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kdramalands · 5 years

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Binge Craze September

This month has been quite busy for me regarding my kdrama addiction, and I thought that a little update on what has been going in my life would be nice... I haven’t had a good sleep in a while, and my health-sleep tracking app is acting accordingly to prepare for my soon-to-take-place funeral.

I’m going to include a rating for the dramas regarding their bingeability according to my fucked up sleep schedule, which is very accurate and just rating system, excuse you.

REM? More like RAM one more episode in the 3 a.m. time slot.

Do not try at home.

Her Private Life (2019) [10/10]

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The source of the paintings and the source of Kim Jae Wook’s handsomeness kept me from closing my eyes till 6 a.m. Dramas that light and effortless will be the death of me. It was a nice romantic drama, but it had some heavy emotional moments as well. My friend who also got around to finally watching this drama actually thought we’re going to enjoy it together for a while and discuss every detail. YOU FOOL. I’m a heartless binger, and once I finished this one, I didn’t even blink before I started watching another.

The Guest (2018) [8/10]

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I had it on my “golden dramas” list for a long while. I noticed I have tendency to leave out the best dramas for later as safe bets. I have no idea what happened, maybe I was worn off after Her Private Life, but I only stayed up till 3 a.m. to watch it. And it kinda wasn’t the best idea to watch it at night... I mean, I guess it has a horror tag for a reason. However, this one was truly a mild one, so no harm done. Whatever was left of my sanity is still intact. And I got my stolen watch time back during the day. I couldn’t possibly be stopped with that little nap, especially when actors did such a great job and the plot was very unique.

Signal (2016) [9/10]

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I really went all the way with treating myself this month with good dramas. I’m sure you can understand why it got rating this high. The secrets in this one are laid in a thick layer, so I was watching it without blinking, not to mention sleeping. I finally got my beauty sleep at 5 a.m. Yay health. The best part of Signal was definitely Lee Jae Han fighting workplace discrimination single-handedly. Woke men are sexy. Signal is also a brilliant commentary on the biggest cold cases in Korea. It is clear the research that went into making this drama was intense, and you can really learn a lot from it.

P.S. Where is the second season?????

Life on Mars (2018) [7/10]

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We didn’t have a good start. Life on Mars isn’t that fast paced at the beginning, and my WiFi connection started acting up at that time. I’m pretty sure it was a serious case of an assassination of my internet provider on the binge status of these series. My mood went down, and honestly, the action at that point didn’t pick up the pace, so we had a hard time. The biggest mystery wasn’t actually a mystery, and the writers put all important cards on the table indicating where the plot is going. But all things worthy sometimes need that effort, and I’m glad I found my pace again. Life on Mars hit me hard, and like the big masochist I am, I really enjoyed the ending.

The Undateables/ Handsome Guy and Jung Eum (2018) [6/10]

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I got hooked within the first 10 minutes of this drama. It was very smooth and easy to watch. I enjoyed these little gestures and facial expressions that appeared here and there, making it 10 times more silly and 10 times more bubbly. It was very addictive and very much appreciated after that row of brilliant, but heavy dramas I went through on my own accord. It’s not a big piece of art, but I searched for some sweet sweet couple moments and I got them, so the winner is probably still me. I took it easy with this one though. It wasn’t action packed or that gripping to pull an all-nighter, but definitely a good way to spend my time.

When The Devil Calls Your Name (2019) [7/10]

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I added this title to the list, but it was actually binged in 75%. Math queen right here! Staying up all night doesn’t fry all of your cells, see? From the day episode 1 was uploaded I did a serious stake out on this title. Observing and calculating. I knew I wanted to binge it all, but it took sooooo long to end. I snapped right before episodes 13 & 14 came out. This drama is a gold mine of really good OST songs. The plot was literally flowing, and I didn’t even notice how I got from episode 1 to episode 12. I agree that it became a little draggy around episode 13, that’s why I lowered the rating a little bit. However, the ending totally got me, and I still can’t get it out of my head, it was so wholesome.

