#model behavior hath returned

[teapixie]

❤️‍🔥former catholic school girl ((in recovery))❤️‍🔥

[contemplatingoutlander]

OUTLANDER EPISODE 410: Hell Hath No Fury Like a Fraser Scorned

Okay, in episode 409 we had a number of wonderful Fraser family moments and so I realize it is hard for many fans to watch the Frasers descend into all the chaos that happened in episode 410. But may I remind you this is Outlander. You really didn’t think it would be that easy did you?

I’ve seen lots of griping in social media about episode 410 but honestly, it follows the book pretty closely. So I’m not sure why anyone, especially book readers, would have been put off so much by it (unless they hated this part of the book).

Bree’s Fury

Bree’s emotional state. Before rushing to judgment about any of Bree’s actions in the second half of this episode, please remember she is dealing with PTSD, the loss of Roger, culture shock and the hormonal cha-cha that occurs in the early stages of pregnancy. She has also inherited the Fraser temperament. And as we’ve seen when both Jamie and Jenny lose their tempers, all hell can break loose.

She also appears to have a dose of her mother’s temperament as well. And Claire has never been the laid back type.

That would be a difficult message for anyone to hear. So in this emotional state Bree learned that the man she loves, the man who risked his life going back 200 years and crossing an ocean for her, the man who was trying to return to her: a) was nearly beaten to death by her biological father Jamie, and b) was sold to the Mohawks by her cousin Ian.

This is not the kind of news most young upper middle class women from the mid-twentieth century had any preparation at all to deal with.

Finally, I also think some people’s reactions to Bree’s behavior towards Jamie and Ian have to do with not being as invested in Roger and Bree as they are in Jamie and Claire. For those people I suggest they imagine something similar happening to Jamie, where he was nearly beaten to death by someone close to Claire and sold to the Mohawk by them. Can’t you picture Claire having a similar reaction as Bree? Would you have even batted an eyelash if she had behaved the same way? 

See more under the cut.

Bree’s possible role models for a physical expression of rage.  I want to be clear that I DON’T condone physical violence but Bree comes from a different time. And honestly, in the movies of that time women frequently slapped men who insulted them. So Bree might have learned that was an acceptable thing for women to do from watching movies. 

Or she might have learned it from Claire

Remember, Claire’s temper isn’t always exactly controlled? 

So, perhaps Bree had some role models for behaving this way. 

Slapping young Ian. I could have done without Bree slapping Young Ian and bloodying his nose. However, he did just tell her that he had sold the love of her life to the Mohawk. 😱

I also want to point out that in the book Bree not only slapped Young Ian but punched him in the stomach! (Still, Young Ian in the book had also accused her of being a whore, which seemed to trigger Bree’s punching response. 😬)

“Jamie, what have you done?”

I know some folks didn’t like Claire’s looking like an angry mother when she asked Jamie what he had done. But at least she didn’t say what she did in the book. In the book she asked Jamie if he had killed Roger. 😬

But even Jamie Fraser knows he is a walking contradiction at times. This is how Jamie perceives himself:

Educated in the universities of Paris, confidant of kings and friend to philosophers, still he was a Highlander, born to blood and honor. The body of a warrior and the mind of a gentleman—and the soul of a barbarian, he thought wryly, to whom neither God’s nor mortal law stood more sacred than the ties of blood. [emphasis added]

-- Diana Gabaldon (1997/ 2004, p. 676. Kindle Edition) 

When I was reading the book I was furious with Jamie for how he had behaved towards Roger. After all, Jamie was no longer a young man. He was 48 years old and I would have hoped he had some wisdom by that point. In the book he had initially intended on killing Roger but he wanted to prolong the punishment (and attempt to have a “fair fight”) so he just beat Roger to a bloody pulp.

But in the book, as they fought, he gave Roger time to say that he hadn’t forced Bree to sleep with him and this left a little doubt in Jamie’s mind. So rather than kill him he just arranged for him to be sold to the Iroquois (who later sold him to the Mohawk). 

Therefore, in some ways “show” Jamie is a little nicer than “book” Jamie. After all, “show” Jamie chose not to kill Roger even though he had no doubt in his mind at the time that Roger had assaulted Bree.

I love Jamie Fraser as a character. For the most part he is a hero and a very good man. But this rageful, rash, vengeful, lawless side of Jamie has created more than one problem in his life over the years. He never fully tames this part of himself, as we shall see in later books.

Did Bree Behave in a Disrespectful Way Towards Jamie?

