#i rewatched the ep because I missed the beginning and I also wanted to see the end with the bodyswap knowledge

[assim-eu-sou]

Ok but when Amity is talking to Luz after the kiss, Luz has her hands on her cheeks over the spot where Amity's hands were 😭

[venusssssssssss]

I rewatched ep 10 here are some thoughts:

We knew Jin took the video but he is an unreliable narrator, I don’t think he leaked it even if he said he did. Someone else leaked it but who? It would be such lazy writing because we, the audience, already saw Jin had Twitter on white mode and the video was leaked by someone who had dark mode. Why would the writers miss something so obvious? Anyway.

I understand Phee’s POV (if he’s being truthful): he did not sign up for murder nor did he know what he was really getting into. It’s also a very human thing to fall in love again and I liked that they played this card as well (not because I care for this ship or for any other ship tbh but because it such an earthling thing to do. “I love you despite of it all & i fell for you even though this started as a lie & we are both flawed & we are both guilty” bla bla bla. Love it and I will eat it up each time) Phee in this case plays the role of some of the audience (an important part of the audience is on New/Tan’s side regardless, while the rest is thinking this is too much and he needs to be stopped. There are also people who see them as simply gray characters and think that none are pure and aren’t taking any sides because they think it's pointless, but the writers don’t care about them imo. They want the first two categories to fight in the trenches about who’s right and who’s wrong and miss important details along the way - because we want so badly for some characters to deserve what they are getting).

White. We don’t know who White is and it’s been 10 episodes. This is supposed to be a slasher/thriller/murder mystery and the writers made sure we love him and hate his boyfriend Tee. But the actors said in several interviews that White is very similar to Tee and also described him as vain. Now why did they do that? The writers made sure the audience hate Tee. Now that could mean 1000 things. Maybe they are playing into the narrative: White is a colateral victim, Tee was a shitty kid but a kid too who was the product of the very bad adults around him & although he is flawed look how much he loves White. They already gave us fluffy flashbacks episode with PheeNon & Pheejin. Are we getting another one with TeeWhite this late in the show? I don’t think so. White remained spotless ‘till now but I feel a twist coming. He is probably related to someone very important or withholds some very important information from us, the audience. Are they gonna explain to us White and Phee’s little moment in the beginning of the show? That had to mean something. Some people say White is just a colateral victim. Because we saw already that New doesn’t care if people who weren’t directly involved die. So I see why people believe that as well. But White is one of the main characters so I don’t think he is just a damsel in distress.

Phee is also an unreliable narrator. He thinks New did all that but he doesn’t know all the details. Phee at this point knows less than the audience and is showing us what he thinks is true. What we saw half of this episode is what Phee thinks happened, but New is telling the audience nothing so we can't be sure.

New never trusted Phee. He already warned him 2 years ago, he already saw how his dynamic with Jin would play out, he predicted a lot of his moves, he used him but did not tell his real plan (and why would he? New wants the world to burn he has no time for feelings).

More people are going (and need) to die because this is a slasher. They have 2 episodes to kill pretty much everyone and I wanna be entertained. I want this to go out with a bang.

Also this is just my opinion and burning desire but i want a big reveal. I don't want the big reveal to be that Tan is New because it wasn't a big reveal for the audience (who already saw it coming) and it surely was not a big reveal to the other characters involved.

[pinazee]

Who ya gonna call? (The DID/trans ep)

Ill be honest i was nervous to rewatch this one but turns out it held up better than i thought. I mean, the worst of it is that the DID person is the murderer but that was such a common tv thing back then for procedurals. Every one had to have a DID ep, even though, as Psych points out, its so exceedingly rare. I get it, its a fun concept, but yeah, don’t make them the violent ones when 9 times out of 10 they’re the victims of violent crimes. I will say though, Psych made sure to include they were getting the help they needed and they really didn’t have to.

But what a cool way to show it though, having the other personalities act like ghosts. It feels very poetic. And to have one personality trans is such an interesting layer on top of it. It really can’t get more complicated than that.

This episode also tells us so much about Lassiter! Hes trying desperately to win back his not-yet-ex wife its kind of heartbreaking. We’re starting Psych right at the beginning of Lassiters downfall. He gets separated, has an “affair” with his partner who gets reassigned because ppl found out thanks to Shawn, and i believe its later implied he lost the promotion to captain because of that affair. And then Shawn comes along and he’s solving his cases. I have to wonder though, since we see in this ep how distracted he can be when he has personal issues, if Lassiter isn’t necessarily a bad detective in the beginning but just going through some shit and missing things. It kind of makes me understand why he’s so hostile to Shawn in the beginning. Not that thats any excuse. Just because you’re having a bad day doesn’t mean you get to shit on other ppl’s. And it was fun to see lassiters and Juliets miscommunication. It was nice to see them easing into their partnership, and allowing friction, particularly:

What was henry going to do if that kid just started wailing on shawn??? Honestly, probably would have tried to teach shawn how to hit back and would’ve got him pummeled.

Its kind of funny that in this ep Shawns all this guy believes in ghosts, hes crazy, when in later eps he’s so excited about aliens and bigfoot haha. I can only conclude Shawn doesn’t really believe in anything supernatural but definitely wants to. I think it would have been better if Shawn didn’t think the guy was crazy right off the bat but maybe had a stalker, or intruder. (P.s were the writers implying Shawn was right from the beginning and they were crazy, or was that just poor wording??)

Sidenote: Shawn just casually spoke german and seemingly understood her response. He probably simply knew enough to impress her, but still. He does this a few times i think in the series where he lets it slip how much he actually knows.

[moonsorchid]

Rewatching ep.30 of Love Between Fairy and Devil and blogging my reaction

(because I guess I want you to suffer with me?)

What is that feeling called when you miss something, but at the same time you are fully aware it's going to break your heart to pieces?

Well, that's what I am feeling now as I am starting this episode. And yes, I use sarcasm and silly humor, that will definitely not make you laugh, to deal with my emotions, so consider yourself warned.

(spoilers ahead)

So the episode begins with Xiao Lanhua looking at fabrics for her wedding dress. Imagine watching this for the first time and thinking "we are definitely getting a happy wedding, everything will be OK"

Whenever I see them walking on this balcony? platform? what would you call this? I always wonder how many people have fallen out of pure clumsiness. Why are there no railings? So if you are close to the edge and you accidentally stumble, ooops you are gone, buh bye

"Between Shangque and I, who is more stupid?" - Future Moon Queen of Cangyan Sea

Xiao Lanhua is taking DFQC's measurements for his wedding outfit. He tells her the war is coming, but she is in denial (just as I am - everything is fine, everything will be just perfect)

"No matter what happens, we face it together" *melting*

DFQC is sitting by her side as she is sleeping – which is the cutest thing ever – but she has a sort of nightmare with Chidi. She tells her that only one of them can survive. When she wakes up, DFQC is so worried. I am struggling inside, because I want him to tell her all about the bracelet. I know he can’t and that there would be no sense in doing so, but I just hate that he is keeping her in the dark.

Aaaand that’s the moment the evil Qi enters DFQC through his eyes.

DFQC is waving his sword against Tai Sui (he mainly strikes the air around him) and all I can think is how HOT he is while doing so.

I love love watching them like this

I would never imagine while watching the first episodes that there would come a time when Xiao Lanhua would tell Changheng that meeting her is inappropriate and ask him to leave.

“I am Xiao Lanhua, not the Goddess of Xishan.” These words will haunt me during the next episodes

“Tomorrow’s wedding is not your destiny.” Seriously? Just leave my babies alone! *pouting*

“Why can’t I love someone and the people at the same time?” My goodness, this is heartbreaking :(

Xishan is so beautiful

She loves him, she loves him sooooo much that not even the god turtle can stop her or Changheng or anyone.

Poor Changheng trying to badmouth DFQC to make her stay with him. Oh well

OMG, XUNFENG I SWEAR IF YOU KEEP TALKING -

Xunfeng takes her to the fake Arbiter Hall to imprison her, and yes, I hate him again (our love story is a rollercoaster, enemies to lovers to enemies), but what I notice also is that the sky is black and there is lightning and thunder. DFQC is not well :(

“Luckily I am smart.” I love you, Xiao Lanhua

Not them destroying the beautiful flowers :(

You take too much pleasure in this, Xunfeng

Great, you’ve made my girl sad, are you happy now????

For some reason I can’t hate Jieli. At least I know she is in pain. She does not like at all what she has to do. She hates herself first before anyone else can hate her.

And now Xiao Lanhua has gone to DFQC and he is hostile. It’s like watching his emotions being ripped away for the second time.

No :(

How did he find the courage to speak to her like this? I know I know why he did it, to save her blah blah blah, but still. I am telling you it feels like his emotions are being removed all over again. I hate it, I HATE IT

My heart is broken indeed:( See you for the much dreaded episode 31

Bonus: drinking game every time you read the word “hate” in this post

[myechoecho]

Finished up ep 3 in my rewatch of W Two Worlds.

