#person of interest s3 ep 15

[sacredglitch]

Shaw: He's like you...if you were evil

Harold: I'm not overly fond of that comparison

Also Harold:

[salisburyliam]

My WORST to BEST ranking for Desert Rose's LIs

NOTE 1: I have yet to finish Saeed's route but I don't think my opinion will change much once I do tbh

NOTE 2: I've ONLY played Jack and Cindy's routes until getting their respective achievements in season 2, ep. 7 - and Adil's in ep. 10. I haven't played season 3 with either of them, maybe my list would be very different if I did, but I'm not a big fan of this book to begin with & I REFUSE to read it one more time lmao

7. Saeed - If he didn't look like he was 15 maybe, maybe, he would be higher on the list. But honestly, I'm not quite sure why he's an LI. He's cute, but the "little brother vibe" kind of cute. Also, he has too few scenes for him to suddenly propose to Yasmin. As you can tell, not a fan. 3/10

6. Jaffar - The story of the bodyguard and his protégé would have been very interesting... had it been better executed. The fact that Jaffar literally calls her his "little sister" 🤢 and that there is no romantic interaction of any kind until s3 doesn't actually help. He's more of a background character. Really hot, tho. 4/10

5. Cindy - I'd have preferred Caroline as LI, I find her waaay more interesting & with a more distinct personality. Nothing against Cindy, I just get the feeling that the author never really knew what to do with her?? Their romance feels pretty meh imo 6/10

4. Adil - I KNOW this is going to be an unpopular opinion... but I find Adil very boring. There, I said it 🤷 When I first started this book I chose him as my initial LI not only because he is unquestionably one of the hottest LIs (not just in the book but in the whole app) but because it was obvious from the beginning he was the rebel - it seemed like a promising dynamic. But he literally disappears in the second season and when he comes back a thousand years later Zain has already hooked you (that's what happened to me at least lmao). He is the most beautiful man tho, and has the biggest 🍆 in the whole RC - change my mind. 7/10

3. Jack - I looove the flashbacks of when they were kids (the "woah" scene is so endearing) their friendship and how sweet & passionate he is with Yasmin. The dynamic between the two of them feels tender and warm throughout, and as a bonus I will say that they together have the most ADORABLE son ever. 7.5/10

i mean..... look at this little angel!!!!

2. Mustafa - I've talked about this before. If the dynamic + connection between Yasmin and him in s1 had been the same throughout the book, he would have been inarguably in the first place. But from season 2 onwards he literally is sidelined and when he returns he seems like a completely different character. Yet he remains an 8/10 for his sense of humor, love of watermelons and goats.

1. Zain - You can tell it's the author's favorite route because of how well written and thought out it is. There's undeniable chemistry between the two characters, Zain's constant dilemma, Yasmin becoming more and more interested in him but not wanting to admit it out loud, THE TENSION... I didn't even look twice at him in the first season (to this day his sprite still looks like a Disney villain to me, lol) but the second season is undeniably his and I love that he's an official sugar daddy. 9/10

[nalyra-dreaming]

Hey,

Feel free to ignore if not an interesting question! But before we get into the finale where I imagine many emotions may arise and there may be many new things to add, I wonder if you have any favourite moments from S2 so far and/or any things that have surprised you?

And anyone in comments or reblogs - I'd love to hear this from anyone!

If anyone's interested, for me here are some things I have loved:

Armand. Assad's Armand has been even more glorious than I could have imagined. Armand is my second favourite character in the books and I honestly did not think it was possible that Armand could be elevated even beyond how much I love book-Armand, but Assad has achieved that! Episode 4 and 5 especially I was just speechless afterwards how incredible Assad is.

DreamStat. I have absolutely adored DreamStat. I did not miss Lestat in episodes 1-5 AT ALL because I adored DreamStat so much and because even if the DreamStat in an episode was only 30 seconds, it was always 30 seconds of 100% emotion. I loved how they used DreamStat to convey feelings; to convey Louis' internal world and experience and subconscious, to covey Loustat's love and connection and to express vampiric longing and transgressive thoughts, feelings and emotions. Absolutely adored it. Ironically, the episodes I missed Lestat in most this season were E3, which he was in the most but I found Armands storytime-Lestat too unnerving... and obviously E6 as he wasn't in it bar 2 seconds!

Claudeleine. Oh my: Madeleine and Claudeleine were both written utterly perfectly. Madeleine, again, I feel so much more from than book-Madeleine and she was simply exquisite.

E5 - A Masterpiece.

The music. The piece that opened S2E1 - Imagine Never Being Able to Dream remains my favourite so far from this season (I haven't listened to the S2 score yet so there may be some new thing I love more in E8 I have yet to hear.) When I first watched E1 I was so moved by this piece I had to watch the first 10/15 minutes of the episode... it was at least 3 times over as I couldn't even focus on what Louis and Claudia were saying, I was so moved by the music.

I've been surprised they haven't resolved everything, or at least more things with memory. I thought memories would be (pretty much, if not entirely) resolved by the end of S2 and from S3 on that we'd be working in (relative) truths. I also thought the stuff with memory would be a lot more to do with Louis and Daniel uncovering their own true memories. For example I was surprised that some memory revisits were part of the trial as opposed to Louis' perspective. We did do some of that in E5 of course, but that felt only the beginning to me.

Hey!

I actually concur with a lot of what you listed here ;)

Especially Assad‘s Armand… and the memories-in-Dubai thing. I had expected it to be a lot more uncovering for Louis and Daniel as well, but I can see it why they didn’t. Still, as said before, I would have preferred a slightly different season setup (with more time to actually resolve things before it ends).

I do love that Claudia and Madeleine got a proper arc. You feel for them. I also love the OST and my personal favorite piece of it will come up still 😏 I did not think Loumand would go that dark, and I don’t think there’s much chance of reconciliation once it breaks in Dubai tbh. But… we’ll see. I loved DreamStat being Louis‘ inner voice and I also find e3 weird… I adore the harlequin Lestat though, even if only a fanfic 😅 Santiago was so much more than I had anticipated and I loved how they made the… labyrinthian… depths.. :) of coven life clear.

I did not like them doing Merrick in SF, and I have already written a few notes on it all for an after-the-season post. But we’ll see if they pick it up in the last ep.

So these are my thoughts (for now^^) - anyone want to chime in?;))

[fansplaining]

IWTV is the best show on TV. In today’s media environment, it is singular to be able to enjoy a show without the toxicity of the large fandoms. I have found that a majority of the show’s fans are hardcore Anne Rice fans making conversations about the show far more interesting. I am concerned of how this will change once S1 premiers on Netflix. The show deserves a larger audience and it will get it after it premiers on Netflix, but I hope the show runners remain true to the source material and continue on the path they have laid. Looking forward to future IWTV episodes.

Hello! Apologies for the delay in answering this, which I believe was in response to this article I wrote about the show and its audiences. With the official announcement this week that the AMC slate of shows are coming to Netflix on August 19th—

(also: lol Netflix, thank u)

—I was reminded to come back to it!

I totally agree with you re: the show itself, of course—but I also think you've curated your feeds very well haha. I've been observing many corners of the fandom throughout s2, partly because I was reporting on the fan/creator stuff, partly because I'm in the fandom, too. Fandoms are multifarious, and I'm not trying to paint with an overly broad brush—I've seen a ton of creativity and plenty of smart analysis etc. But I have also seen *so* much toxicity and *so* many willfully bad readings over the past few weeks, it's been shocking. Twitter in particular seems to have a literal Discourse of the Day and I don't understand how this is going to be sustainable over the year+ until s3 (lord help us all when s3 arrives lol).

There's a running joke—made so many times I'm not even thinking of a specific post—that people fear ~the Netflix masses~ will bring Bad Takes, but it seems highly likely a casual viewer will go, "Wow! Entertaining!" and move on with their lives, whereas existing fans of this show are already rocket-launching The Worst Takes at each other like clockwork (and even at random viewers who love the show but aren't a part of fandom conversations—because they don't like a person's phrasing, or the picture they chose for a post, etc etc etc).

As far as the idea that Rolin Jones or AMC will waver from their plans, I absolutely don't see that happening. AMC has long licensed their shows to large-audience platforms (Netflix in particular), but they're not making TV *for* those platforms. Jones and (IWTV EP) Mark Johnson have been pretty explicit about how they only could have made this show at AMC. I also found these post-finale comments from Jones very interesting:

I’m confident that we made the best vampire show we could make. I’m proud of the adaptation. There’s the element of second windows, how these things are going to be disseminated going forward. There does seem to be a lot of legwork done by fans. I look at 98 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, and part of me is like, Ugh, that’s way too high. If the intention here is to make something that will haunt you and that will work 15, 20 years from now, did we piss off enough people?

There was another interview I cannot find now about how a larger viewing audience in those "second windows" means more chances for the people who really connect to the show to find it. I've loved seeing that this season, even—people who hadn't checked it out for whatever reason and have now been changed by it. When I wrote that article, fans were kind of cycling in an information vacuum, with minimal signals from AMC/the creators that the metrics for success weren't a pure numbers game. But in the final press run, they hit that message hard—they are in it for the long run, they want to make the best show they can, and they understand this is a sustained partnership with fans. I think they're going to continue taking the biggest creative swings they can, and I can't wait to see what's next.

(BTW, IWTV folks: I pulled @flourish away from their baby for 90 minutes and despite their combined total of perhaps 10 hours of sleep over the past 4 weeks lol we managed to finally record a season 2 special episode. It should be out for patrons early next week!)

[writingforfun0714]

So I wanted to wait and let the new Bad Batch trailer sink in before posting about it.

