#in all seriousness though i really don't think much of anything was planned for s2 minus a basic outline when they wrapped s1

[buffysgotfaith]

Sorry if you've answered this already but who do you think the stalker is in Wednesday?

Hi anon! I don't think I have answered this. Honestly I don't think the writers had a plan for the stalker when the season ended, but maybe that's just me being cynical. I think it was just a good cliff hanger to end s1 on so people could theorise between seasons.

I think it would make sense if it was Laurel or someone connected to the Gates family as we saw Laurel had pictures of Wednesday in s1.

But, I also think the only way I would tolerate any Xavier in the story is if it was him. Now think about it, after accusing him of being the killer and having him put in jail Wednesday is probably going to lay off Xavier this season. She's going to assume she misjudged him and he really is a good guy who just has an annoying crush on her. It perfectly sets up a situation where he could get away with stalking her for a period.

She gets that phone and leaves for break and then immediately gets text messages from her stalker. It makes sense for that to mean it's Xavier who is texting her. His arc in s1 also perfectly set him up to parallel Garret Gates. He is obsessed with her, he misinterprets all their interactions early on as her having feelings for him, he literally goes into her room without her permission and he is shown numerous times to be seething with jealousy that she prefers someone else.

If the writers were doing all that intentionally and he ends up being the bad guy in s2 then you know what I would forgive them for trying to make out like he was an actual love interest in s1. Lean into him being a creep and sell me that story.

[thestobingirlie]

do you think jonathan and nancy were equal trainwrecks in st3? you've spoken really well about how nancy bulldozed over him a lot, ignoring the dark room rules and continuing with the investigation even when he said it was a bad idea, and of course after they're fired she shows 0 sympathy for what it means for him financially, but i've always thought if nancy was bulldozer then jonathan was just a doormat, and kind of a two-faced one at that

before they fell into the investigation, he did ignore the sexism nancy faced. the support he offered was passive "they're assholes, but you'll win them over some day", when later during their argument he said she was naive for caring what they thought and thinking she could be a star reporter. when nancy says the whole summer had been humiliating, he likens it all to them being interns, when he was actually treated really well at the job. he's obviously faced shitty treatment in the past from his father, and probably at school and around town, but at the paper he was left alone to do the work he was hired (and interested) in doing, and then didn't have any focus on him when they were being yelled at, even though from the newspaper's perspective he did the exact same amount of bad as nancy (or more, considering nancy was laughed off of any other responsibilities than fetching food; jonathan was treated as an actual employee with a work station he abandoned)

it sucks that only jonathan apologized (though only for not believing in nancy, instead of also entirely blaming her for choices he also made), not just because nancy also fucked up but because it's just more of the same of jonathan not actually being honest with nancy and shows how their characters just don't help each other grow or develop

oh 100%. neither jonathan or nancy are good in their relationship in s3, which i think is what really turned me off to them together.

jonathan is absolutely a doormat. i think it comes from his years of parentification. he doesn’t stand up for himself until he’s finally pushed to the edge. which in s3 happens when they get fired, and he unleashes what he’s likely been feeling and thinking this entire time.

he whines about nancy coming in the dark room, but doesn’t actually try to stop her. he tries to cheer nancy up about how she’s treated, but doesn’t actually do anything to stop it, or make her situation better because he’s too scared to rock the boat. he didn’t want to go along with her rat plan, but did anyway!

he’s just really terrible at standing up for himself, which is a major issue when in a relationship with someone like nancy, who does what she’s set her sights on and doesn’t really listen to other people.

and when it comes to the sexism, i think, like nancy when it comes to the byers poverty, he has a hard time recognising what he’s never experienced.

i think it also might come from this aspect of jonathan’s character that’s been present since s1, which is that he doesn’t really recognise ‘normal’ issues. this is hard to put on paper, but basically we see that he doesn’t take nancy seriously, he thinks she’s just like everyone else, who has the same issues with her parents that everyone else does and she’ll eventually fall into the same miserable dynamics.

i think this comes from the way jonathan retreats from society and casts himself as a loner. he can’t fit in, so he has to dismiss everyone else, and he can’t take them or their trauma seriously. because that kind of means acknowledging them as people in a way he doesn’t want to do.

