#major crimes s6

[feministsouthpark]

South Park Filler Guide - Season 7

Link for Season 1  Link for Season 2 Link for Season 3 Link for Season 4 Link for Season 5 Link for Season 6

The classifications are CANON (an episode with major storylines present), LORE (in which we get significant backstory or world building, but could be skippable)  and FILLER (completely skippable episodic storytelling, not connected to overarching story arcs)

PLS my analysis will have spoilers, if you’re a first time viewer, just scroll to the bottom and read the list and only read full text if you are familiar with the content of the show already! Some of you will be like: "Last time you cared so much for production order, what happened with that?" And to that I respond: "Trey and Matt realized that Cancelled would be a great season premiere, and by the time they got to I'm a Little Bit Country, they already had enough time to change it a bit to make that one the 100th episode special. But it won't matter anyway, since if you follow my list, you won't see either!" S7E1 Cancelled is LORE

The revelation that the main characters' home planet is just part of a simulation would be for sure a huge canon reveal, wouldn't it? But in South Park it's just another schoolday. And everything is forgotten by the end. S7E2 Krazy Kripples is CANON

Why, you may ask, and it's a simple fact really. Jimmy happened. He was supposed to be a one-shot in S5, but he was so good of a character, that he returned. And in S6 he returned again and again, having retconned as a South Park citizen and now we finally meet his family AND a major status quo shift happens, where he is now good friends with Timmy. Also, no way to explain around this... Saddam is somehow back from heaven. S7E3 Toilet Paper is CANON

Yes, you heard it here first, folks. After S6 ended, Kenny is back as the fourth friend, but the friend dynamics have changed quite a bit. And since Cancelled is pretty much an episode of lost memories, this is the one to fill the bill. Good boy Kyle and antagonist Eric are the two end point of the spectrum now, and expect Stan and Kenny to be either indifferent or torn between them. S7E4 I'm a Little Bit Country is FILLER

No 100th episode celebration in my guide! Well, maybe later, we see what our 100th canon episode will be. As for now, USA is being the USA and the kids did their homework. S7E5 Fat Butt and Pancake Head is CANON

One of the most interesting characters in the series is Mitch Conner. Not just in the series, he's an anti-hero like no other. And unlike many famous grifters and con-mans, he's disguised as a child's hand! S7E6 Lil' Crime Stoppers is FILLER

While Broflovski may be a good cop, he won't stay one for long... Imagine if Trey and Matt's original season 7 plan was in action (They wanted Kenny to stay dead and the boys would replace him with another character for every half season), if Tolkien was in this one with them it would be super canon, as it stands now... It's the fillest fillering to ever fill, the void between Barbrady and Yates. S7E7 Red Man's Greed is FILLER

For an episode the town faces an epidemic, in which they only have a 98 percent to live! I also really liked the scene with the four boys grouping with Butters, Tweek, Jimmy and Timmy, basically their closest friends as of now, and I bet Alex did like that too. S7E8 South Park is Gay is LORE

Kyle has trouble following fads and Herbert wants to stand out from the crowd. The fad helped Craig and Tweek to express themselves while the other boys were just trying to be popular. Crab people exist as an actual menace, however later they will be relegated to fantasy jokes. S7E9 Christian Rock Hard is FILLER

Harrison Yates appears as an FBI agent, but I'd honestly consider it of early bird cameo, not a significant story detail. S7E10 Grey Dawn is FILLER

Elderly drivers will still seldom show up. S7E11 Casa Bonita is FILLER

Doesn't seem to have much consequences. Although the Kyle-Eric-Butters dynamic is interesting to see! S7E12 All About Mormons is LORE

LORE by technicality! Joseph Smith is a member of the Super Best Friends, and this is his origin story. Gary and his family disappears as a filler family should, so this was a though one. S7E13 Butt Out is CANON

Look, Rob Reiner will be a huge part of a villain organization 7 seasons later, so while he is defeated this time, he will return! S7E14 Raisins is CANON

This is the episode that introduces the goth kids and Stan's friendship with them (something that will matter in the long run), Raisins and my favorite character ever, Harriet Biggle! Wendy also breaks up with Stan and starts dating Tolkien! S7E15 Christmas in Canada is CANON

We learn of Ike's biological parents and if that's not enough, the boys defeat Saddam Hussein for once and for all (who went through hell and heaven back to Earth). And there's the elephant in the room. Scott. Answer A: He's the antagonist of Terrance and Phillip, so their spin-off episode was extremely important canon material! Answer B: All the Canadians are friendly expect for one dude named Scott, who happens to be a stand-in for the Wicked Witch. If you ask me, the second answer is funnier, and I'll stand by it.

SPOILER-FREE RUNDOWN

Again, CANON means you should watch it, FILLER means you can skip it, LORE is somewhere in-between, any episode with the LORE label will have an explanation that helps you decide if you should include it or not. S7E1 Cancelled is LORE* S7E2 Krazy Kripples is CANON S7E3 Toilet Paper is CANON S7E4 I'm a Little Bit Country is FILLER S7E5 Fat Butt and Pancake Head is CANON S7E6 Lil' Crime Stoppers is FILLER S7E7 Red Man's Greed is FILLER S7E8 South Park is Gay is LORE** S7E9 Christian Rock Hard is FILLER S7E10 Grey Dawn is FILLER S7E11 Casa Bonita is FILLER S7E12 All About Mormons is LORE*** S7E13 Butt Out is CANON S7E14 Raisins is CANON S7E15 Christmas in Canada is CANON *If you wish to know why we are here on this planet **If you want to see Craig talk game before coming out officially ***For Joseph Smith backstory Is this the start of a mostly episodic era?

CANON counter:

S1: 9 out of 13  S2: 3 out of 18  S3: 6 out of 18  S4: 10 out of 17  S5: 8 out of 14  S6: 11 out of 17 S7: 6 out of 15

Overall: 53 out of 112

[thegoddamnfeels]

Omg hi! @cinnamonbunsinmyhairr 👋🤭 Thank you for tagging me in lol

Tag Game: nominate 9 people you would like to get to know better

Last Song: Rock Bottom (Hailee Steinfeld, DNCE) A banger to sing in the car as loud as possible!!

Currently Watching: I am also watching Major Crimes (I'm on S4 rn and grow ever more fearful as S6 approaches)

Three Ships: Sharon Rador/Brenda Leigh Johnsin (The Closer), Katherine Janeway/B'Elanna Torres (Star Trek: Voyager), Jane Rizzoli/Maura Isles (Rizzoli & Isles)

Favorite color: Purple (lavender is pretty but I love the deeper shades, especially when they're almost mistaken for black)

Currently consuming: Scrambled eggs! (Eggs are one of the best foods 😌)

First Ship: Dana Scully/Fox Mulder (The X-Files)

Relationship Status: Single and lowkey jealous of your situationship lol

Feel free to participate or not!