Warnings: Spoilers, some thoughts/opinions will be critical

Alright so I don’t think it’s any secret that I don’t care for the Bad Batch. Even ignoring the horrible, incredibly RACIST clone model, the writing is mid/passable at best and not even watchable for me. Most of S1 and 2 combined is the typical ‘mission of the week’ type of story where only a few Empire-focused episodes stand out. There are also instances of ableism concerning Echo in particular (CF99 are also super dismissive of him in general—going along with that whole fucking ‘superiority over regs’ thing—seriously wtf).

Most episodes were very bland and predictable. S1 had no stakes despite its finale. By Mando/ST it’s clear that something has happened to Kamino. Didn’t really need to see a 2pt ep of the city getting wiped. Plus AZI should’ve been sacrificed. Even Ahsoka learns the lesson that you can’t save everyone in S1 when she disobeys Anakin and Admiral Yularen. TBB S2 had no character development from anyone besides a little bit for Omega (and Tech—but that was always speculated by fans since S1 and he’s dead now so it doesn’t really matter). A lot of the dialogue felt…basic. I think the only thing that TBB does well is the music. It’s really amazing and beautiful along with the smooth, crisp animation/scenery. Shame they ruined it with racist clone models, racist tones with the ‘reg’ dispute in both seasons, and being ableist and dismissive towards Echo.

Which brings me to the trailer. Oh boy. First, right off the bat I noticed how similar the trailer opening is compared to the S2 trailer. I do like that Phee is back. She did take time to grow on me but I do like her character and am curious to see where they will go with her.

It’s interesting we are seeing Crosshair back with the group so soon. Personally I do believe that is Crosshair and not just someone else wearing his armor like some think. I like the idea of Omega and Crosshair escaping early on but Omega gets recaptured/separated and taken back to Tantiss.

I’m interested in Hemlock and his backstory (is his gloved hand robotic?). I wish they’d create more interesting and unique characters like Phee and Fennec Shand instead of relying on cameos of established characters/fan-favorites like Ventress. I loved Dark Disciple and I thought it was a great ending for her.

I know it’s officially said that Ventress’ story will follow Dark Disciple but I don’t see how unless they retcon her death or pull a ‘somehow she survived’. Either way that sucks. Reminder!! DAVE FELONY DIDN’T EVEN FOLLOW REBELS FOR AHSOKA. SABINE IS NOT FORCE SENSITIVE IN REBELS. DAVE RETCONS THE SHIT OUT OF EVERYTHING. I have no faith that they will remain loyal to DD. Anything that will be ‘canon’ will be mid at best because even Crosshair’s arc has been messy (which is due to the weird S1 ‘reset’ the characters go through. Like they totally should’ve appreciated ‘regs’ by the end of TBB arc in TCW S7–there was no need for that awkward food fight scene in S1).

I hate that this show has to rely on cameos to get the viewing numbers. Here is a list of every character cameo we’ve seen so far:

—Rex*

—Tarkin*

—Palpatine*

—The Lawquane Family

—The Syndullas/Chopper

—Nala Se/Lama Su*

—Cad Bane

—Bail Organa

—Riyo Chuchi

—Gungi

—Gregor

—Wolffe

—Cody

—Scorch

—Saw Gerrera

—Martez Sisters

—Kanan/Depa*

—Muchi/Rancor from RotJ

—Taun We/Halle Burtoni

—Ventress

*I consider these important/relevant cameos and am not bothered by them like the others*

What a list right? I might even be missing one. These were just off the top of my head. Some are big players, others smaller and almost not-relevant to the plot. Not counting the one’s I asterisked, it’s 15 characters. There are original characters but a lot of them, especially in S1 felt like one off, not important characters. And I hate Cid so much—glad to see she was absent in the S3 trailer. I’m really starting to love Phee and I’ve always loved Fennec Shand, and Hemlock is definitely an intriguing villain and Emerie feels like a total mystery (though the reveal was not shocking due to the similar design and accent to Omega). Like why can’t they create more characters like these? The rest just feel forgettable. And it’s clear that characters like Saw, Gungi, Scorch, Cad Bane and even the Syndulla and Lawquane families just felt like fan service. The rest kind of make sense that they’d show up but it also feels a bit like fan service.

Moving on..

I know a lot of people think that new weird dark trooper at the 1:40 mark is Tech. While I’m inclined to agree as I think the ‘Winter Soldier’ story is an obvious choice to pick, I also think that Tech is dead. I’ve changed my mind and kind of hope that Tech isn’t brought back.

I hope this is someone new. I also wouldn’t mind if it was a bounty hunter we’ve seen before. Due to the frame and stature, I could almost think of Boba due to him being older than Omega but it’s definitely more likely to be Tech than either of these choices.

It’s interesting a lot of cameo characters from S2 do not make an appearance in the trailer. Bail, Riyo, Gungi, Gregor and Cody are all absent from the trailer. Trailers usually show action shots to avoid story spoilers, but with Gungi, Gregor, and Cody all being capable fighters, I’m surprised they didn’t appear (usually stuff with politics is a story spoiler).

Overall I’m skeptical of the trailer. I don’t like Ventress being alive/in TBB being a Dark Disciple lover. There’s a lot of mystery surrounding the story of S3 so I don’t feel like I can give an accurate take on that. I hate how Omega’s longer hair looks. Curly haired Omega is adorable!! The animation (everything but the clone model) is definitely getting better. However, based on how S2 was marketed as a ‘darker story compared to S1’ and was like 80% fetch quest I’m definitely skeptical.

Those of you that made it through this post, thank you for your time and I hope I gave you something to think about. If you wanna learn more about the racism and ableism portrayed in this show, check out @unwhitewashthebadbatch for more info.

[charmixpower]

Issue Eighteen: The Guardian of Dreams

Bloom has a nightmare about a shitty teacher, and I think it's just a little odd?? Stella has a nightmare about her insecurities and Musa has one about something extremely precious to her and Bloom gets a shitty teacher

It makes me think back to the nightmare EP and how we never get to see Bloom's, and Id like to imagine her's would be of her entire life at Alfea being a dream and she's not a fairy

I love how they gave Musa's flute a small backstory

This foreshadows the toxic relationship Stella has with her looks that gets explored in s3

Like you can't think people only like you because you're pretty and then also have a healthy relationship with how you look, that's just not gonna happen, and I like how the comics don't condescend Stella for how she feels. Yeah the other girls don't get it, but the framing never feels like it doesn't understand her

Bloom really really doesn't like her diary

Even the Winx comics with the no visible injuries thing, she climbed up a cave with no gloves, stop lying to meee

I kinda love how they actually have something going on with Aisha and gave Darkar's spell and effect because "she's perfectly fine" made no sense, the girl fell from a tower into water (which is not softer than land), like no one sleeps for four days if their only exhausted

Like after someone (Randy Gardner) stayed up for 11 days, and slept for 15~ hours afterwards

Like weird

You know as someone who knows multiple people, and a system, who straight up don't dream this is one hellva claim to make lady

*Stares into the camera*

"I knew this would happen sooner or later." Damn, poor Stella. This hurts way more after watching s3 and seeing Stella immediately assume Brandon was gonna break up with her after she was cursed

It makes sense that the other girls would be able to see though each other's nightmares because they're not as personally connected

Aisha is the only one with a whole scene to herself and whoes nightmare is the most scary to the others

It would have been cool if the Winx, because they're here together, had a collective nightmare of the Trix winning the war and killing/forcing everyone they know into servitude

It would have been cool to see a mixed nightmare

It's super interesting that they see Darkar's minions the first time in Aisha's nightmare

That could have added a lot to s2, especially if Aisha's nightmare makes them stronger than they actually are because of her fear

So they'd have really scary expectations for the s2 mission

.... What person??? There is no person shown???? I'm so confused bfjskdjsja

[lesbianpegbar]

Very excited abt blue exorcist s3!!!-> person who never watched the anime…this will either be vindication or continued annoyance depending on how people treat yukios characters in the season tho(is the anime worth it to watch?)

okay so full disclaimer i haven't touched the anime since i was maybe like. fifteen or something? so my memories of it are a bit fuzzy however Comma, i remember it being pretty good except for when they went anime original in season 1! it adapts the manga faithfully until like s1 ep 15 or somewhere around there, and then the rest of season 1 sucks. bad. BUT for season 2 they just. act like the anime original shit never happened and start to adapt the manga again from where they left off, and from what i remember season 2 was really great i have very very fond memories of the anime impure king arc!! so if you don't want to sit through anime original stuff then you can just skip it it has literally no bearing on season 2 or anything going forward, its a very clean and easy skip. the animations alright (aside from some poor, dated cg lol) and i remember the voice acting being really great! it was very nice to see the characters move around and talk lmao, so with all that in mind yeah i'd recommend it if you're interested at all!