Bring It On, Ghost/ Hey Ghost, Let’s Fight (2016) [5/10]

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This drama could be described as a “classic beauty”. It definitely follows the basic form of a good drama, and it is addictive to the point of no return. It was fun, but took me a while to finish, I have no idea why. I noticed that even though I lost my pace after 5th episode, I picked it up back again when I got neat the end. Bring It On, Ghost is full of action scenes, and it has a very consistent and interesting plot, and supernatural elements in it, so I’m very surprised I didn’t finish it faster. Guess it wasn’t the right time and place.

Queen In Hyun’s Man/ Queen and I (2012) [10/10]

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I went full old-school with this drama, didn’t I? It was overloaded with typical couple drama like amnesia, big inheritance, and politics. Do you smell that? It’s the good stuff. I was smitten with the chemistry of the main couple here, I couldn’t stop myself from smiling. Very thick chemistry, very nice to look at. We can fawn over how good Yoo In Na and Lee Dong Wook look together in Goblin, but Yoo In Na and Ji Hyun Woo were the OG couple back in the day. I just couldn’t wait till Kim Boong Do finally admits that he, in fact, is a player so I barely stopped to drink and eat. I have no idea how long did I stay up, but the morning sun greeted me through the window alongside In Na’s bright smile through my computer screen.

Laughter In Waikiki 2/ Welcome to Waikiki 2 (2018) [6/10]

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It is a tricky one, because one does not simply laugh at 4 a.m. in a house full of sleeping fussy people.The beginning and ending kept the class of the first Waikiki, but I guess the A-class humour got lost in the middle. Don’t get me wrong, it was really funny, but I found myself laugh out loud less than I did during the first one. However, the romantic aspect got me good. If I were to mention one big reason why you should watch it, it’s the Romance in Waikiki. The romantic element of the plot was written well, and it was very neat that they referenced past characters too. The episodic skit format is not perfect to binge, it’s more of a watch two episodes this week, and next two probably next week. At least for me.

Be Melodramatic/ Melo Suits Me (2019) [9/10]

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There was no way for me to stop watching this after I hit a play button. Not only the drama is damn interesting, taking the form of an ultimate meta-drama, it has some nice winks to all kdrama manias like me. You can see them in small things, e.g. when Reply series were mentioned, PDs added the goat sound effect, or when Jin Joo said that Director Son kind of reminds her of Jung Bong from Reply 88, and bigger ones, when a lot of kdrama hits were put as a background music, e.g. ALMOST PAAAAARAAAAADISE from BOF, She is from My name is Kim Sam Soon or Appear from Secret Garden. It took me by surprise that even though the general atmosphere of Be Melo is kind of serious, they easily went over that fourth wall with light steps, and overall this drama keeps a nice balance between humour and sadness. And that song... every time I wash my hair... among the swaying flowers I can smell your shampoo’s scent... Play it at my funeral, I beg you.

It was a fun month of escapism and running away from my responsibilities. I had a little break at the beginning of this year, so I’m glad I caught up with some dramas I’ve been planning on watching for a while now and new ones I couldn’t wait to watch. I feel happy with the outcome. I hope you’re happy with my rating as well. See you in the next one.

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kcwcommentary · 5 years

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VLD8x01 – “Launch Date”

8x01 – “Launch Date”

First episode of the last season. This is probably the most romance-centered episode this show has ever done. And, this is the only episode solely written by Lauren Montgomery. The episode is clearly intended to be funny, but I didn’t laugh at much.

There are a lot of issues that can be discussed about this episode, about its own contents, especially the Allura-Lance romance, and about the episode’s relationship to the rest of the series. There’s a lot in this episode that bothers me.

The episode begins with some kind of meta commentary from this show about the original Voltron. I can understand VLD doing something like this as an homage to the original, but I, having not watched much of the original, don’t know if this particular homage works or not. Pidge is watching a cartoon that is, in-story, a production that has been made in wake of humanity learning about the existence of and being saved by Voltron last season. The show Pidge is watching is a short clip from the original Voltron animation.

