on. Optimus’ rejection of Megatron is what pushes him over the edge, his best friend rejecting him pushes him into a place where he becomes a tyrannical person.

Q: Does Maccadam know we love him? 

Mae Catt: *puts hand over hear heart and looks off into the distance dramatically* Yes.

Q:  What’s the best selfie Arcee’s ever taken? 

I like the one with the giraffe. Or maybe a selfie with some humans. I like the idea of Arcee having a bunch of human friends. 

Q: What do the Transformers think of the Florida Man? 

They can’t really tell the difference between humans, they don’t really get it. It just sorta looks like all the normal stuff they see on Earth (or something). 

Q: Who’s the Florida Man of the Transformers? 

Rack ‘n Ruin. But he’s too nice. Hmmm.

Q: What was most important to you personally to put out in each episode? Like humor/characterization/arcs 

I wanted to make sure I didn’t write dialogue that was condescending to kids, wanted to be true about the character. Dialogue needs to be true to the characters, and gay. (Laughs)

Q: Do Transformers know what memes are?

They know what they ARE, but they don’t get it. We wanted Hot Rod to be super into Earth culture (winning races and driving off before humans could realize no one was in the car), but we never had time to really get into that.

Q: What music does Soundwave like?

We had a cut joke from S2 E5 [where Megatron and Optimus are popping through portals all around the world trying to find the All Spark] . Soundwave pops into Brazil where there’s a music festival and he crashes the concert and hang out. He likes EDM the most? 

His favorite song is Despacito. He thinks its so sad.

Q: Were you surprised that Jake Tillman was in his 20s listening to his Optimus voice the first time?

She apparently listened to his vines a lot when he was in his teens so meeting up again like that was a cool coincidence. 

Q: What other dimensions or places did you want to be in the show?

I would’ve liked to have the other Transformers series show up (TFP, TFA, G1, Shattered Glass) but we don’t have those assets or budget. 

“This will quickly become unclear to audiences who aren’t (you people).” They couldn’t have all these references when some of their audience wouldn’t get it. 

Q: What about ____ ship?

Mae Catt says she doesn’t want to yuck anybody’s yums. For example, someone asked about Arcee/Grimlock, and while she said she sees them more as friends, she didn’t say they can’t be in a relationship. (Mae Catt also said she doesn’t ship Bee with anyone because she sees him as a little brother).

As she said several times in the stream, “Don’t take things I say as the end-all be-all”!

That being said, she did say she likes Dead End / Perceptor and Windblade / Slipstream.

Q: Why are there no humans in the show?

From the show’s conception, there were no plans to include any humans. They didn’t want humans distracting from the Transformers.

Q: Why did the Scientist collect Soundwaves?

He collects Soundwave because Soundwave is COOL! Wouldn’t you collect a single father of 5 who carries them around in his chest?

Why does anyone collect what they collect? “That’s a really angry dad who’s got five children he carries around in him and he plays music. Gotta have that!”

(Later on, she circles back to this question)

All the Other Universe Soundwaves the Scientist collected also had their own Laserbeaks. I wonder if the scientist would’ve taken them out. He might’ve just gotten rid of them.

(And of course, here are the boyfriend questions from the stream:)

Q: Is Dead End a good boyfriend?

Dead End is a work in progress, but maybe Percy is patient enough to get him there

(Mae Catt says she really loves the Deadceptor ship. She knew people would ship it, but she didn’t ship it herself until she saw the fanart for it).

Q: Is Astrotrain a good boyfriend?

No, no...he’s not a good person, really.

Q: Is Percy a good boyfriend?

Absolutely--WAIT HOLD ON. He’s very blunt, he doesn’t mince words, if you can handle his bluntness then you’re good. He is what he is and you have to deal with him.

Q: Is Soundwave a good boyfriend?

Soundwave is not a good boyfriend. He’s a good casual romance but he’s not a good boyfriend. Soundwave would be a terrible listener. He hears a lot but he’d tune you out.

Other information tidbits:

- If Thunderclash was in the show he and Jetfire would HATE each other. Thunderclash would be a rival reality star (maybe) to Media Fire.

- Mae Catt said “A lot of intelligent life is inherently mechanical” in space, explaining why so much of the non-Cybertronian life we saw in the show were robots.

- Knock Out was considered for the show, but every Transformer under the sun was discussed at some point in the writer’s room. (Ex: “Rumble and Frenzy are always considered in my heart, but there wasn’t enough time or space or assets to do so”).

- “The brand team had grown up on the toys as we had grown up on the ‘toons, so we just wanted to make the best thing imaginable.”

- They decided Optimus would be in the Other Universe’s Matrix and have a plinth because they wanted to show he was dead. “Logical backflips because he needed to be among the 13 to talk to Windblade.” 

- Dead End’s eyes are white.

- The team wanted Jazz to be a lady (!!!!!!!)  

- These characters have their own lives that we don’t see. Lots of stuff happening between episodes that we don’t always necessarily see.

- Developing Sky-Byte’s character was simultaneous with Jetfire’s character. “We knew we wanted Sky-Byte to be a poet, and we wanted him and Megatron to be chummy”.

- Percy did permanently take over Mac’s bar.  

- Her favorite VA is Jeremy Levy, he’s a really cool guy.

- She thinks Starscream and Cheetor could become (not necessarily friends, but connected?) because of their connection to the All Spark. Mentions how Starscream acknowledge Cheetor as the “Guardian of the Allspark”.

- Mae Catt describes Starscream as an “Awful gremlin” several times.

- Astrotrain and the Insecticons are from Megatron X’s universe.

- She thinks Cliffjumper and Bee wouldn’t get along, solely because of the IDW2 comic stuff. (They had a cut joke about someone telling Bee he should paint himself red and Bee saying, “But then everyone will think I’m Cliffjumper!”).

- Cyberverse got 26 episodes for season 3 because they had the 4-part episode movies.

- Megatron cares about his troops, but not in a way that we would notice that care. 

- AcidStorm is genderfluid. 

-  Cold Construction doesn’t exist in this show. When asked why all the Seekers look the same then, Mae Catt says “Maybe there’s one jet mode all the seekers really like”.

- She loves the idea of Wild Wheel robbing Astrotrain in train-mode, totally Wild West-style.

- One of the things she’s proudest of was turning Lugnut into a gal (and having so much body diversity and gender-neutral designs for a lot of characters). They wanted to include many more girls in Cyberverse (Nickel and Lightbright among them). She also mentioned that  Shadow Striker is taller than Optimus or is his height.

- She describes Cosmos as “R2D2, but a Transformer!”

- Maccadam looking like a buff Rung was just a strange coincidence.

- Blurr really was the fastest.

- Mae Catt says we absolutely SHOULD write fanfic. Fanfiction made her into the writer she is today. She wrote non-stop Matrix fanfic from the age of 12-20 years old. It helped her learn a lot about writing.

- She uses “They” pronouns for Rack ‘n Ruin when referring to both of them, but says that individually they both use “he”.

- She’s really sad that Skywarp didn’t get a speaking line.

- Mae Catt won’t say whether Ratchet finished medical school or not. (She laughed when someone commented "I don’t believe that man has ever been to medical school”). She also says she wants “I choose to believe Ratchet has never been to medical school” on a T-shirt.

- When asked why Rack ‘n Ruin were captains of the Ark in one universe, she says they’re probably the Prime in that one weird universe (lmao).

- She loves the idea that Transformers have siblings / families.

- In a world where they had an unlimited budget, it’d be fun if Cybertronians were constantly shape-shifting and changing their forms. Example: she’d like having Transformers who “grew a beard” and decided to “shave it”.