Well, yes, Bree’s behavior towards Jamie was definitely not respectful. But again Bree also was disrespectful to Jamie in the book. And yes, she slapped Jamie in the show, yet she also tried to do so to “book” Jamie (but he grabbed her arm before she could hit him).

It must have been very hurtful to Bree to hear Jamie suggest she was a wanton woman who lied about the rape when she discovered she was pregnant. That moment must have felt like everything he said to her out in the field about how the assault wasn’t her fault was a lie. So I can understand her rage. 

In terms of Jamie, I don’t think the slap bothered him as much as when Bree suggested he was not really her “father” and that Frank was a better man than Jamie was.

Yes that must have been hurtful. However, “book” Bree said worse than this to “book” Jamie--and he said worse to her in the book. And they had a similar fight where Frank was brought up--(although it was “book” Jamie who initially disparaged Frank to Bree and then Bree compared Jamie unfavorably to Frank).

The reality is that Bree doesn’t consider Jamie to be her “father” yet. In many ways Jamie is like a new stepfather whom Bree learned her mother loved more than the loving father she had grown up with. And Bree had seen how miserable Frank was because Claire no longer felt romantic love for Frank. Naturally, Bree’s loyalties right now are going to be with Frank and those loyalties are going to come out when she feels she has been hurt by Jamie.

“Damn you,” she said, scarcely audible. “Damn you very much, you bastard. I’m sorry I ever saw you.”

--Diana Gabaldon (1997/ 2004, p. 700, Kindle Edition)

Jamie’s Fury and Bree’s Response

After Bree has let loose on Jamie and then on Ian (and to a much lesser extent on Lizzie), Jamie loses it, shouts, pushes dishes off the table and throws over a chair.

Undoubtedly he was angry with Bree (and for Claire for withholding the information about Bonnet) but he was probably angrier with himself.  And at that moment his Fraser temper was in full swing.

I actually love Bree’s response to this.

“No!, No. You do not get to be more angry than me.”

Honestly, it is a perfect response. It helps Jamie to realize that the one who really should be angry right now is Bree (and of course Roger).

This is the first time that Bree has seen the Fraser temper being played out by another Fraser. This in turn might have helped her to see herself in a new light. Seeing Jamie lose it seemed to help her to get herself together and to realize that the priority had to be Roger. So she says:

“Now, how do we get Roger back?”

How indeed.

Because it is Roger who has paid the worst price for Jamie and Ian’s folly.

**Spoiler** I know that in the future it all works out for Roger and Bree and that all is forgiven between Roger and Jamie and Roger and Young Ian. But honestly, it shouldn’t work out that way.

Can you picture starting out in a marriage with your father-in-law having beaten you to a pulp and your cousin-in-law having sold you to the Mohawk? 

Talk about awkward family gatherings. Oy!

In conclusion, I don’t like that Bree got physically violent with Jamie or Ian but she did so in the book as well. I don’t like the things that Bree and Jamie said towards each other in the show but they said worse things in the book. 

But I understand why they both behaved the way they did. And their behavior was in character as far as I can tell.

IMHO the show adapted the book pretty faithfully in this episode and in some ways made Bree’s and Jamie’s behaviors a little more palatable. 

Just a warning to those who haven’t read the book, there are other rough things coming up this season and you might be disappointed again in how some of the characters behave.

Diana Gabaldon’s characters are complex. In this show we saw some of Jamie’s and Bree’s weaknesses. To me, it just makes them all the more fascinating. But to each their own.

[230east]

sinking silently in my submarine

 peeking up my periscope 

periodically perusing the passing 

photosynthesizing plankton 

pulsating plasma membranes 

eight legged tentacular suction cup

Pill popping percolating

positive vibrations

shaking up foundations

rock rolling down

to the bottom again.

just out of reach

water will recede

Cyclone circling the drain

so thirsty

get thee

to a nunnery

habit forming

thot-like behavior

instant gratification

think in new ways

get in formation

Shakespeare compares thee to Beyonce

woke up flawless like a diamond

dumber we round down

to the lowest denomination

algorithm assisted living

marketing machines

suggestively shaping

what you see

programming your point of view

the screen you pass through

is a filtration system

profile picture profiles you

feed back looping

it's the sine of the times

like a wave crashing systems

conversations conspiratorial in tone

the sinking suspicion that not so fresh feeling

and douching in general is a maladaptive marketing

mechanism to make you insecure and unsure.

they planted the product in your periphery

you think its your own idea

evolutions going backwards

survival of the photoshopped.

