#this will likely end up being my s5 review

[bonivers]

s5 of tvd was like the showrunners were like fuck how can we capitalize on dobsley chemistry now that we broke up stelena in s4. oh i know, MORE doppelgängers. and steferine bc fuck it why not

[azure-firecracker]

The X-Files Season 1 Review (First-Time Watcher)

(Any fans-please come talk to me about the show and send me asks-I’m obsessed!)

It did not take long for me to realize that this was going to become my newest hyperfixation show. It has everything I love in my shows-a strong focus on its main characters, campy sci-fi monsters mixed with some genuine creepiness, slow burn romance, banter. In short, it’s the perfect show for me. I was basically hooked right away.

Like all first seasons, it was pretty clear that the show was still finding its footing. There were some clunky bits to iron out and the show definitely found its vibe more and more as it went along. I would say it began getting overall more consistent around episode 10 (with individual exceptions before and after that).

In terms of episodes, I enjoyed almost all the episodes of this season even though I would only call a couple stellar. Most episodes were fun or at least had fun moments, and the banter between Mulder and Scully (what’s their ship name?) is enough to keep me going through even the clunkiest and cringiest plots.

Speaking of Mulder and Scully, it’s rare that a show can make me love two characters so equally but I really do. Although Scully is much more in line with my usual favorite characters (she is my special girl and I will do anything for her), I also have a special place in my heart for Mulder’s neurodivergent traumatized puppy energy. Of course they really go together so it’s natural that I love them both.

The only weighty criticism I have for this season is that I feel Mulder gets more spotlight moments than Scully. Not egregiously, but it feels like he’s usually the one in the final fight, seeing the aliens, figuring it out, etc. I do know that they were trying to break gender roles by making Scully the skeptic, but given that the aliens are so real…here at least she often came off as oblivious and she sometimes felt like she was tagging along on Mulder’s quests. Which SUCKS! Because I LOVE HER and she could be SO USEFUL if the writers LET HER. This is why I really loved the moments where she got to step up. Veteran viewers…want to tell me if this gets better?

That criticism aside, I could watch these two fight monsters for days, and I know the S2-S5/6 stretch is considered the show’s best, so I’m looking forward to that.

Individual episode reviews under the cut.

Pilot: Fantastic introduction! It did a great job establishing the characters and their dynamic pretty seamlessly, as well as introducing the alien lore in a way that we could digest. It wasn’t perfect and the story was a bit clunky at times, but it got me hooked and did its job well. I also liked Scully being the audience surrogate here. 8/10

Deep Throat: This episode really solidified the dynamic introduced in the pilot, and is packed with great character moments. It gets a HUGE boost from Scully exchanging the guard to rescue Mulder at the end. I mentioned living for the moments when Scully gets to step up, but I think it was necessary to put this moment so early. Because Scully is new to the X-Files and also clearly wrong about aliens, it was necessary to show us that she had a lot to bring to the table and that Mulder needs her. Also a special shoutout to Seth Green as a stoner. 9.5/10

Squeeze: A very fun monster of the week episode, slightly reminiscent of BtVS. Decently creepy with that 90s horror/sci-fi vibe we all love. Plus lots of great Mulder/Scully moments. (Also, despite my complaints about Scully being underutilized, I enjoyed Mulder saving Scully at the end. Rescuing one another from mortal peril is actually my favorite trope, as long as it’s balanced. In that regard, this season has been). 8/10

Conduit: Honestly this episode was a little slow for me, I felt like the pacing could have been better. I had a hard time staying interested. Also it was hilarious that this was supposed to be Iowa because Iowa does not have mountains like that. It gets a boost from the ending scene which in itself is a 100/10. 6/10

The Jersey Devil: Now this is campier and goofier than suits the show, and I feel like they realized that soon after this. The Mulder/Scully banter still made this a good time, but it wasn’t great. Also not helped by the fact that everything happened during the day (the only time in this show where the lighting was too bright) and the Jersey Devil looked like a normal person with some dust on her. 6/10

Shadows: I found the mystery of this one quite engaging. Back with those 90s horror vibes we love, and it kept me guessing right up until the agents figured it out. Negative points for the lack of Mulder/Scully banter though. 7/10

Ghost in the Machine: Was this cheesy? Yes. Was it objectively good? No. Did I enjoy it anyway? Yes. Who doesn’t love a killer computer? Also Scully crawling out of the vents was badass af. Objectively like a 6/10 but 7/10 for my personal enjoyment.

Ice: Now THIS was the stuff. An objectively great episode of television. The tension, the paranoia, the fallout, seeing what our leads do under that kind of stress…brilliant. (Although my dad the geologist couldn’t help but point out that there is no ice sheet in Alaska). Very tempted to write an alternate version where Mulder actually is infected and Scully has to find a cure before the others kill him. That would’ve been interesting. Anyway 10/10

Space: Apparently people don’t like this episode but I enjoyed it. It had a ticking time bomb feel that I quite enjoyed. Also Mulder’s space nerdiness was adorable. 8/10

Fallen Angel: Similar to Conduit, this episode felt rather slow to me despite the fact that there was a lot happening. It just sort of failed to hook me, which is a rarity for this show. 6/10

Eve: This was FUN! I love when we get to unravel the mystery along with the agents and the plot twists definitely kept me guessing. Props to the child actors who did a great job. I did get thrown off by the many parallels to Stranger Things-even though this obviously came out first. 8/10

Fire: Once I got over my anger at sharing a name with Mulder’s horrendous ex, I liked this one. Both Mulder and Scully got good character moments here, with Mulder trying to shield Scully from all his drama and also showing one of his flaws-he’s susceptible to manipulation. Scully, conversely, was really the MVP of this episode and carried the investigation on her back. Also props to our bad guy of the week-great job being creepy! 7.5/10

Beyond the Sea: Immaculate. Probably my favorite episode of the season. Scully burying her grief in work and Mulder being gentler with her than he’s ever been. Scully’s family lore reveal. Both of them going toe to toe with this killer (forgot his name) and not knowing what to believe. Mulder getting shot and Scully getting FURIOUS. Scully’s complicated relationship forming with this killer while she also thinks about her father (rather reminiscent of Silence of the Lambs). Cinema. 10/10

Genderbender: So we have gender switching aliens who kill people…I’ll give the show overall a pass since it’s 1994 but I will not be revisiting this one. Extra points for Mulder yelling GET OFF OF HER at the guy who’s working his weird magic on Scully. Minus points for him blaming her for it after. 2.5/10

Lazarus: So we got panicked Scully 2 episodes ago and now we get panicked Mulder and it is GLORIOUS. I also found all 3 side characters-Scully’s ex as well as both criminals, interesting, especially as Scully’s ex began to mix with the bad guy. Minus points for not shooting the bank robber until after he started shooting up a room full of civilians, extra points for Mulder being great this entire episode. 9/10

Young at Heart: Episodes with creepy killers are always my favorite, and I loved seeing Mulder get toyed with. Reverse aging science…eh it’s not the main point. Minus points for the worst plan ever (let’s invite the killer into a crowded area and let him shoot at Scully even though apparently her bulletproof vest barely saved her), but extra points for Mulder angst. This man has so much guilt. 9/10

E.B.E: Honestly the plot of this one wasn’t super interesting but that’s not what we’re here for is it? Every Mulder and Deep Throat interaction? Perfect. Scully’s little « the truth is out there, but so are lies » speech? Immaculate. The ending where Deep Throat reveals his backstory and Mulder says « I’m trying to decide which lie to believe? » Cinema. 9.5/10

Miracle Man: A bit of a letdown after such a strong streak, but still solid. Pretty good! And I admired that they had the guts to kill the kid too. 6.5/10

Shapes: Another fun 90s horror episode, HEAVY on the BtVS vibes. And it actually dealt with all of the Native American issues better than I thought it would! Not necessarily well in every aspect, but I was expecting much worse considering Genderbender. 7.5/10

Darkness Falls: Y’all this was GOOD! I loved the sense of impending doom that was just present the whole time, and the melancholic feel of the entire thing. Minus points for the anti-environmentalist sentiments and for the blatant plot armor at the end (they really should have died…but then there wouldn’t be a show). 9/10

Tooms: While Tooms being let out on parole was a bit of a stretch, I enjoyed seeing Mulder stretched to his limit. He’s a good character to do that with. Tooms was an even better villain here than in Squeeze imo, because his craftiness really got to shine through. Huge bonus points for the scene in the car. « Mulder, I wouldn’t put myself on the line for anybody but you. » I’M DEAD. 8.5/10

Born Again: The most memorable parts of this episode for me were the thick fake New York accents and the fact that the kid was named Michelle so I kept quoting Derry Girls in my terrible fake Derry accent the whole time. 5/10

Roland: This was the only episode I hated. I could barely get through any Roland scenes-I thought the autism portrayal was clunky and unnecessary and I just don’t want to watch autistic people suffer. It pained me. There wasn’t even any Mulder/Scully banter to salvage it. In fact, it seemed they were barely in the episode at all. It gets half a point because Scully looked really pretty this episode. 0.5/10