First, something on episode 2 that I pick up on that I probably missed the first time watching. When Yeon Joo's mom and her friend are talking there is a throw away line - "maybe you should have made her take up drawing instead of harassing her into medical school" which is nice foreshadowing. I'm curious to see if there are others I'll pick up.

I forgot that Chul had already begun to change the story line before Yeon Joo, but she was definitely the catalyst to accelerate the changes. Still the first change was Chul refusing to die. Which leads to a different catalyst with Sung Moo. It's hinted that the comic was not necessarily the most successful but once Chul began to change the story, it exploded in popularity. It's as if people were only interested in the story that Chul wanted to tell; not Sung Moo's. He begins to spiral more.

I love how Yeon Joo and Chul are both really smart. Yeon Joo quickly figures out most of the rules for the comic book world and when she gets back, takes the time to go through all the back end research for each year of the comic's existence.

Chul is also able to piece things together quickly though it helps that she sleepily tells him some of his darkest secrets that no one else would know.

I completely forgot about the bathroom flashing scene until I saw her look at the bras lol.

He's able to fluster her enough that she tells him the rules of the world for her and that he's the main character. The stand off with the gun was great, because neither one will back down.

Weirdly, what almost bothers me most about the gun scene is Chul scratching head with a loaded gun. GUN SAFETY.

He figured out she's from another her world and now knows she can't return unless he manages to shock him. He wants his answers. Love that she still tried to shock him by saying "I love you"

She's refusing to tell him the truth to protect him, and he knows that. Telling him that he is just a comic book character will crush him, and really wants him to be happy.

They have such good chemistry and Yeon Joo realizing she's now the main character over the secretary made me smile.

I should be able to get through more of the episodes over the next few days.

[princessamericachavez]

okay so i’ve been thinking nonstop about this post by @anxieteandbiscuits​ pointing out how everything about Buck and Eddie’s arcs is eventually tying back up to Buck’s couch because it was stablished in the very first episode this season and the show was telling us where it was taking these characters this time around. Which got me thinking about what we saw stablished in that first ep and how showed us what the last couple eps of the season would give us. 

So we got Bobby and Athena, right? And we had a very clear reminder that Bobby struggles with his sobriety every day through his insistence to stay busy at the cruise to avoid temptation at the 11 bars. Which eventually lead to more about his history with AA, Wendell and Bobby’s struggles. We also had that last scene of the episode with Athena’s parents, connecting to her past. If we take ep2 of the season into account, we are also seeing a nod at Athena’s past loss and, through her mother’s own fear of losing her father, her fear of grief and losing another partner like her first fiancé. Which will probably come to a head in the finale after the 6x17 setup. 

For Hen? We saw her struggle with her work-life balance. Trying to juggle med school, a job and her family. And we saw, clearly, that what she was neglecting was her interpersonal relationships. We see this when she misses her lunch date with Athena and still accepts more responsibility as interim captain from Bobby. Later, in the second episode (because I really do feel like the first two episodes this season were a single arc setting up the upcoming storylines) we see this further pushed when Karen calls Hen out for forgetting to pick her son up, and Hen breaking down because she failed her tests and feels like a failure after the Happiness Convention death. We saw Hen struggle with balance between all these sides of her life through the rest of 6a and it was solved by the end. (I do wish the show’d let her go on with this throughout the entire season because it feel like they ran out of things for Hen in 6b and recycled the biodad thing, but that’s a complaint for another day)

Then, for Chimney and Maddie, we had the big decision of Maddie moving back in with him, of them being a family again, we had Chim’s fear of being left behind and Maddie being the one to take the necessary steps to reassure him that she’s not going anywhere. All that? Yep, set up for the proposal! We’ve seen a huge advancement on their relationship this season and it was pretty clearly telegraphed in the very first episode!

Now, Eddie’s arc this season has been rather understated, probably because he went through so much in s5. However, rewatching 6x01 I was very curious to see that Eddie mentions Shannon for the first time in a good while that episode! When Chimney is talking about running out on Maddie the morning after their “one night stand”, Eddie recalls that he had Shannon sneak out to avoid Christopher catching her in his bed and he talks about how hhis vere was using Chris as an excuse to protect his heart. It sounds very familiar, right? So curiously enough, while we didn’t see much of his loneliness arc play out in 6a, it was lightly stablished (and probably expanded through him going through so many milestones with Chris this season, with the wanting to do things on his own and his first crush, both signaling that Chris is growing up and Eddie can’t devote himself to his son 100% of the time anymore to avoid getting hurt again). 

Which finally leads us to Buck and his very clear pursuit of happiness. Which, curiously, begins with his desire to be considered for interim captain. Which is nothing weird, we know Buck wishes, more than anything, to be seen as worthy (of respect, of love, of a home, of a family). I don’t think we’ve talked enough about how the couch theory connects directly with Buck wanting to be a captain. To the point where twice he asks if not having a couch is an issue for it. Now, keep in mind, Buck drew a very clear correlation between couches and relationships and his fear of making the wrong choice again. The conversation also has some curious nods about having what you want “right under your nose but refusing to see it”. Uh... Anywayyyyy the second ep of the season hammered this down with the Happiness Convention and how clearly it affected Buck, how badly he craves that answer and that peace. When Bobby talks to Buck about being at ease as per AA standards, he does mention that it requires being able to look the world in the eye and being ok alone, but since we already saw Buck in his single chair for a while and ok with that decision until the wrong couch (and likely the wrong relationship) were brought to him by his death experience, I don’t thing his “happy ending” will be solitude. 

Now, on a final sidenote, I will say that I could be inclined to deny the correlation between the Diaz’s and Buck’s search for a couch if it wasn’t for 6x12. Because, before that, there was little to no mention of Buck’s lack of couch (as opposed to the constant nods to his search for happiness and meaning and the whole donor plot). But after 6x11 made a BIG point of reminding us about the theory and how Buck sees it, and then 6x12 did THAT with Eddie’s couch, only to later double down on it in 6x15 with Christopher... I think whatever the answer to this theory is HAS to be somehow related to Chris and Eddie. Whether it’ll be in a romantic manner or a familial one or simply just stating that Buck’s found happiness and peace with them... remains to be seen tomorrow. But they’ve definitely set up the story to go there (or clowned me hard with deceptive storytelling which would annoy me to no end).

Anyway, that’s my long winded analysis just to say that I love how this show has stablished so many things since the first episode of the season and I’m really looking forward to see where they take us in the finale. 

[bizantineempire]

So I have some thoughts on RWRB

If you divorce it from it's adaptation, it's a perfectly servicable film.

IDK how to say it but it was too polished? I guess? (Maybe that's book nerd for it doesn't look like how I imagined it IDK) it feels like an adaptation of a short film that got a bigger budget but it lost some of the heart of the original you know?

I should have expected it but it was a lot simpler than the book. other people have mentioned the things, June, Nora, Pez, Leo etc.

I did enjoy the way they did the texting at the beginning and I wished they carried that through with the emails later (although maybe they did and I wasn't paying enough attention?)

In this day and age of streaming there is no excuse for book adaptations to be simplified movies. Here's my reasoning: streaming platforms don't need to have time slots, so they can literally release a 3 episode miniseries or a 2 episode miniseries, or 2 movie length mini series or whatever. Black mirror does a bit of this where the different eps are different lengths and honestly, there should be more of it.

I liked some of the references to the book like the powerpoint presentation reference but it just made me want to see that.

I missed seeing Alexs drive and enthusiasm for politics. Look, I'm Australian, I couldn't give a rat's bum about american politics, but reading Alex give a shit about it was interesting and to see him kinda do a politics thing but also not really made me miss Book!Alex more.

I feel like the King being all "this could be fake" would have been a lot better if ALEX HADN'T JUST RELEASED A STATEMENT SAYING THEY WERE IN LOVE!

Stephen (Steven? Stephen.) Fry saying Homoseksual

Stephen Fry BEING a homophobe was funny A+ casting

The lake scene being in the day was weird. So Henry just turns away and is silent. And then he swims away and what, doesn't say a word to Alex for the rest of the evening? Does Alex ask him what's wrong? Why don't they talk about it? it makes more sense being in the middle of the night because he cracks a joke, changes the subject and goes to sleep. Alex is a little offput but he figures he can talk about it later if it's still a thing and then Henry's gone. Makes so much more sense.

Also (this also happens in the books) So Henry's "The Spare" but what about Bea? I'm p sure she's older than Henry, but younger than Philip. Doesn't that make HER the spare? He's just overkill at that point.

If they were going to cut out a sister imho they should have cut out Bea since they did her dirty anyway. Like if she's not going to have character anyway. June would be far more utilised.

One of the things I love about the book is that by the end Alex has a great friend group. I missed that in the movie.

Zahra was perfect.

I miss chaotic brains Nora

I have very few thoughts on the actual romance part. It was fine.

TF is Miguel

As a bisexual myself, I missed the bi panic.

Also Liam. He was great.

This has nothing to do with the movie but my cat is kneading right next to me.

Why was it rated R? It was sanitised the hell????

If you like the movie, if you love it that's great. I'm glad for you. For me I might have to sit and think about it for a bit before I rewatch it.