- She doesn’t understand cycles or astrocycles, she doesn’t understand the weird Transformers time stuff. (mood)

- She loved Beast Wars Inferno, she loved that Inferno called Megatron a Queen. It was played as a joke because the 90s weren’t very socially conscious, but she liked that Megatron never corrected him or beat him down.

- Shockwave altered his spark to have maximum bad vibes to destroy the All Spark.

- She said it’s hard talking about writing a show because you’re designing the experience and you have to make sometimes what sounds like cold and pragmatic decisions (eg: "we need a cold and spunky female”) which sucks, but they need to balance out the show. She says she’d never do that just for the sake of doing it, but it’s part of something that they do need to be aware of while working on a show. “It starts from a weirdly cold pragmatic place, but we try and put truth in it”.

- They didn’t want to have Unicron in the show since he’s the default “big bad”, but if he was in the show, Mae Catt says “If you put the proverbial budget-gun to my head, I’d keep Unicron in planet-mode because it’s more mysterious, but I want both alt modes”.

- Her favorite Megatron is Beast Wars Megatron.

- She doesn’t like Sky Lnxy’s design, it’s creepy. “He talks in the G1 episodes and the voice makes it worse.” She can’t get over his face.

- “I’d love to see more jets [who aren’t our usual gang] and find out all jets are kinda snobby, which explains why Starscream’s the way he is”.

- Everyone on the Autobot side are friends with each other.

Thanks for your time Mae Catt! We’re lucky to have you. Thank you for all your hard work on this amazing show.

[safflowerseason]

Anonymous Asked

(post #5 in the “Tumblr ate my asks” series)

“No pressure if you're short on time since I know there's a lot to say about it, but I would love to hear your thoughts on the relationship between Amy and Selina”

Hi Anon - you sent this in weeks and weeks ago, and I’m sorry it took me ages to get around to it! But the question has been on my mind recently as I’m rewatching S3 and writing the next chapter of BMTL. 

What I find kind of interesting and frustrating about Selina and Amy’s relationship as presented on the show is that it’s a bit opaque compared to Selina’s other relationships (or Amy's with Dan, her other primary emotional foil on the show). We know virtually nothing about how Amy came to work for Selina (other than that she must have been quite young) or what she did that made her so invaluable; the most evident dimension of their connection—the fact that they are two women in a heavily male-dominated workspace—is never addressed explicitly by the writers. From the very beginning of the series, Amy has to try and defend her close relationship with Selina, but since we didn’t see how they became so close…to me, it always feels a little like there is something missing, in the way their connection is laid out.

I think the pilot actually works well as a kind of microcosm of Selina and Amy’s dynamic as it plays out through the Iannucci years of the show. Amy is presented as Selina’s right-hand woman; Selina clearly regards her as the smartest person on her team and has some measure of her respect for her that she doesn’t have for, say, Mike. But by the end of the pilot, she’s also gone over Amy’s express recommendation (hiring Dan) and has no objection to Amy performing a humiliating and sexist task (go on a date with Jonah in exchange for fixing the card situation). This is the dynamic that plays out through S4—Selina turns to Amy last and often only when she feels she’s truly backed into a corner and/or can’t discuss a particular issue with the men on her team. There is something very intimate about this kind of relationship, of course, and it’s drawn in deeply emotional terms. But in exchange for this particular kind of political intimacy, Amy has to fake a miscarriage, flush Selina’s toilet, get picked last for campaign manager (and only after she sabotages Dan and thus the very campaign she wants to run), and essentially watch Selina make increasingly bad political decisions based on advice from her current favorites while ignoring whatever Amy tells her. And one might say the tragedy of Amy’s character is that she endures these indignities not because she’ll get fired if she doesn’t do them (although that is literally true in some cases), but because she clearly derives a lot of her personal and professional self-worth from doing Selina’s dirty work. To a certain degree, and in face of stark evidence to the contrary, Amy believes that her willingness to do these things means that Selina values her the most of all. 

That all sounds a bit darker than I mean it to. Of course Amy does experience small moments of genuine triumph under Selina, and she obviously wrestles with the uneven terms of their relationship during the first four seasons of the show—she thinks about jumping ship in S2, we see it dawn on her in S3 that Selina is basically her entire life in a way that probably isn’t healthy, she goes through phases of trying to develop some kind of life outside her work. Her own personal ambition is also a huge part of what’s going on. She’s very invested in the idea of being the managing force behind the first female Vice President (and President) and that helps her put up with Selina's most infuriating qualities as a politician. And of course, she does ultimately quit mid-way through S4, as she comes into this realization that she got her chosen horse into the White House and it’s a fucking disaster. 

As for Selina’s side in all this…this is where the opacity of their relationship really features for me. I admit, I don’t quite understand viewers who talk about Iannucci-Selina as if she is Amy’s endlessly supportive older gal pal. Selina says more nice things about Gary in the early seasons of the show than she does about Amy. Yes, she obviously sees Amy as someone who can perform a certain kind of emotional labor for her and she relies on her greatly for that. Selina is very isolated emotionally, and I think Amy’s presence in her entourage as a young woman who is personally and professionally devoted to her is very reassuring to her, even if she doesn’t really realize it until after Amy leaves. This is something @thebookofmaev pointed out to me and I think it's quite telling: Selina reacts to Amy’s resignation in S4 by arranging “girls night” with her old law school friends, which she obviously finds excruciating. It’s significant to me that Selina is trying to fill an emotional hole, rather than a political one. While it’s obvious Selina generally prefers the company of men, there is something in her relationship with Amy that I think she finds very uncomplicated and soothing in a way she doesn’t find any other relationship on the show. She needs Amy for the moments of emotional extremity that Ben can’t handle. But considering how she treats Amy outside of those few moments, it's hard for me to view the relationship as one between genuine equals (not to mention the literal power imbalance between them). She needs Amy when she needs her and there’s no space for anything else in their relationship. 

Amy returns to Selina in the S4 finale and it’s clearly a deeply psychological impulse more than anything else, more to do with herself than Selina, I would argue. It’s one of Amy’s most honest moments in the whole show—she can’t not be there after spending so much of her life invested in getting Selina elected. Selina collapses in her arms and wails that she should never have left and it’s genuinely moving and borderline romantic…and then she tells her supporters at the election rally that Amy took time away because she had a mental breakdown. Plus ça change. 

Unfortunately, we can’t know what Iannucci had planned for Amy and Selina…I suspect we would have seen a few more “break-ups” in their relationship as it became increasingly unstable, and Amy would continue to wrestle with the costs of remaining within Selina’s orbit. Obviously (as a Dan/Amy shipper, haha) I think Dan would have been part of that journey for her…S4 is pretty explicit (in my opinion) about the fact that Dan now officially occupies the third point of the triangle between Selina, Amy, and some semblance of a life, not to mention the fact that the Dan/Amy/Selina triangle is a major structural anchor of the show in its own right. 

Of course, one of the greatest objections fans had to Mandel as a showrunner was his approach to Amy and Selina’s relationship, largely driven by Selina’s transformation into the ultimate mysogynist. I don’t agree with this interpretation of Selina, but I do think the deterioriation of Amy and Selina’s relationship is very plausible even under Iannucci. Amy has to leave Selina at some point, like most strategists move on from their bosses if they want to remain politically relevant. But Selina's attachment to Amy is primarily emotional and not political, and Amy permanently moving on from her would be a bitter pill for her to swallow…she clearly views Dan and Amy at PKM as non-WH extensions of her staff, but Amy leaving to work for another politician, especially a female one, would be unbearable for her. Similarly, I do not think any version of Selina would react well to the news that Amy was going to have a baby. We can’t know if this was a sure thing in the Iannucci Veep universe, obviously, but considering how she reacts to Mike potentially becoming a father…I just can’t see Selina embracing the fact that someone else is going to have a superior claim on Amy’s time and energy. (But I also don’t think Iannucci-Selina would ever order Amy to have an abortion, of course.) 