The Erlenmeyer Flask: Now this was GOOD STUFF. I feel like since we know the aliens are there and there’s less mystery, alien-focused episodes so far have been slower and I’ve liked them less but THIS kept the pace up and the mystery going throughout. I was fully hooked. I was also WORRIED for Mulder at the end-I thought we were getting a season cliffhanger! And those chemical burns looked BAD. And I DID NOT expect Deep Throat to die OR for them to get shut down. Where the heck are they gonna go from here? I love it. My favorite thing about this episode was really getting back into Scully’s headspace for the last 10 minutes or so. With some exceptions, I feel like a lot of the season has been shown through Mulder’s eyes (part of my gripe from earlier), but the pilot was 100% Scully and circling back to her here felt right. I also liked that she had to do another hostage exchange-a parallel to the first time she really showed why Mulder needs her. So much to love here. 10/10

Idk how many txf fans I have here aside from my one post that made the rounds, but if you’re here congratulations for making it through my essay! Let me know if you’d like any more thoughts/analyses, and if you’d like shorter, episodic posts when it comes time for Season 2:)

[self-spaghettification]

Looks like we’re getting a lot of crazy things in 6x05

which,

1. Considering the potential title “Moonless Night”, 6x05 will possibly be including Rayla being hurt or moon being otherwise metaphorically swallowed, (paralleling s3 swallowing/corruption of the sun’s power),

2. Considering episode 5 follows an episode titled “The Starscraper,” in 6x05 Aaravos is potentially freed at the end of 4 or during 5 and potentially possesses Callum which will lead to all sorts of trouble

3. Considering the connection of a scene between soren and viren with “until 6x05” and all the hints that the most impactful scenes between soren and viren were yet to come…. it seems likely that in 6x05 Soren and Viren will have a very emotionally charged moment together, also possibly with Claudia. Maybe with a confrontation of some kind, also involving the moon?

Let’s delve into this more though—As this potential title has ignited a spark to finally set ablaze and reveal the idea that has been percolating in my mind for months.

Moonless Night (and Why I Believe the Moon is Metaphorically Going to Be Swallowed) A S6 Speculative Meta

with arc1-arc2 parallels, norse mythology examination, reflections analysis and more

As far as I can see, the clue most directly points to Moonless Night. (Edit: which ended up being right!) And there are other reasons I’m on board.

I already went insane over this so let’s get started

A. S3-S6 Parallels

So, I’m a big fan of across arc season parallels as they’ve existed very overtly S1-S4 from the first moment, as well as some other things which in many ways are setup and reestablishment of dynamics (Rayla hesitating and breaking from her duty twice to help/see Callum instead, Harrow and Ezran respectively attempt to break free from the past but they have to acknowledge it, etc) as well as persistently in S2-S5:

and, it seems, *possibly* S3 to S6–

1. If we get another plot against Ezran that’s not a joke (as it is in s4 and many throwaway lines and jokes in tdp come back to bite us)—+“This coming season will test Ezran's pacifist instincts”

2. If Viren returns, something like this—

in contrast to the “I’m sorry it had to happen this way”/“No you’re not.”/“No, I’m not.” because Viren cannot doubt Ezran would be genuinely sorry

Viren would say I know because he gets it now, the new hesitant, less certain version who also feels bad for all he has done, but he wouldn’t have before.

SO… 3. If the Moon were to get metaphorically/literally swallowed on some level in S6, it would parallel 3x07, Hearts of Cinder.

Corruption via Aaravos’s…child.

which, coincidently, brings me to my next point!

B. Norse Mythology

I’ve briefly discussed this before here, but let’s review:

Aaravos’s similarities to Loki

Source: Twitter

But while we’re on Loki’s similarities to Aaravos, let’s consider what his other children are up to during Ragnarok, the end of the world in Norse Mythology, which seems fitting considering all the foreshadowing of what chaos Aaravos has wreaked in the past (Xadia) and present (Lux Aurea) and even future (ominous wording in the reflections) when given the chance.

Loki’s children during Ragnarok:

World Serpent — rises up from the depths, encircles the world and causes great waves and destruction (“The seas churned” 👀)

Hel — From the underworld, “leading an army of the dead, she marches against the gods, uniting with her brothers and other forces of chaos. This culminating battle signifies the cyclical nature of Norse myths; an end that's also a beginning.” [1] Speaking of which, sounds familiar, right? In Ripples:

“While one may say it ends with a sunrise, [beginning] another will insist it ends at nightfall. [end]”

“With its impact came a long and terrible night: The earth bled! The seas churned! The sun and moon hid for weeks behind the sky’s screaming storm!”

“And when the long, dark night had finally passed—for the sun must always rise, mustn’t it?—they gazed out upon an unfamiliar landscape.”

Fenrir— He was gagged with a sword and was destined to lie bound to a rock until the Ragnarök (Doomsday), when he will break his bonds and fall upon the gods. According to one version of the myth, Fenrir will devour the sun, and in the Ragnarök he will fight against the chief god Odin and swallow him. [2]

It’s interesting how Fenrir has even more parallels than Loki to Aaravos here. Trapped by a blade, chained against rocks like Prometheus (one of Aaravos’s primary inspirations) was when his liver (modern heart) was eaten every day, and when he’s freed all hell breaks loose, including swallowing people (see Zym and Aditi) and the sun. But was it him with the sun? Or…..

There’s something there about killing a god and being killed in return and making the stars fall and all the damage Claudia has suffered thus far, but anyway.

That’s right, Fenrir has two children, one who swallows the sun, and one who swallows the moon. During Ragnarok, while, also, the sea shakes. Ahem, back to this:

“With its impact came a long and terrible night: The earth bled! The seas churned! The sun and moon hid for weeks behind the sky’s screaming storm!”

So… earth blood?

Check… churning seas?

World Serpent — rises up from the depths, encircles the world and causes great waves and destruction

Check… sun and moon gone?

Check.

So, what do we do with this information?

C. Interpretation

So Aaravos with two children, one who swallows the sun, one the moon.

Swallowing the Moon

-Involving a Child

1. Most literally: Aaravos has that… homonculus child, which takes and poisons the power of the sun. Maybe we’re getting another of those? I’m honestly scared for what that actually means like is he having another kid for that because 😭

2. What I favor- a metaphor— If you can consider Claudia Aaravos’s child, well, child in law isn’t that far off for the sake of this theory I think it’s possible they team up and somehow metaphorically swallow the moon like Viren and Aaravos did in S3. ….Just taking the moon, corrupting it and using its power— like they did with the Sunfire power— to make troops invisible in their effort to conquer xadia part two (2!) (although this is probably like the nth time that Aaravos has attempted his plan.)

-not involving a child

3. it could also just be disrupting the moon nexus in some way. Aaravos tends to break reflections in one way or another, from mirrors to ripples.

in Ripples he talks about how he dislikes how the stars look down on their perfect reflection (the sea of cast out)

@parroset has written an excellent meta elaborating further on it here, but essentially, he breaks reflections. A reflection is key to the moon nexus, that lake is the moon nexus because it so perfectly reflects the moon. So… there’s something to that. And it would have to come in handy manipulating the veil between life and death.

4. Taking Luna Tenebris’s power in a flashback.

I’ve talked about why I think we’re finally getting Luna Tenebris content before here, but essentially we already got all the dragons in the 4 corners of the map via flashback or interaction, and now only she is left. A flashback on what really went down that day would be perfectly in line with us learning more about Aaravos’s past, perhaps interaction with Kim'dael as well as, hopefully, blood magic—and dark, star, and deep magic. It also fits in with swallowing the moon’s power, as she was a Moon Archdragon. Moonless night. This also ties back to the blood moon cult because they harvest the power of the moon to begin with.

Last but not least and most obvious and exciting to many,

5. Rayla= “Moon girlfriend.” Callum is already being targeted, and likely some terrible thing is going to happen to him up with the rating being up, creators crying over this episode and calling it “heartbreaking” and all of that, so swallowing the moon could be symbolism for her dying or something equally terrible (so he’s forced to exploit dark magic/Aaravos to save her.)

This also ties back to this being the episode following the star scraper and the theory that Callum is a Trojan horse and, once he’s there, all the shit is going down. Maybe Rayla gets in the way and tries to sacrifice herself. I wouldn’t be surprised. or maybe it’s an intentional harm so that Callum has to bring her back… who knows?

It is for you to think about as you see fit.

@beautifulterriblequeen also wrote about other possibilities for the Moonless night here!

D. Symbolism & Misc.

Now let’s talk about the other symbolic evidence pointing to the swallowing of the moon.

The first thing that got me hooked on this theory was actually this page, which we see Viren flipping through, and then in Callum’s sketchbook.

I already analyzed the markings surrounding Aaravos’s signature symbol, but I also found the eclipse and crescent moon especially interesting considering how important the eclipse motif has been in the series and uniquely tied to Aaravos.

Thus far I figured the moon also had to be significant right it also almost seemed to me as if both the sun and moon had a bite taken out of them.

Then, we have the Reflections.

After Darkness

“The writhing, tainted darkness of Lux Aurea’s night sky spread infinitely above him, the stars all swallowed up inside it.”

Ripples

“While one may say it ends with a sunrise, another will insist it ends at nightfall. ” (swallowed sun) (falling stars)

“With its impact came a long and terrible night/And in that endless dark the humans despaired. The humans huddled together, scarcely daring to breathe, awaiting the rise of the sun.”

which, side note- sol regem saying the sun will never rise again for me, karim saying the sun is setting on their kingdom, and aaravos telling viren that the sun will rise and he will not like augh.

Then there’s the more literal interpretations of swallowing the moon and or sun along with the stars - Consider

1, Aaravos is giant

2, Star eating sword

3, Star devourer dragons

And, let’s go back to the crescent.

