#literally I dislike everything about that season except Kyle

[simplysummers]

I finally finished Roanoke, so this is my current ranking for those who care ✨

[dear-wormwoods]

omgggg yes i wanna ask u every one haha

6 13(Kyle n stan) 12 17 :0000

6. Has fandom ever made you enjoy a pairing you previously hated?

I don’t thiiiink so? The pairings I hate are pretty set in stone. The closest I can think of is that I never really cared for Bunny that much but then some cute art made me go ‘well sure why not’ and now I love that Butters was basically Kenny’s sugar daddy in Post Covid as he was getting off the ground. But I never hated the pairing so I don’t think that counts.

12. Is there an unpopular arc that you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why?

Actually yes! I… I like Season 20. I know it’s not the best season but I genuinely do enjoy the Skankhunt arc and how the Broflovskis were the main characters for once. I like that it expanded on Gerald and confirmed that he plays favorites and actually resents that Kyle takes after his mother. And I loved Kyle and Ike versus Sheila! I also really like the Cartman/Heidi plot, with the seeds of manipulation and abuse being sewn in that season and then expanded upon in 21. I just think their whole relationship was well done and confirmed a lot of things about how Cartman would act as a boyfriend - love bombing, isolating, jealousy, paranoia, etc. I also love how when Kyle brought everyone together to troll, Stan was like “for what” and Kyle was like “NO TIME JUST DO IT” and Stan just goes “okay!” and runs off because he will literally do anything for Kyle. So yeah, unpopular opinion but I enjoy Season 20 even with all its plot holes and flaws.

13. Unpopular opinion about Kyle and Stan?

Kyle: I think this is less an unpopular opinion about HIM and more an unpopular opinion about how fandom treats him, but I really dislike the constant debate about masc/femme… it’s been going on since at least the 2000’s when I started watching the show and it just goes through the same cycle over and over with people doubling down on their preferences and going to extremes that result in the character being sometimes unrecognizable on both ends of the spectrum. Personally I’ve never been a fan of super masc interpretations or, like, Jersey Kyle being a thing, but I don’t think Kyle is particularly femme either. I think the show does a good job of portraying a well rounded character who has both ‘masc’ and ‘femme’ traits, though I think Matt & Trey lean more heavily on character tropes that are often filled by girls (such as being the nag, the wet blanket, the nurturing family oriented one, the one needing saving, even the fiery redhead trope) for whatever reason. The best versions of Kyle I’ve seen or read have always been somewhere in the middle because then he comes off as more multifaceted. It’s the age old Fingerbang argument of tough vs sweet… he’s both! He’s always been both and I try to achieve that balance in my own interpretation.

Stan: Also an unpopular opinion about fandom rather than the character… Stan is both a sports guy and an animal guy. He’s also a board game guy and a music guy. He’s a multifaceted dude with a wide range of interests! Being into football doesn’t mean he can’t be into the other things, and people saying he’s into football doesn’t mean they’re ignoring the other stuff. Humans are typically into multiple things, and Stan is no exception. He can be a dork and a jock at the same time. He can be big and buff and also empathetic with a soft spot for animals. He can be a quarterback and still like metal music. He can be masc and sensitive at the same time. So I guess this complaint is similar to what I said about Kyle in that I think shoving Stan into one box, regardless of what that box is, is doing a disservice to his character.

17. Instead of XYZ happening, I would have made ABC happen…

Pretty typical answer, but instead of shifting the show’s focus onto Randy and Tegridy Farms I would have gone back to the roots and focused on the boys. Everything about the show is better when it’s about the kids being kids. Randy is best when he’s utilized in moderation.

[toaarcan]

One ship exposes everything wrong with TRoS

Heaven help me, I’m back on my bullshit.

Alright, so, I enjoyed The Rise of Skywalker when I watched it. I actually watched it twice, once on my own when I rushed to see it as soon as possible in order to beat spoilers, and once with my family, in what was a semi-annual new year tradition for us during those four years that a Star Wars film released.

But that doesn’t mean it was good. I enjoyed Transformers: Dark of the Moon the first time I watched it, and that movie’s still a steaming pile of shit. I was admittedly fifteen when I saw DotM, but still. 

My point is that I’m fully capable of enjoying crappy films.

But there’s one thing, one thing about TRoS that exemplifies so many of the problems with TRoS as a whole, if not everything (And by that I mean with TRoS specifically, the woeful treatment of John Boyega and Kelly Marie Tran is a Whole Trilogy Problem). And it’s a ship. Specifically this ship.

The Resistance Y-Wing. I hate this ship with the fiery passion of an exploding star, and to talk about why, we need to first go back to The Last Jedi and its conspicuous lack of Y-Wings.

One of the things that I disliked most about the Sequels before TRoS put all the other problems into stark light was the lack of new ships. Instead of new vehicles, we got shinier, sleeker versions of the ships from the original trilogy. And I disliked this because it’s the opposite of what the Prequels did.

Episodes I-III don’t feature more primitive versions of the X-Wing and TIE Fighter, but instead have similar vehicles that evoke the classics while still having an identity of their own.

The ARC-170 looks kinda like an X-Wing, but it’s bigger and has more weapons and crew, and you get why the well-funded Republic can afford things like this while the scrappy Rebels can’t.

The Eta-2 is a predecessor to the TIE Fighter, but it being employed exclusively by Jedi makes a lot of sense, of course a precognitive wizard with superhuman reflexes can do well in a light, unshielded ship, while in the hands of the Empire’s military they’re just expendable swarm fighters.

But then in the Sequels, rather than evolve the ships into new forms, they just made new incarnations of the X-Wing, TIE Fighter, A-Wing, TIE Interceptor, B-Wing, and of course the Y-Wing.

Well, except for one movie: The Last Jedi.

At the outset of the film, we’re introduced to this ship.

This is the MG-100 StarFortress, AKA “That ship all the Star Wars Youtubers hate”. It’s designed to be a much heavier and bulkier version of the B-Wing Starfighter, and is even made by the same people.

From questions about how the bombs “fall” toward the Dreadnought (The answer is magnets) to claims that they’re completely useless because most of the ones in the film died so easily, these things have been put through the wringer by the fandom, and honestly they don’t deserve it? What destroyed the StarFortresses in the film wasn’t their own weaknesses, but them being deployed in too tight a formation. It was a tactical fuckup, not a problem with the ship’s design.

And given that the whole point of the battle over D’Qar is that Poe makes a tactical fuckup to kickstart his development into the new leader of the Resistance as a whole, adding another layer makes sense to me.

But we live in a post-CinemaSins world of media consumption, where every plot-point that isn’t spelled out with a flowchart and an audio commentary by the writers is actually a plothole. 

We also live in an era where Star Wars fans pine for the days of the Legends canon where everything about new ships, species, and worlds was explained in background lore and books, and are angry that the new Canon is... doing exactly the same thing?