@telemiel @the-frankenman-writes @lavenderknivess @ofhouseusher @oh-mydarling @madamairlock @king-shit-thembo @weemssapphic @readingtheentrails

(Also, sorry if you've already been tagged)

[kurtsascot]

💛+💔? –hevanderson

💛: What is a popular ship you just can't get behind, and why?

i know i should stan brittana instead of klaine i know this entire blog is a lesbian crime but i am who i am and i will not apologize for it. i dont like the mean lesbian thats biphobic stereotype and i dont like how brittany is glee’s only canon bisexual and has also slept with everyone 😀 not to mention the sex tape thing…. idk. i get why brittana resonates with people and it sucks the show didn’t prioritize that relationship but bc it wasnt prioritized i just dont care in general. i like the IDEA of them more than i like how they are in the show.

💔: If you had to remove one major character from the series, who would you choose?

omg theres so many 😍😍😍 ryder GONE, jesus dreadlock kid GONE, buzzed-cut boring s6 gay kid and finneas’s character DOUBLE GONE, aaaand marley’s on thin fucking ice unless she and kitty make out 😍

[raymondebidochonlifechoices]

So, RAS Nightmare Child gave EW this first glimpse into Rvd’s next season and, yes, it’s exactly what you expected!

In season 5, when Riverdale implemented a seven-year time jump, there was talk of tearing down the series' high school sets. "It didn't feel right," showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa tells EW. Cut to season 7, and suddenly, those sets are back in play in a major way.

And by ‘suddenly’ we mean that they were the main sets for the whole of s5, when everybody became a high school teacher and very important in s6, when the school’s newspaper became the town’s main news outlet.

“Every season we explore the tropes of a specific genre, be it supernatural, be it pulp, be it crime. This year our genre is the 1950s, so we’re in dialogue with the American myth of what the 1950s were versus the reality.”

You heard it here first, folks! The 1950s are *a genre*. Hey, older relative! Did you know you used to live in a genre? When did real life start? Are you even real now? Am I real?

Although Aguirre-Sacasa says the "essence" of each character is the same, there will be some big differences. For starters, Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes) is not a New Yorker. "In season 1, Veronica arrived from New York, and in the 1950s, she's arrived from Los Angeles" […] She's still an outsider and a socialite, very different from everyone else."

Yeah, this is completely, absolutely, totally different from s1!Veronica! Ah! These “fresh” stories! So many s5!Ted vibes ...  Will a nostalgic tear roll down my cheek? Sadly, no.

And Archie isn’t quite the same teenager who once went toe-to-toe with a bear. “Archie feels much more innocent than we’ve ever depicted him on Riverdale,” Aguirre-Sacasa says. “When we meet Archie here, he is a clean cut, 1950s teen.”

Yeah, you guessed it! Archie will be even more obnoxious than before! If s1!Archie was GOOD™, s7!Archie will be THE BEST™! It wasn’t easy to surpass his s5 post-war hero status or his s6 literal man-of-steel godliness but we, the writers’ team, succeeded! Cheers!

“It’s been a great way to get back to basics, which is the kids in high school discovering themselves, the kids having their first times. We can discover these moments or revisit moments that we’ve explored in the past in a completely different context.”

Which is another thing we have never done before. Certainly not in the beginning of s5 (7y time jump). Absolutely not in the end of s5 (Hiram’s bomb). Definitely not when the universes merged in s6b (and the Devil visited Riverdale). This is unquestionably the very. first. time. we are revisiting pivotal moments in a different context. #PleaseWatchTheShow!

And then there’s Jughead, the only character aware that something has gone very, very wrong. “The first episode is Jughead’s story,” Aguirre-Sacasa says. “It’s him asking, ‘What do I do with the fact that I’m the only one who remembers our lives before the comet hit?’ And that gets resolved at the end of episode 1.

Ep1!Jughead is the narrator. Got it!

"Something very, very dark happens at the end of episode 2," he teases.

Dark?! In Riverdale?! No shit! Nobody is expecting that! (1 Riverdollar says the lighting is going to by abysmal too …)

“The biggest struggle is our characters trying to live authentic individualistic lives during a time period where that was really hard to do.”

Unlike our previous seasons, where extreme poverty/homelessness, marginalization, a bunch of serial killers and the most abusive parents imaginable (often the same people as the serial killers) allowed our characters to flourish.

… does that mean Riverdale's final season might be its most tame? Perhaps "tame" is the wrong word. "It's probably, weirdly, our most grounded season," Aguirre-Sacasa says.

I think that’s code for low(er) budget but -hey!- I might be wrong!

But no matter what time period Riverdale exists in, viewers can expect there to be music.

…

…

…

You must be fucking kidding me. 🫠🫠🫠

[ourladyofmaplemurder]

The Darkness in Riverdale

I've been thinking a lot about the darkness in Riverdale lately. It's an important topic from the very first episode until now. There is so much talk about the battle between light and darkness in that town. It's explicit and constant in season two, but it's everywhere, really. Now, the nature of "darkness" should be more deeply examined to be sure, but let's just boil it down to murder right now. So, I started to think. Where does the darkness come from? The answer is actually quite simple: The Blossoms. Every single major "darkness event" has the Blossoms at its core. S1: Jason Blossom's murder at the hands of his father, Clifford Blossom. S2: The Black Hood (Which we later learn was partially orchestrated by Penelope and also the Coopers are just Blossoms with another coat of paint.) S3: Penelope Blossom is a rampant local terrorist and serial killer with a flair for the dramatic. That's the Gargoyle King arc. S4: This one is interesting because the main plots have no actual murders in them. Jughead is alive and Jelly Bean doesn't actually kill anyone...BUT YOU KNOW WHO DOES? Toni because she's in bed with the Blossoms. (And Veronica, but the Lodges are allowed to be a little fucked up as a treat.) S5: The Mothmen are Blossoms. S6: Percival is a "descendant" of General Pickens who is responsible for many crimes and was also HIRED by the Blossoms to eradicate the Uktena people. Would he even have been there otherwise? (I used air quotes because like, isn't he an immortal wizard? But that was in an AU, where lots of things were different, so maybe he is a descendant in this timeline? I don't know. I feel insane when I think about this.) So, Clifford is DEFINITELY at the heart of whatever is happening in the 50's. Trust and believe. He may be orchestrating. At this point, that's where I'd put my money. Though, to be fair, Riverdale is notoriously unpredictable. What does this mean for Cheryl? Is she truly cursed as she thinks she is? Are the writers doing a slight variation on Blossoms 666 that has always been a thing, but never explicitly stated? Was her sacrifice to unsuccessfully save them from the comet enough to absolve her of her family's sins once and for all? Is Archie the vessel for good even though he resembles the Blossoms? Would this not make Jughead the most likely candidate for Good's paragon?