Waxing Crescents are associated with growing power, which would also be fitting for Aaravos gaining power, possibly a literal powerup.

Let’s also consider what new moons mean- considering the possible name, moonless night, and all the swallowing of the moon, and starting a new cycle, new moons are certainly significant, right? Moonless night- A fresh start. Could be something!

In summary, I believe the moon will be metaphorically swallowed in S6 in one way or another.

I hope you enjoyed, and thank you for reading my thoughts! Please feel free to share any insights or reactions of your own!

[colorful-horses]

My review of Miraculous Ladybug S5 so far is that it has a lot of scenes that I like in theory, but in action just end up being very silly and way over dramatic

[bronx-bomber87]

Good Morning! Super excited for these next set of eps to review.

We’ve reached the iconic and pivotal DOD eps. I’m nervously excited to review these. I want to do them justice. They are momentous for not just Chenford but the entire series. Rosalind Dyer is one of my fav recurring baddies. I loved Annie from Castle as well. Was psyched she would be joining The Rookie. This was a rare one where I got to use all the gifs I wanted to. Yay. Kid in a Chenford candy store haha Thank you to all the wonderful gif makers out there. You are the real MVP's. Let’s get this started :)

2x10 The Dark Side

We start with Lucy and the guys out for a post work drink. Armstrong is there as well. They’re talking about Jackson dating a celebrity. Asking how that is? Lucy says they’re happy if he’s happy. Nick calls her bluff and says ‘Liar.’ LMAO Lucy cracks and says men suck ha They sure can. That the single men in LA suck. That whenever they find out she’s a cop they freak out. (To touch on not dating a cop bit. It is only a mistake when it’s not Tim. Let’s be real.) Especially while she's still a rookie just not a good idea (cough Nolan cough) He was never a good decision though....not even a little bit. I'll die on that hill haha

Armstrong joins the convo and comes in with some solid advice. ‘Those aren’t men they’re boys. Real men are not afraid of a strong woman.’ Your real man just isn’t ready yet my dear. Nor are you. I really love this scene though. I enjoyed Nick a lot as a character. Poor Lucy she goes on her 'Sister Officer Lucy Chen' rant ha Classic. Oh the irony of this convo. In S5 she definitely isn't in a nunnery anymore heh. That is quite awhile away from this point though. Have to note how pretty she looks in this scene. Her outfit is simple but she looks stunning.

Lucy leaves the table to get another round. That’s when Lucy runs into Caleb….really unfortunate that’s his name. That’s my BIL's name haha He seems normal enough with his flirting with Lucy. Both of them being ignored for another drink by the bartender. He's making her laugh and appearing nice and kind. Ugh run Lucy run…Their moment gets interrupted by Lucy noticing a guy stealing tips. She walks away from the convo and apologizes. End ups arresting the thief. The way she takes him down is bad ass I have to say. (Tim would be proud) Says 'Surprise I’m a cop’ haha

Roll call comes around and they find out about Rosalind Dyer. A rare unicorn in their world. A female serial killer. She’s agreed to show them the 3 bodies that were never found. In exchange she gets life with no parole instead of the death penalty. Everyone’s day is now centered around this. Tim and Lucy discuss her past murders. Lucy telling Tim she was in college when they found the first victims.

That it was all anyone could talk about, wondering how a woman could be so barbaric? Tim shares his own story about it. How he worked a scene for the 4th victim. That he was advised not to look at the body. How he wish he hadn’t… The hindsight of watching this scene unfold right before they run into Caleb. It’s bone chilling to think about. Their convo being framed around this before he shows up.

Caleb shows up and Tim is immediately suspicious and does not like this guy. His face has me rolling the entire time. Gives Caleb a hard time about the word 'Perp'. His facial expressions I can not LOL Now part of this reaction is his cop gut. I truly believe that. Not trusting whoever this guy is for Lucy. His default is suspicion. The fierce protector coming out to play in this scene.

I think the rest of his reaction is him just not liking this guy being interested in Lucy. Jealously thy name is Timothy Bradford. Its seeping out of him and he can't stop himself. He's completely forgotten he's dating one of her closest friends in this moment. Written all over his face how territorial he’s being right now. I always love me some protective/jealous Tim. This scene and honestly this entire episode is full of that.

Lucy’s face is screaming ‘chill out’ the entire interaction. She's basically scolding him with her eyes above. They have a mini silent conversation with their eyes before the scene continues. If that isn't the most married look they've had so far. I love it so much. He definitely looks reprimanded in that second gif above. Tim is as transparent as person can be in this scene. Not even trying to hide it a little bit. Caleb has shown up and Tim's guard and protective nature are out in full force. Doesn't like this guy just showing up and sniffing around at all.

Caleb is clearly nervous around Tim (as he should be..) It's too funny he keeps trying regardless to talk to Lucy. Tim deftly snags the paper out of the air. She didn't have a chance of grabbing it. Caleb has to sense how much Tim doesn't want him here. He could not be less welcoming of this man. Tim reads the paper and he asks if Caleb has a last name LOL He says Wright. The irony of that last name...

I doubt our boy even knows why he’s reacting this way to Caleb. Only that he is and very strongly at that. All his feelings when it comes to Lucy are muddled and confusing for him. Yet he acts on them anyway. From the moment this guy showed up the green eyed monster was present. Tim continues to grill him. He asks what he does for a living? Says if it’s a screenwriter he’s going in a cell. He really hates screenwriters haha A theme through out the show for him.

Eric’s facial expressions during this entire scene truly is perfection. Look at the way he looks at Caleb as he leaves. If looks could kill he would be a dead man. Also you can see the mask on Caleb drop when he turns away from them (shudder). The immense distrust written all over Tim's rigid body language. You'd have to be blind not to see it. Both of their faces above are a summary of the entire scene. Lucy is happy to have caught the eye of a 'decent' guy. Tim doesn't trust this guy as far as he can throw him.

Tim doesn’t even think he’s done anything wrong till he turns around and sees her face. Kudos to Melissa for the great reaction. He says 'What?' All innocent like he didn't just drag that guy through the mud. Treat him like a criminal they deal with on the daily. She is so affronted and honestly confused as hell with his reaction. Her face basically saying 'What the hell was that?'

From the moment Caleb shows up to the moment he leaves Tim is NOT pleased with his presence. Lucy is truly confused as to why he is acting this way. She can’t put together why he was trying to kill that entire interaction. We all know Lucy included (deep down) this was jealously thorough and through. But she chalks it up to him being stressed about how crazy everything is right now. Sure that’s it Lucy…She demands the paper back with just her face and outreached hand. Tim is shocked she wants the number of this doofus. He relents and unwillingly hands it back to her. Almost rolling his eyes as he does so.

They’re driving in a caravan to the first burial site. Lucy is looking at Calebs online profile in the car. Tim snaps at her to focus. That this is going to be most dangerous day she’s ever going to spend on the job. Oh the weight of that comment when you know these eps….They both have no idea how true that’s going to be. Might seem like he’s mad when really he’s protecting her by getting her to focus. It’s his way of doing it. I also think it's a little frustration bleeding over from the whole Caleb thing. Not that he's going to put that together right now. Hell doesn't even realize how territorial and jealous he just was.

We rejoin Tim and Lucy once they arrive at the first spot. They're talking about Rosalind during this 'Hike' to find the remaining bodies. Tim asks if she’s less scary in the light of day? Lucy tells him no…but mentions how smart she must be. To have gotten away with this for so long undetected. Lucy smartly mentions there’s a play here they’re not seeing.

Tim tells her it’s just to jerk them around. Oh my love it is far more than that. Lucy is so sharp to observe this hike has to be more than just her deal. She is proven right when they find a fresher body in one of the grave sites with the old one. It’s obvious she has a partner on the outside they just don’t know who…

Lucy is looking at Caleb’s “profile” again. Watching a video of him with a puppy. Jealous/Protective Tim makes his next appearance. Could not be more obvious if he tried. Not a fan of her being enamored by this guy. He makes a snide remark saying I bet that’s not even his puppy. It’s scary how spot on he was with Caleb the entire time. It’s mainly from jealously and being protective of her, but it’s frightening how dead on his cop gut was. He turned out to right about everything with him.

Lucy naturally gives him push back and says she just wants to enjoy a cute puppy. That it’s been an awful day. Can't she just do that? Jealous Tim won't agree with her. So he is a little shit and says 'This your first decomp right? ' Watching her face go from happy to grossed out LOL Oh Tim. He knows how bad this smell is going to be for her and is enjoying it haha The way she follows after him is too funny. Melissa is also amazing at expressing so much as well.

The eerie part of this scene is it’s them being the ones to discover the DOD tattoo… There are so many forewarnings in this episode for her. For them. Literally smacking us in the face with them. That could’ve been her if things had gone wrong... Ugh my heart. They find out the newer victim was suffocated…What an awful way to die. I’m asthmatic and it gives me a pre-asthma attack just thinking about it.

A light hearted part of this scene is once again the lack of personal space. Ah personal space. They don't know her and never will. We're all ok with this notion. Nolan ends up getting Rosalind to lead them to the second site. They find a new body in it with a DOD Tattoo. The freshest one yet. They realize it’s every three months. That 12/09/19 is the the next DOD. John notes it’s 12/08 they have a day to find the next victim.

Tim and Lucy join Armstrong at the jail to search Rosalind cell once again. Trying to find some connection. A way her and this person have been communicating. Nick asks where her books are and they say they sent them back. He asks for every book she's read in the last 6 months.