think back to s2, the way he comforts will is that nobody likes boring people, and that sticking out and being different is the only way to be cool and loved.

i think jonathan just can’t really comprehend nancy struggling because in his eyes, she has it all. she’s got the house, she’s got the dad making six figures, her parents are together. when she complains, i think he sometimes gets stuck thinking about how much she has, instead of what she’s still missing.

i hope i worded that right? it’s kinda jumbled in my head. i don’t think jonathan necessarily thinks his trauma makes him special, but i think he struggles to look past his trauma when considering how other people struggle.

my biggest issue with how rushed their apologies were, isn’t just that nancy doesn’t take back the oliver twist comment, but because we don’t actually get that chance for jonathan and nancy to truly talk about what happened, and their issues, and how their relationship falls apart the second they experience conflict. obviously people say, “oh they’re about to be attacked, of course it was quick”. but, the duffers could’ve had them had a conversation whenever. they go back to hopper’s cabin and spend all night here! they couldn’t have had a talk when everything calmed down?

in my opinion, jonathan and nancy are just two people that, because of their trauma and the way they approach relationships, shouldn’t be together. until they truly work through all their issues and develop as characters, they won’t have a healthy relationship. and that’s because of both of them, not just nancy, and not just jonathan.

[sunnys-rewatch-blog]

S2, E4

"Blind Dates"

I don't think my sudden lack of activity was super devastating to the Tumblr community, but nonetheless I feel I owe my regular readers an apology for my inactivity over the last few days. I got into writing on another project and wasn't watching episodes as fast. I wanted to make sure I got something up before my last day off this week ends. I hope it's worth the wait!

Where did Spencer get $2000 in one weekend?

At least with Ella moving back in I won't have to see Aria's parents' drama on my screen for a bit.

I want to like Ashley, I think the show wants me to like her, but she's such a weak person. I hate how her justification for everything she says or does when it comes to Hanna is "well, everyone else is doing it." That "herd mentality" is obviously lost on Hanna and going to therapy isn't just something you do because everyone else is doing it. I wonder if Ashley even understands why they're doing this, or if it was just the popular consensus and she didn't have the personal strength to dissent. For the record, I'm not saying it's the wrong decision, but kids/teens are going to catch on to things like that, Hanna knows the motive is "just to keep up appearances" and that's probably why she isn't taking it seriously. Not to mention that Ashley comes off so self-righteous and pushy, and knowing that her motive is so fucking weak just pisses me off. It's one thing to follow the herd by yourself because you don't want to stand out, but it grinds my gears to watch her try to force it on her kid- on someone who ultimately doesn't have a say in the matter. It's fucking gross.

I also really think the therapist did herself a disservice by making this dramatic a suggestion so early into it, and by taking it to their parents without posing it to them, first. I wouldn't be going out of my way to schedule appointments with a professional who did this, either. These girls already felt like being sent to therapy was punitive, or at least were doing it more as "damage control." Then, after only one full session, she's talking to their parents behind their backs about something she never brought up with them to see if they might do it of their own free will. A treatment plan isn't supposed to be something that's done to you without you at least having an opportunity to understand and consent. I think it would have been more helpful to develop rapport with the girls and then bring it up to see if they might agree to it voluntarily. Going about it this way just makes it more punitive, and frankly, I wouldn't feel safe talking to a therapist who's conspiring with my parents to make things worse. It also allows for too much room to misinterpret what's being said to take your treatment plan to a third party to have them decide on it, which I'll talk more about later.

Not that it matters, but I wonder if "A" actually secured Emily's scholarship.

A double date doesn't sound bad. Not like Hanna has anything else to do.

Wren casually confirming that Ian's still alive. Wtf.

Besides jumping the gun on these teenagers, though, I do like this therapist. She's kind of out of my age range, but she's hot. And something about the way she talks and carries herself makes me wanna spill my guts to her. Either this actress nailed her role or I'm extremely suggestible, and tbh I always feel a little uncomfortable in therapy. The way she talks and generally doesn't seem too pressed about the girls meeting up makes me think her suggestion wasn't meant to be as serious as the parents made it, which is another reason she should have at least tried to run it by them first. There would have been less room for misinterpretation and more of an opportunity for them to ask their questions and get answers directly.

