#what's the matter with henry

[mean-scarlet-deceiver]

Whats The Matter With Henry!

Given the timing of when this hit my inbox... I'm gonna assume this is the episode title, and not an exasperated question. ;)

And, ehhhhh.

I'm very underwhelmed.

Good concept, all the elements for a good story, but... no storytelling.

I know it's sometimes one of people's S7 favorites, I know that's especially true around here on tumblr, and I can see why. I like the idea of it, too—Henry falling ill again, his friends reverting to their usual habit with him of not taking his complaints seriously, and the newbie going "wtf" and standing by him, thus permanently changing the toxic old dynamic.

'Course, it's risky to play around with Henry being ill again. But hey, every really great story involves a bit of risk. To me, this is the best of the "revisit ill/sad Henry" episodes. There is a plausible, mechanical issue (not "his steaming is still fickle sometimes"), and there is a payoff here with the comparing/contrasting Henry's support system then and now.

Speaking of risky, their characterization here is the seed that later flowered into scaredy-wheels Henry of much disgrace. But I won't hold the future against the story. His fussy hypochondria works here. Love how, in his ending bit, Henry sounds like a cranky, hardscrabble middle-aged dude bellyaching, rather than (as in the Brennaisance) a little kid with fragile self-esteem and an overactive imagination. It's good character work. I won't hear a word against it.

The problem is that a good story needs a solid concept to be executed well, and that second bit is where the episode never gets off the ground. The script has no heart or humor in it except for Henry's bit at the very end—the rest of it is purely utilitarian. The characters' voices aren't distinct, there's not a smile to be found, there is no one detail or shot that really brings the pathos. We're told all the elements for a good story... but there is no storytelling.

But great cinematography can (and, in this series, often has) carried a mediocre script. This is Season 7, however, where David either can't or won't pull out the stops to rescue it.

In fact, I'd say the filmography here is among the least interesting of the season. Some episodes do have some good, atmospheric shots that capture an emotion. Not a lot of them, but a couple here and there.

"What's the Matter with Henry" gets nothin'. The sets and scenery are beautiful, as they are throughout S7, but they don't help because beauty doesn't contribute a thing to the emotions this story ought to be shooting for.

They Tried™ when it came to filming Henry's confession of illness at night, in that early scene with Thomas. But the "night time" scene just doesn't hit. Again, utilitarian. It informs us It Is Night-Time. But it doesn't make us feel stuff.

And the contrast to how night seemed so dark and real in the early seasons is just painful.

Even in S7 (derogatory), there are some beauties...

... like man, these are all some very "meh" episodes, but damn lookit some of this stuff...

Look how much effort they put into the night shots in "Edward's Brass Band," which was such a weird, winding, plothole-studded script, it's gorgeous...

... but not here, for "What's the Matter with Henry," a perfectly coherent script:

Soooo, uhhhh.

Yeah.

Yawn.

Not even any bopping Mike and Junior work to help out. Their work on the score did a lot of heavy lifting on similarly uninspired scripts in the past but, well...

What a waste of a good concept.

----------------------------

Mind you, although I'm okay with Henry—his vibes here are not 100% compatible with RWS-Henry-My-Beloved, but they are at least 80% so and I could live with that—I'm not wild about some of the other character work here.

While this was a Character-Establishing Moment for Emily, I feel kinda... manipulated? idk. They already shoved the weird and unbelievable "rescue Oliver from a WILD railway mishap" in her debut in an attempt to really shove her Wonderfulness in my face and maybe if they hadn't I'd be less sensitive to how they're again trying to establish her as Sweetness and Light. It's been said before but I have to say anyway: HiT was actually onto something when they made Em a self-important bossy boiler. It's just more interesting than flawless S7 Emily.

Also—while I'm bitching—the show also doesn't quite do its callback to "when everyone used to just be a straight-up dick to Henry" thing right? I'm not wild about how it's Thomas and especially Percy who play this cruel trick. I just watch this and can't help but think of the Percy who supported Henry and tried to pump him up in the sheds the morning shortly after his rebuild when Gordon was tearing his new self-esteem to shreds and I'm like... What Happened Here.

I could buy an explanation that back then Percy was not then just an appendage of Thomas and that becoming so tight with the gremlin sidetank has made him more mean-spirited? But I also know that's really not what the TVS is going for.

Sigh.

Whelp, let's end on the high note:

[fairycosmos]

happy place by emily henry

[kineticallyanywhere]

Time & Space pages 1-2 ( This is the start || ao3 (not yet!) || next ) Starts less than 24 hours after the death of Willy Stampler. With the job done, there's finally time to sort some things out. They just need the right amount of space.

[rwrbsource]

– persuasion, jane austen

[cultofsappho]

smiling!! boy!! it's just so nice to see him actually happy 🥹

[finleycannotdraw]

realllyyyyyyyy fast geraskier scribble because cmon let me have this. I am online to post gay art so that’s exactly what I’m gonna do.

[lululablette]

Something about. Willry (technically the og "freddy" and "bonnie") and Glamrock Freddy/bonnie being canon... ehghnrhh do you guys understand me. Do you see the. The circle being complete. Or whatever. Hold my hand please

[wormthing]

i scribbled this out after watching Frankenstein (1931), i thought it would be interesting if the creature('s brain) had a sense that he was alive before...

[boylikeanangel]

henry telling joel the story of how he informed fedra about the leader of the resistance so he could get the medicine he needed to save sam, and seeing joel's entire face and demeanour change as he starts to understand who henry is and how similar they both are. joel initially not trusting henry because he's a rat, but once the full context is given to him, he tells henry it's not fair on him for so many people to want him dead for what he did. joel not questioning why henry would betray so many people for his brother, because he knows he would do exactly the same thing in his place. henry DIRECTLY making joel ask himself the question "what is more important: the world, or the one person you love? your honour, or your family? when it comes down to it, how many people will you hurt to make sure she's safe?", and you can just see that joel immediately knows the answer.

[athenepromachos]

Taking time to sppprrrrrrreeeeeaaaaaadddd the load 😳😳

[bruhstation]

HAPPY (EARLY) BIRTHDAY RED @hkpika07​ I HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS HUMBLE ART OF YOUR THREE STOOGES

[clotpolesonly]

Blue Lily, Lily Blue ch 47 // The Raven King ch 67

[theartofdreaming1]

Happy Halloween from Catherine & Henry! 🧡🖤🦇🧛

I like to think that these two would have fun going as vampire and vampire hunter

[kaseyskat]

i also keep thinking about how hero and lark were on the ground floor at HQ which means if sparrow had followed henry’s wishes and left with him and mercedes and normal (not that i’m sure that would’ve been possible but we can imagine) it would basically be condemning lark and hero to death there would be no way of saving them without going down with them. really adds to the weight on sparrow’s shoulders doesn’t it ?

[taiturner]

Well, he saw a lot. Nothin' I can do about that now.

[scover-va]

Today’s latest doodle set