[degozarumyu]

okiiii ep90 spoilers timeeeeeee (very long very rambly very image-filled post ahead)

ohhhhhhh my fucking goddddddddddddddddd aaahahjahjajhhjhudsghiuydaghuygduysajhgdjsahdha (shaking) (crying) (vibrating at dangerous speeds)

this episode completely changes the context of valvelgear not being yuuhi's disk in the s3 visual and I am!! not ok!!!!!!!!!!!!! they may be 8.88 million faceless npcs but they are my 8.88 million faceless npcs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

grrrrggahrggharhgarhghgargharaghrgaghjeagrahjgadfgdashgfghahgsda ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

HEY GUYS CHECK OUT HOW HARD I CAN CRY like ueueueueueue see kuaidul? you didn't need to become someone else to be loved by the creator bc he already loves you :((( gwahhhhhhh

can i also just appreciate how consistent they made the animation this ep like u can tell that some scenes at the end for example seem to be done by the person in charge of a lot of yuuhi duels e.g. vs tell/vs yuuna by the way they do yuamu's hair and background faces but its a lot more 'on model' than usual lol, I love their style regardless but they rly put in a lot of effort this time!!! <3<3 thank u gr staff i love u and owe u my life 💕💕💕

also. BRUH

yuuga stop disappearing for 2 seconds challenge!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wonder if its bc now that kuai is 'dead' the creator is released? and there can only be one of them existing in that 'reality' at a time for some reason?? 🤔 or he just straight up got yoinked in the world switch lol (or with the preview showing the hat parasite aliens attacking maybe the non-kaizo parts of his weird goha president helmet thing had something to do with it haha)

after seeing it mentioned by a jp fan on twitter I've started to wonder if they rly are in some sort of alternate reality/parallel universe to 7s tho given the 'inconsistencies' e.g. questionable kamijou family timeline, luge and zaion being aliens but luke and neil being (presumably) human, aliens/mik/uts seeming to not exist in 7s era....... i'm still not even halfway through 7s so I can't speak on any of this at all lol but I found it interesting! plus they mentioned rovian and london being cousins and romin and roa also being cousins wouldn't make sense if they were descendants/ancestors :thinking:

I love basing theories and speculation purely off of 'wouldn't it be cool if...' B)

ANYWAYS the way kuai made his final perfect monster representing his ideal (merged) self in transamu prime full armour nova and yuudias could Still manage to take it from him :)))))))) can't have shit in kuaidul spacetime

haha. im so normal guys.

its a very simple solution really, love someone but are also jealous of them? simply absorb their soul and become them! gg ez

how to get the approval of your father figure that you absorbed in 1 easy step!

oh yea speaking of full armour nova who else up staring at the card art for 15 hours straight

btw i am also normal about how in this imagined fusion of their soul galaxies while it has aspects of both transamu rainac and prime the actual body is yellow bc kuai wanted to become the milky way to be closer to the creator but not necessarily become yuudias because he wanted to receive that love and acceptance for himself :))))))))

eldest sibling kuai who was made to do the hard work and raise (literally create) his other siblings without appreciation vs. 'perfect' youngest sibling yuudias who was the favourite child given everything the oldest could never have from birth................

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

im really so glad they let kuai redeem himself in the end by choosing to let himself die (?) rather than taking advantage of yuudias' kindness and possessing him.... as much as I would have adored keeping him around by letting them share the body lolol

on that note yuudias!!!!! I know boundless generosity and honesty and kindness and most significantly 'virtue' is like. the entire core of his character but bro!!!!!!!!!!!!

pls have more concern for ur own wellbeing,,,, pls,,,,,,,,,, cri

unrelated but it was interesting that the dudi ducasse aliens r actually considered velgearian too! like its something thats pretty obvious now that they've said it since like. they're literally from the velgear star cluster but still lol

the way yuuga always speaks so calmly and like he's detached from everything is so funny lol 'some problems' i mean. yeah

average sibling interaction

btw this was the face where I was like 'ohhhh' abt the lead animator bc this is The Luke Face (i just rly like how they do the lines around the sides of the eyes :3)

average sibling interaction part 2

random thought i wonder if yuuhi will still have darkness jointech tyrant after all this? or is it a card that only existed in the spacetime... did yuuhi even have a corresponding card in kuai's prime deck??? hm

look how pretty :] (too bad they fuckin. killed him LOL) (i am sad)

this is obviously nothing but.... the colours of the galaxy gem thing kinda match lol

this was cute :3 their relationship has changed so much recently that I'm still a little confused if they're meant to be like. friends or not at this point?? or if its like a 'we've been this close for this long that even if we air out our grievances and try to go our separate ways we're still in sync' kinda thing which is cute

and speaking of cute duos luge and zaion stood (i use the word stood very loosely) directly next to each other this time 🔥🔥🔥 zailugers stay winning

#nishawsweep (if velgear acts like a surname for velgearians is dudi actually a name adopted by everyone from the dudi ducasse system rather than a personal name? 🤔)

i know its been 3 eps of this now but aaa im not over how cute it is that everyone's so small compared to yuudias so they kinda look like little fairies :((((( so adorable.......... 💕💕💕

yuuga who tf r u........ who tf is the creator.......... who/what tf r the oudous........ where is everyone's parents actually

ok i have sadly hit the image limit so I will stop my ramble spam now.... grrrahhrahgrhghgarhahhrgghrgrghghgh i really really enjoyed this episode and this duel as a whole and especially kuaidul as a character!!!!!!!!!

but before I leave i just wanna say isn't zwijou's galaxy so pretty?? its like a reverse of the crab nebula... idk i just think orange and teal is one of the most colour combinations of all time :)

[feuqueerfire]

March 2023 BL/GL Wrap-Up

A little monthly (spoilery!) wrap-up of all the shows I’ve watched or am watching in March 2023, general thoughts, and ranking of them all.

Recommendation of the month:

So Long, See You Tomorrow is only available in film festivals I think? So I had to watch it on a bootleg site but it's worth it, especially for people who like this sort of movie where young men are friends and also possibly boyfriends but are separated for reasons and then the story takes place a decade or two later a la His (2020), Your Name Engraved Herein, Life: Love On The Line, etc. This one has a fun parallel universes thing to it though but it's still got the slow, slice-of-life vibe to it rather than any hard sci-fi

Ranking

Moonlight Chicken = Derry Girls S1

Happiness = Derry Girls S2 = Derry Girls S3 = A Shoulder To Cry On = So Long, See You Tomorrow

Island Part 1

Island Part 2

The New Employee - Dropped

Average Rating: 6.4/10

MDL Updates - Added to Watchlist:

A section because I’m curious about how many shows I decide to add to my Watch List a month and also the ratio of watching them:adding them.

Island Part 1

Island Part 2

Koi Desu: Yankee-kun to Hakujou Garu: Certified Noonas recommended it and I thought it was funny that she's a blind so she's like what he's a nice guy when everybody warns her against him

Circle: The Certified Noona Natalia's favourite show and apparently it's a good sci-fi. Also a Yeo Jin-goo show

The Crowned Clown: another Yeo Jin-goo show and I've heard good things

Kingdom (2019): I liked Happiness enough and am curious about a historical zombie drama

A Shoulder to Cry On

So Long, See You Tomorrow (2021): saw a clip last month from this tweet (twitter.com/beansxooo/status/1630016040473178119) and got around to finally adding it to MDL

Our Dating Sim

Tomorrow (2022): The Certified Noona recommendation I think. Grim reapers :>

To Watch List At Start Of Month: 56

To Watch List At End Of Month: 56 (heh, it stayed the same)

Removed from To Watch List:

Self (2022) - unlikely I'll ever watch it

Our Beloved Summer (2022) - I do like exes-to-lovers which is why I originally added it but I think I'd get really frustrated with them breaking up multiple times over 16 eps (as somebody said). I saw a tiktok of them in high school years teasing each other and that was really cute though

Once Again (2022) - unlikely I'll ever watch it

Watching On-Air

Nothing

Completely Watched

Moonlight Chicken

Country: Thailand

Release Dates: Feb 8, 2023 - Mar 2, 2023

Watch Via: GMMTV Youtube (free)

Watch Dates: Mar 1 - 6, 2023

Rating: 7/10

Overall Impression: It's a good one! High quality with good acting and interesting storylines that are unique in BL. It didn't hit me as hard as it seemed to hit some other people though and I'm not thinking about it much at all since finishing. I think Jim/Wen's relationship was one of the weakest aspects of the show to me because I didn't care nor did I really feel anything. I loved Heart and Li Ming, I enjoyed getting to see Jim grow and also how his relationship with Li Ming changed, I liked getting to see Wen and Alan's flashbacks and to present tense relationship, I like Gaipa showing up once in a while to be bright, I thought Gaipa and Leng's interactions were funny, I loved Li Ming as a character so much, I wished to be him so badly.

tags: moonlight chicken

Also Appears In: Moonlight Chicken Live Blogging

Island Part 1

Country: South Korean

Release Dates: Dec 30, 2022 - Jan 13, 2023

Watch Via: Amazon Prime :>

Watch Dates: Mar 14 - 15, 2023

Rating: 6/10

Overall Impression: The main female lead was whatever, wish she was just good at something. Whether it be fighting demons, fighting back via kindness and empathy, or actual power due to her status/wealth/connections. She's not the worst ever because she can still stand up for herself and she has personality but I mourn that they've written her like this. Van is just fucking boring and I don't care. My beloved Johan <3333 I liked his charming, cocky, beautiful character who was so intrigued by everything going on as if he really was 20 and curious about everything but also I liked his apprehension when it came down to it. The storyline with his brother was so T.T Also curious to see the evil brother half-demon Guntan and his sidekick niece Yeom-ji. They're both pretty cool compared to our 2 main characters. I wish the show flowed better in terms of the sequence of scenes and pacing and the main characters were more intriguing.

tags: island

Also Appears In: Island Part 1 Live Blogging

Island Part 2

Country: South Korea

Release Dates: Dec 30, 2022 - Jan 13, 2023

Watch Via: Amazon Prime :>

Watch Dates: Mar 16 - 17, 2023

Rating: 5.5/10

Overall Impression: Literally how was it worse than part 1? Especially when we focused more on Guntan and Yeom-ji than fuckass Miho and Van? Maybe because of less focus on Johan (I wanna know his backstoryyyyyy) and also just incomprehensible writing/plot direction. Yeomji and Johan my beloveds + Guntan being cool were the highlights. Hated the dumbass cliffhanger ending. such a forgettable show.

tags: island (Search s2)

Also Appears In: Island Part 2 Live Blogging

Happiness 

Country: South Korea

Release Dates: Nov 5, 2021 - Dec 11, 2021

Watch Via: Viki (free)