[airenyah]

Hi, I came to report to you that your ql music research is rubbing off on me 😅 I was watching ep 2 of Ploy's Yearbook (for Joong and Namtan 😍), when suddenly I recognized a piece of music!! But I couldn't place it, so I tried to remember which series have I watched so many times that I'm familiar with the music. I reached the tentative conclusion that it must be from SIMM or possibly from Hidden Agenda (but I definitely connected it to JoongDunk). Maybe I need to do a complete rewatch of both series to confirm, what a hardship 😂 I just wanted to tell you that maybe aside from being a JD vampire bl truther, this will be your other legacy

oh my god, that's amazing!!!!!! i LOVE to hear that!!!!! i'm actually planning on making a side blog focused on shared royalty free music in thdramas, but that's something that is earliest going to happen in the summer if not in the winter. i wanna work my way through some of my fave shows first, because those are the soundtracks i'm more likely to recognize and i just wanna have them on my google doc before i go put everything in tumblr posts (which is also gonna take forever bc my google doc is currently at 100 pages worth of entries sjkfkjsfdj)

aaaaanyway, re: music in ploy's yearbook

was it by any chance desert caravan by ludvig moulin? i haven't watched ep2 yet (i was actually about to go watch it when your message came in and i couldn't help answering it first kjdkfdg), but i did see a clip of it earlier in jimmy's insta story and the scene had this music in the background. it has come up in episode 1 already as well. if it was this, then good job on connecting it to a joongdunk show because it actually has come up on hidden agenda a couple of times! i'm still missing the last 3 episodes on my music collection, but these are the time stamps so far:

ep1 pt1 - 0:13

ep3 pt2 - 0:20

ep4 pt1 - 4:32

ep8 pt4 - 8:08

And here are the time stamps for ep1 of ploy's yearbook:

ep1 pt1 - 11:10 / 17:41

ep1 pt2 - 1:50

ep2 pt1 - 9:38

ep2 pt2 - 0:27

ep2 pt3 - 3:09

ep2 pt4 - 3:07

you might also have recognized get up on that horse by spring gang as the music that plays in bad buddy at the beginning of ep7 when pat is in the car (ep7 pt1 - 1:20) or also in ep12 when patpran claim they broke up (ep12 pt3 - 3:45). oh but wait, it's definitely connected to joongdunk, you said? well, as it turns out this one has actually come up in star in my mind a lot. like. A LOT:

ep1 pt2 - 5:55

ep2 pt1 - 4:00

ep2 pt4 - 1:02

ep3 pt2 - 1:15

ep3 pt3 - 1:55

ep3 pt4 - 1:17

ep6 pt2 - 1:23

ep7 pt2 - 1:48

ep7 pt4 - 0:48

ep8 pt1 - 4:33 / 5:41

ep8 pt3 - 5:07

and here are the time stamps for ep1 of ploy's yearbook again for reference:

ep1 pt1 - 13:00

ep1 pt2 - 2:26

ep2 pt1 - 8:37

and here, have a bonus because why the fuck not: moonshiner's turn by martin landström. this one has shown up in ep1 pt4 of both bad buddy as well as 23.5 degrees. also found in ep1 of ploy's yearbook at:

ep1 pt1 - 18:53

ep1 pt3 - 6:16

ep2 pt1 - 0:35 / 17:30

well, i'm gonna go watch the new episode now! feel free to check back on this post in a couple of hours, i might edit it or add a reblog with all my findings about the music in ep2 😂

edit:

i've added the ep2 time stamps to the aforementioned ones! and i found new music as well!!

maybe the one you recognized as a joongdunk series music in ep2 was winning hand by ealot. it came up in star in my mind a couple of times:

ep1 pt4 - 3:00

ep2 pt2 - 2:20

ep4 pt2 - 9:16

ep8 pt3 - 4:17

it featured in ep2 of ploy's yearbook at following timestamps:

ep2 pt1 - 16:58

ep2 pt3 - 3:45

and there was some more bad buddy music as well (diggin' the drama by the new fools) and it amazes me that my brain immediately went "we know this!!" considering it showed up in bad buddy exactly one single time (ep7 pt2 - 13:45). bad buddy really has wormed its way into my brain in every single aspect in the last two years huh djkfkjdfg. anyway you can find it in ep2 of ploy's yearbook at:

ep2 pt1 - 11:10

apart from these, there were also two pieces of music that sounded increeeedibly familiar to me but neither shazam nor google could come up with any results! i'm gonna have to click through my "not found" list at some point, maybe they're already there. here are the time stamps if you're curious:

first one i can't find (ep2 pt3 - 2:06)

second one i can't find (ep2 pt3 - 7:09)

this is gonna bug me for a while....

[absolutebl]

While trying to procrastinate on my Chinese assignment and because I haven't watched much these past few months, I decided to go on tumblr (as you do) and ended up on that ask you answered with a few recs, including one where you said to just trust you and watch DNA Says Love You (another one for the "words are missing and it doesn't quite make sense even though I get what they were going for" English titles of dramas) because 1) I've been in the mood for Taiwanese BL lately, 2) it apparently was on my list, 3) that counts as listening comprehension for my class, right?

Anyway, long story short, I watched 9 episodes yesterday evening and the last 3 tonight and I didn't have any time during the day because of things like "needing to work to get an income", but the only thing I wanted was be done with my day so I could go back and watch it. I didn't dislike the first 3 episodes contrary to my expectations with your comment, but I also totally understand why you said that. It goes from funny and light-hearted to giving you all the feels until you get sucker-punched by ep9 (I had tears in my eyes and I had not started my evening expecting that kind of show).

It was just SO good, like dang, I didn't expect to like it that much. Plus the cinematography, directing, and production quality were really lovely and well done in a way I wasn't expecting (also because I both didn't expect much and didn't know what to expect). But yes, anyway, I loved all of the characters in that show and wanted to say thank you for reccing it because I would have been sad to have missed it (also intersex rep??? in my drama???). Anyway, time to actually sit down and finish my assignment instead of writing a novel in your ask box.

Oh I m SO GLAD you gave it a chance. I with more people would. The last few eps are ones I will often rewatch, in fact I'm taking it with more on my next trip for a full rewatch so see how I feel about those beginning eps in retrospect. Such a great show.

[alaffy]

The Gilded Age, Ep.2x01 – You Don’t Even Like Opera (Spoilers)

I probably should have rewatched, or at least read my previous posts, before watching this episode.  I have a feeling I missed a few things because I couldn’t remember who all the characters were.  This episode was quite good.  It was also pretty much setup for the season, so I’m just going to give a quick recap of some of the characters.

Gorge Russel is having problems with his workers.  Seems their asking for unreasonable things like living wages and the ability to not die on the job (shocking).  It seems like George is really going to be a Robber Baron in this season.  Let’s see how much we’ll like him at the end.

Marian has been secretly teaching at a school.  Agnes is unhappy with this.  This is probably why she will try to get Marian to marry…uh, it’s Agnes’ husband’s nephew.  So, far he seems quite nice.  However, he is older the Marian and he has a teenage daughter.  So, yeah, conflict between Agnes and Marian. 

Ada meets the new Pastor (?) of the church (I honestly can’t remember what title he was given).  We’ve seen in the previews that they will fall for each other.  But nothing really happens in this episode except they meet.

Larry has been remodeling the Russells’ new Newport house.  As this job is finished, he’s looking for new work.  Just so happens there’s a rich, young widow looking to remodel her home. 

Oscar is beaten up and decides that he needs to give up his wild ways.  He sets his sights on Gladys (again), but believes Gladys is giving him the cold shoulder as she never responded to his letters.  Turns out, Gladys never got the letters.  Oscar proposes.  Gladys isn’t sure she wants to marry him, but does recognize this may be her way of getting away from Bertha. 

We find out the Peggy’s son died six months previously of Scarlet Fever.  This, of course, has left a gulf between Peggy and her father.  Not to mention Peggy’s mother and Peggy’s father.  The father does admit that what he did was wrong, but it’s a bit late for that.  Peggy realizes that, for her own sake, she needs to leave her parents home and asks to come back to work of Agnes. 

Bertha is still trying to make her way into society and she has done quite well for herself.  At least, Ms. Astor recognizes she can’t just shut Bertha out (better to keep your enemies close).  Of course, Bertha isn’t allowed everything yet as she does not have a box at the Music Academy.  Which, it’s very true that there’s a long waiting list, but Ms. Astor could easily get Bertha to the top of the list if she so chooses.  Which she doesn’t.  And so, Bertha is going to show the old money they can’t just keep people out by helping to build the new Metropolitan Opera.  And, yes, this war between (music) houses was a real thing.  Bertha announces to the world her backing at a dinner that she hosts and Mrs.  Astor attends.  And also has a sneak peak of the first production of the Met, Faust, with none other than Christina Nilsson singing the part of Marguerite.  Oh, and Nilsson just happens to be at Bertha house, in costume, and she begins to sing. 

