#show this to a Shakespearean

[luna-lovegreat]

I just went through my essays from sixth grade and??? I found my report on hamlet and found these gems and I just-

I envy my younger self for the sheer sass but

I'm really glad I was homeschooled in English at this point because the teacher at my school would've passed out oh my gosh

[izzyhandsyouaglassofwine]

seen a couple people running to that "is it bad writing or do you not understand genre" post in regards to the ofmd upset. and let me remind people that this show was marketed as a romantic comedy, ESPECIALLY this season!

In that regard, I found an article/blog post that directly addresses the question "can you have character death in a romantic comedy?" And it really hits the nail on the head.

Even if you were to make the argument "well it's a dark comedy!" or "its a pirate show!" there's still a balance that needs to be met if you don't want to alienate your audience.

People are going to argue that the death was earned because they spent the entire season building up his character and "completing his arc". Well, I'll argue that they DIDN'T complete his arc. In fact they took about twelve steps back in his death scene by seemingly ret conning his progress and having him center Ed's feelings on his literal deathbed. So it really feels a lot like fridging, because that's exactly what it was. Izzy's death was for Ed's arc, not his own. And they spent so much time focusing on Izzy all season, focusing on his growth and giving him such a specific arc about queerness and recovery, that yeah, his death feels like a slap to the face and not a tragic story beat that makes the story all the richer.

[backintimeforstuff]

the x-files being a questionable and incomprehensible sci-fi show about ufos but also genuinely one of the greatest and well-written love stories ever told. is. sometimes too much to handle. the duality of it all. it shakes me to my core.

[chemdisaster]

"you came here, you gave me a banner and said i had to swear allegiance to you. scar came over to me and said he'll fix my roof" there's something so human about that. because that's all joel ever really wanted, isn't it? against all the grandeur of the life series, all the betrayals and swords swung in unison and bridges burnt, he stands out in how little he cares about any of that. he doesn't need an army at his side, he doesn't need someone to stand at his back and lay their life down for him when the time comes. no, he cares for the simpler things, the things that almost make you forget that it's a death game. he cares for his builds and his dead bush monopoly and his silly beard that is not stuck on, thank you very much - maybe precisely so that he can forget that it's a death game. all the murder and betrayal and his own excessive bloodthirst - if he doesn't apply any of it any significance, then a game is all it is and soon enough it'll all be over and then they'll do it all again. ignoring his problems until they go away is what he's good at, and this is just the bigger of them. if he ignores this, too, if he doesn't think too deep about the blood on his fingers or the ash in his lungs, then he can wake up in a new world and build himself a helter skelter and it'll all be fine.

ren and martyn will come looking for grand declarations of loyalty, a crown dripping with blood and the same hand-sewn banner stuck to every shield. but all joel ever really wanted was for someone to fix his roof, feed his dogs, sit down next to him and cool the scorching fire inside until there was something other than the hollow void beneath.

[softiedingo]

I can't believe that the gentleman wizard and his butler are making me go through the five stages of grief, BUT little do they know that acceptance never was an option because I'll NEVER accept that in the end they were separated and left to suffer ALONE, unable to ride off into the sunset on their jetski.

[hatchetation]

the way teenage bounty hunters DESERVED a second season. like what a tightly written, quippy, funny little show with so much heart. there’s so much good going on in it but things I particularly love:

Twin themes!! There’s so much good foreshadowing surrounding the big reveal (iykyk) and there’s also so much DOUBLING. Double lives especially is a big theme. Like, Debbie hiding Dana; sterling and Blair hiding their bounty hunting; the (functional) froyo shop being bowser’s bounty hunting lair; Terrance the lone wolf bounty hunter and bowser with his little “teen white savior” teammates; Yolanda’s sister who is a perfect foil for her; miles hiding Blair from his family; sterling hiding april from Blair…and then april hiding sterling period.