Watch Dates: Mar 18 - 23, 2023

Rating: 6.5/10

Overall Impression: Good but not great. I liked the first quarter and last quarter most because there was more action whereas the middle half was slower and was more people-based. There were different characters who had distinct personalities/circumstances and I like the fucked-in-the-head neighbours trope but most of the side characters were pretty one-dimensional. I wish we got to see some actual proper satisfying murder. The romance was barely there but it was still cute. I liked how comfortable they were with each other and I liked the platonic/non-romantic moments as well.

tags: happiness

Also Appears In: Happiness Live Blogging

Derry Girls S1

Country: UK

Release Dates: Jan 4, 2018 - Feb 8, 2018

Watch Via: :>

Watch Dates: Mar 24, 2023

Rating: 7/10

Overall Impression: This was pretty fun overall since I haven't watched much Irish television nor do I know many Irish people, so it was fun to get to peek into the culture and vibe of the 1990s Ireland through this. Also, the girls are all so different and also terrible in many ways; I do love it when characters are people I'd hate it real life and I don't think I'd be able to stand any of these people (maybe Clare, maybe James), so it's fun to see them go around wreaking havoc.

tags: derry girls

Also Appears In: Derry Girls Live Blogging

Derry Girls S2

Country: UK

Release Dates: Mar 5, 2019 - Arp 9, 2019

Watch Via: :>

Watch Dates: Mar 25, 2023

Rating: 6.5/10

Overall Impression: Still very fun, though there were some that weren't as good/funny in the middle. Liked the little emotional moment with James at the end. Love Orla being a girl who's a boy and James being a boy who's a girl (and this time he agrees to being a Derry Girl rather than them slagging him for being a girl/gay).

tags: derry girls

Also Appears In: Derry Girls Live Blogging

Derry Girls S3

Country: UK

Release Dates: Apr 12, 2023 - May 18, 2023

Watch Via: :>

Watch Dates: Mar 26, 2023

Rating: 6.5/10

Overall Impression: I don't know how to feel about the ending - it was touching but certainly a different tone than the other episodes, but it still had enough of the same vibes. It was good season but I'm not yearning for more.

tags: derry girls

Also Appears In: Derry Girls Live Blogging

The New Employee - DROPPED

Country: South Korea

Release Dates: Dec 21, 2022 - Feb 1, 2023

Watch Via: Viki (free)

Watch Dates: Mar 27 - 28, 2023

Rating: --/10

Overall Impression: It's sad that I've watched worse kBLs but since I had some expectations while going into this, it's more disappointing. I don’t really care for boss/employee romances in general and i think the fact that it’s positioned as wholesome/cute here so far isn’t working for me. if you’re gonna have the boss kiss the intern out of the blue while said intern is drunk, it needs to be framed in more of a rancid way for it to still be fun; dabble more with the weird power dynamics and lean into the bad vibes lol

tags: the new employee

Also Appears In: The New Employee Live Blogging

A Shoulder to Cry On

Country: South Korea

Release Dates: Mar 15, 2023 - Mar 29, 2023

Watch Via: Viki (free)

Watch Dates: Mar 28 - 29, 2023

Rating: 6.5/10

Overall Impression: I really liked the first 5 episodes when there was so much contempt but Taehyun couldn't stop himself from terrorizing or goading Da Yeol and Da Yeol couldn't stop noticing how beautiful Taehyun was, and then the friendship that bloomed in that but still with an edge. I didn't quite get the reason for separation in episode 6 and think the last episode was cutesy but out-of-character sort of. Still, overall a pretty good one; reminds me of a mix of Blueming and Utsukushii Kare. I was giddy so many times while watching this, especially the first half and was clutching my head and curling my toes despite it not being romantic, just full of tension.

tags: a shoulder to cry on

Also Appears In: A Shoulder To Cry On Live Blogging

So Long, See You Tomorrow

Country: South Korea

Release Dates: Nov 4, 2021

Watch Via: :> (it's only shown in film festivals or something)

Watch Dates: Mar 31, 2023

Rating: 6.5/10

Overall Impression: No matter what I think about the story/character/acting in these types of movies like this, along with His (2020), Life: Love On The Line, Your Name Engraved Herein, they make me feel a certain way. Even if I don't cry, some parts make have slightly glassy eyes and my chest constricts with the emotions. These feel human in a specific way and I can't take it always, but these drawn-out, slice-of-life movies where young men are separated and then reunite to be friends/lovers decades later is so good. Also I thought it was funny that I kept waiting for the parallel universes to come into it without realizing when we'd slipped into a different universe lol Also, this whole movie we got to see how Kang Hyun affected Dongjoon but Dongjoon affected Kang Hyun enough for him to write about parallel universes in his novel

Also Appears In: So Long, See You Tomorrow Live Blogging

[callhimnowmarisamylove]

Getting to know you meme

Thanks for the tag @jamlavender

Favourite time of year: I would have once said Autumn because it’s when my birthday is and I do enjoy the changing of the seasons into those colder months, when things gets crispy and the leaves turn and there’s this nostalgia to the air that’s inexplicable. However, it was a really long dreary winter this year, and we’ve just got into summer here in NZ and I’m really loving the longer days and balmy weather so I may have been converted recently into a summer-lovin person.

Comfort foods: To quote Oprah, “I love bread. I love bread!” I love carbs and pasta and cheese and pizza and I always always will. I also have a raging sweet tooth and chocolate is my downfall.

Do you collect anything: Not really in a deliberate ‘I’m a serious collector’ way, but I do have quite a stash of Funko Pops, although I don’t keep them safe in their boxes or anything. In fact, my little cousins enjoy playing with them when they come round, and the other day we had an epic game where I acted out the whole of ‘The Amber Spyglass’ with my Lyra, Marisa and Asriel Pops. I used Will Byers as Will Parry, and a tiny lego dinosaur as Lord Roke who my 6 year-old cousin renamed ‘Lil Rick’.

Favourite drinks: My go to alcoholic drink is a G & T, or a Pina Colada if I’m somewhere that does cocktails. I love anything creamy, milky and sweet, so if there’s ever the opportunity for a thick-shake, I will slorp that up.

Favourite music artists: Completely and unequivocally my number one fave is Cher. I’m absolutely obsessed with her. When I was 5 my mum sat me down to watch her big farewell tour which was on TV over Christmas. I don’t remember much except being utterly transfixed by her, and when my mum explained that this was the last tour she would ever do (ha!) my young brain thought this meant she would literally never be seen or heard from again (something akin to death), and I distinctly remember lying in bed that night wishing with all my might that she would come back. Skip forward 15 years and I saw her live in Auckland (a transcendent experience), so my wish really did come true! 

Current favourite songs: I’m still listening to Taylor Swift’s Midnights on repeat, my Spotify says that my most played song right now is ‘You’re On Your Own Kid’ which I loveee. I’m currently obsessed with Lorne Balfe’s ‘Love Across Worlds’ from the HDM S3 anthology soundtrack, it goes so hard. I’m also still really vibing with Michael & Michelle’es EP, especially ‘The Watching Silence’ which was apparently my most played song this year! It does crack me up that they’re just Lady Mary and Andy the footman from Downton Abbey though lol.

Favourite fics: Literally every single thing @jamlavender has ever written, we are sooooo lucky to have her bringing Masriel to life in all their beautiful deranged sexy messed up glory. My two greatest favourites of hers would have to be ‘Unholy Ghosts’ because it was something I requested specifically and Ellie was so generous in fulfilling my prompt better than I could ever have imagined. I’m also obsessed with ‘Aelysium’ which hit me so damn hard but gave Masriel a bittersweet and perfect ending.  

Favourite video games: I am not a gamer unless you count the childhood years of Poptropica and Neopets which were epic times!

I tag @a-whole-tempest-in-a-teacup @queenofnabooty @oceanssapart @cozcat and @andallthatmerrymishigas (and anyone else who’s interested!)

[crehador]

last batch of parting thoughts for winter 2023

high card: fun concept and stellar final episode, but the bulk of the season was a bit of a slog for me personally. it wasn’t bad per se but the team dynamics often didn’t appeal to me and sometimes felt a bit forced/over-manufactured. didn’t help that the focus was mainly on chris and finn throughout the first season and i just... did not... really care too much about them, like i didn’t dislike them but ehhhhhh. the last ep was definitely interesting enough to get s2 on my planning though, WHAT IS UP WITH TILT I WANT TO KNOW HIS STORY HE WAS BARELY IN THE FIRST SEASON BUT HE GOT AN OMANJUU WITH THE MAIN CREW LOL

tvdint s2: EAGERLY AWAITING S3 just like s1 there were some bits that were misses for me but i’d say it’s like an 85% hit 15% miss ratio, which is fantastic for a comedy. the final kotatsu games bit of this season was so so so good, though i think the one that made me laugh the hardest this season was the getting stuck in that fake train station bit (also really enjoyed the misadventures of “tsujita” and his himbo boyfriend that one hunter)

cool doji danshi: well i think it’s obvious how i feel about this one lmao i loved it thoroughly and want it to never end (haven’t actually watched the last ep yet but it’ll be over far too soon!)

this one just feels so special because there are plenty of soothing cbdct series with a similar vibe but typically those are high schoolers (kimi to boku, tanaka-kun, gakuen babysitters, tsuritama to a certain extent) and i enjoy all those (especially kimi to boku) but it’s nice to see a friend group like the cool doji boys, who come from different walks and stages of life

anyway to fill the cool doji void, kimi to boku and rokuhoudou yotsuiro biyori are my top recs for similarly soothing shows (special emphasis on rokuhoudou because it’s the rare cbdct series with a cast of grown men and definitely deserves more love)

[sacredglitch]

definitely making this another one of my faves like...I just love the dynamics of everyone in this one. Especially love seeing Fusco at work on his own lil case (well...his own until it crosses over because plot) and how he functions in day to day, we really don't see enough of that. Idk I just like a lil shakeup now and then. Seeing everyone doing their expertise in the episode is satisfying.