(I know Tabitha is the town's guardian angel, but she only just got here in S5, and I'm thinking whollistically here.)

[mattzerella-sticks]

I wonder if Athena finally putting to bed the case that inspired her towards a career pursuing justice will now push her onto the path for her overall endgame which, like her husband, is retirement.

Like how last season we had Bobby's second chance where he saved his daughter from the fire at the call center (putting to rest his regret at never being able to save his family from that fire back in Michigan), and now we have Athena wrapping up that last loose end that kept her in a sort of stasis, the questions they'll both be asking is: what next.

Bobby is very clearly thinking about his replacement, establishing an arc for Buck’s endgame I already laid out in an earlier post about Buck where he'll only become captain at the series finale. We keep seeing all of Bathena's special moments be put off due to tragedy and emergencies. We've also seen how the job (Athena's) has put pressure on her familial relations. I can definitely see Athena retiring at the end of this season to pursue another career that still has her pursuing justice, like maybe something in politics, maybe she goes to law school, or maybe starts a charitable organization dedicated to helping victims and families of crimes like that of Tanya (though just like at the end maybe she has to put the past behind her like Joanne is doing).

I wouldn't be against them retiring - no two people on this show deserve it more. However the show will definitely end when they do, however if they stagger it I can see it lasting for another season (Athena in six, Bobby in seven). Also, unlike all the other times it's been suggested Athena retire, the fact that it is HER decision will show this is the final conversation about it. Once Athena sets her mind to something, it gets done.

I think having a season of her then figuring out what's next for Athena will be good, although that will change the makeup of the show as we won't have a police officer character to be our police pov (not that it's necessary but those are structural parts of the show that carry into the spin-off with Carlos). 9-1-1 isn't a stranger to introducing new characters. I can see maybe Athena getting a new partner and having them bond with the 118 somehow (maybe pair them up with Lucy and Ravi).

I do think we are heading into the final arcs for all our main cast. Season 7 is when the contracts are up. Yes, this show could probably last past that but it would be a disservice to the story being told. Bathena's heading towards retirement. Hen is heading towards a doctor career. Buck and Eddie are figuring themselves out and how to be a family, which both of them have wanted (the concept of family and having people who choose them). The only people who have completed their journey, honestly, are Chim and Maddie. They're back together. Their arc ends with marriage which we are all betting happens in the s6 finale. Whatever they got planned for s7 it might be career-focused or more family-planning, or both.

Tl;dr tonight's episode not only put to rest a monstrous crime (and the execution of how the audience was told was spectacular), but also put to rest a piece of Athena that we can argue bookended a moment last season with her husband. This episode was key in helping guide Athena towards her endgame of retirement as all the major players in the show are now entering the beginnings of their final storylines as next year s7 will most likely be the last season

[leahsfiction]

I don't Podcast but is there one with characters that'd fit?

COMING IN HOT TO THE BLORBO MEME (NINE MONTHS LATER) bc im cleaning up my notes app. this was mostly written already so pls take it

--

ahh sure! thank you for giving me Options 😊. i think i'll do FatT s6: partizan

blorbo: valence! psychic wolf robot-furry religious scholar whose first major act onscreen was a war crime (running a false flag operation).

scrunkly: i... don't think i rly react to media in this particular way? uhhh phrygian i guess. they certainly have. Shapes.

scrimblo bimblo: GUR SEVRAQ especially the period when they were just parasite-ing it up in the walls of the Kesh winter palace and trying to manipulate Clem into being a sliiightly better ruler lsfjshfh. also when the cast retconned that he was in a box for a whole mission

glup shitto: im sorry i don't remember what this one means

poor little meowmeow: dahlia, the true ruler of all divinity skfjsjs sorry but there's a bigger girlboss in town than clem kesh.

horse plinko: in general, any character i love - but also. sovereign immunity

eeby deeby: any and all of the rich assholes (and there are SO many)

also tagging @chemiosmotic bc u sent in basically the same request but for the divine cycle overall and my memory of c/w and tm is Not good enough

[zalrb]

why is enzo irrelevant according to you?

from another post of mine that i wrote when season 7 was on air:

The way he’s written reminds me of university students who lost their way, like oh I thought I’d be good at psychology but I don’t like it let’s try sociology let’s try English let’s try math — that is like Enzo and his stupid storylines: let me be Damon’s bff oh that didn’t work let me try to find Maggie oh that didn’t pan out let me be have a thing for Caroline oh wait she’s involved in another romantic storyline let me be obsessed with destroying Stefan’s life oh that didn’t make any sense, let me get involved with Sarah oh that was a waste of time, let me fall in love with Lily oh wait she belongs to the Salvatore brothers, let me be obsessed with finding family now, LIKE PICK A FUCKING MAJOR ENZO. JFC. (and this is a current insertion: obviously characters have different storylines my issue with Enzo was that it felt like the writers were just throwing things at him to see what stuck and nothing stuck, nothing had narrative or emotional impact or weight, no follow through that led to an arc that influenced the show and the characters or Enzo for that matter in any real way)What would’ve made more sense is if Enzo was a partner in crime of Damon’s back in the day and he came to Mystic Falls to raise hell and saw that Elena had neutered Damon and was like, dude what the fuck? Remember when we used to be freaking beasts? Let’s run this town! And Damon goes through a crisis of identity or whatever. That would’ve been cool. But no.

a calmer reiteration

Anonymous asked:

I thought Enzo had potential when first brought on. He could've been a thorn in Damon's side because Damon left him. They quickly did away with that story because evry1 has to luuuvv Damon. They could've delved deeper into how his experience shaped him but nope there was no meat to his story. Then his horrible sl last season, y in the world would he be after Stefan? That's the kind of sense jp/cd have though NO SENSE non sense. From MM interview I think jp felt bad about how she screwed up his character, he also had another offer but they wanted him to stay and he did all for s6 mess. So knowing this jp probably thought putting Enzo with Bonnie would make up for it, trying to give him more of a relevant sl. I feel like she’s doing this with MD character Ric. She knows he’s irrelevant so she incorporated him into a lead’s sl. Enzo should’ve died in s5 and Ric should’ve stayed dead. If there were more competent ppl running tvd then they could’ve wrote a sl for both that made sense.

