#makes me very nervous to think about where they’re taking my girl in s3

[synthville]

truly, i will never understand why, in s1ep3, picard decided to give raffi—a whole alcoholic —wine when he went to try and talk her into working with him again. there is no way he isn’t aware of her past, given their history, but even so. she’s clearly having a rough go of it when the audience meets her for the first time and his immediate thought is ‘let’s break out the drinks’ ???? huh. what is the motivation behind that action. and it’s like the writers weren’t even aware of how callous he came off there (and in subsequent eps—clapping after the emmy thing like bro? her friend just told her to never contact her again this isn’t a win? read the fucking room!) because the way that scene plays out is so slimey, strange and maddening. like is he going for blissful ignorance or is he actually just that callous that he doesn’t give a fuck about her well-being? because he was giving ‘neglectful user who wants her behind him no matter the personal cost to her’ and it was nasty

[jamietxrtt]

episode three. SO MUCH IS HAPPENING.

GAY COLIN GAU GCCOLIN GAY COLIN CAY GOLK.NNNZNSFKDJNDSFJSDFNSEMFKJSF

THEY KISSED!!!! THEY KISSED ONSCREEN!!!! i knew we were gonna get gay colin from the filming spoilers but OH MY GOD. AN ACTUAL QUEER KISS. ON SCREEN. IN TEDLASSO. ASHDHASDFHDFSSMGHKJWRBGKRWGWREGNWR

so curious about who his boyfriend is??? why is he casually flying to dubai??

also the first time i watched this i mistook it for being jamie’s house and i was like HOLD ON HANG ON A MINUTE HOLD ON HOLD ON HOLD THE FUCKING PHONE

he looks so nervous when walking from the door to the car like he’s trying to hide from anybody else around but. babe you think they won’t notice your bright orange lamborghini??? like i think you have to be more worried about getting caught when ur IN the car not out of it

THE INTRO FAKEOUT ALSKJFLSDJGRKGJERG

“if my maths” roy nods “are correct” roy shakes his head. i think bc it’s supposed to be plural? i’m american idk

also!! roy encouraging ted with that little nod was actually really cute and sweet!!

OHHHHHHH ROY SAID COLIN’S A CHAMELEON. OHHHHHHH. see the first time i watched this i heard “colin’s a comedian” and i was like huh this must be some football terminology i don’t know. you call someone who’s a really versatile player a comedian? hm that’s a funny name. well football is wacky!

in s2 jamie calls roy a “grumpy old twat” and ted says “now i agree with the grumpy part, but those other two i take issue with.” now in s3 roy calls jamie a “fragile little bitch” and ted just says “yep that’s what i meant, thanks roy”. part of a pattern of ted defending roy but not defending jamie in the same circumstances-- which is honestly fair, i get why he’d like roy better, but it’s an interesting pattern to notice

ted calling higgins “higgie bear” :)

“fuck yeah, princess diaries!” reminds me of beard in s1 “fuck yeah, the gershwins!”

jamie literally physically getting pushed out by zava aww

also “come on, hurry up and get dressed, we don’t want to keep our newest teammate waiting!” smash cut directly to everyone being kept waiting by said teammate

ted referencing richmond VA made me laugh bc that’s the first thing i always think of when i hear richmond lmao

HEHEHEHEHE KEELEY CLEARLY HAS A BIT OF A CRUSH ON ZAVA. her sticking her hand straight out with the little “hii!!!!!” girl can’t get over those hot famous footballers can she

and SHANDY’s into him too. everyone is stunned by zava

except, it seems, rebecca… right after zava says “you are the glue” to higgins, she gets this look on her face like she’s realizing something… it made me think back to last episode, where she talked about how rupert had the ability to make you feel special, like you were chosen just because he deigned to talk to you, and how that made you addicted to his attention. i think she’s now seeing that zava’s doing the exact same thing-- he knows exactly what to say to make everyone charmed, to make everyone feel special. to make his approval the most important thing you could get. i think that’s why rebecca is one of the few who’s immune to his charm-- she’s had plenty of practice resisting that kind of manipulation.

“how did the damage control go?” “oh it was a mess, but he was adorable” ALSKJFLKSDJF SAME SHANDY

everyone keeps having very interesting reactions to shandy. keeley says “we work together” and they’re still like ??? and then she says “and we’re old friends” and they’re like oh NOW it makes sense. both higgins did it and later the boys when she’s talking to them about the interview stuff. and possibly rebecca did something similar last episode but i can’t remember. i think it’s meant to show how they don’t really think she’s super professional so they need an extra bit of explanation for WHY she’s working with keeley? i wonder if that will become a point of tension between them. “you keep telling everyone i’m your friend like you needed some excuse to hire me, like i’m not good enough just on my own, so you have to explain why i’m here. do you actually think i’m capable of this or are you just pitying me? why did you offer me the job if you don’t actually think i’m capable of doing this?”

my first reaction when zava walked into the locker room: “ah, so zava is jesus”

i like the bit where he keeps standing in front of ted ASKJFLKSJF i found that funny

calling the kitman “the most important person in the room” interesting contrast to s1 jamie and the rest of the guys who always tormented the kitman. zava is self absorbed and possibly insidious but in a very different way

also when he gestures to jamie like he thinks jamie is the kitman and roy sees it and smiles ASLDFJLKSJ ROY. also jamie’s look after zava points at him like “bitch?” and the way he looks to roy like “can you believe this shit?”

“i too worked as a ballboy when i was eleven years old” “i’m… twenty five” see this is a perfect example of the insidiousness of zava!! he’s claiming to appreciate will but infantilizes and disrespects him in the process… it’s a very “aww, aren’t you adorable” kind of smug demeaning attitude… but done through the cover of appreciating him, so it still looks like he’s a good guy

the joke of him letting out the breath and everyone else running out of air ASLKFJLKDSJFLKDSJFLSDKFj as a singer i appreciate that joke so much…. like how much fkn lung capacity do you HAVE

ted looking to roy to talk to zava ALKSDJFLKDSJFLSDKJFSDLJFDSLJF and then roy’s “you’re the fucking coach!!”

all the boys in the back peering into the coaches office ASKDJFLSDKJFLSK

i never understand any of the jokes in this show AKLSJFLSKFJSLD i’m so unknowledgeable about pop culture the references always fly right over my head

hi this is just to remind everyone that hannah waddingham is an excellent actor. every time i see one of her face journeys they’re just so immaculate. her reaction shots are always SO GOOD. you can always clearly see exactly what she’s thinking but without it being hammy or over the top. she’s perfect at it

“because your mother was a skeptic” lmaooo, you can see how much rebecca LOVES being told that she’s more like her mother than she thought she was aSLDKFSDLKFJS

like i realize that tish is a scam artist but i also kind of love her for the aesthetic alone. i would kill to live in this house

as SOON as tish said “there’s thunder and lightning” i immediately thought “you deserve someone who makes you feel like you’ve been struck by fucking lightning”

“you’re drenched and you’re upside down but you’re safe” it’ll be scary and you’ll be turned around but it’s okay, love is worth it, you’re safe

i thought the “you’re going to be a mother” thing was gonna pull rebecca back but i’m proud of her for recognizing it as the control/scam tactic it is. identifying the thing your client cares about most (tish talks to deborah once a month so she’d probably know that rebecca has always wanted kids, or otherwise it’s not a hard thing to guess would be a sore subject given the rupert drama, and the fact that rupert now has a kid with someone besides her, is public knowledge), whether it be kids, a dead loved one, money, fate, etc, and using that as leverage to get them to stay, thereby giving them false hope about something genuinely important to them-- like say, communicating with a dead loved one-- and setting them up to be crushed just so you can get them to stay and keep paying you.

however i’m still unclear on how much the show wants us to be on tish’s side bc later the green matchbox thing comes true so?????

shandy confronting roy about the breakup AHHHHH girl i know you’re trying to help by defending keeley but you are putting her in a SO MUCH MORE AWKWARD POSITIONNNN

keeley has spent the whole season so far trying to paste a fake smile on top of a situation she feels is spiraling out of her control :(

beard’s little HEHEHEHEHEHE after he tricks ted about the wordle ASKLDJFLKDSJFDSLK I LOVE HIM

also you can tell how long s3 was in production because they made this when wordle was still the big craze lololol

when jamie says “i think we’ve got a good thing going here, and zava’s already fucking it all up!” roy gives an interesting look. i took it to mean “i agree but i don’t like the fact that i agree with fucking jamie”

“thanks for hearing me out” “thanks for speaking your mind! please continue to do so!” reminds me of ted in s2 to sam “you are a leader on this team. i want you to speak your mind.”

“i weren’t being ironic, i was being hypocritical” jamie corrects people on language twice in this ep (later he corrects roy with prima donna vs pre-madonna), which is interesting because of his historical difficulties with language (nail in the ashes, instant caramel, etc). i wonder if he’s been trying to pay more attention to that? or if this is supposed to say that jamie has been smarter than everyone thought all along and he’s just been playing dumb? (like how when beard asks him “isn’t that a bit ironic?” he says “...i dunno” as if he’s too thick to get what beard means when he says ironic. but then later when he says “i wasn’t being ironic, i was being hypocritical,” it both shows that he DID understand what beard meant, and also that he’s smart enough to correctly label the interaction himself. so then why didn’t he just say that earlier, why did he pretend like he didn’t get what beard meant by ironic? maybe this is supposed to say that he was pretending in the past, too. …or maybe i’m reading too much into this bc i love him lololol)

also the fact that jamie was freely able to admit he was being hypocritical!! like he understands that he was the same way in s1, but when he was the same way (it’s all about me, just give me the ball and i’ll win all the games for us, you all are just my backup dancers) it was seen as a huge problem and a red flag and a detrimental effect on the locker room. and now when zava does the same thing it’s okay? like jamie understands that he was the same way, but he also understands that the way he was was WRONG. so why is it not still wrong when zava does it?

“now remember, this 4-5-1 is not about dropping back. it’s about getting fucking service into the box for zava” and the fact that they have penalties: zava, free kicks: zava, corners: zava, is all verrrrry interesting. because jamie in s1 was the same way! “Look, our whole offense right now is all give-and-go. Give the ball to Jamie and everyone else can go to hell.” which is literally now the strategy they have with zava!!! but when that was the case with jamie, it was seen as a HUUUGE PROBLEM that needed to change! why is it fine when it’s zava in that place instead?

isaac asking colin if he was alright is very very sweet. i love a good captain and friend <3

also written on the board “make this match your match-terpiece” i love teddd that’s so cute

and then zava breaking up the hand circle to make them put their hands on HIM and HE takes the richmond on three instead of the captain…… mmmmm don’t like it

when jamie lingers behind and gives ted that “told ya so” look AKLSJDFLKSDFJ. remind me of when sam did the same thing in s2 when jamie first came back

also i can’t tell what beard says right after that so if anyone else can make it out pls lmk

“i can’t remember michelle’s cell phone number.” “OHHHH.”

that trump impression was so painful. but i think it was supposed to be

also he calls her “michelle keller” which is very interesting, i don’t think we’ve ever learned her maiden name, bc ted still has her in his phone as “michelle lasso”

the look on jake’s face when he realizes it’s ted. he’s just like “and that’s when i knew i fucked up”

“dr jacobs?” “yeah, uh, you can just call me jake!” ASLKFDJSLKDJFSKD YEAH I’LL BET BUDDY u are so getting your license revoked

and then him begging michelle to take the phone and that whispered “it’s ted” and then it’s MICHELLE’S turn to go “and that’s when i knew i fucked up”

laurel pointed this out to me but henry picking jamie’s number for his soccer team is so cuteeeee

i do like michelle and jake’s little mouthed conversation “i’m sorry” “no, i’m sorry”

ted listening over the phone to jake saying “come on, bud. you ever seen a subaru…” and you can tell his heart is just breaking bc it should be HIM driving henry to his soccer game

when zava told jamie “get open, i will find you” i genuinely thought that meant he was going to pass to jamie and was trying to win jamie over too by giving him chances to score. but obviously not. he was just fucking with his head a think.

also did he slap jamie’s ass????????

ted on the verge of another panic attack :(((((((

and just as a jamie stan i really hate how zava’s halfway line goal kinda shows up jamie’s amazing penalty goal from last season but that’s just me being biased ALSJDFLKDSJFKD

dani on zava’s back is so cuteeee

YESSSS I LOVE A MONTAGE

jamie walking into them meditating and then walking right back out asKLFDJSLFJSKJFSASLKDFJSLKDJF that was so funny

also love how the whiteboard in that scene just says “OM”

saw someone comparing zava to a mini cult leader and yeah tbh true

ted facebook stalking his ex’s new man while drinking alone in his apartment :( ted baby no this is not the way

rebecca’s “what the fuck am i doing?” look when she catches herself looking for the green matchbook SKLJFLKSJF

colin texting his boyf in the locker room that’s risky man, anyone could look over ur shoulder

fucking zava stealing jamie’s first goal of the season makes me so mad. again this is just bc i’m a jamie stan. but still

aaaand roy definitely notices when zava steals that goal and doesn’t look too enthused about it. again i think he’s kind of agreeing with jamie that zava is not cool but doesn’t want to admit that he’s agreeing with jamie. (i think this is all leadup to him offering to train jamie later on, like he wants jamie to best zava too)

again allow me to be a jamie stan for a minute: them winning for the first time at man U…. an AWAY GAME at man u…….. so IN MANCHESTER….. and zava scored a hat trick, meaning nobody else scored….. so jamie didn’t score….. while in manchester….. do u see where i’m going with this

RUPERT BEX BABY

dani mimicking zava with the snapping is very very cute

DANI MADE ZAVA A FRIENDSHIP BRACELET… SO CUTE

colin and his boyf (michael?) being “wingman” for each other…. mmm not a bad cover story! interesting that they had that so rehearsed, wonder how often they use that line

beard ordering “a single and a double…. a triple….” just like ted did back in the gala ep HAHAHA

beard and jane continue to make me uncomfortable

roy noticing jamie sitting alone and going to talk to him is actually really sweet….

JAMIE EARRINGS??? I DIDN’T REALIZE HE HAD HIS EARS PIERCED

also jamie forever with the icon branded stuff ALSKFJSLKFJSDLKFJ

“god’s gift to people who have everything” very interesting to me that jamie phrases it like this, because…. doesn’t he also kinda have everything????? he’s mega stupid rich. what does he mean by “everything”?

“you used to be the best. now you’re not. it happens.” roy knows this from experience, jamie. the same thing happened to him. also i like his little nod on this line. he’s genuinely trying to be supportive. it’s very sweet :) i like roy trying to give jamie some guidance, i think it’s very sweet

also jamie “you thought i was the best?” hehehe he cares what roy thinks… roy’s always gonna be his childhood hero from his poster <3

roy’s “but only if you fuckin’ mean it” to jamie is the same thing he said to phoebe’s soccer team last season hehe

“yeah, she’s great, i love how not shy she is” and rebecca is immediately like OPE BACKHANDED COMPLIMENT ALSKFJLKSDJFSD

keeley and rebecca looking at sam, then roy, then jamie…. you ever have a nightmare where all your exes are in the same room? keeley and rebecca live in that every day ALSDKFJDSLKFJDSLJFSDLKF

the two of them realizing “wow, we truly are both in the most awkward of situations here” is very funny ASKLDJFLKSDJFSD

wtf was that thing about avocados about? where did zava get avocados from? i don’t get this interaction what is it trying to say

noticed a little continuity error lol. when sam is receiving the matchboxes you can see beard and jane behind him just sitting and talking but then in the very next shot they’re making out and she shoved him away lol

MIND UR OWN BUSINESS TRENT. MIND UR OWN FUCKING BUSINESS.

man. SO MUCH happened this ep. these 50 minute episodes are gonna kill me

[charlie-pippin-faraday]

fabina h/cs?

Oh yes I was hoping someone would ask me this. Warning this got very long I have a lot of thoughts and feelings

They are so sweet it makes everyone wanna barf sometimes

In S1 some of them (Mick, Mara, Alfie, Patricia) place bets on when they're gonna get together. Mick wins

During S2 Amber tries to get them together in a multitude of different ways. She tries mistletoe, the old "trapping them in a small dark room together" trick, conspiring with Patricia and Alfie to ensure they just so ~happen~ to find themselves alone together, etc.

Throughout S3, they literally never stopped thinking about each other

After graduation, it's a really turbulent and transitionary period in Fabian's life, and he has to assess what he really wants. And he realizes he never stopped loving Nina, and he wants to be with her again

Amber actively encourages him to go after her, saying he'll regret it for the rest of his life if he doesn't

Nina realizes the past year without him has been miserable. It's been awful not having her best friend by her side to talk to and confide in and do things with, and she's missed him so much. So when he reaches out, all of her feelings come rushing back with an intensity, and she decides she doesn't want to lose him again, and they get back together. For good this time.

They go to college in America together, and Fabian ultimately moves to her hometown of Cleveland to be with her

After college they work at a museum together looking at historical stuff all day long. They get to nerd out and they work together well; it's a dream job

Nina tries her best to introduce Fabian to American culture. Some of it is a bigger culture shock than others. Nina is always incredibly amused when he doesn't get words right or he gets flustered and confused at certain customs

He's not sure how he feels about American fast food

American pie, however, is his new favorite thing. Especially Nina's gran's pies

The Fourth of July scares him. But barbecues are nice

Nina is a fan of Cleveland's baseball team. She takes him to a game, and by god is he confused. He has trouble following. The first game is a lost cause. But once Nina points out how dependent the game is on math, then he starts to get the hang of it. A little bit

American driving, however, is horrifying to Fabian. Nina's a pretty good driver, and Fabian's fairly good (if not a bit stiff and nervous) at driving in the UK, but in America it's a whole different animal. Not only are they on the other side of the road, but the drivers here are fast and aggressive. It's very scary. The ONLY reason he eventually learns to do it the American way is because he wants to be able to take Nina out and be a competent enough man to drive a car around

Speaking of cars: one summer they definitely go on a cross-country road trip, just the two of them. It's meant to bring them closer and be romantic, and it is. They love looking at all the sights together, and Fabian is amazed by the sheer diversity of landscape and how gorgeous parts of the country can be. He TRIES to split the driving 50/50, but America is just so goddam BIG, like intimidatingly huge, and he's not used to driving for that long. The driving ends up being more like 70/30 in Nina's favor, but she doesn't mind. She gives Fabian the responsibility of making a road trip playlist, and he knocks it out of the park

At home, they enjoy cozy nights by the fireside, reading and snuggling under blankets

Sweaters! They are sweater people and I enjoy the image of them snuggling together in sweaters

Handwritten letters! They write each other handwritten letters all the time, especially in the summer between season 1-2 and the period of time between graduation and Fabian making the move to America. They both keep every single letter they receive and each keep them stored in a sentimental little box

They like to frequent old/used bookstores and antique shops. Their place is filled to the brim with odd knickknacks and collectibles that they find, and they have an entire wall with shelves piled high with books

They don't need a lot of fancy stuff, and they don't care about being high-class; they don't care much about appearances, and they don't need a lot. All they care about really is being together.

They learn to get better at communication and not let anyone else's opinion about their relationship impact their relationship. They're the only ones that know what's best for them, and they take things at their own pace

Nina can get overly emotional and stressed sometimes, and Fabian's her rock. That's how it's always been, and that's how it always will be

They love to watch the discovery channel and the national geographic channel, along with netflix documentaries

They fuckin LOVE escape rooms, they use every excuse they can to go to escape rooms

Nina takes Fabian to the rock and roll hall of fame, and he's like a kid in a candy store

They are frequent patrons of their local coffee shop, to the point where all the baristas know who they are

They are very cheesy and sentimental all the time. Most everything they do is very thoughtful and has some kind of meaning

They like to write cute notes to each other and leave them around the house

It takes Fabian forever to actually propose to Nina, to the point where he gets calls from Amber just about every day asking when she's getting an engagement announcement. He just wanted to be careful and deliberate about it and make sure everything was perfect

He makes sure the proposal is simple and romantic. He sets up a candlelit dinner, the lights are low, he talks to her softly and sweetly and tells her he loves her and pops the question

Nina, surprisingly, does not cry. Fabian, however, definitely does when she says yes

He proposes with a family ring; his grandmother's ring. It's very sentimental and has a lot of history behind it, and we all know Nina loves that stuff, and the history and story makes her very emotional

He does what he should have done in S2 instead of writing a poem: he writes her a song and plays it for her on the guitar. It's her favorite thing he's ever done for her.