In a medical bay, faceless medical personnel (I thought their faceless visual design last season was creepy then too) are tending to the Altean found in the wreckage of the mecha from the end of last season. Allura is watching from outside the room, and Romelle steps up to her, saying, “You know, back on the Colony, Luca and I didn’t always get along.” So, Romelle knows who this Altean is. Romelle gives us an expositional assessment of what Luca’s supposed qualities were, “inner strength,” “a desire to be a part of something greater than herself.”

The show presented the culture of the Colony to be very much a cult, but the show hasn’t really followed up with that and examined Romelle from that perspective. She’s just now become another regular Altean without really having to do anything to change. Even if she was the least cultish of the Colony Alteans, she still would most likely have to wrestle with the effects of growing up in a cult. This show has never demonstrated itself to be capable of dealing with big, heavy topics like that, so I don’t know why I would expect them to do so.

Allura responds to Romelle, “If she was so desperate for something to believe in, it may have made her susceptible to being manipulated.” The show has never given us any conversation between Allura and Romelle for the two of them to discuss what the Colony was like. Does Allura even realize that the Colony was a cult? Romelle’s characterization of Luca almost has a propagandistic quality to it. That description very much can apply to someone who has always been a zealot, then and now.

Hunk and his parents (and Sal from Vrepit Sal’s in the background) are in what looks like a mess hall. It’s a short, overly saccharine moment. “Your father and I are just so proud of you, saving the universe and all,” his mother says. That line feels so unnatural.

Hunk sits down with Lance, who’s clearly mentally elsewhere. Hunk expositions that the following day is the titular launch date. Launch Date also serves as a pun referencing the date that Lance and Allura go on in this episode. It’s more thought than most of this show’s episode titles get, and I kind of like it. At first, I thought Hunk could tell Lance was upset and was trying to distract him. Hunk riffs on the difference between the characters in VLD and the characters in the in-story TV show that Pidge was watching. But then when Hunk talks about the TV show hinting a romance between Keith and Allura, Lance reacts with instant, angry jealousy. Is Hunk really that oblivious and unable (or unwilling) to recognize his supposed friend Lance’s emotional state?

Hunk eventually realizes that Lance is talking about something real, “Oh, that’s right, you said you were going to ask Allura on a date. You asked her, didn’t you? Oh, and she said, no. And here I am rubbing your face in it.” Lance says she didn’t say no because he never asked her. Is this supposed to be demonstrating character growth for Lance? The guy who literally flirted with Allura the first time he ever spoke to her is too unwilling to ask her out now? It feels out of character for him. He’s been super open and publicly demonstrative of his interest in Allura before now.

Shiro is leading a “final briefing” before the launch tomorrow. At the end of the meeting, Shiro says, “It’s our last night on Earth, and we’ve got a lot of hard work ahead of us. We may not be back home for years, so I’m ordering you to take some time for yourselves. Be with the ones you love. You’ve earned it.” Of course, what he says makes sense. What bothers me is that this show wrote him to say it, but we don’t get to see him doing it. The only person Shiro has that could count as a loved one is Keith with their previously depicted but now ignored friendship. And it’s not like Keith was busy with someone else this night because the show eventually reveals he’s just sitting alone on top of the Black Lion with Cosmo. Why in the world did Shiro and Keith not hang out together? It makes it feel like the EPs and writers of this show, because they revealed Shiro to be gay, became too afraid to have Shiro have any friendships, including ones that had already been established.

Lance goes to ask Allura out, and he’s uncharacteristically shy and dorky around her. If this had been how Lance behaved for most of the show, his interest in Allura throughout the show might not have been so obnoxious. But because he so specifically was overbearing in his flirtation and aggressive in his jealousy, the way he’s behaving now does not feel consistent with how he’s been written before. Lance is so casual that Allura says she has to get back to what she’s busy with, and Lance lets it be until Hunk literally kicks him into Allura. Lance then finally, with a tremendous amount of hesitancy, asks her out. He asks her to come have dinner with his family. Allura says she can’t, but Romelle pushes her to do it. The instant that Romelle starts to talk Allura into it, Lance seems to return to his regular overly aggressive self. What happened to him so fast?