I’d rather be a monkey.

but ive evolved past tense

see triple in 3D

I trace your trajectory

parabolic path leading back

tragic swag. so sad these days.

no surface only substrate

sound of echoing rippling water

then a gasp for air breaks the  waves

reverberating ringing tingling

beat tympanic tamborine man

oscillting ossicles translate

fluent French kiss my derriere

rare special edition

one of a kind its just like mine

same old samo

saying the same thing

eat your drugs

don't do school

stay in vegetables

various variations on the theme

every verse a throw back

vintage vino veritas

theres truth in that

cliche et tu brute

wino forever never left me

so retro back in style again

stranger things have happened

Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees

still singing that song flowing through me

swinging in the breeze in fields elysian

exceptional on a hill past daffodils

narcissistic point of view image conscious

selfish gene pool self interested kin selection

consciousness superficial

on the surface floating

like a glacier melting

oblivious to  the tension growing

till it bursts through the glass mirror ceiling

 distorting  the image in circular ripples of pixels 

impressionistic audience

glitch in the system program

its all conditioned

when i ring the bell 

cerberus salivates 

it is fate

three bitches barking

measuring me out by string

theoretically 

three weird sisters 

by the cauldron bubbling

on the lyre 

lyrically i am lilting

you can’t stop me

you can’t stilt me

im always growing 

exponentially

 Fibonacci flow

 spiraling out of control

fractals follow golden ratio

chaos creating destruction 

entropy at equilibrium

Here we meet 

Apollo and Dionysus

combined in catharsis

pupils open to see pathways

 parallel past the point 

of no return to normal vision 

vanishing point out of view 

past pluto out the solar system

on my way to cross the river 

styx 

REFERENCES IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER

STRANGE FRUIT Southern trees bear a strange fruit Blood on the leaves and blood at the root Black body swinging in the southern breeze Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees Pastoral scene of the gallant south The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth Scent of magnolia sweet and fresh And the sudden smell of burning flesh! Here is a fruit for the crows to pluck For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck For the sun to rot, for a tree to drop Here is a strange and bitter crop. -- Music and lyrics by Lewis Allan, copyright 1940

HAMLET

I have heard of your paintings too, well enough. God has given you one face and you make yourselves another. You jig and amble, and you lisp, you nickname God’s creatures and make your wantonness your ignorance. Go to, I’ll no more on ’t. It hath made me mad. I say, we will have no more marriages. Those that are married already, all but one, shall live. The rest shall keep as they are. To a nunnery, go. -Shakespear

I AM A STRANGE LOOP

In the end, we are self-perceiving, self-inventing, locked-in mirages that are little miracles of self-reference.

— Douglas Hofstadter,P363

And there he, on the the stark, dark marker  Atop his parents' graves, shed tears,  And praised their ashes — darker, starker.  Alas, life reaps too fast its years;  All flesh is grass. Each generation,  At heaven's hidden motivation,  Arises, blooms, and falls from grace;  Another quickly takes its place.  And thus our race, rash and impetuous,  Ascends and has its day, then raves  And hastens toward ancestral graves.  All too soon, death's sting will get to us;  Aye, how our children's children rush  And push us from this world's sweet crus

And then with verse of quickened sadness  He honored too, in tears and pain,  His parents' dust... their memory's gladness...  Alas! Upon life's furrowed plain —  A harvest brief, each generation,  By fate's mysterious dispensation,  Arises, ripens, and must fall;  Then others too must heed the call.  For thus our giddy race gains power:  It waxes, stirs, turns seething wave,  Then crowds its forebears toward the grave.  And we as well shall face that hour  When one fine day our grandsons true  Straight out of life will crowd us too!

let me sing a tune up tempo to the groove in the recording turn up the gramaphone and listen bro I am the best alive aliviate the symptoms but wont cure the pain killers murdering meat cleaver cut you into filet a deux lets dosey do lets hula hoop lets lasso the moon for you betty boop bop dop dap zap zippy zippering witty whimpering sassy syllables trashy talkative locomotive combusting and composting reusing and recycling reducing so compact disc DVD player ipod 3D glasses pixilation pointelissm glitching itching for a scratched surface scar face so Miami mami papi chulo lean low dow ho and hit the floor on your knees looking up at me like asking will you marry me run away with the beat and drop it down sinking silently in my submarine peering through my periscope periodically perusing the passing photosynthesizing plankton pulsating plasma membranes eight legged tentacular suction cup overfloweth with the fluid flow so Fibonacci spiralizing  spiritual feeling so free too carefule calculated in the risky behaviors bitch yap yaw yippy yay you only live uno dos tres stress the alliterative alternative alternating current events talking heads heaven is a place where nothing happens above us only sky and satelittes revolving evolving electrical signal transduction travertine stone up your nose rock the boat overboard emotional so emo what she yelling for in such a monotone drone dramatically durgical and clinically clergical sentences so sequence shimmering laser bean landing site fly a kite thunder and lightning bug chirp