After the engagement they tell Amber before they tell anyone else, because she'd kill them if they didn't

They surprise her with a video call, and they don't tell her at first, but then Nina surprises her and shows off the ring, and Amber screams so loud they're convinced she's going to break glass.

Amber is even more excited than they are, she talks with them absolutely non-stop about their wedding. She even tries to take control of it at some point

Their wedding is a fairly small wedding; it takes place at an outdoor venue in the spring, at a beautiful location just outside her hometown in America. Mick is the best man and Amber is the maid of honor. Amber gives an incredibly emotional MOH speech and sobs buckets. Gran walks Nina down the aisle

Her wedding dress looks a little something like this; definitely something with long lacy sleeves

They have 3 kids, all girls

The oldest is Evelyn, named after Nina's gran. She's got dark hair, Nina's curls, Nina’s light blue eyes, and she looks like Fabian. She got Nina's courageous leadership side, she's very adventurous

The middle child is Sarah. She looks like someone legit photocopied Nina. Same hair color, same curls, same eyes, same general facial features. She got the intellectual and bookish side of both of them

The youngest is Eloise, kind of a little bit after Sarah's mother but mostly they just liked the name. Often they call her "Lou" and she definitely goes by that when she's older. She somehow got to be strawberry blonde, has less curls than her sisters, she has Fabian's blue-green eyes, and is a mix of them both when it comes to facial features. She got the part of them that liked to sneak around and break the rules; as she gets older she becomes very rebellious, and Nina jokes "are we sure this child came from me and not Patricia?"

All 3 girls are little troublemakers and they're partners in crime

At some points when the girls are a bit much Fabian gets stressed and shouts "we're outnumbered!!!!!"

Amber is their aunt and showers the girls with expensive presents all the time, especially clothes, which all of the girls LOVE. Nina and Fabian accuse her of spoiling them and she says "If I can't spoil them then what's the point of being the rich beloved aunt?"

The girls do indeed love Amber, all three of them adore her

When the girls get older they find the boxes of letters their parents wrote to each other, they think it's very sweet

Even as they get older, the two of them always set aside time to be romantic with each other

And they remain each other's best friend and confidante forever and ever

yo please feel free to keep sending me these! or asking me my opinions on stuff! this is a lot of fun!

[lightsandlostbells]

wtFOCK season 3, episode 5 reaction

This whole episode I kept doing that Marge Simpson groan. You know, the one that’s like tight-lipped and this low, exasperated mmm from deep in the throat? That was me constantly.

Episode 5

Clip 1 - Jens gives Robbe sex advice

Robbe texts his mom and says to her he can’t visit, lying that it’s because he’s sick. One repeated element that does exist in this season is Robbe listening to music on his headphones, which is him retreating into himself, or using music to cope. The song lyrics reflect that: “I used to feel so alone, now I’m feeling better on my own.”

Since I’ve been trying to think of ways to rewrite this season, they could expand Robbe using music as a coping strategy even further. Music should have been something that Robbe bonds with Sander over. And not just Sander’s recommendation of Bowie, either, which is all they’ve done so far - it seems like Robbe should give recs or insight as well. Talk about how important music is to him with Sander. Make it a serious point in their developing relationship.

Jens skates up and talks to Robbe. Robbe wants to get high, but Jens doesn’t have weed with him at the moment. He asks Robbe if he’s thought about the Brrrothers, because they’re not the same without Robbe. Robbe snaps and turns away from him, then lies and says his bad mood is about Noor. Jens has already heard that they’re fighting.

Jens’ talk to Robbe, knowing that Noor wants to have sex and Robbe doesn’t, is actually pretty sweet. Even though he doesn’t understand the real reason why Robbe doesn’t want to, his talk is thoughtful and not shaming Robbe for being a nervous virgin, it’s considerate of him. Considering the Brrrothers have been obnoxious about sex and girls all season, this was a refreshing change. One question I do have is how Jens knew that Noor wanted sex and Robbe didn’t, but I guess it was implied that this explanation was part of the rumor mill. 

Of course, the downside is that Jens’ advice prompts Robbe to text Noor about how he misses her and wants to meet up. Bad, Robbe! I don’t know if Jens’ talk encouraged Robbe to text her because Robbe was like “Yeah, I’m supposed to like Noor, better get back on that,” or because maybe he genuinely told himself, “I just don’t want to have sex with her because I’m nervous, yeah, that must be it,” and decided to just move forward with it. 

I do like drama that comes from characters trying to be helpful but unintentionally saying or doing the wrong thing - that’s what happens in the locker room scene with Isak and Even. When Isak says he’s better off without mentally ill people in his life, he’s telling Even this as a way of saying that his mother won’t cause problems for them, he doesn’t care what she’ll think of them dating. So taken on its own, I think this scene is fine.

HOWEVER. The pacing of this season is again, SO SO weird, because this scene would have fit right in around episodes 2-3? Right after Robbe tried and failed to have sex with Noor, you know ... the first time? Or the second, or the third? Like … have it be in line with Isak’s episode 3 sexuality crisis, all the “why does he have to be so gay” stuff. It would’ve worked well to have this talk at like, the beginning of episode 3, and then have Robbe making the “that guy is so gay” comment as an unintentional result of this - by trying to convince himself he is just straight and nervous and distancing himself from being gay. We had three entire scenes of Robbe failing to fuck Noor, so narratively, why did we need to wait this long for Jens to talk to him about it? 

Clip 2 - AGAIN?

Robbe invites Noor over to bone. He’s lit about a million candles and is trying to make this a big romantic deal, except lmao, he has on David Bowie’s Life on Mars … Robbe … what u doing…

Actually, I’m not sure if this is diegetic music or not, if Robbe is blasting Bowie from his phone as mood music or if he’s only hearing this song inside his head. I think we’re definitely meant to take away that Robbe is hearing the song since it gets distorted as he slinks down Noor’s body, and that it’s not just there for the audience. In either case, Sander is supposedly the shadow hanging over this sad hetero affair.

Tbh listening to Life on Mars is the best part of this season and I wish I could just like … listen to this song play against a black screen instead of watching poorly written, repetitive clips.

They start to get it on and he takes off her shirt, unhooks her bra, yadda yadda, he doesn’t look happy but he soldiers on and it’s implied they went All The Way. On the one hand, I will rage if they actually had sex. On the other hand, if they don’t, it’s yet another clip where the same shit happens, Robbe tries to bang Noor and fails.. 

Clip 3 - Robbe’s not turned on by Noor and this is BRAND NEW INFORMATION

… okay, so he didn’t have sex with her AGAIN? He couldn’t get it up?

For fuck’s sake. I mean, on the one hand I’m glad it was actually Robbe’s choice (apparently) to put a stop to the sex instead of like, someone else walking in and interrupting yet again, but on the other hand, I feel like we have done this scene SO MUCH. We KNOW. About the only thing that’s changed I guess is that Robbe kissed a boy and now he’s trying to be straight? If this was only like the second time this scene had happened, it would have been fine.

I just don’t have a coherent idea of Robbe’s arc. This season is going in circles. 

Anyway, Robbe couldn’t get it up, Noor is sympathetic, she asks if it’s her, Robbe says she’s amazing, he looks sad and haunted blah blah we’ve already seen this play out.

Why were these separate clips? In the first clip, we have Robbe seemingly determined to have sex with Noor, and then in the second, he can’t get it up. So why not SHOW THE MOMENT OF CHANGE? Are these filmmakers on drugs? This is storytelling 101. Like there’s no reason to split up these clips except to cause a bit of anxiety if you happen to be able to watch the clips at the exact time they’re posted, and from a real-time perspective I get it, but that’s ineffective for the vast majority of people who will have to watch later and then will watch these two clips together at the same time. I mean, the fact that it’s not even 10 minutes in between clips … just SHOW THE WHOLE SCENE. Holy fuck. How are they this incompetent?

The pacing of the scenes themselves is so weird. So many of the clips are oddly short, we don’t NEED them to be split into parts. It makes me really appreciate Julie’s pacing: Skam S3 episodes had 4-6 clips each, and in those clips, we got rich scenes packed with details, often multi-tasking within different story threads. wtFOCK’s pacing is simplistic and choppy and unnecessary.

Clip 4 - Milan gives Robbe a pep talk

Robbe is Googling erectile dysfunction which is honestly kind of funny (but again, probably would have been a better fit for earlier in this season, before Robbe had already kissed a dude ...) Milan comes in wanting advice on two shirts, Robbe is annoyed.

Milan tries to get Robbe to talk to him. It takes some prodding (and I do like how Robbe is swiveling in his chair and not looking at Milan) but Robbe admits there’s a guy who likes him and, after Milan asks, admits that it’s mutual. 

Tbh … I don’t find it so hard to believe that Robbe opened up to Milan even though they’re not anywhere as close as Eskild and Isak, because I do think another gay guy is a “safe” person to talk to about this situation and I can see Robbe doing it. What I do NOT get is why, here and now, Robbe is now openly admitting it. Why did we go from Robbe trying to fuck a girl and, before that, calling the boy he kissed a pervert and a homophobic slur, to admitting his attraction for a boy? Why the sudden turnaround? Based on the clips themselves, all we have to go off as a turning point is that he couldn’t fuck Noor, BUT this is nothing new for either Robbe and the audience, AND not being able to fuck a girl does not actually mean that Robbe would be able to fuck a guy, or that he’s into guys, and it especially doesn’t mean that Robbe would accept that he likes a guy.  I mean, he’s Googling “erectile dysfunction” not “am I gay?” which tbh seems still more like denial than anything. He’s blaming his lack of arousal on a medical issue, not his sexuality.

This scene would feel more true to me if Robbe was like, downplaying his side of it, or playing it off as only Sander had feelings and it wasn’t requited. That’s more in line with the characterization we have just been given, that Robbe is denying his attraction to Sander.

Another way would be to not split up the sex clip and to show like, Robbe flashing back to his kiss with Sander while he’s making out with Noor, so we get that it’s not just that he’s not into Noor, it’s that he’s very into Sander, and we see him grudgingly admit to himself that yes, he’s attracted to Sander (at the very least.) which would make it believable that he admits it to Milan. Cause and effect, etc.

MIlan is like, are you so nervous to tell me you have a crush on another guy (...????? um, yes, Milan, you have to know it’s hard to come out???) but is pretty supportive and says Robbe’s lucky to have him, Milan would have wanted himself when he was going through this. Robbe is just like, I don’t know what I feel and I want everything to be normal, there’s too much shit going on right now. Milan says Robbe IS normal and he doesn’t want to bottle up who he is, the pressure will get too real and he’ll explode, he’ll hurt people. Robbe seems to take this advice seriously, so hopefully this scene will actually lead to cause + effect.

Again, this scene is fine on its own? There’s just something about the pacing of the season as a whole that feels strange.

I don’t know if this is supposed to be the equivalent of the Pride clip, because Robbe doesn’t say anything offensive and Milan didn’t get upset. Milan’s advice is good about not pushing away who you really are, but there’s nothing specifically confronting internalized homophobia, which Robbe desperately needs seeing as he’s had some extremely homophobic outbursts. I think it’s a shame to lose that part of the scene, because it’s got a very pointed and urgent message. (EDIT from the future: We got the Pride clip later in the episode, so that’s good.)

Clip 5 - Robbe tells Jens he likes someone else

Robbe is sitting on the sidelines listening to music again. Jens comes over and asks how things are, Robbe says he took his advice with Noor and Jens is happy that he’s a matchmaker. Robbe is like no, there’s someone else. He says he thought it would go away, but it didn’t. 

For a moment it seems like this might be a sudden coming out scene, but Jens finally asks who it is and Robbe clams up and finds it hard to get out. Jens asks if she goes to their school. Robbe is saved by Moyo wanting to play a game against some guys.

This is some plausible conflict, at the very least, Robbe not being able to tell his friends that he’s into a guy. It would have been way better to focus on this instead of Robbe flinging a slur at Sander. Robbe’s friends seem like the clearest explanation for his internalized homophobia. 

Now Jens needs to follow up on this development, or else turn in his Jonas card. Because there’s dropping the subject if he senses Robbe doesn’t want to tell him yet, and then there’s forgetting about the subject because Jens isn’t that engaged with what’s happening with Robbe, and unfortunately the latter vibe has come across far more than the first. Like why does it seem like Jens is always walking away?

Clip 6 - Robbe breaks up with Noor

Old Town Road is playing as Noor meets Robbe in a cafe. One thing I do notice is that there are a fair amount of gay musicians on the soundtrack this season, so that’s cool.

Robbe is stressed because we can tell he’s gonna try to break up with Noor. He doesn’t order anything to eat. Noor is sympathetic about him not getting it up with her, but Robbe says he needs some time for himself, he has so much shit on his mind. Noor says she can help with that, he’s like nah, Noor is crying and reaching for him desperately. He gets up and walks out.

L O L I heard all about how Robbe supposedly handled this better than Isak, and I mean … on the one hand, I certainly agree that he did Noor a solid by officially breaking up with her and not just running away from her in the hallway. But er ... first of all, Robbe went wayyyyyyyyy farther with Noor than Isak EVER did with Emma. Robbe and Noor had an actual relationship for what, a month? Isak and Emma made out twice and flirted a bit. They were not exclusively, seriously dating. So yeah, Noor is owed this breakup. 

Second, Robbe still cheated on her with Sander before he broke up with her. The fact that they were naked while they made out in the pool frankly adds an on-screen sexual element to the cheating. And technically Isak making out with Even in the pool was not cheating … for sure it was a dick move to lead on Emma and then ditch her like that, I’m not going to say it was NBD, but like I said, they weren’t exclusively dating. I mean, in all my years of Skam fandom, it’s pretty rare that I’ve heard anyone refer to what Isak did as cheating - it’s usually talked about differently than Even cheating on Sonja. Robbe and Sander BOTH cheated on their girlfriends here. 

Third, it’s nice he did this with Noor but lmao, kinda small potatoes considering what Robbe said to Sander. 

Fourth, Robbe just gets up and leaves while she’s crying, lol. He let her order soup and then he ditched her! That’s cold as ice! Bro, you need to stick around until she tells you to leave, or you needed to pick a breakup location where both of you can leave ASAP without someone coming by with the meal you ordered.

And to be clear, I don’t think Robbe not handling this perfectly makes him a terrible person or anything. It’s more the comparison to Isak with how Isak is supposedly worse and Robbe is much nicer. Nah.

Sucks for Noor and all, but whyyyy are they making the Emma character so tragic and emphasizing this het relationship so much? We don’t even end the clip on Robbe’s POV. Because how he feels about this breakup doesn’t matter, I guess. Does he feel guilty? Free? Unsure? Conflicted? IDK because we close on her, not him! I’m sorry, but it’s not her season!

I mentioned this in an earlier reaction but I’m just super tired of gay storylines that have this intense focus on how much someone being gay hurts a straight person. I believe I mentioned Love, Victor as a prominent example, because Victor’s relationship with his girlfriend seemingly gets more screen time than the relationship with his actual male love interest. And I get why this storyline is relevant to a coming out arc, of course I do, but it really bugs me when the het relationship seems to overshadow the gay relationship, as it does here. At this point I feel like Robbe/Noor has been given equal plot relevance as Robbe/Sander, if not more, and that should not be the case. It’s not about shipping, it’s about wanting a story about a gay kid’s journey of self-acceptance to focus more on the life-changing love story that is the catalyst for embracing his sexuality, than the fake passion-less relationship that is doomed to failure that is just a momentary stumble in said journey of self-acceptance. There is no need to demonize Noor, but there is actually a middle ground between treating her with respect and empathy and making her the real victim of this story.

This narrative choice also does not exist in a vacuum. It is completely fair to be skeptical of the prioritization of a het relationship over a gay one. It’s fair to wonder why we’ve gotten multiple scenes of Robbe getting hot and heavy with a girl, why Robbe spends a pivotal clip being so sad about Noor that he doesn’t seem to really notice or care that he’s alone with the guy he supposedly likes. 

I mean, fuck, Robbe seems more upset about hurting Noor’s feelings by breaking up with her for legitimate reasons than he does about hurting Sander’s feelings by calling him a f*g and accusing him of sexual assault.

Clip 7 - Robbe tries to speak with Sander

Robbe goes to school (not his school, Sander’s) and asks where the art room is. He’s in a way better mood, a spring in his step, but LMAO you better pray that Sander actually wants to talk to you rather than kick your ass or avoid you for all eternity because of what you said to him.

Sander is sketching a nude male model. Robbe seems happy just to see him. He walks away and goes to the bathroom, fixes his hair, stares in the mirror, takes a deep breath. Then he goes up to Sander after the bell rings. Robbe wants to talk, Sander is not having it and walks away. Robbe is sad, angsty music plays. 

Uhhhhh, serves you right? No offense but I can’t even feel sad for Robbe in this scenario, because what he did crossed a line. Internalized homophobia is a hell of a drug, but there’s such a difference between Robbe just denying that the kiss meant anything or blaming it on being drunk or whatever, and essentially accusing Sander of sexual assault and calling him a slur. It’s not an ignorant mistake, it’s a malicious one. I feel bad that Robbe ever had such self-hatred that he made those comments in the first place and I certainly don’t hate him or think he should be forever alone, but it is 100% understandable why Sander would not want to speak to him after that.

Also, going up to Sander at his school was not the best move, because he’s basically ambushing him. Sander doesn’t have a choice whether to deal with Robbe in that moment. It would’ve been better if Robbe sent him some kind of apology text or voicemail first and left it up to Sander whether he wanted to meet. I get that’s not as good for televised dramaaaa, but it’s kinder to Sander. (And if Sander doesn’t respond, or if he’s blocked Robbe, well, those are just consequences of Robbe’s actions that he’ll have to live with.)  EDIT: Robbe actually did contact Sander first via text, wanting to meet up so he could explain. That does make it somewhat better, although I still think he shouldn’t have approached him at school. If Sander doesn’t want to talk to you? Then give him space. Maybe he’ll be willing to hear you out in time, or maybe he’ll decide he’s better off without you, but Robbe’s the one who did something wrong and it’s not up to Robbe whether Sander forgives him.

Clip 8 - Robbe and Sander make up and kiss

Angsty music keeps playing as Robbe walks home. He sees a mom and her kids playing, more sadness presumably due to his own family troubles.

Sander has followed him and says he has five minutes. Robbe’s like “Why don’t you want to talk?” LMAO IDK ROBBE, WHAT COULD IT BE. 

Robbe says he’s sorry and that he loves Sander. LMAO WHAT. Is this a nuance of translation where “I love you” isn’t as strong as it is in English? Are you kidding me? 

First of all … he LOVES Sander when they’ve barely interacted? They’ve spoken only a handful of times. Hell, they only met in episode 3, and this is episode 5. It’s been like two weeks since they’ve met, and while I could buy that some ships fell in love in that short of time, this is sure as fuck not one of them.

Second … Robbe goes from shoving Sander and calling him horrible things and trying to fuck Noor, to professing his love for Sander, WITHIN DAYS? And this is the character who’s supposed to have a big coming out arc? What is nuance, what is good writing, what is a coherent idea of this character’s struggles with his sexuality and himself... The talk with Milan might convince Robbe to accept his feelings, but it would make way more sense if Robbe was more tentative about them. He doesn’t need to come out swinging the big epic declarations in order to accept his romantic interest in Sander.