I know some of the anti-Ezria viewers were big Jaria shippers. I think I casually ship it. It's hard to be all-in on it, although that's probably by design. Jason did some weirder shit than drugs that was never explained and seeing the two of them on screen together still isn't much more interesting than seeing Ezria on screen. There is a nostalgia angle with them that I like and I think maybe Jason having a history of knowing Aria for as long as he did could have helped characterize her better, even if it was on a platonic level.

Maybe a weird observation, but Samara has some similarities to the therapist in terms of personality. They never explored this in a satisfying way, so if I want answers then I'm gonna have to do it, I wonder if that's one of the things Emily liked about Alison. She was intuitive and seems to know how to ask leading questions. It's likely that Emily might not be able to articulate this.

Why does this "take care of your sister" note on the Hastings' door remind me of that episode of Victorious when Trina got her wisdom teeth out and Tori had to take care of her while the Vega parents left for the weekend?

So, Danielle is bi, too, I guess.

Emily might have drafted that letter, but she had absolutely nothing to do with all the Danby merch and stuff that got sent to her house.

Is this "interaction" with Alison legit, or is this just Hanna's inner-mind theater?

[landonkirbyappreciation]

Hi I hope you're doing well. So I'm new to Tumblr because I want it to get on a site that doesn't have so many toxic antis on it. So far I haven't ran into any here which is a good sign and people have been really friendly which I love. But I have to say your blog and your Handon haven blog is like my new safe haven for all things Landon and Handon. I just love your gifs and thoughts.

Also I apologize if you have already answered something like this before. But ever since the start of s2 this has been on my mind. But why do people hate Landon so much? I really don't want to believe it's all because of a ship. And their reasons for hating him and saying that he's "a bad boyfriend" makes zero sense. All the reasons they have are him having basic human emotions. He gets upset when he has every right to be he's a horrible person and bad boyfriend. He goes to take a walk to avoid a fight or after a fight so that means "he's leaving her once again." I think the one I've seen the most is how back in s1 when Landon found out Hope has been lying to him about his mom. And people say "he didn't have to ask her about that right then. And he sure didn't have to walk away either." I think the only way I could agree with that is if Landon found out about hours ago and then waited until that moment to say something. But the fact is he found out only moments before hand. He was clearly hurt and upset and after finding out something like that I don't think him or anyone else could have waited at ask about that. And once he was showing basic human emotions. So it makes perfect sense that he would go take a moment for himself. But there's no doubt in my mind that if Hope actually cared about that pageant and wasn't just doing it for Lizzie, that he would have stayed even though he was upset and did the pageant with her. And the list only goes on like that, Landon shows emotions he has bad person and boyfriend. When in fact it's the exact opposite. I swear the way antis try to make Landon sound you would think there was an episode that came out that only antis got to see where Landon commits mass murder, cheats on Hope with dozen different women while drowning puppies for kicks of it.

In 3 seasons the worse thing he did was unknowingly stole a knife and then lied about it because he was scared. That's it that's the only bad thing he's done. Everything else was him doing everything he could to help while being there for Hope when no else was. Also people are so quick to say that Landon is a bad boyfriend but no one talks about the few times that Hope wasn't to best girlfriend(or they take those times and twist them to make Landon the bad guy). Like her lying to him about his mom, or her refusing to teach him how to fight because the monsters were back when that would be the perfect time for him to learn how to defend himself. Or her trying to send Landon to the prison world with Raph because the necromancer was back and planning something. Let me just say I'm not coming at Hope I love her to bits and I know her reasons for doing what she did was rooted in her fears and her not wanting Landon to get hurt. And I can understand that completely(but at the same time not really her best moments even if her heart was in the right place)and glad that at the beginning of s3 she was starting to let Landon to help and do more and not trying to put him in a cage so much(I hope I made sense with that one and that you understand what I'm trying to say with the Hope part. If not sorry). I just don't understand the Landon or Handon hate for that matter. Yes they have fights and disagreements like every other couple. But nothing that would warrant this much hate. These two love each other so much and would do anything for each other and they generally make each other better and happier. You can just see it when they're around each other and away from each other. And if im being honest they're one of the healthiest relationships in the TVDU. Okay there's so much more I could add and say. But I'm going to end this here before this ask gets way to long.