[sweettsubaki]

A few days ago I finally took the step to catch up on Natsume Yuujinchou which I haven't read in over ten years.

I watched the first ep when it came out and when I looked it up I realized the 2nd volume was just gonna be released a few days afterwards (don't ask me more, that was almost 15 years ago). Which I bought (well my mom bought me, I was barely 16 and had no money), then procedeed to catch up on the translated chapters (I don't know if it's still the case but back then I think there was something like a 6 chapters/6 months up to 10 chap/months difference between the chapter release in Japan and the fantrad).

I stopped reading around the time my mom died at the end of 2012 bc it was monthly and I already have a hard time keeping up with monthly releases and back then I wasn't in the mood for this kind of waiting.

I also never went past season 2 bc keeping Sasada around wasn't a change I cared for. I didn't really mind but it didn't make things more interesting so it was meh and I didn't care for the OP/ED of s3 (look after s2's opening, s3's OP was disappointing and since I didn't have the curiosity of what will happen next? For the main arcs and I was mostly indifferent to the characters added/reused for fillers ('xcept fox kid) so there wasn't enough to keep me around).

So I thought: why not go back through watching the anime since there are lots of seasons now and a few filler characters won't be too bad. Which I did, and it was...good at first, then nice...

And the more I watched, the weirder some things seemed to be (like Natori, Taki and Tanuma's personalities, or Natsume being weirdly open when I remembered how closed off he was and how opening himself up was harder than that or the weird shippy vibe between Taki and Natsume (or even Taki and Tanuma) which was even weirder because I remembered shipping TanuNatsu because of Tanuma's role as an anchor and the developing trust between them and his role in helping Natsume opening up).

But I thought that maybe I just didn't remember it that well as it has been 10 years since I last read it, but while I started the manga, I also browsed tumblr and I stumbled upon metas explaining how the anime to... Basically stereotypicalize the characters so they'd fit in the cases these characters would normally fit (heroic MC who saves his friends, soft and empathetic girl(friend of the MC), wise big brother who is touched by the younger, more naive MC, and the protective and assertive best friend of the MC who's useless and gets in the way but is still loved).

So 1. I was glad I actually remembered it fairly well, especially since I remembered liking it because of the fact it went about it differently. And especially because human (and yokai) connections were pretty much at the center of the story.

2. I was sad that they basically no homo-ed a story that was so queer I read big metas on how queer-themed it was on several websites both in English AND French back in 2009 (it was a lot harder to find these kinds of métas in french if you weren't already part of queer communities back then). And I'm not talking about TanuNatsu but of everything else. One of the métas I read yesterday showed how heteronormativity literally twisted the themes of the story, the characters, and their development.

3. They tried to have some characters make nice so that they wouldn't be as wary and aggressive towards other characters yet the fact that the author allowed her characters to feel like that toward people who felt hurt by the other's actions and/or beliefs was something that was important to me so I'm glad it wasn't just in my mind

[spneveryseason]

Results of the Supernatural Origins Survey: Part 1 of 2

Hey all! As you may remember, a while back I posted a survey to try to see if there were any interesting trends in when we started watching the show, why we liked it, and why we kept going. Thank you so much to everyone who responded! I read and appreciated all the comments that you guys left as well. I’ve now compiled all your responses into charts, and since tumblr only allows ten images per post I will have to make this 2 different parts. Hope you enjoy!

Which season was the first season you watched?

Pretty runaway result here: most people started watching at season 1! This is most likely because people wanted to go sequentially and makes a lot of sense to me! This also reveals that the large majority of people decided to start at the beginning rather than the middle somewhere. Another interesting thing to note is the very distant second: season 4 with 4%.

Some of your comments on this topic include:

I technically saw the confession scene first but then went back and started from the beginning after the finale

The first episode I ever saw was 4*17, randomly on tv, in early 2011. They were showing two episodes a day on whatever network that was. I got hooked and went to watch it all from the beginning. Then, once I caught up, I was binging each season as it was released on netflix or dvd. So, I was behind on the 5th itself.

So, for extra context: I was a General Audience viewer from S3-S7 just catching episodes at random because it was on and I liked horror/comedy. No expectations, barely knew who anyone was besides Sam and Dean tbh. During S9, I properly got into and watched/caught up from the beginning to catch up to a friend (a Casgirl who had been going through it.) She was however a Destiel shipper and as a result I did watch with some shipper goggles on that never came back off. During the pandemic I got back into it on my own (after falling behind from S10-S12) to catch up for the finale and definitely watched mostly for the ships (Destiel, Saileen, etc). However nowadays post-finale shipping/multishipping is where I have a lot of fun, but far from the only reason I still think about and watch the show anymore. If anything it was more a gateway for me to get into it for real and enjoy other characters/dynamics even more than ever.

this show spans across 3 different decades and personally it's incredible to kind of see my feelings towards the show evolve over time the older and more aware I get. I had 3 major periods of watching the show in my life, with not watching in between. when I started (s4-5), resurgence/started using tumblr (s8-9), and post confession. I started watching as a teenager and now I'm almost 30. like for example, when I first started the Gordon eps didn't register anything, but seeing those episodes now and understanding the implicit racism they are impossible to watch. it's not only being aware of myself but seeing the show itself evolve and change, but also NOT evolve or change in certain aspects. anyway sorry for all this thanks for the survey!

i hadn’t watched it in a decade and then 11/5/21 kicked my ass.

i “started watching” in season four but that was just the first episode i watched in it’s entirety. i proceeded to watch everything else out of order

to be very clear with this i watched season 1-8 as a teenager and then stopped watching for like 6 years and THEN when covid hit in march 2020 i watched all 15 seasons of it with friends over netflix party. it was a very start and stop relationship with "watching" supernatural.

Which season was airing when you first started?

This answer is pretty varied, with some interesting results! First place here is season 8, meaning 15% of people started watching between 2012/2013. Next is season 9 (2013/2014), then post season 15 (after nov 2020), then season 7 (2011/2012), then season 15 (2019/2020). As for the why, I’m assuming because the show was at its online height between 2012-2014, which would have encouraged people to start watching. It also got a lot of attention during its final three episodes, which explains the number of people that started after the show ended.

Some of your comments on this topic include:

sorry i picked all of the "other" options ajsljdskdj and thank you for making this survey! very interested to see the data that comes out of it. also can't wait to get to 4x1 and meet cas because i get the sense from tumblr that he's the funniest character in the show

I'd been aware of the show since at least 2006/2007 and knew basic stuff about plot and characters through simply being in online fandom spaces. I was spoiled for a LOT by the time I actually started watching in the summer after s7 - had been meaning to actually watch it for a while and finally got off my butt and did it as part of bonding with a new (at the time) friend who really wanted me to watch it and share my thoughts. We've been together since 2014 now - SPN fandom is a lesbian dating service. I got pissed enough to quit entirely when Kevin was killed but then got pulled back in after Nov 5 and besides watching the last two episodes live and spoiling myself for everything I have yet to actually catch up on all the episodes I missed, though I intend to watch (most, there's some I'm not gonna subject myself to) them.

i had caught up by the time season 8 started but missed an ep and found i didn't care to continue, rewatched after nov 5th and couldnt get through season 7. as a young teen i loved destiel but now i am 22 and don't anymore. i care much more about the generational trauma and sam as a character

I think it’d be interesting to see this quiz have an age breakdown of answers too. Someone who started watching/joined fandom in 2008 when they were 16 would have a vastly different experience to a fourteen year old who started at the peak of tumblr popularity at the turn of the dashcon era. Anyway Boy King or bust #wewasrobbed

I started watching while s8 was airing, caught up and watched seasons 9 & 10 live, then quit. Now I'm re-watching all the way through and I don't think the show knows what it's supposed to be about. I think the first 4 answers to that question above are what it WANTED to be about but I don't think it managed to coherently support any of them, and wound up devolving into a combination of the last 2 choices. Absolutely batshit show and it can be anything we want it to be.

I think I was one of many who was huge into the show and the fandom around 2012/2013 then came to my senses that the sexism/racism/homophobia and general worsening in quality wasn't going to end and stopped. My friends at I hadn't thought of it apart from a shudder of embarrassment in YEARS until 2020 and the destiel/final episode shitshow. I've rewatched the show since then and we talk about it all the time. As an adult I have new found love for the early seasons (season 3 my beloved). Although I can feel my connection and interest to the show waning again now…

Which season is your favorite?

A few seasons dominated here, with first place tying exactly (and I mean exactly, down to the number!) between season 4 and season 5. Second is season 2, followed distantly by season 8, then season 1. Nothing here is much of a surprise either: seasons 4 and 5 are generally beloved for both storytelling and character reasons. Season 2 is popular with people who love the show’s classic era, and season 8 is loved amongst many different niches of fandom. Season 1 is the first season and holds a special place in that regard. I do want to note that fifth place is held by season 12, which did surprise me!

Some of your comments on this topic include:

love love love first 5 seasons even if there should have been more powers sam. amelia should have been a hallucination, dean should have been called out for sucking in the later seasons. love and light <3

I tend to think of s1-5 and s6-onwards as sort of thematically different to varying degrees as later seasons go on. I would say earlier seasons have more of a family is hell vibe whereas later seasons seem to differ on the light that they paint the family in. Dean is worse in later seasons but the writing feels less self aware at times than in Kripke era

the s1-5 aesthetics are off the hook

Some of my family and friends Who seen the show or agree that the show really ended with season five. And the rest was pretty much just kicking a dead horse down the road. Some people won’t even acknowledge that it’s the same TV show after that point because that was the true narrative ending.