Ehh, I never cared for Enzo tbh and never thought he was relevant especially since I was angry that TVD introduced yet another character and was doing nothing with Matt and Tyler and Jeremy in season 5 or in season 6 and in season 6 they added Liv and Luke too, which is a TVD problem, they keep adding characters instead of flushing out the ones they already have so I always resented Enzo. If there HAD to be an Enzo, though, I would give him an entirely different storyline and instead of being the poor guy that Damon left to burn and years of torture blah blah blah (which was a storyline that served to make Damon more sympathetic instead of giving history on Enzo as a character) I would make Enzo an old partner in crime from Damon’s past and have him come back and be like, “Dude wtf happened to you? You’re whipped. I don’t even recognize you anymore, the Damon Salvatore I knew was a fucking BEAST” and would basically have Damon assess what his life has become, who he’s become, how he doesn’t feel like himself and get him to start all kinds of shit in MF but instead he was just a physical symbol of Damon’s guilt and conscience and blah blah fucking blah. And then in season 6, like him being OBSESSED with destroying Stefan was just, WHY, WHY ARE YOU HERE? this makes NO sense. he was just around doing shit that no one cared about. And yes, you’re right they incorporated him into a central sl this season to make him more relevant which is why they paired him with Bonnie even though that makes absolutely no sense and it’s a rush job. Alaric should’ve stayed dead in season 3 and done it. But Julie likes Matt so she brought him back. The only character Julie was adamant on killing was Bonnie in season 5 and Kat had to lay out all the reasons why Bonnie should return in season 6.

Like he'd been on the show for three seasons and I still don't really know who he's supposed to be as a character or what the point of him was other than to eventually become a consolation prize for Bonnie fans.

[isca-tide]

6x03 Oh, Nolan's somewhere that isn't LA. Guess he'll get another golden ticket again. No I'm not bitter. Lucy literally took out two major drug players in one op and nada. Not even a thank you. I mean she might've gotten a thank you but still. Anywaaay. Oh domestic Chenford. And Lucy looking gorgeous just...existing. Soft Tim is dangerous for my health. When he does that smile. And that soft voice. But oh he knows how her brain works. And he knows how to work her. He knows she can't resist a shower break. Oh Blair. Fuck you. Sincerely, my future knowledge. Oh Aaron. Honey. No. Lucy, my angel. Smitty, I'm still pissed at you for the pool. Tim, go take another shower and she'll take a break. Take one for the team. Yes, the beginning of Lucy and Celina friendship. Can we please get Celina a Lucy hug now?! Nolan, Bailey, can you be less obvious? Stop filming people it's creepy. But much as Bailan is my least favourite ship, I really don't hate them. And Bailey is growing on me. Tim don't tell your wife off in front of your new adopted daughter/sister. Also are the shops different now? The cage used to be right behind the driver's seat, right? And now it's been moved behind the passenger seat. Unless they can move it themselves? I just remember when Genny did a ridealong she was behind the cage. But maybe it's new cars. Nolan get your shoes off the bed! What is wrong with you people?! Bad enough having outdoor clothes on the bed. Luna, you sweetie. Chenford, stop losing your children! A night swim fully clothed with shoes on? Really? Grey you're such a pushover, you cutie. God Lucy really would be a great TO. Not permanently, just to help out. I do think she'll have some TO duties in S7, maybe not 'officially' but it suits her. Again, I want her to be detective and then she can have some patrol duties and some TO duties and still do short term UC work. Then they can make her captain or chief because, ya know. She's awesome. Um, Nolan, suspected murderer or not, I think this is an illegal search. Right? I don't think a bandage clip/claw gives you probable cause. He was watching her sleep. LOOK AT HIS FACE. HIS SMILE. So she obviously fell asleep in bed while studying and he just settled in beside her? AGGHGGHG. Harper, Lopez, maybe you should've gotten the boat to wait for you. Hey Primm, fuck you and your fragile male ego you piece of shit. God Celina is adorable. How have they got so many adorable sunshine people on this show? Primm you absolutely piece of shit. Don't be mad that Lucy found a way for you to get the position you wanted when you hadn't. Also, Lucy wasn't the one who secured the crime scene. She showed up to what should have been a secured scene! Again, if she'd shown up 5 minutes later, would it still be her fault? How can you look at this pure cinnamon roll and still be such a dick? Her record must be fucking exemplary, and you know she did amazingly on her written test. There really needs to be some sort of IA investigation into this prick. I need more revenge fics against this asshole. Sorry Celina, Tim's got a Lucy to go cuddle up to. I mean he probably wouldn't help anyway but still. Aaron and Celina, they're just getting their friendship back slowly. Why would you take him from us?! Oh Grey. Oh Lucy. My baby. God her face just kills me. Not even a pat on the shoulder, Grey?! That's your daughter! And now begins the ball dropping of literally anyone supporting Lucy aside from Tim. I refuse to believe it's in character. I mean it's canon so it is technically in character, but just...ugh. S6 is just the season of forgetting how much everyone loves and respects Lucy. Fix it in S7. I want apologies. I want grovelling. I want worshipping! Blood sacrifices! Or...maybe just some hugs. God he's so fucking previous. His smile. His eyes. Holding hands. The trophy jesus my heart. And that gifset of her parents saying she's a disappointment and Tim saying she could never disappoint him. Gift giving love language. Her laugh. Can I just stop watching here and pretend nothing else happens?

[madame-airlock]

While I'll never consider s6 as canon and to me Major Crimes ends with the s5 finale, MAYBE with the wedding, I feel like "You Let Me Walk Alone" by Michael Schulte (Germany's song at ESC 2018) would make a lovely tribute video to Sharon, from Rusty's, Ricky's and Emily's pov.

[themagicm]

“I’m her husband, and I have one of these.” 

[blossom--of--snow]

Anybody know if the S6 DVD will have a gag reel? Because I’m gonna be honest - that is 67% of the reason I haven’t canceled my preorder.

[esther-dot]

Differences and Similarities between book Jon and Show Jon? And which is your favorite? and Sansa too

I only read ASOIAF because I wanted to know the end of GoT (forgive the heresy, I was a show fan first!), and it was a strange experience, to say the least. I love show Jon and show Sansa, but they’re very different characters from their book counterparts. There was a general flattening of the characters when they were translated to the screen, although I suppose the major exception of that may be show Cersei, who I really enjoyed. But for Sansa and Jon, I don’t think the changes were thoughtful, even though I enjoyed the show versions.

I’d say for Jon the most glaring difference is his cunning. One of my absolute favorite Jon moments is when he used being a bastard to convince Mance of his sincerity.

"I left the next morning . . . for a place where a kiss was not a crime, and a man could wear any cloak he chose." He closed the clasp and sat back down again. "And you, Jon Snow?"         

Jon took another swallow of mead. There is only one tale that he might believe. "You say you were at Winterfell, the night my father feasted King Robert."    