My fic, Bring Me to Light, is exploring this theme to a certain degree. It imagines a future in which Amy has fully invested in a life outside of Selina, and when her old boss makes a reappearance, Amy struggles with old professional demons (and of course, because I’m the author, she has to reckon with Selina and Dan’s separate professional relationship as well 😈)

Well, this turned into quite an essay, so I’ll stop there. You’re right, Anon—there’s so much to say!

[sueboohscorner]

#Bull - Season 5, Episode 4 “The Ex Factor” Episode Review

"TAC BRACES FOR AN UN-JOLLY CHRISTMAS WHEN BULL AND BENNY REPRESENT MARISSA AND HER ESTRANGED HUSBAND IN FEDERAL COURT WHEN THEY’RE CHARGED WITH MONEY LAUNDERING AND FRAUD"  -- Spoiler TV (2020)

Hello and Welcome Longtime followers and Bull Fans; I hope you are well and healthy still during this crazy period, wherever you are located in the world; as this review is going to be the last review for the 2020/2021 tv Season for Bull, I would like to see comments and predictions of what you want to see in 2021 S5 of Bull and so with that let's dive into the final review of 2020 for Bull, Season 5 Ep. 4 of Bull deals and tackles with the “The Ex Factor” – TAC braces for an un-jolly Christmas when Bull and Benny represent Marissa and her estranged husband, Greg (David Furr), in federal court after they’re charged with money laundering and fraud connected to Greg’s restaurant. As Bull and Benny defend the divorcing couple together so the prosecution can’t use them against each other, they search for jurors who will believe Marissa did not know about Greg’s business dealings. Also, as Bull and Izzy prepare to baptize Astrid before the Christmas holiday, they reach an impasse regarding what they want from their renewed relationship (SpolierTv,2020) So let’s dive into the next section of the development of key characters of the episode.

Key Character Development of Episode 4 of Season 5 of Bull This week on Bull, we got to see how they develop the characters overall forward and develop the relationships of certain characters. Let's get into the characters that were a key focus of this episode. 1. Marrisa

So finally, we are getting development in characters that we have not seen since S2 or S3, and this episode highlights what has happened with Marrisa and how she has to fight to get a discovery from her ex-husband and to find out that he has been in a money-laundering scheme with this restaurant, we finally get to see Marrisa in a different light as we are used to having Marisa at TAC watching the screen, it good to see a change in the dynamic of the show

2. Benny

As Bull's Closest friend, we get to see Benny go through the emotions of having him to decide Bull and Issy getting married again and how he was there for Bull, with his truth bombs of wisdom about Issy and his relationship with her before and after the decisive and also get to see more of the context of how Benny and Bull became the close friends that they are today 3. Issy

This week, the Bull writers have finally started to work on Issy. How her feelings are about the divorce and the miscarriage and also what her love for Bull is, and throughout the previous seasons on the show, we get little to no context of information about her character and so this episode for me is one of the best episodes of development for Issy after her introduction episode back in season 1 of the show. I think that she has come a long way from the sort of not relying on Bull to being in a fully committed relationship with him; I will dive into the relationship part further into the review.

4. Bull

In Season 5 of Bull, we have finally got to see MW's soft side, which we have known since the days that he was on NCIS. This episode proves that we need to see more of this side of Bull, as most of his relationships crave this, like with Benny and Issy and his Baby Girl; this episode gives us, bull's side to the story of his feelings was before the divorce, and after the situation happened between the two. I feel that we are going to into a period on the Show of Bull that will be more of a toned-down Bull, that we get to see his emotions, which we will start to seep into the cases that he develops and represents at TAC. The Key Relationship Development That Happen in Episode 4 of S5 of Bull - Bull and Isabella (Issy)

Now with the major cliffhanger of the show, with these two tying the knot again, this episode gave the audience a much-needed glimpse into this relationship as they have been through a lot of ups and downs as a couple. As they are new parents to Baby Bull, we finally get to see some of that love they have for each other again, beginning to rise again. As I have mentioned in my previous reviews of Bull, this relationship needed to be explored more as this couple has been in the past. As through the show's seasons, the writers have eluded to there is more to the story of with these two. P.s. I want to see more of these two together. -Marisa and Her ex-husband

After we get to see the happy couple of the show in Bull and Issy, we show season 5 episode 4 's storyline relationship. We get to see how these two loved each other and placed the trust in each other. Also, we got to see the downfall of the relationship and the lack of communication between them and Marrisa, making sure she has to do everything in her power to make sure that she is protected herself. The resolution of the case was a straightforward point. But I but we see the development of them having Christmas dinner together. To me, which is a little bit of a double edge sword when It comes to their relationship. I hope that the writers start to make sure that Marrisa starts to have more of a relationship with herself and her friends. Bull and Benny

We are back with these two again; in this episode, we get to see Benny dropping the truth bombs of wisdom when it comes to Bull and Issy's relationship as he has been there the whole time from the beginning of the relationship to the breakdown and the reemergence of the relationship, I love FR & MW's scenes together this episode, as it was a bull and Issy focused episode, we finally to get to see the other side of. Benny, as we only get the professional side of Benny in most episodes, and with the changes in Benny's life, I think that we are going to explore more this relationship and Bull, Marrisa, and Benny

This episode was the Christmas episode with a crazy storyline. Still, It had a great development of this relationship and how MW, GC, and FR's performance of this relationship between the characters we are drawn to make sure that they are a brother and sister type of friendship and willing to support her innocence to the end. I hope in S5 part b in 2021, we get to explore these relationships between them, as Benny is getting Ready to move on to a new job soon. Bull and The Tac Team

This episode of Bull gave us a small glimpse of the team in action as the episode was more based on the relationships mentioned above in the review. But I hope in season 5, part B of Bull, and I hope to see more development of the team and the team in action as best it can be achieved in the current world events. The Defence strategy of the case, As this was the last episode of 2020 for S5 of Bull. I was hoping to see a good defense strategy, so we got the following, as the case can be tried as a strong defense with both wife and husband, so there is control of the case's narrative. But I did not see any jury selection for the case. As the team was focused on the case at hand, we got to see a small moment. The best and weird, wacky and worst moments of Season 5 of episode 4 of Bull Best Moments 1. The Production Crew did a great job as always 2. The relationship development of some of the characters that were well needed 3. Benny's Truth Bombs of wisdom 4. The twist at the end of the episode 5. Benny and Bull doing everything to protect Marrisa from the charges

6. GC's performance in the witness box in the courtroom

Weird, Wacky, and Worst Moments of the episode 1. The scene when Benny and Bull are talking about Bull's Christmas present for his sister 2. The scene in the church and Benny is looking awkward 3. The resolution of the court case for the episode 4. I wanted more of TAC in action as we were missing some of the characters as it was a Bull and Issy based episode 5. The scene that I found weird and wacky was the scene before Marrisa testified in court, and they are all in the car together talking Overall thoughts and opinions on Episode 4 of Bull S5 Episode 4 of Bull S5 is a Christmas episode for 2020 as we got to see how the relationship development is going for some of the show's favorite characters. Overall, the episode was full of beautiful and sweet moments and weird, wacky moments that the show is known for. This gave the audience something to be added to the canon of the show, and I like the writers decided to have Issy proposed to Bull as it can be seen as her commitment to the relationship and her love for Bull. I can't wait for S5 part b of Bull to dive into more of these two as I can see them having a long engagement. Also, I loved the juxtaposition of the storylines of relationships on the show, with Marrisa and her ex-husband. It gave the audience some of the struggles that they faced over time. And then eventually the break down of the relationship. Also, in the episode, we got to see Benny dropping his truth bombs of wisdom when it comes to bull and issy, but the one downfall of the episode was that it had limited interaction and the TAC Team's development. I hope that Bull writers in 2021 tackle more of the development there with some of the major characters presented on the show. The Overall Rating for the episode is a 7/10 As this is the last review of 2020 for Bull, as I am writing this review, I wish you a Merry Christmas and a safe and healthy New year of 2021. I will be back in 2021 for more recaps on S5 of Bull episodes, but until then, let me know what you like to see in the rest of S5 of Bull in the comments section below. Again Merry Christmas and Have a Safe and Healthy 2021. From the Woman Who Writes TV Reviews

[lesbianrabbithole]

Why is Kat still trying 2 “find herself” w/Adena after 3 seasons of #kadena angst? And, will Kat EVER find herself, truly, to be in a relationship w/Adena? They’ve showed their incredible connection, how Kat needs Adena in her life to provide stability & advice no one else can. Kat can’t really function w/out this kind of support & apparently can’t get from Jane/Sutton. Adena is an angel to be still waiting for Kat to make up her mind. I’m at the point of rooting for Adena to fall out of love!