Once again sorry if you already answered something like this before. I know it could get annoying answering the same thing over again.

Hi! Thank you, I hope you’re doing well too! And that’s understandable, it’s way better here than other places, like Twitter. There can still be some hate and negativity at times, but for the most part, it’s pretty minimal. But wow, really? Aww, I’m so glad! Thank you so much!! That means a lot. ❤️

I don’t think I’ll ever understand why people hate Landon so much. I think all the hate started mostly because of ships, but has just grown from there. I also feel like people hate on him because that’s become the popular thing to do. But yeah, their reasons for hating him really don’t make any sense, there’s just no good reason to hate on him at all. Exactly, because he has feelings and has been affected by very serious things, he’s not a good person or boyfriend?? It’s so obvious that they just don’t think that Landon’s feelings matter. The times that he’s walked away were when he was really hurt, but I guess he’s not allowed to feel hurt or take care of himself? Landon isn’t one to fight, he goes to take time to calm down and to think. And it’s not like he does it all the time (despite what some people say), it’s happened a few times in extreme situations.

But yes, people have often brought up 1x14, and they don’t even try to see Landon’s side of things. People really think he should’ve waited to ask Hope? Yeah, exactly, he had just barely found out about it, how could he not have brought it up? Imagine having the kind of life that he had, where he had grown up abused and without a family or home, didn’t know who his parents were, but had that picture of Seylah and always wanted answers. He had wanted to meet her his whole life and know why she had given him up, because that affected his entire life. And then to find out that he had met her and gotten answers only to have it all wiped away? And that Hope had been lying to him about it after the issues him lying to her about the knife had caused? And how they had agreed to be honest with each other? If people can’t understand how that must have made him feel and why he was so emotional that he had to leave, and think that he should’ve just stayed at a pageant that neither him or Hope wanted to participate in, then idk what to say. And true, it’s possible if he thought Hope actually cared about the pageant that he might have forced himself to get through it. But I don’t think he should’ve been expected to either way, he was obviously very hurt and overwhelmed. He shouldn’t have had to stay when he was feeling all of that. Because it was still about his mother and his life and being lied to vs. a pageant. And Hope shouldn’t have had to stay either when she was feeling so upset and panicked too, it was Roman who convinced her to stay when she didn’t have to, which just made it worse.

And Landon’s reasons for walking away the other times were just as valid. Hope doesn’t tell him who she is for months, after he’d been struggling while she was gone, had been killing himself, and was still in love with her but didn’t know it. And then realized she’d let him be with Josie, which also might have made him question how Hope felt about him? That all must have been very shocking, but antis think he’s not allowed to be upset? Same with when he lost his brother/best friend and his powers all in one day, turning his life upside down and leaving him scared about his future with Hope. He takes time for himself in these situations and people are outraged. It’s so clear that they don’t care about his feelings at all. If he reacts to anything, even though his reactions are perfectly reasonable, they attack him. Seriously though, idk what show they’ve been watching, because they really do make him sound as if he’s done absolutely horrible things with the way they talk about him.

So true, and another reason he lied about the knife was because he felt influenced by it as well. Because he had said it was like “the knife wanted me to steal it and then it wanted me to lie.” So not even that was his fault. Exactly, he’s not done anything bad. And he’s not perfect, but he does always have good intentions and tries to do the right thing. And yep, he’s been there for Hope more than anyone too.

And I agree when it comes to Hope. I love her too, but she’s not perfect either, but no one says anything about it. They seriously do just twist everything to make Landon look bad while not acknowledging when Hope hasn’t necessarily made the best decisions. And yeah, I understand her reasons for all that she did too and that she just wanted to protect Landon. She had good intentions as well, and was also scared, so I totally get that. But some of what she’s done hasn’t always been the best for Landon, like with her lying about Seylah, or her not wanting to train Landon to fight, which would’ve been very beneficial to him (especially this last season when he was in the prison world). But yes, she has been able to handle that sort of stuff better and has let Landon do more over time, which is good. And you did make sense, I do understand what you’re saying. So I can see both Hope’s and Landon’s side of things. It just bugs me when people only ever choose to see Hope’s side while ignoring Landon’s.