on the path charted through the sky

chariots of fire Apollo s

in pediatricians

we all follow direction and its counting down from ten to scale model student pupils open to see pathways parallel past the point of no return to normal vision vanishing point of view on point the point is people like you postulate pictorially snap back to reality whomp there goes gravity I am above it all I see through all it. i saw the signs of the times so many signals overstimulating the market so similar to something the remix of ignition is cool again until its overplayed out of style so retro im coming back like vintage vines wino forever in vino veritas theres truth in that touché et tu brute brutalist

zoot suited tooted and boot leg boozer buzzer

cycle seasons

tick flick off

membrance awesome oscicles oscilation

it's the sine of the times cant you see it pay attention

double visionary view from above

The next thing I woke up still singing that song the one you hear flowing river styx Cerberus salivating salty seas soylent green is algae plants are people im a dafodill on a hill let me sing a tune up tempo to the groove in the recording turn up the gramaphone and listen bro I am the best alive aliviate the symptoms but wont cure the pain killers murdering meat cleaver cut you into filet a deux lets dosey do lets hula hoop lets lasso the moon for you betty boop bop dop dap zap zippy zippering witty whimpering sassy syllables trashy talkative locomotive combusting and composting reusing and recycling reducing so compact disc DVD player ipod 3D glasses pixilation pointelissm glitching itching for a scratched surface scar face so Miami mami papi chulo lean low dow ho and hit the floor on your knees looking up at me like asking will you marry me run away with the beat and drop it down sinking silently in my submarine peering through my periscope periodically perusing the passing photosynthesizing plankton pulsating plasma membranes eight legged tentacular suction cup overfloweth with the fluid flow so Fibonacci spiralizing  spiritual feeling so free too carefule calculated in the risky behaviors bitch yap yaw yippy yay you only live uno dos tres stress the alliterative alternative alternating current events talking heads heaven is a place where nothing happens above us only sky and satelittes revolving evolving electrical signal transduction travertine stone up your nose rock the boat overboard emotional so emo what she yelling for in such a monotone drone dramatically durgical and clinically clergical sentences so sequence shimmering laser bean landing site fly a kite thunder and lightning bug chirp

The American Dream is a product.

Lassoing up that freedom and mass producing it in metal.

I grabbed the reins and hoisted up on the saddle.

Perhaps he was too dumb to run.

Perhaps he was trying to protect me.

Graffiti on the door to the private room.

He shaved his face with a hatchet.

They placed bocce on the boat

Dressed in white.

Looking up at the billboard by the highway

Trying to communicate

He ran with a baguette]

I aint going outside. she said to the dead air left lingering in the cigarette soaked airwaves still circulating

The smoky air swam circular warning skylarks illuminated by a stray sunbeam. light littered in lateral patterns.

lyrically i am lilting you can’t stop me you can’t stilt me

well I’m majoring in business administration and I’m thinking of minoring in communications

[timeflies1007-blog]

Doctor Who Reviews by a Female Doctor, Season 4, p. 2

The Doctor’s Daughter: This isn’t the worst episode of the reboot, but it might be the most emotionally unsatisfying. Producing a biological relative for the Doctor by putting his hand in a machine for a few seconds undercuts his grief about the loss of his people without really any payoff—his lackluster relationship with his daughter just doesn’t do enough to compensate for the notion that apparently getting Time Lords back into the world is a lot easier than we thought. There are a couple of nice moments in which the Doctor refers to his grief about his Time Lord family, but his sense of loneliness—usually taken very seriously by the show—is undermined more often than it is accentuated here.

           I’m not really sure why Martha is in this episode, as she doesn’t want to be there and there’s very little for her to do. She forms sort of a nice bond with one of the fish creatures, but the Hath are mostly so dull that Martha’s forced to wander around in a weird, personality-less void in which fish with legs stand around breathing. She’s not really missing out on much while she’s a captive of the Hath, as the human civilization is also entirely without interest. There’s a lot of talk about war, and then there’s a brief creation myth, and then one of the humans claims that peace and genocide are the same thing so that the Doctor can yell about violence and Jenny can point out how violent he is. We’ve had an awful lot of this theme (the Doctor thinks he is above violence! but also the Doctor is violent!) in the past couple of episodes, which would be fine if it were going anywhere interesting but it’s basically not. The plot twist—in which it is revealed that the war has been going on for only a matter of days—is genuinely pretty surprising, but it’s so difficult to invest in these characters or this world that it doesn’t mean very much.  