They’re searching all the books and of course Lucy is the one to crack the code. I love it. Finds something in the binding. Its a coded piece of paper. She figures out the cypher fairly quickly. You know Tim loves how damn smart she is. He’s impressed. She figures out a name from the code. My girl. Bryan Coleman. Funny that doesn’t sound like Caleb Wright….

Harper and Nolan end up saving the next girl. They find out he’s been using the old abandoned zoo as his staging ground. What kills me is them saving her condemns Lucy. They stopped him from scratching that sick itch. Grey tells them all to go home and rest. Lucy spins around and tells Tim she’s just going to go home and crash.

Tim tells her that’s a mistake and gives her the advice that will haunt him in the next episode. Hell for quite awhile if I’m being honest. He will carry this moment with him for a long time. Says after a hardcore assignment she needs to blow off some steam. Find a way to decompress. If she doesn’t she’ll never get any sleep.

Lucy is super cute asking if he's really telling her to go get a drink instead? He tells her yes. Preferably a strong one even with another human being. We all know who that human being is going to be….Side note I adore the fact that he always opens the door for her. Doesn't even realize he's doing that. Just does it out of habit. Her real man standing right in front of her but it is far too early for that hehe

Literally makes me sick to watch her scene with Caleb. My skin crawls knowing where it’s headed. He took advantage of Lucy with her guard down. Her cop eyes we're retired for the night. Just trying to decompress. We go back to the station where Grey tells John and Nick they found a body at the old zoo. Bryan Coleman. Which can only mean one thing as we go back to Lucy. That Caleb is the apprentice….

She goes from giggly and relaxed to sheer terror in a matter of moments. He drugged her and Lucy is slowly realizing the situation she is now in. He also snags her phone before she can use it. Sadly she is over powered easily due the drug he gave her. Then sticks her in the trunk of his car. The ep ends there.