Agreed, I’ll never understand the Landon or Handon hate either. And yeah, they have disagreements, but they also grow from those disagreements. Like every time they’ve had one, they talk things out and just get stronger. So it’s helped them to communicate and understand each other better and know how to move forward together. And exactly, they both make each other so happy and they bring out the best in each other. And ikr, they are one of the healthiest TVDU couples, that’s why it baffles me when people have such strong reactions when it comes to Handon, and will call them toxic, etc. Were they not around for TVD/TO? Have they not watched them? Because if they’re so bothered by such minor things with Handon, you’d think they’d explode if they saw what happened with some of the other couples from the other shows.

And it’s fine! I’ve posted about all kinds of stuff, so I may have talked about some of this before, but can’t remember tbh haha.

[jade-marie]

I don't understand the sudden optimism for Brio atm, just because he fingered her doesn't mean everything is ok again. I see some people talking about them getting together again, like do they seriously think that is the showrunners plan? I highly doubt that,they never cared much for this pairing,they only show some Brio action now to get people back on board, but I know already that they will get disappointed in the end.

Yeah... it’s a tough one and I’ve been struggling to get my head round it to be honest, especially because I was obsessed with them up until like 3.04 ish but now I’m like 🥴🤢

I just feel like everything I enjoyed about their dynamic has well and truly left the building, I’m not even feeling the chemistry anymore tbh (and no it’s not because I dislike the show, I’ve been rewatching on FaceTime while my friend watches and s1/2 chemistry was fire) it literally feels like they’re uncomfortable in each other’s presence and I get such weird vibes from their current interactions.

I don’t think anything significant will come out of it because I don’t think the writers see him as anything more than bathroom sex. He’s Beth’s metaphorical roll in the dirt and then she’s gonna go back to her neat and tidy little life, playing criminal on the side because #girlpower.

As for other people’s reactions to brio it seems to branch off into so many different avenues:

Beth vs Rio preference 

Ok so I’ve noticed a massive difference in how people receive brio interactions based on which character they prefer. S1, I loved them both and I just wanted them to partner up in every sense of the word. S2 i was leaning more towards Rio and S3 onwards I was firmly in his corner. For that reason I literally do not want anything to happen between them because I think he deserves better than someone who shot him and left him to die, someone who continually tries to kill him and fuck him over. Seeing them together genuinely makes my skin crawl 🤣

People who favour Beth (even if they don’t admit it) seem to just be screeching about Beth getting some, but there’s zero acknowledgement of all the shit which is still going unaddressed. That whole spiel grosses me out and I’m not gonna go into it much more.

What do they want from brio?

I feel like different people have different expectations of what they wanted the outcome of this “relationship” to be. Some people just want it to be an endless cycle of making up and breaking up, some people wanted them to end up in a more traditional relationship, other people wanted it to be a crash and burn which felt really good on the way down.

Personally, I wanted to see some real development both in their characters and their dynamic, where they naturally progressed away from playing games and fucking each other over to actually working together. Effectively, I wanted them to have a partnership, in every sense of the word. Obviously that’s not going to happen because that wasn’t where the writers decided to go with it and I think it’s a fucking waste but hey ho. 

People who wanted that make up/break up situation probably enjoy what’s happening right now and good for them. 

Shipper goggles

This is the big one for me. I have never seen shipper goggles operating on such an extreme level as I do with Brio. It’s gotten to the point where, across every platform, people just seem to romanticise every interaction happening between Beth and Rio, regardless of the context. If anything, they completely ignore the context of what’s happening in order to make the scene romantic. I’ve noticed it a lot more this season with the pool scene, the wire, everything that happened at his grandma‘s house. 

I constantly see people talk about how hot the strip search and pool scene were but like — 🤯 Those scenes aren’t meant to be hot. They’re not meant to be romantic. It almost feels like people desperately want to hold onto this ship and perhaps acknowledging the context of these interactions makes that more difficult. But that’s another reason why I get so pissed off at these scenes being written in a way that can be interpreted as hot, there are certain situations where there shouldn’t be any room for interpretation. I’m gonna stop talking about that though because if not, I’m gonna get pissed off again lol. 