I know it feels like fucking forever but I guess in theory it’s only been a couple months? Like it has been two years and 3 seasons for us but in the timeline of the show we don’t really know how long it has been, but it has been a year at the most, maybe just some months.I don’t necessarily agree with the decision they took in S2 to have Kat need to explore herself out of her relationship with Adena to be able to understand and embrace her queerness. I think she could have explored that with no cheating or OR storyline. And they could have explored Adena’s feelings of isolation, etc better, actually have them talk about them and not end up in a break up in S2. But that’s water under the bridge now, it is what it is. And with that set up from S2, the way they explored things in S3 was for the most part interesting and true to the characters.

I would have loved to see Kat and Adena back together, but I don’t mind Kat waiting. I’m hoping though that it won’t take all S4 for Kat to finish finding herself and Kadena to be back together. I know the general feeling is that we will either get another 10 episode of Kadena being separated or them being over for good with Adena around at Scarlet. 

I for one don’t think the show would have set up a way for Adena to be around if they didn’t plan to bring them together. For good or bad Adena has always been primary a love interest. If she is staying around it has to be for them to get together. I’m also hoping the writers are smart enough to realize that this will they won’t they thing is getting a little tired and I’m also thinking they won’t drag the will they won’t them all season. I don’t see it being sustainable for another whole season without people getting tired of it. Not saying they will jump right to happy ever after but I do expect they will wrap up them being apart in the first half of the season. At least I hope so. 

I love Adena, and I feel for her. She did get herself in that mess though. Coming back and messing around with Kat when she was dating someone else. I don’t blame her, I would be weak too. But that right there, it’s the first clue that Kat is not ready to be back with Adena. So I’m glad Kat was honest, even if it hurt, and I’m hoping we will get Kat finally choosing Adena fully and completely, with emotional declaration included eventually.

There is one thing though that I would like, even if I don’t think it will actually happen, and it’s for Adena to set up some boundaries. Withdraw a little from Kat. It’s not her style. But I would love if after Kat keeps going for her for advice and comfort like she usually does, Adena, in her gentle way, told Kat that she can’t do it. That she can’t be there for her every time she needs like that, that it hurts too much. I would love to see what effect that has on Kat.

Cause it’s true Kat had to deal without Adena for months, but  Adena was far away. The minute she was back it was so easy for them to go back to that dynamic. I wonder what would happen if Adena was available but Kat still couldn’t go to her like she usually does.

Anyway, this got way out of hand. I’m not even sure I answered your question, just let myself rant about Kadena. I’m sure you will understand. 

[iiinejghafa]

so after watching ODAAT s3 I noticed a lot of people thinking that Penelope x Schneider/Alvareider is dead in the water and/or that the writers “course corrected” and retroactively decided not to pursue it in the storyline, which was really surprising to me because I thought this season further cemented that the writers have been planning this from the start.

First: I genuinely think that Penelope and Schneider, as of at least the first two and a half seasons, are fully platonic. Their relationship has deepened and developed over the seasons, from comfortable acquaintances to best friends and confidants, but there were hang ups along the way to get to this point. Schneider has his obvious issues – he’s an addict, he grew up lonely and treated horribly by his father, and is often immature and lazy and frivolous because he can be – and Penelope is extremely goal-driven and focused on her immediate concerns (her family, career, money) while unable to commit to her relationships (Ben because she’s hung up on Victor, Max because she doesn’t want more kids, Mateo because she feels no spark or passion for him). Their relationship could never develop beyond friendship in season 1 because they are so focused on their needs that they don’t care to really get to know each other beyond the exterior, especially Penelope (who we know has a tendency to be a bit judgmental).

Even though Penelope cares about Schneider, we know she views him as immature, privileged, and lazy at times and it leads her to not see beyond that exterior, even when Schneider becomes her best friend and main confidant starting in season 2. She trusts him with her children, he visits her apartment almost daily, and turns to him when dealing with a crisis whether it’s with her romantic relationships, her family, and her own problems. In season 3, she continues to receive this support and acknowledges publicly that the person she turns to in a crisis, who helps her calm down and feel safe, is none other than Schneider. She doesn’t truly begin to understand him until season 3, when she meets his father and sees what he grew up with, and sees how Schneider threw away his relationship with his father because he valued her and her family more. She even lets out a breathless “Really, you didn’t have to do that” as if she can’t believe he would give up substantial financial gain for their sake. We also finally see her reciprocating the love and support Schneider gave her, and seems to actively take steps to be a more supportive figure in his life. It’s almost as if she doesn’t realize how important he is to her, and it’s something she won’t really feel until something major happens (Schneider moving in with Avery, a medical emergency, etc).

Schneider, on the other hand, knows he loves the Alvarezes and understands Penelope better than she realizes, but he doesn’t know his own worth and settles for so little because he doesn’t think he deserves better. He has explicitly said that he buys things to try and make him happy, that he sleeps with people as a substitute for addiction and affection, and has very little self-worth even through season 3. It’s not until Penelope tells him that she likes him just as he is – something he’s probably never heard before – that he stands up to his father and accepts that he shouldn’t want and doesn’t need his father’s approval. He hides his drinking from Penelope because he knows that she won’t trust him anymore, and by his own words she is the first person to truly trust him, ever. Unlike Penelope, Schneider knows how much Penelope means to him, and both of his major decisions over those two episodes (confronting his dad and hiding his relapse) are at least partly the result of his relationship with her. He then desperately seeks out Avery at the end of season 3 because he knows she is one person who cares about him in a romantic way and feels she understands him because of their shared quirkiness and familial wealth.

Until the end of season 3, there’s no feasible foundation for them to have a relationship because they are both wrapped up in their own issues and priorities to really see each other, but by the end of s3 this changes. Schneider, desperate for validation and romantic love after his relapse, is eager to be with Avery again because she is the first relationship he’s had that is genuinely loving and reciprocated. It’s hard to say if the relationship will turn out badly (we don’t actually know Avery very well, and the beginning of their relationship was dishonest on both ends, not to mention the relationship fractures quickly upon his relapse and only amends when he's a month sober) or lead to Schneider gaining self-confidence, but it will inevitably end and hopefully leave Schneider in a better place than he was. Penelope, on the other hand, finally accepts that she may never find a “great love” like her parents; maybe she’ll have many, or she may have none. But her subconscious is telling her not to accept less than what she wants, and makes her question what she’s looking for in the first place. It feels like Penelope, now single without any romantic prospects, is on the brink of seeing Schneider in a new way in season 4.