Seriously, how much exposition and lore dumping is actually present in any of the Star Wars films? Not a whole lot. And that applies to all three eras. 

So the StarFortress’ appearance in the film and the lack of Y-Wings led to a bevy of armchair writers demanding to know why the Resistance weren’t using Y-Wings and why they were using those “Resistance Bombers” that are just ‘terrible’.

Answer? Because the Y-Wings sucked shit.

Seriously, go back to the Original Trilogy and try to keep track of the Y-Wings, and see what they actually do, and you’ll find that what they do is “Explode, mostly.”

We’re first introduced to the Y-Wings in A New Hope, and they’re supposed to be the ones performing the Trench Run while the X-Wings cover them, and to their credit, they try.

And then they all get blown up by Vader and his wingmen before they can even take a shot at the exhaust port. Well, except that one that appears with the rebel ships flying away from the Death Star.

Where the fuck were you when the X-Wings were doing the attack run?

The Y-Wings got absolutely wrecked.

Ancillary media would go on to explain that the Y-Wings were beat-up old vehicles that were no longer fit for purpose, but the Rebels had to use them anyway because they had basically no money. They’d stripped down the ships and removed a bunch of their more costly features just to make them viable, and the results of that were pretty clear.

Of course, the Y-Wings were still present in the later films. They don’t do anything in The Empire Strikes Back, but they play a role in Return of the Jedi.

Naturally, that role is mostly “Get blown up while the other ships do the important stuff”.

Despite supposedly being a fighter-bomber that was designed to do significant damage to capital ships, does the Y-Wing play a role in the destruction of the Executor? Does it fuck. Destroying the Imperial flagship’s deflector shields and the subsequent suicidal ram attack on the bridge are tasks that are both performed by the goddamn A-Wings. Y’know, the light interceptors?

The Y-Wings get shown up at their own job by the ships that are there to protect them from TIE Fighters.

Ancillary media again explains why they’re still there. While the Rebels have a newer, better fighter-bomber in the B-Wing, the B-Wing is expensive as fuck and also really difficult to fly. 

A non-centreline cockpit that rotates will do that to a ship.

Still, the B-Wing was a better bomber than the Y-Wing ever was (And the StarFortress was better than them both at that role).

All this adds up to a simple fact: There were very good reasons why the Resistance weren’t using Y-Wings. And there were even reasonable reasons to choose the StarFortress compared to the B-Wing itself, given that the Resistance are still undermanned and under-funded, especially with the New Republic getting nuked midway through The Force Awakens. It being easier to fly and having more armaments would have made it a viable choice for the Resistance.

Buuuut oops, people didn’t like the StarFortress and we can’t make the Internet angry at us again! Better put the Y-Wings back in for Episode IX, and show them destroying a Xyston-class Destroyer, that’ll make them happy!

And sure, okay, giving the Resistance a fighter/bomber is probably a good idea. And they already have New X-Wings and New A-Wings, so where’s the harm in a New Y-Wing?

Alright, alright, sure. But why the fuck does it look like this?

If this is a new ship, why is it already stripped-down like the ones in the Original Trilogy? Why doesn’t it look like the actual brand-new Y-Wings we saw in The Clone Wars? 

Now that’s more like it. Still visibly a Y-Wing, but with more of an identity of its own. 

Seriously, “Literally the same ship but without its armour pulled off” has more of a unique identity than the crowd-pleasing New Y-Wing.

And that, in and of itself, is the essence of The Rise of Skywalker.

It’s blind, empty fanservice, rushing to include as much nostalgia-pandering as possible to try and get the fanbase back on-side after The Last Jedi didn’t do what the fanboys wanted it to do.

This is a whole near- three hour movie whose only message is “Yes, Youtubers making TFA critiques longer than an entire season of TCW, we hear you, we’ll make it for you, please love us!”

And, almost entirely predictably, it was shite.

It was riddled with plotholes and none of the scenes had any time to breathe because the movie was too desperately trying to rush itself to the next crowd-pleasing scene in a desperate attempt to wank off as many disgruntled fanboys as it possibly could.

Luke with his green saber! Jedi Leia! Chewie gets a medal! Lando! Luke raises his X-Wing out of the water! The main villain is a testicle in a bathrobe again! Snork origin! Original-flavour Star Destroyers! Rose doesn’t exist! Rey had a super-special secret magical bloodline the whole time and Luke and Leia totally knew even though Luke has literally no idea who she is in Episode VIII! Luke actually was just afraid of the bad guys in Episode VII, none of that self-imposed exile for his own mistakes nonsense! Y-Wings.

I mean fuck. Disagree with Luke’s portrayal in TLJ all you like, I certainly have my issues with it, but I lay those at the feet of JJ for making Luke’s absence into one of his fucking Mystery Boxes, and then deciding that, even though last time Luke sensed Leia and Han might be in danger, he abandoned his Jedi training, hopped in an X-Wing, and flew halfway across the galaxy to try and save them, he wouldn’t do shit when the First Order pointed a star-powered System-Killer 9000 at Leia, and Han got himself killed trying to redeem Kyle Ron. Like how in fuck was Rian supposed to explain Luke’s inaction in VII?

But regardless of the problems with that Luke portrayal, at least Mark Hamill gave it his all. Hell, it might be his best performance in the Star Wars franchise!

 In TRoS, he shows up in a bad wig, waves a middle finger at TLJ, and ascends to his final form as a Lightsaber Delivery Boy, because apparently all you need to kill a Sith who literally clawed his way back from death is two lightsabers. Haunting Kyle Ron? Nope. Providing guidance as a ghost? Not really.

And y’know what the kicker is? It didn’t fucking work. Lucasfilm and Disney fucking gutted this trilogy, sliced out the integrity, surgically removed the soul of Episode IX in a desperate effort to make the Internet’s most unpleasable fanbase happy, and it didn’t work. They still hate it! Now they just concoct hour-long videos about how much they would’ve preferred to have the Trevorrow script (Which is admittedly much better, albeit still with it’s far share of giant flaws), which was probably thrown out because it wasn’t fanservicey enough!

The Rise of Skywalker is an awful film. It’s a loose collection of nostalgia-baiting moments, roughly stapled together around the skeleton of a plot that was never properly developed. It’s a Frankenstein’s Monster of a movie, but, and I say this with full offense, the Victor Frankenstein in this tragic story isn’t Lucasfilm or Disney or Kathleen Kennedy or Rian Johnson, or even JJ Abrams. It’s you, Star Wars Fandom. It is your monster. 

[fishymom-art]

She-Ra Recap (SPOILER ALERT)

ALRIGHT, AFTER 3-4 DAYS OF BINGE-WATCHING, I FINALLY FINISHED IT!!

And I’d like to tell you about every wonderful moment/thing in the show (and why you should watch it, if you didn’t). Right in time to all the hype around the end!