Picked season 13 as my favorite because of Sam's beard and I won't apologize for it.

I love the aesthetic so far (seasons 1-4) and I’m sure it’s gonna change after 5 but I really like that “midwestern gothic” vibe. also before the ending aired I saw this really long tumblr post that had theories about the last episode and one that I really liked was that they (Sam and Dean) start all over from the beginning on that bridge in ep 1 I think that would’ve been insane lol

Favorite character?

The vast majority of people chose within team free will here. The winner is Sam (which is congruent with the findings of my previous survey), followed by Cas, and then Dean. Of the supporting characters, Gabriel, Crowley, Jack, and Adam got the most votes. This is the second time I include this question in a survey and a stronger indication that Sam may indeed be fairly popular in fandom. What’s interesting however is that Cas and Dean have switched spots since the last time I asked this question, meaning the survey may have reached different demographics. In any case, Sam still wins out here.

Some of your comments on this topic include:

sam wincheser was purposefully designed by eric kripke to make me fucking insane x

i hate spn i’m only here for adam <3

I think Dean is a self-aware character but the writers drown him in toxic masculinity. He wants the “apple-pie” life and is built for it. Sam was a complex character, but then the writers took that away from him. He is not built for the “apple-pie” life. Sam is a mirror for John. If we have to be canon compliant, Dean and Cas definitely, eventually, reunite in Heaven. I think about this show too much and it gives me too many emotions during my day-to-day life.

I think too much focus was on the Winchesters by the end. after 15 seasons they were pretty average and the ensemble cast around them were either wasted or the writers didn't know what to do with them (Cas, Crowley, Jack etc). A couple of episodes focused on character building without Sam and Dean present would have been amazing. Cas and Garth? Jack and Claire? But no, they had to be anchored to the Winchesters and the Winchesters only, and it stifled the shows natural growth.

The show is about Sam! It's his Hero's Journey, it covers the most important part of his life and the most important relationship in his life (his brotherhood with Dean). The show begins continues and ends with Sam.

sam's psychic powers was the most compelling (sub)plot of the entire show

shoutout to dean winchester for cracking so many transmasc eggs and for being the object of so many queer peoples projection. thank you king and im sorry but you have eldest daughter syndrome (canonical), adhd (projected), autism (projected), anger issues (canonical), and tboy swag (projected). also hes bi

Sam isn’t cishet

I absolutely love my old man Dean <3 he’s fucking terrible and has. ALL. the issues but that’s ok because those issues make him break down and cry and he’s pretty when he cries so it’s ok

I’m watching the bloody mary episode as I take this survey and I just want to say the way the quality of this show drops so much is so disappointing. This show had so much potential and it makes me really sad to see these characters who will never get a full good story. Anyway just want to say I love castiel so much ❤️

Man do I love the gay angel ❤️❤️❤️

cas is my favorite character

I hate so much that Cas becoming human is so popular and looks like (?) the trajectory the show might’ve been taking. like he’s perfect the way he is :( sorry I’m emo over him today it’s just I started watching when I was like 12 and it’s really nice that I kinda like Grew into being gay with Cas. that sounds really embarrassing but 😭. One of the biggest things I dislike about the shows writing is the de powering of Cas (to be clear NOT that he became more gentle as the show went on I mean like. His actual powers)

jess was ruby all along and i'll die on this hill

I think I would like Castiel if he wasn’t played by Misha Collins.

I just wish Sam was able to finish his law degree, even if he also did hunting on the side

Sam

I just wish it was done better is all, it's so embarrassing to be a lesbian this ride or die for a fictional man played by Jared Padelecki

SAM’S CHARACTER WAS WASTED

I’d be nice if they gave some characters like Charlie and Kevin more screen time before killing them off. Also off topic, but sometimes I think about how much of Kevin’s life wasted away while he was playing the cello and doing schoolwork and that makes his death even more tragic.

Why did you start watching the show?

This was a write in question, so I incorporated your answers into the various categories and added a couple too. In first place here was “tumblr/online spaces told me it was good”, which incorporates recommendations online for the show or characters, as well as wanting to participate in the fandom in general. This demonstrates that a plurality of people started the show because of the influence of online spaces and various cultural osmosis online. A close second was “a friend recommended it to me”, which includes real life recommendations from friends and family removed from online influence. This means that a majority of people had the show recommended to them either online or from family or friends.

Third was “I saw it an random and gave it a try”, which is running across the show on tv or streaming with not much of an idea of what it was and deciding to just try it out. Fourth was “I heard about it on the news” which includes seeking it out deliberately after hearing it being promoted or seeing that a particular actor was in it. Fifth was “tumblr/online spaces told me it had great representation” which incorporated watching it deliberately because of elements of minority representation (in this case, gender and sexuality). Sixth was “tumblr/online spaces told me it was bad”, starting out of curiosity or wanting a so bad it’s good experience. And finally there was “nov 5 fallout” or explicitly stating that people began because of the reaction to 15x18 despair.

Some of your comments on this topic include:

I came to SPN for angst and I certainly got it.

started watching in order to understand more memes in the height of superwholock but i was still homophobic when i first started watching it and didn't think there was anything worth shipping in the show (in dw i had tenrose and in sherlock i shipped him with molly #cringe) so it was my least favorite but i still felt endeared to it and started rewatching the whole thing again when i heard it was ending at the beginning of 2020 and during that rewatch after several gay awakenings i was like. holy shit these guys are all gay

My brother originally begged me to stop watching the show because he didn't want his friends to think it was a "girly show". Jokes on him lmao

I rewatching it with my boyfriend rn he watched it in like 2009 with his grandma and didnt remember ANYTHING about cas its been fun watching it with someone who had an almost opposite viewing experience

I answered correctly (I think) but i wanted to elaborate because my cousin got me into the show because we were living together and she wanted to get me into it so she watched it with me. Then I stopped watching when she moved away in 2015 after having gotten a few episodes into s5, then I barely thought about the show again until Nov 5th 2020, which got me back into it full-force and made me rewatch/watch all 15 seasons over the course of a year. So, my answers are in light of that in case it helps your data collection. Also, because I wanted to state that I'd basically forgotten I'd even watched the show until Despair and that started me on a hyperfixation of immense proportions and I just think that's neat. I hope you're having a good day, and thank you for doing all these stats! I'm excited to see the results!

To clarify, I started watching because my friends were into destiel but by the time season four came I barely cared about Dean. Stayed for the Sam plotlines, left because it got too sad with no catharsis.

I did get into the show because of what I saw people shipping destiel, and I do ship destiel, but the reason I stayed watching the show was the relationship between the brothers(totally platonic not wincest)

Season ten was the first season that I genuinely did not enjoy a single thing about, probably never gonna pick it up again from there. Started watching because destiel sounded interesting, ended up thinking their chemistry was shit and stayed for the saucy little blood freak.

I went into it thinking it was a horror show. Watched a rerun at random, turned out to be Croatoan. 0% horror 150% codependent brothers. I was hooked from the get-go. Had no idea what was going on plot-wise but their dynamic and emotions and care for each other had me interested and kept me watching for the next 5 years until it ended. And even at the end, their bond is my favorite thing about it.

Why did you keep watching the show?

Another write in, so I’ll explain the reasoning behind the categories. The winner here was “I enjoyed it”, which incorporates any and all positive feelings about the show including liking the stories or the characters. This means that the majority of people continued watching because they liked some aspect of the actual show itself. Next was “having fun about it online”, which includes engaging in fandom and other online communities.

Third was “having fun watching it with my friends” which incorporates continuing because it was something to do/a bonding experience with loved ones. Fourth was “I thought it was going somewhere amazing”, which includes persevering for a specific endgame in mind or just to see how it ended. Fifth was “it was on so i just kept watching it” indicating watching without any large amount of emotional attachment and just as something to do to pass the time.

Some of your comments on this topic include:

when i first started watching i was like. 12 and very repressed (not to traumadump on the supernatural community survey 😅) and like actively closed my eyes so as the show went on i like... figured out I was gay while some writers started more deliberately coding cas. i’m thinking about s12 market research rn apologies. so he just really means a lot to me!! and i remember that when s12 was airing i would very viscerally defend the show like they were paying me. I mean i was adamant that it was a good show and not bad, whcih is something I don’t do at all now. oh yeah also i ragequit the show entirely in the middle of Lebanon. I was INSANELY upset that 1. cas wasnt in the episode (lol) and 2. john was back and they made no attempt to age JDM down (i was like. damn the quality of this shit sucks). I remember I was like viscerally upset after the empty deal episode cuz i was like the ONLY reason they would do this is as a destiel chekhov’s gun, but then I was like but they have no intention of doing earnest destiel. thinking they do is giving them too much credit i’m delusional. and it made me so upset during Lebanon that i stopped watching before Cas showed up 😭 and then i didn’t come back until Nov 5

the show is so terrible and yet i’m stuck with it please get me out of here

I’ll never forgive the show for the way they handled The Gadreel Incident or Demon Dean. Also, deeply embarrassing factoid but watching Supernatural as a teen genuinely helped me deconstruct my evangelical faith and get out of that hell hole and now I’m super gay. I love Supernatural

having grown up in a very unhealthy environment similar to the winchester brothers, the way that the brothers are both horrible for each other yet still the best (only?) available option for happiness is really compelling. plots started falling apart after dean went to hell, but i still enjoyed the show until season 12. i watched spn with my older sister who raised me and the moments of brotherly love broken up by these intense fights, sam pushing dean for independence (and dean acquiescing, at least in the early seasons), the way they take care of each other because literally no other human has been through the same things they have... it's all really dear to my heart.

