#part 1 of s3 predictions

[lovewilltellamillionstories]

The way I thought I'd be rewatching part 2 on a loop 😅 I'm still sat here at part 1

[herejusttosufferalong]

So did N post the Brazil restaurant pics and talk about it in an interview (a bit randomly) because she knew a lot of people were taking pics of them, and she wanted to control the narrative? Play it down and hush rumours? I don't recall her posting any other dinner photos during the tour?

Given the precise timing, I suspect the new photos/video that were released today may have been taken by staff who were under a 90-day NDA (from Part 1 release). I know of other photos that were posted in real time of L and N at the hotel restaurant. For some reason, they were not restricted to post? Maybe just a casual diner or guest? It just occurred to me that the two photos of them (on different nights) taken from a distance may have been screenshots from a video, as the quality is so poor? That's an interesting thought.

Then there's the NY Premiere videos. Why were some released in real time while others were released precisely 90 days after the release of part 1? Why would NDAs apply to some people but not others? Unless the videos posted today were purely by influencers via their official accounts and the other videos posted in real time were from random guests and anonymously leaked?

I'm confused as to why NDAs would be in place? Is it just a safeguard in case anything scandalous happened that would effect viewership numbers? And in the case of the Brazil hotel, just a general privacy thing? But why would it be limited to 90 days if that's the case? Unless they thought something would happen at the hotel that could effect viewership numbers?

Idk. I'm so confused about today. Particularly when you pair it with the week of posting from N. No surprises she posted something social awareness related today (all eyes on her) either because she anticipated today's events OR she had a look at her socials and saw that things had been posted and wanted to make the most of public interest. But still, why the lead up with her own cryptic and love-struck posts? And radio silence from L and all adjacents since he posted the Bridgerton bloopers?

Here are my key takeaways from today (and this week):

They spent a shit ton of time together in Brazil, and didn't get sick of each other. Even going to two separate restaurants in the hotel on one night. They had at least two outings together, without their teams in earshot, across two nights.

He enjoys grabbing her hand unnecessarily just as much as she enjoys grabbing his. Their level of physical affection is unsettling to me, even when certain adjacents are around.

Certain adjacents are just hanging around, whether they know they're being filmed or not. Where is the affection or physical comfort?

A few days before the Premiere, N posts a song about waiting for someone, asking them to give her 'a look again' to get things going. Then in the week leading up to the end of a 90-day period from Part 1 release (and possible NDA expiration), she proceeds to post about someone giving her a call after not hearing from them in a while, and admitting their love for one another (the caller expressing their feelings first). She then posts a song about getting it on with a person where there's no pretending, who knows her so well. Someone who makes her want to dress up and go dancing. Makes me think of that song she posted after S3 filming (I think) and possibly again during tour? - "we should kiss like real people do". What's this whole theme about pretending vs. reality? Being real/yourself vs. fake? What's this in relation to? I mean, I have a few theories...

I can feel it in my loins that the next few days are going to be enlightening, and could literally go in any direction. But did any of us predict this turn of events in what was suppose to be the 'dry period' before s4 filming begins??? This is honestly the best show I've ever watched.

.

[moments-on-film]

Moments on Film: The Bear Season 3

Now that I have had a few days to process and fully…..digest S3, I am back with my most visceral thoughts.

I must say, distance did not do anything to ameliorate how I felt about this season. There were some beautiful moments, I really enjoyed episode 1, for example, and I truly appreciated the opportunity to learn more about how Sydney comports herself as a leader, Marcus‘s beautifully inspired and fresh creativity as a chef, Tina’s journey, Natalie’s inner struggles, and more backstory on chef Luca.

What I am having so much trouble with this season, is Carmy. I knew this would happen. I knew S3 would be the belly of the beast, as I predicted 🔗 here , but it was still so hard to take in.

Those of you that have read my work know how much empathy I have felt for Carmy. I have rooted for him. I see how much help he desperately needs and I am always hoping he will find a way to course correct when he gets off track. Carmy ditching Sydney in S2 and lashing out at Richie in the finale felt like a punch to my gut. I was so hoping those two relationships would be nurtured this season but in fact they got worse.

I want to be clear, I have had so much compassion and empathy for Carmy and his emotional problems, due to the cycles of abuse he has had to endure. What I absolutely cannot excuse or reconcile this season is how his behavior and actions are hurting, stifling, and traumatizing those around him.

Another thing I really want to uplift is that yes, this is a show that emphasizes found family. But at the end of the day, this is a business, he is in a leadership position, and everyone who works there is an at-will-employee. In my opinion, Carmy has completely failed as a leader, on all fronts. He has never exhibited leadership skills, with consistency. And as supportive member of the “family”, real or otherwise, he is nowhere to be found. Carmy has actually created a hostile work environment that is legally actionable and litigious with his mood swings, verbal and physical abuse and erratic behavior.

It is a stone cold fact.

I was rooting so hard for Sydney and staff to walk out the door this season. That’s how bad his behavior is. Sydney deserves better, plain and simple. Everyone working at The Bear does. Another point I want to uplift is that while Christopher Storer created the show, it is his sister, Courtney, “Coco” Storer who is the chef on whom he based much of the plot. Courtney has also moved from Culinary Producer in seasons past of The Bear to Co-Executive Producer and even “Story By” credit on this season of the show.

There is something Courtney said a few years ago on a podcast that has stayed in the back of my mind because I always wondered if it would be used as a plot point for Sydney. She shared a story of a restaurant she worked at in Los Angeles. She was promoted to CDC, loved her team and really enjoyed working there. However, it was not all perfect. She was constantly burnt out and at a physical and emotional deficit due to the stress. She suffered panic attacks. She also shared that she was not officially a partner with a stake in the restaurant, and she felt like she needed to have her own back because at the end of the day, no one else did. Although it was a difficult life decision—-she quit.