- Glimmer going from that little girl who couldn’t control her powers to a powerful queen and sorceress that can oppose her own father, who was one of the strongest sorcerers of all!! She became unbelievably powerful and honestly? The best character development.

- Entrapta’s character. I knoooow I talk about her a lot, but she is literally the reason I watched the show and I have all the right to continue talking about her. She is a very interesting character. She is a loner, no one has ever been friends with her without her annoying them. Even her own staff don’t like her. When she tried joining the Princesses Alliance, everybody would always tell her how “wrong” she is in their image. That’s why it was so easy to pull her to Horde’s side. She could close in herself again, dedicating herself to First One’s tech. And suddenly, she found people who didn’t judge her for who she is. Especially Hordak. He didn’t care how “wrong” she is, he wasn’t the best himself and he admits it throughout the show. He saw that she could be a good friend if you give her a chance. And he did. And I fucking love the Lab Partners.

- The fact that no one, even the villains/antagonists cares about ones  personality. Especially sexual orientation. Heck, Horde Prime used love in his privilege and that was the most normal thing. No one gets surprised at Bow’s dads, no one gets surprised or uncomfortable with Netossa and Spinnerella being wives and no one CERTAINLY doesn’t get uncomfortable with Catra and Adora. Love is one of the most important topics in She-Ra, although not directly. We are shown that love can come in different forms, friendship (Bow, Glimmer, Adora and Catra), teamwork/support (literally almost anyone, but I will go with Lenny, Rogelio and Kyle, because they got a nice character development too) and relationships of course. And no one will question who’s your partner in crime! Hordak - one of the main villains- and Entrapta - an outsider princess? Great team, friends, lovers, think as you wish. Glimmer and Shadow Weaver? Heck yeah, teacher and student (also, imho, Shadow Weaver deserves the world), and Perfuma with Scorpia, supporting each other through every step. Love love love!!!! Only love can win against evil! (Love and some hardcore weaponry)

- Can we please bring up Swift Wind? The best loyal steed a hero can have. Honestly, I didn’t like him and the fact that he talked made me uncomfortable at first. But he is such a funny character! And I think he is a great supporter to She-Ra. I love him.

- Every ship you have is canon! Like, literally, no matter who you ship, they totally have some kind of a bond and there is no way they couldn’t be a couple. But I won’t let you ship Kyle with anyone except for Rogelio, I am sorry, I don’t make the rules.

- Everything characters do has a meaning to the lore. Every their action influences the future. And this is sooo cool! It lets you theorize a lot, you get engaged a lot more, because you know that character’s decision will have consequences. Mostly to their own character which is the next thing.

- Mentality. We can see how actions influence the characters. The fight between Adora and Glimmer specifically. They couldn’t trust one another at some point, which influenced the way they handled things. Also, Catra sending Entrapta to Beast Island, allowing a portal to open which led to... khem, some bad things (Season 4. I don’t like Season 4. It’s all wrong without Angella). We can see Adora, always judging herself because everything depends on her. That’s a realistic behavior for a hero, because you feel that everyone blames the strongest one if the team loses. We can see Catra having issues with herself after she pushes Scorpia away, realizing how much of a bad friend she is. And so on!

- WRONG HORDAK. Ok, I was watching She-Ra with @captainleemon​ and he disliked Wrong Hordak, but COME ON. He is a BABY! He is a literal face of “giving a second chance”. He was such a relief to watch! While Season 5 was all intense and serious, Wrong Hordak was there being a complete sweetheart and I thank Heavens for blessing us with him.

- I talked about it already, but D E S I G N!!! In the original show, every woman character was overly sexualized. Men too, of course. You can’t be a hero if you’re not buff and sexy!

Look at Bow!!! Yes, he lost his cool mustache, but he became realistic!!! You don’t need to be buff to be strong! And he is SUPER STRONG!

Also, look at ENTRAPTA!!! Yes yes, that’s her! Imagine remake Entrapta wearing that sexy clothes, Hordak would lose it XD. I think their new costumes fit their personalities and work better now. I don’t think flying around on your hair and working in front of a computer is as comfortable in a dress as in a jumpsuit. 

- Everybody deciding it’s time to confess their love to one another in the end, because hey, we will probably die, why not? First Glimmer to Bow, then Sea Hawk to Mermista (although he did it a lot before), Hordak kinda admitting he is soft for Entrapta. And Catra like “well, if everybody does that, I might as well follow the majority”. Can’t believe they invented love.

- The Best Friend Squad interrupting Huntara from flirting with a woman in a bar. That’s all, that’s the thing.

- Micah being a complete dork, when young and when old. 

woah, that’s a lot. BUT WE’RE NOT DONE YET!!!!

- My favorite is probably the fact that they mixed magic with technologies which is my all time favorite thing!!! The planet is a weapon??? First Ones were making technologies using magic??? LIGHT HOPE?? My gosh, it gives you so much possibilities! And also an excuse to do whatever you want with the tech and not explain it scientifically , it will all work, because it has something to do with magic. You have to explain how tech works, but you don’t have to explain magic ;))

- This show made me SO EMOTIONAL. Every character has a meaning and I am happy they didn’t kill or hurt characters without a purpose. I am talking Angella’s death. I’m still not over it. I was hoping she’ll come back in the end, but ugh.... well, you have to learn how to move on.

- ksjthrtliuhriuy THE INTRO AND HOW IT WAS CHANGING DEPENDING ON WHAT WAS HAPPENING!!! Scratch that, THE INTRO ITSELF!!! Imma do a fucking cover, you can’t stop me, it’s one of the best intros I’ve heard in a while. It can fight Gravity Falls and Steven Universe.

- Sea Hawk’s shanties. Period.

Ok, I think that’s all. If there’s anything I will remember, I’ll add. You can also add something yourself, if you want! Thank you for sticking around!

[sophiexwrites]

ok, hear hear me out: a child of aphrodite that is ace/aro/both. ill prob write this myself at some point but i wanna read your take (btw i think i accidentally sent this same question to your main non-writing blog so sorry if it looks familar)

This is such a great idea, I love it: check out @troopy-writes-kinda, the asker's writing blog, if you want to see more ideas like it in the future (shameless friend plug, if that's okay)!

Cari in Camp Half Blood (please suggest a better title)

Setting: CHB, practically canon, no major differences

“And here’s the Hermes cabin, where you’ll be staying until you’re claimed.” I waved towards the cabin, a small smile on my face as I remember my time there. “If you need me, I’ll be in the Aphrodite cabin — just come on over and I’ll sort it all out. But don’t worry!” I saw the expression on the young boy’s face and rushed to reassure him. “They’re all great people, I’m sure you’ll make loads of new friends. And if somehow you don’t,” I shrugged, pale cotton of my dress rubbing against my wide shoulders, “then you still have me. Okay?”

“Okay.” Kyle replied, a small smile on his face, before wandering into the cabin. A roar came from inside and I imagined him being greeted by 10 different people, all smiling and joking to make him feel at home. The thought made me smile with them, as I wandered back to my cabin.

