#s08e05 home and away

[fieriframes]

[Don’t let go too soon, but don’t hang on too long.]

[chaoticornot]

Chaotic rambles 9-1-1

s08e05 Look at her, oohh. Jee is so cute. Family, so cute. Chris is in this episode? And Tommy, that is less. I knew Athena would be good at scary stories. Look at the house, great. Chim looks horrified, about what Eddie's saying. He looks so proud. His accent, incredible. Omg, Hen. Eddie, you look like a dumbass. Chim, what the fuck. Cowboy Buck!!! Buck, you idiot, and he keeps holding the arm, I'm in tears. The boiles, I see where this is going. Buck giving Eddie lube, I'm not saying anything. There went Buck, haha. Husband Eddie. Shirtless Buck!!!!! Domestic Buck and Eddie. Them finishing each other thoughts and sentences. Buck, bothered and betrayed. Haha. He does not care. Why is he sleeping on the couch? Who the fuck is Evan? Tommy, you are freaking out. He is swollen, here we go. How did Eddie get here? Those puppy eyes. Now you've done it. That eye contact, insane. We didn't actually get the handshake, did they cut it? Salty Karen. Domestic shits, I love them. Salty Eddie, omg. Josh with a mustache?? It's fake, got it. I love Halloween 9-1-1. The way Eddie slicked back his hair, damn. That kid looked like Wylan. Is that Denny? OMG. I can't believe that Harry is supposed to be the same age as Denny and Chris. This is heartbreaking, please let him be okay. The sound is so smart. Buck and Eddie on the opposite sides is an insane choice. Domestic shits. Tommy is not in the group chat, oof. They are so done with him. I love them, they did save him. Aww. Buck in a suit, oof. Is this the first Bucktommy scene without Eddie this season? That took a while. No cap, haha. He's back home, oh thank god. Poor Eddie. I love Buck's speeches. He walked away from Tommy, huh? I can't be the only one who finds that strange.

[westeroswisdom]

Hawaiian Jason Momoa has expressed his sorrow over the deadly wildfires which destroyed most of Lahaina on Maui and have burned other parts of his home state. This is one of the worst natural disasters in Hawaii's history.

One of Hawaii’s biggest stars is expressing support in the midst of the lethal wildfires in Maui. Actor Jason Momoa has been posting on his verified Instagram account about the tragedy, which has resulted in the deaths of dozens of people and massive destruction on the island.

Momoa, who was born in Honolulu, also reposted information that included a locator list for those searching for their loved ones.

For your convenience, here is the link from Jason's post on Instagram for disaster relief.

Maui Strong - Hawaii Community Foundation

That site only accepts contributions from the US. The minimum contribution is set at $25 for some reason. The donor site was apparently repurposed from a more general one for the Hawaii Community Foundation which is legit and accredited. To donate under $25, try calling them at one of their Hawaii offices listed at the contact page and gently suggest that they lower the minimum donation amount.

Sadly, the number of fatalities is still increasing.

Lahaina fire death toll rises to 80, officials confirm

Seriously, there was more left of King's Landing after S08E05 than there is of Lahaina. The fire moved so rapidly that residents were jumping into the ocean to get away from the flames.

[statusquoergo]

I should have write "what H would have become" because there's some growth : no 1 night stand, forgive his brother quickly, can have a conversation with his mom. But other than that, yes it is a little like S1 without the big arc. That's what missing from S8 : there's a plot for every episode but none for the season. Unlike S1-6, there were subplots : everyday life and work, & big plot : keeping the secret keeping M out jail, getting M out of J.... S8 : nothing, no suspense, no cliffhanger 1/2

2/2 . Even in S1-6 the subplots were more than just one episode : Hardman, Tanner coming after H’s licence. The show use to be a little more complicated, it use to take time to solve their problems. Now, they just solve everything in one episode. Well, there is no huge problem : you could say S8 lack substance. Oh, when I said Marvey, I meant the actual relationship in the show and the screen time they had together. Ask wasn’t long enough for to say that, that’s why I’m splitting this in 2. 

I would say he’s had some growth and now, suddenly, a lot of steps backwards, or laterally. Sure, he’s stopped having one night stands (as far as we know), which I suppose shows some emotional development if you interpret it as “He now values long-term romance over casual sex,” but once he got over Mike being gone (i.e., s08e05 had zero mention of Mike), that was the end of that.