Forget Michelin stars. If Carmy cannot create and maintain an environment people want to work in, with him, he will end up completely alone. It also may already be too late.

I understand this season is apparently in two parts, I understand that everything happens for a reason. What I can’t understand is how I am meant to root for a character that has contributed to Sydney having panic attacks, has hit Richie, has yelled at Marcus during what must be the worst time in his life and who was about to lose it on Tina if Sydney hadn’t stepped in, saved her, and saved him from himself. Completely unacceptable behavior.

Carmy needs professional help. I have said this many, many times before and I am going to say it again. Carmy. Needs. Professional. Help. He cannot continue to let his triggers and emotions be his master. He is in a leadership position and peoples jobs are depending on him. He cannot offer any more hollow apologies, he has to back them up with consistent action, or I will continue rooting for the staff to leave or for him to step down.

If he doesn’t make the time, energy, and effort to stop the madness, slow down, take a beat, remember all of the gentle and beautiful mentorship he actually did receive through his rise as a chef, lead with his heart, build trust and repair his relationships, especially with Sydney, with Richie, with his sister and her new baby, he will lose it all, because he will have lost the one thing that truly matters, the people he is supposed to care about and the people who care about him.

Does he have it in him to turn this all around? At this point I am not sure. And if he doesn’t, I believe what “grows together”, and they really did, all grow—-will in fact, go together.

©️moments-on-film 2024

[nalyra-dreaming]

S2 predictions...

Just listing this before the episodes hit next week :)

Based on the interviews, reviews and all the tidbits we have heard and seen over the last 1,5 years.

I'm putting this under the cut because there might be spoilers in it that some haven't seen?!? Probably not many surprises, given my asks :) Just in case.

Not in a particular order!

Armand's retelling of Lestat's and his past will have a very deliberate touch to them. He will paint his and Lestat's (his)story in a certain light, for effect. Personally, I don't think it will take away anything from TVL in s3 (if anything, it might build more anticipation, at least for me). Gabrielle won't be in it.

Louis will be aware. He knows - most of it. (What was it in that interview? 80-90%?^^). He probably has asked Armand to help, too. The things not matching will be little things at first, if at all. We haven't heard anything in the reviews wrt the episode 5 fight, or murder night, so they are keeping that for the last two episodes (since we have already seen shots of it in the trailer). That means that the events will likely be combined with the trial, and that... will then be quite cataclysmic. And harrowing.

The trial itself will probably be version 1, too. We'll see if we get a second one after the tale breaks once more in this season, but it might be that we only get it in s3, where we will probably get another ep5 revisit, too, imho. This version of the trial will show Lestat fully in control and blaming Louis and Claudia, too. (This is the version Louis will believe happened.)

Louis and Claudia probably have to flee in the war, we saw them running, which is probably also why they don't have access to their money. That will change in Paris, I bet. Roget's will come into play here, even if only in a short nod.

Louis and his hobby are definitely linked to Louis' perception of reality (and therefore his visions of Lestat, too). Guess Lestat is eating that one photograph Louis looked at in the extended look there... :) - and it will be the one they look at "together".

I don't think Claudia and Madeleine will be lovers. Not only to avoid the kill-the-gays-trap, but also because Claudia apparently bonds with her over compassion, not desire. Also, I believe it was Mark Johnson who said they would stay close to the book there.

The Eastern Europe parts will be gritty and sobering for Louis and Claudia. The horrific possibilities of their existence will be a grating wake-up call to the way Lestat lived with them.

Nicolas will be in the flashbacks to the 1790s, but Armand will not dwell on him for long... again, which I think is only proper, because a) did Armand not care for him too much, but b) also because I don't think the flashbacks will be as extensive as might expect them to be.

That said, Lestat strutting in with the cross does speak of a certain scene, so the kidnapping probably happens. As others have theorized as well, I think that it might be when Lestat is charging Armand in the red coat outside on the street.

I think the bitch fest in the first few episodes in Dubai will be epic.

A propos bitch fest, the one between Armand and Lestat in the past will be tame by comparison, as Armand's version is much more focused on how intense Lestat was and their relationship, imho. Nicki is likely dismissed as inconsequential, as said before.

Claudia will come full into her own throughout the season - almost there, almost free, toasting to the future - and then. That kiss to Louis' cheek will be the "Judas' kiss" just before the vampires come for them.

I think Louis will (try to) break up with Armand (to leave with Claudia and Madeleine), which will lead to Armand allowing it all.

Armand's little Frankenstein moment might be founded in genuine desire to help her slash wants to see what happens. I do think it will be part of the reveals in the last episodes.

With Carol Cutshall's comments re Lestat's pinstripes in mind (aka he being a "jailor" to Louis and Claudia) that speaks volumes for the pinstripes on Armand's pajama as well as the bedroom design in Dubai. With the comment re Louis "missing the natural world" in s1, I do think Armand is fully controlling the whole environment and keeping Louis in a golden cage in Dubai.

When the books come crashing down (which is in all likelihood connected to The Groan somehow) Armand will try to save Daniel. And he therefore might miss out on saving Louis.

I think Louis will throw himself off the balcony at sunrise (in a Merrick-esque event due to the (diary-) revelations) in an echo of Paul's suicide. I think they will think him dead and put him into his literal coffin and put pebbles on him, because he so loved the tree (which might have Claudia's ashes buried at its roots). (And that is why Jacob commented on "spreading Louis' ashes" through NOLA with these pebbles - because the Louis after will be changed.)

I think he will be resurrected through Lestat (and possibly Armand) as seen in the scene in the one trailer.

Lestat is somewhere near, probably comatose till the last episode. He will likely connected to The Groan, because while Armand certainly can conjure metaphysical events in the books this specific "hint" is imho connected to something else in that building.

That "something else" could very well be "Those Who Must Be Kept" because even in s1 there were a lot of Marius hints, and... well. The name has already dropped as well in s1, and in that one review there was that "Adam and Eve" hint... so I expect a lot more of THAT, too.