Like this isn’t even based on what I personally think is believable for a romance, this is based on what wtFOCK has told me about this character! They made the choice to make him say more viciously homophobic things. They made the choice to have him go back to Noor and try to have sex with her for the millionth time.

I’m glad that Sander doesn’t buy the confession at first, at least. 

Robbe says that he was really fucked up and hat Sander is the first dude. There is a cute moment where he’s like “that kiss (mimes fireworks)” but then things went Chernobyl. Would have been great if we saw exactly what made him go Chernobyl and make him regret the kiss. He says he’s sorry but asks for one more chance.

Sander steps in, leans in for a kiss. “What about Chernobyl?” “Fuck Chernobyl.” They kiss, it’s really sweet, but lol they’re kissing in public??? Robbe is ok with this?? I just have abso-fucking-lutely no idea where this kid’s head is. Like ... how is he so cool with this considering where he was just days ago? Apparently Robbe’s internalized homophobia was so extreme that he was all “get away from me f*g” toward Sander with no clear catalyst, but also not so extreme that it couldn’t be fixed with a pep talk from Milan? Okay!

This scene would have been totally fine if Robbe’s mistake was less cruel and amounted to blocking Sander or telling him to stay away or w/e. It doesn’t feel satisfying for what Robbe actually did say.

Also, sigh, because Sander did forgive Robbe just like that, and I don’t buy it. I mean, if anything, it makes me sad for Sander. I want to tell him that he deserves better. I suppose I can buy this as part of his fear that no one will ever love him, that he’s desperate to be accepted and loved and so is quick to forgive.

It would have made more sense for Robbe to have a longer period of self-reflection, have him come out to his friends, etc. and then reunite with Sander an episode or so later, similar to how Isak and Even reunited at the end of episode 7. Or to have Sander take some time before letting Robbe talk to him, during which Robbe works on his own issues.

Sander gets a call from Britt, which he ignores, saying Britt’s the past, he and Robbe are the future (as the song lyrics talk about the future and the past … they’re going pretty on the nose this season. Fine by me, OG was also on the nose.) Lmao but Robbe has no right to be upset about Britt after he explicitly told Sander to stay away. I mean, it’s dubious of Sander to keep dating her after cheating, but he also thought Robbe was no longer an option sooo don’t be surprised Sander is still with her, dude.

Sander goes to meet Britt, but not before some make outs, some handholding. I think their chemistry is good! It’s just that I don’t really buy the depth of this relationship. It legit makes me sad that these actors are getting served this half-assed material. 

Clip 9 - Zoë gets a letter

Robbe goes home and gets a text from Sander, with a sketch of them, saying their kiss was Chernobyl. Well, that’s cute.

Milan is telling Zoë about seeing some straight-looking dude on the bus who melted when Milan looked at him. Robbe is in a good mood and is gonna do the cooking. Milan observes that he’s happy and asks if things went well with his (Robbe looks toward Zoë) “lovely girlfriend”. At least Milan covered for him! (EDIT from the future: Ahahaha, funny considering how casually people out Robbe this season...) 

Robbe hands Zoë some mail that turns out to do with Viktor, the apparent Nikolai in this version, about the case going to court. She has to testify. She is upset and walks out of the kitchen.

I complained a bit about Zoë/Senne drama taking up time in Robbe’s season, but to be clear, I have no problem with them following up on this plot point from S2. It’s a hugely important story. But I also think it works best if you integrate it into Robbe’s story, by drawing a parallel to their situations, finding a common theme, etc. And it depends on whether Robbe’s story is otherwise satisfactory, because if the writing is pretty tight, I’m not really bothered by digressions in other characters’ subplots. 

Clip 10 - Robbe and Sander get cozy

Oh hey, it’s the big cuddling clip! Robbe and Sander goof off, pillow fight, smoke a joint, make out. Mostly make out. Sander shows Robbe a sketch of him (Robbe) and implies how good it would look on a wall (big). 

Robbe’s fave actor is Leonardo DiCaprio, because hasn’t Sander seen Romeo + Juliet? It’s fucking beautiful.

Man, on the one hand, sick Skam reference, and it’s just a simple, cute little nod to OG, not something complicated. I can dig that. But on the other hand, now I’m annoyed at how Isak got all of this beautiful development and watching R+J actually meant something for his character, and Robbe has absolutely nothing like that. Stuff like the fact it’s Robbe who likes R+J instead of Sander, WHICH IS FINE, but like … doesn’t say anything about Robbe’s view on masculinity or w/e, doesn’t do much for his characterization.

Sander takes pics of Robbe. Their chemistry is cute. Once again I despair at gifted actors being given subpar material leading up to this clip.

LMAO at them copying the dialogue from OG, Sander being all life is like a movie. Again, irrationally annoyed because this dialogue MEANT something to Even. Even was a huge film buff and an aspiring director. Sander hasn’t mentioned movies at all, he’s into art and David Bowie and photography. So why not have Sander quote some Bowie lyrics that explain his thoughts on life? Mention what art means to him? Personalize this dialogue so that it’s specific to Sander. Or, if you’re going to borrow this chunk of dialogue, at least establish Sander as a film enthusiast prior to this clip.

Also that Isak brought up the multiverse theory because he was smart and inquisitive, but I have no idea who the fuck Robbe is. Does this make sense with Robbe’s prior characterization? Shrug.

I do like the multiverse reference to Spider-Man because HELL YEAH Into the Spider-Verse!!! Fucking masterpiece! I could be watching that for the 20th time instead of the upcoming gay-bashing hate crime.

I do like Sander’s acting in this scene and his reaction, how the music (“Ocean Eyes”) stops when Sander starts talking about multiverse theory. His dialogue is a little different here than OG, about thinking about what he’s done and wondering why he thinks something, his thoughts never stop, which fits in with bipolar disorder.

Robbe notices he’s a little agitated, Sander says the only way to stop your thoughts is from dying. So I guess we’re putting in the suicidal thoughts in this version?

“Sometimes I forget how young you are.” Are they the same age in this version? Lmao. It’s a joke so it’s not a big deal.

Robbe starts kissing him and asks when Sander fell for him. Sander is like, before you! When Robbe was spraying the graffiti he knew Robbe was the one. Robbe is like … you were there??

I mean. this is cute and all, but doesn’t it kinda take away from later events, if Sander goes back to Britt, then like … knowing Sander has been Pining All Along should create way less doubt in Robbe’s mind? When Even went back to Sonja, there was room for actual doubt in Isak’s mind (and the audience’s) about the sincerity of Even’s feelings. I think people forgot that the “I saw you the first day of school” moment at the end of the season was a surprise. I was in the fandom and I don’t think a lot of people thought Even had fallen for Isak that early. So Robbe now knows that Sander fell for him well before they even talked, doesn’t that remove some of the tension about Sander’s motives? I suppose it depends on how the story goes from here, but if it’s similar to OG, then I think it slightly lessens the ambiguity and tension.

Also, another reason why it would have been good to actually see the graffiti scene play out in episode 1… and to see what Robbe tagged on the wall … come on. COME ONNNN. Let’s see what got Sander’s attention! Did Robbe create something funny or clever or insightful? Wouldn’t that have been a great detail to show their connection? This is basic storytelling, hello? 

I guess if I’m being fair, we don’t know exactly what Even saw in Isak that first day of school, either. But then again, we didn’t see the first day of school in a clip, while we definitely saw the graffiti scene. Just a missed opportunity, IMO.

They kiss and Sander gets a text from Britt. According to Sander, he told Britt about him and Robbe, but she doesn’t believe him, which is what I assumed of Sonja too, btw. At least, that’s what I thought at Emma’s party where she initiated the kiss with Even. Sander says Britt is so controlling. Robbe seems uncertain.

Sander says there’s probably another universe where Sander is still with Britt, but he’s glad to be in this universe. I do like this part.

Clip 11 - Milan schools Robbe on Pride

Robbe’s alarm goes off in the morning. He smiles a bit, though, presumably because he’s got Sander in his life. He gets a good morning text from Sander, which is cute and makes him smile more. Goes into the bathroom and Milan is there. Sander texts Robbe that he’s been thinking about him in all universes, Robbe is happy.

Milan is like, when can I meet your boyfriend??? Robbe says soon. Awww, this interaction is pretty sweet. Milan is like, welcome to the club! You know, “our” club meaning dudes who like dudes.

Robbe is like, just because I’m with Sander doesn’t mean I belong to some club, I’m not like you. Milan is like … and how am I? Robbe gives the usual Isak-ish response of dressing up and talking about BJs, Milan gets upset. Robbe says there’s nothing wrong with being gay but when people think of being gay, they think of that and it’s not fair to those who aren’t like that. Robbe’s not going to put on leather pants and dance at pride just because he likes Sander!

Milan gets very upset and goes into the Pride speech. I always appreciate this scene and I’m grateful that it’s one thing the remakes don’t really fuck with, since it’s so important (I think the remakes all recognize that it’s amazing, heh). 

Senne wanting to use the bathroom is kind of a jarring thing, they should’ve just let the moment sink in.

Robbe takes a Good Hard Look at himself in the mirror which is on the nose but like, better than nothing. I think there was a mirror earlier in the season? I confess that I’m so hung up on the basic writing fumbles that I might be missing stuff that’s actually supposed to be symbolic.

Anyway, all things considered, I think they did fine with this clip. Robbe coming out to Milan earlier in the episode did help pave the way for this talk since they didn’t have the close relationship as Isak and Eskild. Like, any issues I might have with it are related to the bigger issues in the season, but on its own, I felt like it was decent, and the “welcome to the club” comment is something I can believe Milan would say and something that would make Robbe reply with a boneheaded comment.

Clip 12 - This fucking scene

Robbe and Sander flirt in a bar and get touchy-feely with each other. For some baffling choice, we start with some rap/hip-hop song and then it cuts to “Two Men In Love” by The Irrepressibles … like … you could just start the clip with that song instead of this weird non-transition?

They kiss and then move outside the bar and then kiss and cuddle some more (again … I ask, where did Robbe’s boldness with gay PDA come from ...) Robbe jumps on Sander for a piggyback ride. They kiss passionately in the street.

Ahahahahahahahahah HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAA FUCK YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

Some homophobes spot them and call them slurs. Robbe and Sander try to grab their bikes and quickly leave. The bigots manage to grab them and beat the shit out of them. It’s really brutal, like we get POV shots from the ground as the guys kick them. The guys call them f****ts once more before leaving Robbe and Sander crumpled on the ground in the fetal position. The wheels on the bike go round and round.

I mean … where do you even start.

OK, I’ll start here: worst decision made in a Skam S3 remake yet.

“Yeah, Skam season 3 was a masterpiece and all, but you know what I could have used more of? Violent gay-bashing,” said no one ever.

I don’t get triggered by media, not really, but boy am I glad I was spoiled for this. Because I do get fucking angry at media. And I’m angry now, but if I was watching this unspoiled? Man, I would’ve popped a couple of blood vessels. And I feel so, so sorry for people who watched this unprepared and were triggered. Because yeah, it is a remake and not 100% like the original, you can’t predict everything that will happen. But this isn’t something that you expect in S3, because you expect the writers to know enough to leave this shit out. This isn’t made with kind intentions for the audience, it’s made for shock value.

Consider that the WHOLE POINT of this very, very short clip is the hate crime, btw. It’s like two minutes long! They dropped a clip just for a cute kissing montage and then to interrupt it with a brutal beating! Something about that makes it even more repugnant than if it were like … a long involved scene about something else, and this happened. IDK, something about it feels even more tasteless, like this beating is their cinematic setpiece.

The first-person POV of the beating = not necessary. Like of ALL the fucking times in your season to actually give a shit about the importance of POV, lmao. This isn’t a video game. I’m not shooting zombies or getting jumped by bandits.

Remember when Skam faded to black on Noora’s blackout? And cut away from Even walking naked out of the hotel? Yeah, there are plot and POV reasons for those, but they were also ways to respect the audience and not include pointlessly triggering, exploitative material. 

There’s just so much to say about this bad choice that I’m at a loss. Why did we need to go here? In particular, why did we need to go here knowing how the rest of the season plays out? Because for me, that’s what clinches this as a terrible decision. This isn’t a shitty scene with a satisfying follow-up. The resolution - or non-resolution, as it turns out - of this plot development is what exposes wtFOCK’s true character.

There is an AMAZING Evak vid set to Two Men In Love and I recommend you watch it to get the bad taste out of your mouth from this scene.

HOW I WOULD REWRITE THIS EPISODE:

Sigh.

This is just textbook bad writing for coming out stories, not to mention packed full of tired cliches.

Closeted gay guy is violently homophobic (Robbe calls his love interest homophobic slurs and accuses him of being a pervert) - I’m sorry but I am so tired of the “dating your bully” trope and this is what it fell into for me. Why should Sander take back Robbe after that? After Sander told Robbe he was afraid no one would ever love him? 

Gay-bashing For The Drama, to make sure you know homophobia is bad, really bad.

Overemphasis on the heterosexual love interest (“love interest”) and how it’s hurtful to her, like I get that it’s a delicate topic with not demonizing her, but I always feel like there is SO much interest on straight characters in these stories! It’s not about them!

The hate crime has to go. Really. What is even the POINT of it in this particular story? As if there wasn’t enough angst in S3? Especially if you consider: they wasted a few episodes on repetitive nonsense. Their pacing is fucked up. And now you have to insert this monumentally offensive storyline and its fallout into a season already full of problems? Next.

Okay, I will offer ONE way to incorporate the hate crime, and that is simple: Make the rest of the season about the fallout. Similar to Noora’s season with her assault, dive deep into the trauma, spend a few episodes with Robbe and Sander recovering, telling their friends about it, going to the police about it. Cut back on other drama from S3. Don’t fuck around with Sander going back to Britt, unless you tie it in directly to him being afraid to date a guy after the hate crime. Don’t fuck around with Noor outing Robbe considering he has enough shit on his plate. If you want to bring her back, make her support him through the trauma. Honestly? Don’t fuck around with the hotel incident. Like I truly hate to lose Sander’s mental illness as a vital part of the season, but adding a full-blown manic episode on top of gay-bashing is way too much misery porn. I think you could probably show how the hate crime and resulting trauma affect Sander’s mental state without pushing it into full-blown wandering the streets naked while manic. 

Do I particularly like this plot? I mean, no, not compared to the original, and I feel like this is better off as its own thing rather than a S3 adaptation. But at the very least, I can see the attempt to take the hate crime seriously. You cannot just throw in this type of scenario to shake things up and leave it at that. This show is specifically made for teenagers, to take their struggles seriously and to give them positive examples of how to handle problems. If you prioritize the violent act itself because it’s dramatic and shocking, rather than the recovery (because that’s like, boring and uninteresting, amirite), then you’ve shown your ass. You don’t understand the purpose or the appeal of Skam in the first place.

Jumping ahead, I think this is exactly where wtFOCK exposes its true intentions. wtFOCK does not care about helping vulnerable teenagers find solutions to tough problems. wtFOCK does not care about healing or educating. wtFOCK is about shaking the audience so hard that viewers get whiplash. If wtFOCK gave a shit about helping the audience, the rest of the season would focus on Robbe and Sander dealing with the assault, giving them options to report it, showing them ways to cope with the trauma. Things that might help audience members who unfortunately also found themselves victims of hate crimes or homophobic violence. Those are not present in the rest of the season. It’s just a fucking soap opera. 

If you MUST have a homophobic incident to go with your dark ‘n’ edgy season, you can still limit it to some assholes yelling homophobic slurs without resorting to violence. That’s bad enough, and it did happen to Isak and Even later in the series. Even if you decide you MUST have a violent angle to this incident for whatever reason, I don’t fucking know why but OK, you don’t need to film it in this super exploitative manner where our heroes are getting viciously beaten on the ground. But there are so many ways to incorporate external homophobia without this shit.

Wouldn’t this dreadful scene make more sense at least if it had happened after the pool kiss? Like they go out a few days later, the hate crime happens, and then THAT’s why Robbe pushes away Sander and calls him names? Because now he’s afraid and he’s internalized what the bigots said? It’s tragic and gross, but at least there’s some character-driven logic in that sequence of events.

Another thing that really doesn’t work is that they’re straying so far from the original script, but at the same time they keep jamming in scenes from the original, except there isn’t the same buildup. Or any buildup, sometimes. This results in an incoherent mess of a season and of a POV character, where Robbe is part-Robbe, part-Isak.

I think all the remakes do this to a degree: there are certain beats they feel they must hit, and they hit them even though they’re off course. You need to commit either to doing a mostly faithful adaptation of the original, or to doing a remake with your own spin on the characters, but you need to be very, very careful not to just haplessly mix ‘n’ match the two. Does a scene from OG make sense within this remake universe? No? Then drop it, rewrite it, do what you need to do, just don’t carelessly recreate it if it doesn’t fit.

The way they’re writing Jens is bizarre because he seems to care enough about Robbe to ask him how he’s doing, but also not care enough to stick around and listen once the next shiny thing comes along. From the beginning they’ve set up the friendship tension with the boy squad as not just Robbe’s fault, but as a failure of his friends to pay attention as well. Like in the first episode Robbe is trying to talk to them and they just ditch him! They really need to make Jens more aware of how he himself has messed up with his friend, and not act like this is all Robbe’s doing.

We don’t need another Noor blue balls scene, thank you, bye. But if we keep this one, then we absolutely needed to see what exactly made Robbe stop in the act of sex with her, such as him flashing back to his kiss with Sander. Or even just letting us see him make the decision, because goddamn, what’s with wtFOCK not letting this young actor actually act out some of the meatiest material?

Overall, give Robbe more baby steps in his personal development, and not unbelievable leaps and changes in his behavior because the plot demands them.

I did try to think of a way to incorporate much of the same material from this week, including a hate crime, in a way that made more sense and was not ridiculously OTT or offensive. It’s hard because I really think you need to go back to the beginning of the season, but here’s what I came up with, borrowing some elements from the last episode as well.

Robbe wakes up the night after kissing Sander. He’s happy and glowing, he sees a cute text from Sander and smiles. Then he goes to the kitchen and Milan is there with a black eye or something, he’s talking to Zoë and Senne, maybe they’re tending to his injuries. Robbe asks what happened. Milan had a date last night and some homophobes started giving them a hard time, Milan wasn’t having it, punches were thrown. Milan is very shaken and upset. So is Robbe, who panics. Is this what he has to look forward to if he’s dating a gay? Will people harass him just for being out with his boyfriend? The implications of what it means to be a gay person in this world hit him really hard. He looks at Sander’s text again and ignores him and possibly blocks him. At some point we will establish that Robbe is also ignoring texts/calls from everyone else, too: Noor, Jens, his mom...

Sander shows up the next day outside Robbe’s place after Robbe has been ignoring him. He tries to talk to Robbe, but Robbe is freaked out and visibly nervous, his eyes darting around - he’s paranoid now about being seen with Sander, due to Milan’s incident. He’s worried about being a target for homophobic violence, understandably so. Sander doesn’t realize that Robbe’s frightened, however, and keeps talking and being nice. Robbe tries to play off the other night as just him being drunk, it was a mistake. When Sander physically gets too close to Robbe, Robbe yells that he’s not gay and runs inside, leaving Sander alone.

Robbe encounters Milan at home alone. Milan is still bruised from the homophobic incident. Milan is unusually subdued. Robbe says he’s sorry for what happened to Milan, it’s terrible. Robbe then sticks his foot in his mouth by saying something well-intentioned but hurtful and ignorant about how maybe Milan shouldn’t be so gay in public or w/e, since that will just attract homophobes, and that not all gay people act like Milan (meaning flamboyant, etc.) Milan gets really, really upset and snaps at Robbe about how gay people have been beaten and killed for just being who they are - basically a version of the Pride speech with a somewhat different context - and that it takes bravery and strength, Robbe doesn’t know what the fuck he’s talking about. So that ends on a bad note for them.

