#there's no way he'll be a later-season villain because we have already had the old man in power villain and he's just not flavoured that way

[headphonesleatherjacket]

BIRDS EYE VIEW PT 2 SPOILERS

what i SO EXPECTED to happen was that lawrence killed MINTY (instead of monty) so juno knew for sure that the revivifying process worked, and we had a villainous showdown with lawrence hiring juno for some other nefarious reason - mad scientist esque

i guess having the revivifying process perfected 20 years earlier would have the "running out of time" stakes-raiser for nuyerev be null - but god that would've been a fantastic way for juno to find out

LYDIA KILLING MONTY TO PROTECT CHIP WAS V GOOD

"...he was always repeating things." "repeatin things!?" yes rita go theatre girlie go

wondering about the title - i guess the point of the case is for juno to imagine himself from Lydia/Lawrence's perspective - someone who has let go vs. someone who hasn't. At the same time, though, Nureyev is also someone who hasn't let go - of Slip - will the season end with Juno letting go of Nuyerev as the healthy thing to do? I don't even wanna think about it

BECAUSE LIKE there's little things like "[running for someone else is] when i run the fastest" that's super reminiscent of Juno before he was trying to get better, and then Lydia pushing him to let go, and bird's eye view being someone that very literally points to him being forced to reflect???

what if the season ends with slip waking and then not being receptive to Nuyerev at all? to show that you shouldn't chase someone like that?

im going insane guys jupeter divorce era is NOT treating me well

[hoaryoldbitch]

Thoughts on the possible Aegon and Aemond post blood and cheese spoilers.

Aegon fleeing to a brothel to deal with his grief and whatever feelings he may be experiencing is not a surprise. I know people may be disappointed, and I get it. But I guess it would be unrealistic to expect him to suddenly develop new/better coping mechanisms during what is not only an extremely stressful time for him on so many levels, but also especially after suffering such a devastating loss. More on that last bit later.

I know some of us were hoping the loss of their son might bring Aegon and Helaena closer. And I don't think this is necessarily impossible, even if Aegon is out there whoring and drinking his way through Flea Bottom and/or the Street of Silk.

Helaena was clear about neither wanting or enjoying Aegon’s sexual attention. And we know Aegon feels the same way. I think having them suddenly seek physical intimacy with each other as a form of comfort would be an interesting choice, but I don't expect the show to go that way. They could still grow closer in other ways, but I'm afraid it's unlikely. What they'll probably want to show us is Helaena isolating herself and sinking deeper and deeper into depression in her grief.

I'm not quite sure what else they might do to portray Aegon’s grief and how he'll experience and deal with this loss. Some of the choices the writers made for the character in season 1 are definitely going to prove a tough hurdle to take to do justice to his character in this particular storyline. I definitely hope they can still pull it off.

Now onto the rumour that Aemond will be the one to torture Blood. How weird am I for actually loving this idea? In a possibly twisted way I'm really excited about this and seriously looking forward to seeing this.

Not just because I know Ewan is going to blow us away with his performance. I'm sure it will be terrifying to watch, but he'll look hot doing it. Who said that? Shut up, Jen!

Anyway, someone commented on the rumour, saying it's just different ways of mourning, and I think that's an accurate assessment. While Aegon has his coping mechanisms, so does Aemond, and his has always been to wield his grief and rage into something he considers useful.

What's interesting in terms of character development, is that we know that while this rage fuels him and drives him, he lacks a true outlet for it. And we have already seen how that can end in a tragic outcome.

So while on some level it may seem like a positive thing for Aemond to channel all his rage, grief and worst of all his guilt into torturing Blood, as fucked up as that may sound, and it definitely is, I think it will prove just another step on the path of him becoming that man who killed the entire Strong family and torched the Riverlands.

And I think this is part of why I do love the writing choices for Aemond’s character in season 1. Instead of just making him the mostly one-dimensional villain from Fire & Blood, we'll get to see the journey, the descent so to speak.