Now the funny/interesting thing is, the song she’s singing just so happens to be featured in the musical “The Phantom of the Opera,”  which is about an outcast of society who has managed to manipulate his way into kind of taking control of this Paris Opera House (they think he’s a legit Phantom as bad things keep happening) and, yes, one of his demands to keep the peace is his own private box.  True Bertha is no phantom, but I mean….

[mousmoula]

my thoughts (and prayers) on shadow & bone season 2:

(spoilers ahead, mostly about the crows, also i haven't watched the last 2 eps yet, i'll reblog with anything else when i do)

i LOVED wesper but holy fuck did they rush the fuck out of their relationship

i'm too lazy to retype it but i summed it up adequately here earlier:

the other tags i wanted to put here aren't in english so tldr: in the books, wylan and jesper's relationship is founded in their mutual respect for and admiration of each others' strengths, intelligence and genuine trust that they can do so much more than they allow themselves to. this type of relationship takes time to build, time which this show absolutely did not give them. that being said, again—i doubt the creators thought they would have the time to begin with (see tags above) and i don't really blame them for rushing it.

also... so many iconic scenes from soc AND ck lost 😭 i liked how they recreated some of them in the context of the show but some others i'll miss forever

on the plus side, we may not have gotten "just girls?" "no, not just girls" but we did get jesper recognising wylan only after he's on top on him,,, other stuff so i can't really complain lol. i enjoyed it!

wylan felt quite underdeveloped to me, plus he was reduced to his relationship with jesper, barely existed outside of it and didn't interact almost at all with anyone else. it HURTS me soul, last 2 eps better fix this.

i loved matthias making friends with his cell mate 😭

pekka rollins was a good villain in the books but they made him truly horrible in this one like jesus christ there was NO reason for him to be that bad. not complaining though! i like a good villain. i also want to see him crucified

KAZ BREKKER AND HIS LOVELY, BEAUTIFUL, INCREDIBLE BRAIN

no but i love how, once you learn enough about kaz, he's so... easy to read? as a character? every single plan of his so far this season i've been able to predict and it brings me such joy every time. this isn't me saying he was predictable, in fact i think they got his funky little brain very correctly and i loved that. they didn't get everything perfectly with him but i think his plans were super well-thought through and it reminded me how much i adore this asshole (affectionate)

where the hell was jesper's gambling addiction during this season.......... i was so happy with how they dealt with it during s1 and now 6 eps in it hasn't been mentioned in the slightest

his conflict with being a durast was also handled a bit badly, mainly because there was hardly any conflict at all 😭

overall sad with how jesper's character was dealt with, he's one of my favourites and i'm pretty frustrated lol

KANEJ<333333

i could write an essay on why i love and adore every single one of the crows basically

GENYA LOVE OF MY LIFE

i love her so much she didn't deserve all this crap i'm SO upset with her backstory with the king ew

how tf do people like alina and the darkling together lmao there's no romance there 😭

NIKOLAI IS EVERYTHING TO ME ACTUALLY i haven't read shadow and bone but i loved his character so much

think i've said this before but when he appeared in crooked kingdom i pictured him in my head as the duke of weselton (or however tf that's spelt) from frozen. make of that what you will.

TOLYA AND TAMAR'S INTRO WAS THE COOLEST FUCKING THING I'VE EVER WATCHED i rewatched it so many times 😭 absolutely incredible characters, i love them

i feel so bad but among everything else i really couldn't care about the whole darkling and alina plot... mal being the firebird, nikolai's crew, baghra's sacrifice, genya trying to redeem herself etc were all very interesting arcs and i cared very much about them but the main plot about alina and kirigan and the problems between them. i just. Do Not Care

tolya and jesper's "friendship" so to say was lovely

i'll genuinely clip tolya and tamar's intro and tattoo it on my forehead i'm listening to the soundtrack now and i'm losing my head it was so GOOD

kaz better mention van eck by the end of the season i NEED them to set this plot up for when (if) we get s3 or a soc spin-off

the fold was such a good world-building part last season but we barely saw it this time. i fucking miss the fold. what's life

the whole season felt very,,, transitional, maybe? so we better fucking get another one. netflix i'm watching you and you better fucking prove me wrong

where the fuck is fedyor 😭 and (because i care about fedyor's happiness) where the fuck is ivan

me: damn i hope vasily dies he's annoying as fuck

vasily: *dies a good 10 seconds later*

overall: generally happy with this season, upset with what they did to the crows, still hyped to finish the last 2 eps and share more thoughts (and prayers)

if you watch the series with the mindset that it's a completely separate thing (from six of crows/crooked kingdom) and just to have fun, you're guaranteed that much, in my opinion. it's fun and i can ignore the stuff i'm upset about because i can re-read soc anytime so yeah!

[boysplanetrecaps]

The Great Produce 48 Rewatch: Ep 2, Phone Calls Home and Judges Table

Hey, National Producer! It's always so nice to see you. Let's dive back into our amazing Produce48 rewatch!

When we left off with this ridiculous project, we had seen many of the trainees recording their evaluation performance for the grade reassignment, and I whispered to you sweetly to tell you what their grades were as we went along, in an effort to subvert MNET editing.

In this post, we'll cover the girls weepy phone calls home, usually to their moms, and then see some of the judges' table. Along the way, we'll find out more of their final grades, too. Get a whole box of tissues and watch along if you like: https://kshow123.tv/show/produce-48/episode-2.html

At 1:48:33, the segment begins. The girls are brought one at a time to a small room. They know what’s coming -- it’s phone call time! They’re handed a cell phone and told they can call one person who they can think of right now. Some of them start crying at the mere thought of it. 

Kim Dayeon, future Kep1er, cries even while the phone is still ringing. She’s only 15, poor kid. We never see any of her audition, but hopefully she will be happy when she finds out that she maintained her B-status. 

We also see Sakura and Lee Gaeun, both calling their mothers. Gaeun’s greeting comes out in a tight squeak.

Huh Yujin, future Le Sserafim, is so overcome that at first she can’t speak. Her mother says hello first in Korean and then in English, suggesting that she doesn’t recognize the phone number Yujin is calling from. Both her Mom and I want to hug her. I still can’t get over the judges moving her down to F! 

Choi Soeun, who auditioned with Question Mark and earlier said that B-class was communicating telepathically, communicates telephonically as well with her mom. We don’t see any of her audition, but later on she is moved down to C-class.  

Park Chanju’s mother helpfully says, “you must have missed me so much. Stop crying.”

Sakura, who has gotten through to her mother, can’t speak. Her mother just keeps asking “Daijobu? Why are you crying?”

Kato Yuuka’s mother asks her, “was there anything that bothered you?” Yuuka auditioned with Funny People, in the furry orange collar. If only Yuuka knew that in a few hours she would be moving up to B-class -- she could have told her mom the good news! 

They seem to be filming Jo Yuri through the tiny window in the door as she tells her mother, “I’m not quite meeting my own expectations.” We didn’t see any of her evaluation performance, but it apparently didn’t go well at all. I’m kind of surprised they didn’t show it, because it was so bad that she is going to move all the way from A to F. As we see later, she just totally froze in place during the recording. Poor kid.

Pretty little Kang Damin, future Queenzeye, who auditioned in the pale yellow shirt alongside “mini-Sunmi” of the flat tummy, gets a pep talk from her mom. We later see a bit of her audition video, in which she’s really throwing herself into it -- she didn’t even need that pep talk! The judges move her up to A class. Good work, Damin!  

Individual trainee Park Jinny -- one of the ex-YG girls and future member of Secret Number -- gets a pep talk from her dad. Hopefully it’ll give her a bit of strength when she finds out shortly that the judges are moving her down from C to F. 

Honda Hitomi gets a pep talk from her mom. She really is a cutey. We’ll see more of her during the judges’ evaluation part.

Shitao Miu, who auditioned with Honda Hitomi to Mister and wore the cap on her belt, says she feels better hearing her mom’s voice, even though mom had scolded her right before she left. She interviews that she realized that she felt thankful toward her mom all along. She’s going to learn soon that she’s staying in D-class. 

Naiki Kokoro, who auditioned in Funny People (wearing green), says that she realized she’s not alone because she has her family.  That’s sweet! And soon she will have her friends in C-class, because the judges are moving her up! 

Then we transition into the parents who laugh at their kids.

The mother of husky-voiced Kim Hyuna asks her if she’s the oldest in the competition, and she says she thinks she is. She’s not -- that would be the multi-lingual Miyazaki Miho, who is 24 -- but at 23, Hyuna is definitely among the oldest. We’ll see more of her during the judges’ evaluation part.

Park Minji, future member of Secret Number, gets asked if there’s anything she wants to eat when she gets home. Minji tells mom that she has plenty of food, and mom scolds her for eating instant noodles. Hopefully mom wouldn’t have scolded her for keeping her status in B class. 

It’s kind of funny how both Park Minji and Park Jinny auditioned with the Chung-ha song Roller Coaster, though separately, given that they were destined to both be in Secret Number together.