“Cari!” I heard the rush of pebbles on the path; a smiling face threw themselves into my vision. “Cari, you’re back from school!”

“An hour or two?!” Sarah muttered under her breath, cursing the gods for letting her spend so long in the forge. “I need to make a watch that will last through all the heat...”

“What have you been working on instead?”

“Oh, just a gift.”

“A gift?” I was interested now, Sarah didn’t make things for others everyday. “Who for?”

“Sam.” She mumbled, and I nodded quietly. She’d told me of Sam before, a longtime crush who seemed blind to any advances. Honestly? I could see myself reacting the same way - I’d never understood or felt love as more than platonic, especially not for me.

“Ah.” I bit my lip, because this was when our conversations always became awkward.

“Anyhow...” Sarah wasn’t blind or insensitive, she knew to change the subject. “I’ll see you at dinner, okay? And be nice to us when you do cabin checks!” She rushed off with a wink and some finger guns, already putting her goggles back on. It wasn’t uncommon for people to come up to me as I walked around camp, I had a reputation for being a friend and advice giver. Frankly, I enjoyed it and the purpose it gave me... what else was a child of Aphrodite supposed to do except from deal with love, even if all she could do was with the platonic?

I wandered through the pink door and remembered that maybe not everyone liked me. It wasn’t my siblings that disliked me, of course not - they loved my identity, because it was a part of me. I suppose the fact that I was no competition for a crush helps too. Our cabin was neat as ever, apart from the space under our beds, with the same cloying scent of perfume that stuck to us each time we left; same pastel pink walls and lacy curtains; the same blue, pink and green colour scheme. Everything was the same, if you ignored the white marble statue hogging the space beside my bed.

"Where did that come from?" I asked, looking around to Lacy, one of my youngest sisters and the only other one there. She stayed year round, so she probably saw it arrive.

“Not sure, it just turned up one day.” She shrugged, putting her magazine away. I glanced over her shoulder, there were some really cool dresses in there. “It’s definitely a statue of mother, though, and we tried to move it but...” The girl trailed off, pushing against the statue with no result. I wandered after her, shoving my bag under the bed with a sigh. As I knelt down to do so, however, I noticed an inscription on the pedestal.

“Lacy, have you seen this?” I asked, having her kneel beside me. It crumpled her outfit, but she didn’t seem to mind at all.

“No? I don’t think so, it’s not like we checked under your bed or anything.” 

“Okay.” I bit my lip, slightly annoyed. Here was some mysterious writing, hidden in shadow that made it illegible. “Will you help me move my bed?”

“I’m not sure we’re allowed...”

I stopped myself from rolling my eyes. She was sweet, but always a little afraid. “We can move it back afterwards, don’t worry.” Lacy nodded, after a glance behind her, and I counted down for the haul. 

“On three, okay? One, two...” We braced ourselves, because the bed surely wouldn’t be light. “Three!” We heaved, staggering because the bed was... somehow incredibly light? 

“Woah!” Lacy gasped, adjusting her grip as we carried the bed into the middle of the room. “That’s freakishly light.”

“Yeah.” I replied, shocked but not fully listening. With the bed cleared, I only had to ignore my dusty mess to see the inscription. And it was... French?

“‘Tu es ma fille; je t'aime’? What does that mean?” Lacy asked with a terrible accent, looking towards me. I studied French in school; only a weak effort to impress our mother and feel more like her child. She’d claimed me three years ago, sure, but it seemed reluctant. Aphrodite’s sign had been faint, and there was no stunning makeover like all my siblings had. Just plain, boring Cari, tall and heavily built with clumsy hands. Speaking of which, my hand shook on its way to cover my mouth, eyes watering in surprise. 

“I-it means...” I swallowed and removed my hand, letting the tears roll down my face. “’You are my daughter; I love you.’” That was a message to me? From my  mother? Saying... she loved me? I had to read it again to be sure, wiping away the tears of joy and relief and straight up emotion that ran through me, the acceptance and validation dragging the crushing weight from my chest. 

“Oh, Cari! I’m so happy for you!” Lacy squealed, arms wrapped around my waist in a hug, head barely reaching my collarbone. “Are you happy too?”

“Yes.” I breathed, inhaling and exhaling with the most glorious ease. “Yes, I am.”

I had to let someone else do cabin checks that night.

--------------------

Please tell me if you liked that! I’m not ace/aro so all I’ve written about it is from research, I hope I didn’t get anything wrong or offend anyone. If I did, please tell me (only if you feel comfortable ofc) via comment/ reblog/ message/ ask (anon is on)/ literally anything, because I’ll do my best to correct it. Same goes for the French: I used two online translators but I don’t know if they’re correct. Last but not least, I had She-Ra’s Scorpia in mind for Cari’s physical build, because I’m on Season 4 and am obsessed and Scorpia’s my favourite character (and I wonder where I got Kyle’s name from, huh?). Thanks for reading!

[roswelldetails]

RNM 2x07 - Como La Flor

Apologies for being so late this week!! Lots of translating to do, and research. Mucho gracias to @queenrikki for reviewing this one for me!

EPISODE SUMMARY:

OLD WOUNDS — Liz (Jeanine Mason) is forced to revisit a painful part of her past when her mother Helena (guest star Bertila Damas) shows up at the diner unexpectedly. Michael (Michael Vlamis) urges Maria (Heather Hemmens) to seek help after she experiences a strange vision, and Kyle’s (Michael Trevino) attempt to get Steph (guest star Justina Adorno) to open up doesn’t go as planned. Finally, Helena’s arrival in Roswell sends Rosa spiraling. Nathan Dean and Lily Cowles also star. Barbara Brown directed the episode written by Danny Tolli & Carolina Rivera (#207). Original airdate 4/27/2020. 

DETAILS:

Max and Isobel both describing to Rosa how it feels to use (and control) your powers.

Isobel:

"Ground your intention.  Feel the current running through your body, your hands guiding it with purpose."

Max:

"Okay, draw energy from your spine…"

Arturo on Rosa:

"I heard a little mouse crying in her room this morning."

Escamoles - like Liz says in the episode, they're ant larvae. One article I found called them "the Caviar of the Mexican desert". 

Helena calls Liz "mi corazón", which means "my heart".

"Arturito, te ves bien."

Arturo, you look good.

Adding "ito" to someone's name in Spanish can both be positive or negative.  It can refer to smallness or also tenderness (like an affectionate pet name).

@tasyfa pointed out that there was a little timeline error in this scene.  Arturo says that he hasn't seen Helena in 7 years, since Jim Valenti's funeral, but last season it was established in 1x12 that Valenti died in 2014.  Also, remember the show is a year behind reality right now, so it's still 2019. So off by 2 years.