Anyhoo, everywhere I look I’m just seeing shipper goggles out in full force and it’s fascinating (bordering on infuriating) because I genuinely feel like we’re watching two completely different shows. I’m curious though, like do people genuinely believe that Beth gives a fuck about Rio, let alone that she’s in love with him? Because I can’t tell if people actually believe this stuff or if it’s some sort of denial… the whole thing is fucking wild and I will never understand it 🤣

Either way, it’s probably going to be a pretty rough landing when Bans and Krebs do their usual dance, bait the audience with brio and then snatch it away. Wouldn’t be shocked at Death endgame and Rio in prison for the finale tbh.

[themostrandomfandom]

hello! I don't know if you're still on the blog or will be in some time, but I still have to at least try. I just had my rewatch of glee for the first time in 4 years, and it woke some buried feelings up again lmao. One of the things i most strongly feel for is Britt's class president run. I know she would've done more things during it, yknow? Like she prepared for the position and had a solid plan for it. I really feel like they wasted her potential in s3. Do you think you would rewrite it?

Hey, @randomizepersonality!

Sorry it’s taken me so long to reply to you. Limited internet these days.

I, too, am one who is completely disappointed by Brittany’s S3 storyline and how the writers absolutely dropped the ball when it came to her class presidency. 

Negativity about Glee writing under the cut.

______

In episode 3x02, the writers clearly establish that Brittany’s interest in the class presidency isn’t a lark or something she is doing just for the hell of it. The platform she pushes for Kurt is anti-bullying, pro-inclusion—and she has a dog in the fight, because she wants herself, Santana, Kurt, and all the other LGBTQ kids at the school(plus anyone else who qualifies as “different”) to feel safe being themselves. 

Baby Girl has a clear, focused goal, and she feels it is important for her to achieve that goal. As she tells Kurt, “What’s wrong with [being gay]? Look: Ninety-nine percent of the kids at this school are either freaks or closet freaks. The captain of the football squad? He gets the job, but he doesn’t represent the people. That’s why we need a unicorn.” She isn’t just talking out of her ass or viewing the presidency as a way to boost Kurt’s (or her own) popularity. She actually wants to accomplish something.

That’s why when Kurt declines to run on her “Project Unicorn” platform, she picks up the banner herself, proudly declaring, “I’m also a unicorn.” The values she’s supporting are ones that are near and dear to her heart, as she knows from personal experience (particularly in regards to her relationship with Santana and Santana’s fears about coming out) how vital it is for kids to feel comfortable in their own skin and how damaging it is when they don’t.

Honestly, what she’s talking about is an extension of the things she both learned for herself and taught to Santana during the Back Six of S2. She’s talking about “embracing all the awesomeness” that one is, promoting acceptance, and spreading love because love makes everything possible. It’s all big time stuff, and even though she’s couching it in unicorn metaphors and glitter, she is serious about what she wants to do.

—which is why it’s so fucking unbelievable that she would completely slack off from that position the second she won the election.

I mean, seriously, the Glee writers, you’re telling me that at the exact time when she and her girlfriend are facing the reprecussions of a vicious public outing, being bullied in the hallways for showing any sort of affection to each other, having to deal with pressure not only coming from their fellow students but even from members of the faculty and administration—I’m looking at you, Will and Figgins—facing up to the Finn Hudsons and Josh Colemans of the world, Brittany would just fuck right off and fail to enact any of the policies or programs she had clearly thought about before? You’re saying that she wouldn’t try to use her power and popularity to try to improve the situation?

Bullshit.

—and especially “bullshit” to then try to make a joke out of her failure, as they do later in the season, when she tells Figgins, “Okay. I now realize I wasted an entire year belaboring the nuances of my fluid teen sexuality, and getting caught up in Lord Tubbington’s Ponzi schemes, and then for a while, I stopped talking, but I don’t want my presidency to be the last one at McKinley! I don’t want that to be my legacy.”

There’s no excuse for them wasting this storyline.

Ideally, they should have allowed her to succeed in what she was trying to do. She could have hosted an anti-bullying rally and brought in Holly Holliday to sing to the student body about how it’s okay to be gay. She could have used her own coolness to shift paradigms, because, after all, she is both the senior class president and most popular girl in school AND a fabulous, bisexual unicorn. She could have organized a “kiss-in” in protest against Figgins’s homophobic PDA policies. 

I mean, really, with her creativity and zany genius, the writers could have absolutely gone wild and had her do any number of things to make her world a better place.