The Devil's Minion will be fact after the season - we have already heard about a bottle episode and Rolin's comments are fresh in my mind re ep5 and 8 and I expect those to set up, detail and then twist DM around.

Armand will save Louis and they will be hunted by Santiago, who Armand then defeats. Louis will burn down the theater with the fire gift (which he might discover during the season, I concur with @cbrownjc there (as well^^)).

The "Dream-Lestat" manifestations will be the representation of Louis' guilt, but also saying that what Louis cannot, for a lot of reasons. They will also taunt Louis with (and show us) that which Louis suppressed in s1.

Claudia will be (even more) breathtaking this season, which will make what will happen to her even worse to watch. That will not soften the blow of her diary-reveal (as said before likely at the trial) wrt Louis though, and I fully expect them to have the relevant entry read out (or narrated by her) live on stage.

I think the NOLA "reunion" will be around the year 2000 and that this is why Louis stopped killing, though why exactly will remain to be seen.

That's more or less it. I hope they'll think of the "Book of Hours" that got lost in Berlin (from ep6), I hope they'll think of Jonah, and maybe Miss Bricktop. I'm very interested to see what they do with Alice and Daniel's daughters, as daughters and twins are very important in the VC.

I'm extremely excited about the hints we'll get wrt more - since the Talamasca are apparently involved that opens the door to sooooooo much - and opens up crossover possibilities, too.

And I haven't heard anything of the "cameos" that Sam mentioned (of other vampires) - so we might see those in the last episodes as well.

Who knows, maybe Gabrielle will show up at the end!!! (And, maybe she will be the "interior designer"... and maybe, just maybe, Antoinette will show up as well.)

[markantonys]

wotseries posted an alleged elaida audition script about 1) her telling presumably leane that she's at the tower to look for elayne and also that siuan's in a big mess and she could use elaida's help in cleaning it up, and 2) her discussing prophetic powers with min.

the first scene is pretty standard with what we've been predicting for elaida and the white tower plotline in s3, so i don't have any commentary on that one for now (though it does imply that, indeed, we'll be setting up the coup to be a slowburn season-long event with elaida weaseling around for a while before making her big move, rather than a shock event that happens early in the season, but i think most of us were thinking this already anyway).

the second scene is interesting because a different leak had placed min in tanchico. wotup's leaks have been flagrantly incorrect before (said faile would be in s2) and wotseries' audition scripts have also been flagrantly incorrect before (said gawyn would be in s2), so at this point it's just a question of which source i distrust more, and i can't answer that haha so for the time being i'll treat both Min Locations as equally plausible. (i'm assuming it'll only be one or the other because i find it hard to imagine that she could make an appearance in both locations during the course of the season, but i suppose you never know.)

looking at where s2 left off, both are equally plausible. min is in cairhien, and both siuan & co and liandrin are also in cairhien. i could see siuan snatching min back to the white tower because she knows about her powers and wants to use them, and i could also see liandrin snatching min over to tanchico because she considers her a liability after min betrayed her/didn't follow through on the deal/figured out she's a darkfriend.

looking at min's established story in the show and where her story goes in future in the books (lmao at the statement that min has a story in the books), both are equally plausible. tanchico would put her back into contact with liandrin and mat to follow up on her story with them in s2 and set up for her future seanchan story with mat (and doubly so if there's a seanchan presence or even tuon herself in tanchico in s3). the white tower would return her to her book storyline and, based on this scene with elaida, potentially give her the opportunity to have a storyline exploring the nature of her powers and her relationship with them. either storyline would allow her to go on to cross paths with rand in the next season or two.

(edited to add that tanchico would also have min interacting with elayne to help set up the polycule. i've so thoroughly made the polycule rand/elayne/avi/mat in my mind that i kinda forgot min is the canonical fourth member when i was making this post djkfg)

i will say that in the books, the tower coup has absolutely 0 bearing on min's overall character/story because she has 0 stakes in any of that stuff and 0 connection to aes sedai. it makes for an interesting 1-book storyline for her, but it's never relevant to her again (vs. someone like gawyn who is dealing with the repercussions of the coup in his storyline for pretty much the rest of the series), and so for that reason i wouldn't be sorry to replace her book storyline with an invented tanchico storyline that might have more long-term relevance to her (re: seanchan stuff). however, if the show expands her white tower storyline to include an exploration of her powers, i'd love that because min actively struggling with and trying to navigate and learn more about and figure out how best to use her powers is something that should have been part of her current story rather than her pre-series backstory. and compare/contrasting with elaida and how SHE uses her prophetic abilities would be super interesting!

that being said, i will never again trust any wotseries audition scripts after the utter betrayal that was the gawyn one, so i'm taking this all with a grain of salt! every time they post a new one they're like "disclaimer that scenes could be invented just for auditions and won't appear in the actual show, but most of our past audition scripts have appeared in the show pretty close to the audition version" and i'm like "what about that time you misled me to believe a whole-ass boy would be present in s2 and then he wasn't???? is gawyngate a joke to you???" lmao i wish they'd be a bit more cautious with their audition script disclaimers bc *i* think they've been pretty hit or miss, not Usually Accurate (even the aviendha one, only 1 of 2 scenes made it into the show iirc).

[titanias-bower]

Bridgerton S3! Single watch, big impressions.

Unhinged Predictions

Eloise and Benedict have switched their book storylines!

Eloise will reunite with forbidden love Theo Sharpe. Her Cinderfella will be back- but Persuasion style!

Benedict will have an affair with a parent- then will fall for their spouse! Conflict revolves around navigating polyamory and commitment. But first and foremost, it’s instant love with their kids- a Regency Jerry Maguire!

Fran’s storyline will follow the book’s, except she and Michaela have switched roles.

Fran struggles with suppressing her sexuality, attraction to Michaela, and infertility. All while married to her bestie. Very Arthur-Guinevere-Lancelot of her.