The reason for Helena's visit - transferring her ownership of the Crashdown for Liz so that Liz can sponsor Arturo's residency for citizenship. I did a lot of research trying to understand and clarify why this is.  Thanks to those who weighed in when I was struggling to find a clear answer. Eventually I reached out to Define American, the non-profit org that provides support to the show on racial and immigration related issues.  Here's the response:

The short version is that Liz has to meet minimum income requirements in order to sponsor Arturo, because she has to be able to certify that she can financially support him.  Since she's currently unemployed except for the Crashdown, transferring half of the ownership to her makes her a business partner and helps her to meet the income requirements. 

The Spanish:

"¿Cuánto quieres, Mamá?" 

How much do you want, Mama?

"She has a very thoughtful manicure."

If you don't understand, it's cool. I'm not going to explain here.  Feel free to DM me though! I won't judge, promise!!

Narrative thread about Max's nightmare/memory continues from 2x03 and 2x06.  Don't forget that 2x03 was just Isobel remembering it. Max was a hallucination. So when he brings it up here, it might be something they haven't discussed in a very long time.

The Spanish from Rosa on her red jacket:

"Eres una mujercita."

Basically translates to you're a little woman or young woman.  I assume the "cita" is supposed to be diminutive here.

"Mom is an opportunist.  If she found out she had a kid who came back from the dead she would use you to get to Anderson Cooper. And then she'd use him to promote her latest lounge singer gig."

"Isobel pays double.  Becky tax." 

A Becky, according to common colloquial use, is an annoying white woman, usually entitled and privileged.

Lead bartender quit..meaning there's a job opening at the Pony…hmm. Wonder if any of our characters need a job... 🤔

Maria's vision:

Michael drops the change

Flash to Kyle dropping his keys & bending down to pick them up.

Kyle staring into a bright light.

Maria shouting his name.

"My heart was broken.  Liz ended things and a part of me died."

Max's story to Valenti… not all THAT far off from the truth.

Note: has anyone told him about Valenti investigating him? We know Liz and Isobel were questioned.  Michael was present when Liz was questioned. Kyle knows the whole theory his mom was pursuing. And he just wanders in there like nothing happened?

"Try leading several short staffed investigations with the mayor breathing down your neck."

Another subtle reference to the mayor, including the election banners hung around town in S2 and his "anti-immigrant agenda" which was referenced in S1.

Max has been with the department since he was 18 - this is the first time we learned that.  In 2x05 we learned he was there at 21. So that timeline has now been further clarified. Which also means he was hired during Jim Valenti's time as Sheriff.

"I need eyes on you at all times now."

Definitely implies a lack of trust, or possibly still wanting to keep an eye on him for the purpose of her investigation (not a fact, just a theory).

Steph tells Kyle that she's always hanging around the hospital because she's doing admin work for her dad.

"I'm starting to feel like you're a ghost who only I can see."

"Ask them if they can see me. Or if you were just talking to a ghost." 

Note that ghosts have been a running theme this season with Rosa returning from the dead. This seems to be in line with that. Or are they subtly tying Steph to Rosa (I'm grasping at straws here, probably).

Liz leaves the safe on 3...but before she changes it is on 81. Helena leaves it on 78 after stealing the ring. Good continuity, RNM!

The whole "my mom hates cops" theme is a little confusing to me.  I mean, it makes sense given what we know about Helena. Except that she had an affair with Jim Valenti, who was… a cop. And also an addict.  Maybe it was different because they rehabbed together (just an assumption, not a fact). Or maybe the Jim experience contributed to her dislike of cops.

Liz...might be grasping at straws when she refers to police work as "something you love" to Max.  He didn't exactly seem enamoured by the job when we first met him in Season 1.

First time we learn Max and Isobel's father's name. And it is… Dave. 🤔

The Spanish Helena uses when she meets Max:

"Pero que guapo estas."

But how handsome you are.

"Cuidado Arturito."

Careful, Arturo…

Helena found Liz and Diego's wedding registry online. 

“Look there are medical reasons for non-drug-induced hallucinations - epilepsy, schizophrenia…”

“My mom has a degenerative brain disease. My grandma did too. I've always known I'd be next.”

Helena wanted to be Selena.

Which fits with Liz's lounge singer comment earlier.

And the "drunkenly singing in the car with your daughters in the backseat" fits with the story Liz and Rosa discussed in 2x02 about the car accident they got into as kids with Helena driving drunk.

Helena shows Liz her ten years sober chip, suggesting that she's been sober since Rosa died, but Rosa finds pills in Helena's car later in the episode.  Oxycodone. The same drug that Rosa used to steal from her mom as a kid (which we learned about in 2x04) and the same drug that she and Kyle discussed when he was checking her health in 2x01.

During Helena's toast to Rosa:

Preciosa = precious

Rosa Linda… still not sure personally if this is a continuity error or a pet name.  I’m inclined to go with a pet name. Throughout the whole episode Helena uses lots of pet names, nicknames, diminutives to address people. Rosa Linda may be just another version of this since Rosa's middle name was pretty well established as Helena in Season 1 between her grave, memorial pamphlet, etc.

Kyle calls attention to Steph's bandage on her arm.  She says she gave blood, but it feels like she's evading.

Also she calls him McDreamy, which is a Grey's Anatomy reference. Kyle called himself McSexy (another Grey's nickname) in 1x08 as well.

Note: I've seen some people talk about the speech about his sick friend as being about Maria, but I think he's really talking about Steph.  Or both, vaguely. He's certainly trying to get Steph to open up to him. Here's what he says:

"I just found out a friend of mine is sick. And I can't do anything to help her. And I hate feeling helpless."

Only after Steph puts her walls back up, does he gesture to Mimi's files.

The Spanish:

"Oh, ándale, gùero."

Ándale is like, go! Or let's go! Gùero we discussed earlier...basically white boy.

Por favor - please 

Rosa's art that we first saw in 2x05 now looks finished:

Isobel's graffiti "In Pod We Trust"

Both Isobel and Rosa's graffiti:

Isobel's assessment of Rosa's art

"That's a black hole. An unstoppable force of destruction. And it's getting closer. I see a girl looking into her own doom. She thinks it's inevitable, that she can't stop it, but she can. See, she created it. That means she can destroy it."

Rosa on Isobel's efforts to help her:

"You and Max, you keep talking about harnessing emotion and grounding myself, right? But I can't do that.  It is in my DNA to be screwed up. Literally. My mom's mentally ill. So, so am I. I was broken long before Noah did what he did. That's why he chose me to prey on.  That's probably why he chose you too."

Maria on her grandmother:

"When I was a child my Grandma Patty was the only adult who understood my make-believe world. Thing is, I was six.  So my favorite things about her were just illness, I guess…"

Maria on her mom:

"She was always kind of out there.  By the time I realized it was more than that, I just became obsessed with money. Wanted to be able to take care of her. I invested everything Grandma Patty left me, and I worked, scrounged.  It was about three days after my mom was finally fired from her job at the Pony, I bought the place."