Especially with this season added to the show, it really feels like the creative team never really could settle on how they wanted to depict Lance. They had the one-characteristic bullet-point that they’ve used to describe him in-show before and do so again here: “Loverboy.” They knew they wanted him to fit under that label, but they couldn’t elaborate on what that would mean for him specifically, so he’s written inconsistently throughout the show because of the creative team’s inability to unify behind any detailed description of who he is. It’s disappointing because Lance could have been such an amazing character. There were definitely times where he could have been used to examine some big issues, particularly if the show had ever had him grow out of his insecurities to a place of confidence. But aside from this episode and once with Keith in 3x06 “Tailing a Comet,” Lance hasn’t really made his insecurities public. And in having him get with Allura, the show kind of feels like it’s discarding his insecurities entirely. That sends a dangerous message: that it’s a woman’s responsibility to make a man feel secure in himself.

That’s one of the biggest issues with the show writing Lance and Allura ending up together. Throughout the show Lance has expressed interest in Allura, while she has repeatedly demonstrated no interest in him. There has been a little bit of movement on Allura’s part toward interest in Lance: 6x01 “Omega Shield” when Allura left her Lion to go to Lance’s and use her magic to heal him (though some viewers think so, I am not of the opinion that Lance died in that episode), and then in 7x10 “Heart of the Lion” when Allura initiates a brief conversation with Lance before going on a mission. There hasn’t been any movement on Lance’s part to consciously recognize his prior overbearing behavior to have been inappropriate and him changing the way he behaves toward Allura as a result. Because of this, the show effectively gave validity to the argument behind the Nice Guy trope. That all guys have to do to receive the attention of a girl they’re interested in is keep at her until eventually she realizes he is what she’s wanted all along. This show never criticizes Lance for this behavior, and instead rewards him for it. It’s a dangerous message for this show to send its younger male audience because it teaches them to not respect when a girl/woman tells them no. I’m not against the premise of an Allura-Lance relationship, but it really needed to address Lance’s overbearing flirtatiousness and jealousy (or better yet, not have written Lance to have been so jealous in the first place).

Pidge is working with Beezer in a hydroponics room. Allura and Romelle come in to ask for help preparing for Allura’s date with Lance. Romelle specifically asks about clothes. Pidge reacts, “A date? With Lance? Weird.” What’s weird is that line. Why would Pidge think it was weird? The show never actually explains Pidge’s reaction here. Allura asks Pidge to help her get a date outfit, and that’s when Pidge’s mother speaks to mock Pidge’s clothing. Pidge suggests the mall, but she says she can’t go because she’s grounded.

Colleen says, “She’s grounded because apparently my daughter thinks that running away from home and galivanting off into space without her mother’s permission is an acceptable activity for a 15-year-old.” The show thinks Colleen’s statement is funny. It’s not funny at all. One, who is Colleen to speak, considering that she should be in prison along with Sam for breaking the law in 7x07 “The Last Stand Part 1.” Two, how are we viewers supposed to think Colleen has any credibility when she says Pidge has been “galivanting off into space?” Does Colleen not remember Earth being invaded and occupied by aliens for three years? Does she not realize the danger her daughter has been in while trying to fight this war against the Galra? Does she not realize that without Pidge’s actions, Matt and Sam wouldn’t have ever come home? “Galivanting off into space,” why in the world did they think it was okay to write Colleen like this? I think this demonstrates a big part of what has been wrong with the writing for most of this show: This show has been more interested in writing particular moments without any concern with how those moments clash and conflict with previous writing. There is no way that a mother would react upon learning their child had been fighting a war by acting like that child was running around having fun the way Colleen does here.