Show is moving away from the social season, away from London. In part at least. Very excited for it!

Bridgerton Wishes

#1: Eloise and Daphne reunite.

Eloise makes Theo her “mister” before marriage.

Theo and Cressida are related somehow?

Benedict ends up with Sir Phillip Crane- and his wife, Lady Marina Crane.

Benedict is the glue to their throuple.

Marina is his mystery Lady in Silver whom he exchanges anonymous letters with because they can’t be together. Meanwhile he’s engaged in affair with gay Phillip, her husband. Very messy.

But first and foremost, he really loves their kids. Happily sets up play dates at Aubrey Hall, tutors them in art…

Michaela breaks barriers by entering the House of Lords.

[lotto840]

Season 2 Finale Part 1 Trailer Thoughts Part 2! (Damn that’s a bad title…)

Part 1 if you haven’t read it yet!

I prob should’ve included this in the last post, but i kinda forgot abt it bc I couldn’t see it in the vid proper and everything else overloaded me w/ questions, either they’re reacting to Mephone or Taco… or maybe the s3 newcomers getting there? But I think that last one’s a stretch…

Taco tried apologizing to Pickle and either failed or got cold feet last minute. Justin did say an attempt at apologizing to Pickle/Mic would be made. Still nice to see Mepad being ride or die w/ her. He’s trying to fix her it’s just gonna be a struggle.

What’s this? Paper and Knife seem to make up from s1e1 and s1e17, and SC doesn’t seem to hold ill will against OJ from s2e7. And Mic’s on good terms w/ Cheesy and BB! (Or at least for the time being if my predictions from the last post abt those 2 holds true…). But where’s Nickel? Very interesting how he’s one of the few not in this group shot and the rest (LB, Tissues, and the Purgatory Manor gang) don’t seem like they’d have any particular drama. So his exclusion seems intentional. Maybe he decided to stay back bc of SC? Did he even reunite w/ BB after he got eliminated? Or has he just been avoiding those 2 after III ended.

Ep 15 been about a week after its trailer makes sense bc it was alr shown at the meetup, but this? I knew it was far in development but I thought pt1 would’ve been a December release date, not this Saturday… guess I know what I’m setting my calendar for…

[yolixpan]

Unpopular predictions of Bridgerton S3

To be honest, I don't think Penelope and Eloise are going to reconcile at the end of the first part of this season, perhaps not even on this season. I think Eloise is going to be mad that Colin will know LW's identity because he will probably won't be mad for what Peonelope wrote, rather that the risks she takes to write the column.

Also, I think that Marina is going to die off-scene at the end of part 1 or at the begining of part 2 and that is why Penelope is going to take bad decisions (as Nicola said) because she is going to feel that it is her responsability.

[neo-zone]

New 8-minutes Recap and Early Released Scenes of Sweet Home 3

Full un-cut version

Cut into parts version

Alright, let's get started

First is some kind of recap with old scenes from the previous two seasons and some parts of the official teaser and trailer clips. I guess I don't have to explain this one

Sang-won attacking Sergeant Tak scene is done right in front of all the attending stadium residents. While the rest of the residents are understandably freaking out, girlie is unflinching coz "duh monsters are my friend, this is just my daily life". Sang-won approaching her and then dun dun dun.... He knows she's his daughter! And he's smiling so gentle and proud to her, saying he's been waiting for so long. I guess he better pay the child support now after being a fucking deadbeat dad for almost an entire year leaving her to Hyun-su and her mom 🙄

Also confused seeing some people on twt calling girlie Ai. Is that like her actual name revealed on s3 or is it actually a simplified/romanized ahyi (Korean for daughter) that people mistook as her name?

The scene of Kim getting jumpscared by Eun-hyeok while investigating inside a church is followed by Kim asking some questions and Eun-hyeok answering while explaining some stuffs about his new identity. There's also a monster praying there before leaving

Eun-hyeok went with Kim after that church scene, it seems? They are passing by Chan-young and Eun-yu. Pretty sure Chan-young immediately connect the dots that Eun-hyeok is what Eun-yu been searching for all this time

The extended long awaited Hyun-su vs Eun-hyeok is here. Monster Hyun-su (I just realized it from the close-up on his eyes) just done fighting with the Neohuman that attacked Seok-chan in the last episode of season 2 (that burning wing still-cut is from this scene) before being hit hard and thrown straight inside an abandoned bus by the previous military jeep. I don't know if it's Kim or Eun-hyeok's idea, but there's this gut feeling that it might be Eun-hyeok's idea all along (also I noticed Kim unconscious inside the jeep if my eyes didn't fool me, apparently from the harsh crash)

How monster Hyun-su acted during the fight is exactly what I predicted what type of character he is from his appearance on the last episode of season 2. He is more collected and subtle compared to Hyun-su, there's more anger and bitterness beneath his calm and controlled demeanor. Because if it's the real Hyun-su himself seeing Eun-hyeok alive or if that sight reminded him of what happened to Sang-wook's corpse, he would show more aggressions and facial expressions out of strong emotions, like how he reacted to Sang-won's "teasings" back in episode 1 and 3 of season 2. You could see and feel so much sexual tension from them, as expected 👀 Hyun-su really being here having romantic and sexual tension with both Lee siblings, huh?

So, what a plot twist, girlie is the one "creating" the next protein monster that Hyun-su fought on the official teaser clip, with Sang-won watching the whole process (the still-cut of Sang-won and the girl at some outside setting with clear sky is from this scene). Although this one is clearly different than the previous protein monster. Apparently she can now make monster out of non-living thing too?

Another rehashed scenes from official teaser and trailer then done

Please correct me if I'm wrong and don't hesitate to tell me what I missed on the reply section. Thank you

[raayllum]

hey um dude care to explain yourself

ah, from ch4 of "i slithered here from eden" where Callum dark magics pieces of his own heart to save Ezran, pre-s6. good times

That drabble oneshot was inspired by my theory following S5 that Viren had used blood and star magic (through dark magic) to save Soren, possibly resulting in him using parts of or close to all of his own heart in order to do so.