And I guess the doubling is kind of showing like, here are all the possibilities and here’s what happens when we let love in and here’s what happens when we shut it out

so much good stuff about being from the American south. As someone who grew up in the south and who grew up visiting close family in Atlanta…it is cool as fuck the way the south is portrayed in all of its complexity. The show does not shy away from issues of race, religion, SES, etc SPECFICALLY in Atlanta and manages to do it in a way that doesn’t come across as heavy handed. This show could ONLY be set in the south—it would be a fundamentally different show in any other setting

Also, like I said with the doubling points above, this show is full of secrets and secret keeping!!! But yet a fundamental point of the show is that being silenced is one of the worst things that can happen to a human being. There’s a scene where Blair is telling sterling that her dad yelled at her and that the worst part of all is that he told her to Be Quiet! And like in some ways that scene highlights what a loving household Blair has grown up in that the one of the worst things her Dad has ever said to her is be quiet (not even shut up)…but it really made me be like wow being told to stop questioning and be quiet IS something terrible. It’s a denial and a violation of our right to use our voices

and like it’s not a coincidence that in the final ep Dana gags sterling. Because the way sterling is talking to her is powerful and you can tell it is making her hesitate and question her whole life

so yeah anyway watch teenage bounty hunters! Or if you haven’t in a while, it’s definitely worth a rewatch

[aimasup]

throws up my hands in mock resignation but also a hint of frustration Okay Valentino is a cool villain I guess

He's like. Genuinely unsettling. Wish the show struck a better balance with his character sometimes (like sometimes when he's onscreen I have to skip over because I feel queasy and sometimes he's so unsubtle he feels more like a prop than a guy who's going to be a Huge Deal in s2)

[ech-e-sketch]

Had to sit and let the whole show marinate in my brain after that ending dear god

[vmkhoneyy]

U know what after some consideration I think I like the choice to make the trio so smart. They don’t get fooled easily by monsters- they know all the stories. It might take a moment to recognize them, but once they do the problem is handled.

Percy and Annabeth and Grover are so smart. They figure out who’s stolen the lightening bolt and they gaslight a god and they pass tests with flying colors.

They are so smart. But demigods are living and dying examples of “doomed by the narrative.”

prophecies are never what you assume they are.

They are so smart, but they’re missing the answer right under their noses the entire time.

[tomwambsmilk]

Not to once again harp on the Sopranos but the structure of the final season of the Sopranos is very much Part 1: the characters have one last opportunity to self-reflect and change as people and minimize their tragic fates. Part 2: they very much did not do that and now we get to see the consequences in all their horrific glory. And tbh I think it's pretty clear to me atp that Succession is doing much the same thing, just on a tighter timeline. In the first two episodes the sibs are working together and being honest with each other and they're buying PGN in an attempt to get out. In episode 4 they find the paper and that's the beginning of the end. It's too late for them after that. Kendall becomes CEO and Shiv gets into bed with Matsson and Roman fires Gerri and they all do it because they think it's what Logan would do and after that point there's no coming back for them. The tragedy is in full swing and all we can do is watch in horror as it unfolds

[babsibabbles]

Am I the only one who things great satisfying character arc >>>>> happy endings??

Yes, Loki is now alone, which he explicitly didn’t want to be. Yes, he now sits on a throne which he didn’t want. Yes, he has a purpose now, but it’s a burden.

But the character development it took to get there? The sacrificial aspect of Loki‘s decision? But also the beauty of Loki tending to Yggdrasil/the Tree of Life, nurturing the life of the universe? Being the God of Stories now? That’s what gets me.

I do appreciate a happy ending. I would have loved to see Loki leading a happy life - be it with Sylvie or Mobius. I’m not going to deny that. But there is just this little extra something something in this type of tragic, Shakespearean ending that is going to stick with me. Because let’s be honest: perfect, happy romcom endings can be forgettable and boring. Raw and emotionally chaotic endings like Loki‘s just pull a much stronger response from me and it just shows me: I care and I get to work through all these emotions as complicated as they are. Happy perfect endings with a bow on top are just going to wash through me but this one? This one feels like a gut punch and just like a bruise it’s going to linger.

[vital-information]

Fuck people saying Succession has Shakespearean writing, when Pussy Valley is right there giving us all the rhythmic punning dialogue, queering gender dynamics, and depicting actual class and racial issues

[fulcrum-art-fox]

I bow and dramatically flourish my cape. And now I shall be falling off the stage and crawling away to go cry about the Wolfpack backstage

[thesunsethour]

succession sundays has been reincarnated into The Traitors wednesday thursday and fridays

[neednottoneed]

we’re playing D&D again this weekend and I am vibrating with excitement cannot WAIT for some fucked up fey wild shit (my guy has had a weird dream involving a creepy looking skeleton deer that wants him to come find it???)

[dubiousdoctors]

THE BIG SCARY