It’s a crazy stressful two-parter. So damn good though. I remember when this first premiered how hard it was to wait for the next episode. I’m pre emotional just thinking about analyzing the next episode. Can’t wait to do it though.

~~~~

Side Notes-Non Chenford

Wopez good scenes not many but really good. Wes clearing not handling his post traumatic stress well. Mixing his prescription with alcohol. Angela coming home asking if he was trying to kill himself. He says I don’t know… Not a great answer bud.

The whole Rosalind SL. It’s so dark but so good. Getting a deeper look into Nick and seeing some chinks in his armor. What he sacrificed to catch her. It’s very good. I enjoyed his character a lot and getting more depth with him as well.

Thank you as always to those that like/comment/reblog these reviews. It’s means the world to me. I love doing these and they take time to assemble. But they’re so worth doing to enjoy this rewatch together. I’m also enjoying the hell out of analyzing these eps and our beloved couple. I’ll see you all in 2x11 :)

[ilikekidsshows]

You're not wrong about the fandom being not safe for people who has trauma or abuse victim, I've seen times and times again that Adrien being obedient and have no dream is proof that he's a sentimonster. What about me the? Even as an adult I still don't know what I want to do, what I want to be, I obey whatever my parents want me to do, am I a sentimonster then? I'm not human enough because my mind has been indoctrinated since I was young to always obey them??

Adrien want to be anything Marinette's want is cute! Adrien almost cataclysm Kim for prank that he did to Marinette that happened years prior is so romantic! Adrien being Marinette' therapist is so cool! Adrien disregarding his own feeling for Marinette is cool! Marinette trying to keep Cat in the team even though she need to manipulate him into revealing his identity to someone else is clever! ...those are some among other things that keep me second guessed myself and I'm not even someone who would usually be critical when I watch something and it still feels wrong. But the fandom keep telling me, the end justify the means. Marinette is care for Adrien so it's ok as long as he didn't know.

Do you think Marinette properly utilizes girl power when she treats Cat Noir as less than a person? The showrunners and the people supporting them sure do.

No, I dont. For me girl power is about "Girls can be a hero just like boys do" it's not about girls is better than boys and boys should just do whatever the girls want them to do like the show trying to say.

I grow up watching a lot of magical girl show and none of them actually ever treat the love interest as less than a person. The love interest grow along with those girls, they're never treated as less than those girls.

To be honest, the reason why I decided to watch Miraculous is because it has similar element with anime that I love, Shugo Chara.

>small fae like being that grant theim power to transform

>traumatized cat boy with his step father being the villain and also the love interest

>the "choosen one" girl

The fact that the PV make it seems like Cat Noir is an anti hero or morally grey character which is sounds like Shugo Chara cat boy, Ikuto, sold me to this show. I don't follow the update of the show, so when I watched it in the middle of s3 I thought the plot for Cat Noir is still the same but after I binge watching from season 1, I find that I don't mind the change from the PV Cat noir to Adrien since it still intrigue me. S2 is pretty hard to watch since that's when the secrets started. But like the fandom said "it will get better" and you know, I believe it. S3 come and... It become harder but surely now Ladybug become Guardian she'll let Cat in, right? It's not happen, it's never happen and s4 just frustrated me to no end and I stopped watching then, only following the course through some people review because I still hope something will get better. It's not.

I was hoping Adrien will get similar ending with Ikuto in Shugo Chara, that he got to confront the people who hurt him and fight along with others because that's how it should be right? Ikuto's stepfather is the villain, he used and even later brainwashed Ikuto to do villainy thing (even worse than what he did at the start) and he deserve to confront the man and fight for his freedom, which he did and he get the freedom that he want.

But what I saw from other review is not even close with what I imagined. Instead he was absent from the final battle and not even know that his father was the villain all along, worse because Ladybug said his father is a hero who help her fight the big bad and I couldn't help but to think just what the fuck is this show doing. (Sorry for language) And fandom actually praise Marinette action because? Apparently it's so selfless of her to be the matyr for someone she loves, it's romantic, it's cute and that it. I'm glad I don't watch s5 because if Kuro neko already make my anxiety skyrocketed, I don't know if I'm still sane after watching s5.

I don't think miraculous is all about girl power or the power of love is so strong. It's all about girl in power with the boy is... just the boy.

M sorry for the long post and the rant. This will be my last ask, I promise! Once again, thank you for all the validation and answer you provide me. Youre really a saviour for my mental health! Please take care.

~anon who got frustrated about Ladybug line in Kuro neko but is now enlightened and feel better than ever.

Thank you for sharing, Anon. And no worries about the cussing, I do it plenty.

Miraculous' version of girl power is one where everyone else gets put down in favor of elevating the wish fulfilment protagonist. It's the most prominent with Adrien, since he is supposed to be, according to merch, promotional materials, the show's title and the setting's structure, a main character, but everyone else is useless as well outside of supporting Marinette in doing the most important part of any battle. And she's also the only one to ever get any praise for saving the day.

Anime in general seems to do this sort of thing better than Miraculous (I think any show I've seen that does something Miraculous does has done it better). In Sailor Moon, the love interest Tuxedo Mask mostly provides Sailor Moon emotional support and distracts the enemy so that she can pick herself up and lauch a purifying attack. He is clearly playing second fiddle in combat. But, Mamoru is allowed to have aspirations outside of pleasing Usagi. He's even allowed to criticize Usagi when she does something wrong instead of the show going all "how dare you, a man, have emotions and opinions that don't comply with our female protagonist's desires!" Also, Usagi actually vocally appreciates Tuxedo Mask's help, he never has to question whether or not she does, and Usagi doesn't alone get all the glory. There's no Sailor Moon episode where Santa Claus himself declares Usagi the "nicest child in the world".

I've said this before, but it bears repeating: even the notoriously sexist battle shounen genre is more respectful of its love interest characters than Miraculous is of Adrien. They have a lot of agency in the romances, often even being the party that actively pursues a romantic relationship with the lead. And those shows don't go "how dare you only like this one part of the hero, you should like this part instead" on the love interest before they let the couples get together.

[raayllum]

1 - favorite fic you wrote this year. 3 - favorite line/scene you wrote this year. 12 - favorite character to write about this year. 14 - a fic you didn’t expect to write. 21 - most memorable comment/review. And 24 - favorite fic you read this year.

I have no precision on fandom or fic... You are free to choose which fandom. Thus, you may make us discover other universes.

1) favourite fic you wrote this year

Looked through and discovered that I wrote 20 fics this year, which is wild, even if the majority are oneshots so... certainly have my pick an picks for various reasons!

These are the ones, probably:

This Fall Might Just Kill Me is 10.2k of Callum trying and failing to get purified, post-S4, and was one of my favourites and one I return to pretty often for a personal re-read. Very Callum/Rayla centric, some magic worldbuilding, and lots of devotion. Oneshot

Twice as Many Stars is 8.7k of Sir Sparklepuff is an existential horror story, the fic, featuring more religious trauma allegory than expected. Also a oneshot

Teach Me How to Name the Bigger Light a fanon s6 currently of 5 out of roughly 26-30ish chapters, and at 41k and counting. Main characters are Callum, Ezran, Rayla, and Claudia in about that order. It's a lot of fun, and a lot of angst

3) favourite line/scene this year

"If it's not you, it's not anyone" has one of my favourite love / Rayllum confessions I've ever written. I also loved this line from a (now non canon) fic regarding Kpp'Ar's feelings on Callum/people "There are many ways to mend broken things, if you can". I deeply enjoyed Callum threatening Nyx over Rayla's safety in this pre-S5 fic and this piece of description as well: "Callum knelt down in front of her, her cheeks heating as he reached up and pried the shawl away again, looking at the way the scar crept over her shoulder like dark ivy" + this Rayllum passage from "this fall just might kill me" (edit in the link):

“It’s because if I die,” he said, squeezing her hands. “I want you to be the last thing I ever see. And you are good enough, Rayla. You are . I don’t care if you destroy me. I don't care if we make each other better or worse or both. I love you. I’ll fall for you every time. I’ll choose to, I’ll choose you, every time.” 

I also really enjoyed writing Callum and Lujanne in "older but just never wiser" because it was interesting to revisit their dynamic now that well, Callum is older, powerful, and much more jaded/angry.

Drabbles wise this Rayllum one has one of my favourite metaphoric uses I've ever been able to pull off and I always love 1) writing messy Ezran and 2) Ezran being a little done with his brother's less than favourable methods, so this one for Ezran's "underhanded" comment for sure

But if I had to pick a singular exchange fic wise, it is of course the end of the Callum and Ezran fight from Ch4 of fanon s6, because it was a line that hurt me so much I was sad the rest of the day, and I also thought of it before writing a decent chunk of the boys' argument, so making sure it felt earned and hit the way I wanted to was very fun if also angsty. I apologize in advance lmao:

Only this time Callum scoffed, peeling away, his green eyes glinting. “Yeah, right.”  “I am your king and I forbid you—” “You don’t get to forbid me from doing anything because guess what?” A manic gleam overtook his brother’s face. “I don’t fucking care what you think, nevermind what you fucking decree. I’m freeing Runaan, and that’s final.”  “Then you can do it without my help,” Ezran said with a ragged breath. “Because I am not giving you my seal.”  Callum stared at him with cold eyes. “Dad would be so disappointed in you.” But this time Ezran was ready for the blow, as he said, “Well at least I called him Dad."

A shameless plug OG fantasy world wise was definitely this lines from my sequel WIP. You can learn more about it/the fantasy world here <3

The Alpha of the Crescents may have worn her old friend’s face and mannerisms, but the girls they’d both been were long dead, just like their families.  It was time to finish the job and bury them.

as well as

“Good. Vita willing I won’t live to see your next lives.” “Because seeing you again has been so pleasant,” Jamie muttered.

from book one

12) favourite character to write about this year

Given my above answers it's clearly been Callum, but Ezran has probably been my standout in "teach me how to name the bigger light," easy, even if I think Rayla's POV is going to sneak up on me more and more as the fic goes on, especially once we reach the chapters at the Starscraper. I've also written a somewhat decent amount of Kpp'Ar POV this year, I loved writing Claudia in "twice as many stars" in particular. Everyone? Can I say everyone?

But if I had to pick, Callum. (Non fic wise it's all the OG chosen one kiddos running around, I love 'em.)

14) a fic you didn't expect to write

Many days of angry muttering and half concocted plot points predated "teach me how to name the bigger light" and I am still slightly internally salty about it. However, it does feel good to have one last fanon season foray, especially since it's been four years since the last one, and I've been having a fucking blast, lemme tell you.

21) most memorable comment/review

This is hard because I do cherish every review and kind word I get (as well as anyone who leaves notes in their bookmarks) but there are some standouts. Basically anything from twice as many stars is fair game as well as this review on fanon s6, cause I'm gonna go the typical write route and say the long bois make my day / when readers catch onto the smaller details, that's absolutely my favourite:

@inamindfarfaraway <3 hope you've enjoyed the most recent chapter!

24) favourite fic you read this year

Have already done some TDP fic recs here so I'm gonna focus on what's in my bookmarks for now! I mostly read LOZ or SOC fics when I'm not making my way through TDP backlog, but this one for Six of Crows centreing on Inej and Kaz called High Wire Act stood out to me and I'm really enjoying "for the children we couldn't be" for TDP because it's trio centric and the exact kind of time travel fuckery I like to read.

This is tricky, though, cause I find most often the favourite things I participate in is like, the stuff I write because it's what I want to read and most tailored to my specific tastes? I also just don't read as much fic as I could / have in the past and it's hard to pick Just One Fic, y'know? So cop out answer, maybe, but this is the one!

[hexedwinchester]

Promise I’m not trying to start shit, genuinely curious. What do you think of Sam’s ending, specifically the flash-forward?

hi @catsconflictscopicsandchamomile

No worries at all. This blog is a safe place.. :)

IMO Sam's ending sort of depends on the future of SPN. What i mean by that is, if that's it and there is no new season or a movie, then to be honest with you, it's a satisfactory ending and here's why:

Sam literally got what he wanted from the start: get out of hunting and to live a safe life. He is someone who dreamt of marrying a woman he loved, start a family with her and knowing Sam, I am 100% sure he would have gone back to college and completed his studies

He raised a child, and had a loving wife. And in a way i am glad they never revealed the blurry wife. As much as i liked Eileen for Sam, there is a wee bit of melancholy to know that after Dean's death, Sam was alone. Despite that, he was strong enough to keep going, you know what i mean?

He died a natural death, went to Heaven and was reunited with Dean.

So yes, if the show ends there, then I am satisfied with the ending

Now, if we were to consider an extension of the storyline, then yes, I can see how this ending wouldn't make sense. I have read a lot of theories, including the ones you put in the comments (good ones btw!) and some of the ones that I did like and would be fun to explore are:

Chuck being a Tulpa instead of God. (Sorry, not sure who came up with this but please DM and I can credit you) This theory explains why Chuck can warp reality around him and is in fact not God which was quite an interesting one because yes, Chuck as God was not played well. They could have done a better job with that.

Your Eileen as a Djinn theory was great too! Having Sam trapped in a perfect reality whilst draining him. This is something i did kinda complain about in one of my SPN re-run reviews S02E20 where i mentioned how we haven't seen Sam infected by Djinn whereas Dean was already a victim on two different occasions. so if this is where the flash-forward was headed, it would be a good one. I also liked the touch of Eileen's Irish folklore. Not much has been explored here.