           Jenny herself is likeable enough, but is one of the clearest foray into Mary Sue territory that the show has ever done. She’s born perky, quick-witted, and intensely athletic, and can easily understand other people’s motives and characteristics in spite of having only just sprung into existence. Other talents include asking lots of questions so that we get exposition about stuff that we already know, doing back flips through laser beams, and flirting. The actress (Peter Davison’s daughter and Tennant’s future wife) does as much as she can with the material, and she really does have a very charming screen presence, but the script confines her so thoroughly to the “attractive, physically gifted woman” box that there’s not much for her to work with. Given her origins, it’s not surprising that her connection to the Doctor comes across as forced and artificial, but I just never buy any real emotional connection between them.

           I’m even more annoyed by the “death” of the daughter, as her return to life is weirdly emotionless and doesn’t follow any of what we know about Time Lord regeneration. This non-death also lands us with one of the worst-ever Doctor speeches. Tennant generally does grief and anger very well, but his shouty speech directed at the warring figures comes across as absolutely moronic. The Doctor has a tendency to tell other people what to do, which is somewhat justified by his years of experience in dealing with conflict, but it’s a lot more palatable when it’s tempered by his awareness of his own mistakes and problems. Here, he pretty straightforwardly tells the people of this planet to model their society around their consciousness of how much better than them he is, and it’s just absolutely insufferable. I do think that his claims that he “never would” engage in their destructive behavior are deliberate irony on the part of the show, in the sense that this season does give us fairly consistent reminders that the Doctor is always trying to distance himself from violence without ever quite succeeding. That makes sense of this scene’s role in the larger arc of the season, but it doesn’t explain why the character himself has so little self-awareness or so much willingness to lie to himself that he can bring himself to say nonsense like this.

           Donna is loveable as usual here, and I particularly like her insistence that the Doctor take seriously his connection to his daughter. She also describes the feeling of stepping off the TARDIS onto a new place as being like “swallowing a hamster,” which is pretty fabulous. (I could do without the Doctor sending a mechanical mouse toy to distract a guard because Donna’s “wiles” aren’t enough, though.) She just doesn’t play a large enough role in this story to save it from the cheap emotional foundation; the entire concept of “we need the Doctor to feel feelings, preferably loudly and angrily, let’s put a blonde in” is so tired by this point that it’s difficult to watch. C/C-

The Unicorn and the Wasp: And we’re back to good episodes for a while! This is easy to forget in light of the bigger, flashier episodes to come this season, but it’s very fun. Donna’s having a great time pretending to be a 1920s socialite, and the episode gives both Tate and Tennant a lot of opportunity to demonstrate their marvelous comedic timing. Meeting Agatha Christie at a country house when someone has been murdered is a similar enough idea to “The Unquiet Dead” and “The Shakespeare Code” that they actually have Donna make a joke about it, but it’s a premise worth repeating. I do think that Agatha Christie would have written a much better mystery than this one, as none of the twists are particularly effective and the resolution is moderately entertaining but unremarkable. Still, having a giant wasp attack a bunch of rich white people (aka WASPs) is a good joke, and watching the characters try to figure out what’s going on is fun even in the absence of a compelling mystery.

           Christie herself is generally pretty well-written, but among the major historical figures the show has portrayed, she’s not one of my favorites. Part of the problem is that the actress gets sort of upstaged by some of the other guest stars. The not-yet-famous Felicity Jones is a delight as a jewel thief, but the wonderful Felicity Kendal (one of the stars of the great 1970s comedy The Good Life) steals the show. I don’t think she’s really supposed to, as she’s a fairly minor character whose function is to have a dark secret that informs the mystery, but I find myself watching her rather than Agatha Christie when they’re on screen together. Nonetheless, the idea that the events of this episode are the reason why Christie disappeared for a few days gives it a nice sense of importance, and the revelation that her books are perpetual bestsellers is not quite as moving as the similar moment in “The Unquiet Dead” but is still quite lovely.

           The heart of this story is not the character herself, really, but rather the whimsical adventures that ensue from the Vespiform’s absorption of her writing. A couple of serious moments exist, including Donna’s willingness to kill the Vespiform when the Doctor refuses, but for the most part this episode is all about the comedy. There are silly flashbacks, exaggerated plot twists, and at one point there’s a lengthy comedic bit about the Doctor cleansing poison from his system. There are also lots of accidental references to books that Christie hasn’t written yet, and Donna unsuccessfully tries to get herself into a copyright page. Nothing really remarkable happens here, but it’s just so bubbly and charming that the episode is an absolute joy to watch. A-/B+

Silence in the Library: Even if the story itself had been boring, I would have really enjoyed this episode just for the beautiful, terrifying library in which it takes place. I love libraries, and if I were in charge of the show we’d probably have a library setting about once a season. Happily, this library is home to a compelling story, with a spooky new set of monsters and a marvelous debut for River Song.