Because as much as I think it makes sense for Aemond to be the one to torture Blood, there's a reason why royal families had a professional to take care of this stuff. And the thing is, the Greens do have someone like that. Larys is right there, he's the Lord Confessor. As much as I understand why Aemond wants to do it, probably believes he's the one who has to do it, it's just so maddeningly devastating, so heartbreakingly sad.

Aemond is only 18 years old, and while that makes him officially an adult, both in Westeros and in most of our own world, that's still tragically young. I mean, that's part of the tragedy of the entire story, that they were all so young.

But the worst part is that I think this is just the culmination of the role Aemond has been assigned within his family and faction, has chosen for himself, the one he's managed to convince himself he wants for himself. He's their protector, this dangerous man who wants people to fear him because it makes him useful and valuable for his family.

If people can't be bothered to care for the young boy who was hurt and wronged in such an awful way, he'll make sure they'll acknowledge the monster he's had to become, the dangerous and efficient swordsman, the rider of the largest dragon in the world, the mad dog who will do anything for his family. In a way he's become the Daemon to Aegon’s Rhaenyra, or perhaps his Visenya. He has become his weapon.

And if the dehumanising aspect of that is not bad enough on its own, he now has to close off his humanity even more to do what is needed of him.

And yet still so painfully human, he's so full of grief and rage and guilt. More than that, those feelings are partly caused by the idea that he's failed his family twice now. He killed Lucerys. He couldn’t save Jaehaerys. He couldn’t protect Helaena. It is all his fault, he's past the point of no return, and now he's a dead man walking. The only thing he can do to postpone his end is to ensure the destruction of the people who were responsible for this monstrous crime.

Aemond has become the most dangerous animal in the world and they've backed him into a corner.

I'm so looking forward to seeing him snap.

[plasticnightmaredoll]

I thought I'd make some comments about the first episode of "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier," kind of in the same way I made a post about my thoughts on the "WandaVision" season finale. I don't plan on doing a post with my thoughts, opinions, and theories for EVERY episode of TFatWS because a) I don't have that kind of time or patience, b) Things are probably going to change left and right as the series progresses, just like in "WandaVision" so I don't see a need to document all of this, c) I ramble enough as it is lol

Of course, there are spoilers under the cut, so if you haven't seen the first episode, then I suggest you...don't look under the cut! If you have seen the episode and just want to see what another MCU/Marvel fan thinks, or if you don't care about spoilers, then have at it.

I will say that the first episode of "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" (I'm going to refer to it as TFatWS from now on because that title is long af) was good and brought forth lots of mystery and intrigue, but it didn't grab my attention quite as much as the first episode of "WandaVision." But this may be due to the fact that WV was just so bizarre right from the start, and there were tons of questions right out the door. So, the mystery (and confusion) was more intense than for TFatWS.

I still plan on finishing TFatWS, but I hope it picks up a little more in the next episodes.

Another thing I will mention that's really not much of a spoiler: Poor Bucky! Just like Wanda, he needs a damn break already 😭

And lastly, I haven't read any Marvel comics because I just don't have the time, energy, patience, sanity right now to devote to them. That, and I have always preferred manga (Berserk is still my favorite manga/graphic novel of all time. Hell, it's my favorite fictional story of all time! And the 90s anime is one of my favorite series ever). My Marvel knowledge is heavily based on what the MCU has provided, but I do know things that happen in the comics because I do read up on various comparisons between the comics and the MCU entries and people's theories based on the comics. So, I'm not completely clueless.

Ok, spoiler time!

I don't really have a list of things I liked and disliked for this first episode of TFatWS because it's just way too early for that kind of stuff, and who knows where the series is going to go from here. I'll just make a list of thoughts and opinions:

James "Bucky" Barnes/The Winter Soldier

POOR BUCKY! I mean, goddamn, this man can't get a break. We see just how much his time as a Hydra agent affected him, causing him to have nightmares about those he killed while brainwashed. He's closed himself off from others because he's depressed, burdened with immense guilt, and probably feels like he's not worth helping at this point.