Now trying to get out of the house since he’s fought with Milan, Robbe meets up with Jens, or maybe Jens finds him at the park or whatever. Jens comments on how it’s been a while since they’ve talked. Robbe says he was just worried about what the guys would say since he blew up at them previously. Jens is like, dude, we’re your friends. You have to talk to the people who care about you, you can’t just ghost them and avoid facing your problems. Robbe takes this advice to heart. Jens tells Robbe that he’s ready to listen when Robbe wants to talk.  Maybe Robbe sees something that reminds him of Sander, like graffiti on a building, and despite his fears, we can see that he really misses Sander, and that his feelings for Sander are stronger than his fears.

Next he meets up with Noor. She’s really upset that he’s been ignoring her. He apologizes and a version of the breakup scene goes down. When Robbe leaves, we see him walk away with a conflicted expression. Sorry that he’s hurt Noor, but understanding that this was the right call, and relief that he doesn’t have to pretend any more. 

Robbe sees Milan again and apologizes for what he said last time. Milan accepts his apology. Robbe admits that he’s been confused lately because he likes a guy and he doesn’t know what that makes him. Milan says something like that’s great Robbe likes a guy and that Robbe doesn’t need to label himself right now, he should just follow his heart. Maybe that liking boys is scary (Milan points to his black eye) and sometimes you need to be careful, but at the end of the day, Milan has to be himself and live his life honestly, and so does Robbe. After Milan leaves, Robbe takes out his phone and texts Sander saying he wants to talk.

Sander meets Robbe somewhere and Robbe apologizes for ignoring him, says he freaked out because that was the first time he kissed a guy, but now he’s made up his mind that he wants to be with Sander. They kiss and make up, yayyyyy.

This is by no means a perfect solution (like the thought of then going into the shit with Britt next episode on top of this makes my head hurt), this is just an attempt to include stuff like homophobic violence, Robbe’s ghosting Sander, scenes with Jens and Noor, etc. in a way that makes a little more linear sense to me and doesn’t feel as haphazard, and isn’t super triggering or exploitative. I think if you have a hate crime happening to Robbe himself, that really needs to be the main focus from here on out, for at least a few episodes; if you have something off-screen happening to another character, you can address the topic of violent homophobia without having it dominate the season or featuring triggering scenes. And hopefully it would still have some emotional impact, because we see how it affects Milan, and some clear consequences for character development, because we see how it affects Robbe, as the situation he may find himself in one day.

If I missed anything, cultural notes, translation nuances, let me know!

[themikewheelers]

So apparently it was confirmed that three new male characters will be cast for season 4. I don't want to judge just yet what they're going to contribute yet, because it's still early, but I'm now nervous lol I really hope they're like Tommy/Carol/Troy types, because holy shit there's already so many main characters. Also, why all male??? Hmmmm..

I don’t know how to say this and I swear I don’t want this to come across rude, but like, there’s literally no reason to complain about a season you haven’t seen yet, and all it does is give yourself a pessimistic attitude that’s just gonna make you and other ppl feel crappy. For starters, I genuinely just don’t know how to explain at this point that new characters are essential to advancing plotlines and in adding new locations, both of which are obviously a big part of s4! there’s literally just no way for them to write s4 without adding new characters. And in the case of these four characters, absolutely nothing has been “confirmed”, it’s 100% rumors that are just repeated by news outlet after news outlet. Maybe they are true, but there’s also a VERY good chance they’re fake just like 80% of news articles claiming to have information about s4 (and just while I’m on the topic I’ve seen that one “leak” EVERYWHERE claiming that s4 is gonna be out October 2020 and I just want to say rn that that is absolute bs so if we could maybe ignore it so ppl don’t get their hopes up and then complain later when it obviously isn’t out by then). But yeah, those 4 characters are complete rumors anyway. But even if they are true I’m sorry but there’s literally nothing wrong with adding them? NONE of them are rumored to be MAIN characters to begin with, or at least, the original source of the rumors didn’t claim they were main characters, idk what every news outlet has said after that when spreading the rumors with no backing. As for 3 of them, from the very very little we “know” about them, they seem p clearly to be high school aged guys who I’m guessing are maybe ppl Jonathan meets at his new school. Maybe antagonists, maybe friends. Maybe they’re upperclassmen bullies to Will. Or maybe they’re in Hawkins and the show is giving Steve some new ppl. But nothing about their descriptions makes them seem important so let’s not overreact to the simple possibility of them existing. It was only the fourth character that seemed like he may be important, but again, that’s bc stories and plotlines cannot advance without new characters being added and that’s smth this fandom just needs to get used to. Ppl having been complaining about this since 2016, and I’m sorry but I’ve been fed up with it since 2016. New characters are important, and I could even somewhat understand the criticism if it was main characters being added, but it’s not and the concept of criticizing a show for adding small roles to advance the plot is just ridiculous.

And about the “all male” thing too, I get what you mean, and trust me I’m also frustrated with how this show has so many more male mains than female, but I do think we gotta acknowledge that first off, its rlly not as bad as ppl make it out to be? 2 adults with a 1:1 ratio. 4 teens with a 2:2 ratio. And then 6 kids with a 4:2 ratio of boys to girls. Out of our mains, there’s rlly only a one character difference between male and female at this point. And it’s def complicated bc to some extent it comes down to who you want to personally interpret as a main character versus just a main cast member, but I think those 12 are rlly our core ppl even if there’s other roles that are technically credited as mains but don’t genuinely have that role (Karen, Billy, etc.). Also I didn’t count Erica in that bc I think it’s debatable whether she’s gonna be a main character going forward and we’ll have to wait to see, but she was absolutely a main character in s3. So yeah. This show absolutely has issues with diversity in so many respects, but in terms of male to female ratios, it’s rlly come so far from where it was in season 1? And while there’s always room for improvement, I do think criticisms at this point that are just “there’s not enough female characters” are kinda shallow and if u wanna talk female representation there’s a lot more meaningful stuff than just comparing numbers out of context. Also like again with this stuff it’s important to note that it is minor characters. If this was main characters I would totally agree with u that without context it seems a little crazy to be adding 4 new men and no women, but these are likely super minor roles and we don’t even know what their purpose is. And as much as ppl wanna deny it, a character’s purpose in the plot is gonna be a big factor in what gender they’re written to be, esp for minor characters.

Idk this got long and rambly and I’m just typing this out in the car sitting in my driveway for like 20 minutes even tho I thought it would take like 2 but dhskmskshsjsbs. I genuinely don’t want this to come across rude and I am just tryna express my opinion but I just don’t have a lot of patience on this topic bc ppl have been using the same complaints since 2016 and the vast majority of which I think are nonsensical. I think there’s absolutely ways that adding too many characters is a problem but I also feel v strongly that this show has done a good job balancing its characters, but more than that I feel much more strongly that adding new characters is an important part of any show and most of all, that judging any decision about s4 before watching it is just harmful to yourself and others. It’s giving yourself a negative attitude that’s gonna affect ur ability to go into the season willing to accept change and have an open mind or enjoy what happens bc ur so prepared and fixated on being critical. And it has the same effect on ppl who may not even agree with you but just from seeing the complaints and judgement from other ppl makes them feel bad about a show they love and affects their ability to enjoy it

[bisexualklausmikaelson]

like winter’s losing fight -

a/n: will buyers is in love with his best friend or that rain scene in s3 gave me some real byler feels and produced this mess. au after s3. will-centric, angst. enjoy :)

-

He calls him, sometimes.

Nancy picks up, most of the time.

“Hey,” Will quickly says. “Can you pass the phone to Mike?” he can’t hide the excitement in his voice and somehow, the Wheeler sister finds it endearing. She was away from someone she loves too. So she knows how hard this is on him.

“Sure Will,” Nancy smiles, calling her brother down.

Mike Wheeler rushes down to the living room, a huge grin stretching from ear to ear.

“Hey Will,” He sings, and he can imagine the look of pure excitement on his friend’s face. “How are you?” Mike asks.

Will twirls his fingers around the phone cord, biting down on his bottom lip. “I’m good,” he whispers, sounding nervous. “What about you? And everyone? How are things back in Hawkins?” He wonders.

“Better,” Mike replies. “Things were really crazy for a bit,” he says while scratching the back of his head.

There is an off pause then - and strangely enough, silence was never an issue for the two boys. They used to talk for hours, but now, things had changed. They were older and therefore, awkward silences between them were becoming more and more common.

“Do you ever think about leaving?” Will suddenly asks - attempting to fill the void.

And, after everything that went down in Hawkins, you’d think Mike would be eager to run. But instead, he says this: “I can’t, this is my home, Will.” 

Another pause.

More awkwardness.

“Do you ever think about coming back?” Mike suddenly questions.

Will doesn’t hesitate to answer him. “Yes,” he claims. “All the time,” he offers as he can hear the other boy release a sigh of relief. 

“Maybe you should,” Mike tells him. “I think - I think we would really like that...me and the guys you know?” He adds on, sounding a tad too excited for a possibility that was only that - a possibility. Nothing more.

Will stammers, wondering why his heart was beating so fast, at this very moment.

“Maybe when I come back, you can show me how to be like you,” he quips, fingers clenching tightly around the phone. “How to be tough and brave,” Will specifies, as his other hand is pulling on the phone cord so hard, he might just yank it off the wall.

And, and that moment, he hears Mike release a fond laugh.

“Will,” he sings (with, what Will imagines, dreamy-eyes and rosy cheeks that hurt from smiling so much).  “You already are those things,” Mike sighs.

Oddly enough, Will doesn’t believe him. 

-

He doesn’t see Mike again until Thanksgiving day.

As predicted, he spends all his time with El. He can’t be angry at him for it - he loved seeing his best friend so darn happy. Even if it was with someone else. However, in the end, Mike does save a bit of time for Will.

And it doesn’t matter how small the contribution is, he appreciates it nonetheless.

It’s the thought that counts after all.

“Will,” Mike hugs him tightly as soon as he sees him. “I’m so glad you came,” he whispers in his ear - and it makes Will want to ball his eyes out.

He missed his touch so much.

“Of course,” Will says, looking at him and realizing that his eyes slip to the other boys mouth more than he knows. “I wouldn’t miss thanksgiving,” he recovers quickly and joins the rest of the boys.

In the evening, everyone gathers outside to watch the stars. Max and Lucas’ bickering can be heard for miles. Dustin laughs into Will’s ears as he sits beside Mike while he holds El’s hand. Will doesn’t want to describe the feelings he has right now as jealousy. Because that’s not it - El was like his sister and Mike was his best friend. So naturally, he’s happy that they’re together.

Just sometimes -

He wishes he could be included.

“Look look!” Mike shouts, shaking El’s shoulders. She looks up at the sky and smiles.

“A shooting star,” she whispers, squeezing Mike’s hand. “Did you make a wish?” she asks.

Mike nods. “Yes, I did,” he tells her, sealing their night with a kiss.

(That night, Will had made a wish as well. He wished that he could stay). 

-

He is sixteen when he comes out - and sure it’s not exactly the most open of times when it comes to stuff like that, but Joyce Buyers has always been way ahead of the curve when it came to being a parent. 

She doesn’t exactly get it - but she tries. And that’s all Will really asks for. Besides, she’s always known that her son was different from the other kids, that he was special.

Jonathan doesn’t have much of a reaction to it either - especially as someone as sexually ambiguous as he is, Will didn’t expect any less from his sensitive, kind and caring older brother. 

El is overjoyed - she pulls him close and smiles widely. She’s probably even happier about this that he is.

“I’m so glad you can be honest with yourself about who you really are,” She goes on to say.

He keeps the snarky remarks to himself - the fact that her boyfriend was the one who helped him come to this realization in the first place. He laughs at the tragedy. He’s gay and he’s in love with his best friend who’s in love with his sort-of sister.

God couldn’t have played a crueler trick.

-

Will doesn’t come back into Hawkins until he is eighteen.

It took him some time to be ready to face the guys - would they accept him? Would they even understand?

Lucas is a bit apprehensive, which makes sense, this is a small town after all. Max, on the other hand, is totally ecstatic, talking about how this totally makes sense and no wonder he didn’t like girls. Dustin seems unfazed by it all - he leans against his friends with a joint in hand.

“Gay, straight, bi, who the fuck cares? Love is love, you know?” He hums, nudging Mike, who’s been very quiet through the entire process. 

He’s thinking - and as always, the Wheeler boy wears his heart on his sleeve. He’s obviously upset about something.

And sure enough, that night, Will finds out what that something is.

“How come you stopped talking to me?” Mike asks, cornering him when he’s on his way up to the washroom.

“I’m sorry,” he offers, almost immediately, as he’s unable to look his best friend in the eye. “I just didn’t think you’d understand,” Will explains.

“Understand what?” Mike jerks, placing both hands on the other boy’s shoulders and shaking him.

“What I was going through,” Will whispers, looking down.

Then, Mike finally hears it - the vulnerability in his voice. His friend was scared of him. He eases his expression with tired eyes, speaking to him almost as if he was a child.

 “Look I get it, you like guys - and it’s hard. But I would never abandon you just because we’re different,” Mike assures him.

 “You don’t get it,” Will insists.

“Yes I do,” Mike nods.

“No you don’t,” Will argues. “I don’t just like guys,” he shouts, eyes brimming with tears.

And it almost takes a lifetime for Will to speak again.

“I like you, okay?” he confesses, causing Mike to take a step back.

“What?” he releases, completely shocked.

Mike looks at him like he’s made of ash and he almost hates him for it. If he didn’t love him, that is.

 “I like you,” Will repeats, exasperated. “There, I finally said it, now we can go back to not talking to each other?” he knows this hurts his friend too.

What hurts more is that, in that moment, Mike Wheeler chooses to walk away.

-

It’s days later where Lucas finally breaks his door down to get him out of his funk. He stares at the mess of video games and undone laundry, followed by empty chip bags and cans of pop lying all over Mike’s room. 

“Man,” he sighs, as he begins to pick stuff up for him. “Did El dump you again or something?” Lucas asks, chuckling.

He doesn’t know how to tell him that his best friend is in love with him and he just broke his fucking heart. That Will’s confession may have awaken something inside of him. That all he wants to do is run back to the time where they just kids and things were just easy.

In the end, Mike doesn’t answer Lucas - he grabs a beer instead. 

-

That night, Will wakes up to an incessant knocking sound. 

He opens it up to not just the view of his quiet little backyard but of Mike Wheeler, possibly drunk, throwing pebbles at his window.

“What kind of person says they’re in love with you and then runs away?” He shouts, as soon as he locks eyes with his best friend (ex-best friend?)

Will stammers, not knowing how to react. Rose pink blush rushes to his cheeks and he breaks out in a sweat. “I-I never said I was in love with you,” he simply says.

And those words hurt Mike even more - although he’s not sure why.

“Will please,” he begs, this time, it’s his turn to cry. “I want my best friend back,” he demands, tears streaming down his cheeks, passion in his eyes.

“I can’t just - “ Will sighs, but he can’t bring himself to finish his statement - not when Mike is looking at him like that. 

“I want the person I can talk to when I feel like shit, I want the guy I can game with, I want you by my side please I - “ Mike trails off, unable to continue with his words as he catches himself shedding more and more tears. 

“You have to give me some time,” Will honestly says. “I can’t just forget how I feel about you,” he goes on with.

The slight moment of silence between them offers Mike some time to compose himself again. He wipes off a few of his tears and fixes his gaze on the other boy. 

“How long do you need?” He asks, sounding desperate.

“I don’t know,” Will shrugs. “A few years maybe?” He doesn’t know how to calculate this - how the hell is he supposed to know the answer to that? You can’t just math out heartbreak - it doesn’t work like that.

The wounds left by unrequited love are not mendable some times. But he couldn’t bare to tell Mike that. 

“You’re not making this easy,” Mike grits.

“Neither are you,” Will whispers. He finally makes his way downstairs and walks up to his friend. He places a kind hand on his shoulder and actually offers him a small smile. “You have to go home now, okay?” Will quietly advises, in the softest tone.

And that’s how he’s always been - gentle.

“I was right about you,” Mike sniffs, brushing off the other’s touch. “You are the tough and brave one, even in moments like this,” he chuckles, making his way off of Will’s property.

Even when he was having his heart broken, he knew he had to be strong one, for Mike’s sake.

Will knew that if he broke down too, his best friend could not handle it.

Even if he so desperately wanted to.

-

[flying-elliska]

S3 Rewatch - Episode 3 - Mercredi 12h10 "Tu choisis pas"

I haven't given up on those ! And man I miss skam france a lot so doing this again is making me really happy atm, recapturing a little of the magic.

This clip really was a happy surprise and ep3 is Alexia's time to shine. They did a great job giving her a place in Lucas's story (even tho I would have liked to see her react to Lucas's coming out in particular.)

The clip starts with a quick shot of a Raptors poster ("You also can be one of us!") - that's the French version of the Penetrators right ? So basically a Straight Institution TM. Followed by Lucas quickly noping into the Foyer to avoid Chloe. He's noping out of Straightness all around.

I love Daphne's look in this clip, the green bow scarf thing in her hair is super cute, and the whole moment where she desperately tries to hide that they're having a party while everyone is like eh whatever is hilarious. She is such an unlikely candidate to organize a clandestine party in the school at night, and yet. Everyone is stepping out of their comfort zones.

I did laugh at the part where Daphne brings up Alexia's bisexuality as linked to her shoes, that felt like a clunky way of bringing the subject but those shoes are awesome. And calling Alexia chelou is a throwback to Eliott being all like hey we like weird right? It's cool to be chelou right ? Bi/pan kings ! (A bit mean from Emma though lol) but those would exactly be the type to own their weirdness/queerness. Even though, as she says later, she might not be afraid to stand out but in the end, it's all natural. I am not a big fan of the whole "we're all sexually fluid anyway" but I remember having similar thoughts as a baby bi. It was a way for myself to reassure myself that I wasn't actually weird, that this was in a way a core human experience (I still honestly believe a lot more ppl than we/they realize are at least somewhat fluid, but not everyone.)

For the whole "Lucas becoming a part of the girl squad" thing - it does feel a little artificial at times. But it's also interesting in terms of gender dynamics. There's a bit of an element of "Lucas isn't a real dude so it's chill" that can be a bit demeaning at times - but it also means that he can sidestep the whole charade of war between the sexes/treating girls like objects like his friends do and so he can find temporary shelter with them even though in the end his squad matters more (and that's logical tbh), and they can help each other out.

Alexia bringing up the Kinsey scale and Lucas - nonchalantly but not really - immediately wanting to know more is like such a mood bc you learn so much from being surrounded by other queer ppl, but it can be so tricky to ask when you're not even out to yourself. Then she brings up Emma and Daphne kissing. Daphne is obviously embarrassed and says she didn't take the initiative while Emma treats it as a silly thing she does when drunk. Meanwhile Lucas has probs been struggling with this for years, so it might have hurt a little to see them talk abt it like it's inconsequential- and it's not really surprising when he says - oh that's cool, you can just brush it aside when convenient then. Like at that moment maybe he is thinking that bisexuality in this way is the best option - he can't really deny his attraction to guys anymore but he sees an opportunity to sweep it under the rug. When he says "and everyone still thinks you're hetero" with that fake smile, as if that was the best possible option, I was like, ouch. But I felt like I really understood Lucas a lot more. Compared to Isak (who always seemed to struggle more with the attraction itself, a lot more nervous around Even) Lucas's goes for it around Eliott but also ropes Chloe in much harder - his main fear is about the social repercussions.