Pidge rants and screams at her mom. There is a justification to Pidge’s reaction, but the scene plays her anger for humor. And then the scene, again, thinking it’s funny, has Colleen’s eyes and voice affected evilly as she says, “Not on your life, young lady.” Colleen scares Beezer in the process. It’s disturbing that the creative team for this show thought this was funny.

Allura asks Colleen to please let Pidge help her, and Colleen instantly switches, saying, “Alright, but only because I know how much Katie hates shopping for clothing.” Ugh.

The show could have had a really good moment, had they chosen to do so, in having Colleen and Pidge talk about Pidge’s experience and Colleen’s worry over her whole family being missing. There is emotionally significant content to what this family has gone through. But the show never had the skill to deal with any content like that. Instead, they have a weird, jarring “humor” scene like this instead. It just does not work.

Sam is told that Luca is conscious. And it’s a really short scene.

In addition to Pidge, Allura and Romelle have the female MFE pilots join them shopping too. I can’t help but feel that this episode is totally reinforcing stereotypical female behavior. The girls are going shopping for clothes for a date. This episode is a severe reinforcement of traditionalized gender norms, and it feels like the show wanted to write and depict the stereotype, like they thought actively including the stereotype was somehow interesting. It’s not. It’s actually kind of cliché.

Rizavi says that she “loves shopping.” This is the closest thing to being a characteristic that this show has given Rizavi so far. Leifsdottir replies, “It’s a primal urge from when collecting and gathering was a means of survival.” Well, that’s a hypothesis, but it is still gender reductive.

Pidge sees a video game some street vender has on display. Rizavi is also interested. The vender wants to barter, and Pidge and Rizavi are seemingly baffled by the idea. Did they not come prepared to shop? Is it specifically that this guy wants to barter? No one offers him money though, so it’s like they have no way to shop at all. Rizavi tries to guilt the guy into giving it to Pidge because of Pidge being a Paladin. I didn’t realize abusing a position of power like Rizavi is trying to do here, was a heroic way to behave. The vender only knows of the Paladins through the TV show. It was only a few months ago that Voltron helped liberate Earth, and the Paladins’ involvement was very publicly referenced, so his only thinking of the Paladins as a TV show is unrealistic. The vender offers her the game because his daughter loves the TV show and he’d like an autograph. Pidge then starts affecting her voice like the character in the TV show. It’s so weird. Rather than actually sign an autograph, Pidge draws her face. She then continues to use this method to acquire things throughout their shopping. She’s using people thinking of her as the actor on the show rather than as herself, so this is all fraud. Is the entire Holt family made up of criminals?

The show clearly thinks this is all funny. I’m not even slightly laughing. It’s just weird.

Meanwhile, Lance goes to talk to Coran. Lance tells Coran that he’s going on a date with Allura, and Coran is instantly aggressive, dismissing Lance for not being royalty nor Altean. Who knew Coran was both classist and racist. Lance says that he doesn’t think Allura thinks like that, and Coran responds, “It’s not just about Allura. Did you even acquire permission from her primary guardian?” Ugh! This episode really is putting a lot of effort into not just reinforcing traditionalized gender norms but into those norms being fundamentally patriarchal. The idea that a boy has to ask an older male who controls a young woman if he’s okay with the boy dating the girl is absolutely patriarchal. And this episode was written by Lauren Montgomery. The show can’t even hide behind saying it was some ignorant straight, white guy who wrote this. I guess we shouldn’t be surprised that Lauren Montgomery has said that killing Allura was a feminist act of writing if this episode is what she wrote in her one, solo writing credit for the show.

The only thing that’s even slightly interesting to me about this scene is that Coran redressed his room to include a giant portrait of himself and Alfor above the mantle. During the time before season seven when I would let myself dream about the idea that this show might include a character who wasn’t straight, I actually thought they might could do so by having Coran having been attracted to Alfor but never acting on it. It would be a way for this show, like other shows have done, to claim inclusion without actually having to do any real inclusion by depicting any non-straight character interaction. It would have been cheap and the bare minimum of inclusion, but I’ve lived in a homophobic world so long that it’s about as much as I expect from straight writers who pretend they care about inclusion. But then Shiro was revealed as gay, as poorly as that whole element of the show was handled, and the show proved that there are other ways to claim inclusion without really actually depicting it.