Cho Kahyeon, the girl from the Starship group who isn’t Wonyoung or An Yujin, is literally me talking to my mom. Her mom says Kahyeon is good enough to be there but can’t make her debut, because, apparently, Kahyeon is “fat”. Thanks, Mom! Thmom. Kahyeon tells her that she’s on speaker phone, and mom apologizes, but goes on to say that Kahyeon had said that “someone in Gugudan used to be fat” (I assume she’s talking about Kang Mina?), and Kahyeon’s dying of embarrassment that her mom is repeating all this on national tv.  Mom says, this won’t be aired, right? And Kahyeon, who is smart enough to know what’s up, is like “yeah, I don’t know about that.” I wonder if Mom would have been proud to know that Kahyeon stayed in B class, or if she would have scolded her for not moving up? 

Judges Table

At 1:51:26, the judges assemble for the grade evaluation.

The judges talk about how they’re expecting the Japanese trainees to do well at looking at the camera. They watch Gaeun’s and Sakura’s performances -- both great, as you may recall, so they both keep their A status -- then Jeremy is super excited to see Lee Chaeyeon. He actually says “Oh my God!” in English, which is pretty cute.

The judges say that she was sick during the training period and couldn’t take lessons from the teacher, so she must have taught herself. She does great -- singing, dancing, performance. They love her -- Dance Bae says “I want more trainees like her.” As we find out later, she keeps her A status. 

Next is Cherry Bullet’s Park Haeyoon, and Jeremy says “Please do well.” But…

… things don’t go well for my new Cherry Bullet bias. Oh no! She forgets the words, and I think she forgets the steps. Her voice sounds tired and strained. Dance Bae snarks, “I don’t know why I’m even watching this to the end.” It’s a real bummer. Jeremy apologizes to the other judges -- the joke is that he’s from the same agency, FNC  -- and Soyou says “Her strength is in high pitches. I even marked her name” (ie, Soyou had noticed her at the audition) “but she isn’t good.” Oh no!! As we find out later, she gets placed in D class, a huge downgrade from A. 

Next up is Jang Gyu Ri, fromis_9 member, who we saw audition with Chewing Gum (she was the pink one). The judges comment on how pretty she is. 

We only see a bit of her audition, but she doesn’t seem to even try to sing. She must have forgotten the lyrics completely. As we find out later, she gets placed in F class, a huge downgrade from B.  

Next is Kim Choyeon, the fire-eyes girl who we talked about earlier. (If you forgot, she is going to move down from A to C.)

Then Cho Sa Rang, the little 14 year old who sang the song from Annie as part of her audition.

She has a complete brain failure, poor kid. We find out later that she gets moved down to F, a pretty far fall from B. 

Shin Suhyun, who auditioned by herself with the song Playing With Fire and who had voice-over-ed earlier that the Japanese trainees were impressive in their revaluation, also goes blank. The judges roll their eyes. We find out later that she also gets moved down to F.  The show really, really hates this girl. Other trainees also don't do a great job, but the show never misses an opportunity to shit on poor punching bag Shin Suyhun.

Next is Park Jieun, future ex-Purple Kiss, who, as we discussed earlier, really blows it. The judges are getting fed up, saying that all their aces are disappointing them.

Next up is Goto Moe, who had lost her voice in the audition. They’re all excited -- Jeremy says she’s on his “A-list.”

She starts off wrong, but she keeps going, and though she gets kind of shrill and shouty, she’s actually kind of on key. She’s not nearly as nasal as most of the Japanese trainees. The judges find her charming and unique. We find out later that she has been moved up to C-class, which is huge, and I think well-deserved. Nice work, Moe! 

Next is Mogi Shinobu, our living meme girl, who as we discussed earlier, moves up to D.

Then Murase Sae, who we met during her performance of Funny People, in which she wore the worst outfit.

Dance Bae, impressed with Sae’s energy, offers her own kind of praise: “She’s so horrible -- but I want to teach her.” Mary J Lee, who has been working with the D class girls, says “She’s a hard worker.” We later on find out that they have moved her up to C. Good work, Sae! 

Next is dancer Nakano Ikumi, who we discussed earlier. Her energy and enthusiasm, as well as her obvious improvement, moves Dance Bae to ruminate, “I had expected to scold the Japanese trainees a lot today, but I really have no comment. They’re just not experienced.”  See, she’s not a psychopath the way that Psychopath is, you guys. I swear she’s not. Dance Bae adds that the Korean trainees should prepare well because the Japanese girls are coming for them. 

We’re reminded that the girls needed to learn the songs in both languages, and then we see “mini Chung-ha”, little Lee Ha Eun again (we saw her earlier). She seems to rock the Japanese version, proving why she deserves to keep her A status. 

Next up is future Lightsum’s Kim Nayoung, who auditioned with I Don’t Like Your Girlfriend.

She has no trouble hitting the high notes, and just generally seems to be doing great. Dance Bae -- who, mind you, has been teaching her in C class for the past day or two -- says in surprise, “Why is she in C-class?” Jeremy calls her a hidden treasure. We find out later that she had been moved up to A. Great work, Nayoung!

The next few girls are each shown for a few seconds each, as a sort of montage of trainees who can’t remember any of the lyrics to the Japanese version of the song. 

The first in this group is Kim Doah, future Fanatics member and GP999 contestant, who psyches herself out a bit trying to sing in Japanese.

We find out later that she is moved down to C from A. Poor kid! I still like you, Doah. 

Next is Kwon Eunbi, who we discussed earlier.  (She crashed and burned and was moved down to C.)

Then Kim Yubin from CNC school -- part of Dayeon’s group.

She keeps smiling but doesn’t sing a note. We find out later that she gets moved down to D class. 

Next is husky voiced Kim Hyunah, who apparently isn’t showing her vocals here…

… though she must do really well otherwise, because the judges later decide to keep her in class B. 

Next is Kim Dahye from Banana Culture, who we talked about earlier. 

Then it’s Honda Hitomi, the one that we saw a lot of in the dance lessons. The class had high expectations of her -- and she seems to be delivering.

My favorite is Dance Bae asking, “Is she singing in Korean?” I mean, if you have to ask…? But still, gotta respect the hustle. The judges certainly do, and we find out later on that she has been moved to A group. Nice work, Hitomi!  

She’s not the only Japanese trainee to memorize the lyrics in Korean. (I’m still not clear on whether or not they were required to.) 

We see a nanosecond of Imada Mina -- who we discussed earlier -- then a nanosecond of Tanaka Miku, the girl in F-class with the cute bangs who was hanging out with Bibian and Nako when Erii was getting yelled at. It was hard to get a screenshot of her, but she was doing a decent job, and we find out later that she moves up to C class. 

We also see a nanosecond of Kurihara Sae, one of the members of the Never Ending Ferris Wheel group. Like many of her teammates, she’s putting her heart into it. The judges are going to put her in D class. 

We see a fair bit of Iwate Saho’s evaluation. She was in Dancing Hero, and she’s the one we saw learning the choreo from H1-Key Riina in her class. I guess the lessons didn’t really stick. She seems to sort of improvise new steps or something, making all the judges laugh, and though Psychopath says “my heart wants to give her an A,” they ultimately move her down to D-class.  

Then we see a nanosecond each of CNC School’s Yoon Eunbin -- she’s REALLY throwing herself into it, maintaining her place in B class -- and Kang Damin, who we discussed earlier, letting out a cute high pitched “hoo!”.  

After that, there’s Ko Yujin, who auditioned with Lip and Hip and who claims to look a bit like HyunA, and the judges love her. They say she looks like top-5 material to them. 

The judges are going to move her up from C to A, reversing the fate of Kim Cho Yeon, the “fire”-eyes girl who also auditioned with Lip and Hip and went from A to C. 

Then we see Yabuki Nako, who the judges love. We actually get a mini montage of her in dance class, and learn that she’s the other trainees’ pick as most likely to succeed. 

She does great -- vocals, dance, performance, it’s all there. Sure, it’s not the style of singing I love, but darned if she isn’t on key despite jumping up and down the whole time. It’s good. We find out later that the judges move her from F all the way up to A! Sugoi! Congrats, Nako-chan! 

As episode 2 draws to a close, we see the judges leaving judging table to meet with the girls in their respective classrooms, and the editors tease us with a bit of what’s going to happen next.

Jeremy talks to the A class, and is cagey about how many of their grades have changed. I’ll tell you that it’s 8.

Psychopath tells the B class that 17 people’s grades have changed.

Cheetah tells the C class that 18 people’s grades have changed.

Mary J Lee tells the D class that 12 people’s grades have changed. 

Dance Bae tells the F class that 9 people’s grades have changed.

There are 15 girls in D, but only 11 are present, and there are 17 girls in F but only 9 are present. It also looks like Sakura and Miyu aren’t present in the A-class. This is because -- as we learn later -- a bunch of the AKB girls had professional obligations back in Japan. 

What’s really odd about the preview is that it straight up shows us that Lee Gaeun and Sakura have both gotten an A, but then we just see other girls being handed their grades without finding out what that new grade is. They also show a completely, 100% pixelated blob walking down the hallway with a caption letting us know that someone has fallen from A class to F class. Again, what's the point of showing the pixelated blob, MNET? They could just as easily show us a wall with a sign that says "I'm just wasting time."