Given that we had blood (of a wind elk), star magic (the staff, which was my assumption at the time), and parts from a parent (a mother instead of a father), I'd say I was decently close!

Stuff like this in TDP happens with me fairly often where I get all the right pieces and put them together in the right way, but the order or scaffolding of the plot surrounding it is wrong. Cause of course the heart thing Did happen, just in present day, rather than in the past

Other instances like this include:

1) Callum would help the villains / be willing to play into Aaravos' hands in order to physically save and literally free Rayla from chains even if that means metaphorically chaining himself to Aaravos' will. This was predicted pre-S4 and came to fruition in 5x08

2) Viren would cut out / use his heart to save Soren's life. This was predicted pre-S6 and came to fruition in 6x08

3) Viren would ultimately have a sacrificial death as the end to an atonement arc as his 'original sin' was that he was too willing to sacrifice servants and not himself. This was predicted pre-S4 and came to fruition in 6x08

4) That the trio would have a main conflict with Ezran and Rayla on opposing sides and Callum stuck in the middle, even though he'd ultimately side with Rayla. I predicted this early post-S3, thought this would be over politics, and it will likely come to fruition in S7 over Runaan and/or dealing with Aaravos

5) That Rayla represents Light in Callum's life and is an alternative path to Aaravos' control, and that he would eventually have the epiphany that she is his One Constant Truth. These were also all immediate first year post-S3 prediction, and came to fruition in 6x06. I thought it would be through Callum unlocking the Moon arcanum (finding light in his darkness) but am not mad whatsoever it was through the star-light ritual

6) Callum's main S4 onwards arc would be worrying about his mind feeling unsafe from Aaravos' control, worry that he's becoming like Viren, and that he'd ultimately play into Aaravos' hands through the cube (and his love for Rayla) whether as a prison release thing or as a power up. Early post-S3 predictions, as in a couple of months after. Most of this has already come into fruition with S7 left to do the rest

There's others but these are the ones coming to mind / off the top of my head. If you're interested in more you can check out my "predictions achieved" tag.

And to be clear there's also a lot of things I've gotten wrong! Never saw Terry coming (though I did figure that if Claudia got a partner they'd be nature aligned, just didn't think it'd happen) or Callum and Rayla would stay at the Storm Spire post-S3 (though if we'd known Rayla was going to successfully leave, I think I would've defaulted to Callum going back to Katolis tbh; of course you're going to want him with at least one of his Pillars at all times). I thought Callum or Claudia would free Aaravos and that Callum, due to his freedom associations, would be the one to do it (esp after S5 in taking the pearl).

I think the Thing with TDP though is that while things may not take the exact shape you expected... they still always reach the final places that they were evidently going to get to, which makes theorizing (and theorizing correctly) pretty easy for me. Like, for example, "Callum freeing Aaravos" as an off shoot of "Callum is going to play into Aaravos' hands and it's going to be related to the Key." Well, now the latter is literally the only thing Aaravos could want from him, so... He can't free Aaravos, but he's still going to play into Aaravos' hands. There's different scaffolding, but the Bones of the Thing is the exact same / inevitable.

So like with the Viren "mutilating his heart to save Soren" there were a few conclusions pre-S6 that led me to it:

Kpp'Ar pointing directly at Viren's heart in the 5x02 dreams, which we already knew might have prophetic possibilities / weird stuff with time

Viren's spot light turning red, indicating to me that blood was used

The likelihood that Viren turned cold (or 'heartless') to Soren and/or Lissa that led to the fracturing of those relationships

TDP's repeated emphasis on hearts ("My heart for Xadia" / Viren's weapon of hatred stabbing Avizandum in the heart) and as spell parts (the Magma Titan, Aaravos walking around being literally heartless, the Hearts of Cinder spell in 3x07)

Potential Aaravos parallels for that matter

The idea of literal exchange / transaction that's at the core of so much of TDP but particularly dark magic, which we know was involved

Now I actually like what they did in canon better for all of these (they added more layers and tied it further into ongoing character arcs, etc) so I'm all for the different scaffolding cause that's the other part of a Narrative tbh.

But yeah, TDP is a deeply symbolic and thematic series, and if you pay attention to the patterns / parallels, foil dynamics, and symbols they routinely use, or what would create interesting character conflict while still being in character, you can get pretty good at predicting stuff. Least that's how it worked for me! TDP is probably the most rewarding show or otherwise I've ever had predictions for, and makes me feel Feral in the best way tbh

[greenaswildfire]

I was thinking... (spoilers, spoilers everywhere)

the writing decision of focusing so much on the fact that Aegon's parts were burnt root and stem is probably related to the future alliance with the Baratheons, right?

If they don't change it (lmao), almost at the end of the Dance Alicent comes up with a marriage pact, this time with Aegon instead of Aemond, and Boros's daughter. But with Aegon's inability to produce heirs, how will that work now? Will this alliance still hold?

Oh well, they'll probably use it as an excuse to justify Boros betraying the Greens. Because nope, if TB is betrayed, the Greens must also have at least one betrayal to make up for the huge difference of loyalties :)

In terms of important Houses I can't remember any house betraying the Greens (Great Houses, not others like House Peake or Fossoway). I consider quite curious how, in terms of Black side, House Arryn and House Stark took their sweet time to help them. These two Houses pulled a Late Lord Frey, way before Walder frey was even born lmao

And it's not even secret that Rhaenyra's mother was an Arryn, everybody knew House Arryn would side with the Blacks anyway, the realm knew House Arryn would be a rebel House and still, Jeyne Arryn is shown as very cautious, letting Rhaenyra fend for herself instead of helping her. (Can't blame her though, she was probably the only actually smart woman in this show who wasn't butchered by plot in order to prop Rhaenyra up)

And I won't even mention the Starks. With the reddit leaks I'm very, VEEEERY curious to see the reason behind this late help. Everything depends on whose version will prevail, Condal's or Hess's.