But now this leaves me questioning. Is this portrait supposed to be some subtle way the show was trying to hint at Coran being gay? Or is it just supposed to be funny without an actual thought about what it actually means? It’s like the portrait is saying that Alfor and Coran were Allura’s fathers. As much as I would have loved for Allura to canonically have had two fathers, not just one biological father and one close friend of the family who serves as a surrogate father after the real one dies, this does emphasize how this show has totally neglected to include Allura’s mother in her life. We’re in the eighth season of this show, and it’s almost like she didn’t have a mother. I know there’s a bit of illusory dream sequence in a later episode, but Allura has never spoken about her mother, so it’s like they didn’t have much of a relationship. But if they didn’t have a relationship, I still would want that detailed. As for this portrait, it feels like the show is using queer identity here as a joke gimmick. If this portrait was revealed to have a bigger, more respectful meaning, I would like it more. I like the portrait but only because of what potential I can see in how it could have been used in the show. How it actually is used, though, seems to be nothing but as a joke.

Coran makes Lance argue his qualification to be allowed to date Allura. Reinforcing the patriarchy is so much fun. Sigh.

The girls meanwhile have gotten a lot of stuff in their shopping. The clothing options they try for Allura are supposed to be funny, but it just seems like a cliché trying-on-clothing scene to me. The shopkeeper seems to be the Unilu that Coran dealt with in both 2x07 “Space Mall” and 4x04 “The Voltron Show!” Pidge tries her autograph fraud, but the guy says no. Allura says she could give him a “royal decree of service from the crowned princess of Altea,” but then seems instantly dejected, like she doesn’t see herself as the Princess of Altea anymore. There is something meta interesting about how this show has let Allura’s status of being a princess no longer have any meaning.

The Unilu sees Pidge’s game and offers the outfit for the game. Pidge gives it up for the outfit, and Allura hugs her and thanks her. I love Allura’s reaction. I don’t understand why Pidge did it though. Yeah, yeah, friendship and all that, but the episode doesn’t do anything to show this plot as being Pidge and Allura bonding with each other. Maybe if it had just been the two of them shopping, it might read like that, but with the whole group it doesn’t. It’s clear that Pidge feels she’s giving up something, but the episode fails to explain why she’s willing to do it.

Sam asks Coran if Romelle could help speak to Luca. Coran says, “I’ll see if I can find her.” This is not Coran’s voice actor speaking. I don’t have the best ear to spot moments like this when a character’s voice does not match their normal voice actor, but I know that some within the fandom have suggested there are quite a few moments like this in season eight. This is definitely one such moment. This line is not Rhys Darby’s voice. (Anyone reading this, please feel free to point out other instances this season where the voice of a character doesn’t sound like their voice actor.)

Cut to a sunset scene. The music for this sunset scene is the same as the music from 7x01 “A Little Adventure” during the flashback with Keith and Shiro watching the sunset. This is another part of why it offends me that this show didn’t have Shiro and Keith hanging out together. Shiro had told everyone to spend time with people they cared about. Here Keith is by himself when he could have been hanging out with Shiro. They’re supposed to be super close, after all. And the show has the audacity to use the music of a scene that was part of the exploration of why and how Shiro and Keith were so close, and instead now have Keith alone and joined by Lance. Maybe the reuse of the music is just more evidence of how badly produced this season was that they didn’t bother getting new music, that they didn’t think through reusing old music, ignoring how repeating themes has an explicit effect on the interpretation of a scene? I mean, after watching this show enough, analyzing what I have, reading the analysis others have written, I can’t help but to question the competence of the executive producers and their creative team. Maybe they really were ignorant of the use of music in film and video series. Or maybe in reusing this music, they were making a statement about no longer caring about the relationship between Shiro and Keith. We know that the EPs always had a preference for Keith and only ever saw Shiro as a something to have Keith narratively step on in his ascendance to the position of main character of the show. Maybe to them, this music is only Keith’s music, and they don’t recognize the music as an expression of Shiro and Keith’s relationship. Maybe using the music again here, unassociated with Shiro, was a homophobic action on part of the EPs and their creative team in trying to distance Keith from Shiro now that they had written Shiro as gay. Or maybe they just didn’t put much thought into the implications of using this music in this scene. They haven’t demonstrated themselves to be all that willing (or capable) of thinking through the implications of their creative decisions, after all.