Sooooo close this time, AI image generator. Soooo close.

Anyway, that’s the end of the episode! Woot!

In the next episode, they’re going to dick around and waste time forever and day without telling you who is what new class, but you’ll already know the fates of at least 53 of them! Because you live in the FUTURE!!!!!1! 

Then they show the ranking of the 96 girls as they stood at the time. I’ll give you a quick reminder of who each girl is and note any rank changes of more than 20 spots (or just notable changes) from the previous ranking. It’s worth noting that all three girls from the polka dotted Celeb Five audition leaped up significantly. Also, all future members of IVE, Everglow, and Le Sserafim are in the top 25.  I bolded names of people you might have heard of because they debuted in groups later on and are still active. (I'm not bolding the Bugaboo girls since that group already disbanded.)

Lee Gaeun - the Pledis queen

Ahn Yujin - future IVE

Kwon Eunbi - future soloist, leaping up from 25th place

Jang Wonyoung - future IVE

Miyawaki Sakura  - future Le Sserafim

Choi Yena - future soloist

Wang Yiren - future Everglow 

Goto Moe - laryngitis girl 

Yamada Noe - gravely voiced Noe, leaping up from 45th place 

Lee Chaeyeon - future soloist, leaping up from 29th place 

Takeuchi Miyu - the other Japanese girl in A, leaping up from 39th place 

Matsui Jurina - the Jurina

Kim Sihyeon - future Everglow

Jang Gyuri - Fromis_9, pink Chewing Gum

Huh Yunjin - future Le Sserafim

Miyazaki Miho - multilingual queen

Kim Minju - a Very Pretty Girl

Lee Sian - purple Chewing Gum

Jo Yuri - yellow Chewing Gum

Na Goeun - future Purple Kiss

Kim Chaewon - future Le Sserafim

Shiroma Miru - Miru-chan, smiley queen, falling hard from 9th place

Kojima Mako - auditioned alongside Juri to Playing With Fire

Iwatate Saho - Dancing Hero, flying up from 46th place

Kim Doah - future Fanatics/GP999

Park Seoyoung - blonde, Number One Chair

Yabuki Nako - went from F to A

Muto Tomu - auditioned alongside Juri to Playing With Fire

Takahashi Juri - future Rocket Punch

Bae Eunyeong - mint Chewing Gum

Murakawa Bibian - little baby doll girl

Yu Minyoung - mint polka dots, A class (for now), leaping up from 86th place

Wang Ke - red polka dots, Chinese, leaping up from 92nd place

Ko Yujin (aka Go Yujin) - “Hyuna lookalike”

Park Haeyoon - future Cherry Bullet, leaping up from 59th place

Cho Kahyeon - other Starship girl, leaping up from 65th place

Nakanishi Chiyori  - from What’s Your Name

Chiba Erii - swollen lip and glitch mode in F class

Kim Minseo - yellow polka dots, leaping up from 62nd place

Kang Hyewon - “purity is all she has” 

Asai Nanami - Sailor Venus

Motomura Aoi - sweet faced Aoi

Murase Sae - auditioned with Funny People

Kim Sohee - future Rocket Punch

Shitao Miu - auditioned with Mister

Hwang Soyeon - flat tummied little Sunmi, leaping up from 90th

Honda Hitomi - little cutey

Lee Yujeong - future Lightsum, CNC school

Park Jinny - ex-YG trainee, future Secret Number 

Yoon Haesol - auditioned with Question Mark

Kim Suyun - future Rocket Punch/Queendom Puzzle

Choi Yeonsoo - YGK+ model

Nakano Ikumi - known for her dancing 

Hasegawa Rena - auditioned alongside gravely voiced Noe

Matsuoka Natsumi - distinctive face, falling hard from 35th place 

Park Minji - future Secret Number 

Shin Su-hyun - solo Playing With Fire

Lee Haeun - “Mini-Chungha”

Mogi Shinobu - living meme girl

Lee Seunghyeon - H1-key Riina 

Aramaki Misaki - Never Ending Ferris Wheel 

Cho Yeongin - auditioned with Lee Chaeyeon

Kim Nayoung - future Lightsum 

Imada Mina - no bangs in Never Ending Ferris Wheel 

Kim Dayeon - future Kep1er 

Sato Minami  - Sailor Mars, Lemon-chan’s mom

Oda Erina “known for her singing” 

Yoon Eunbin - from CNC school, low-key my fave

Park Chanju-  auditioned with Roller Coaster

Park Jieun - future ex-Purple Kiss

Tanaka Miku - auditioned with the Banana Song

Kim Hyuna - husky voiced Hyuna

Kato Yuuka - furry orange collar in Funny People

Kang Damin - pale yellow shirt at audition, auditioned with “little Sunmi”, future Queenzeye

Kim Choyeon - fire eyes girl, future Bugaboo 

Hong Yeji - fell down in her evaluation video

Won Seoyeon - auditioned with Heroine by Sunmi

Cho Ahyeong - auditioned alongside Cherry Bullet’s Haeyoon

Han Chowon - future Lightsum

Asai Yuka - auditioned with Knock Knock

Nagano Serika - auditioned with Mister

Naiki Kokoro - auditioned with Funny People 

Ichikawa Manami - shorter hair, auditioned with What’s Your Name?

Kurihara Sae - Never Ending Ferris Wheel

Son Eunchae - future Bugaboo

Alex Christine - aka AleXa

Shinozaki Ayana - beauty mark under lip

Ahn Yewon - YGK+ model

Kim Dahye - auditioned with I Don’t Like Your Girlfriend, fell from A to C

Cho Sarang - sang Tomorrow from Annie

Tsukiashi Amane - high name tag in Never Ending Ferris Wheel

Choi Soeun - auditioned with Question Mark

Kim Yubin - from CNC school

Lee Chaejeong  - future Alice

Umeyama Cocona - already dropped out

Uemura Azusa  - already dropped out

See you in the next one,

Love, BPR Unnie

[yiifu]

till the end of the moon random musings

needed to get it all out of my system after speed bingewatching like 26 episodes over the weekend so here goes the word vomit

carnival float scene

i keep going back to rewatch that carnival float scene when ye xiwu and tantaijin are acting out the skit of the killing of the devil god ... the music is so fitting (it’s probably my fav song in the entire ost) and the whole thing feels like foreshadowing? it’s a near-perfect summary of the entire story in one scene. when she takes his mask off but her mask stays on it’s like she sees and knows everything about him but he doesn’t know her at all. she knows all his intentions and what he will become. tantaijin is so sincere in his feelings at that moment but she’s still hiding her feelings and intentions behind her mask. same thing with the wedding ceremony and the veil - she’s still hidden, but he’s sincere. and he can’t see her so he doesn’t know.

wedding scene

also, like, wow. the ep 26(?) wedding scene was, as someone on tumblr put it, like ‘watching a car crash in slow motion’ even the date was wrong (ominous). the whole time i was shaking my head to myself while watching tantaijin look the happiest he’s ever been (like even though he wants her in a twisted way, u still gotta feel bad for him somehow, he was really so happy and put in effort to embroider the veil, etc.) the knives were all out here, i knew it was coming and it’s going to get worse once we get to the aftermath right. (i last stopped at the wedding scene right before she drives the nails into him.)

mingye/clam arc

is it just me or am i seeing so many parallels between this arc and the real lives of the protagonists? mingye and sangjiu played by the main couple. xiaolin dies. sangjiu turns evil and goes back for revenge which is almost like what li susu is doing to get back at the devil god before he turns evil. mingye and sangjiu end in tragedy, which is the same outcome for our main couple in the first half. tianhuan being a scheming evil person in general like bingchang. also the fact that xiaolin and li susu/ye wuxi were really martial siblings in li susu’s life, just like they were clam siblings in the mingye arc.

one thing i still don’t understand yet: why did ye xiwu keep wanting to go help xiaolin escape the prison? was it just because she cared for him more after being siblings in the mingye arc? or because her was her martial brother in her first life? or was it also something else? i feel like i missed a bunch of motivations here lol 

xiaolin and tantaijin

so many things to unpack for xiaolin and tantaijin’s r/ship - right from their childhood to adulthood. you could see them as brothers in a way, like what xiaolin said in his letter. idk what they really feel about each other either - seems like xiaolin’s a little regretful, judging from his last letter. also taking into account parallels with the mingye/clam arc where they’re not even on the same side (clam family vs mingye/gods), and in the end xiaolin’s alter-ego is also dead, but not directly by tantaijin’s/mingye’s hand. unless xiaolin gets a second chance later on in the story, the two of them were never going to officially reconcile/fight together. gonna have to see what others said about this because i don’t even know where to begin organizing my thoughts about them LOL

pian ran and ye qingyu

really glad for pian ran and ye qingyu - i had to skip through some of their scenes due to a lack of time but the gist i got was that they got the chance to be relatively transparent with each other esp about pian ran’s past, and pian ran even got her love thread back (yay!). also her decision to stay in the city, both to be with ye qingyu and also to serve tantaijin, was pretty rad. wishing nothing but the best for this couple.