If we take these two houses into account, we have: Strong, Stark, Velaryon, Arryn (and maybe Blackwoods?) betraying the Blacks for their own purposes, not to mention Rosby who made very clear Rhaenyra's hypocrisy, but I doubt they mention anything about this House, right? :D

And when it comes to the Greens... only the Tullys and the Brackens (but as far as we know, their leader was burned by Daemon for refusing to bend the knee, so maaaaaybe they won't even remember them in S3?).

5 (maybe 6) vs 1 (maybe 2), woah, quite a difference in loyalties, even more considering how the Green side has always been the one with less support and dragons.

The thing is: iirc, the allies that betrayed the Greens weren't motivated by distrust in them, or the crown's misdeeds against them (like what happened with Arryn, Stark and Velaryons in TB). It was due to circunstances and manipulation tactics, otherwise, they would have stayed loyal to the greens.

Team Black NATURALLY doesn't inspire loyalty.

So they thought "how can we balance things and make the Blacks look like they inspire more loyalty than the greens???? Oh! How about find a way to shake the Green alliance with Boros Baratheon? Between a Green eunuch with a crown and Rhaenyra's two boys, Boros has more chances of power with her than with Aegon.

Condal, Hess, you can't fool us. We can predict all your moves.

Such a shame though, because by the looks of things it won't even be someone from TG who is going to kill her (if that ever happens in this fanfic of theirs), is most likely someone from TB itself because they simply have no enemies anymore.

Which is far worse PR move for a team who loves to boast about "how Aegon was poisoned by his own allies" :) Hackondal and Mess are stuck with this ending, unlessss they bring back Sunfyre and follow the book. But Rhaenyra, killed by a TG? Naah, it wouldn't be tragic girlboss enough for her. I place my bets on TB.

[st-just]

ok question. so you've been posting about person of interest. as someone who really liked amy acker in, uh, various joss whedon projects (insert here as much clown emoji as you imagine appropriate), would PoI like... be worth watching? is it good? does this root person get a nice good chunk of screentime?

Okay so like

Person of Interest starts out as a vigilante procedural/noir with a conceit of "'what if you split the 'supergenius billionaire' and 'martial artist spy kungfu guy' parts of batman into two intensely codependent soulfully brooding hot middle aged guys", specifically written under the tail end of 9/11/the War On Terror's cultural shadow and in the direct wake of 2008 in a way that makes the early seasons a fascinating cultural artifact these days.

Over time it, uh, accidentally becomes cyberpunk? Like it predicted the PRISM program as a justification for technothriller stuff years before the Snowden leaks. The last season is explicitly a war in the shadows between dueling artificial superinteligences and their human minions over the future of humanity.

Anyway Amy Acker shows up as a villain at IIRC the veerrry end of Season 1 and gets more screentime in tandem with the show getting more cyberpunk. By S3 or 4 she's just part of the main cast.

She's a mercenary hacker/assassin whose cover identities are all things like "Caroline Turing". At one point she tortures a government lawyer while reading the memo he signed off explaining how what she's doing isn't technically torture out loud. At another she literally rides in on a white horse to sweep a bride off her feet and carry her to safety. One of the characters of all time.

[lovelyo]

Why Eloise is My Favorite Character

First off, look at that beautiful face. Claudia is deadass pretty. But besides that, she’s the one that has visibly gone through the most character development and it was subtle as well. When I watched season 3 part 2 trailer(garbage like I predicted it’d be) watching Eloise and the maturity and concern she had for her brother, insisting Penelope to tell him, that she can’t lie to him and expect him to love her(which he’ll end up doing anyway but fuck Polin) and even given Penelope a chance to tell him. The mercy she showed Penelope despite what she’s done and the pain she caused her; the trailer made me finally come to the conclusion that she’s my favorite character.

I was iffy bout Eloise at the beginning of season 1. I know many were annoyed with her and said she was a pick me girl—I even thought, “booo, here we go, one of those annoying buffoon feminists who don’t know how good they have it.” She wasn’t annoying, but she sure was self-righteous about women’s roles in society and how they shouldn’t have to be subjected to the marriage mart and all the feminist bible thumping bs and saying this from her ivory tower.

But you know what she did? She walked down those tower steps, willingly left that ivory tower to go expand her views and learn outside of it, something that women in the ton wouldn’t do. She put herself at risk to broaden her horizon.

“You wish to follow your heart. I wish to nurture my mind.”

Eloise didn’t reject Theo’s criticism of her limited understanding and her privileged position. She took that to seek greater understanding beyond what she knows so I really don’t know how in the living shit people think she’s self-absorbed, especially after she starts interacting with Theo.

Eloise is brusque and may come off as abrasive, but she has integrity, is gracious, and is kind-hearted. She sought out LW for a selfless cause: to help Penelope and her family from ruin. She helped LW escape from the Queen.

The times Penelope has come with her crocodile tears, Eloise dropped everything to comfort her despite Pen insulting with her “pretty Bridgerton” comments(but she’s a bad friend, amirite?)

She didn’t see the lower class as beneath her but as people to learn from(but she’s blind to her privilege, right Penelope stan?)

She was one of the few who showed compassion and understanding for Marina's situation. Despite her being sheltered(that a lot of anti-Eloise fans get their rocks off in exaggerating), she knew that Marina was in a shit place and treated shamefully.

She knows there aren’t many women who share her views and thought processes, but that doesn’t stop her from having them and voicing them and hopes that women would also go against social conditioning.

“How else should I be? Married and silent?”

She kept Penelope’s secret for months. She didn’t try to destroy Penelope or get back at her. She just cut her off and moved on with her life. She took the high road in this situation, a thing that some adults don’t even do.