           River is definitely the highlight of this two-parter, and Alex Kingston is immediately fantastic as the doomed time-traveler. It’s a bold move to introduce a new character, heavily imply that she’s the Doctor’s wife, suggest that there are lots more adventures with her in the Doctor’s future, and then kill her by the end of the two-episode story. I can’t think of many other characters on the show who have been introduced with quite so much fanfare, and so it’s a testament to Kingston’s performance that the emotional impact of the character exceeds the impressiveness of the plot to which she is attached. She has immediate chemistry with the Doctor, and her distress at having met a version of the Doctor who doesn’t know her unfolds beautifully across the episode. In spite of this distress, though, there’s just such a tremendous sense of enjoyment and energy in everything she does, as if she can’t help relishing the challenge and the adrenaline in spite of everything that’s going wrong. The rest of her crew aren’t quite as interesting, and Miss Evangelista’s brainlessness is a bit overplayed, although I do like the brief friendship she strikes up with Donna. This two-parter is basically about the chemistry between River and the Doctor, though, and even when the supporting cast isn’t quite as good, these two absolutely sparkle.  

           The Vashta Nerada aren’t quite as memorable to me as the Gas Mask Child or the Angels, but they are solidly scary monsters, and the fact that we see the gnawed skeletons that they produce but never see the monsters themselves definitely adds to the effect. The statues with human faces don’t really do much for me, and even when we see Donna’s face at the end of the episode I’m mostly unimpressed. I’m much more interested in the ghostly remnants of consciousness that linger in those the Vashta Nerada have killed—the notion of digitally-saved consciousness is creepy in itself, but hearing Proper Dave and Miss Evangelista continuing to speak even after their deaths is absolutely harrowing. Between the dangers that lie in the shadows and the terror of listening to the dead continue to speak, there are lots of properly terrifying moments.

           The one major problem that I have with this episode is that I don’t really find the computer universe to be particularly interesting. I like the concept of having “saved” people to a computer, but I spend most of the scenes with the little girl and Dr. Moon just waiting to get back to the library. To be fair, the use of her television is pretty cool, as is the fact that she has a picture of a blond woman and a wolf on her wall, but I find the character herself to be pretty irritating. There are enough things that don’t work for me here that I don’t find this story to be quite as compelling as “Blink” or “The Empty Child,” but the gorgeous setting and the terrific introduction of River are enough to make this one of the stronger episodes of the season. A/A-

Forest of the Dead: Unreal universes clearly fascinate Moffat, who will return to this trope a number of times in later episodes. This two-parter is his first foray into a story like this, which gives it a sense of originality that diminishes as we see the concept repeat in subsequent seasons, but I would argue that this fake universe—which becomes more prevalent here than it was in the previous episode—is nowhere near as interesting as the ones that appear later on in episodes like “Last Christmas” and “Extremis” or Simon Nye’s “Amy’s Choice.” It is genuinely sad to see Donna realize that her children aren’t real, and it’s even sadder that she never finds out that her husband in the fake universe was in fact an actual person, but the whole place just says Fake Sci-Fi Universe so blatantly that I never find any interest in it as an alternate reality. It also feels oddly uncreative; I get that the other reality was initially created for Cal’s benefit, and that might explain the domestic focus, but the thoroughly unadventurous world isn’t very exciting and doesn’t seem completely suitable as a happily-ever-after for someone as energetic as Donna. Miss Evangelista, who experienced an error in translation that increased her IQ but also resulted in physical disfigurement, is a striking presence but even she doesn’t really hold my interest. (It’s also unfortunate that the script isn’t as clear as it could be about the relationship between the two changes that she experienced; I don’t think she really says anything that implies a causal relationship between the two, but a slightly vague sentence structure makes it possible to read this as a claim that her decreased attractiveness made possible her increased intelligence, which would definitely have been worth avoiding.)            