"I did say it, for I was."

"Then you saw us all. Prince Joffrey and Prince Tommen, Princess Myrcella, my brothers Robb and Bran and Rickon, my sisters Arya and Sansa. You saw them walk the center aisle with every eye upon them and take their seats at the table just below the dais where the king and queen were seated."

"I remember."    

"And did you see where I was seated, Mance?" He leaned forward. "Did you see where they put the bastard?"                 

Mance Rayder looked at Jon's face for a long moment. "I think we had best find you a new cloak," the king said, holding out his hand. (ASOS, Jon I)

He is so smart to find a way to make himself relatable to Mance, to make it sound as if he shares Mance’s feelings of alienation, of willingness to desert because of his treatment. It’s such a fascinating moment too because Jon takes his bastardy, something that has given him immense pain, and uses it for the mission. His own pain becomes a tool. It’s shrewd, very quick thinking, it’s fucked up. I like it a lot.

We read that scene, we know how distraught he was during the feast, we know that this was not the norm, that he was beloved and accepted by most of the Starks, but the fact that this kid recognizes that feigning bitterness and resentment over it are the way to build a bridge between him and Mance, so clever. Jon has a very interesting psychology because even though he exhibits tenderheartedness and compassion throughout the series, he has a dangerous edge.

In the show he did some pretty dark things like hang Olly and nearly beat Ramsay to death with his hands (understandable), but these moments don’t seem to translate into his characterization as a whole and after s6, we’re meant to think Jon is guileless, merciful, and honor bound. Some of which is contradicted in the writing of the last two seasons, but the writers seem unaware of what they wrote. So even though it felt like we were being shown Jon had the capacity for more, we were also told he wasn’t, and I think that was an instance of wanting to set the stage for the finale while also wanting the audience to be shocked by it. Basically, we were being told two contradictory things for non-character reasons. Even so, I believe we were meant to register some of those dangerous vibes for show Jon and him throwing LF against the wall and threatening his life was meant to be the prep for him eventually killing another ally later on.

Anyway, I would say, book Jon is angry, has a lot of guilt and shame, he has this deep desire to be worthy because all of his life he’s had the “bastard” thing hanging around his neck telling him what he couldn’t have, would never be, would always be seen as, and I think the show has hints of these things but doesn’t focus on them. I was deeply touched when Sansa gave him a cloak that looked like Ned’s and told him several times he was a Stark to her, and even though we can see that it means a lot to Jon, the show doesn’t let it mean what it should, what it would to book Jon.

Of course, they also didn’t let being KitN mean much either because they couldn't figure out how to have a discussion about power that wasn’t black and white ie those who want it are bad and those who don’t are good. I think there were things pointing at book Jon in a few scenes, but it certainly wasn’t consistent. The biggest crime really might be downplaying what the Starks meant to him because the boy loves them. Show Jon does too, but book Jon is on another level. His love for the Starks combined with his shame over wanting Winterfell makes it clear he will never betray them. And his love for them + his anger at society at large makes me think there are no ends to which he wouldn’t go to protect them. Book Jon’s lines about bastard honor etc give you the sense that he is trying to redeem himself from some sin he didn’t commit (being born a bastard), which makes his decision to try to rescue Arya even more meaningful. In the show, he’s disillusioned and planning to leave the Watch and even though Sansa gives him purpose and acceptance, we don’t get the full weight of what he is willing to do for the Starks when they changed things. The show making the assassination about the FF was set up for his ending with them beyond the Wall, I suppose, but book Jon understood the practical reasons they had to be brought South of the Wall, while D&D really wanted Jon to be more of a humanitarian which is a really fucking weird choice when we think about how they wrote him in s7-8.

I love Jon and Sansa meeting at the Wall and Jon choosing to go with Sansa to fight for Rickon and Winterfell, but switching around Jon’s motivations and priorities was unfair to his character. They did that all along and I could understand it as modern audiences might not fully embrace the concept of honor and why this is such a struggle for Jon, but the better choice would have been for D&D to really hone in and maintain that thread in Jon’s story until the end because it was a major part of his ending. I think cutting that and juggling his priorities and downplaying his ruthlessness and anger were poor choices that made him a far less dynamic character. Book Jon feels…slightly unpredictable to me in a way that most heroes don’t, and D&D didn’t deliver on that. Although I still love show Jon, especially s6 Jon, but he’s a very different character from book Jon.

As for Sansa, well, it was an absolute shock to meet book Sansa because the way the fandom talks about her is so misleading! Book Sansa is very, very good. She has moments when she’s perfectly human followed by her thinking of the next person that strike me so forcefully considering the circumstances. 

His uncle's part went less well. The bride's cloak he held was huge and heavy, crimson velvet richly worked with lions and bordered with gold satin and rubies. No one had thought to bring a stool, however, and Tyrion stood a foot and a half shorter than his bride. As he moved behind her, Sansa felt a sharp tug on her skirt. He wants me to kneel, she realized, blushing. She was mortified. It was not supposed to be this way. She had dreamed of her wedding a thousand times, and always she had pictured how her betrothed would stand behind her tall and strong, sweep the cloak of his protection over her shoulders, and tenderly kiss her cheek as he leaned forward to fasten the clasp.    

The dwarf tugged at her a third time. Stubbornly she pressed her lips together and pretended not to notice. Someone behind them tittered. The queen, she thought, but it didn't matter. They were all laughing by then, Joffrey the loudest. "Dontos, down on your hands and knees," the king commanded. "My uncle needs a boost to climb his bride."         

And so it was that her lord husband cloaked her in the colors of House Lannister whilst standing on the back of a fool.                 

When Sansa turned, the little man was gazing up at her, his mouth tight, his face as red as her cloak. Suddenly she was ashamed of her stubbornness. She smoothed her skirts and knelt in front of him, so their heads were on the same level. "With this kiss I pledge my love, and take you for my lord and husband." (ASOS, Sansa III)

Sansa has to marry a Lannister, is forced into it, and although Tyrion tells her she can marry someone else, he wanted to marry her to get Winterfell. He’s the one getting something out of this, and yet it is Sansa, the victim, who considers his feelings and humbles herself. Tyrion resents her, blames her for not kneeling later, but I find this an extraordinary moment of kindness.

I read a lot of older books and she fits very much with those heroines, their naïveté, their compassion, their representation of ideals. Obviously, in this series she represents innocence, hope for the future, and is not being used as an instructional “here’s how to be ladies,” but she certainly feels like Martin took an archetype and then made her human. The residual, “she is the good thing, the pure thing” remains. In the world he created, there is terrible darkness, she is the light. I know that will make exactly zero sense to the majority of this fandom who don’t like her, but Sansa’s values, her compassion and bravery, those are things that will change the future, not more wars, not more death. The instances when she thinks she wants people to die and then regrets it, those are telling us how different she is from her world, that she believes in mercy. Many of us have written about how singing to the Hound shows how her mercy can conquer violence, and I think that indicates why Martin would make her queen--she is the kind of leader her world needs.