Alexia's response is one of my favorite non-Elu moments of the season. It's such an important debunking of the stereotypes about bisexuality. You fall in love, it's not about picking sides. And you can't calculate, it's not about what's most convenient. It just happens. And Lucas needs to hear this, too. He can front with the best of them, but he can't force himself to feel things bc they're convenient. But the message will take some time to sink in. That little downcast look at the end, though. Ugh. He probably feels like he committed a blunder, we know from later that this blocked him from coming out to the girls. From Emma and Daphne being somewhat dismissive he might have expected them to be all "haha yeah it's cool we're still straight anywayyy" but Alexia is way ahead of them on that one. She doesn't let the implication that straightness is the norm slide and I love her for that. I was so blown away when I discovered the Kinsey scale, this idea that it's not "normal" vs the outliers but that's it's more of a spectrum. So drawing strict boundaries is difficult. It's such an important message. It's the first time I really felt they were taking her character and her sexuality seriously and that was really cool. As Lucas's story gets pretty angsty at times, it's also cool to be shown that struggling with yr sexuality is not always a necessity, that some people manage to be very open and proud and easy about it.

Also I saw Coline wearing the "you don't choose who you love" shirt today at Paris pride awwww perfect day to analyze this clip 💕💕💕💕🌈

Previous clip 

[contrabbandieridivilla]

couple tag game

thanks to the loveliest @edonori for tagging me🌻 skamit may die but incantava is immortal!! also i know you tagged me like a week ago it’s just i haven’t logged on here in forever so yeah im sorry:/

Rules: answer this 20 questions about the couple below and then tag other people

Couple: Incantava

1. When did you start to ship them? as soon as the cast was announced but i didnt watch s1 live because i was super busy with exams all of april and may and travelled the first two weeks of june so i only caught up when i got back during the summer but yeah as soon as i saw the cast i just knew

2. How much do you ship them 1-10? that’s not a thing you can’t put a number on i’m sorry

3. Why do you ship them? ¡sappy alert! so first off i see myself way too much in ele so where ever her heart goes i follow and support but also they are both probably the loneliest souls in their surroundings and they keep hiding that so others wouldn’t know and they don’t open up to others easily but they work so well together that they were able to find each other and do the very thing that scares them most and now they’re each other’s family and i think that’s beautiful

4. My opinion: I don’t like them / they’re meh / they’re okay / I like them / I love them / I’m obssesed / They own my heart / they’re my otp (i will die for them.) (and kill too probably)

5. Favorite scene? wohoho okay uhmm so from s1: sei bellissima cazzo like i don’t think you can even understand how- like they- she- he- yeeeaahhh👉👈 but then from s3 it’s the sleepover clip, i dont care what came after i dont care about anything else and i remember the breakdowns in my groupchat the very moment he started singing

6. Favorite quote? hai copiato il look di Luca Scamarcio | ciao mi chiamo Edoardo Incanti e mi fate tutti un po’ schiffo | Communque... hai veramente dei capelli di merda | “sono talmente innamorata di edorado che -” dammi il telefono | possiamo andare dove vuoi, in spagna, in turchia, a parigi | sei bellissima cazzo | che cazzo te ridi and so many more but i have to stop myself or else

7. Favorite social media post? because of some truly unfortunate events we don’t have much content from them so i would have to say that instagram story col’ gelato:))

8. An underrated moment of them? i have two. and they aren’t scenes or clips but really just instants and i think they are underrated because... you see when working with a william character it’s very easy to slip up and make the character and the relationship abusive. however these two teeny moments do just the oposite they are written and worked into the show as a very subtle way to create a softer edo, or a “sottone” as the italian language puts it so perfectly. the 8 seconds between c’è un’ultima cosa and sei bellissima cazzo. the breath he takes, he looks away and looks nervous and that just humanizes both him and the phrase... it’s not something that he uses with everyone and even if he does those three little moments make the viewer understand that for him ele is not like the others instead of sounding like some mechanism and then you have edo’s face expressions when texting ele in tre, due, uno for the same reasons and you see that he cares for her and is happy and i realise this is like a paragraph but i love doing character and scene analysis so i just let myself loose haha

9. The most heartbreaking moment? “ops” andr*a di merdaaaaaa

10. Funniest moment? tisanina? limone o zenzero? and un bacio ofc oh and i’m rereading before posting and that moment at the end of e1 when they slide the box of cookies back and forth and ele finally reaches for it

11. The song that reminds you the most of them? uhm all of them? but probably mine by offenbach

12. Favorite change they made from the og? ele telling edo what happened instead of andr*a and ele not falling on the floor and all the other ones mentioned above in this post

13. Something you wish to see from them? domestic. we never got to see that with the og because of the extra drama but yeah like edo sort of being part of the girl squad and ele sort of being a villa dude that whole thing

14. Favorite moment in s1? sei bellissima, cazzo  are you surprised?

15. Favorite moment in s2? “pensavo piovesse sempre e si mangiasse di merda” “si impara anche l’inglese, dicono serva” i just- exCUSE MEE did you just-

16. Favorite moment in s3? when she was seated on the counter in e3 and couldn’t stop laughing because girl samesies and also she was soo puuureee

17. What do you love the most about them? that they are so different yet so similar... if that makes sense

18. What do you miss the most about them? their shitty banter and roasts but like everything... i miss them so much it hurts

19. Any headcanons? i like to think that this summer was the best they had and they took so many pictures everywhere around the world but also that edo and filo became best buddies because of not what’s even the point 

20. Random thought about them? their level of banter is on a level i can only aspire to reach with anyone in my life but have you seen their smiles???

i am tagging: anyone who wants to it:))

[globrights]

iasip s3 rated by macdennis content

The Gang Finds a Dumpster Baby: Dennis chides Mac for littering and not caring about the environment... Mac agrees to check out the global warming movie he watched bc Dennis kept talking about it even though everyone else was annoyed by it... they really are in love huh. 5.5/10

The Gang Gets Invincible: Mac and Dennis decide to try out for the Eagles because they want to figure out who’s the better football player. “Lincoln Field, baby!” This should be a generic ‘Two Bros Compete Over Sports Thing’ plot but Mac and Dennis are like... really gay about it. They mock Dee together for wanting to try out too and they’re being very misogynistic but the way they laugh at her is so cute. Mac leans in very closely to Dennis’ face when talking about how Dee could embarrass them in terms of running stamina. Mac and Dennis have a whole conversation with their dicks out as they stand over the Lincoln Field and Mac looks at... he looks at Dennis’ dick and asks him if he’s done peeing. And Dennis says no because Mac standing next to him and talking to him makes him nervous,,, okay,,, Mac and Dennis bicker over Mac’s makeup skills and Dennis’ cheekbones. Mac and Dennis sit together on the bus. They’re cutely excited about getting to see Donovan McNabb (even though they don’t) and they’re both... so bad at running. We stan unfit losers who cant even run for ten minutes!! “I liked your form on that, and I liked how you went before the whistle.” “Goddamn right!” “Nice!” Jesus Christ do these two even remember they’re supposed to be competing? Dennis essentially verbally sucked Mac’s dick for tackling his sister and told him he liked his FORM I know I quoted that but like... y’all seeing this... Also can we talk about how Dennis had this running monologue going on while he was running in the field to catch a football was this: “I’m going to make Mac look so bad. My form is perfect–“ like why is Mac always his first thought like it came before his narcissistic thoughts AND his throwaway comp het thought... sigh... 9/10

Dennis and Dee’s Mom is Dead: Mac and Dennis not realizing how gay they are is so fucking funny... Mac banging everyone’s sister but also calling them gross? Comp het rights! Dennis talking to men trying to invite them over to their party is literal actual flirting and he is so stupid for it. “Bro, aw, I just had the most perfect blonde guy slip right through my fingers. I mean, I had him in the palm of my hand and then... he was gone, you know what I mean? I mean, this guy would have been perfect for you. What’s up with this beefcake? Is he coming to the party, or what?” I can’t believe Dennis told Mac this. This sounds literally like they’re gays trying to find love in this world. Give me a break maybe!! Mac and Dennis having no idea that they were waving around a dick flyer that they literally cut themselves is peak metaphor for how in denial about their sexualities they were. Mac and Dennis get up to PEAK gay activity during their party because of how excessively Dennis touches Mac, he literally says “oh yeah, baby, nice one!” when Mac punches a glass frame, breaking it, and taking a random apple and biting into it. He’s so proud of Mac for the dumbest of shit. “You’re gonna tell everybody how we’re like those guys from Jackass, how we like to smash stuff and shove shit up our asses.” “That’s right! You’re gonna get so much shit shoved up your ass tonight!” Oh my god? Oh my god! Nothing says love like throwing knives at college students and basically putting them through emotional and physical torture! That’s just how it is! The symbolism and just everything in this episode pushes this up to a shocking 8.5/10

The Gang Gets Held Hostage: “Come here, come here, come here! I think I got a plan to get us out of this, but I need you to do the destroying thing. Can you?” “I’m a great destroyer.” “Are you kidding me, dude? You’re a born smasher.” “Yes! I’m a born smasher.” “I’m gonna work a different angle with the girl.” “Work those pecs.” “Yeah, exactly.” “Bump it.” “All right.” “Dennis.” “What?” “I love you.” 9/10

The Aluminum Monster Vs. Fatty McGoo: The whole “Dennis has an announcement!” scene is so cute and so funny. Other than that though, Mac and Dennis don’t get up to much, but Dennis does lie to him about dress orders which pushes Mac into Frank’s arms where he learns how to run a sweatshop. 4/10

The Gang Solves the North Korea Situation: Dennis wearing Mac’s duster with no shirt and the way Mac was staring at him? Good shit! 7/10

The Gang Sells Out: Mac and Dennis both somehow managed to get each half of Charlie’s shares in the bar. Charlie gets confused between ‘wood’ and ‘wooed’ and when Dennis tries to explain it to him Mac gives him a little “Dennis, just...” and Dennis goes “It’s a waste of time?” and like. That’s just really domestic of them actually. 6/10

Frank Sets Sweet Dee On Fire: Nothing v specific here but Mac calls Dennis a ‘club kid’ which is cute. 2/10

Sweet Dee’s Dating A Person: “You do have a great voice. You have, you know what man? You have an excellent voice.” The look of absolute BETRAYAL Dennis gives Mac when he doesn’t let him be in his band... wow. “We need a new front man.” “Right. You want someone with a good voice.” “Yes.” “Who’s attractive.” “Yes.” “Someone with charisma.” “Yes.” Somehow they both bottomed in this scene and Dennis wearing glasses is so fucking stupid. This episode would’ve gotten a perfect score if Mac didn’t kick Dennis out of the band for having slutty hips. Mac, those slutty hips are everything you’ve ever wanted in life. Wake up. 9.5/10

Mac is a Serial Killer: Dennis seems to REALLY take notice when it comes to Mac’s comings and goings from the apartment... His reactions to Mac getting laid seems like fake enthusiasm to me :/ 3/10

Dennis Looks Like a Registered Sex Offender: “Listen, I need your help, okay? You’re part owner of the bar, and you’re probably the only person that Mac listens to, and I need you to talk to him.” God Dee really out here knowing the truth huh. She really out here knowing everything, huh? 7/10

The Gang Gets Whacked Part 1: Mac and Dennis the cute little work couple who tries to fix the electricity and both having differing but wrong opinions about how to do it! Mac and Dennis the cute little work couple who ditch work to sit outside their bar in lawn chairs and drink beer together! Mac and Dennis the dumbass work couple who can’t understand the things people say to them because they drink a lot! 9/10

The Gang Gets Whacked Part 2: Mac slaps Dennis and rescues him from his life of prostitution. Wow that’s like a line straight from a very weird mafia AU. 7/10

Bums Making a Mess All Over the City: The way Dennis looks at Mac when he says “In fact, Special Agent Bauer and I plan to take care of a few things today...” Mm... Conspiring with your boyfriend and twin sister while holding your cat as you plan to take down your dad truly is the life huh. 5/10 because it was a great fucking look

The Gang Dances Their Asses Off: One of the most ridiculous things in this episode is the fact that Frank ranked Dennis and Mac second and third best after himself. Some other ridiculous things? Mac and Charlie’s talk about Mac’s... cream... which led to Mac saying this golden line “I’m always putting my cream all over his face.” Mac and Dennis have a dance off where Mac mimes himself sucking Dennis off. Repressed rights! It’s a crime that we didn’t get to see Mac and Dennis slow dance this episode, but still I’m gonna give it a 10/10, especially because Dennis and Mac had 25 pound kegs hanging off their chests and Dennis said “Come on, man! Give me some of that liquid hydraulic shit!” it sounds dirty somehow, anyway, Dennis wrapped his arms around Mac and they both fell to the ground. Very sexy.

[themostrandomfandom]

Hi! Adore your blog

Hey, @lydiagravy​​!

First off, thank you for your kind words. I’m glad you enjoy my blog.

Next, I will admit up front: I have never actually read this bookmyself; I have only had the content explained to me by a friend who majored inhuman development, who read the book as part of her coursework and enjoyed itvery much.

I apologize if I end up bungling anything.

From what I understand, the three primary attachment types breakdown like so:

Anxious: Personswith anxious attachment types tend to be nervous about their relationships.They require frequent reassurance from their partners that they are wanted,appreciated, loved, etc. They crave affection and often fare poorly when singleand/or physically or emotionally separated from their partners. They are slowto trust even the people they’re closest to and can behave irrationally,sporadically, and over-emotionally if they feel insecure in theirrelationships.

Avoidant: Personswith avoidant attachment types tend to be independent and uncomfortable withintimacy. They find commitment difficult and often complain of feeling“suffocated” when people try to get close to them. Most frequently, they chooseto operate solo. However, if they do enter into romantic relationships, theytend to do so with an exit strategy already in mind going in.

Secure:Persons with secure attachment types are generally comfortable—both asindividuals and romantic partners. They regularly express affection and trusttheir partners enough to be intimate with them. They know how to draw clearinterpersonal boundaries, handle rejection, and communicate regarding problems.For this reason, they tend to make excellent friends and romantic partners.

Basedon those definitions, I agree that Brittany has a secure attachment type.However, I think Santana is kind of an interesting case, in that she sometimes presentsherself as having an avoidant attachment type, but in actuality, at her core,she has an anxious one.

Morediscussion after the cut.

___ 

Brittany

WithBrittany, things are fairly straightforward.

Thoughshe sometimes experiences insecurity when people who don’t know her well don’tget her (and especially when they underestimate her intelligence), when itcomes to her attachments to the people who matter—her family members andSantana—Brittany is very comfortable being who she is and, by extension, iscomfortable in her relationships.

Ingeneral, she functions with the understanding that the people who matter willget it and that the people who don’t get it don’t matter after all.

Interms of her relationship with Santana specifically, she understands thesignificance of their feelings for each other, even at times when Santana is inheavy denial. Though the hurtful things Santana says during S1 and S2 sometimescause her to question the viability of her and Santana’s relationship, she always seems to return to the fact that because they are in lovewith each other, anything is possible for them, which is why she is able towait for Santana to get her act together.

Ofcourse, Brittany having a secure attachment type doesn’t exempt her fromexperiencing the occasional moment of doubt or from occasionally behavingpoorly within her relationships—because she certainly does both of those thingsfrom time to time.

Itjust means that, by and large, Baby Girl feels confident giving and receivinglove, and she trusts that she and Santana will be able to overcome whatevertroubles they face because they are deeply committed to each other. She remainssteady even when the boat is rocking.

Nowhere is her secure attachment type more evident than in her speech to Santana during episode 5x12, where she expresses her belief that she and Santana have a special, once-in-a-lifetime bond (“I really wanna be with you, Santana. I’ve seen the world and I’m sure now more than ever that I belong with you. And I’m sure your girlfriend’s great but you can’t re-create what you and I have. Just tell me to stay. Please. It’s your choice. If you want me, I’m here”). Her confidence that Santana will ultimately choose her over Dani speaks to the trust she has in Santana, as well as to her generally easygoing temperament. 

Santana

As stated above, I think that even though Santana sometimes actsavoidant, in reality, her attachment type is most likely anxious.

Here is my reasoning:

As I’ve written about here,Santana has what is known as a reactive temperament, meaning that she typicallyexperiences strong emotional responses to stimuli. Not only does she feelemotions very strongly—when she feels sad, she feels really sad; when she feelshappy, she feels very happy—but in her most natural and unchecked state, shealso manifests those emotions in unmistakable ways, meaning that she cries atthe drop of a hat when something upsets her and smiles so widely that herdimples show when something goes her way. Simply put, Baby Girl wears her hearton her sleeve.

—and the fact that she does so makes her socially vulnerable.

In the public school system, kids who are easily provoked and/orwho get really excited about things tend to become targets for bullying. Theirclassmates will attempt to rile them up just to get a rise out of them. They’llalso mock them for being too effusive about the things they like and dislike.

My theory, based in large part on what she says during her HurtLocker confession, is that Santana learns fairly early on that being reactivemakes her socially vulnerable—and especially once she hits puberty and startsto recognize her attraction to girls for what it is. She knows it is dangerousfor her to wear her emotions so close to the surface, particularly in relationto any physical attractions and/or romantic feelings she might develop, so shemakes the conscientious decision to start downplaying how she feels aboutthings and purposefully repressing her reactivity.

Over time, she developes her “bitch” persona, which she can wearlike armor in order to safeguard herself, pretending not to like or care muchabout anyone or anything. Through concerted efforts, she submerges the emotionswhich make her socially vulnerable—like her insecurity concerning hersexuality, her enthusiasm for performance and other personal passions, her lovefor Brittany, her fears concerning her own lovability and individual worth,etc.—in favor of more “defensible” emotions, like open hostility and annoyance.The anger she allows the world to see is meant to mask the fear she isdesperate to keep hidden.

We don’t know when exactly Santana develops this “too cool forschool” act, but we do know that said act starts to become unsustainable forher during S2, when the possibility that she might lose Brittany to Artieforever dredges up many of the emotions she has been working so hard tosubmerge.

Throughout S2, Santana is an emotional hot mess. Whereas beforeshe had planned out her life so she could always stay two steps ahead of heremotions, now she and Brittany have moved “off-script,” so she can’t anticipateher feelings, only react to them as they happen (see here).

As she becomes increasingly fearful that she will potentiallylose Brittany to Artie forever, she also becomes increasingly aggressivetowards other happy couples around her, as we see between episodes 2x08 and2x13, when she goes on a “spree of relational destruction,” taking on Finchel,Fuinn, Fabrevans, and Pizes in turn. She is frequently weepy in public. Herinteractions with the glee club and with Brittany especially are all over theplace. The more she becomes aware of what it is that she really wants—a stable,romantic relationship with Brittany—the less she knows how to get it.

Eventually, after hitting her emotional breaking point inepisode 2x14, in episode 2x15, she is able to admit to herself and to Brittanythe true nature of her feelings, and once she does, the proverbial floodgates open.Once she says those magic words (“I have to admit that I love you”), she can’tkeep repressing how she feels even if she wants to.

As the seasons wear on, Santana becomes increasingly comfortableacknowledging and expressing her feelings, to the point where in S6, she hasactually gotten back to her openly reactive baseline for the most part.

So getting back to your original question:

I bring up Santana’s reactivity (and her reaction to her ownreactivity) because it plays into the way she displays her attachments.

Baby Girl is at her core anxious, but she sometimes behaves inan avoidant manner as a defense mechanism.

When Santana loves, she loves hard—and she knows as much, evenfrom the beginning (see here).

One of her biggest hang-ups throughout the show is her fear ofrejection. On a very primal level, she worries that if the people she loves andwho love her learn the truth about her, they’ll withdraw their love, and shewon’t be able to cope. We see this belief manifest during her fearfuland defensive interactions with Brittany during the Back Six of S2 (“I said ‘Ilove you,’ and you didn’t say you loved me back”), her reluctance to come outto her parents and grandmother during S3, her insecurities in her friendshipswith various glee club members throughout the show, etc.