The realizations in the last episode follow on the heels of episode 11 and 12, which subtly – but directly – connect Penelope’s desires in a partner to her relationship with Schneider. In episode 11, Nicole tells her all the things she loves about Victor (also an addict) despite not being perfect: he makes her laugh, he makes her feel safe, she can’t imagine something bad happening to him, and she can’t picture her life without him. Penelope realizes, in this same episode, that she doesn’t want to be with Mateo just because he’s nice and easy to be with and it’s at the end that she discovers that Schneider has relapsed. One of the first things she says in the next episode is “I couldn’t sleep last night” because of Schneider’s relapse, and spends the entire episode solely focused on helping him. And all this happening immediately after her conversation with Nicole in episode 11 is incredibly pointed. Schneider is not perfect by any means, but he makes Penelope laugh and she enjoys being with him, he makes her feel safe when she’s in a crisis and is her go-to support, she loses sleep and panics at the thought of Schneider relapsing before she even knows it’s true, and – tying into Penelope not yet recognizing how important he is to her – she will soon realize that she can’t imagine her life without him.

Another thing to consider is the direct parallels and contrasts between Schneider and Penelope’s significant others. This post explains it all very well, but I’ll summarize briefly:

Schneider and Victor (S1)

Victor: exhibits toxic masculinity, little self-reflection, prioritizes his pride over even his family, struggles with trauma and addiction but won’t seek help

Schneider: does not exhibit toxic masculinity, is constantly self-reflecting on his behaviors and relationships, prioritizes other people over himself, and also struggles with (emotional) trauma and addiction and seeks help

Schneider and Ben (S1)

Ben: supports Penelope through Elena’s coming out, respectful of Penelope’s boundaries

Schneider: supports Penelope through Elena’s coming out, respectful of Penelope’s boundaries

Schneider and Max (s2)

Max: spends his time helping others (paramedic), is family-focused, is willing to have a casual relationship but wants more, earns the respect of Penelope’s family. Penelope breaks up with him because he wants children.

Schneider: spends his time helping others (the Alvarezes, his other tenants), is family-focused, is willing to have casual relationships but wants more, earns the respect of Penelope’s family. Tells Penelope that he’s “never thought about” having children while walking in with a cute baby, suggesting he really hasn’t thought about it or isn’t interested.

Schneider and Mateo (s3)

Mateo: friend of Penelope’s who she looks at differently upon seeing how they connect on superficial levels (Latino, overprotective, nice), Penelope breaks up with him because she realizes she doesn’t feel passionate about him

Schneider: dates someone upon seeing how they connect on superficial levels (”family money” rich, quirky and eccentric, understands his father’s world)

All these connections are not “stretches” by any means and the connections between Schneider and Max & Victor are the most direct, which is interesting considering they are both Penelope’s most passionate relationships.

So, yes, at the moment Penelope and Schneider are platonic – and truly see each other platonically – because they are not at the right point where they a) see the other person in that way and b) are both in the right place for that relationship to happen. Penelope, who is now single and has finally become a nurse practitioner, and Schneider, now developing self-worth through accepting his baggage and his first real relationship, are both primed to make some big realizations next season. My theory is that through Schneider’s relationship with Avery, he becomes self-confident and healthier, dropping many of his more harmful habits (excessive spending, obsessive ever-changing interests, laziness, over-eagerness to seek validation from other people) and will be able to deal with their inevitable break-up in a healthy way while maintaining his elevated self-worth. Penelope will note this change and start to see him differently; he’s not just her best friend and landlord, but someone she finds attractive as a partner and member of her family for all the qualities he already had but are now made clearer with his heightened self-worth. Schneider may not reciprocate initially; not because he doesn’t care about her or doesn’t have the capacity to (I wonder if, at some point, he ever had feelings for her and just shut them down for aforementioned reasons) but because he sees Penelope as unattainable and can’t see her being interested in him. By the end of season 4, we may see explicit confirmation and (hopefully) reciprocation on both sides, though I imagine it won’t immediately lead to a relationship.

Some final observations:

Another hint that Penelope will come to know Schneider better in s4 is the reveal of his first name – only to her, in an AA meeting she attends with him – when he introduces himself as Pat. To me, this foreshadows Penelope calling him by his real name in the future, which I feel will come with a significant change in their relationship.

They still haven’t said “I love you” in any context. Yes, Elena said “we love you” after Schneider relapsed, and Schneider clearly loves the Alvarezes, but they never say this directly to each other even though there have been many opportunities to. They have progressed in what they mean to each other (friends to best friends to “i’m here for you” and “you don’t have to do this alone”) and I get the feeling the show is saving this exchange for a Big Moment.

A lot of people are commenting on the “sister” comment Schneider makes about Penelope; I don’t put much stake in this for my aforementioned belief that they just aren’t in the right place yet to even consider each other romantically and Schneider not seeing Penelope as attainable but having no other label for their relationship. Plus, it was said as a joke.

I also don’t think Avery (or her being played by Todd Grinnel’s IRL wife) is a threat or shoots down the possibility of them getting together. IRL couples playing love interests is a common trope in sitcoms (for ex. Will Arnett played Amy Poehler’s date in an ep of Parks and Rec when they were still married), and I really think it’s inevitable that Avery and Schneider break up because this is his first real relationship and we don’t actually know Avery that well (a la Ben in s1), but their connection as we know it is somewhat superficial (they’re both rich, they’re both quirky, they both were disingenuous at first). Schneider NEEDS a healthy relationship like this before he would ever be able to date Penelope, because he still needs to take steps to learn what that kind of relationship is like as well as building his self-worth (as mentioned above).

The Valentine's day ep ends with Schneider and Penelope making strides with their significant others, but the blocking of the scene at the table shows them sitting next to each other, with Alex and Elena weirdly seated far apart with an empty space where a chair would be between them, the positioning not only blocking view of the SOs but clearly emphasizing Schneider and Penelope as the focal point of the frame.

There’s probably a lot more I could say on this (there really is a LOT of content supporting these two) but I’ll stop there. Of course, there’s no way to tell if the writers will pursue this (based on the groundwork over the show and specifically what is laid out in eps 3x9-3x13 I’d be...very confused if nothing comes out of this) but it is clear that regardless of if their relationship is romantic or platonic in the end we’re sure to see some major developments between them in s4 as we have in each season so far.

EDIT: This post is wonderful, it touches on some of the things in this post and a lot more!

[vausemania]

vauseman s7 theories and hopes. love your blog

Hey, thanks for the kind words about my blog ;)   

Re: Vauseman wishes for s7....I almost want to break it down into Realistic Hopes and Unrealistic Wishes (e.g. Piper and Alex on a gorgeous beach in Cambodia with their baby between them lol). Realistically, I want lots of scenes of them /together/. My very favourite Alex and Piper scenes are those when they're together--their chemistry these past six seasons has been nothing short of miraculous, and I think Laura and Taylor elevate their (already-high) level of acting when they’re in scenes together. I also think scenes with just Alex and Piper in them allow them to be their true selves...and that kind of emotionalhonesty has been, well, just beautiful to watch :)      More specifically, I'd love for their s7 scenes to be both present-day /and/ flashbacks. I hope for (and fully expect) several prison visitation scenes. As tough as it will be to see Alex and Piper separated by a pane of glass, I still want to see them together. I'd love to see at least two flashbacks of Vauseman Phase I----e,g, domestic/sexy (or domestic *and* sexy;) Vauseman, and aflashback of Piper meeting Diane.            Re: Piper post-release....I want to see her using her prison experience (and the wisdom she gained from it) to help others still incarcerated. I fully expect this will happen and will be in the form of a biographical book she writes, since (a) Piper actually mentioned wanting to do this in s6 and (b) Piper Kerman did it..            I'm really looking forward to seeing Piper on the outside and how she adjusts to her newfound freedom. I honestly can't predict what's going to happen vis-a-vis her relationship with her parents. Unrealistically, I'd hope for them both to accept Piper for who she is, to fully accept Alex as their new daughter-in-law, andto generally not try to convert Piper back into the Nice Blonde Lady she was pre-prison. I think that's too much to hope for, esp since Bill Chapman hung up on Piper when she told him about getting engaged to Alex. As much a surprise as it was in s5, I predict Carol Chapman will continue to support Piper and her decision to choose Alex as her life partner. I'm hoping Piper has at least one scene with Polly (their dynamic was always fun to watch) but NOT Larry. If Piper and Larry get back together, my screams will be heard around the planet . Larry serves no purpose now, so there is no reason to waste valuable screen time on him. I doubt Piper and Polly will restart the soap business but I do want them to repair at least some of their friendship.   