I also like how we got to see just how negatively he was affected by being at war for so long. He'd be put into hibernation by Hydra, and awoke every time to go kill some people. Rinse and repeat. That was his life, which isn't much of a life if you ask me. The same happened when he was freed from their control and while it's understandable why he had to fight in "Infinity War" and "Endgame," it was clearly a lot for him to handle. He didn't get a lot of peace, and even now that things have settled, he still has no peace.

At first, I was wondering why Bucky was going out of his way to befriend his elderly neighbor, Mr. Nakashima since he wasn't associating with anyone else, not even Sam. Then we find out that Bucky was the one who murdered the old man's son why under Hydra control. He can't bring himself to tell Mr. Nakashima because it's too painful and he's too ashamed. He's trying to prepare for it, I suppose, by befriending the man, but at the same time, I don't think it's going to be less unpleasant to deliver the news.

I literally felt heartbroken for Bucky when I realized that he had killed Mr. Nakashima's son. Like, omfg, Bucky, this poor guy...he has to live with these painful memories of things he was forced to do and it's depressing to witness.

I know it seems weird that no one recognizes who Bucky is, but I have a theory on that: Those that do are people who actually know him or those who have seen his face at the Smithsonian. Those who don't recognize him may never have been to the museum or simply didn't remember his face. I mean, Captain America was the main focus of the exhibit, and he was in the public eye all the time, so Bucky could easily be forgotten. Also, after the Blip, people clearly have had a lot to deal with after being missing for several years while the rest of the world put itself back together. Bucky is the least of their concerns.

Sam Wilson/Falcon

Sam, our good boy Sam. I was expecting him to keep Captain America's shield, even if he didn't use it right away. I mean, I know in "Endgame" he said it feels like it belongs to someone else, but I thought he'd change his mind and keep it. But he ends up donating it to the Captain America exhibit, which was unfortunate. I mean, I understand why, and I thought, "Well, he can just go grab it later" but then...well, that's going to be discussed later.

I was glad Sam kept trying to reach out to Bucky despite how things seemed very tense between them before. I can understand why he didn't just visit in person because that would have overwhelmed Bucky. I am suffering from severe depression and I know how difficult it can be to have a surprise guest attempt to make chit chat. Not fun.

We find out how Sam's sister has been trying to make ends meet during the Blip. Things aren't going well financially for her, and she is considering selling their father's boat to bring in some much-needed funds. Sam tries to help by convincing her to go to a bank and take out a loan. He hopes that his status could help influence the bank's decision as well.

But that isn't in the cards. The bank can't approve the loan because now there are regulations post-Blip regarding such matters. Not even Sam's status as Falcon -- an AVENGER -- amounts to much. Then the accountant awkwardly behaved like a fanboy during the whole meeting, even going so far as to ask for a selfie from Sam during the most inconvenient moment. This scene shows, to me, that being an Avenger doesn't change everything, yet, they're still famous and loved (for the most part). It's a strange feeling: "We love you guys for all you've done, but yeah, we can't really help you out."

I'm glad Marvel is choosing to show the negative effects of the Blip. It's great everyone returned but...everyone literally popped back into existence. We saw some of this chaos in "WandaVision," and we're seeing more in TFatWS. It's a realistic approach because, like, yeah, people being gone for several years, presumed forever missing then suddenly reappearing out of thin air is pretty extreme. Not to mention, those who returned didn't always find their loved ones and friends waiting for them (i.e. Monica's mother died during the Blip)

Flag Smasher

Not much to say here other than we have a new villain to watch out for who clearly has superhuman abilities. The cause that his group stands for threatens to make things even worse post-Blip than they already are, and geez, give people a break already! But you always have fanatics that will terrorize others for a cause.

Captain America 2.0

Who is this random white boy and why is he the new Captain America? I know who he is from the comics but that doesn't make it any better. It just makes it worse! This guy's going to be a disaster, clearly.

Sam realized at that moment he fucked up by giving the shield away, but this can only mean he'll find a way to retrieve and -- hopefully -- take up the Captain America mantle. Captain Falcon? Captain America Falcon? Captain Falcon America? I suppose you can have fun with that.