To me, show Sansa is all of this too. I got all of these things from her but far more subdued because D&D went with a...what I would describe as a modern teenage version of her in s1, rather than the very carefully controlled book Sansa. The line that always grabs me about her is that Sansa was a lady at three, and then you compare that sentiment with the Sansa we know, and see this isn’t entirely a matter of nature, this girl works and puts in immense effort into always being proper, being perfect, and I suppose most modern audiences have little appreciation for it because we’ve largely done away with strict societal etiquette, but when D&D misread Sansa, when they decided that aspect of who she is didn’t matter, I think it meant they wouldn’t be able to deliver on the promise of her character.

Sansa has accepted her role since she was a toddler, and it is her extreme discipline as well as her innate goodness that allows her to navigate her life as a hostage, and charm the hell out of people. Because we don’t have the benefit of being in her head in the show, they opted to take funny/cutting thoughts and put it into words, but that combined with their other choices meant that fans didn’t fully register her range or depth, her agency in her story, and fans found it easy to ignore that the story isn’t glamorizing the men who abuse her (the Hound, Tyrion, LF...) but about her strength in enduring, in surviving. I guess I can’t really blame this entirely on D&D when book fans do the same, but if you read book Tyrion’s thoughts about Sansa when they’re married and come away thinking he’s the victim... 😬

Personally, I never had any issue with her behavior, show or books. I enjoyed her throughout. I know lots of book Sansa fans hated the changes that they thought made her a brat or the way she evolved in the later seasons of GoT, how she argued with Jon/had quips aimed at LF and Tyrion, but I enjoyed it all. She was never free to be honest while a hostage, so I loved her arguments with Jon in s6 on. It was thrilling to see Sansa free, free to say what she wanted, free to do what she wanted. I understand the objections to the “girl bossification” of female characters, and in my fics I tend to write Sansa much more in line with book Sansa, and yet I ate up all of Sansa’s attitude in the show! Brace yourself for more heresy, but I hope she goes head to head (in sweet book Sansa’s more gentle way) with Jon when they’re reunited. 😈

I know courtesy is her thing, but it’s armor. It makes sense to me that it will slip when she’s with Jon as a contrast to Tyrion trying to pry it from her. It’s also described as a wall, and I want to see her share her feelings with someone, and while I’m sure there will be tenderness and understanding, I also think Sansa will have her own opinions, and I want her to feel safe enough to speak up. I want her to do so and Jon’s response be such that she feels she does not need to be so fortified.

For some reason, D&D attempted to delete most of the softness from her character in later seasons, and I think that was a huge mistake. It makes no sense that they think Jon who had killed a boy was a more innately compassionate person than Sansa, but they really liked the “Dark Sansa” thing. Unfortunately for them, Sophie still acted Sansa with emotional depth which counteracted their dumbfuckery. When I read some excerpts from the scripts, I realized GoT Sansa, so much of what resonated with me, was because Sophie loved Sansa, and she brought a much more interesting character to life than the one D&D had envisioned. Anther actress who was less attached to Sansa could have very easily delivered the brittle, cold Sansa antis have concocted in their minds because honestly, there was some of that in D&D’s version, but Sophie gave us a Sansa who cared deeply for those around her, who served her people and was completely loyal to them and her family--even when they did not return that loyalty. I don’t know if she read the book, or if it was simply the fact that she cared so much about Sansa that made Sophie infuse such pathos into her every scene, but there’s a hell of a lot going on in show Sansa, grief, longing, love, anger that was just so much fun for me to see in later seasons.

Book Sansa is far more naive, but she is very strong and fights so hard to resist the poisoning of her mind. I love how she pushes back against being molded by her mentors/captors in small, often silent, ways. I also love her romanticism, and D&D seemed to think that wasn’t necessary to the story at all, but stories and songs, the way they shape the individuals and the world are so important in ASOIAF, that’s a baffling take. I’ve always thought that Sansa’s attempt to let go of her naivete, her acceptance that no one will marry her for love, her bitterness that other girls still believe in the songs when she no longer can...it seems to me that is the precursor to her being at the center of her own song, her own love story, and even if it doesn’t end as happily as I would wish, I think the author has stripped all the delusions away only to return the things he took from Sansa to her. His message to her (and the audience) isn’t that it is wrong to want these things, only that, the real world, the real version of them, is complicated and painful. D&D seemed intent on punishing Sansa, as if they truly thought her desires were wrong, that she needed to be humbled, and I completely disagree. 

Show Sansa and book Sansa mean different things to me, I suppose, so I enjoy them in different ways. The book characters of both Jon and Sansa are a consistent vision with an interesting evolution, and I think they offer more to the genre than their show counterparts, so in that way, they matter more? The author is using them to say much bigger things than they are, D&D had no fucking clue by the end. But I’m attached to the show versions too, for who they were at their best, for who they were at their most entertaining, and for sentimental reasons that go beyond GoT, so I suppose I would say, they’re four different characters to me and I appreciate them all as such.

I love them all, final answer!

[strideofpride]

Kind of a dark train of thought but - reading that Dan trauma GG meta made something click into place for me. If we disregard the Dan-as-Gossip-Girl reveal as we’re all wont to do but still consider the rest of Dan’s actions in season 6, they actually do make a certain sense in light of the fact that Serena essentially committed a sex crime against him at the end of season 5. (Like I’m pretty sure filming sex with someone without their consent is 100% illegal by itself in NY, and then when you add in the fact that she got him drunk first likely knowing he wouldn’t have sex with her otherwise and also apparently held onto that video with the intent to someday use it as revenge porn… 😬) Specifically the Derena arc in the back half of the season - as rushed as it was, I actually completely buy Dan not only going back to Serena despite obviously not being over Blair, but writing that mean article. His reasoning in fact is explicitly to “show Serena he has power now too” and that he’s “not afraid to hurt her if she hurts him”, and while it’s presented as Dan wanting to be treated as Serena’s equal, I think it can also very much be read as Dan wanting to reassert “power” in a relationship where he had suddenly been made to feel extremely powerless. Like throughout the season Dan brings up the sex tape and his resentment towards Serena again and again clearly showing it was both still affecting him and a major driver of his actions (and somehow he’s supposed to be wrong for this?). I know it’s 100% not the story the writers were trying to tell, but I really feel like the most logical in-story explanation for Dan’s actions/sudden personality change in season six was as a response to trauma. (And I also think there’s a meta to be written about how Serena in 5x24 basically did to Dan what Georgina had done to her pre-season 1 [minus the dead guy obviously lol] which was like, one of if not the biggest traumas she ever experienced, but those thoughts are still percolating.)