Now, what about Alex? I only left her 'til the end of my long-ass answer to your 'ask' because I think her storyline is the hardest to predict. A year ago, I predicted that the show would end with Alex picking up Piper from Litchfield after her release (to mirror how s1 begins with Piper being driven to Litchfield to begin her prison sentence). Obviously my prediction was wayyyyy off lol, but it was predicated on Alex being released early due to her re-testifying against Kubra...something that can still happen in s7. The fact that Kubra wasn't mentioned *at all* in s6 makes me wonder what the hell the writers are going to do with that massive loose end. Also, the footage of Piscatella breaking Alex's arm seemed like an important plot point at the time... but it wasn't brought up in s6 in terms of proof of CO violence or even some kind of leverage for Alex getting an early release due to the assault (or some other form of compensation/consideration). Hell, that footage wasn't even used as a way of letting Kubra know that Alex was still alive. I think Kubra (or one of his minions) will crop up in s7 though, because he's been The Big Bad in Vauseman's life basically since Alex testified against him in s2.       Re: Alex in prison in s7---well, obviously I hope she's both physically unharmed and psychologically undamaged being separated from the love of her life :/ I think she'll lay low, read a lot of books lol, and generally try her best to avoid getting caught up in any gang activity or illegal shit. The only problem is that that's kinda of boring for a lot of viewers (not me!) to watch... so the writers will likely try to get her involved in something that threatens to extend her prison sentence. Badison might become the new head of the Carol’s gang and we know she likes working with Alex, so that's probably where that threat will come from.            I’m hoping that Litchfield's minimum security camp will be rebuilt, so the inmates from there could return and not have to deal with the nastier stuff that went on in Max.Unfortunately, I don't think they're going back there (from a practical point of view) because they built a whole new set for s6's Max prison.            Lastly, I'd really, really love for the show to end with a Vauseman real-world wedding and honeymoon (heh), Kubra out of the picture permanently and of no threat to the Vause-Chapmans, Alex completing her university degree (which she worked on while in prison), Piper's book a huge success, leading to a public outcry for prison reform. Oh, and for her and Alex to live happily ever after :D

Omg this reply seemed a lot shorter when I typed it out in Word lol. Thanks for the 'ask'!

[multimetaverse]

Andi Mack 2x21 Review

For the Last Time was a really emotional episode with some stellar performances by the cast. It was also the best written episode of 2b so far but what was the point of all of this?

Positives:

Sofia is truly a powerhouse actor. She really brought it this episode and shows just how indispensable she really is to the show. And it was such a great twist that Buffy didn’t want to say goodbye and told them she was leaving the next morning when in fact she left at night.

It was great to see Pat Driscoll again. Her scenes with Buffy were powerful as usual but I also liked that we got to see a softer side of her when she talked with Cyrus and Andi; I loved her reading the list and being surprised by the items that called back to S1.

LOL at her asking Buffy if she went out with Cyrus. The show sure is fond of subtly reminding us that Cyrus is gay right before he hangs with TJ: him breaking up with Iris the ep before the swings, his little head rest with Andi before going to talk with TJ at the game, and now this right before he spends time with TJ at the gym and at the spoon in the next ep.

I was so shocked that they brought up Marty. It was very poignant seeing Buffy with that photo of him.

I’ve seen a lot of misconceptions about the ‘’faith’’ scene. Guys it’s not hinting at T*ffy in S3 or ever. Even if TJ was straight (not something I’d bet on after the swings), they’re not going to pair him with Buffy. They have no chemistry and almost all of their scenes are painful to watch. And there’s a large age gap between Luke and Sofia that shouldn’t be ignored. 

The reference Bex made came right after Jonah said that even Buffy’s nemesis (TJ) will miss her. Faith was Buffy’s sorta ally turned nemesis turned redeemed ally. They were never lovers! 

What we can’t forget is that everything said in Bex’s apartment wasn’t meant for Buffy as she never got the capsule, it was meant for the other characters and for the audience. 

TJ signing the ball was to show the audience that he’s slowly starting to change for the better and Bex’s faith comment was a fun little nod to Buffy the Vampire Slayer that also let us know that TJ isn’t going to remain a villain forever. And of course we saw Cyrus’ little smile when he realized that Jonah got TJ, that was meant to once more connect them in the minds of the audience.

Marty’s letter was a very sweet recap of Muffy’s most important moments. Again it was meant more for the audience than for Buffy. I’d bet Ham and Celia’s retirement savings that Marty giving Buffy his shoelaces and telling her that she was faster was going to be how Marty reconciled with Buffy in the writer’s original plan for S2. But that’s all for naught so we got this closure ceremony as well (reminded me of the one Bex and Andi held for Gabriel). I think the casual audience will now understand that Marty is never coming back nor shall he be mentioned again. 

I think this was the most thoughtful and charming Jonah has been since at least A Good Hair Day if not earlier. This is the Jonah we should have been seeing in 2a, he cares about his friends, he listens and give good advice, and he takes decisive action to help. 

Now I’ve long thought that Buffy’s crush will be on Jonah and this episode provides some support for my theory. Jonah’s ‘’Buffy likes me doesn’t she?’’ line sounds like it could be foreshadowing. Of course sometimes a cigar is just a cigar but there also is the fact that Jonah knew exactly what parting gifts to get Buffy, something he’s never been good at with Amber or Andi. And the last time we’ve seen Jonah be this good at human emotions was his scene with Buffy in A Good Hair Day.

We’ll have to see what happens in eps 23 and 24 since Buffy most likely doesn’t return until the end of 2x22 and her crush is revealed in 2x24 at the art show.

Stoney did such a great job this episode. Once Bex revealed that Celia had bought the Fringe he looked he aged 10 years as this sense of weariness settled over him. Celia really needed to talk things over with Ham; she can’t just spend their retirement savings on trying to prop up their daughter. The vast majority of small businesses fail and what happens when their retirement funds run out? They can kiss goodbye to their house and to any dreams of Paris.

I’ve seen speculation that Ham’s shocking news in 2x23 might be a separation or a divorce. It could be though it would obviously lead to a quick reconciliation. That may explain why Jonah is trying to comfort Andi at their trampoline date in what looks to be 2x23. 

The on location filming really helped sell Buffy’s move and the last shot of Andi and Cyrus and Jonah standing in the dark outside Buffy’s empty house while a super on the nose song (’’For the Last Time”) played was heart breaking.

Interesting little detail, both Andi and Cyrus were wearing red and black at Bex’s apartment, it’s not often we see them matching. I think it was a little visual cue that they’re closer than they’ve been in a very long time.

This episode did a good job of wrapping everything up, it would have made for a good season finale.

Negative:

What the hell was the point of all this though? We have 5 episodes left in S2 and surely the entire audience knows that Sofia has been on set for S3 and that there are still clips of Buffy from the 2b promo that we haven’t seen yet. 