I loved it until I didnt and it was gradual falling out so I didn’t notice til to late

i genuinely... enjoy the show. supernatural things are my special interest and this show does better than those shitty ghost shows on the travel channel.

I saw myself in some of the characters and the unusual relationship between the brothers got me invested. it wasn't bland and then it became bland.

i kept watching for multiple reasons really; fun horror, family dynamics and impactful storytelling. to be honest it's kinda hard to answer these types of questions though since it's such a long series and one answer applies to one season but not another, you know? so some answers here might not be applicable to all 15 seasons

I used to like this show but after like s8 I just could not do it anymore. Where do you go when the literal apocalypse was in s4? How do you escalate believably? You don't. I literally didn't care about any of the stakes after that and it got stupid and boring.

Honestly I kept on watching after season 12 because of Misha. His acting choices and interpretations were always amazing, from casifer to the empty. Jensen jacting joices kept me here too

Did you go into the show with any particular expectations?

Pretty straightforward question with a pretty evenly split answer! The majority of people did not go in with particular expectations, but just barely. This indicates that there is a pretty even split between people who went in expecting something based on what they had been told of the show and those that went in without them.

Some of your comments about this topic include:

I was going to say yes to the "did you go into it with expectations" because for some reason I expected it to be set in the UK after hearing about it from my aunt but that wasn't an option

Didn't know where else to put this: Few expectations for what the show would be like, had no idea early seasons had such a heavy Sam focus & was deeply disappointed when it went away (& never came back).

What were your expectations?

The nature of the expectations are laid out here. The plurality of people expected “lots of fun horror stuff”, indicating that the most visible element of the show is the genre. This may also mean that it is the element of the show that is most appealing to viewers, as they went in expecting a horror genre show. Second is “good in a bad way”, which means that they had experienced negative feedback from the show and wanted to experience something that is probably not the best quality.

Third is ship related, indicating that about a fifth of respondents came into the show expecting great content for shipping purposes/fandom involvement. Fourth is the family aspect of the show, indicating that this element didn’t seem to be the primary expectation for most. Finally, there’s the quality of storytelling. This seems to be the element that people expected the least going into it.

Some of your comments on this topic include:

I don’t think there should be anymore official Supernatural shows or films. Also I kept watching because I thought it would be more like The X Files with lots of really strong MOTW episodes and it…was not. But there’s still something really fun about watching it and it really hits sometimes, which kind of makes the misses a little forgiveable? Some of them at least. Also, there are some…factions of the fandom that clearly care more about being right than being respectful and having fun, which makes the fandom even more toxic and hard to stand.

i swear there's a watched-supernatural-for-destiel-to-sam-stan pipeline. i swear it's a thing. also i marked myself down as having expectations for destiel, which isn't necessarily entirely true -- i didn't think it would actually be canon and i sure as hell did not go into supernatural expecting good representation, i just heard about a compelling ship and was like "oh sure, i'll watch the show for that". and i didn't start for AGES because i knew it was a """horror""" show and i was a pussy with a low scare tolerance lmfao

i'm trying to remember exactly what my expectations were when i went in, which was years ago. i know that i was disappointed by the horror aspects - i think spn utterly fails as a horror show except when they accidentally write compelling abuse narratives which they don't intend (primarily with dean as the abuser. i do consider john's abuse to be intentional on the part of the writers, however i also think that john's abuse is only compelling because they barely touch it. if they'd shown any more of it than they did it would have popped like a balloon (see: lebanon). however, they make an incredibly compelling, complex, and multifaceted story about domestic abuse with dean as the abuser by never acknowledging that dean does anything wrong, thus allowing him to commit horrific acts without being narratively punished, and while retaining a level of authorial sympathy that allows his motivations and psyche to be explored). but i didn't really go in expecting horror except insofar as that was how the show sold itself within the text. like spn very much does pretend to be a horror show for at least the first three seasons. i did go in expecting shipping stuff because i saw a lot of destiel, but i actually wasn't very compelled by it. like i enjoyed destiel but i didn't really buy it in the text until season six, and even then mostly on cas' end. like i read dean as gay bc his relationships with women were SO disingenuous, but not necessarily as particularly specifically interested in cas. and even now i don't really read dean as in love with cas until s10/11. i did NOT go in expecting "representation" because i had no idea what that meant at the time.

To clarify - I had no expectations about "representation." I knew the show hated gays and even more hated women and poc. I *did* expect Destiel content though, as in stuff that made me insane, and it did make me insane. Also, I put "depth of characters" because there was no solo "Cas" option. I think the only characters with canon depth are Sam and Cas, so it's not like spn is *overall* good at writing characters.

Castiel also for the q above- my expectations were: Castiel. I mean kind of Destiel, but honestly mostly Castiel. I heard about him and yes I did find him highly intriguing/compelling

Like, the expectation I had going in was Buffy but dudes, and I think it was met, especially with all the guest spots from actors who were on Buffy and Angel

To explain my thoughts about expectations about the show, I didn't actually think the show itself was ship heavy, but the fandom was ship heavy, which I liked. I never expected the show to make any ships canon

Coming in, I expected a lot of Destiel -- but in a queerbaiting context. That was one of my reasons for AVOIDING the show for years. Watching it, I can definitely see where the Destiel fans are reading the ship *potential* from -- and as a fandom vet, I'm good with that -- but I don't see it as particularly strong or as queerbaiting (or as canon until 15x18, which made it canon-unrequited). Also, I started with a guide to skipping around and watching the "important" parts, and mid-way through S2 that way went back and watched everything I had skipped. After that, I watched in order but didn't avoid spoilers and jumped into the fandom quickly. I tend to prefer the characterization of later seasons but the plots (both arcs and MOTW) of earlier seasons.

just that i never expected supernatural to have great representation or lots of queerbaiting or content that inspires shipping! i feel like the option i chose for that question doesn't reflect very well how i approached this lol but the important thing (and why i picked it) is that i WAS deluded about what i was signing up for. i was led on lmao and it was surprising, when i started watching the show and realized it's got a hold on me but not at all for destiel reasons. but i never expected it to be the destiel show. (well i did expect queerbaiting which imo i ALMOST never got.) so yeahh i expected the best part of the show, the only enjoyable part to be the dean and cas relationship, and then found so many other things the majority of people on tumblr never mentioned. and found that i don't care about dean and cas </3 destiel really is such a big ship, they fucking fooled me - in my defense this has never happened to me before and i think it's almost completely unique, the discrepancy between canon and the content + interpretations of slash fandom. this amount of discrepancy is destiel-specific. i had no reason to believe so many people could be wrong lmao

Did it meet your expectations?

In the spectrum of meeting expectations, most people were around the middle here. Most people agreed that the show kind of met their expectations, indicating that they did see at least some of what they were coming in for. 30% of respondents had their expectations met completely or almost completely, while 15% saw that the show did not meet their expectations in the least.

Some of your comments on this topic include:

I wish I'd never gotten into it. Major disappointment and a waste of time.

Sam should have died 💅

Supernatural had such brilliant ideas and plot points they consistently overlooked to drive a simpler narrative that was more able to fill the white man hero complex. It wounds me deeply.

fuck buckleming but i owe them my life sometimes ya know?

castiel outstayed his welcome by about 10 seasons

I stopped watching around season 10 because I was tired of the queerbait. I came back when I heard about 15x18 and I haven’t been the same since.

the worst best show to ever have aired

I'll never forgive the show for how it erased Castiel's personhood and how it never allowed Dean to grow and change for longer than an episode. And I'll never forgive the fandom for how they pushed me out when I stopped worshipping Dean Winchester.

It was seasin 9 when it became so tiresome so repetitive how they recicle all the same plitlines and characters learn all the same previousy learned lessons. There is this post about how spn glances at super interesting even and pardon my language feral thungs and then completely ruins it. At the same time Dearh in s5. Right?

I must emphasize the fact that I started watching it ironically and accidentally became Obsessed because there's literally So Much to think about. I love parsing the contradictions and reverse engineering the narrative, finding every perspective and analyzing the text through that lense. depending on what angle you're looking at it with, supernatural changes and I love and hate that about it. additionally, it's so unintentionally funny. giving Sam the SAME SHIRTS 10 YEARS LATER will never not be funny and iconic.

This show has opened my eyes to many things. Many good, many bad. Especially bad tho. This show has shown me how nasty some people can be (homophobic Destiel + literally destroying everything good about the show afterward, probably out of spite). I don't have a favorite season. I have plenty of favorite episodes tho. I don't remember the earlier seasons enough; its been years since I've seen them. But plot wise those were the best. Also you really need to include Midam in your options; after 15x8 and Jake Abel shipping them they've gotten somewhat popular :/

It was the best before it was about apocalipse. If it was just about Sam and Dean's personal journey in what it means to be an angry toxic man while also seeing yourself as the hero, and trying their best to help people despite how it's destroying them, it would be worlds better. Also Castiel should have been like, their friend who has to keep an eye on them from heaven because they get into a few big things too many. I think that's the ideal.

If you have any questions about any details of these parts specifically let me know.

Part 2

[ladyluscinia]

Lady's SPN Rewatch

I'm going for it! This will be my first rewatch of Supernatural, every episode from the Pilot (technically already completed) to that unsatisfying Buckleming finale 15x19 Inherit the Earth.

(So weird that they didn't air an episode after that with Dabb's vision for how the character arcs should wrap up, but I guess I'll just have to infer from the rest of his work.)

I'm doing a writer focus because I'm fascinated by writer meta and feel it's about time I primary source this shit. My watch order breakdown is in this post, and I'll go into more on my initial thoughts and observations below the cut.