Personally, i feel like the perfect Sam-ending happened in S5 already. Sam fulfilled his destiny of being Lucifer's vessel but turned it around. The whole martyrdom arc was beautifully written. Sam sacrifices himself for the greater good, Dean learns to move on without his brother (god, this was so needed). It was unfair but quite how life works!

For S15 ending, i would have loved it to be a bit darker like S5. Maybe this time, both brothers die and they die bloody but their deaths mean something, unlike what happened with Dean. His death seemed very random, i mean out of everything that could kill him, it's a rebar? really? I wanted the ending to be a bit darker for Sam than a happy flash-forward. the "it had to be" had a beautiful ring to it. Don't get me wrong, i do love happy endings but something about Sam dying a martyr death would have been amazing!

Thank you so much for this ask! it was fun to explore different perspectives! Feel free to send me more if you have them :)

[variousqueerthings]

hi, do you have any plans of doing a review system similar to the measurement when you get to the chibnall era of doctor who? I think you said that you didn’t watch it, but i could be wrong

SoooOOOOOoooo first of all hi friend!

second of all: back in the day of uh... whenever the first season of jodie came out, I did watch that season and enjoy it, it was a fun first season. I then promptly forgot everything that happens in it, because my brain works that way, and then (because my brain also does this) was like "well legally I can't watch the second season of jodie unless I rewatch the first season of jodie because I can't remember what happened in it, and I can't watch the first season of jodie, because I don't remember what happened in capaldi's seasons, and I can't watch capaldi's seasons because then I'd have to rewatch matt smith's seasons and if I watch those from beginning to end again I will lose all joy in my soul"

third of all: I no longer feel that way, I have grown as a person who deals with my brain being a silly-billy, so not only could I legally watch whatever I wanted to without the brain police nee-nawing, I also um... well I have a system of how to watch matt smith's seasons so that I find them enjoyable, so actually maybe on second thoughts I didn't quite outrun the whatever-the-heck-my-brain-does laws, so much as... rewrite them a little to work for me (crucially I did in fact... watch all of matt smith's seasons and capaldi's seasons to get back here, so hopefully I can implement a more holistic watch in future, where I just engage with the episodes I noted down with commentary and rankings that I enjoyed!)

fourth of all: I'm not sure if this rating system works for chibnall's era (I mean, maybe it does, I genuinely don't know, but my gut says no). the reason I wrote it in exactly the way that I did was mainly because of very specific noticeable recurring things I dislike in m*ffat's writing across several shows -- misogyny, making all of his main guys cruel because they're "intelligent" (which absolves them of the need to be not-cruel), those men being the most important thing in the universe of the story, "sexy" dialogue, amatonormativity, and overly complex plotlines that often spring up out of nowhere and go nowhere

fifth of all: so maybe what I'll do is just note down more simply what I'm getting out of (or potentially not getting out of) jodie's run. I obviously know the reputation of that era, I've seen a couple of oof moments, but there are definitely oof moments in rtd's and m*ffat's runs, so those alone aren't dealbreakers so much as "I see you"s

sixth of all: actually my main question with regards to chibnall's era is whether he understands that diversity is about more than casting. this in particular with regards to yas being a police officer, and how that may or may not create a difficulty in discussing the limitations and cruelties of systems, such as those propped up by... police officers. (this, by the way, speaking of rtd, so many people of colour and of course shirley anne who's a wheelchair user represented in UNIT, but that is a whole other tangent -- shirley I am manifesting a liz shaw type arc for you where you get to go "hold on, this whole thing is sus")

seventh of all: I think it's much harder, probably, to discuss chibnall's era with such a simplistic system, because from the outset it's a much more complex thing than what m*ffat was doing -- that is m*ffat's was still essentially casting a couple of white guys who were travelling with white women until s10 (which noticeably is... just a better season, in my opinion). this not to say I'm not critiquing it, but I wouldn't want to make a ranking system out of "how well does chibnall do diversity," I feel like that would be crass of me, because these stories opening up like this is already such a fascinating space to play in, vs me in m*ffat's era actually being able to track the almost complete absence of diversity in s5 (vampires in venice and hungry earth have my back) just... as a whole... to where we got to in s9 and s10, and using this measurement system to go "yeah this era got noticeably better on several fronts later on" -- I note btw on this point, that bill is waaay more proactive in her first three episodes that amy or clara usually got to be. her questions also aren't just essentially "and now what are you going to do doctor," they're more her trying to figure out how she's navigating her environments and then working with the tools she's getting

eighth of all (conclusion): probably not a review "system" but yeah, I'll still review for sure and maybe find a way to structure that, I want to be consciously interacting with the story, it's the best way for me to engage and actually remember it afterwards. I won't have the benefit of foresight with these seasons either -- that is, I won't know where certain things are going and how I feel about those trajectories (for example, although I don't remember s10 I do remember liking it!) + what I do know, I'll be filtering somewhat (with the flux for example) through the three specials we just got, so I'll know there's some form of through-line of emotional arc that perhaps wasn't felt as much when it was first being aired? all suppositions

ninth of all (epilogue): I am eager I tell you, eeaaager to see sacha dhawan in action!

tenth of all (nothing in particular): I remember s11 starts in sheffield, which is wonderful to me. since the time it aired I've just been in sheffield so many times, it feels so very familiar to me. wonderful to get out of london for a bit

[mermaidsirennikita]

The Crown S5 review?

Eeeeh I'm still not sure where it ranks for me. For me, the seasons are probably--

Season 2

Season 1

Season 4

and then the last two spots belong to 3 and 5 but I'm not sure what order they're in. It's not a bad season of TV, but it's not up to par for The Crown and I'm not sure why, entirely. Because it had moments, but those moments were not consistent. Frankly, I think they pulled a lot of punches this season, where season 4 was nothing but punch after punch--and I don't get that. Like, why make a season as inflammatory as season 4 was, and then get scared after people react to that...?

Anyway, here are semi-organized thoughts

I Liked:

Elizabeth Debicki's Performance. Though I think Emma Corrin was a perfect 80s-era Diana, Elizabeth was perfectly cast for 90s era Diana. She had the accent down, the mannerisms (looking up from underneath her lashes, the head tilts, the wry smirks), Diana's snarky delivery and sorrow mixed with frustration and yes, vengefulness, along with the sense that she's kind of a good time girl who wants to have fun? One facet of Diana that people overlook is that she was a Sloane Ranger before she married; she married very young; and I found that a couple of the things the show pointed out about Diana (her codependence with her children despite her being a great mom, plus her desire to get out and be a bit messy in her 30s) are very common among women who get into bad marriages and have kids quite young. They experience the shit most of us do in our twenties like a decade later. I thought it was very authentic, and far, far, far better than whatever little girl lost routine Spencer had going on. Basically, the Emma to Elizabeth pipeline gives me Diana perfection.

The Fayeds. The Fayed episode was one of my favorites of the season? The acting was good, the pathos were great, I loved the way you could see Diana genuinely getting along with Mohamed. Plus, that episode had the flashback return of David, and that actor is just... great lol.

Diana and Hasnat Khan. Hasnat Khan is a figure that I think is really hard to fictionalize, but the actors had good chemistry and I really liked that soft little love arc. Even if lol it's gonna lead to one of my complaints.

Diana Being Petty. I'm so tired of victim complex Diana portrayals. Diana had fire and wit and she did go after the royals at points. By no means do I think she wanted the monarchy done for (she wanted the throne for William). But the individuals? Oh, she wanted them annihilated lol. Best scene of the season was her dialing no over and over.

What I Didn't Like:

So Much Miscasting. Look man, anyone who followed up Josh O'Connor giving like... an actual career-defining performance as Charles was gonna have a hard time. Dominic is not a bad actor. But he's not it for Charles, and he knew it. He and Elizabeth lacked chemistry, which took a lot of the tension out of their marriage story scene at the season's end--compare that to Josh and Emma's fight. Josh and Emma had chemistry. It made Charles and Diana's issues even more tragic.

Imelda was also miscast, OR maybe she could've done better with a better script, but like... It just wasn't working. She's a good actress, and the truth is that Liz has had less and less to do after her great personal crisis (her marital issues with Philip) settled in season 2. But like as the season went on I kept waiting for Imelda to inject more into the role, and it didn't happen? And again, I don't wanna blame her, because the writing was just--trying to give her something and giving her very little. But things like Dominic and Imelda both skipping the Windsor accent that everyone else nailed in previous seasons was just weird to me.

Jonathan Pryce I feel was less miscast, but again he had little to do that made sense or mattered; Lesley is a great actress but they gave her like, nothing? And Margaret had shit happening lmao. She had kids to raise, her health was failing (by the end of the season Margaret will be dead in less than 10 years). I get why they did a Peter Townsend retrospective episode, but it was weird to me that that was alll they did for her, and Margaret and Elizabeth's confrontation felt so hollow.

Wasted Time. The pacing and time allocation for this season was SO WEIRD. Look, let's be real fucking honest here. What people wanted from this season of The Crown was the War of the Waleses. They advertised that. It's what we were all looking forward to. And there was really? Relatively little of that. There could've been other family dramas to get into, but they obviously didn't want to (Andrew and Fergie, Anne's divorce). And I think PM knew the War of the Waleses was the big show, and he got scared and swerved at the last minute. It was.... a choice.

And the thing is? Not anything nearly as interesting was happening for anyone else all season. So we got like, Philip palling around with his ambiguous lady friend which caused marital issues that I don't think Philip and Liz had at that point lmao. And they just kinda settled on sorta being discontented in their marriage? Which was weird because elsewhere in the season he was very ride or die defensive of her, and frankly they've seemed comfortable since season 2's end.

We had a whole episode dedicated to THE PRINCE'S TRUST LOL. And like.... yeah, Tampongate, but Tampongate was mostly used to be like "oh look, middle-aged people in love", which has always been the royals' attempts to downplay that lol. And it's like... no it's still pretty weird and he was pretty married, y'all. Having PRINCESS ANNE be like "I think that was rather noble and cool" like lol??? ANNE????? It was just weird, man. And The Prince's Trust is cool for a one off subplot, but to be the backbone of a whole episode???

Then you had shit really rushed and shuffled about at points--the Hasnat Khan subplot just flickered away, the Fayeds were introduced in ep 3 and didn't come back until ep 10.

Toothlessness. Look, PM is not anti-monarchy at all lol. But last season, there was an element of like... scathing cynicism towards the family and the institution, and that by and large was missing here. Except for in some Diana scenes, the Fayeds' complicated relationship with British shit in general, etc. That was really pretty missing here. Charles is progressing it, Camilla is suddenly ready to step up lmao, they're just a family!!! And like.... Not just s4, but all of the previous seasons had a sense of doom about it all that just wasn't here. It felt like the abuses of the family were just sort of washed away.

Which leads to...

Inconsistent Characterization. Some of this may have come from the recasting, but I don't think so? There was an adjustment in s3, but this was different. Charles ended season 4 as this like, borderline monster who's got a terrible relationship with his parents and is really pretty spineless. Suddenly, with very little explanation, he has a spine and is like, actively maneuvering to get rid of his mom and REVOLUTIONIZE THE MONARCHY LOL. Listen man, I'm not saying Charles hasn't had some successful power plays, but uh... they happened pretty recently. His mom being at death's door is what gave him that opportunity. He wasn't there in the 90s. He did not have the capital and Philip was guard dogging her.

As mentioned before, suddenly Philip and Liz are on the rocks again to give them something to do... Anne is suddenly like Team Charles lol. Elizabeth lost a lot of her coolness, and we really like... we know it's a hard time but we don't really see her have that hard time.

And it's not just people who were recast at risk here--John Majors begins the season weirded out by these freaks and at the end is like IT WAS AN HONOR AND PRIVILEGE and I have no idea why lmao. Because he mediated the divorce? Why??? A waste of Jonny Lee Miller, tbh.

And then there was just shit I didn't totally get. Like the Romanov episode. How was that the most graphic Romanov execution I've ever seen? How was that meant to indict the Windsors but then whoops never mind?

So yeah, there were like... moments? But I walked away from it feeling like they came so close to hitting the target and veered at the last minute. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it and it did feel very different from the previous seasons. I never got that feeling that I was watching The Crown, a show where you get the "DUNNNUNNNNUNNUNUN" music over someone like, mournfully sipping tea and looking out a window, and you go "my god, this is CINEMA". They never earned that lol.

[yuri-for-businesswomen]

Cold Case anon; ahh that other person beat me to it, but yes, that is the episode I meant. I don't think I've ever watched an episode of any show where I almost yelled at my tv screen "no!", it's one of those episodes that you wish the event ended up being a dream or a set up or anything but what happened. As for Criminal Minds, I recommend first 5 seasons, and after that seasons 7 and 8, but mostly cause of one of the actresses, and I will never be over the fact that she got fired for simply telling her opinion on one of the former cast members; she was such a good addition and I loved her dynamic with one of my fav characters. Anyway, after that there are only select few eps that I'd recommend; the writting really went down after s5 after one of the showrunners left, and honestly after s9 the show started focusing more and more on main characters plus the fact that 9 out of 10 times we'd know who's the killer right from the start, to be honest if it wasn't for two certain characters I'd have never stuck to the end. Well the show came back 2 years after ending on paramount+ and tbh I don't like the direction it took; plus also, one other thing, it continued what bothered me during original run: killing off female characters in main male character's lives for character development, so yeah. Now granted it wasn't too often, but still enough that it was like "so okay, you created her character just so you could kill her off, or oh so the actress is leaving better kill her character off(there was only one instance where that didn't bother me as she was a fully developed character). So I went on a bit of a rant here, sorry 'bout that lol. Anyway, Cold Case is great.