Because I don’t really enjoy the world to which Donna and others have been “saved,” this episode only really works for me when we’re in the library itself. Fortunately, there are a number of good scenes in the library and then one absolutely sublime one, as River sacrifices herself so that the Doctor can live to make all of the memories that she’s already had with him. It’s an absolutely stunning piece of writing, acting, and musical underscoring, and River’s death is so moving that it’s difficult to believe that this is only her second episode. I’m not sure what gets to me the most in this scene; it might be River telling the Doctor “you watch us run,” as she thinks of the time together that’s still to come for him, or it might be the Doctor’s acknowledgment that there’s only one reason why he would ever have told her his name, or it might be some of the best music Murray Gold’s ever composed, but in retrospect, I think what makes me saddest is the fact that one of the last things she hears is the Doctor unknowingly saying her mother’s favorite expression. She’s quick to shut down the idea that time can be rewritten in this case, but if you watch this after seeing later seasons, the words allow the spirit of Amy Pond to make a brief, heartbreaking appearance in her daughter’s final moments.

           River’s connection to the Doctor works marvelously well throughout the episode, and the notion that he’s like seeing a photograph of someone from before you knew them gives us a lovely way into her feelings. The Doctor takes an embarrassingly long time to get the connection between books and trees, but he does do some pretty stellar thinking as he figures out what it means to have “saved” all four thousand people. (He figures this out in the middle of Anita trying to have a meaningful last conversation, which isn’t his kindest moment, but it’s still impressive.) The Vashta Nerada and their creepy shadows continue to be very frightening, but the resolution—in which the Doctor intimidates them into leaving everyone alone by telling them to look him up in the library’s books—is not the most satisfying end to the main plot. The final moments, though, in which he “saves” River to the library computer, make for a much stronger conclusion. River is one of the many characters to only sort-of die, and my lack of interest in the computer universe means that I’m not that excited about the continued existence of her consciousness within it. However, the Doctor’s realization of why he gave her his screwdriver and his rush to “save” her is so compellingly done that I’m very moved by the scene in spite of the minor issues that I have with it.

           As in the first part, I don’t find this episode quite as brilliant as some of Moffat’s other early episodes, like “The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances” and “Blink.” The Vashta Nerada are solid villains, and the library is a gorgeous setting, but this episode is really only sensational to me when River is on screen. Still, even with some pieces that I don’t especially like, this episode contains enough brilliant moments to make it a very strong story overall. A/A-

[beingsarahmorales-blog]

Lord Of The Rings & Christianity - Old Work

     The Lord of the Rings is a film trilogy that has Christ-like symbolism all throughout. The author of the trilogy, J.R.R Tolkien was a Christian himself, so it makes sense that references to Christianity could be seen once it was adapted for the big screen. 

     In my opinion there are many characters that can exemplify different aspects of the life of Christ. One such character would be Samwise Gamgee, the “side-kick” character who helps Frodo Baggins on his journey to destroy the “One Ring”. He is there for Frodo no matter what, through the good times and the bad, and is the person that helps Frodo to stay strong. He has one quote in which he says to Frodo “I can’t carry it for you but I can carry you” in reference to the ring. Samwise won’t carry the ring itself because he won’t put himself near the temptation, he resists and does not fall prey to it like so many other characters do. The ring represents Frodo’s burden that he has to bear, similar to the burdens we have to carry throughout life. This is similar to a Christian’s walk with God. God doesn’t always make our problems disappear and take them all upon himself to fix. Often times he is there to help us through. He “carries us” as we work through our problems. 

     Samwise also refuses to leave Frodo, despite Frodo’s attempts to go on without the gardener. He tries to leave on a boat but Sam will not have it and he chases after Frodo, regardless of the fact that he doesn’t know how to swim. This is similar to the verse in the Bible in Deuteronomy 31:6 that says, "Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you." God would never leave us, despite if we try to leave him, and the same goes for Sam with Frodo. 

     Sam seems to suffer alongside Frodo, he feels his pain and goes through it all with him. His heart breaks when Frodo’s does and he never allows Frodo to feel alone. This is similar to the idea of a suffering God. Christians believe that God feels our pain and sympathizes with us. When we grieve, he grieves. He is in tune with us and our emotions and wants the best for his people.

     Gandalf portrays a specific aspect of Jesus’s persona as well. Throughout all of his journeys, he is gathering people to help in the fight for good. This is similar to how Jesus gathered his disciples to help spread the word of God. Gandalf also sacrifices himself for his friends when he battles the Balrog, putting himself between the beast and his comrades. He sacrifices himself so that the others can escape and continue on their task. Jesus’s crucifixion can be compared to this as they both laid down their life for others. In John 15:13 in the Bible it is said that “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friend”. This can be seen in both Gandalf and Jesus as they sacrifice themselves so that others may live. Gandalf in the sense that his friends can continue on in their mission, and Jesus in the sense that we can now have eternal life in heaven because of his death on the cross. 