When she realized that her gossiping hurt Penelope, she sought her out, admitted fault, and apologized. That was incredibly brave and mature. She might be angry at Penelope, but she pushed back when Cressida was mean, even apologized to Pen on Cressida’s behalf.. She didn’t push Colin to be cruel to Penelope just because she had a fall out with her. Eloise is A LOT better than me because if I was in her shoes, Colin finding out bout Whistledown would be the least of Penelope’s problems.

Eloise is just a joy to see on screen, especially in S3 where she is literally the only voice of reason and her suffering with this LW business got me weeping(especially since we know Pen will suffer nothing from it). She better have a good conclusion by the end of the season. The show has failed in almost everything this season.

Don’t fail on Eloise.

[thefirstlioveyou]

What's the most unhinged, outlandish thing you believe will happen in S5/with Byler?

wait this is so good

1) okay for unhinged - i mean i wouldn’t say it’d be unhinged, but i know people would flip out so i’ll say it anyway, but byler sex scene. not even explicit, st doesn’t do all that. to the extent of jancy s2 i mean.

st is very comfortable depicting sexuality and building up towards it. like, it felt right that jancy did it, there was so much burning chemistry. it needed to be more than just a kiss. i feel with byler, because it’s been held back so much, it would make sense for something more than a kiss, also since there’s already been subtextual proof of sexual attraction between the two. but even though it feels right in general, it also depends on timing. jancy worked because there was chemistry and proper timing.

i believe it’d be unhinged simply because people tend to freak out when queer sex is depicted with fictional underage characters, or even implied (i mean, just look at how people reacted to the fact the guy from HS was sexually curious in high school). it could also do with the fact people still see them as kids since we practically saw them grow up. but i mean? personally? i’ve let that go. like it’s cute to reminisce how tiny they were, but finn is 21 filming s5, and noah turns 20 this year. there’s no harm at all for them to depicit or imply a sex scene, there’s no real children at harm. if you still see them as their s1-s3 selves, that’s really just a you thing atp. people need to stop making young queers feel bad for experiencing sexual attraction/desire - coming from someone who occasionally feels guilt because of my own community.

2) i’m part of the group that does NOT believe mike will actually die - i just have yet to be convinced on that theory. however, i am part of the group that does believe mike is gonna be a target (as well as the wheelers in general). i have a specific theory that mike is going to have a near death experience, but what makes it unhinged is how he’d almost die. i theorize he will nearly get chomped in half/eaten.

my evidence?

(jaws is self explanatory)

just very interesting what those two movies have in common, and it just so happens mike is between them.

i think that’s all i have. i don’t have much absurd or unhinged predictions for s5. most of my predictions are rather universal and ‘normal.’ i hope to be surprised though. thank you for the ask! :^D

[lenaellsi]

What are your gomens s3 predictions for crowley?

WELL

I have three categories of predictions. I know where I would take the character, but the show surprises me so often that I don't expect to get it right. Just for fun, though, and under the cut because it got so fucking long:

1. He sleeps/binge drinks/otherwise disengages from the world straight through to the start of S3.

The Crowley of S2 is, in a lot of ways, more stable than the Crowley of the Crowley of S1, but I think he's also more depressed. His only purpose was survival from the moment he Fell to the moment he and Aziraphale quit their jobs, and now that he has to live, he's completely directionless. He doesn't understand (and has never understood) how he fits into the universe, how angels and demons generally fit into the universe, and what the point is if God can just wipe them all out for any reason. He doesn't believe in any part of the Good/Evil system. Aziraphale leaving--and confirming some of his greatest fears about the foundations of their relationship along the way--could be enough to send Crowley into an apathetic coma for a bit.

So I can see it happening, but my instinct says that's not where they'll go with it. Crowley tends to fall back on his escape methods only when he truly sees no other way out. In S1, he tried to drink himself to death only when Aziraphale was gone and, to his knowledge, there was no way to locate the Antichrist and even try to stop Armageddon. A few episodes before that, he proposed leaving only because Aziraphale hadn't shared Adam's location, and because Hell was actively hunting him. Once he learned where Adam was--once there was a sliver of a chance to save the world--he drove through Hellfire to do it. Crowley's not afraid to work through tough situations, he's just always aware of how fragile things are, and is prone to feeling angry and hopeless when he sees no path forward. And of course he is--it's his oldest wound, and his deepest, that he and everything he loves will always be at the whims of ineffability, and that there's nothing he can do about it.

But in S3, since he's not at the point where the destruction of the Earth seems inevitable yet:

2. Crowley will form his own plan to stop the Second Coming.

This is what I think will happen. Crowley loves Earth. He loves humanity. He was the one to talk Aziraphale into stopping Armageddon, the one to toast "to the world" at the end of S1. The planned destruction of the universe is the exact thing that caused him to Fall. Crowley is his own person outside of his relationship with Aziraphale, and that person has a long history of fighting and scheming and suffering for the sake of humanity.

He's also a very active character. He is consistently the one making plans, moving the plot forward, trying to enact change. He saw the schematics in Heaven, and I really do think he'll do his best to come up with a plan to stop them, even though he's understandably very upset.

I don't think it'll be a good plan. If I had to guess (without knowing any specifics of the plot) I think he'll either try to disrupt the delivery of Christ to Earth or try to cut Heaven and Hell off from Earth entirely. He has no allies, no support, and very little reason to be cautious in his approach, which leads me to why you probably sent this ask:

Option 3: As above, only this time the plan is either not something he plans to survive, or his own survival is not something he is particularly concerned about.

So the thing about Crowley is that I really don't think he has any substantial issues with self-loathing, or any active desire to do himself harm. He is a survivor; he values safety and contingency and isolation above most things. But he values three things more: 1) freedom of choice, 2) Earth, and 3) Aziraphale.

