#no there is a certain parallel between you and that insane wizard though

[whereisthedamndaddymanual]

The Cook's wife: just a year ago he was barely walking. This year he's running riot

[frostyreturns]

Harry Potter

Like a lot of people who grew up in Christian homes these books were banned in our house. As a kid I never blindly listened to my parents and watched, read and did a lot of things that were not allowed. Harry Potter was one of those things that was banned but I never had any interest in anyways, so it was never a part of my childhood. Howver it was not banned in every Christian home and I grew up with other Christian friends who loved the books and the movies.

As an adult I’ve been collecting, reading and re-reading young reader books that were popular in the 80′s 90′s and early 2000s, I came across the entire Harry Potter series at a thrift store and decided fuck it the whole series cost me like $15 dollars and some of the hardcovers had insane prices like $45 on the inside covers so i figured if I hated them I could resell them for a profit. Well now I’ve read the entire series and want to talk about why I think the parents who banned it in their homes were both right and wrong to do so.

I always found it curious why people had a problem with the wizardry of Harry Potter but were perfectly okay with Narnia and Lord Of The Rings. They all have magic and fantasy withcraft in them but Lewis and Tolkien were not just tolerated but celebrated while Rowling was reviled and I don’t think people even understood why. The impression that people like my mother had was that because the books revolved around children learning witchcraft that the books were then teaching witchcraft to children. Christians believe that satanism, the occult and to a certain extent witchcraft are real and evil, and they’re right...and so Harry Potter was treated as though it were the satanic bible targeted to children. In a way they were wrong, having read it, there is no actual withcraft in the book, it is not a wiccan text and in fact the magic of the book is much lighter and goofier than the magic in other fantasy stories that these same people allowed. However there is a key difference.

In Lord Of the Rings magic is viewed as something that should be avoided, it’s stance is that things you do not understand are not to be wielded lightly. Frodo is commanded to never put on the ring, Gandalf himself though a great and good wizard is still treated as dangerous and even he would not touch the palantir, he threw a covering over it and told them they did not know who else was watching. Dark magic is presented not just as evil but as being corrupting, something even the most trained and capable magic users should not attempt to use. We see what it does to people and how it destroys lives. In Narnia it is much the same the Witch is the embodiment of evil and an allegory to satan, the folly of the meddling with magic is demonstrated in the magicians nephew right from book one. In Harry Potter however magic is from the outset presented as this cool and fun thing that solves all your problems for you. Bad home life...magic, bullies at school...magic, not athletic or talented...magic, poor...magic, friendless and lonely...magic. It solves all your problems, provides nothing but endless wish fulfillment. 

Are demons going to leap from the pages of Harry Potter and possess your kids and turn them into satanic transvestites. No, however I do believe that many, because of their intense love for Harry Potter and who wanted it to be real became curious and sought out any kind of real world parallel they could find. They turned to real world withcraft they explored the occult and wiccan teachings and had their lives and their minds severely fucked by that. Do I suffer any ill effects from reading the books as an adult....no absolutely not because I as an adult understand the difference between fiction and reality, I understand that in the real world the occult, hidden knowledge and witchcraft and attempts at it are evil. I think in the same way many of the Christians who read the book as kids were not negatively effected by it because even as kids they understood the difference between real withcraft and the silly wand waving nonsense of Harry Potter. However many children did not experience this same distinction, people who had no reason to think anything negative or be suspicious of the occult I think were sucked in and it was like a gateway drug for them. You can even see the more invested and more trouble someone has at divorcing the books from the real world the more into the occult they are. A generation of kids who went out and messed with shit they shouldn’t have because they wanted life to be like Harry Potter. 

And I think the overreaction of Christians contributed to it, every non Christian who loved the books is aware of the churches reaction to it. They knew about those of us who had it banned in our homes and it made it all the more enticing. By making such a fuss I think the church contributed to its success and wild popularity. As a kid I learned about the books existing from the conversation I had with my mom about it being banned. When she told me to stay away from Harry Potter I had literally no idea what the hell Harry Potter was. 

As long as you or your kids have an understanding of the difference between reality and fiction and understand the reality of the dangers posed by the occult then reading it is fine. You don’t need to be one of these people who are like ‘I don’t even want it in my house.’ That being said I do think it was overall harmful to society as a whole and that most kids shouldn’t read it.

The other take away is that without all the attention I don’t think it would have caught on as much because they are really extremely mediocre books. Rowling borrowed heavily from Tolkien but did none of it even close to as well. The writing was sloppy and the lore was poorly defined. The characters were well developed and they had mystery and intrigue but they are super overrated. 

[weheart-dianelockhart]

The Good Fight Reaction: 4x01

My incomplete (and slightly emotional) thoughts are under the cut. Whew. What an episode. All screenshots are mine. Happy reading.