Even if they were dead set on having her fail, then they at least could have actually showed her failing—giving her a storyline where balancing academics, extracurriculars, and dealing with the fallout of being outed becomes too much for her to handle, and her ambitions for the class presidency fall by the wayside; letting Kurt confront her about wasting the opportunity she won over him; having her break down and admit that maybe the problem she took on was too big for her to tackle herself and that the world is a worse place than she initially thought; allowing her to display the same kind of depth and humanity that she was afforded in S2.

But instead they muted her for half a season and pushed her into the background at a time when she should have been getting foreground attention, and then they tried to pass off their act of forgetting about Brittany as Brittany forgetting to do anything herself.

That Brittany wasn’t allowed to speak throughout Santana’s outing arc was an indefensible narrative choice. That the writers waited until the very end of the season to come out of nowhere and say, “Guess what? Brittany failed at everything, and y’all should just laugh about it!” was meanspirited and unfunny. Her whole S3 storyline was an exercise in bad writing. TPTB laid narrative threads for her at the beginning of the season but then didn’t weave them into anything. They wasted all of her potential. 

So, yeah, all of this going-on is to say that I would absolutely rewrite Brittany’s S3 storyline if given the chance. 

I mean, in the Mouseverse, S3 is where I diverge from canon, and there’s a reason for that.

Anyway, thanks for the question! I’m right there with you.

[geek-royalty]

I have a John related question and if you don't feel like discussing anything related to the show, I can understand. Do u think one of the reasons why John feels sidelined this season has to do with the way Mary is written? The writers not only gave his function within the show to her, they sort of implied that she is better at it. She can not only keep up with Sherlock but also has better chemistry with him. They wanted to boost her up and I feel in doing so seriously undermined John's position

I don’t want to bang on about the show too much anymore, no, but you have a fair question to ask :) Since the revelations about Mary’s character in HLV I was really concerned about how she was going to fit into the dynamic, with the way Moftiss have written their female characters in the past (mainly with her turning out to be one of those strong female characters™, as these guys have a tendency to do). But no, I didn’t see her as being ‘boosted’ or her qualities enhanced unduly–I think she was written fairly for someone who’s meant to be a ‘world class assassin’. The problem to me was more with how they incorporated Mary into the dynamic.

She could’ve been written as a world class assassin who genuinely wanted to walk away from that world and recognised that public showings of her skill set would cause danger to her and her family. So Sherlock couldn’t just call on her when it suited him, her abilities would have to be used judiciously. Having her be more of a behind the scenes ‘partner in crime’ when needed wouldn’t impact on Sherlock and John being the public front, yet she’d still have an important role in the team. It would also have created different and interesting dynamics for all the characters.

Moftiss don’t tend to think stuff like this through though, and fixate on maximising dramatics over character integrity. So we instead got a character who basically wanted to be involved just like John, no accounting for her background and the risks that posed to everyone to have her casually out and about with the 'famous’ consulting detective. And when Sherlock is made to choose between them, it’s hard to blame him for picking Mary over John. Especially as John himself is woefully underwritten as a character. He’s a Captain, so in addition to his medical skills and training (which would’ve been forged and hardened in extremely challenging crisis situations), he would’ve led men on missions, had a hand in combat planning, strategy and tactics–a very capable, smart guy. We barely got this John Watson, the battle hardened survivor of Afghanistan, who could’ve complimented Sherlock’s abilities in a whole gamut of situations. We only got scant glimpses, such that from time to time, we’d need dialogue telling us that he was “Captain John Watson, of the Fifth Northumberland Fusiliers”, just in case we’d forgotten who he was in the show :p Across S1 and S2 John really seemed to be posited as a 'babysitter’ to Sherlock, guiding him through negotiating the social mores of the world. Once Sherlock matured and started to grow post S2 (without John’s help for most of the time) John’s character pretty much lost his way.

So it was a mix of how they positioned Mary in the show (which wasn’t credible at all given her situation), and underselling John to begin with. If John was written more soundly and that partnership more robust, equitable in showing how Sherlock and John continued to compliment each other as Sherlock 'matured’ over time (instead of mostly fighting over the past two seasons), incorporating Mary into the relationship and juggling them all probably wouldn’t have been such a problem.