ye bingchang

ye bingchang .... she’s not typed on personalitydatabase but if i had to give her a type i’d guess she’s an infj, albeit a severely misguided one. basing it on another character who’s closest to her in terms of goals and the way they handle people - jin guangyao from mdzs who’s generally agreed to be an enfj. bingchang has a goal/vision of what she needs to survive (Ni) and uses Fe (manipulation of people) to achieve that. with jin guangyao, similar need to protect themselves, value themselves above others, very, very good at manipulating people by saying the right words, have attempted murder, villain origin backstory of having been mistreated by others for being of a lower social status, etc. 

also mbti with ye bingchang and tantaijin

i keep talking about mbti but i’m no mbti expert, just really love using it to understand people. if you compare bingchang with tantaijin you can see they both have kinda similar methods of doing things? - manipulating people towards some common goal through a careful plan. it’s just that ye bingchang’s is purely for personal gain while tantaijin wants personal gain but also accounts for the wider society as well. 

ye bingchang (infj): main goal of protecting herself (Ni). executes a plan to manipulate people to make it fall into place (Fe). able to adapt her behaviour to the people around her (Fe, Se?). uses whatever means necessary.

tantaijin: main goal of controlling and reuniting the two kingdoms to create peace (Ni), reduce the same kind of suffering he felt in his personal life (Ni, Fi). executes a plan to outsmart his enemies and recruit people (Te). uses whatever means necessary but also has some internal moral code he follows (Fi).

based on what i vaguely recall about the way tantaijin and bingchang convince people, there’s also a difference. bingchang is very value-oriented (asks ye xiwu to have pity on her, to not compete with her for tantaijin, justifying her actions using the universal value of justice for those who suffer unjustly, she uses universal values like compassion and pity, love, etc. to convince people, it’s giving Fe). 

tantaijin uses a lot of psychological manipulation too - knows how to talk people into having no choice but to follow him, knows how to use scare tactics without being actually mean (e.g. the tonic pill he gave pian ran to swallow, threatening to kill those ministers who didn’t want to come teach him just to scare them) his manipulation is a different brand from bingchang’s but just as effective.

but compared to bingchang, i feel tantaijin is a lot more practical in manipulating people. if i recall correctly he usually resorts to logic to convince people (or fear of death lmao). making people understand that they have no other way out of the situation and the only plausible way is his way. e.g. bringing ye xiwu back to him after she helped xiaolin escape. he doesn’t plead with her to come back because he’s lonely and loves her etc., that’s what a high Fe user might do. instead he uses action and rearranges the environment to suit his plan (Te) he makes her kill xiaolin, makes her hated by all so that the only logical way she can get out is to flee back to him. he’s in the depths of emotional turmoil by that point but he still resorts to hard force and objective control (Te) to keep ye xiwu by his side so he can relieve his emotional frustration and loneliness

might write another thing on a comparison between him and william james moriarty from moriarty the patriot (also an intj commanding a group of loyal people towards a vision) later on, just to sort out my tantaijin intj agenda when i remember

the main pairing

going back to our main pairing, what i’m getting out of this is that the two of them can never be together in this configuration, i.e. with him as the emperor/future-devil-god and she as his so-called assassin. they were never going to work out like this because there’s too much to lose and too much going on for them to work anything out properly. (also given that both of them don’t seem to be people who prioritize emotions very much in their decision-making). 

luo yunxi’s portrayal of tantaijin is so good, he manages to get that crazed-obsessed-yet good-looking character archetype down pat. truly deserving of the main character title. i keep thinking of that tweet which goes “but he murdered people. so? and he looked good doing it” etc.

for now li susu/ye xiwu’s feelings are still very murky (maybe some others might read her as already having fallen for him but still being bound by duty and fear and anger and other things) but for me it’s still difficult to figure out what exactly she’s feeling. gonna go look at some analysis posts on tumblr to understand what i’m missing.

to go off on a tangent (because i like to think of plot stuff in relation to tropes in other things), it’s sort of like wei wuxian and lan wangji in wwx’s first life. war was going on, wwx had too much to lose and his head wasn’t in the right place. the two of them were never going to work out in that first life no matter how hard they tried. only after wwx’s resurrection did they (more on wwx’s part) have time to bond and sort out their thoughts and feelings properly in a time of relative peace and stability, when the stakes weren’t as high. 

similarly, tantaijin and yewuxi need that second half of the story, when stuff isn’t as high-stakes (no war going on) to sort everything out between them.

extra: characters who won my heart

pian ran - temperamental fox girl who just needs a break, still does her duties well, treated by tantaijin like a whiny younger sister or student, ye xiwu’s wingwoman

pang yizhi/scholar pang - literally the only carefree soul in this entire angst-fest (if it matters, he feels very enfp to me), would be fun to hang out with, the perfect foil to xiaolin, somehow managed to get on the wrong side of tantaijin alongside xiaolin and escaped unscathed, he’s here to assist and watch the show and fly back to the immortal world of daozhangs after it ends

gan baiyu - speaking of someone who’s always watching the show, who could forget the ever-loyal gan baiyu who’s stayed by tantaijin’s side as he rose to power? who stood by when tantaijin was throwing all his tantrums? best boy honestly

really looking forward to the second half/arc (?) of the drama after the 500 years!

[theyellowhue]

Day 87 and im STILL missing the weather boys

I have an upcoming exam!!! And you know what that means??? PROCRASTINATION!!! and my choice of distraction is Love in the Air, more specifically, episode 3.

Episode 3 is such a delight!!! Now that we've finished PhayuRain's storyline, we now have more context about their dynamic, especially Phayu. So at first, i really found Phayu stand off-ish. He got this mysterious, polite vibe but he gets mischievous when it comes to Rain and that is a favorite trope but Phayu still felt untouchable, like he could do no wrong and that he's hust a straightforward dude who knows what he wants BUT, now that im rewatching PhayuRain multiple times by now my perception of Phayu has shifted. Like that man is UNGINGED!!! HE IS BONKERS!!! HE IS JUST A LITTLE SILLY DUDE WHO WANTS TO KISS RAIN SOO BAD HE MADE A 10-STEP PROCESS TO ENSURE THAT RAIN FALLS IN LOVE WITH HIM!!! and it fucking worked!!!! Their entire story arch really got me giggle now that i know that Phayu has everything planned!!! And Rain, my adorable walnut did not see Phayu coming.

Rewatching ep. 3 really made me miss PhayuRain so bad!!! My sweet lovelies who are so gone for each other they should really just get married ASAP because they ruined each other for other people. They cant do better because theyre the best for each other.

My incoherent PhayuRain ramblings have me crying and sobbing!!!

I also rewatched ep. 8 and PrapaiSky got me sighing and mooning over them. It was rough at the beginning. I think its because were getting introduced to Sky's trauma and that's always rough. My fave scene is when Prapai dropped Sky off at his dorm. That banter is immaculate. Prapai just really shot his shoot right then and there. Perfection.

[heartsgallery]

I agree about most substantially deliberate HSM parallels ending on s1. I feel like Josh and Sofia's chemistry as Ricky and Gina was an unexpected goldmine that fell in Tim's hands and he adjusted accordingly (possibly rewrote portions of the script or changed character backgrounds/stories or personalities) after all the screen tests with every actor! I may be in the minority, but I feel like original plans for the show were supposed to keep R*ni the whole time and will they wont they them like some annoying Ross Rachel rehash but Tim couldnt waste the potential of Rina (tested the waters with those middle eps and boy did we fishes snap at that fishing line 😂). That's why s1 sometimes feels disconnected with the pivot to Rina and the abrupt pivot back to R*ni (like 2 different stories). Season 2, he really started delving deep into Rina and you can see so clearly the groundwork he laid out for an angsty Rina will they wont they slow burn that failed with R*ni in s1. The interesting part is you can see in the narrative that Tim has written and has been writing Gina as the "Gabriella" lead since s1, even though Nini is presented as primary lead. Honestly that's why s1 has a disconnect to me sometimes too because it feels like the wrong protagonist is being followed and the wrong story being told?? if that makes sense.