Maria's blood does not contain the alien protein that Kyle found in the Pod Squad and Rosa after being in the Pod for a decade. (and yes, he actually said Pod Squad, which feels like an OG fandom victory)

"Look, there is one thing I noticed in your grandmother's file. Her insurance company is the same one that paid for my dad's cancer treatments...My dad got cancer because of an alien incident at Caulfield Prison. A fake insurance company established by Project Shepherd covered his bills."

"Okay so my grandmother got sick at the same alien prison where your mother died?"

More Spanish (there's lots of it this week).

Helena, when she gestures to the present:

"Abre tu regalo."

Open your gift.

Quinces is just slang for Quinceanera.

Just in case you're not familiar with quinceaneras (Liz's was also referenced in 1x02).

"Mija, me enseñas tus prom photos?"

Daughter, show me your prom photos.

Regarding the power outage.  Liz thought it was Max. Max thought it was Rosa. But the wire is frayed, like it was cut or chewed through. So it wasn't alien power related.  When Arturo finds the wire though, he says, "Must have been a little mouse." Which is how he referred to Rosa earlier in the episode. So the question is, does he actually think it was a mouse? Or does he think Rosa cut the wire? And if Rosa did cut the wire, then why? To distract them while she goes after her mom's car?

In the big Liz/Helena argument, Helena calls Max “a güerito cop”.  Güero means white person, similar to the more commonly used gringo.  But by adding the “ito” onto the end (like discussed before), Helena is basically diminuitizing Max.  She’s using the “smallness” above to basically imply that he’s some white nobody.

“I may not be the PTA mom who made cookies for bake sales or hosted sleepovers, but I sacrificed everything to come to this country to give you a better life.”

This is...not actually true.  Liz and Rosa are both natural born U.S. citizens, born in Roswell.  So she didn’t “come to this country” for that reason. She was already here when Liz and Rosa came into the picture.  And it’s not like she came pregnant with Rosa or anything, since Rosa is Jim Valenti’s daughter.

The ring that Helena took was ARTURO'S mother's ring.  It wasn't even Helena's family's heirloom.   

Liz and Arturo sharing flan for dessert.  At the start of the episode before Helena arrived they discussed making flan for Rosa.

Arturo admits that he always knew the truth about Rosa's heritage. (*fistpump* that's one of my headcanons coming true). 

"Rosa es mi hija, siempre y para toda la vida."

Rosa is my daughter, always and for life.

"Maybe you're right. I am playing the hero. Just like you're playing the politician's perfect arm candy.  See, I did a little digging. And your boyfriend, Dirk-- he ran for city council. It's very impressive. But there's no mention of your daughters. I'm guessing Dirk doesn't even know about Liz or Rosa.  Does he know anything about you, Helena? 'Cause it would be such a shame if he found out about a little town called Roswell."

Helena gives Max the ring, but keeps the box… maybe that's what Helena really wanted?

Huevos = eggs.  Basically, slang for balls.

"I know that face.  You uncovered a massive conspiracy."

"I checked the Caulfield drives. No sign of a Patricia DeLuca, but there was a Patricia Harris. Her maiden name. She signed up to participate in an experimental trial. Government was interested in weaponizing alien abilities. They wanted to create super soldiers. Your grandma was one of the first human subjects."

"Kind of wish I was an alien instead."

"What happened to the experiment?"

"It was a total failure. Caulfield shut it down in the '70s after people started dying. I don't understand how your grandmother got involved."

"I do. Henrietta Lacks, Tuskegee, Holmesburg.  The DeLucas aren't the first black people to be secretly experimented on."

Highly encourage you to read these if you're unfamiliar with any of these references.  It's African-American history (and really a black mark on U.S. history) that's rarely taught in schools.

Henrietta Lacks:

Tuskegee:

Holmesburg:

Reality versus Maria's flashes… great gifset by @rosaortecho on this here:

Kyle rips his jacket, staggers out to the parking lot, drops his keys, and is almost hit by a car, but Michael throws him out of the way with his powers (and Kyle still ends up injured because he lands on a glass bottle).

"Now that we know your illness is related to Caulfield we can find a cure for it."

"Maybe it's not an illness. I saw the future today, Guerin. When I first found out Grandma Patty was experimented on, I was furious.  But what if my genetic inheritance isn't just injustice? It's also actual superpowers. Saved a life today. And not just any life-- Kyle Valenti's. Tomorrow he's gonna turn around and save five more lives."

Liz and Rosa's dueling big sister act is super fascinating.  Rosa admits that she wasn't going to burn the car, and then she saw Liz crying, felt helpless, and that's when her powers went all wacky and caused it to explode.

Meanwhile, Liz has spent the whole episode trying to keep Rosa safe from Helena, and is trying to comfort her here by talking about Helena's sobriety.

But--Rosa stole Helena's pills, so she knows Helena is not sober, and she doesn't tell Liz that.  Why? To protect her.

At some point these two should probably stop keeping secrets to protect each other and start actually sharing what they know.

Kyle stitches himself up.

Steph quoted in this scene:

"I was up in the gallery contemplating American downfall thanks to progressive socialism."

"People tend to bail when things get real. I'm not into that."

Cameron's car was impounded a couple hours away.

Max is turning in his badge and gun and is turning down desk duty to search for Cam.

Isobel and Michael's discussion at the Pony:

"Do you think that Noah chose me because I was already broken?"

"I think you are the only one of us who ever keeps it together."

"I'm serious, Michael. The night that drifter attacked me, why am I the only one who started blacking out? I mean, Max literally murdered a man, but I'm the one who breaks?"

"You were traumatized. We were kids. At that age, trauma gets etched on to your soul."

"But what if it's not in my soul? What if it's in my DNA? Look, my whole life, I've played Stepford wife, because I thought that's what I was supposed to do. But...I need to understand myself now. I need to know where I'm from.  And if I don't know who my biological parents are, how am I ever gonna know who I really am?" 

"What are you saying, Iz?"

"I know that we said we shouldn't look into the past, but…"

"It keeps pulling you back. Me too. I spent my whole life thinking I'd build a ship and blast off into the ether. And then the minute I decide to leave that all behind and focus on this good thing in front of me, I'm sucked back in. Maria's family was experimented on at Caulfield. I need to find out more so I can find a cure for her illness."

Rosa takes one of her mom's pills. 😭

MUSIC:

1. Cactus Groove "This World"

2. Shelly Fairchild "Drive"

3. Mathis Hunter "Mrs. Vinegar"

4. Big Stone City "Good For Zero"

5. Big Stone City "Way Down Below"

6. Selena "Bidi Bidi Bom Bom"

7. Elizabeth Moen "Best I Can Do"

8. Wagons "Keep Coming Back"

9. AG "Where Is My Mind" (Pixies Cover)

[urbanguerilla]

I’m intensely disliking She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. Here’s why.