First of all, what the hell did I just witness? And is it weird that I liked TGF’s version of The Wizard of Oz better than the original? (Not really, I love Wizard of Oz, but you get my drift)

Can I just start out by saying how proud of Diane I am? Talk about character development, and I’ll get into this as we go along, but she has come so far.

The episode overall was just thrilling. I LOVED that Diane remembered everything from Trump’s presidency. I was wondering what headspace they were going to put her in and this was perfect. She could recall certain events and important social and political issues, but she couldn’t seem to put them in order. And for the majority of the episode, I don’t think this bothered her. She was just overjoyed at the thought of Hillary being president. She was feeling her way through this dream as if she were walking through a house of mirrors. Never knowing what was coming next. I laughed out loud so many times and found myself cheering her on as if I were wondering around this new reality with Diane. Marissa accepting her craziness was also a pleasant surprise. She knew something was up with Diane but helped her out and fed her information, nonetheless. The comradery between those two was so refreshing, especially when everyone else seemed to be against Diane. The hilarity of this episode came not only from the absurdity of the circumstances but CB’s insane acting chops. This woman can play anything.

As the episode continued, Diane’s frustration with her situation was building. She’d attempted to implement her knowledge of social and political events into this new reality when she can’t even vouch for how or why she knows all this information. I just wanted to hug her and say “That’s not how this works!” The final straw seemed to come once Zoe began to reprimand her for starting a movement that would supposedly hurt Hillary’s chances for re-election. I almost wish that Lucca had said something about her experience with Weinstein during this part, but I suppose her keeping silent added to the drama.

It took me a while to pinpoint what made Diane suddenly realize she had yet to speak to Kurt since she’d “woken up.” (Thoughts on this??). My creativity has settled on the way Zoe was addressing the MeToo situation. Bare with me, this might be a stretch.

This scene felt extremely reminiscent of the Assholes to Avoid episode in season two where Diane explains “Women aren’t just one thing and you don’t get to determine what we are.” In that reality, she was in control and knew what she wanted. While in this dream, she was not giving the lecture, but was on the receiving end. Her glancing to see what Liz and Adrian were dealing with lined up with the look to the side to see what the two financial advisors were up to in season two. Although, this time, Diane felt powerless and confused, not confident and sure of herself. I adored watching her start to question how all of this got out of hand and trying to piece everything together. Running through her memories and possibly thinking about how everything was different in her dream, she remembered the most crucial part of all of it. Kurt. When the MeToo movement was in question during that episode in season two, he was about to tell her that he wanted them to always be together. He brought clarity back into her life after she had been emotionally drifting for so long. And in this first episode, she is in desperate need of clarity. (Please remember all of this is total speculation and just a little thought I had after watching these scenes for the hundredth time). Here are the scenes for reference.

As her dream begins to unravel, it dawns in her that she doesn’t have that clear perspective. Hence her wondering what happened to Kurt. Little by little, things start adding up in her head (i.e. how did she change clothes, why had she spent the last three days at work, where the heck was Kurt). Everything else that was important 30 seconds ago dissolved into her confusion for why she hasn’t spoken to her husband.

Now this is what really got me. LOOK AT THOSE EYES.

Up until that moment, she was just kind of going along with all the quirkinesses of the new reality, but this is the first time she starts to feel that something isn’t right.

Enter: The Wizard of Oz. Referencing “home” seemed like she was talking about more of a sensation than an actual place. Diane needs to feel understood and safe again, qualities that Kurt provided, but she had yet to feel that durning this dream. I definitely think anxious and confused Diane is my favorite because we are so used to seeing her as the rational one. Also, her anxiety only ever surfaces when she is concerned about someone she loves.

After arguing for a while, it’s sort of heartbreaking to see Diane just give in and say she’ll do whatever Zoe wants. But at the same time, it made me tear up because she was so flustered at the thought of not knowing where Kurt was. She barely even cared about losing her spot at the firm. Even though she couldn’t (or didn’t seem to, at least) remember what happened right before the inauguration, she knew that they had reconciled and that she should have heard from him. Don’t get me wrong, I adored the final McHart scenes, but this is what made me cry. The fact that NOTHING else mattered more to her at that moment than finding Kurt.

Now that is character development. She has chosen work so many times over him and this is the complete opposite of what she would’ve done just a couple seasons ago. She’s all grown up!!!!

Onto the scene in the woods. I could talk about the parallels from the argument scene for DAYS, but I’ll spare you all for now.



I just need a second to dwell on the fact that this is such a beautiful shot...Ok, moving on. A while back I shared my feelings about Chaos in season one and I said how Diane had never looked so frightened than the moment she found Kurt in the hospital. Well, now we have this scene.

To continue with the theme of character development, I nearly screamed when she said that nothing else mattered but the two of them. The fact that she was willing to do whatever it took to keep them together was literally the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard.