I don’t know if NY had revenge porn laws in 2012, but yeah that’s exactly what it was. And I think what Serena did was a combo of what Georgina did to her (filming her without her knowledge with Pete Fairman), what Chuck did to Serena in the pilot (getting her drunk and isolating her), and of course, Serena’s original Nate crime (the bar at the Campbell Apartment).

I mean yeah, what you’re saying makes a lot of sense, although Dan was dealing with more than just the trauma of what Serena did to him. There’s the trauma of the way Blair left him, there’s the trauma of Nate seeming to not care that he’s hurting, there’s the trauma of his dad and Ivy when he gets back. There’s all the stuff that other anon had listed about what Dan had been through since losing Milo and Jenny and Vanessa. Like for Dan to turn to Georgina after everything she had put him through? Man clearly felt like he had no one left. And it’s really quite sad. But yeah, I agree. s6 evil!Dan really isn’t that evil at all. He’s just a hurt man thinking seeking revenge will fix him.

[aminta]

watching season 1 of better call saul is like wheeeeeeere is kim wexler. why is she so side characterified. she'll be in one 2 minute scene in an episode and the only thing she'll say is "dont break the law jimmy." meanwhile in s6 she'll be in the majority of the episode breaking as many crimes as she can think up and planning how to speedrun make herself worse

[ouatsnark]

The bad things we learned from Once Upon a Time

I have always felt it was important to criticize the bad while praising the good. Elevate the goodness above the evil. And when it comes to Once Upon a Time it is so important to point out the major flaws in this show because so many weak minded individuals have absorbed it as truth. And therein lies the problem with stories that glorify evil without justice. You can see this displayed in the Evil Queen and Rumpelstiltskin fandom so very well. They call names, threaten violence, twist truths and use real world issues as a weapon to silence opinions or facts that they do not like.

Once Upon a Time’s overall message was one of love, hope and forgiveness but at a closer look you’ll see the toxicity mixed within the stories. This post focuses on the negative because it so often framed as something positive... when it isn’t.

Regina Mills taught us that you aren’t responsible for your actions (if you’re a beautiful woman).

Which is one of the worse messages this show has to offer. “Evil isn’t born. It is made” became a popular catch phrase. Evil isn’t born but it isn’t made either. It is a choice. We all have a choice to make. And Regina made hers.

Regina blames her mother, Rumple, Snow, the Evil Queen and the book for making her the evil queen.

So if you have someone to blame and you can shed a few tears over your lost happy ending... congratulations! You get a free pass on all the horrible stuff you’ve done! You abused your child? No problem you can have him back! You destroyed a woman’s life? No problem you can have her total support even as you continue to belittle her and never apologize! This often won’t work in the real world so tread with caution here.

This of course only applies if you’re a beautiful woman who shows a lot of cleavage. This is evident because Regina never pays for her crimes & neither does Zelena, really, while everyone else does or is at least fully blamed for theirs with no way out. Even Cora is turned into a victim in the end.

1) Snow

Snow telling Regina’s secret is always thrown in her face vs blaming the true murderer Cora. Snow was a child being manipulated by an adult but this is never really touched on! It’s always Snow’s fault that Regina chose evil. 

Snow murders Cora, a powerful evil woman plotting to kill them all, and is vilified for it. This is never seen as something positive because it hurts Regina. I’m sorry, how is stopping a murderer plotting more murder a bad thing? Cora also has magic. So really the only option was to trick her. Maybe Snow’s motives for revenge makes it a little iffy but is it too much to ask the show to address the bigger issue instead of having a Regina pity party? Or for turning villains into victims?

The show also retconned the story to make Snow and David baby snatchers and they had to face their victims and make things right. Which if it had been Regina, the author would have been solely blamed for this. He did manipulate Snowing, after all. But they made a choice. The wrong choice. But the show actually doles out the correct punishment for the Charmings whereas it never did for Regina. Furthermore, if the show held everyone to the same standards as Regina then Snow and Maleficent would have become fast friends.

Snow put Emma into the wardrobe to give her her best chance. In S6 the show tries to absolve Regina’s role in that by showing the Charmings opening a door to a young Emma. And then you have Snow saying “we took so much from you, we can’t take Hook too”. They’re receiving the entire blame for Emma’s childhood and not once laying it at Regina’s feet. Because when they closed that door, it was still because of Regina’s curse. They couldn’t live their lives while they left others to be cursed (per Gold’s retconning in S6).

2) Killian paid for his crimes with his life and had to face his victims.

The last thing Killian wanted was to become a Dark One. He did not choose this. He feared he wouldn’t be able to resist the darkness. And when that darkness consumed him, it manipulated him to do things he never would have done otherwise. However, he fought it and won. Then did what Regina could never do. He died for everyone.

People will say “but what about S2 Regina when she sacrifices herself”. That was her kill switch. She wasn’t consumed by evil when she made it. She chose that of her own free will. And the only reason she didn’t go through with it is because Greg & Tamara had ruined her plans. If they hadn’t, everyone would be dead right now except Regina and Henry. That’s the problem! And she still lived.

She had another chance to sacrifice herself in S6 when they were up against her more evil half but she let the Charmings face her instead. That was just gross. If she was any kind of redeemed hero she wouldn’t have listened to them and sacrificed herself instead. But the Charmings were willing to sacrifice themselves. Because they are a good example of true heroes.

When separated from Emma, Killian fell into a dark place again and reverted back to his piratical ways. He shows true remorse for what he did. True heartfelt regret.

Then there is Belle

He’s been making things up to Belle since S3. He comforted after she had to force Rumple from Storybrooke in S4 and then again in S6 he faces the Dark One’s wrath to give her shelter. By the end she is counting him as a friend. And we actually see and understand why. He has shown regret and has treated her with respect.

To be honest the story of Killian being David’s father’s murderer was one of the dumbest stretches this show did and it’s obvious they did it for one reason. Regina couldn’t be the only one to kill one of Emma’s grandparents! It’s so stupid. But he was so torn up by guilt and when he goes to face David he doesn’t even get the chance to get the words out. He is forgiven because David acknowledges that Killian has changed.

YES everyone also acknowledges the change in Regina but where is it shown? Just in the fact that she stopped killing people and joined team hero for the sole purpose of getting her happy ending? She is treated with such kid gloves!