In many ways, her anxiety is textbook: At her core, she worriesthat she is inherently unlovable, so she requires frequent reassurance from thepeople who matter to her that such is not the case. As long as she receivesregular, sincere expressions of love and affection from her family members andBrittany, she thrives. But if anything gives her cause to question thestability of her bonds with her loved ones, she does, and she starts to flail—hard. 

As previously noted, she strugglesmightily during S2, constantly worrying that for as much as she loves Brittany,Brittany doesn’t love her back. She experiences a similar emotional crisisduring S4 and early S5, when she and Brittany are broken up and she can’t besure that they’ll ever get back together, even though she wants nothing more inthe world than for them to do so.

Where things get complicated with Santana is that she sometimesresponds to the anxiety she feels in her relationships by putting on anavoidant façade.

Early on, Santana is so scared of the immensity of her feelingsfor Brittany and their implications that she literally cannot deal with them,so she pushes them down and represses them. She wants Brittany so much, butshe’s so scared that she’ll never be able to have her because society won’tallow them to have a happy ending together, because Brittany perhaps doesn’treciprocate her feelings, because she is somehow patently unlovable, etc. Beingfearful in that way causes Santana to feel powerless. And no one likes to feeltruly powerless, especially in a high stakes situation. So Santana tries totake control of the situation by pretending to herself and the world that, inactuality, she doesn’t need or want Brittany, and she isn’t afraid of herfeelings because she doesn’t have any.

Simply put, being in love causes Santana to feel vulnerable, soshe tries to pretend she’s not in love.

She avoids true intimacy with Brittany—refusing to maintain eyecontact with her during sex, verbally downplaying the significance of theirrelationship and denying the depth of their feelings for each other, stubbornlyinsisting that they both have “side dish” sexual relationships with boys inorder to offset their primary sexual relationship with each other, etc.,etc.—so that she doesn’t have to cop to what she feels or reckon with heranxiety.

When Brittany tries to push the issue, she reacts by ridiculingBrittany’s “neediness” and claiming that she has no interest in a romancebetween them, as she’s only interested in sex.

It’s a classic case of “Methinks she doth protest too much.”

She keeps loudly insisting that she doesn’t need Brittany forthe very reason that she does need her so much, and the depth of her needscares her to death.

She keeps saying that she has no interest in love because, deepdown, she is terrified that she is unlovable.

Santana’s avoidance is all an act, and we can tell that it isbecause the second she starts to feel validated and secure in both who she isand how much Brittany loves her, it vanishes.

In situations where she and Brittany are physically oremotionally separated from each other—like during S2, when Brittany datesArtie, and S4, when Brittany dates Sam—Santana reverts to her flailing,quasi-avoidant tendencies.

(See, for example, herbehavior during episode 4x13, where she pretends to have a collegegirlfriend and be completely over Brittany in order to mask how scared she is thatBrittany has replaced her with Sam.)

However, whenever Santana is in a stable relationship withBrittany and feels assured of Brittany’s love for and commitment to her, sheflourishes. She is able to face outside pressures. She never once pretends thatshe doesn’t need or want love.

To me, the fact that Santana only does her “I don’t need anyone;I am a heartless bitch” song and dance during times when she is afraid that shewill end up alone speaks to that behavior being a defense mechanism on her part,as opposed to a legitimate attachment type. 

In reality, she wants nothing morethan to love and be loved—and as long as she receives consistent assurancesfrom Brittany that those wants are being filled, she’s good, to the point whereeven though her natural attachment type is anxious, she can function securelywithin her and Brittany’s relationship.

This phenomenon is most evident in S6, whereSantana maintains a level head and repeatedly cites the unshakable nature ofher and Brittany’s bond as they prepare for their wedding. Come Kurt harping ontheir engagement, Abuela’s stubborn bigotry, or even Brittany’s prenuptialjitters, Santana is able to remain calm and say again and again, “I love you,Brittany, and you love me, and because of that, nothing else matters. We canget through everything together.”

Anyway, jabbering now. Thanks for the question!

[cheekybluefox]

160 Prompt List

1. Why are we at a strip club? 2. I’m sorry, you said what to your teacher? 3. Am I dead? 4. Its always been you. You and always you. 5. Stay with me. 6. How about we put the gun down, and we talk about this? 7. I came here to kick ass and chew gum, and I’m all out of gum.. 8. Whatever it is, I didn’t do it. 9. Am I supposed to be impressed? 10. Don’t tempt me. 11. Is that mine? 12. I can’t do this anymore. 13. Go to hell. - Already been there, but thanks for the invite. 14. Look at me. 15. Where did you get that? 16. Here, take my hand. Everything is going to be fine. Just hold onto me and keep moving. 17. You don’t need to protect me. 18. I had a nightmare about you, and I just needed to make sure you were okay. 19. I told you not to fall in love with me. 20. You know it’s okay to cry, right? 21. I just want to be left alone right now. 22. Those things you said last night, did you mean it? 23. Promise me you come back, just..I need you to promise me. 24. I could tell it was your favorite book by all the notes in the margin. 25. Where do you think you’re going? 26. Despite what you may think, I can look after myself. 27. Just please, be my best friend right now and not the person they I confessed my love to. 28. Well, if you insist. 29. I can’t believe you don’t like Disney films. 30. You’re lucky you’re so cute. 31. Sometimes I really dislike you. 32. Hold my hand, we need to make this look convincing. 33. I’m like 20% sure this plan will work There’s like an 80% chance that it could end in violence and Gore, but this plan is solid, I swear. 34. If I die, I’m coming back to haunt you. 35. If you don’t want to talk about it then just say so; but do not say you are fine, when you so obviously are not. 36. I made cupcakes because I know you like them. 37. My parents asked me about you again. 38. Wait, this is your handwriting? This chicken scratch? 39. I didn’t know you could play. 40. Things don’t always turn out the way you want them to. 41. You two sure you aren’t married? 42. You can’t sit on the sidelines all your life. 43. You deserve so much better. So much more. 44. You haven’t each touched your food, what's going on baby girl? 45. Stay the night. Please. 46. Please pretend to be my boyfriend/girlfriend. I’ll owe you big time. 47. Its midnight. What do you want? 48. You’re strangely comfortable. 49. Don’t fuck with mama bear. 50. I just need you here. 51. How long have you been standing there? 52. Is that what you call an apology? 53.I’ve loved you since I laid my eyes on you. The very moment, I first saw you, and I…oh, fuck it! 54. Just hold me. 55. Can I hold your hand? 56. I just don’t know how to look forward anymore. 57. She’s still alive, she has to be. 58. Get that pretty little butt over here. 59. Is there a special reason as to why you’re wearing my shirt? 60. You’re cute when you’re angry. 61. I didn’t realise I needed your permission. 62. I’m not jealous. 63. Forever is a long time. 64. This is seriously sketchy. 65. I lost the baby. 66. Rude! 67. Let’s blow this joint. 68. Oh, bite me. 69. I haven’t slept in four days. 70. Stop being such a baby. 71. Hey, calm down, its okay. They cant hurt you anymore. 72. I’m too sober for this shit. 73. You can’t banish me! It's my bed too! 74. Good thing I didn’t ask your opinion. 75. Its six in the morning, you’re not drinking vodka. 76. You work for me. You’re my slave. 77. The kids! They ambushed me! 78. You may have to buy my silence. 79. There’s a herd of them. 80. You smell like wet dog. 81. Just smile, for me. Please? I really need to see your smile right now. 82. Just show me what’s behind your back. 83. Take one more step in that direction, and I’ll murder you. 84. I’m proud of you. I’m proud of us. 85. Everyone deserves a second chance. 86. Please don’t cry, I can’t stand to see you cry. 87. You can’t keep pretending that it didn’t happen, cause guess what? It did! 88. I think I’m falling in love with you and it scares the shit out of me. 89. Its cold, take my coat. 90. I’m such a fool for not seeing this earlier. 91. I’m not blind, I’ve seen the way you look at her. 92. Never let them die, they’re the soap opera of my life. 93. Could you just, IDK, stop murdering people for shits and giggles? - Did you just say IDK in a verbal conversation? 94. Sleep in your car if you don’t want the sofa. 95. We bet on it. You lost. Now you have to do it. 96. Let’s get wasted, and go piss on his grave. 97. This is all your fault. - I hope so. 98. Did you just agree with me? No, you said it now, no take backs. 99. Stop doing that thing with your face, its making want to vomit. 100. You’re a psychopath. - I prefer creative. 101. You look… - Beautiful, gorgeous, like a Goddess walking upon the earth. Yes, I know. Now let’s move on. 102. I know, all you want is to go home but you know what? I want to go to Mars. Know what though? It’s never going to happen. Accept it. 103. Nope, can’t go to hell. Satan has a restraining order against me. 104. Get over it. Pussy. 105. It’s three in morning. - yes. Why are you here? - I live here. No, on the floor. With me. 106. I don’t hate you, but if you were on fire and I had water I’d drink it and piss on the ground. 107. You’re judging me. - Yea, its a hobby of mine. 108. FBI! OPEN THE DOOR! -But its so much more fun when you break it down. 109. I’d rather be pecked to death by a flock of woodpeckers. 110. How drunk are you on a scale of one to ten? - Yes. 111. Are you stalking me? - Not in a creepy way. 112. Focus on me. 113. Please don’t waste your tears on him. 114. Ice cream is a good start. 115. Did you just slap me? 116. All is fair in love and war, darling. 117. My vote is on the lemon cakes. 118. Get your dirty ass boots off my nice, clean sheets. 119. I like night time. It's quiet. I can think. 120. Look, there goes my last fuck to give. 121. Why are you walking around naked? 122. Stare at the stars all you want, but you won't find the answer to your problems up there. The real world is down here. 123. I underestimated you. - Classic mistake. 124. How did you manage to get frosting on the lampshade? 125. What’s the worst that could happen? - Famous last words. 126. You want it? Beg. 127. Yes, I heard you. I just don’t care. 128. Eat a bag of dicks. Dick. 129. You’re special to me. 130. If we get caught I’m blaming you. 131. Do not try me right now. 132. You give the best hugs. 133. I swear you love your hair more then me sometimes. 134. Tell me a secret. 135. Shut up or I’ll choke you. - I could be into that. 136. Let’s start with the real questions, tits or ass? 137. You make me nervous. 138. Don’t give me that look. 139. Maybe I did? So what! I don’t have to run everything by you! 140. Tell anyone and I’ll kill you, chop up your body and sell the parts. 141. That’s not your name. 142. Oh, well done. What do you want? A gold star? 143. You like sunflowers right? 144. You game? 145. Just get in the fucking blanket fort. 146. Sorry isn’t gunna help you when I’m kicking your ass. 147. Were you born a dick? Or do you go put of your way to be one? 148. Break her heart and I’ll break your face. 149. Well that was unsettling. 150. Only I can touch you. 151. Don’t tell me to shut up. You shut up. 152. Your mother/father would be so proud. 153. You stole his wallet? - I prefer borrowing without permission. 154. You going to kiss me or what? 155. Die quietly will you? 156. You’re my one. 157. You want it? Come and get it. 158. Why are you wearing Mickey mouse ears? 159. Lock the door next time. 160. Have kids, they said. It’ll be fun, they said.

Hi guys! So I love writing. So I thought I’d try this. I’ll be posting things I’ve thought of myself but I would also love to write things for you guys too. These are the fandom’s I’m happy to write for : - Harry Potter - Game of Thrones - X men - Avengers - Criminal minds - Guardians of the galaxy - Star wars - The hobbit - Lord of the rings. - Once upon a time (s1 - s3A) - Teen Wolf (s1 & s2) - Walking dead ( I watched s1 - s3, then s6 & s7) - Naruto

[lightsandlostbells]

wtFOCK season 3, episode 1 reaction

So! It’s a million years too late, but I decided to talk about wtFOCK season 3. 

I had fairly positive feelings about S1 of wtFOCK. It was the scrappy underdog of the Skam remakes, in a way, and what it lacked in polish, it made up for authenticity. I was very willing to overlook its flaws because of what I perceived as genuine attempts to connect with teenagers. I was really, really holding out hope that future seasons would improve on its flaws. And ... well. (Disclaimer: I still haven’t seen S2. Sorry! I just failed to keep up with all the remakes and S2 is my least fave so I didn’t feel that motivated to make it a priority, even though I did like Zoë a lot in S1.)

Heads up - I didn’t care for this season. A lot of people did, and I would never, ever want to ruin someone’s enjoyment of something, even if I personally didn’t like it. So please take this as a warning that I have a lot of negative things to say, and don’t read if it’s going to harsh your buzz for a pairing or a story that you deeply love. However, I didn’t want to just be grumpy and angry the whole time, so I tried to think of constructive ways to fix certain problems I had with this season. No guarantees that they’re satisfying solutions, but it was an interesting exercise.

Also, I didn’t watch this in real time, and I paid barely any attention to fandom reactions and/or drama, so it’s very possible that I am missing context, or that pacing issues didn’t register with me quite as strongly, etc. If one of the actors ate a live dolphin on Instagram, and then got into a fight with fans on Twitter about their right to eat live dolphins, and now fandom has canceled the problematic dolphin-eating actor, I legit do not know, do not come at me if I’m like “This actor is doing a good job” with “Wow, didn’t know you stanned dolphin-eaters??? YIKES.” Honestly, for the purposes of just grading this season on a storytelling level, I would prefer not to know anything about the cast or crew unless it directly has an impact on the show itself.

Clip 1 - House party

OK, I did like this flashy intro shot, immersing us in the Wild ‘n’ Crazy Teen Party of Wild ‘n’ Crazy Youths.

Amber rejecting every dude in site … When Will Gay Vilde Rise. (I know there have been some f/f storylines in the remakes, but if there’s one involving an actual Vilde, please let me know.)

Luca saying “We’re not walking around in a high school drama” - you can hear the rimshot.

I do like the transition from the party up to the bathroom, that’s a cool shot. wtFOCK’s directing so far is more ambitious than it was in S1.

Robbe is clearly a mess and they acknowledge his problems at home right off the bat.

We go back downstairs. wtFOCK’s version of Magnus knocks his drink on Amber and she gets pissed. She gives him the finger and he falls in love. Still a better love story than S3 Daphne/Basile.

It’s a small point, but I don’t get why we didn’t get this moment before jumping up to the bathroom with Robbe and the others? It would be a far smoother transition, just on a practical level and also in the sense of fully immersing us in Robbe’s POV after a quick update with the other characters.

Belgian Magnus joins the guys in the bathtub and announces he’s in love. They roast him when they find out it’s Amber and start talking about hot chicks. Moyo starts grilling Robbe about his type of girl, in a crass, sexual way.

This is honestly not a bad start to Robbe’s story at all. Robbe is clearly more reluctant to get into his interest in girls than Isak was - Isak was more fuckboyish from the start, Robbe seems like he’s about to start squirming and doesn’t really give an answer to Moyo’s questioning. Which is fine! I think it’s fine to start off the POV character at different stages of performing heterosexuality, as long as it’s taken into account in the writing of the character’s whole arc. The fact that the boy talk is so crude and sexual just ramps up Robbe’s alienation.

I swear, I will never understand how the girls in this scene just go into the bathroom and pee in front of strange boys … like maybe I am just a ~prude but that seems like a recipe for disaster and I would not trust those little fuckers to not be secretly recording me on the toilet.

Her peeing is kind of a power move, like marking her territory.

Also L M A O at Robbe starting to flirt with the girl while she is pissing … like now this comes off as a kink thing. OK, Robbe. Jokes aside, this gets across the same meaning as the scene with Isak: he starts to flirt with her because he was encouraged by the other guys.

Uh, flush the toilet, lady. And use some TP.

Now this version of Emma seriously radiates some Natalie Portman in The Professional vibes.

She orders him to stand up and then starts kissing him. I get way less of a vibe of Robbe’s mad game with women (like how Isak negged Emma into kissing him) and more like this girl is the love interest out of an indie romcom, all mysterious and spunky. She kisses him like once after taking his jay and then leaves. The boys all crack up. Moyo tells Robbe it’s his responsibility to get the weed back which lmao, no it’s not, all you assholes were there and could have intervened.

This scene is perfectly fine and even effective! Not entirely the same vibes as OG, but it still has a purpose and some obvious cause-and-effect, and there are some nice stylistic choices.

Clip 2 - Party pt. 2

Robbe is now making out with mystery girl. We already have a divergence in characterization from OG. Isak was being performative about making out with Emma and shut it down once the guys left. Robbe is making out with this girl because he wants to be straight, I guess? If it’s not to appeal to his friends, it’s likely that this is for himself. Again, I have no real problem with this change if it’s incorporated into Robbe’s overall arc and characterization. My thing is, if you’re writing this scene, do you realize the differences in characterization? Or do you think this is interchangeable from what happened with Isak? The latter is where you run into problems, because then the writing shows lack of nuance. I bring this up here because, well, you can guess how I feel about later events. 

Luca seems rather aggro about the mystery woman, which I assume is because she still has the hots for Robbe?

It makes me laugh that we got this first-person POV as Robbe leaves through the garage, because of the “Smack My Bitch Up” song being played in the last clip (the song had an infamous music video, banned from MTV in the ‘90s, that was from a first-person POV). But again, WTFock is trying harder with the cinematography and direction, good for them.

Robbe ditches the cops by jumping on the bike with Belgian Emma. OK, I get it, Belgian Emma is too cool for school. 

I have kinda mixed feelings on that, actually. I mean, I’ll be honest - I don’t see why any Emma has to be made into someone more palatable. Definitely don’t demonize her or present her in a misogynistic way! She deserves sympathy and dignity as much as any character on a Skam. But … it’s fine if she and the Isak aren’t like, amazingly compatible except for his sexuality. The Even character is supposed to be the one who really shakes up the Isak’s world! The Isak is supposed to be lost and confused and drifting and then Even comes in and is someone he can really open up to. Not just because he’s another guy who’s into guys, but because Even’s personality meshes with Isak’s so easily while still challenging him and introducing him to new things. In a way, it does kinda diminish the effect of the Even if the Isak meets ANOTHER mysterious stranger who’s an awesome person. Or at the very least, it lessens the feeling of the Isak’s detachment from everything.

And again, this could work if the writing realizes it. You can totally craft a subtly different arc from the pieces of Isak’s season. It’s just that (speaking from the future) I do not feel this is what happened.

Clip 3 - Tagging time

I don’t think it’s necessary to break up all the parts of a longer scene/set piece into a bunch of different clips. If you start a scene at 16:00, it’s OK to have the clip take place over several hours. You don’t need to chop it up unless there’s a reason why this pacing might benefit the story. Honestly, if you’re watching in real time, I think this method is often less effective at building tension/emotion/etc. But wtFOCK is not the first remake to try this tactic.

... this part where Robbe and Noor put on masks sure hits differently in 2020.

Belgian Emma’s name is Noor and she takes him to a warehouse, or something? It’s very secret and Cool Kid. And IDK, it’s fun, but again… I think making the Emma that much of a fun mysterious cool exciting person is very much diminishing the effect of Robbe’s isolation. We had a good start with establishing that alienation while he was in the tub, but now his reactions to her rad hipness feel way too sincere and act against the major character conflict of his season. He seems nervous to go with her, but not because he’s with a girl, just because it’s a risky scenario.

Noor hands Robbe a spray paint can and leads him to tag a wall. There’s  a guy taking pictures. So I’m assuming one of the guys in masks is the Even? The POV seems to shift to the photo guy briefly, like we’re seeing Robbe through his eyes. And even though I’m not a fan of POV breakage, I do think this is a cool way to introduce the Even without really introducing him, you know? If that’s him. (EDIT from the future: Ummm, so that wasn’t Sander, right? I’m rewatching and it doesn’t look like him. Soooo that part has even less relevance than I originally thought. Got it.) (EDIT from the future beyond the future: @hellswolfie tells me that this actually was Sander, so I am just bad at recognizing people, lol.)