no thank you i love this please leave tv reviews in my inbox! 💙

[willel]

I feel like blaming the audience is not really a good choice. I agree that some parts of the audience might be pretty dense, whether it be the audience members who just watch the show and move on or reddit fans who are involved in the fandom but still think... that way. But I also think the show is pretty much at fault in this and because of their choices, the situation has come to this particular moment, and if S5 won't manage to land or if the majority audience or critics end up disliking it, it won't be the 'audience's fault', it will be the writers's.

Like I said, I'm not going to defend the writees being inconsistent with character stories for characters such as Will, Jonathan, or Lucas especially.

But I always want to stress that I'm not going to give a pass to audience members who are willfully ignorant to a certain point.

Even if they dropped Will's arc for 2 seaaons, is not like S1 and S2 disappeared. They're still available for review on Netflix and even Blu-ray.

I can forgive an oblivious person for maybe not picking up that Will would obviously be focused on in season 5 and being genuinely surprised because "plot twist". I won't forgive an audience member that angrily gasps that it makes no sense for the plot to circle back around to Will because "Well they didn't focus on him last season and the season before! I know he's still connected to the literal big bad of the entire show but this is totally out of nowhereeeeee!!!1??!! 5/10"

I will not care if those people dislike the final season. Theyre blind. Besides, it's not my job to care about the rest of the audience. I am also just a member of the audience, not the show runner. They can worry about audience perception, it won't affect me.

[twdmusicboxmystery]

Hi! I like the theories! It’s sad though when I a show could have had such great storylines and deep theories play out and instead…🤷‍♀️. I was looking at the story from Norman though w all the scar transfers, and the wrist box looks like it says Camille I think? I’m hoping the spin-offs pan out well. I guess I just don’t have the faith you do. Seeing the varying quality in writing over the seasons, how do you keep faith that the exec team will do all that justice and it wasn’t just overlap that’ll go half finished? I’ve seen varying reviews of gimple, mainly leaning negative though. I just don’t want to get my hopes up that they are actually capable of pulling off something so massive with the spin-off storylines when it seems so far off in comparison to TWD, at least to me, but I’m new to the fandom. I’ve also been severely let down by getting too deep in the past with fandoms. I’d love to see you do theories though not just relating to Beth, but other storylines in TWD. You’re really good at meta. Thanks for staying active for new fans!

Thank you! I keep faith mostly because there's so much evidence. It would be one thing if things were promised in Beth's story, and then they seemed to kill her off in Coda, and then we never heard or saw anything relating to those promises ever again. That truly might just be the writers changing their minds, as they did in S3, and going a different direction than originally planned.

But that's very far from what's happened.

Ever since Coda, there's had been tons and tons of evidence of her return. The symbolism has remained steady and 100% the same throughout the seasons. And once we learned to read the symbolism, we've been able to predict other story lines. (See THIS POST.) And if we're reading the symbolism correctly there, by definition we HAVE to be reading it correctly for Beth.

Outside the show, with comments various members of tptb have made, there has also been evidence. Like Nicotero being really weird about the fate of Grady, the tease about the missing 17 days, and the writers saying--mostly in response to nasty shippers--that they are going to tell the story they originally set up to tell [emphasis mine] no matter what different factions of the audience think.

The story they originally set up to tell with Daryl's love life, was Beth.

As for Gimple, I know there's a lot of negativity out there about him and his writing skills, but this is an internet troll thing. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, of course, but you have to understand that most of that negativity we see online comes from people who simply did not like the direction of the show. So, their favorite ship didn't go canon, or their favorite character was killed off. When that happens, they immediately take to the web and start ranting about how terrible a writer Gimple is. I got news for those people: just because the story HE is telling isn't the one YOU want to hear, doesn't make him a bad writer.

Furthermore, consider this: while of course the viewership has gone down some since S5, TWD and all it's shows are still one of the most popular and in-demand shows in the world. Trust me, if Gimple sucked at his job, that would NOT be the case.

So, in short, I don't blame anyone for lack of faith in her return. It has been a long time, and I totally get it. But the entire TWD universe ends, or we get a concrete "no" from the writers--which we've never gotten, btw--I will continue to hold out hope. And for now, that means looking forward to the spinoff.

Xoxo! 💌💕

[erin-bo-berin]

Couple of things in response to your anon queries over the last few days:

- Joe’s playing a prominent recurring character in Fargo. He’s Gator Tillman, the son of the main character, corrupt sheriff Roy Tillman (John Hamm). You’ll be getting more than one episode, don’t worry about that! Also - and I’m sorry if you already know this, but just to clarify- it’s not set in 2019, not the old west. I think people got the cowboy idea because Noah Hawley wrote an (excellent) article for The Atlantic called “It’s High Noon in America,” which was both a political commentary, and a reflection on how entertainment contributes to issues like distrust of authority by creating heroes who go against the system etc. In it, he shared a sample of S5 dialogue between Roy and Gator, which mentioned “high noon”:

Gator: “I swear to God, him versus me, man to man, and I'd wipe the floor with him.”

Roy: “What, like high noon? That only happens in the movies, son. In real life they slit your throat waiting for the light to change.”

I mean, Joe might still be playing a cowboy-ish type character if he works on a ranch I suppose? But as far as I know, there’s nothing to suggest that’s the case.

- Joe is well positioned to have a great career after ST ends. I’m a bit puzzled as to why anyone’s concerned for him to be honest! Free Guy was very well received and many reviews specifically mentioned Joe’s charm and his lovely chemistry with Jodie. One critic even said - and I quote - “Joe Keery proves he’s going to be just fine when Stranger Things ends.” Add to that, although Spree was controversial, it was still received more positive reviews than less glowing ones (thanks, tomatometer), and even negative reviews of the film praised Joe’s performance.

So that’s recent history. Looking at his current work, he has two films in the can, is currently filming Fargo, then starts Cold Storage, and then in 2024 goes back to filming ST. The guy is as busy as an actor could hope for. Going forward, even if none of the films make an impact (and that’s a big ‘if’, because I suspect Cold Storage at least is going to do very well), Fargo will raise his profile even higher than it already is.

Oh, and then there’s his music. We all know he’s genuinely talented in that regard, and so do the critics. But he’s deliberately flown under the radar with it, and so many people are missing out. Djo doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page for crying out loud. Maya Hawke, who has less than a third of the Spotify listeners Djo has, has a wiki page for each album! No hate for Maya - her stuff’s not my thing but it’s cool. I just think Joe’s music manager (who’s different to his acting one) is sleeping on that front.

Sorry for the Joe Keery essay. I’m just a huge supporter because he’s so talented, and is also genuinely lovely. People who’ve worked with him want to do it again, in large part because of his personality. We know the combination of those traits is what changed the trajectory of his character in ST, which was a remarkable thing in of itself. David Harbour, Brett Gelman, and Kevin Pollack have all pointed out how unusual it was, and praised both Joe and the Duffer Bros for it. It’s kind of refreshing to see someone in Hollywood getting rewarded for being a decent person, in addition to having acting abilities.

Joe deserves every success. Long may it continue!

Oh wow thanks for all the info! I’ve never seen Fargo but man I will happily watch it to see him in it.

I’m so excited for him in Cold Storage. I ended up reading the book after someone on here told me it was actually a book first and Joe is just gonna nail the character. Teacake is such a loveable dork lol

I agree though! He’s been doing so good even without ST fame. He’s gotten some big projects coming up and a handful at that. Also his music to keep him busy too and it really is such a shame that his music is so underrated because his music really is so good 🥺

[bronx-bomber87]

Hello all :) I wanted to post this yesterday but had some technical difficulties. Also thank you to all those that have liked, commented or reblogged my reviews. Very Encouraging so thank you. Glad to have you all along with me. As always will credit all gif usage at the end.

Onward we go to 1x03 'The Good the Bad and the Ugly.'

Tim is back on duty after his gun shot wound. He’s is not ready physically and most definitely not emotionally. Despite that all Lucy is glad to have him back riding with her. Tim replying like early S1 Tim would in regards to her being glad he's back. Reserved and Cocky.

They Get their first call of the day at a bank with a man trapped behind an ATM wall. Tim takes charge like he doesn't have a wound in his side. Keeps going till he's grimacing and in major pain.

Theme of Tim Bradford in the early days. Man doesn’t ask for help. Ever. So when he’s hacking at that wall he’s trying to prove to himself he’s fine. The gunshot wound doesn’t affect him. When his body is telling him otherwise. Instead of asking Lucy to help to him he barks at her asking why he’s doing this and not her. S1 Tim you’re so rough around the edges my love. Don’t you worry Lucy is gonna soften those edges slowly but surely Haha

After Lucy fails a mini Tim test (gif set I just could not seem to find) Of him stealing her duty belt because she didn't secure the bathroom properly. He receives a phone call about Isabel OD'ing. Another set I could not find is Isabel basically ripping into Tim. Telling him to leave her alone to ‘Save your tough love for someone else’ and boy does he ever.... Lucy gets quite the helping in this episode.

We know he is very much no where close to being 'Okay' After his convo with Isabel he is out of control angry. Doesn’t even realize what he’s doing. Too damn blinded by his hurt. It shows in their next call with the biker gang. By putting not only his healing self in danger but Lucy. He’s so desperate for help but refusing to ask again. So instead he implodes. Fights a biker gang prospect. Searching desperately for an outlet for his frustration/anger. Doing it in the worst way imaginable. He’s in so much pain he cannot see straight. Poor Lucy can only stand there and watch him self destruct. Luckily he wins the tussle but it comes at a cost.

In s5 Tim bringing up his past with Isabel to Lucy. This is what he's referring to. How it cost him nearly everything emotionally. Unless you watch s1 recently you forget how badly he was burned. How she utterly wrecked him. Watching her destroy him with a 2 min convo hurts to watch. He was adrift in his emotions and drowning at a fast pace. He needed a life line so badly. He had no idea that life line would show up in the form of Lucy Chen. The Ray of sunshine that challenges his ass and puts him in place like no one has before.

By the time they get back to station she's crawling out of her skin with worry for Tim. She has no idea what she should do if anything. He is her superior officer after all but he's also endangering them both. By the time she gets their "suspect" into booking Tim is still in a bad head space from his convo at the hospital. Checking out NARCAN clearly for Isabel. They pull up to Isabel's apt and Lucy is restless in the car when he tells her to stay put. She can't take it any longer and jumps out to confront him.

She takes a deep breath and starts her fight to save Tim's sanity. To keep him from going completely off the edge and taking her with him. That’s what makes what Lucy does in this scene so incredible. One she's barely 3 weeks at best into her working relationship with him and two It was like fighting the sun with Tim in s1. She not only stood up for herself she put him in his place. He had been encased in his emotions so long he lost clarity completely. He couldn’t see past his pain. So she took a stand and won.

The biggest part of this moment is he concedes, listens and lets her take control of the situation. Has her run the NARCAN up to Isabel. I can’t even begin with how massive this is. This obstinate, grumpy man who would scare most rookies into washing out didn’t stand a chance against Lucy Chen. Its one of the main reasons he falls in love with her. She challenges him and rights him when he’s on the worst path. That look of defeat and resignation on his face. He know's he in the wrong and can't fight her anymore on this. Eric once again crushing it. Killing me softly good sir. His face says it all.

This following scene back in the shop is underrated and beautiful. Something about Lucy draws out his vulnerable side whether he likes it or not. The crack she started in ep 2 continues its growth in this ep. Her standing up to him, laying down boundaries and bringing him back to earth earned her this moment with him. Tim opening up to her. Sharing what I'm sure no one else has heard.

The most beautiful part is she’s doing it for more than the fact he’s her T.O. She cares about him as a person. He's realizing this and its why he's opening up to her right now. He's baring his soul to her and there couldn't be a better person to accept it. Why she follows up the way she does. Lucy is very aware how precious the information that is being shared with her is.

Her telling him about her apt is her olive branch back. It’s not much in the grand scheme of things just looking at this conversation. Telling him this as her reply. But it means the world to him. She knows this which is why she lets him know her apt is decent. It’s what he needs to hear.

Listening to him let out the deep breathe and tell her ‘Thanks’ it’s a loaded thanks. It means so much more than that single word, but once again this is s1 Tim so the fact she’s getting this is big. Its what he needs to hear in order to to be able to drive away from her apt. She's given him peace of mind to be able to do so.

We barrel towards the end of the episode. Tim and Lucy chasing one of the two remaining suspects. They corner him and once again just like at the beginning of the ep Tim can’t ask for help. He physically can’t climb the top of that truck. Lucy knows this and helps him out. Saying it would be ‘good for her training’ for her to do it. Tim goes along with it because his pride can’t handle it otherwise. She conducts herself flawlessly of course.

She’s so proud of herself and he can’t allow her to see he is too. He’s already been too ‘soft’ today for her. He always defaults back to being the hard ass whenever he opens up in the very beginning with her because S1 Tim be S1 Tim.