3) Dark Swan hurts Henry to get a tear to banish evil forever and Regina is allowed to throw that back in Emma’s face. Twice. So where are all the times characters bring up Regina’s actual abuse of Henry where she did so for her own selfish reasons cause she wanted to keep him all to herself & keep her curse going? Oh, right, that never happened because we’re led to believe that her actions were justified. 

REGINA NEVER FACES A VICTIM

Not without that victim become the villain or without being thanked for it. There was Percival who stabbed Robin instead of Regina which was all about Regina losing love again and not about the fact that one of her victims just lost his life trying to save everyone from the Evil Queen. His life didn’t matter. Only Regina’s. Hell, not even Robin’s because it was all about Regina’s happiness. 

And then Owen/Greg whose life was destroyed by her but we’re suppose to feel sorry for Regina because the Charmings plotted to give her what she deserved and she received a little justice from Greg. Yet she is allowed to throw Killian abandoning her to her victim back in his face without taking responsibility for what led to it in the first place! Amazing.

Again, Snow, because she’s vilified for Regina’s choices & even thanks Regina for it. She abused Henry yet he’s forced to tell her that “she isn’t a villain you’re my mom and I shouldn’t have gone for Emma” making himself the cause of everything. Emma is forced to thank Regina for torturing her. She makes it through the underworld without facing one person she killed.

This is because the show itself taught these people that Regina is to be pitied and everyone else vilified. Just see the whole Marian arc and the fact that Regina continues to blame Snow for everything in her life. Also, we see Regina getting awarded the “good” queen crown by her biggest victim.

May of her stans try to phrase this as “its about getting a second chance! Everyone deserves a second chance!” Never mind that Regina had many second chances including the time Snow locked her in the dungeon. She didn’t decide to stop killing until her choices were costing her the thing she wanted: Henry’s love.

Regrets and apologies aren’t needed if you’ve got a victim card

As mentioned above, Regina played the victim. The writing drummed up pity for Regina so most of her fans just nod along and say “poor Regina, everyone should be apologizing to her!” But that’s not how it works. It’s not how it should work. When you do something wrong, a good person shows regret and apologizes. You don’t see this from Regina. Oh sure she regrets her past but has anyone noticed that it is only in correlation with her happy ending? She doesn’t care about the lives she destroyed. She cares that it cost her her happy ending.

Regina teaches us that you can be called a hero and not regret destroying the lives of so many. She even proclaims at one point that she hates doing good. True change comes from the heart. Which means her whole journey as a hero has been for her own selfish gain: to get her happy ending.

Wish Hook didn’t have to apologize for trying to kill Killian & steal his happy ending as soon as he fabricated a sob story about finding a daughter he... misplaced? I mean I don’t know how you forget where a tower is but OK. I guess his stolen youthful appearance helped. He was just handed his life back. This wouldn’t have been so bad if there’d been a sense that he was really going to change and made a self-sacrifice but alas we get nothing.

Abuse & rape are okay if you’re pursuing your happy ending

Don’t believe me? Regina never paid for a single crime. She did not make one self-sacrifice that came from the heart. And she was handed her entire life back after she sent children to the blind witch to be eaten, committed genocide, raped a man for 28 years, destroyed Emma’s life and abused Henry.

Likewise, Rumple was able to get his happy ending in the end without truly becoming a better man. His relationship with Belle is an example of domestic abuse. He used her life as a chess piece for his own happiness. He emotionally abused her, manipulated her and even assaulted her. But as usual, the show did not address the obvious sexual assaults on Belle perpetrated by her husband.

While Zelena at least spends a little time behind bars for her crimes, she still gets away with rape and murder and in the end is rewarded with what she wanted: her daughter. She doesn’t express regret over any of it either. Just like Regina.

There’s also an issue with Neal who got an underaged Emma pregnant, left her to take the fall for his crime and then when it was convenient for him he arrogantly assumes she will take him back because he fathered her child. The fact that Emma repeatedly rejects him is such a good thing but then the show makes one fatal flaw. They deem a hero for bringing back his backstabbing father and then have the audacity of having Emma’s parents name her baby brother after her abuser. And Emma seems happy about it.

And as mentioned above, Wish Hook’s plot to murder Killian and take his place is overlooked and he is treated to a happy reunion with the daughter that he abandoned. Newsflash: if he’d succeeded & had had sex Emma that would’ve been sexual assault.

Victims should thank their abusers for teaching them about themselves

Regina never apologized but all of her victims sure apologized to her!

Emma was forced to thank Regina for torturing her when Regina killed WishSnowing. As if that was the only way to do it. And how often have we heard “heroes always find another way!” Just something else that doesn’t apply to Regina.

Wish Realm episode: Emma thanks Regina for orphaning her because apparently unless one faces adversity you’re just a weakling who kind of sucks?

At the beginning of Season 5 Regina steals Emma’s agency then controls her with the dagger. This hurts Emma. Emma tells her. But then ends up thanking Regina for doing it. Amazing.

Snow thanks Regina for killing her father, stealing her throne and trying to kill her because this taught her how to have hope. Disgusting. What Regina did wasn’t a good thing. Snow might have learned something from it but thanking Regina for her evilness isn’t doing anyone any good. Regina still couldn’t spit out a decent “I’m sorry” and even if she did so what? She’d split herself in two and magically drained some of the evil out of her at this point. It wouldn’t have been an apology that had come from a true place of regret and change. Magic brought it out. I’d be more impressed if this happened back in S4.

Emma was forced to grovel to Regina over saving a woman’s life. Emma trying to befriend Regina during this was irresponsible writing. Victims should not be groveling at the feet of their abusers. If any character in this show should have been begging for forgiveness and offering friendship it was Regina. But oh no. Regina is elevated to victim status over killing Robin’s wife while Emma is made a villain for saving her. Can we see how this is problematic?

Henry was forced to thank Regina for abusing him. “If I had never gone to get Emma, if I just lived under the curse with you, none of this would have ever happened. I thought I was alone. I-I thought you didn't love me. But I was wrong.“ - I mean I guess it would be OK for Regina to keep Henry and everyone stay cursed? I mean to hell with everyone else as long as Regina gets what she wants right? Whatever.

If your abuser says they want to change you must immediately forgive them and befriend them

OUAT sends the message that you MUST be friends with your abusers because they aren't responsible for their actions. They were forced to bring the woman who destroyed their lives into their family... despite her never apologizing & making them out as the villains.

If someone calls you an “idiot” you should accept it because that’s just who they are

Regina’s behavior is excused because the other characters never call her on it. This has led fans to this kind of thinking: 

“She’s the EQ not the friendly queen”.

So If someone calls you an “idiot” it doesn’t matter b/c that’s “just who they are” & you should accept their treatment as the heroes accepted Regina’s?

Congrats OUAT you’ve normalized bullying.

Did I miss any negative lessons?

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