And I’m sorry because I don’t think this is what you were expecting from this ask, but now that I think about it, the show’s whole take on forgiving his family feels lacking to me, and I’d like to explain why. I suppose I’m glad he’s decided to stop being angry, if that’s what makes him happy, but there’s a difference between heedlessly forgiving people after they fuck up, and talking to people about what they did, why they did it, and why you’re so angry about it.

One big feature of the entire Specter family debacle harkens back to one of my major problems with “The Painting”: Marcus never actually apologizes. (Neither did Lily.) Harvey apologizes, weirdly enough, when he explains to Marcus that he isn’t going to be able to win the case as easily as Marcus seemed to think he would, but Marcus himself never does. What he does do—a lot—is excuse himself and assume he has a right to Harvey’s help, seemingly for no other reason than that they’re family.

M: “I don’t need to hear how I screwed up. What I need to hear is that you’re on your way up here to help make sure that I don’t lose my kids.”

Marcus feels bad that he did something wrong and wants Harvey to come fix it for him.

H: “Marcus, you said you wanted peace, so I tried to make peace.”M: “Yeah, well, what you did was make it worse.”

Harvey did exactly the right thing in trying to keep this case out of court, but it didn’t work, in no small part because he went in under false pretenses (i.e., he thought the problem was Marcus’s infidelity when it was actually his gambling and asking his children to lie about it). Despite this, Marcus blames him for Katie’s lawyer’s actions, even though custody battles are famously messy and underhanded, and Katie’s lawyer actually acted without her knowledge or permission (which is bad form on the lawyer’s part).

H: “Marcus, I am sorry. You asked me to come up here, and like it or not— This is tough for me too, so I tried with Katie.”M: “Okay, Harvey, I get it. I just wish there was a chance in hell that it would’ve worked.”

Harvey is apologizing for something that is not his fault, and even then, Marcus doesn’t accept it so much as brush past it.

M: “Hey, hey—where are you going?”H: “Back to New York.”M: “No, please, you can’t— These are my kids!”H: “Your kids that you asked to lie for you, which makes you no different than Mom was.”M: “No, that is not fair. What Mom did is nothing like this.”H: “You asked your kids to keep your secrets. How is that different?”M: “Because it was one time and Haley had no idea what I was doing was wrong.”H: “You know what? Tell yourself whatever you want about what kind of man you are. You’re not just a shitty husband; you’re a shitty brother, and I’m done here.”

Actually yes, what Lily did was a lot like this. She did something wrong, which she knew she shouldn’t, which she knew her partner would be justifiably angry about, and she was found out by her child, whom she asked to lie on her behalf to cover it up in the hopes that her partner would never find out. That’s exactly what Marcus did. The fact that her fault was cheating while his was gambling is essentially irrelevant, if the issue is about trust and honesty, which, to Harvey, I think it is.

L: “What Marcus did was horrible, and I understand you being furious, but Haley’s in fifth grade. She barely knows what gambling is.”H: “She knows what lying is. She knows that her father asked her to do it.”L: “And Marcus feels terrible about that.”H: “Yeah, that’s what all addicts say.”L: “And your brother has never been as strong as you are, but that doesn’t mean—”H: “This isn’t about strength.”L: “No, it’s about forgiveness. And Marcus forgave me, even when I failed you both, and then he forgave you when you walked away.”H: “Are you saying I owe him?”L: “I’m saying people make mistakes. Harvey, I know how angry you are but you can’t let him lose his children. Because I can tell you from personal experience there is nothing worse for the parent or the child.”

So…because Haley didn’t understand the backstory on Marcus’s gambling addiction, that makes his actions okay? The problem isn’t what Haley did (lying to Katie, I assume), it’s what Marcus did, and what he asked of her. He’s the adult in this situation, and he’s her father, and he has a responsibility to both teach her and model good behavior for her. (I still don’t think Harvey needed anyone’s forgiveness when he walked away, but that’s a separate matter.)

Incidentally, losing a parent isn’t by default the worst thing that can befall a child; I’m not saying it would be best for Haley and her brother, but sometimes it is actually in the child’s best interest.