I really don’t like this show! Not because of the animation or the LGBTQ or any of that. I actually think the design is cute and I'm totally into the Moebius (Jean Giraud) homage. And I think it's great that LGBTQ stuff is being mainstreamed and normalized through various mediums. I also never watched the original, so I'm not in any way emotionally invested in the show. My childhood is not ruined. 

No, it's the writing! My God! The characters are one-dimensional. Their motivations are absurdly dumb, the heroes are incompetent and the villains are annoyingly smug.

First of all, take She-Ra. She's supposedly a super being, a First One, but gets her pathetic ass handed to her in just about every single episode. A multi-handicapped squirrel could beat her up with one paw tied behind its back. I've now watched her get kicked around and outwitted by Catra for 3 seasons straight, but she also gets herself pummeled by every other minor side character in the show. In the episode "Roll With It" (SE2:EP4) she gets completely walloped by Scorpia, who owned her butt in 10 seconds using just one claw. In "Huntara" (SE3:EP2) she's taken down by Huntara like it's nothing. I’ve lost count of how many times one of the villains (mostly Catra) effortlessly took The Sword of Protection away from her. Any episode now she'll get thrashed by Kyle. 

This is the heroine? Seriously? What the hell is the point of her magic sword and She-Ra transformation when she can't do shit? She's the absolute most incompetent and useless character on the show. And it's named after her!!! 🙄 

As for Catra, everyone, including the feeble-minded Adora/She-Ra, is constantly outsmarted by this smugly superior and insufferable cat chick, who somehow always knows everything and is always 10 steps ahead of everyone and never let's anything rattle her or surprise her or outfox her. Take one example (of which there are MANY) in SE3:EP3 "Once Upon a Time in the Waste"; In the previous episode we followed Adora, Glimmer and Bow in the Crimson Waste. Here they narrowly escape all the dangers of the environment. Sand snakes, lethal plants, quicksand and the natives. The Crimson Waste is a dangerous place and our heroes almost die there several times. In the next episode Catra waltzes into the Waste, arrogantly laughs at everything they throw at her, spends about 5 minutes there and then becomes queen of the whole place. This is just about the dumbest goddamn writing I have ever seen in my life. And of course, Adora is yet again again again again outwitted and defeated by this Mary Sue-ish antagonist for whom no opponent is too strong to defeat and/or trick in a matter of seconds. 

Or let's talk about Entrapta, who is converted from good to evil in a matter of seconds because she's a moron without any moral compass or critical thinking. Her story arc is pretty much the dumbest thing I have ever seen. It make's zero sense. She joins an evil army because she was "abandoned" during a raid in which she flails around like some ultra-ADHD basket case and then hides in a vent, waiting to be found? COME ON! And of course the all-knowing, all-powerful Catra figures out - in mere moments - exactly what buttons to push on this person who she has never met before, because… well because she's Catra and she can do anything the writers of this nonsense need her to do for the sake of plot convenience. 

Yeah. Plot convenience! There's a lot of internal rule breaking on this show. A lot of inconsistencies. Like that episode (I don't remember which one exactly) where Hordak threatens Shadow Weaver, telling her that he gave her her magical powers and that he can take them away anytime he likes. Then later in the same season, we get Shadow Weaver’s backstory in which she's a powerful sorceress who wants to fight the Horde. So no, Hordak did not give her her magical powers, but I guess the writers conveniently forgot that for the sake of the plot. Yes he gave her access to the Black Garnet, but long before that happened, she was one of the most powerful sorceresses in Etheria. She single-handedly defeated the Council in Mystacor without Hordak’s help. 

Or when Huntara says she knew Adora was a Horde soldier because of her training. Adora is WEARING A HORDE UNIFORM! She's been wearing a Horde uniform since the first episode!!! It's literally been used as a vehicle for conflict, like when she gets attacked and chased out by a mob in Bright Moon in the third episode of the show (on a side-note to that, isn't it odd she hasn't changed her outfit? Are there no tailors or clothing stores on Etheria?) 

Or how the Sword of Protection comes and goes. Like you see Adora walking around without the sword all the time and then suddenly she pulls it out of nowhere. That's a minor nuisance, but still it adds to the general sloppiness of the show. 

All that said, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power does have a few redeeming qualities when it pokes fun at its own characters (except Catra who, along with Hordak and Shadow Weaver, is rarely funny, if ever) and throws around various pop culture references (which sadly happens less and less as the show drags on). There's admittedly some genuinely funny moments and jokes and a lot could be redeemed if it focused more on the fun and less on everything that sucks. 

The show utterly fails whenever She-Ra faces off with Catra & Co. It makes zero sense that Catra can take out Adora in her She-Ra form, using just her goddamn claws! It wouldn't even make sense for her to be able to take out Adora in her Adora form, since Adora was the Horde Force Captain and superior in fighting skills to all the rest. But for dramatic purposes, all that is forgotten. She's weak as Adora and hella weak as She-Ra. And that's why this show fails in general, because the conflict between She-Ra and Catra is the nexus of the whole thing. If that doesn't work, the rest doesn't either. 

People will argue that IT'S A SHOW FOR 10 YEAR OLDS as if that's an excuse. There's a lot of good stuff made for 10 year olds that doesn't come with all the sloppy plot holes and lazy writing of this series.

[kadyshackkk-blog]

Final Reckoning Episode One Review plus a little info from seasons past.

Hello World! Mtv’s Hit The Challenge Returned Tuesday July 10, 2018 at 9pm! This season is “the end of the challenge as we know it”. Which as of right now I’m calling total b.s. since well mtv the last few season has been “recreating” older seasons ie; The Challenge Invasion of the champions, a very sad and terrible attempt to recreate the iconic The Ruins. Then we went into Dirty 30, the longest season in existence and a horrible rip off of Free Agents which in my opinion was the last great season of the show. In the dirty 30 we had something called the purge aka lets fuck Darrell over and allow a bunch of idiots to run the show. Yes I am still bitter because Darrell was robbed out of a title that season and instead our winners were a racist and an anti feminist douche lord, I mean Camila and Jordan. Then we slide into Vendettas after that tragic second season of Champs V stars, which we won’t even talk about since it was a bunch of d list celebrities who i didnt even know and well the terrell owens aka the biggest bitch in the nfl. Moving along, on Vendettas we received a much needed invasion of new people from big brother and mtv uk! Be warned I have never watched mtv Uk shows or any big brother so I had zero idea who these people were but I was excited to see them! We also got from season 5 of are you the one Kam, Eddie, and Alicia. I loved that season of ayto and the people they chose to come onto vendettas made total sense. But what didn’t make any sense at all was the poor get rid of eddie they did. Now I will only say this once and the source that told me this is very credible since he was on their season of ayto he also doesn’t like either person involved however he dislikes eddie more. Simple fact is Alicia Lied, plan and simple. There was never a restraining order or anything of that nature. You can look it up online its public information in every state. Moving on from that, the additions from the uk were all very attractive, and before you gasp and say even Kyle?! Yes even Kyle , I feel like he looks better in person then he does on tv. The fights that season we’re beyond annoying . This was my face anytime Kailah or nicole spoke or were on my tv screen  

I give them both a chance every season they are on but they always make me regret giving said chance. The luggage throwing incident pissed me the fuck off. & Before you all go WeLL cArA dID iT To JOrdAn guess what she put a waterproof bag of his clothes in water omg get over it. Jemmeye Kailah & Britni Ganged up on kayleigh because of a rumor about her and bananas that Devin started to get Johnny thrown into elimination. It was not okay, it is never okay to touch someone elses belongings ever. I do not care, her stuff was broken and none of the actual apologized for it. 