~~~~

Side Notes non Chenford.

I love Grey taking Tim out for a drink. Poor man needed it so much.

Talia being soft for the train burglar and his son.

Not much side stuff to mention this was a pretty heavy Chenford building ep and I’m happy with that.

Please like/comment if you can I love it when people do either hehe

Gif Credit To

Chenfordsbee

Chenfordsource

Chenfordgifs

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Thursday, February 16

BUFFY: I can't let you do it, Faith. FAITH: You're confused, Twinkie. (smiles ironically) Let me clear you up. (points at Angel) Vampire. (points at herself) Slayer. (points at Angel again) Dead vampire. BUFFY: There's a lot that you don't understand.

~~Revelations~~

The Sunnydale Herald is looking for at least one new editor. Contributing to the Herald is a great way to get your Buffy on! Find out more here.

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

The Other Malfoy Part One by Zorak23 (Fang Four, Harry Potter xover, T)

Hands Off by MillennialCryBaby (Buffy/Spike, E)

Aflame by HollyDB (Buffy/Spike, E)

The Transition by TheRealJeanGenie (Buffy/Spike, T)

Hot Knife by Lady Emma (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

[Chaptered Fiction]

Soul Connections - Ch. 3 by decapiitare (Wesley/OC, Cordelia/OC, G)

The Key To Being Buffy - Ch. 1 - 4 by BlueZeroZeroOne (Buffy, Dawn, Stargate xover, M)

Things Change - Ch. 1 - 9 by Bacner (Faith, multiple crossovers, G) COMPLETE!

cat-to-cat communication - Ch. 3 by The_Eclectic_Bookworm (Jenny/Giles, T) COMPLETE!

What the hell is a Bothy? - Ch. 8 by Alwaysandforevermylove (Buffy/Faith, Killing Eve xover, E) COMPLETE!

Who Shat on the Floor at My Sister's Wedding? - Ch. 15 by thoughtsofahouseplant (Buffy/Spike, T) COMPLETE!

The Slayer and her Watcher - Ch. 2 by margoteve (Giles, Buffy, T) COMPLETE!

Initiation - Ch. 24 by Jaspergirl (old_fashioned_gal) (Tara/Willow, Giles/Ethan, T) COMPLETE!

The Rocky Road to Dublin - Ch.1 by fortes775 (Buffy/Spike, R)

I Violently Dislike You - Ch. 10 by scratchmeout (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Spiderwebs - Ch. 10 by Willow25 (Buffy/Spike, R)

Bring Him Home - Ch. 11 by acb6293 (Buffy/Spike, R)

Better the Devil You Know - Ch. 15 by SlayrGrl (Buffy/Spike, R)

where the shadow ends - Ch. 10 by disco-tea (Buffy/Spike, R)

Kaddara Hade - Ch. 18 by hostile17 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Love Drabbles - Ch. 16 by Hermionetobe (Buffy, Stargate xover, FR15)

The Key To Being Buffy - Ch. 4 by BlueZeroZeroOne (Buffy, Dawn, Stargate xover, FR18)

Cross Purposes 3 - Ch. 129 - The Scoobies and a Schoolgirl by DianeCastle (Buffy, multiple crossovers, FR13)

I Violently Dislike You - Ch. 10 by scratchmeout (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

[Images, Audio & Video]

Gifset: [Willow and Anya search on the computer] by starryeyesxx (Anya, Willow, worksafe)

Moodboard: coffy (cordelia x buffy) by nbshrubberry (kissing, prob worksafe)

Comic: The washing machine incident - Ch. 2 by JSBirsa (very NSFW)

[Reviews & Recaps]

PODCAST: Episode 92: Out of My Mind by Myth Taken: A Buffy the Vampire Slayer Podcast

[Recs & In Search Of]

ISO: Howls_Honey seeks missing pages for BTVS Omnibus Vol 2

[Fandom Discussions]

POLL: choose one of buffy summers' greatest hits burning... by comradesummers

I need more "Wilfred" in my life [Willow x Fred Part 1] by Almighty_Push91

They had so much potential despite the brief moments they had together [Willow x Fred Part 2] by AndrewHeard

Lilah Morgan Appreciation Post by Captainoats88

Tara Appreciation Post- S5 E12- Checkpoint ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ by Nollaf5E5

just finished season 5 [ATS] by ruckmanrules

POLL: Crack Ships Part Two [ATS] by Captainoats88

POLL: Crack Ships Part Two [BTVS] by Captainoats88

POLL: Was Buffy just as patient or lenient with Anya as she was with Angel? by Opening_Knowledge868

Okay these are now officially my favourite Buffy thing that I own. [BTVS Tarot Card Deck] by iamjimothy

Andrew's behavior post-siring in S1E05 by Tuxedo_Mark

“Go Fish” is the most filler of all filler episodes by goldenhoneyheart

If Spike had a soul in S6, would he have let Buffy use him like she did... by Ravenclaw54321

How Do We Know That Spike Can "Love"? by Ok_Creme_3640

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