For a show that prides itself on realism how are they going to bring back Buffy permanently? There’s no good explanations, we’re probably going to end up with some bs ‘’My mom convinced her commanding officer that our friendship was more important that the army’s needs and he agreed to transfer her back’’. Even GMW had the good sense to not actually move Riley.

Setting aside Disney’s strangling of Cyrus’ story, there are clear issues going on in the writer’s room. As @andisyellowmotorbike mentioned, the acting and production for the individual eps in 2b have been great but from a birds eye view the writing is really bad.  Did no one in the writer’s room point out that actually moving Buffy would backfire when they inevitably bring her back at the end of the next ep? Did no one realize what a bad idea it was to slow the timeline to a crawl for 6 eps? Did no one think that there was way too much story to fit into a 10 day timeline and that even breaking the timeline like they did and stretching it to 3ish weeks would still mean that a lot of plots wouldn’t properly be dealt with?

This episode hints at one of the reasons that 2b has been such a mess; Marty leaving. I think once S2 is over we’ll be able to fully see just how disastrous Marty’s abrupt exit was to the show and to Buffy’s storyline in particular. 

What I think happened is that the writers had to scrap their eventual Muffy endgame and they had always planned for TJ and Walker to come in for Cyrus and Andi so Jonah would be left single after S2. It would have really upended audience expectations to have Jonah, the Disney prince love interest, stay single in S3 but it’s much harder for a tween/teen oriented show to have 2 out of 4 main characters stay single. So if Buffy needs to be paired off and Jonah is free why not push them together? Disney will be happy that as Asher’s star waxes he’ll still be playing a romantic lead so they can keep those tween girls happy. 

Looking Ahead:

I’m very interested in next episode. I can’t wait to see what the mobile text apps have to say about Cyrus and TJ and what our hetero-normative pals on the Mack Chat have to say. It looks like TJ and Cyrus leave the spoon after the Jandi drama erupts which will be an interesting contrast.

This also marks TJ’s first scene at the spoon and more importantly his first scene with Andi, a big moment for his character.

And it’s nice to see that at least the straight characters can textually act out jealousy! Jonah calling Natalie to get back at Andi is so petty but so funny.

[theclacks]

Buffy Thoughts - Season 6

I’m splitting up my Angel Season 3 thoughts into a different post because I have too many feelings this time to cram them both together. In summary though...

Me at the beginning of season 6:

Me at the end of season 6:

Previous Seasonal Recaps: BtVS S1+S2, BtVS S3, BtVS S4 + AtS S1, BtVS S5 + AtS S2

Previous Episodic Recaps: S6E1-3, S6E15, S6E16, S6E18, S619, S6E20-E21

On Overall Thoughts

The was by far the weirdest season of any show I've ever watched, and that includes season 4 of Battlestar Galactica. A couple people have commented on my smaller, episode recaps that apparently there was disagreement in the writer’s room? And boy does that explain a lot because yeah. Tonal dissonance out the wazoo.

I liked the juxtaposition of smaller villains in contrast with the huge internal problems the characters were going through. And ultimately, had it been executed with a more solid vision, I think this might have been one of my favorite seasons because at the end of the day I kind of love soap operas in the vein of Downton Abbey and Gossip Girl, and season six was a soap opera but with punching. And vampires. And death.

And regardless of me simultaneously hating episodes and loving episodes, it was definitely the most INVOLVED I've been with the show thus far. I mean, I wrote six or seven "per episode" recaps? I POSTED A GIF OF “EVERYTHING IS AWESOME” SAYING “SEASON SIX DO YOUR WORST” AND THEN IN THE VERY FUCKING NEXT EPISODE TARA DIES AND SPIKE TRIES TO RAPE BUFFY. I ASSUME ALL YOUR GUYS’ “LIKES” ON THAT POST WERE MADE IN SAD, CRUEL IRONY.

I think a lot of Buffy’s depression was solid because it really hit close to home, “Going Through the Motions” in particular.

There was a good comment in one of the AV Club reviews in that the season itself is super meta because Buffy died and the show itself was supposed to be cancelled. Her resurrection was the show’s resurrection, so in a lot of ways this season was more like a sequel to Buffy than the next season? And it was a kind of “what now?” sequel, where there weren’t any good answers and life just kind of sucks sometimes.

Well, a lot of times.

But because a lot of it hits painfully close to home, like The Body, it's something that I’m not entirely sure how many time I want to rewatch.

So yeah. I’m going to go through character by character thoughts, then do a thing on general inconsistencies and plot holes that bugged me, and then do predictions for Season 7, and I’ll be done.

On the Trio

I loved them as villains. Their bumbling methods give a perfect excuse for why they're in some episodes and why in others they're not. (Contrast this to Adam in season 4 who just sort of “took a break” a lot of times.)

Plus, there can't always be escalating threats. After Glory, they were going to do... what? An even more powerful God? Going with a more down to earth threat gives room for other emotional arcs to breathe, and at the end of the day they ended up being more deadly than the villains of Season 4 and Season 5 (RIP Tara).

Also, I loved how they maintained their separate personalities. I loved that Jonathan was the most sympathetic, but that also he wasn't "good" either.

On Giles

I get actor contracts and needing to write him out, and the writers tried to smooth it over with him and Buffy sharing a hysterical laugh in the finale, but I still think Giles should've been chewed out

I mean, a watcher’s job is to take care of his slayer. Yes, Buffy’s an adult now, but she’s just come back from heaven. She showed suicidal impulses in Once More With Feeling, she would’ve committed suicide in OMWF if Spike hadn’t stopped her so WHY would Giles be all "i should go so that she can stand on her own feet." Like HOLY SHIT, there is a middle ground between enabling her out and FUCKING ABANDONING HER.

Also, he said he left so that Buffy took better care of Dawn, but guess WHAT? DAWN STILL GOT FUCKING IGNORED.

On Dawn

Dawn is the best. I love Dawn. I don't care if other people think she's "whiny,” I love her. Steal all the shit you want girl, it's not like people will notice until they've been magically stuck in a house with you for 48+ hours.

Which is ironic because I went into season 5 thinking I was going to hate her and now she’s in my top three faves with Spike and Anya.

I love her continued bro-ness with Spike. I think the very first episode of Season 6 was my favorite (more on that later) just because her friendship and brotherly bond with Spike just BLED through the screen... even though their screentime took a major hit when Buffy and Spike started their affair.

Also I like that her character arc was basically "please notice me, i'm still a character even though i'm no longer a plot point.” Because that’s a common flaw in ensemble shows when plot point character no longer become plot points. Also like, yeah, maybe it's annoying but being ignored and feeling inadequate is also a huge part of what being a little sister is like.

And the episode where they all got stuck in the house together was a FUN episode in a sea of NOT FUN episodes, so four for you, Dawn Summers, you go Dawn Summers.

On Anya

My fave, my love.

I like that everyone was banking on her to ditch Xander, for her to have cold feet at their wedding, but it ended up being the other way around.

However my thoughts on Anya’s character arc this season are mixed because although I loved her becoming a vengeance demon again, that pretty much WAS her character arc. Everyone episode leading up to Hell’s Bells was filler for her. Like emotionally she didn’t change from Bargaining: Part One until the altar.

BUT, Anya and Spike drinking together and being bros in Entropy was by far... well, my second favorite part of the latter half of season six. (My favorite being the wedding conversation Spike and Buffy have.) And I still stand by what I said in my episodic reviews that Xander left HER at the altar, so she owned him nothing and deserved NONE of his "how could you do this?!!?" chewouts whatsoever.

Which, speaking of Xander…

On Xander

I appreciate what the writers tried to do with him this season, but I didn't like the execution.