Now for what you came for my review of the Challenge Final Reckoning Episode 1

First off I was hoping this season was a team season sadly it was just a rip off of the Rivals series which was only decent for rivals 1 and 2. Rivals 3 was ridiculous and a waste of time and energy. In the beginning we see everyone show up and Tj is all like guess what your partner is buried and you have to find them! oh and the last two teams will be sent home ending their time in south africa. Me as a view knowing damn well tj is full of shit 

We see Zach dig up his partner Amanda first. Listen I was very excited to hear that Amanda was coming back this season! I really was until all the twitter beef with cara, and unless you’ve been living under a rock you know exactly what I am talking about. (hint him and amanda won the challenge wooooooooh)

Here is everyones partnerships.

Zach & Amanda; Their beef seems a little forced since it’s about Amanda “making up” lies about jenna that even jenna confirmed was true. This team will go far if Zach learns how to work well with women.

Angela & Faith; I honestly don’t understand their beef, really over tor’i really. irrelevant ass team. Angela doesn’t have that same energy she did with Alicia when it comes to Shane and Kam. They won’t go far unless someone (cough cough angela sleeps with someone in power, pulling a veronica in the ruins when she hooked up with my favorite toothbrush twin evan.)

Dj Bald I mean Brad & hair plugs pathological liar I mean kyle; THIS TEAM MAKES ZERO SENSE YALL DEADASS MADE SOME SHIT UP. UHM HELLOOO DARRELL TAYLOR DID NOT WHOOP THAT ASS ON THE RUINS FOR ZERO REASON. Like mtv please stop calling kyle , he literally makes me want to stab him daily.

Cara & Marie; Listen these two have serious dislike for each other over a fucking tweet cara liked & it makes sense they are together. I honestly think this team will do well if Marie Actually fucking tries which i think she will. Tbh marie did campaign to be caras Partner.. However I feel like we as viewers deserved a coral cara team. Those two are both very strong women who need to work out their issues and become civil because I personally love them both.

Ct & Veronica; An og team, ct called v weak but she won more daily challenges then the majority of the girls on dirty 30 . A team to actually fear if they try and win 

Derrick & Tori; Yasssss my boo derrick is back!!!!!! Don’t tell tyler but i adore derrick and think hes amazing. I really like tori as well but her taste in men is just as questionable as mine. Back story tori cheated on derrick with jordan. therefor they don’t like each other.

Bananas & ??? : THIS LITERALLY COULD BE ANYBODY. I’m hoping its sarah so he can break his curse and retire because honestly no one can touch his record unless Landon came out of retirement or if production doesn’t keep fucking over darrell

Joss & Sylvia the sheep; Joss is Hot , and he voted sheep into the elimination and she got mad. damn well knowing she would’ve done the same thing. they do great.

Kam & Melissa; I love this team, this “rivalry” started over a misunderstanding I’m hoping they do well...

Natalie & Paulie; I don’t care enough to waste my time

Nelson & Shane; I’m actually started to like nelson, my dislike for him comes from my loyalty to tyler.. I love shane he is the sassy gay bff that I need in my life. This team will do well if nelson and shane both keep themselves in check

Mama Day & Jozea; I’ve never watched big brother but this team is by far my favorite big brother pairing, I follow both on twitter and they make me laugh daily. underdogs i stan

Britni & Chuck; The hotmess express team. Clearly still feelings there, chuck sucks for what he did to her, they will need to find a way to get past their issues

Jenna & Jemmeye; One of the best moves in challenge history caused this feud. they will do well, jemmeyes brain and jennas brawn.

Kailah & Kayleigh; Failah likes to bully others kayleigh was her victim last season. they’ll probably be out pretty early..

Now to the results of the challenge

Amanda and Zach won.

I’m not to sure about the rest of the order except for the fact Day & Jozea came in last but before jem & Jenna and Chuck & britni.

it was chucks fault him and brit lost 

it was jennas fault her and jem lost

but was anyone really in shock

So then we hear bananas yelling for help since his partner left due to family emergency everyone goes digs him up and if it was up to me he wouldve been sent “home” and not brit and chuck since they almost beat day and jozea.. after they get bananas hoe ass out tj announces that amanda and zach are able to send another team home! And out of all the teams these two dumb asses pick day and jozea. like uhm helllooooooo!!! ya’ll deadass had the chance to send send strong teams home... I can’t the stupidity of these two i can’t. SO  then the three teams leave and “go home”. Everyone goes to the house and already a fight breaks out between shane and angela, over a fucking shelf. Homegirl didn’t have the energy with shane like she did with Alicia , but we already knew she was a fraud. Then cut to outside where Joss and amanda are already flirting with each other. I will give credit is due, Amanda is a beautiful girl but has a very ugly soul and joss is very smart to hookup with her, camera time is everything and why not hook up with one of the most dramatic cast members ever. Cut to Syliva saying this could go great for her alliance or terribly for her alliance at least shes smart. The Que the amanda and joss makeout session. Then we cut to bananas cara and hair plugs talking about cara and kyle. Everything out of kyles mouth is a lie and garbage. Kyle states hes gonna sleep with other people and caras like cool whatever . The cut to faith and hairplugs making out, then faith gets into hottub and johnny being johnny brings it up in front of cara, and cara pulls a queen move by being like if he doesnt want me im not gonna wait around. boy bye best choice shes ever made. Then baby girl proceeded to go into a room and make herself look bad by trying to get at paulie. Like oh no baby what is you doing go to sleep and leave him alone..

Then we cut to the best part of the night in my opinion, first we see melissa walk in and try to be civil with kailah, failah wants zero part in it but melissa still tries because melissa wants to be nice then failah pushes melissa and melissa molly whopped her then they were pulled apart 

Everyone but kailah stans on twitter 

Then the teams who were “sent home” arrive at the redemption house and tj explains some shit i wasn’t paying attention because i didnt care at that point 

Then they go to the photoshoot day and Tj shows up which is never good..

Tells melissa and kailah they are both out ..

Now we dont know kam and kayleighs fate, we find out next week..

Over all this episode was awesome , the cliffhanger was needed , we had a fight some hook ups and a twist.

this season will be interesting to say the least.