Now I feel like though he's not persisting on HSM parallels, he is dropping little hints as reminders to keep viewers on track. Costuming for example, is sometimes deliberate. One of the biggest someone paralleled was the Troyella floral pink and blue, which Rina got 😮 Ricky's skate rate style imo has never been shirts like that, and though it works, the departure from his typical style just to make him wear that blue orange striped shirt seems deliberate too. It's a subtle but blatant iykyk kind of thing but if you don't, you'll blink and miss it kind of thing at the same time. The person who found that link should get applause! Cuz technically yeah, both pw and Rina have had "Troyella" moments this season, but the costuming seems like a deliberate way to subtly remind viewers that if you get baited by the pw "Troyella" HSM 2 thing, you'll miss the actual story playing out here. It's really quite brilliant that it makes me want to go back from the beginning and rewatch to find more of these interesting ways he's been foreshadowing Rina!

ahh first of all THANK YOU FOR SENDING ME THISSSSSS!!!! i loved reading all of it.

while i mostly agree about everything about this, i’d only discuss on the part that rini was set to be on and off. like i can imagine it being like that definitely, but also they were always doomed and they made it clear in the s1 finale that they will never work again like they did once (not all couples are meant to be together… sometimes people change). rini’s arc is strangely to me one of the best on the show. probably the most coherent and cohesive writing between s1 and s2. everything about it was hinted and it makes so much sense that is so hard for me to believe it wasn’t planned since day one.

i definitely think seeing the rina chemistry changed a lot in the future of the series i so agree with that. i mean, tim himself said that after they shoot the car scene he was so shook and he wanted to keep writing towards that (and did!). but like rini, s1 rina finale set up was so amazingly done that sometimes it’s just hard to believe that it wasn’t planned since the beginning. tim has always been so messy and talked about how he wanted to explore all the chemistry between the cast (and he did because why everyone dated everyone in the core four😭) and also with his rants since the very s1 about how he grew up with dawsons creek (very known for his surprising ship that ended up going down on history), so i think the possibility rina has always been the plan exists. i mean, he did write the car scene before he saw them so he was already planning something with them…

the part about how s1 felt weird because it felt like they were following the wrong protagonist is so so so true. gina having the whole moving away all the time storyline just as gabriella wasn’t a coincidence at all. also nini not having any gabriella trait besides playing her in the show😭 i mean, if you look at it know, it kinda makes sense. the show making you think nini was ricky’s troy gabriella, when at the end of the day it was always gina👩‍💻

also i love that you pointed out the costume thing because i agree with that, specially with ricky wearing that kind of stuff because it’s not really his style so it def seems on purpose. i think someone also pointed out that his spin dip shirt or the one in the clip he’s singing in the finale (they look so much alike so idk which one) were the same as troy’s in the hsm2 poster. if we’re talking about troyella real parallels that’s what we should talk about!!!

again thank u so much for dropping this here❤️❤️🫶🏻

[zaine-m]

Okay so I saw someone talking about how they were gonna rewatching the series to get ready for season 3 and I realized that there are 22 days until season 3 and 22 episodes. So I've decided to watch 1 episode a day and air my thoughts out on here because I can't contain all my hatred of Nini is my little body or else I would explode.

So if you hate Nini too, please come with me on this journey.

Next part

Season 1 ep 1 thoughts:

I never realized that it's Ricky and big Red who skate past Miss Jenn in the beginning

✨️✨️✨️Gina walking past the camera✨️✨️✨️

Why is Kourtney all like "you know who"? what does she have against Ricky?

Okay so Nini understood it was a pause, then why did she not actually break up with him before she started dating EJ. I swear this girls acts like she can do no wrong

Then she gets mad at him for wanting clarification on that she GOT ANOTHER BOYFRIEND when they were on a break

And then she's like well of course I got another boyfriend, you didn't tell me you loved me back and it's not like you have issues about telling people you love them that I as one of the main people you confided in should know about and it's not like I at all put you in an uncomfortable position by posting a video on Instagram where everyone can see instead of telling you in person especially since it's the first time

I'm starting to remember why I hate Nini so much. They're meant to be childhood bestfriends but she so clearly doesn't care about him at all

Nini you have to break up with your ex before you get another boyfriend

How about Kourtney you start with dismantling the sassy black friend trope

Gina watching everything unfold in the background❤️❤️❤️

Nini why don't you just keep everyone on the same page as shit goes down

Ashlyn and Seb are sitting next to each other in the gym

Why are they not having the back to school announcements in the auditorium?

I love how you can see all the recurring characters in the background before they get introduced

"Triggered as a millennial" 😮‍💨 I'm also remembering why I hate Miss Jenn

Also does Ricky not know what a millennial is, he says that Okay boomer joke later

Other than yeah the lead is fun, why does Nini want to be Gabriella so much

Mr.Mazzara is the best

Again Nini is supposed to be this super insecure, "I could never be the lead girl" but she has a friend who's only purpose is to cheer her on and a popular jock boyfriend who constantly reminds her how great she is

And then we never see the water polo boys again

She was crushed but then she also immediately got a boyfriend, and maybe the reason he wanted a break was because she never cared about his feelings. I'm sorry I just can't feel bad for you

Also Nini not seeing how lucky she is to have a friend who really only supports her and doesn't seem to want anything back

You know one day Ricky, you could be the one dating EJ Caswell

NINI IS THE MAIN PERSON HE GOES TO FOR ADVICE BUT SHE DIDN’T EVEN FUCKING CARE ABOUT HOW TELLING HIM SHE LOVED HIM OVER SOCIAL MEDIA MIGHT MAKE HIM UNCOMFORTABLE BECAUSE OF HIS HOME ISSUES. Why are we supposed to root for her

This is the thing, the only part of Nini's life that is not the best a teenager could possibly get is that she doesn't get lead roles. And we never get any reason for it. Maybe it was a her growing into her voice kinda thing

This show doesn't understand "show don't tell" we're told that she feels like she doesn't deserve to be heard but then we constantly see people supporting her and posting nice comments on her Instagram and saying how amazing she is. Just give us anything that this insecurity could come from

Also that's reading into the dream way too much, she just worried to screw up what she wants the most

The cut from Nini's happy, supportive family to Ricky’s dad just trying to do his best 🥲

Noooo someone give Ricky a hug

Wait did Nini seriously post a photo basically saying she's gonna get the lead. You can't say she's insecure then make her do that. I would get EJ doing that but if you look it's Nini's Insta

Sure Big Red, that's why you know so much about HSM. It's definitely not because you started hyperfixating on it but you refused to actually watch it because you didn't want to give into the hyperfixation and you were worried people would laugh at you for talking about it because it wasn't the stuff you normally watched so instead you slowly google the plot of it on incognito tabs until you finally give in and obsess over it for the next year

I love how Ricky impulsively decided to do the musical and now he can't be stopped

How does this school have so many computers

Also Mr. Mazzara calling all the students by their last names

Kourtney is literally doing Nini's makeup with EJ tells her how amazing she is. This girl literally has everything, why do they try to present her as the underdog

✨️✨️✨️Gina's dancing✨️✨️✨️

Also Gina's outfit, her hair, the way she looks at Carlos like "Yeah you want me as the lead"

I miss this Gina

Why are we supposed to hate her for being like "I've never been an understudy" when Nini went and posted that her and EJ are going to be the leads on Insta. Like at least Gina was stating a solid fact instead of just being overly cocky

The way that she holder her head uo and her winged eyeliner

Why does Ricky have a CD. Also I love the Ricky and Mr. Mazzara dynamic but we may never see them together again 😢

"I'm dying. I'm deceased. Yes" what the fuck did they think they were doing with this.

Also what was Ashlyns outfit. She had such a glow up between the first and 3rd season

Gina putting the WORK in

Why is she even telling them what part she wants them to play. I guess some students would want to know what they have the best shot at but it just seems like it's going to make students feel like they can't do the part they actually want to do. Is that a thing that they actually do in high school musicals? Why can't they just say the part they want to audition for

What is on the walls of this school? "Free hair cut", a sign pointing the opposite way Ricky is going saying that's where the auditorium is

Someone give Gina a hug and tell her that she's amazing no matter what

Then Nini's British accent thing was never brought up again

How did she not understand that "temporary pause" meant they aren't broken up

Aww, Ricky’s mom being away again

And she can't even fucking stick to instructions

Why the fuck is Ricky spilling his Family issues out to everyone who's auditioning to be in a musical

Big Red giving Ricky his guitar

Carlos looking at Ricky like wtf is he doing is season 1 to Carlos helping Ricky figure out he's be in season 3

Nini, you don't get to be mad at Ricky for not telling you he loved you back when you knowingly pit him in an awkward situation or for him wanting to take a pause because it would be hard to try to keep your relationship up when your away when he's probably really fucking tired of trying to keep his relationship with him mom up from away which you should know if you ever cared about him

Also "confusing things" he was sharing his side of the story. Which you would have already known if you ever payed attention when he talked to you about his issues which we know he did

I don't like her

NINI ISN'T A FUCKING UNDERDOG MISS JENN. IF ANYTHING GINA'S THE UNDERDOG, SHE'S AT A NEW SCHOOL, DOESN'T KNOW ANYONE, AND HAS A PRETTY SHITTY HOME LIFE COMPARED TO "HAS IT ALL" NINI

God I fucking hate all Time Fedrle

Gina I'm sorry baby, you deserved it. Maybe you're really made more for a dancing role but I guess HSM doesn't have many dancers

But she still congratulates Nini like a boss. I could never and that's why I look up to her like a god

"Chad, she thinks I'm a chad"

Wait was Chad not a different role you had to audition for. What was the point of her separating them if she's just going to give Chad to a Troy. (wait is there an actual reason for her doing this?)

I love how Big Red just stands there shocked like what happened?

Seb being happy about Sharpey in the background

The "shit" didn't used to be beeped did it?

Sometimes I wonder why this is my special interest if I hate the main character so much, but my brain works in mysterious ways.