Robbe and Noor take off their masks briefly to kiss. Uhhhh, did the scene really just … cut off there? Because L M A O what a weird choice. We don’t get to see what Robbe creates on the wall, which could be a great way to establish his character, AND we end with him on a smiley, contented note which does not boost his POV at all. It legit just makes him seem like a guy who’s into this girl, and sorry, even if that’s his public persona at this point in time … that’s not what we, the audience should be getting at all. 

Clip 4 - Boy squad morning after

Robbe skateboards to meet up with the guy squad. Again, the directing is far better IMO than in S1.

Robbe got the weed back so that conflict is over, I guess.

He gets a call from his mom and stops laughing with the guys and gets serious. He walks away to take the call. Then he starts to open up to Jens about his mom freaking out, and then Moyo spots some girls so they all ditch Robbe to go chase girls, and WOW, Jens, please turn in your Jonas card. 

Don’t love that we didn’t hear his mom on the phone. There’s no reason not to let us hear what she’s saying since it would be in Robbe’s POV AND as it turns out, they just tell us about the situation with his mom right off the bat, anyway, so it’s not like there’s much point in hiding it. 

This was effective in a sense to establish how girl-crazy his friends are, as well as setting up Robbe’s isolation, which I was worried wouldn’t come across as strongly after meeting Noor. But I think they could have NOT mingled in his mom issues to make this part more effective. Like if the goal was to show more of Robbe being alienated because he’s gay, then that’s not entirely successful, because there are non-gay reasons why Robbe wouldn’t join his pals on the girl chase. I mean, even a horny hetero Robbe might not want to chase girls with his bros because talking to his mom is a downer, so it’s not necessarily because of his sexuality. Plus he just found a girl he liked in Noor, so apparently, he’s not on the prowl. What this part IS communicating that the Belgian guy squad doesn’t have much interest in their friend’s family struggles, which ... ehhhh, maybe not great in the grand scheme of the storyline? These guys can be flawed, for sure, but we do need them to care about Robbe’s well-being. And Robbe tried to open up here, so the flaw is not in him, it’s in his friends. I’m going to let it slide because Jens was offering to help Robbe in the first clip, so it’s not like he’s been a totally insensitive friend this whole time. 

Clip 5 - Phone call from Robbe’s dad

Noor jumps on Robbe and they make out. She shows him the garage and they talk about the tagging world or w/e. Again, not sure why they are portraying Noor as like … a legit love interest. I don’t get much of a sense of discomfort from Robbe. Isak was just not into Emma and was uncomfortable when his bathroom flirting came back to haunt him. And I don’t think it’s TERRIBLE not to follow that route, but you can’t just make this huge change if you don’t account for it in future episodes and Robbe’s overall arc. (EDIT from the future: Which I don’t think they do, otherwise I wouldn’t care.) Every scene should count in furthering Robbe’s character, especially this early in the season where we’re just getting to know his particular struggles. If Robbe is trying to convince himself to like girls, then I want to see definite vulnerability in how that’s portrayed.

I blame the directing/writing more than the acting for the lack of discomfort, since I sensed Robbe’s lack of comfort just fine in the bathtub scene.

Makeouts get interrupted when Robbe’s dad calls. Again, not sure why we aren’t hearing both sides of the conversation? Because we’re in Robbe’s POV. Why wouldn’t we hear them? This seems like they just want to create some suspense or mystery over the situation with his parents. But it’s perfectly possible to do so while still letting us in on the phone calls. In fact, it’s arguably more intriguing to let us listen to some phone calls where we get some vague details but nowhere close to the whole story. It’s not like Robbe’s dad is going to explain the whole situation to his son in an exposition dump. We can get some crumbs to tease us, while still keeping us in Robbe’s POV and not feeling like the show is cutting corners.

Robbe gets mad at his dad and tells Noor he needs to be alone. Closeup on Noor as Robbe walks away. OK … why? Why on her and not Robbe when it’s his POV? Why the focus on Noor’s feelings when we really need to be establishing our protagonist’s mindset in the beginning of this season? I’m not saying her feelings don’t matter, I’m saying that well, this isn’t her story. It would be better to see Robbe’s pained reaction as he leaves.

Clip 6 - Robbe’s dad drama

Jens comes running up while Robbe is being sad. Robbe says that it may be necessary for him to stay with Jens because Robbe’s mom has been committed to a mental health institution and Robbe doesn’t want to stay with his dad. Ah, so I guess we’re hearing that right away. Which honestly makes not hearing his phone calls to his parents even funnier - like you lock us out of his POV arguably for the suspense, but then you end the suspense anyway by just telling us what happened a scene or two later? All right. I guess there’s suspense in that we don’t know exactly what’s up with the mom, mental health-wise, or the root of Robbe’s problems with his dad.

It occurs to me that maybe they just didn’t want to hire people to voice Robbe’s parents? Or put in the time to film both sides of the conversation? I have a hard time believing either of those because it’s so lazy, but. 

I mean, just turn the phone conversations into text conversations if you’re not going to let us listen to Robbe’s parents on the other end.

They go and play football without really resolving the situation. Sad music plays while Robbe joins in. Also, someone was calling Robbe, and I assume it was his dad, but it’s not shown.

These clips are VERY short and choppy so far. You could easily combine the last two, so Robbe is with Jens instead of Noor when he gets the other phone call from his dad, leading into this conversation.

We know immediately about Robbe’s mom’s situation instead of it being a mystery, like with Isak. Which, again, isn’t inherently wrong, but then I want them to DO SOMETHING with it. 

Clip 7 - Jens and Jana

Oh hey, Jana got her braces off! IDK if that happened last season or this one, but it was something I liked, seeing a teenage girl with braces on a teen drama. That rarely happens unless it’s a joke or a plot point.

OK, they really need to film Robbe’s phone so I can actually see who’s calling…

Jens tells Jana about Robbe’s parental situation. I’ll note that first she asks if something’s up with Noor, so news of the Robbe/Noor relationship must have traveled really fast since they’ve only just gotten together. Like Robbe and Noor are clearly dating, going off Jana’s comment, and not just hooking up. Then Belgian Magnus wants to know about hooking up with Amber. Meanwhile Robbe is having a conversation off screen with his dad? Guess it wasn’t important!

And that’s the problem, obviously. It’s his POV season, anything you decide to show SHOULD be important to his storyline. 

Also … it’s fine that we’re focusing on Robbe’s shit home life since that’s relevant to his story, but almost nothing in these clips has set up Robbe’s attraction to men, and only slightly his lack of interest in girls, which was negated by him seeming very interested in a girl afterwards. And knowing how long this season takes to get going with the Even character, it’s a pretty glaring omission.

So we don’t see Robbe’s phone call with his dad, but he gets snappy about it when Jens asks. One of the boys (I can’t tell who) says that Robbe’s on his period.  Gonna be real, I don’t care for this squad so far. 

What was the point of this clip? We already know Robbe is having problems with his dad, which is the most relevant part to the plot here. We shouldn’t be wandering from Robbe’s POV so much, but even taking that into account … we already know Belgian Magnus likes Amber, so that’s not necessary to establish. And we didn’t need to see Jens tell Jana something we already know. I assume he tells her so Zoë can find out and offer a room, but there’s no reason to see Jens tell Jana this, so. Filler clip. 

Clip 8 - Zoë and Robbe at the lockers

Yeah, Zoë offers Robbe a place to stay here, but again, we didn’t need to see the news travel down the Jens-Jana pipeline. It could have been condensed more efficiently.

Robbe doesn’t want to because he says his dad wouldn’t approve. Zoë says she hopes things get better with his mom and Robbe at first snaps and tells her to leave it, then says thanks. This is an actual good interaction, writing-wise, kudos.

I liked Zoë a lot in S1 and I like her here again. I really should watch her season despite my Noorhelm allergy. The scene of them kinda smiling at each other across the hallways reminds me that this is probably the strongest relationship in the whole season, tbh.

Why was this clip so short? So many of these clips could have been combined into one. I mean, Zoë could have said, “I heard from Jana who heard from Jens...” without us needing the previous clip. Although, did Robbe really want anyone else to know about his home life? Lol @ Jens just blabbing Robbe’s private business.

So I guess they didn’t set up the Eskild situation in S2 that would lead to Eskild offering Robbe a place to stay? 

Clip 9 - Robbe gets roommates

Robbe is in Zoë’s room. He sees her “everyone you know is fighting a battle” quote next to the mirror, which is a detail I actually quite like in context with the rest of this storyline and Even’s condition. It’s a good Skam thesis overall.

I guess Zoë met with Robbe’s dad. Zoë calls him a tough cookie. Robbe doesn’t want to speak to him. They bond a little over their parental problems. Again, a nice detail.

Belgian Eskild appears and teases Robbe a little before announcing that Robbe’s dad has agreed to let him stay in the flat. Yay!

Oh, so Senne is staying there, too? At least they didn’t do a pointless Noorhelm breakup in this version.

Milan (the Eskild) tries to go in for a hug and Robbe isn’t cool with it, so at least that’s something with Robbe’s issues with men. (I think? The thing is, Robbe also does not really know Milan, so it’s not as weird that he’s not ready to be affectionate with a near-stranger.)  (EDIT from the future: Keeping the S2 almost-kiss that’s referenced in the next clip in mind, I can rationalize this moment as a continuation of that awkwardness from Robbe’s POV.) 

They chat with Lisa (Linn) who wants to direct Robbe on what he is and isn’t allowed to touch in her room, heh.  Milan and Zoë have cute interaction, and Robbe looks happy. I do like the flatmate vibe so far, they seem fun.

Clip 10 - Robbe and Milan

Senne and Zo�� get cute. I haven’t seen S2 so I can’t give my opinion on their version of Noorhelm, but I did think a few things about them were less creepy in wtFOCK’s S1 than in OG. Milan talks about how they’re a Disneylike couple and Robbe laughs.

Then Robbe apologizes for something that evidently happened in S2, where Milan tried to kiss Robbe at a party? Again, I didn’t see the scene. Milan says he’d never try to do that. He offers Robbe a hug, which he accepts - tbh I don’t know if Robbe SHOULD accept based on where he is in his character arc, maybe he should have more skittishness? But it’s a nice character moment, at least. They really have to make up for lost time with the Robbe-Milan relationship, so I can get that they need to establish some closeness fast.

Not being in the wtFOCK fandom, I kinda wonder if there was backlash to that scene from before and this is damage control, LMAO.

I feel like you could’ve tweaked this to be more representative of Robbe’s issues, like have him stress here that he’s not gay, because it’s a sweet scene but again, I don’t feel like this episode built up Robbe’s internal dilemma very well. You could make this not just about smoothing over whatever bump there was in this relationship, but also about setting up some internal tension with Robbe’s sexuality issues. Multi-tasking - it’s great!

EDIT from the future: OK, I tracked down the S2 scene, and yeah, while it illustrates some of Robbe’s internalized homophobia, I really think you needed to carry this through to this clip. Because that was a very public situation, and they made a point of emphasizing onlookers’ reactions. I feel like you need to show that Robbe’s internalized homophobia isn’t just about external reactions, but internal struggles, because ... so far, that’s what it is? Like what is he doing with Noor otherwise? 

Clip 11 - Housewarming party

Party is underway. Yasmina is there and is friendly with Robbe. It sounds like they’re working on a school project together. Aaron (Magnus) and Moyo are talking about hot chicks again.

Noor arrives and the boys tease Robbe about how far he’s gone, Robbe looks pretty chill and happy until Moyo says Robbe’s getting laid tonight and you can see the nerves and reluctance take over. Okay! A character detail that actually works for his arc! Yes!

Partying, makeouts with Noor … sorry but they are wasting a lot of time with this relationship. ROBBE ISN’T INTO HER. Here’s the thing: I don’t want to demonize any of Evak’s female “love interests,” right? It’s pointless anyway because Evak is the endgame pairing, Sonja and Emma aren’t “threats” in the end, but also because they’re not bad people just for wanting to date these two guys who happens to want each other instead. And I think you can do interesting things with Sonja and Emma as characters. I’ve read Sonja fanfic that’s really good!

But when it comes down to it … this is not the story of Robbe/Noor, and there’s a point where it feels like there’s too much development for something that is really intended to be a speed bump in Robbe’s journey. 

I guess it’s a pet peeve of mine when gay stories devote a ton of time to het relationships, to the point where it begins to overshadow the main gay relationship. Love, Victor did this to an absolutely ridiculous degree. (I actually made notes for Love, Victor reactions, but hesitated to post them because 60% consisted of me typing I DON’T CARE ABOUT THESE STRAIGHT ROMANCES.) And I GET it, this is an experience many gay kids go through in their coming out journey, but also, less charitably… you don’t need het romance to dominate everything. You don’t need to make this about how a gay person being gay hurts a straight person. I genuinely appreciate that once Isak kisses Even, it’s fucking over with him and Emma, that plot thread is done. 

Anyway, Noor tells Robbe he’s so fucking hot and Robbe looks more uncomfortable, moreso when she wants to see his room and he goes off like he’s headed to Mordor.

Aaron checking out Amber … okay, again with all the het. I don’t care!!! This is not important right now!! 

Noor pushes Robbe onto the bed, ugh please don’t have them Go There.

She takes off her top and Robbe touches her boob like he’s sticking his hand into a porta-potty. We see his discomfort so at least this part is effective and relevant to Robbe’s arc. Noor is taking off her bra when the boys come into the room, wanting the weed. Okay, you dumb fucks, you’re teasing your bro about getting laid and yet you think it’s cool to enter his room when he’s with a girl? I mean, that’s a lucky break for Robbe, but his friends are extra stupid.

The mood is killed, Robbe goes hunting for weed. Episode ends.

HOW I WOULD REWRITE THIS EPISODE:

Lmao, some of my changes sounded a lot like “be like OG Skam S3.” Because Skam S3 was well-written and made sense. But I tried to think of edits that worked with what wtFOCK was presenting, not just repeating OG.

(I’m also repeating a few things in this section that I said above, btw)

While this episode doesn’t make me angry or anything, it’s got a serious problem with dithering. The first clip is a solid start to the season, but afterwards, so many of these clips feel like filler. There’s a lack of substance to them. It was hard to write about them because they ended up feeling like two minutes of nothing. 

Did we need to see repetitive mentions of Robbe’s troubled relationship with his dad? No, it’s an important plot detail but we could have established that more concisely in fewer clips. Did we need to see the process of how Robbe comes to stay with Zoë, Senne, and Milan? No, not really. Or at least not dragged out over at least three clips. 

I don’t feel like I’m in Robbe’s head to the extent that I should be  so far. Some of this is because the show just flat-out locks us out of his POV, like not showing the phone call in the Jens-Jana clip. But a lot of it is also because of the narrative dawdling. There’s just not as much to analyze unless I bring in Skam season 3 and project what we know about Isak onto Robbe. And that’s not a good way to adapt a story.

The framing of Robbe/Noor needs to change. Combine the bathroom intro with the aborted sex scene - the boys are sitting in the tub, teasing Robbe about getting laid, so he makes out with Noor and they go into a bedroom where he’s clearly not into this, and then Moyo and Aaron come in asking for weed because Robbe still actually has the weed from the bathtub at this point. Or do what Skam France did (can’t believe I’m referring to Skam France) and have the arrival of the cops interrupt the makeout/sex session and Robbe takes his cue to exit.

But frankly, it’s not great to have Robbe acting or looking too cozy with Noor, like this is a legitimate romantic arc except when it gets to the sex. The point is that this isn’t a romance. Even if you want to show some cuddly, non-sexual scenes with Noor, you have to show more of Robbe’s reluctance and fear throughout. 

Show Robbe’s fucking phone conversations with his parents!!!! Good Lord. He’s not ordering a pizza. These are important aspects of his story. Capitalize on that family tension, show us what a bad place Robbe is in at the start of this season. 

Now, about the lack of Even in this episode. Not introducing Even is a bold move, but not necessarily a smart one. Even’s introduction in Skam is not just the intro of “the love interest” - he’s the catalyst for almost everything in Isak’s story. Consider that in episode 1, Isak is seen mostly unhappy and bored - he’s distraught after kissing Emma, he’s checked out of his friends’ lunchtime girl talk, he zones out staring at his teacher’s boobs, he doesn’t want to be at kosegruppa. Isak is actually very passive and just going through the motions, doing what people tell him to do. But once Isak meets Even at kosegruppa - well, that’s when Isak wakes up. In the next few clips, we see Isak taking action. And sure, they’re small actions, searching for Even online, watching the Even video over and over, asking Vilde if there will be more kosegruppa meetings. But we can see that Isak now cares about something, he’s paying attention. Of course, Robbe’s story doesn’t have to follow the same arc. However, it does the season a huge benefit to get him intrigued by something at this point, so we the audience are not just sleepwalking along with him for a few episodes.

There’s also just the simple fact that we have only 10 episodes to establish a love story and make us care about the Even character, and it’s a very risky move to waste too much time. If you are really killing it with the rest of Robbe’s arc, this could still work, but ... well, that’s not what’s happening here.

If they didn’t want to full on introduce the Even directly, one thing they could do is subtly and indirectly find ways to include him in the narrative and create some mystery. Let’s say Robbe sees the Even’s artwork somewhere and is like whoa, that’s cool, and we can tell that it resonates with him. Or he admires Even’s graffiti, or it makes him laugh, whatever. Basically Robbe has some kind of emotional reaction to a thing the Even has created or done, which helps to set up that relationship even before we officially meet the Even.

If we want to add a little more, perhaps Robbe sees a mysterious dude in a mask tagging a wall, but they get interrupted by the cops or something and have some kind of brief but intriguing interaction with each other, and Robbe’s like, who was that guy in the mask? Or Noor takes Robbe to the tagging place, the police/security bust them, Robbe and Noor get separated, and Robbe gets helped out by the Even so he can escape. So it’s an important moment, lots of adrenaline, we can frame it like there’s a sudden ~charge~ between them (ooOOOooo the Even helped Robbe stand up and their hands touched like this was a fanfic, etc.), but he doesn’t learn Even’s name, maybe he doesn’t even see his face because Even has a mask on, so Robbe spends part of the next few episodes trying to figure out who that guy is, casually asking Noor if she knows a guy like that, keeping his eyes open. Maybe we have some fakeouts where Robbe thinks he sees the Even again but it’s just a false alarm. He’s on edge, eager to know more about that mystery guy, and so are we. Bam, we have “awakened” Robbe from his deep sleep. 

If you’ve seen Netflix’s The Get Down, there’s even a scene like this where Jaden Smith’s character gets caught tagging by the cops, he runs and flees with another young dude, and they have a moment where they recognize each other as graffiti artists they admire. While watching that scene for the first time, without any context or spoilers, without even knowing if there would be LGBT content in that show, I immediately thought, “This guy is his love interest.” Not even because it was overtly romantic. Because the way it was written and shot told us that this meeting was important. Because they had an instant connection. Something similar could have worked for Robbe and his Even. But in any case: it would have been best to establish something between those characters, even if it wasn’t an “official” introduction.

Stop focusing on Aaron/Amber when it’s not in Robbe’s POV. Reverse the scene at the beginning with Aaron videotaping and Amber getting spilled on. She gets pissed, he falls in love, and then we follow him upstairs and we meet the boy squad. That is a very obvious, very clean transition that doesn’t interrupt Robbe’s POV as it technically hasn’t started yet. So IDK why they didn’t do that, lmao.

Some changes with the Milan relationship:

Tweak the apology scene to be more representative of Robbe’s issues. Have Robbe apologize while still stressing that he’s not gay. Have Milan be chill and not question that statement, but maybe Robbe is so defensive that it comes across as unconvincing. 