Like yes, he's the guy normal and had RIDICULOUS pressure on him in the sense that he's the ONLY one in the group who never has, had, or eventually received super powers, and there's definitely something to be said for the decision to keep him that way. Also, I liked how he was used in the finale, how he was the one who calmed willow down with their mutual friendship…. HOWEVER

That friendship bond was built on past seasons of interaction, not this one. Willow and Xander didn’t interact at all this season. (Or it was so minor I already forgot.) And, sure, you can argue that that’s the point, that the strength and tragedy of their bond is how old it is despite how neglected it’s become, but it’s my personal view that seasons should be somewhat self-contained? Or at least they should be given the way Buffy handles its seasons.

Because yeah. This season, Xander’s only scenes were worries with Anya, snippiness at Spike, and occasional worries with Buffy. He didn’t interact with Dawn or Willow or Tara or even Giles when Giles was still in the picture. Xander was just flat and rather unlikeable this season.

On Tara

I talked about Tara's death in my Seeing Red recap, so I'll leave this one note here.

I don’t think Tara was ever a fully developed character. She was a really good love interest, but the writers never let her blossom and play off the other characters.

And THAT was the most annoying thing about her death because SHE WAS JUST STARTING TO BLOSSOM.

Through the Spuffy affair, she got her own relationship with Buffy as level-headed confidant. She got her own relationship with Dawn as motherly aunt. And I wish they would've kept going that direction because Tara without Willow was really cool.

On Willow

I loved Willow's arc this season. It was my favorite arc because it was consistent, well-executed (ignoring the brief “drugs are bad, m’kay” episode), had a clear beginning, turning point, dive off a cliff, struggle back to calm floating, and then dive off a EVEN BIGGER APOCALYPTIC cliff.

Like, if all of the other plots lines had been as strong as Willow’s, I think this could've been my favorite season.

Unfortunately Xander/Anya and Dawn's were a little too shallow, so they had a lot of "filler" episodes for their characters. And Spike and Buffy’s were all over the place, bouncing back and forth thematically.

That said, I looking forward to seeing Willow's recovery in season 7.

On Buffy's situation and how it could've been avoided

I really don't know how to talk about Buffy herself, so instead I’m going to talk about her situation and how I think a significant portion of Buffy’s stress and angst this season was on her friends TOTALLY dropping the ball.

Let’s start with finances.

Willow and Tara can start paying some fucking rent, thank you. I don't care if they don’t have jobs, they were obviously paying for their dorm rooms somehow, they can pay for part of buffy's mortgage.

AND IF THEY CAN'T PAY RENT, THEY SHOULD GET PART TIME JOBS ALONGSIDE BUFFY. Lots of college kids have them. Just because they’re going to class and Buffy’s not isn’t an excuse. It's like "SORRY BUFFY, WE’RE TOO BUSY TO HAVE JOBS BECAUSE OUR TIME IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOURS EVEN THOUGH YOU TECHNICALLY ALREADY HAVE A FULL TIME JOB AS THE SLAYER" like jesus christ, Willow and Tara.

But even that, I could chalk up as Willow and Tara not thinking/being immature if it hadn’t been for Giles backing up their mindset. Like Giles gets a stipend for being a watcher. Why doesn't Buffy get a stipend for being a slayer? Have other slayers in history needed to support themselves with minimum wage jobs? WHY DIDN'T GILES GET WILLOW AND TARA TO PAY THEIR PART OF THE RENT?

Also Buffy’s dad and child support. GILES, SHE’S TAKING CARE OF A MINOR. AT LEAST HELP HER GO TO COURT AND CLAIM CHILD SUPPORT.

Like, just, fucking support group some of this stuff people.

Season 6 acted like it was just Buffy's mental state that made everything so shitty, and yes, it was, but everyone else continuously dropping the ball until Buffy got buried in a sea of dropped balls didn’t exactly help things either.

So yeah, on behalf of Buffy, "fuck you, all the other scoobies of season six". 

Except Anya. Anya did nothing wrong.

On Spike

Because I've talked loads about him in other recaps, I’m going to move straight past his season six stuff and talk about his arc going forward.

Because OH MY GOD that ending.

HIS SOUL.

I thought I’d gotten spoiled for season 6′s ending. Turns out I got spoiled for season 7′s re: the hellmouth opening. Because yeah, I kept waiting for evil!Willow to open the hellmouth and then she pulled up the temple instead and I started getting SO confused, and then Spike was in Africa and asking to go back the way he was and I'd ALSO gotten spoilered for Spike getting his chip out and I thought THAT'D be the big thing, which didn’t seem like it was big enough for giant Africa sidequest and then boom

SOUL.

But at the same time, I can't see Spike acting much different with it. Like my favorite parallel/difference with Spike and Angel is that Angel does a complete personality flip with or without his soul. Like total good vs total evil. But Spike is already grey. And I really like the idea of his causing him to flip... to more grey.

Like when Spike comes back to Sunnydale, will the other characters even know the difference? I'm predicting they won't. Im predicting he's going to hide it from them and then it's going to be a WHAM moment or something around episode 5… or 6… or 7? IDK, one of those. The show likes its WHAM moments between episodes 5 and 7.

Also, I have no idea if Spike’s going to get back together with Buffy? I'm thinking not based on the tone of posts i've seen, and also because season 6 is THE talked about season, so season 7 will be mellower? IDK.

But then, I've also seen spoiler screencaps of them just chillin' and honestly Buffy and Spike just chillin' and being at peace/trust with each other means WAY more to me than angsty sex and being physically together. Like, I just want them supporting each other and joking and making each other smile and groan and all that fluffy shit… and then occasionally fist fighting themselves into the dirt because Spike and Buffy.

I will though end on one very annoyed Spike rant, which is the writers insisting that Spike’s evil because he only ever did good things because he loved Buffy/wanted to get into her pants, to which I say BULLSHIT.

Go back to Bargaining: Part One. Buffy was DEAD. Stone cold DEAD. And she had been for five months. Spike was still taking care of Dawn for her. He was following her wishes. He knew she wasn’t coming back. He knew he no longer had a “shot” with her. And yet he did the things she would’ve wanted him to do because it was selfless fucking LOVE, and I think that more than anything else was what frustrated me the most about this whole season. Because although I’m looking forward to what souled!Spike entails, I don’t think he needed it.

Anyways.

Results of Predictions for Season 6 Finale

- Willow gets de-evil!Willow-fied (CHECK)

- Clem lives (CHECK)

- Anya lives (CHECK)

- Spike comes back to Sunnydale because otherwise wtf is the point of his mystical quest thing (NO CHECK)

- Jonathan lives  (CHECK)

- Giles gets chewed out for leaving ONE EPISODE AFTER BUFFY REVEALED SHE WAS SUICIDAL like come on wtf  (HE APOLOGIES, BUT STILL... NO CHECK)

- Dawn and Spike have one more moment of being bros. I don’t even care about Spike and Buffy anymore. Just let me have Dawn and Spike being bros (I COUNT DAWN BAITING XANDER, SAYING “SPIKE WOULD’VE DONE IT” AS A BRO MOMENT. CHECK)

Predictions for Season 7

- Spike comes back to Sunnydale and becomes tentative friendship bros with Buffy with continual underlying UST that's never resolved again because of the attempted rape and also because none of my ships can ever be happy

- Dawn and Spike eventually work through his attempted rape and become bros again

- Dawn takes a level in badassery, will fight things

- Buffy's perma-death/rebirth will be addressed re: slayer chain of dead slayers leading to new slayer

- Anya stays a vengeance demon because fuck Xander

- Willow finds a happy place between using no magic whatsoever and trying to fry the earth

- Giles hangs out in Sunnydale again because Giles

- Anya stays in command of the magic shop because it's her magic shop… even though Willow kind of destroyed it

- Clem continues to have cameos because he's Clem and he's awesome