He's a very angry, very impulsive person, and he is dealing with a lot unresolved feelings on the issue of demons and angels existing in the universe at all, and he loves Aziraphale and the Earth so dearly that sometimes he doesn't think straight. He's reckless, he's pissed off, he's feeling hopeless, and, after their fight, he's also convinced that Aziraphale would probably be able to move on from losing him. (In his mind, 'Crowley' is not the person Aziraphale would mourn; he would mourn the dead angel he's been chasing since the Fall.) If a plan presents itself that would be dangerous to him, I think he would see no reason not to try it. If you've gotta go, go with style.

So, yeah. I don't think it's likely, for all sorts of reasons--this is a comedy show, a Bible parody, and the tone is always going to be a little lighter than the angstiest possible conclusion, final fifteen aside. But the self-sacrificial route is one I can see Crowley taking, and his inevitable survival and reunion with Aziraphale would have an aftermath that would be messy and painful and fascinating to watch. It would also have some obvious thematic resonance with Christ, a figure I assume they'll be exploring quite a bit in S3, so that would be kinda cool.

(Thoughts on the Duke of Hell theory, with a general warning it's not my favorite, so don't read if that'll upset you:)

Very much not for me, sorry. Crowley, for all he is a master of on-the-fly (ha) bullshitting, is not suited for playing politics. (Neither is Aziraphale, for what it's worth.) Crowley is too outspoken, too honorable, and too prone to fits of temper to have any patience for that kind of role. Besides that, he absolutely does not want it. He hates Hell just as much as he hates Heaven. I don't think he would ever go back to either of them, consequences be damned.

I also think that there's no practical way it could even happen? Beelzebub only offered him the role out of desperation to find Gabriel, and even then, it was almost certainly a lie. With Beelzebub gone, every single person in a position of power in Hell hates Crowley. And if they tried to dupe him into it the way the Metatron did, he'd run and not look back.

[markantonys]

wotseries did a little article about the south africa filming which apparently officially started today, and there's nothing crazy in it but i'm so desperate for crumbs that i'm bringing the little tidbits i found interesting to you all!

they speculate filming will last about 2 months

they speculate some tanchico scenes may be filmed here as well as aiel waste scenes

crew members spotted include people associated with all of the season's directors (block 1&4, block 2, and block 3). which might mean the waste scenes (and/or possibly tanchico scenes) start as early as 3x01/2 and/or span as late as 3x07/8 (the director for blocks 1&4 is the same, so we can't say for sure whether they're there for both blocks or just one of them). wotseries does specifically say they believe they may be filming for material as early as 3x02.

they are confident that rosamund pike, daniel henney, madeleine madden, ayoola smart, and josha stradowski are involved in the filming. (actually, they said they were confident about the first 4 and assumed josha was also there since rand yknow has to be there, but i'm 99.9999% sure josha mentioned being part of this filming in the december interviews, so i'm confident.) so it does sound like exclusively the waste crew right now, and thus i'll take the tanchico speculation with a grain of salt, although of course it could be that there are tanchico scenes that are scheduled for later in the shoot and those actors may arrive at a later date.

now for some of my mini musings! first, season filming length. this would put s3 filming at april 2023-april 2024. s2 filmed july 2021-may 2022 and started airing in september 2023. the s2 film end date-air date gap would put s3 at august 2025, while the s1-s2 air gap (1 year 10 months) would put s3 at july 2025. could be we're looking at summer 2025, or could be that amazon wants to alternate septembers with ROP and will put WOT s3 at september 2025, or could be they want and are able to start getting seasons out a bit more quickly and are hoping for spring 2025. who knows! i'll be very curious to learn ROP s2's release date and potentially get a sense whether alternating septembers is their plan or whether they're aiming to start having a fantasy season out every 8-10 months instead of every 12.

second, The Mat Question, given the recent rumor that mat will be part of the tanchico plotline. donal is starring in hadestown which is happening right now, so he's obviously not involved in this filming - at least yet. possibilities are:

a) most/all of the filming is for the waste, and mat is not part of that plotline at all

b) mat is part of the waste plotline in some capacity, but all his scenes were already filmed in the studio and donal doesn't need to participate in the south africa shoot

c) donal does need to participate in a portion of the south africa shoot and an understudy will take over his part in hadestown for a bit while he's doing that (i know nothing about how long-running theater productions work, so i have no idea whether or not it's likely that he would take a theater job or be hired for a theater job if he already knew he wouldn't be available for a chunk of its run)

i don't really have any guesses at all here. mat is destined to be the most mysterious and hard-to-predict character of every season!

third, i'm thrilled to have unofficial confirmation that madeleine is part of this filming and i hope to soon see an end to the "egwene will go back to the tower instead of accompanying rand & co straight to the waste from falme" nonsense haha

fourth, the potential timeframe of the waste plotline. that it spans episodes 3-6 is totally unsurprising, so it's the bookend blocks i'm most curious about. arriving at the waste in 3x02 makes sense to me - this would give them a whole episode with the gang together in falme, and then everyone can split up to head off on their trips. there's also a bit of a possibility that the suspected 3x02 material could be just the end of the episode, and rand's group spends most of the episode in a different place such as caemlyn (a theory i love very much and will hold onto as long as i possibly can!). i thiiiiiink previous leaks placed rand's rhuidean visions in block 2, and in the books the rhuidean trip is just about the first thing they do upon arriving in the waste, so it could be that their arrival is sorta like the 3x02 cliffhanger and then we dive into rhuidean and such in 3x03.

then for block 4. again, we don't know for sure whether this director is here for anything to do with block 4 or only for block 1, so this might be a moot point. but the potential block 4 i can think of for rand's plotline is either a) they're still in the waste all the way through 3x08 as in TSR, or b) they leave the waste sometime in 3x07/8 and go to either cairhien or tear for a big battle. option B would probably still involve some waste scenes in this block even if they ultimately end in a different location, so i don't even know why i'm bringing up anything to do with block 4 because we're no closer to guessing the location of rand's crew by the end of 3x08 than we were before!