Then have Milan be the one instead of the boys to interrupt the Noor almost-sex scene. Milan wanders in acting drunk, haha Milan, he’s wacky. Robbe doesn’t realize it (though the viewers do if they’re paying attention) but Milan is only pretending and is “subtly” rescuing Robbe because he realizes, based on the earlier scene, that Robbe might be struggling with his sexuality and he wants to give him an escape option. (Although I still think it’s best to combine the not-sex scene into the opening clip, but this could work, too.)

Basic questions we need to be asking, clip to clip: what is the conflict? Where is Robbe’s head right now? Why is this scene necessary? How did this scene come to be - what’s the cause and effect here? How does it advance Robbe’s story? Is it redundant? How do we tell this story in a narratively economical manner? 

[lightsandlostbells]

Skam France 2.10 and 2.11 reaction

Skam France dropped two episodes last week, so I’m gonna put them together. 

this is another angry recap so heads up if you’re not into those

Episode 10

Clip 1 - Mickael and Lisa are very loud

Right off the bat - worst birthday ever. Making it Manon’s birthday was a good way to adapt these scenes into a holiday setting, though.

Are they play-acting so Manon can hear, or is this supposed to be a conversation between them and they’re careless enough to be too loud?

Actually I think this is a real conversation, not a performance for Manon. I think Lisa is sincere and she’s genuinely forgotten Manon’s birthday. Also that she really thinks for a second they’ve got to celebrate the pope’s birthday.

Lisa saying she misses Manon is sweet. Pretty sure they’re not going to delve into this family relationship or anything but it’s nice especially considering Lisa seems quite cantankerous. 

Lisa telling Mickael to open the door faster made me laugh for some reason. She doesn’t have time to prolong the drama.

This whole conversation is funny but poor Manon, she just wants to shut out the world.

Clip 2 - Mickael gets real

Manon’s actress continues to do a good job. She looks so tired and beaten down by everything.

Mickael and Lisa are both cute in their rendition of Happy Birthday! Lisa has so much more energy than Linn. 

“We’re sorry to steal from your cupboards all the time and ruin your life like leeches from hell.” lmao I love Mickael. 

I was apprehensive following the previous scene, because we got a funny conversation between Mickael and Lisa, but not the more serious and caring side of Mickael and the talk with Eskild that was in the original clip. I was worried because overall his character has felt less nurturing than Eskild and he hasn’t seemed to have as close of a bond with Manon - there were a few moments that were played more for humor than to indicate a strong relationship. It made me nervous that they were taking Mickael more in the direction of “gay comic relief” rather than showing his more substantial sides. So the fact they followed up the earlier conversation with Michael talking to Manon in a heavier way here was reassuring. We get to see his more caring side. He sympathizes with her and acknowledges how much he talks about his life but offers to listen as well. The actor is great and I hope they continue to give him the meatier material, especially in S3

I know he’s saying it because he’s worried, but telling a person with an eating disorder she has to eat entirety of her tray maybe isn’t the best advice? Though I doubt he knows about her ED.

Clip 3 - Charles shows up

I do think it makes it more random and less sense that she’d be like “go party with your friends, Charles” when it’s her own birthday. Or does he know that? He has to know that, didn’t he get her the cake? He’d probably see it on social media?

This is in my opinion the best Noorhelm scene of that relationship, and it almost was of Marles, too. Charles/William acts like a decent person, comes in semi-confrontational but gets his priorities straight when he sees that Manon/Noora is breaking down and panicking, and tries to calm her down and support her. The original scene of him lying down with Noora was genuinely touching and supportive.

They were on the right track and then they botched it. I have an anxiety disorder. I have had panic attacks. I know how scary they are. You don’t  “help” someone with a panic attack by physically picking them and making them leave despite them crying at you they don’t want to go out. What the hell. Why would they add that?

I mean I feel like there’s some weird gender shit going on here, with Charles being the alpha male type and then Manon being the fragile woman and it’s OK for Charles to ignore what she’s saying because Charles Knows Best. Not to mention this is the show’s idea of a swoon-worthy moment. We gotta get the guy carrying the girl around like a little doll. 

Lol, I even saw some weird justification of this moment along the lines of “Well, if she really didn’t want to go out, I’m sure he would have respected that.” She’s crying and telling him she doesn’t want to go out. What more does she have to do to get the message across? Does she have to physically fight him?

Clip 4 - Birthday cake

Well, the cake looks pretty, and at least they wrote in a new scene to acknowledge her birthday.

Also, don’t totally love that he took her phone away. I get it, he probably wants her to just chill, but in connection with everything else, it’s just another small way he’s jumping in and making decisions for her. I would not have been as annoyed if this wasn’t a pattern in their relationship or if this wasn’t immediately following a moment where Charles overrides Manon’s pleas on how to handle her own panic attack.

This scene of them on the rooftop felt like something out of a kdrama in terms of music and slow motion staring at each other. Or at least how I remember the kdramas I’ve seen.

I don’t get why he needed to take her to the rooftop other than the #aesthetic since he just carries her back to her room. I know it’s where their first date was, but she was freaking out and panicking when he tried to make her leave. I really can’t get over that! Whyyy did they need that moment?

Did Charles look at her phone? Sort of dilutes the impact of him not reading her Facebook messages. 

He muted the volume on her computer at least.

Episode 11

Clip 1 - Charles writing

I guess Charles was up writing this article for a while since it’s like 5 in the morning.

Confession time: I’ve never really liked that William (and now Charles) wrote the article for her. I know it’s considered to be one of the better things he did for her but even when I was watching S2 for the first time, I was like 😕 “Can’t they give me something to like about him that I don’t have reservations about?” I don’t think this was a terrible horrible thing he did, and admittedly I am bringing personal feelings into this situation, but it’s just something that I would not be OK with if someone did it for me without telling me first. I would be really panicked and upset if someone did this to me even if they meant it to be a kindness. He wrote the article and submitted it without her consent. Her name is on it. That means she’ll be held accountable for whatever the article says. Consider that Manon and Charles have been disagreeing on tons of topics so far - in fact Charles’ ability to make Manon rethink her opinions is a point that has been explicitly made about their relationship. So when it comes to the article, how can you expect that Manon and Charles would agree on the same points? Someone can be well-intentioned and still say stuff that’s a bit clueless, or make a mistake, and then it’s Manon who would be responsible. This only works if you assume Charles was a great writer with the right opinions - it excuses the action based on the outcome, without considering if the action itself is appropriate. (Which, to be frank, is true of many actions in this season.)

I would’ve preferred if he’d written it and then shown it to her to get her approval before sending. (“But that would have ruined the surprise/she wouldn’t have agreed to send it” - uh, too bad? She should get a voice in this. I get that she’s dealing with serious anxiety, I know what that feels like. But lol, imagine the resulting anxiety if Charles had sent out the article and it had a bunch of errors or some questionable opinions in it and Manon was criticized for it.)

The best case scenario is that he just took her notes and compiled them into something cohesive, which was somewhat implied, but she didn’t have enough notes to make a long enough article without him injecting his own thoughts.

Clips 2 and 3 - Manon and her girls

Did Charles make her tea? Now that’s a nice gesture.

Charles is watching her sleep, just to bring in those true Edward Cullen vibes. Manon was right about this being Twilight!

Lmao, explain to me why she had to wear that tiny dress? That looks like something I’d have worn to a middle school dance when I still had braces. It’s not Norwegian Constitution Day where the girls are going to be dressed up. It’s Manon’s birthday - she can dress however the hell she wants. She doesn’t have to dress up, she could wear her normal clothes. She could roll over to the party in sweats and a nacho cheese-stained T-shirt. 

The music and imagery in the last two clips has been getting super soap opera-ish.

And when Manon shows up, the other girls are wearing their normal clothes, jeans and comfy clothes. Again, why did Manon need the dress?

Heh, how much did they pay for the rights to sing Happy Birthday? Or is it only in the US that you have to cough up a pretty penny to use it on TV?

I looked it up and apparently the song was officially recognized to be in the public domain in 2016! Good to know.

The girls are very cute performing Happy Birthday, though. Love the placement of the birthday hats at jaunty angles.

I’m not really qualified to talk about this as a non-Norwegian but I’ve read a bit about the patriotic themes in S2, and how it’s fitting that Noora tells the girls on Constitution Day (how living in a free, democratic country means you have to believe the law will protect you from assholes like Niko) and that ties in to the overall motifs of the season, and so that’s obviously lost here. It’s a missed opportunity, especially with the article. I think if they tried harder they could have written, you know ... something that related more to this adaptation and French youth, instead of repeating a speech that specifically about Norwegian culture. That’s the bare minimum, my dudes.

Like when Daphne says they need to go to the police because they’re in France and the law will protect them ... I mean, sure, but it’s just one of those things that lacks the thematic relevance of the original as it’s not a national holiday at the time.

(They’re going to do 21:21 for S3 without any changes, aren’t they? Goddammit. I will believe them that they’re changing the storyline when I see it and not just hear it.)

A minor nitpick: I also feel like it’s kinda odd to read her article aloud? It made sense with Noora since it related to the holiday they were celebrating and could fit into their festivities but this is just a random article. In that case I’d find it weird if my friends just started reading something I’d written out loud. I mean it’s one thing to congratulate her for a job well done but IDK, felt out of place. 

But Emma only gets a few lines in, so thankfully we didn’t have to hear the whole thing awkwardly re-purposed for this remake.

Poor Manon with tears in her eyes. Her acting continues to be very good. Manon is more openly emotional and sad than Noora, who seems more like she freezes or shuts down or tries to close herself off.

Hug pile :(

Loved to see Daphne be at the forefront of taking Manon to the hospital and supporting her while they’re there.

Clip 4 - Justice

Nico is such a rat.

Also his ass is dumb.

But that’s no surprise.

Manon is more no nonsense and less playing with Nico than Noora was. 

Actually I preferred that they cut out the line about not dropping the soap and had her throw her drink in his face instead, good job, Manon! That was satisfying.

Clip 5 - The point of no return

So. This is the part when watching the original series where I knew I could never like William or Noorhelm. 

I’m going to go into a personal tangent, skip if you want. I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned how I got into Skam in one of these recaps so my apologies if I’m repeating the story. 

I discovered Skam completely randomly during S3, via a YouTube recommendation. Of all things, strangely it was because I had watched a preview for the show Eyewitness, which was an American remake of a Norwegian show about two boys who witness some murders while making out in the woods. I enjoy crime stories/mysteries and the premise sounded intriguing, so I watched the first 10 minutes of the pilot that the network had put on YouTube as a teaser, and then some interviews talking about the show. Eyewitness turned out to not to be my thing and I didn’t watch more than a few episodes, but because I’d watched it, YouTube started recommending me clips from other shows with gay couples, including Skam. One night I was bored and decided to finally click on one of the Skam clips. I was hooked right away, impressed by the writing, directing, acting, and chemistry.

This was still really early in Skam’s viral spread during the fall/winter of 2016. There wasn’t nearly the amount of information and organized how-to-watch-Skam guides available in English at this point. I learned about the social media concept and real-time distribution of the show from reading the YouTube comments. The first clip I got to watch in real time was the pool scene. If you were there at the time, you might remember the 10-day hiatus between episodes 5 and 6. That was when I decided to watch seasons 1 and 2. Before that point, I had not heard a single bad thing about Noorhelm, William, or S2. In fact, I only heard overwhelming praise from the YouTube comments - people commenting that they missed William, encouraging people to watch the previous seasons and singling out S2 as an amazing storyline (and a number of people saying S1 was boring but to stick it out to S2), telling people Noora and William’s relationship was fantastic. I mention this because for some reason, certain fans are under the impression that people decided to randomly hate S2/Noorhelm/William based on opinions they read on Tumblr and it’s only bandwagon hate. So this is just to say - I did not go into S2 with any negative expectations. I wouldn’t even say I was hyping it too much in my mind so that I was bound to be disappointed. I just expected it to be decent television.

I watched S1 in like a day and loved it. I especially admired how all of the characters had both good and bad sides, and how the characters who easily could have been demonized, like Ingrid and Iben, were made into human and sympathetic figures by the season’s end. Did not love William’s behavior at all, thought he was a creep, but hey, he apologized to Vilde at the end of the season! That must be the character development I saw people mention in the comments! And so I reasoned that S2 would redeem William and manage to sell me on Noora/William. It wasn’t my preferred storyline but I loved S1 and I loved what had been released of S3 so far, so they could probably make me enjoy it, right? And besides, S1 had been pretty good in a lot of ways about sexism and gender roles, I trusted the show to continue that into S2.

So I started S2. And I saw William text Noora even when she’d rejected him. Okay, I thought, not a great start, but it’s the beginning of the season. Surely this behavior will be addressed, and he has plenty of time to change his attitude. And I saw William use Vilde in order to finally get Noora on that date. Yikes, I thought, I thought he was supposed to get better? This is textbook male entitlement. I didn’t feel OK with his behavior.

But OK, we’re only on episode 2! So much time to turn it around! And then we learned that William apologized to Vilde in exchange for a date with Noora. Errrr, that makes his apology a lot less satisfying and much more self-serving, I thought. And then I watched William take Noora on a date, and Noora confront William with his shitty behavior toward her and Vilde, and to my great bafflement, I saw William not express regret for his actions, but instead justify his actions not once, but repeatedly, with reasons that were flimsy at best and appalling at worst. I saw Noora tell William he had manipulated her in order to get her on that date and William deny it and turn it back on Noora. The scene made me furious. At that moment I hated William even more than I’d disliked him in S1 - because S1 was supposed to show him at his worst and ended with a moment of him displaying some self-improvement. Why the fresh hell would we then get this scene that effectively erased that character growth in order to show how selfish his motivations really were? I hated that scene. Hated hated hated it.

We were still early in the season, though. And episode 3 had admittedly a nice scene of Noora and William hanging out together - it was a nice scene because Noora was so cute, though, not because of much to do with William, and marred by William saying some misogynistic crap and then not owning up to it when called on it. But all right. It was progress. 

Throughout the season, however, there was a pattern, where there would be a moment where William seemed decent for a fraction of a second, only to show his ass and do something I found obnoxious, entitled, or awful shortly afterwards. The midseason peak was him bashing a bottle over a dude’s head, justifying it, and belittling Noora for not understanding his Great and Important motivations for bashing a bottle over the guy’s head. This was followed by a scene I found horrific in which the show’s designated voice of reason told Noora that she needed to understand why her boyfriend bashed a bottle over a guy’s head, or else it was unreasonable and just like how war begins or some shit like that, in response to Noora’s objections to her boyfriend being violent. Viewing this scene was deeply surreal, as I was aware that this was the voice of the writer telling me why I should like William or why it was wrong for me to dislike William. The scene’s message made no sense in context.

At this point I had realized I probably wasn’t going to like William - in addition to his crappy behavior and attitude, he wasn’t written in a particularly compelling or 3D way, and the performance wasn’t charismatic enough to hold my interest (although I want to stress that it wasn’t the deal-breaker and I could tolerate mediocre acting for a well-written complex character). Yet I held out a little bit of hope that there would be an 11th hour revelation or redemption arc where we could see how much William had grown and the sexism and male entitlement that had been threaded throughout the season would be addressed properly. We got William calming down Noora from anxiety in what I thought was a genuinely lovely scene. I didn’t much care for him writing the article but it wasn’t something I hated him for. For a moment, things seemed like they might turn around.

And then, we came to this clip. The point of no return.

A scene in which William gets in Noora’s face, towers over her, doesn’t hear her out, shakes her off and leaves her crying in the middle of the schoolyard. 

That would be bad enough as it is, though I can maybe understand his reaction in the heat of the moment. Maybe. But it wasn’t until I read the text messages afterwards that I was well and truly done. Noora texts William like an hour after this scene happens. She explicitly says that if anything happened between her and Niko, it would have been assault, she blacked out, and she’s pressed charges against Niko. And William ignored her for days afterwards.

This is so unbelievably cruel that it killed any hope I had for this storyline, it killed any possibility that I could like his character or root for this relationship. He knows she might have been raped and he ignores her when she is pleading for him to talk to her. He doesn’t reach out to her on his own, either; it takes Noora tracking him down and demanding his attention. I don’t remember him ever specifically apologizing for this behavior (if he did and I forgot about it, feel free to remind me). He apologizes for Niko. Not for himself.

Imagine Noora, who still thinks she may have been assaulted, who is still dealing with the trauma, having to also deal with the boyfriend she loves abandoning her and shutting her out. Imagine how tender William was with her earlier in the episode as he saw she was breaking down, and how it feels when he withdraws that tenderness after he finds out the reason why she was breaking down in the first place.

Let’s not even get into the real-life context of this scene, and how rape victims are often treated like dirt by friends, family, and romantic partners after they come forward about their assault. Let’s just mention that rape victims fear their loved ones won’t believe them, will blame them, or reject them, to the point where it’s a huge factor in why they don’t come forward, and that what happens with Noora here when William leaves is the embodiment of that fear.

It’s not just that William has flaws. Everyone on this show has flaws. It’s the way his flaws are handled. There is too much baggage with his character in terms of real-life sexism and gender roles, too little remorse and empathy from the character himself, that it’s beyond what I can enjoy in a fictional love interest.

“We don’t know what Niko may have told him.” That’s true, and I did consider that at the time. But you know what? William knows Niko is a creep. If Niko made any kinds of threats toward Noora, if there was any way he misled William other than just saying Noora was a slut who threw herself at him or anything we could have predicted knowing what we’ve seen from Niko, we needed to hear about it once the situation had been cleared up. Julie needed to have William explain so we know he at least had an understandable, non-self-centered motivation for reacting the way he did.

“William was just hurt/didn’t know how to deal.” I cannot stress how much I don’t give a shit about how William was so hurt compared to how Noora must feel in this situation. Noora told him rape may have happened. Why in the world would I prioritize William’s feelings over the feelings of a sexual assault victim in relation to her own potential rape? 

Fuck William. Fuck Charles. Fuck this narrative that is constantly putting a guy’s boner feels and manpain above the female lead’s agency, rational concerns, and mental health. Fuck this narrative that is constantly encouraging us to empathize and understand an entitled dude’s emotions and actions, including sexism and violence, while the same entitled dude shows little empathy or understanding for a potential rape victim, a girl whose self-image was damaged by him telling her she wasn’t attractive enough, or a girl who rejects him romantically. Fuck the double standards of women having to understand and empathize with men when they are behaving like assholes but men not having to empathize or show compassion to women, including when they are victimized, by putting aside their own feelings for a goddamn minute.

Anyway, back to the Skam France clip.

Daphne got aroused from kissing Emma … hmmm

Once again, absolutely no comment from or about the supposedly bi girl sitting right there with them, which might change the context of the scene a bit.

This soap opera music starting as Charles comes thundering up to Manon.

DID THIS ASSHOLE MOVE IMANE OUT OF THE WAY WHEN SHE TOLD HIM TO WAIT

FUCK YOU DUDE

DID HE SHOVE MANON AGAINST THE WINDOW

“Answer yes or no” “I don’t know.” YOUR FIRST CLUE, JACKASS.

oh BOO FUCKING HOO Charles is crying, so glad this is about his hurt feelings and not his girlfriend potentially being raped.

Oh cool and he knocked her on the floor so she’s crying on the ground, great, she thinks she might have been raped and here’s what we have now. 

SHE TEXTS HIM AFTERWARDS. AND TELLS HIM. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN AGAINST HER WILL.

HOW DID THEY MAKE THIS SCENE WORSE

General Comments

I was willing to give Marles a chance in the hopes that they would rewrite the worst parts of this relationship, but instead it’s like they’ve double down on Charles’ domineering bullshit and it makes me so angry. That’s really all I have to say. 

I’m not French so if I misunderstood some context, feel free to correct me.

If you got this far, thank you for reading!