Sidenote: her voice crack when she called to him in the forest and said she needed his help was pure gold. She had no doubt that he would be able to help her make sense of all of this. She had to get home and he was just the person to help.

I really liked how this whole scene you couldn’t really tell if she knew this was a dream or if she still thought it was reality. But honestly, I don’t think she cared anymore. (Here come the waterworks). I think the most touching part of this whole situation was that she could only remember what happened immediately before Hillary‘s inauguration when she held his hand.

Another side note: her nails aren’t painted!! I just loved this shot of their hands. She has no jewelry on, her nails are bare, and she finally gets to hold his hand. All her armor has been left behind and she is so vulnerable. 

The rest of the scene is so beautiful. She doesn’t even question it when he tells her to come back. She’s known that this reality is not where she needs or wants to be and she just wants to go home, where everything made sense even if it wasn’t perfect. 

The fact that Kurt is the one that helps her recall what happened before the dream makes her fear of losing him that much more powerful. Yep, this is by far the most terrified we’ve seen Diane. As the memory comes back piece by piece, she tries to pull away from him because she knows where it ends: with him lying on the floor next to her, presumably dead. He wants her back so terribly that he won’t let her go, but she can’t fathom living in a world where he isn’t alive. Everything hits her all at once. The fear, the grief, the regret, and the remorse for putting him in danger in the first place.

You bet I was crying right along with her. And her little “oh my God” broke my heart in half. She knew what was coming next. I mean, what else would you expect to happen if you pulled a gun on a swat team.

And then he is the one that lets go. While she thinks he’s dead, I think it is symbolic of him letting her drift back into reality. He has to release her from this dream and she has to release herself, as well. I know that there are not often clear morals in the episodes because the morals are always in question, but this idea of needing to be home is a continuation from the last episode in season three were Diane tells Adrian that love is the only thing they can hold onto. It will always be there, like it or not, ready to help in anyway it can. Even when times are rough, Diane can always look to her husband for grounding. She can always go home.

Well, for those of you still reading, that was a lot longer than I intended it to be. Let me know what you think and if you have any other ideas on any of this. And I can’t be the only one that thinks Kurt was holding her hand in the final shot...

[itsswimmingtragedycollection]

The Dumpster Fire that is ‘The Order’