M: “Thought you were done with me.”H: “I’m your brother. I’m never gonna be done with you.”

See, here’s that “we’re family so I owe you” mentality again. Harvey’s family continues to use him to their own benefit without giving him anything in return other than…the having of a family who treats him like a tool to pull out of the closet whenever they get themselves into a mess.

H: “I told him this was the only way. He told me to find another one because he doesn’t want to hurt you any more than he already has. Katie, he loves you and whether or not you’re willing to give the marriage another chance he deserves another chance as a father.”K: “I never thought I’d hear something like that from Harvey Specter.”H: “Well, if there’s one thing I’ve come around on, when it comes to family, forgiveness is a hell of a lot better than anger.”

Again, “I forgave him because we’re family, full stop.” Actually, Harvey doesn’t really have anything to forgive Marcus for other than lying to him, which doesn’t seem to be the issue here; I suppose part of Marcus’s recovery might be apologizing to his family, but he and Harvey seem to rarely be in contact, so it’s a pretty low-level priority, and Marcus asking Haley to lie for him is something he needs Katie’s forgiveness for, and Haley’s, but Harvey has nothing to do with it. Yet the way this is framed makes it sound like Harvey is forgiving Marcus for…everything the happened, which, why? Just because they’re family? Family who uses him for their own convenience in return for…the having of a family?

Alright, I’ll get off this soapbox now, but if Harvey’s new emotional home base is going to be his relationship with his family (his blood relatives rather than his “You’re not the only one who got more family out of this deal” family), then I expect I’ll be having a bit of trouble staying off of it.

But on another note, I think the running subplot is supposed to be who will become the next name partner, Samantha or Alex. The problem with that is that there’s literally zero stake attached to it; the firm’s title changes all the time, being a name partner means about as much as being picked first for kickball at recess.

[fieriframes]

[Well, I think it's about time I took you on an. Improvisational adventure into the bowels of the metropolitan region. Looks like a bonafide, high voltage. Decked out in full regalia, Angelino audience. Driving in Subarus, Pintos, Malibus, Oldsmobiles. A small suburban community.]

[fieriframes]

[THAT'S ALL RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW]

[fieriframes]

[🥕]

[fieriframes]

[My baby's taking me home. My baby's taking me home. My baby's taking me home. My baby's taking me home. My baby's taking me home. My baby's taking me home. My baby's taking me home. My baby's taking me home. My baby's taking me home. My baby's taking me home.]

[fieriframes]

[DO PEOPLE KNOW WHAT PERUVIAN FOOD IS? IT'S STILL REVEALING ITSELF TO THE WORLD. THIS IS YOUR LIFE, AND IT’S ENDING ONE MINUTE AT A TIME. WITH CESAR'S HELP. ALL RIGHT. FROM PAELLA TO CEVICHE... OUTSTANDING FLAVOR.]

[fieriframes]

[YEAH, I BASICALLY PUT ALL THE VEGETABLES]

[fieriframes]

[DO I WANT DINE-IN? DO I WANT TAKEOUT? DO I WANT EXPENSIVE, INEXPENSIVE? FRANCISCO: MEXICAN MUSEUM, 1991. CHADWICK, WHITNEY? I MEAN, I JUST DON'T KNOW. SO I THINK IT'S TIME THAT I TOOK SOME GREAT ADVICE]

[fieriframes]

[CAN I HAVE FRENCH FRY]

[fieriframes]

[YEAH. WE'RE BASICALLY TRYING TO GET A NICE CRUST ON 'EM, HEAT 'EM THROUGH. THAT'S A NORMAL ORDER?]

[fieriframes]

[AND THEN WE TURN THE STEAM ON FOR ABOUT 30 SECONDS.]

[fieriframes]

[APPLESAUCE GOES IN SAUERKRAUT. NEW ON TRIPLE "D." AND OUR BAY LEAVES, WATER. AND THAT'S IT? THAT'S IT. HOW LONG IS THAT GONNA SIT THERE AND SIMMER-STEAM-COOK? ABOUT 45 MINUTES. IT'S A VERY MILD SAUERKRAUT. MMM. THAT'S REALLY NICE.]

[fieriframes]

[Schindyletic.]