On this blog, I probably will do at least one overarching meta post per writer when I have conclusions to, well, post, but I've also been considering making a sideblog to put the raw data notes from every episode. No idea what url I'd use, though...

Anyway!

First off - just to have this written down somewhere - I'm taking a pretty standard analytical approach that what was actually aired on screen is the primary source for analysis, and any additional information is secondary but of interest. This includes commentary, scripts, deleted scenes, etc. Since I'm trying to infer writer intent it's probably more relevant than in other meta analysis, but also this is Supernatural. Just because they did something on accident and gave an interview about a different intent doesn't change that I saw the former and not the latter.

Word of God can back up a theory or provide hints when I'm building one, but I'm not going to pretend I see how X is about Y just because there's a snippet of interview where someone said it was. Also I care even less what the actors have said things were about. Those 3 CW men are all crazy, and I'm not going to try and interpret them.

Analysis Focus

I've got a template document for notes, because that's the kind of person I am. Current sections and subsections:

"Episode Notes"

"Season Arcs"

"Character Arcs" - with subsections for "Dean", "Sam", "Cas", and "Side Characters"

"Writer Arcs" - for consistent themes that show up in a particular writer's eps, including a subsection for "Destiel Truthing Level"

"Episode Highlights"

"Red Flags" - for tracking when the shitty stuff is a pattern for some writers as best I can

"Other Notes"

Initial Impressions

Obviously I've read more than a little writer meta, so I'm watching out for things people have discussed. I've got little initial thoughts blurbs that aren't particularly notable, but I did find something else interesting in prep.

So as part of organizing episodes I ended up putting them all in a chart, and it's fascinating how having a visual makes you spot patterns of importance. Showrunners usually do the premieres and finales - which isn't surprising - but they tend to have the same people lead into and out of their episodes too - which I hadn't really noticed before. It can make it really clear who is getting to shape the season storyline, whether due to trust or seniority.

(Unfortunately, 15 images is more than tumblr will let me put here, so I'll just describe observations and then reblog this to put the charts themselves in the notes.)

Kripke's second-in-command from Day 1 was Gamble and she really drove his seasons, writing or tying for the most eps and almost always landing the slots adjacent to his. S3-S5 really play around, with Carver, Edlund, and later Dabb & Loflin all getting to flex on story (which is probably a sign of really cohesive writers room).

Gamble doesn't seem to know who she trusts, with Edlund, Dabb & Loflin, and Glass all shifting generally around the role she used to fill. Singer even steps in to co-write twice, out of four times in the entire series.

Carver unsurprisingly leans heavy on Dabb, who drops Loflin (who I will be looking at via negative space in Dabb's eps more than anything). Edlund only gets 3 eps in S8, but 08x21 alone definitely indicates some creative clout. Buckleming shoots to prominence fast, however, for a couple of standalones in S7, and once Edlund is gone they are the undisputed #3. Nepotism, people. It pays.

Dabb starts taking over in S11, and while Buckleming stays important he also notably elevates Berens, co-writing an ep and giving him the 11x22 slot over them. The S12-S15 writers room is the most consistent and Dabb more involved than other showrunners were, but this probably comes at the cost of Singer running things in the background and elevating Buckleming more. They get every 2nd / semi-final ep in Dabb era except 12x22, which again goes to Berens (who Dabb's favor puts solidly in the #3 role).

Dabb era also has a lot of fun diagonals visually, where it looks like they just had a set rising and falling order for assigning writers and didn't mix it up very much. Though that could just be the order of the columns making it stand out.

Now that I'm seeing hints of who got to guide things, I'm really looking forward to connecting some dots.

[merinelsa]

Have you ever done a ranking list of your favourite episodes?

not really , the thing with me is that i never rewatch tv shows . i binge through them once and then just watch few scenes in yt , but never rewatch any of it even if it was one of my favourite show. Glee is the only exception , though i really only watch very few eps from the earlier seasons and rewatched s5-s6 twice , though i’d skipped 100, new directions and the wedding during both my rewatches. there are eps like new new york and wonderful that i watch time to time as comfort eps playing in the background . from s3, first time and big brother are the only eps i have rewatched 

i’d only watched glee for the first time last year , so like it’s not been that long to warrant a rewatch , but since i’d binged most of it in one stretch ( had taken a one month break b/w s3ep7 and ep8 because of how much i was getting tired of the shitty storylines of s3 , hence it being my least fave ) i forgot a lot of the non klaine stuff.

but i’ll try to rank the eps , just know that i’m very biased to klaine/kurt/blaine storylines . and the seasons too are ranked in the order i like them 

6 . season 3

22. i kissed a girl

21. pot o gold

20. prom-asaurus

19. yes/no

18. i am unicorn

17. mash off

16. the spanish teacher

15. asian f

14. on my way

13. props

12. choke

11. hold on to sixteen

10. saturday night gleever

9. michael

8. goodbye

7. big brother

6. nationals

5. heart

4. extraordinary merry christmas

3. dance with somebody

2. purple piano project

1. first time

5. season 1

22. the rhodes not taken

21. funk

20. showmance

19.  vitamin d

18. hairography

17. ballad

16. mashup

15. throwdown

14. the power of madonna

13. mattress

12. acafellas

11. dream on

10. home

9. pilot

8.  hell-o

7. sectionals

6. preggers

5. bad reputation

4. wheels

3. journey to regionals

2. theatricality

1. laryngitis

4. season 4 

22. britney 2.0

21. sweet dreams

20. lights out

19. shooting star

18. all or nothing

17. feud

16. thanksgiving

15. the role you were born to play

14. glease

13. swan song

12. sadie hawkins

11. naked

10. makeover

9. girls and boys on film

8. diva

7. glee,actually

6. i do

5. dynamic duets

4. the new rachel

3.  break up

2. guilty pleasure

1. wonderful

3. season 2

22. britney/brittany

21. the substitute

20. comeback

19. special education

18. a very glee christmas

17. the sue sylvester shuffle

16. night of neglect

15. new york

14. funeral

13. never been kissed ( except for the klaine part, the whole ep is a mess)

12. rocky horror glee show

11. rumours

10. audition

9. sexy

8. grilled cheesus

7. blame it on the alcohol

6. prom queen

5. born this way

4. silly love songs

3. duets

2. furt 

1. original song

2. season 6

13. the rise and fall of sue sylvester

12. hurt locker part 1

11. child star

10. homecoming

9. we built this glee club

8. what the world needs now

7. hurt locker part 2

6. a wedding

5.  dreams come true

4. 2009

3. jagged little tapestry

2. transitioning

1. loser like me

1. season 5 ( i’m not going to rank the quaterback )

19. opening night

18. 100

17. tina in the sky with diamonds

16. city of angels

15. bash

14. a katy or gaga

13. new direction

12. end of twerk

11. previously unaired christmas

10. trio

9. movin out

8. the back up plan

7. puppet master

6. love love love

5. old dogs new trick

4. untitled rachel berry project

3. frenemies

2. tested

1. new new york

now top five glee episodes over all

5. original song : don’t ask me what happened besides klaine in this because i truly don’t remember . but the klaine parts are pure heavenly. s2 klaine is something i missed a lot and didn’t appreciate enough during my first watch but rewatching some klaine centric eps has made me appreciate their friendship a lot more. even the stuff leading upto the kiss is fantastic , it’s also an ep that shows how rachel and blaine can get similar but how they react to criticisms and how blaine tries to include everyone when pointed out unlike making a fit out of it with rachel is where they diverge and makes these incredibly different personalities .and the kiss was just to good and sparks were flying everywhere and it is something that glee could never recreate with any other couple. and “ reminds you of your mom’s funeral doesn’t it “” the casket was bigger but yes “ just proves that they are equally dumbasses that fit each other so well

4. wonder-ful : this is just pure comfort ep. it’s so bright and upbeat in the middle of the previous dark eps. so much kurt and klaine . a bit more focus on kurt’s mental health issues, which will later be forgotten but it’s good over here. supportive blaine as always just highlighting how much they understand each other. a lot of burt which is always a plus . a very good mercedes plotline which should’ve been given more time but still is one of the better ones she gets.just seeing how light and loving kurt turns once burt is finally in the safe zone. and ‘you get kinda cute when you get nervous’ and ‘with you in it a wondeful life’ and whatever homoerotic stuff that is going on b/w rachel and cassie

3. Loser like me : the pure angst . i love storylines where they hit the rock bottom from such a happy place and have to find their way to the top by leaning in on each other and supporting each other. great klaine scenes, s5b we where pushed to believe that kurt had it all together, but we finally got to see kurt being an absolute mess and realizing how he contributed to their relationship not working out instead of pitting it all on s4 cheating . confident got help all by himself in a better position blaine , rachel finally getting a storyline that’s interesting and makes her one to root for . This ep always gives me the chills and makes me excited for the rest of the season

2. Tested : It’s genuinely one of the funniest eps ever. amazing rachcedes moment . the guys presenting one of my fave family dynamics in the show. great samcedes and klaine plotline . and i love the way liab is shot , such a well choreographed performance and it really looks like chris and darren had so much fun doing it.

1. New new york : this ep is the perfect mixture of fluff , comedy and angst. And on top of that we get never tried before combination of dynamics like rachel and artie as well as our favourite dynamics like klaine, blam, kelliot . also , out of all the klaine plotlines, this feels to me the most realistic one and really shows how much they want to work out their highschool relationship into an adult setting but they’re still young clueless inexperienced couple who doesn’t really know what they’re doing but still trying to work it out the way they think is the best one to protect their relationship , showing how much they care for each other as we enter into the crazy hard parts of their relationship. also , to see these whole set of highschool friends trying to navigate their way into this busy adult life is so fun to watch .