First of all, why is his show labeled as a horror? My humble guess is that it was intended for younger audiences?? I genuinely wanna know. Because, even if it was for teens, some blood and a few dead bodies does not a horror make.  Secondly, what the fuck? And I truly mean that.  I mean, the idea itself doesn’t sound bad at all. A college student joins a secret society and finds out his supposedly evil dad is the head of it? He’s also in a werewolf club that fights that same secret society? Sign me tf up. But the execution just takes a really weird turn.  From the get go, you kinda aren’t sure if the show wants to be takes seriously or not. And that question is never answered. Literally in the opening scene the letter changes from ‘we regret to inform you’ to ‘congratulations’ in front of Jack’s eyes and he has absolutely no reaction whatsoever to that peculiar development, which kind of screams ‘not to be taken seriously’ similarly to the whole ‘My evil dad killed my mom so naturally I’m gonna join a secret society, become someone important and powerful and eventually use that power to fight him.’ Who on earth plots a revenge along those lines? But then a second later, the plot falls back in the supernatural drama category.  To top it all off there’s a whole lot of ‘woke humor’ which most of the time comes across as cringe worthy edginess we’re all happy we outgrew after HS.  But, even if you could somehow get pas the not-so-subtle jumps from complete absurdity to realism, there’s nothing else to hold on to. No character, no relationship, no plot line we’re offered is strong enough to pull us in.  In fact. one of the most annoying things about The Order is that basically no character has a personality. I am 8 episodes deep (and I don’t intend to finish it because that’s how boring it is) and I still don’t know anything substantial about anyone. And can we take a second to just look at Jake’s relationship with Alyssa? What even is that? Are they flirting are they not, does he really like her or is she a means to an end, is she into him or his dad, why are they kissing and why does it look so uncomfortable, did they just cast two people with the least chemistry on purpose or is bad writing/directing? So many questions. If we draw a parallel between Jack’s progress with her and him being on board with the wolves, it makes even less sense. He needs how many episodes to decide to try and kiss her, but when it comes to dedicating your whole life to fighting bad magic, you go from ‘no way, you’re all insane, you made me kill an innocent man’ to ‘I pledge my life to the cause’ within two seconds.   Speaking of things that make no sense, I have to mention Jack’s ‘friendship’ with Amir. Don’t get me wrong, I get that we meet people and think to ourselves how that could grow into a beautiful friendship, but acting as if someone you just met is really your friend, and that odd flashback to like one beer they shared, when Amir was found dead, is just... I don’t even know what to say.  The Order as an organization is equally puzzling. Who are they? Why are they? What’s the purpose, what’s the goal, the mission? I can’t settle for just a group of magic users who follow strict hierarchies but kinda all look out for themselves and don’t really like each other that much. And occasionally sacrifice goats. And change people’s memories.(And they can revive a golem and ask it who made it, but the fact that Jack, who found out about magic like yesterday, sabotaged their spell somehow goes right over their magical heads. ) But essentially it’s for the good of the whole wide world.????????????? And the masks are what makes me think an 8yo came up with the whole concept.  If you thought the werewolf knights are any less confusing, think again. They hear noises when ‘bad magic’ happens and solve it by killing anything that moves. Heroes. Also, how do they know what they are supposed to do if they refuse to read anything? I mean, that’s not how a secret society, since that’s more or less what they are, works. Someone has to tell you, show you, teach you. Sure, you have the wolves inside you, but if you don’t know they speak a certain language, it’s fairly certain you don’t know a whole lot. And why is there only four of you? How can four knights take down an organization as big as The Order? Especially since their preferred method is violent murder, something that is not very subtle and does not go unnoticed for long, which basically ensures the rage of the entire Order falling on their heads before they even begin their so called mission. Once again: ????????????????? And what even does ‘bad magic’ mean? The term is so vague and abstract that I have a hard time understanding how can you form an organization that fights something barely defined. All magic can potentially be bad magic. What are the guidelines here? Help me comprehend.  The show also has a very odd relationship towards death. One can sort of ‘forgive’ the wizards and the wolves for being chill about it, but if someone was targeting and butchering people on your campus, wouldn’t you be at least a bit worried? We don’t see any students panicking, we saw one police officer, there were no measures taken by the college, unless you count turning Amir’s death into a bike accident. And just when you start getting used to being casual about it, Jack has a whole meltdown over killing someone the first time he turned. And then also his professor. But even that meltdown is not very convincing, since most of what he does is just screaming ‘I KILLED AN INNOCENT MAN!!!’ into the void, without a much deeper attempt to deal with that. Which is why I don’t get why the show even made an issue out of it.  I also don’t get Jack’s grandpa. Like not even a little bit. Because if you think about it, it’s not * that * unimaginable that a little boy would come up with the idea of joining a secret society to avenge his mother’s death, but it is * very * odd to imagine an old ass grown up who not only thinks it’s a good idea to direct your whole young life towards revenge, but encourages it to a point of making a detailed plan on how to do that, and basically spends your entire childhood grooming you to become a little rage fueled bundle of psychological damage. All of this is only scratching the surface of the mess that is The fucking Order, because the show is a giant entangled coil of nonsense and I barely knew where to start. It’s fair to say that the biggest buzzkill is failure to pick a direction and stick with it. You don’t have to look that close to see some of the influences. The biggest one being, obviously, The Magicians, followed by some Teen Wolf, there’s even elements from Scream Queens, a bit of Buffy, a pinch of the Craft, etc. Almost like someone decided to look up successful shows in the supernatural/fantasy/horror genre and just smash them all up together in hopes of making something appealing to the largest audience possible. Personally, as a * very big * fan of before mentioned The Magicians, I get the feeling that Netflix wanted to make something that could rival it, but better. Because TM is, dare I say so, one of the best, if not the best, shows of the decade. I honestly have not seen anything like it, that has the same platform, in literally a decade. If you have, please let me know. 

Whit the BDE, edgy, but in a good way, humor, strong political views, strong female characters, fun twist and turns that actually do manage to mix absurd with normal life in a magical, no pun intended, way, sexuality representation, but not in a ‘we just want to please the gays so they give us the views’ way, great male characters we wish we saw more of, compelling character development and so on. Tho the most likable aspect of the series is probably the take on overdone story lines, where they twist the narrative just enough for it to become actually relatable. We all are tired of super special chosen ones who save the world because they are soo special and specially chosen by gods to save the world and all the dumb boring unspecial people with their pure hearts and strong characters. And also find true love.  You see attempts at this within The Order on every turn, except that it doesn’t work nearly as well for them, precisely because they went for that AND MORE. More wouldn’t even be a bad thing if it was’t so all over the place that it just comes off as ‘WE WANT EVERYONE TO LIKE THIS, GIVE US ALL THE VIEWS, ALL OF THEM.’ I am very much inclined to think this is what happened, considering other stuff Netflix has put out there. (Mostly referring to endlessly stupid shit like YOU, which only has the intention of being controversial and attention grabbing, for the views. Tho they do have some fun shit too, don’t get me wrong.) So I guess what I’m trying to say is,  the though of making something like TM, is not a bad one,  I’m all for it, but you actually have to put a shit ton more imagination into it if you want it to work out. But that’s just my opinion.