     However, similar to Jesus, Gandalf does not remain dead. No, he returns as Gandalf the White and continues on to help in the battle for good. This is reminiscent of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus returns and brings back hope to the world. Gandalf does the same for Middle Earth. 

     Another aspect of Christ is evident in the character of Aragorn. He is the true king, however, the first time we see him on screen he doesn’t look like the typical king we think of. He isn’t wearing a crown covered with jewels but a dark colored hood with an almost dirty appearance. In Jesus’s time, people doubted that he was the true king because of how he appeared. He arrived to the world as a baby and became a carpenter’s son. He didn’t come on a horse with an army. He wasn’t commanding or demanding. He was a simple, humble man who lived his life the way a good person should. However, none of this changed who he truly was, the son of God. 

     Appearance wise, Aragorn looks similar to typical depictions of Jesus. He has the beard and medium length dark hair that is absolutely reminiscent of the styles that is believed for men to have worn back during Jesus’s times. I do not know whether this was done on purpose or not, however, if so, it was a great choice for his character. It’s a subtle nod to Jesus that believers would be able to pick out. 

     Aragorn also goes out of his way to protect the Hobbits, just like God protects his children. The Hobbits as a whole represent a childlike faith. In Mark 10:13-16 it states “And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.” That being said, I think it is important to note that the person chosen with the job of carrying the ring (as well as three of his companions) was a childlike character. Hobbits are small like children, youthful looking, energetic and exuberant. Merry and Pippin even more so exemplify childlike behavior with their songs and dances and mischief that they get into. However, they are also characters that help turn pinnacle moments in the story, such as Merry in battle, or Pippin’s warning that Faramir was still alive when he was about to be burned. They may seem small but they can do mighty things. As Balin the dwarf says in The Hobbit film, “It never ceases to amaze me: the courage of Hobbits”. Personally, I believe that the same could be said for children. They are more resilient than people think and shouldn’t be underestimated.  

     Apart from Frodo, there is also a “company” who travels with him in order to complete the job of getting the room to Mount Doom. This group includes Frodo, of course, Samwise, Gandalf, Legolas, Gimli, Aragorn, Boromir, Merry, and Pippin. They are from all different groups and classes, similar to how Jesus picked different types of people to be his disciples. They help out in the fight for good and aid Frodo in achieving his goal. 

     Uncharacteristically for his time, Jesus also included women in his teachings and his group of followers. He brought about the idea that men and women could be portrayed on equal footing. In The Lord of the Rings, Éowyn is an example of this. She shows how women are in fact equal to men by taking up her sword and charging into battle, killing an adversary that no man had been able to. In fact she said in response to “no man can kill me” by saying “I am no man”. 

      A blatant representation of the antithesis of the Jesus Christ way of life is the temptation that many characters go through as a result of coming close to the Ring. Some characters let the ring take full control over them, such as Gollum who at one point  was a normal looking Hobbit-like creature, but became a decrepit shell of his former self. This symbolizes both how sin can eat away at you until you are virtually unrecognizable as the person you used to be and life without Christ. However, temptation can also be more subtle, such as the times Frodo uses the ring, despite being warned not to use it. He sees it as almost an easy way out of difficult and sometimes dangerous situations. It seems harmless at the time, and even helpful, however, he doesn’t realize the toll that using the ring will take on his psyche. This is similar to “little sins” or “white lies” that we go through in life, things that Christianity warns us of as the little things can pile up over time until they can snowball and we get stuck in a web that we can’t get out of. 

     Another example of the antithesis of Christ would come in the form of Saruman. He’s deceitful. He is what I refer to as “evil in a pretty package”. At first, he looks like he is doing good. He’s all dressed in white, putting off an air of purity when in fact he is anything but. Gandalf, who is supposed to be so incredibly wise, is even tricked by Saruman. In Matthew 24:24 it says “For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.” Gandalf was blinded by the fact that Saruman was supposed to be his friend that he couldn’t discern the evil that Saruman possessed. 

     Who is Jesus? To me, Jesus is a friend. While being divine, I also see him for who he was as a human as I find that side of him easiest to relate to as I am obviously a human myself. I can see how he lived and apply it to myself as a means of guidelines on how to live my own life. I feel like regardless of your perspective on religion, you can take his way of life and apply it to your own. Such as how he treated others, not being judgemental, being caring and going out of his way to help people, as well as many other positive traits. Jesus is someone I can look to as a positive example whose lifestyle can still apply in modern day. He’s a much better role model than those that people consider role models today and more people should look to him for how to live their lives.