In short, I really, really do not like this scene.

Lance is wearing pots and pans all over his body. He says Coran is making him wear it for his date with Allura. It’s supposed to be funny, but it’s not. Keith reacts, “A date? With Allura? Well done, Lance.” I’m sorry, what? The show seems to consider a guy getting a girl to say yes to him is an achievement on the guy’s part. He’s done something well by finally getting her to say yes. “Well done.” Ugh. Allura is a person, not an achievement.

Keith tries to reassure Lance that if Allura’s dating him that it’s because she likes him. This development between Lance and Allura just does not feel natural to me. It could have, but the show was too lazy to do the work to deal with the baggage that comes with having spent so long writing Lance to be hyper flirtatious and instantaneously jealous.

Keith says, “That’s why we’ve got to end this war. And we’re going to do it with the Lance who’s the Paladin of the Red Lion, the Lance that’s always got my back, and the Lance who knows exactly who he is and what he’s got to offer.” There really hasn’t been anything to explain a change in Lance no longer having a problem with Keith. It’s like once 7x06 “The Journey Within” was done, the show decided to pretend that that plot solved whatever contention there was between Lance and Keith. Part of the problem is that the show never actually explained where that contention came from. They were supposedly rivals, but why? I think their being rivals was more bullet-point characterization. The creative team never bothered to develop an explanation for themselves, so there was never anything to include in the show to explain it. Their rivalry extended no further than just saying that they were rivals. Keith says that Lance now “knows exactly who he is and what he’s got to offer,” and this sounds like they intend this to reference Lance’s insecurities, but the show has not actually resolved those insecurities. It’s just more of this show having important character stuff all occur off-screen.

The scene clearly was meant to be interpreted as emotional and demonstrating friendship between Keith and Lance, but there are too many holes in the scene for it to actually feel like that to me.

Allura arrives at Lance’s family’s house. I actually really do like the clothes Lance is wearing for this date. Allura is reduced to her appearance by both Lance’s mother and Lance himself by how energetically they comment on her appearance as she walks through the door. Their reactions to Allura are just too forceful.

Lance has on-screen identified himself as being from Cuba. I found it odd that back in 7x05 “The Ruins,” Lance calls his grandmother “meemaw” instead of abuela or abuelita. Here, he calls his grandfather “Pop Pop,” which does not seem like what a Cuban boy would call his grandfather. Veronica also calls their grandfather “Pop Pop.” I don’t know Cuban culture well at all, but even still it seems off to me. It makes it feel like Lance has only ever been Cuban in name only.

During dinner, Lance’s family spends a lot of time mocking him. This could very much be an origin for most of Lance’s insecurities. He’s clearly upset as they laugh at him. We’re told by one of Lance’s relatives that the only reason Lance is being allowed to sit at “the adult table” during this meal is because Lance invited Allura. It really doesn’t feel like Lance’s family values him. This scene is supposed to be showing to us the big love Lance felt was missing all the times throughout earlier seasons he expressed sadness over being so far apart from his family. But this doesn’t feel like a loving family to me, and Lance is not reacting in any way right now like he’s okay with how they’re behaving. His arms are crossed, and he’s scowling. They’re clearly making him feel bad. And I get the impression that we’re to interpret this as how they normally treat him. So then, if his family picks on him so much, why would he miss them so badly earlier in the show. It does not feel consistently written whatsoever.

Veronica hints to Lance that she’s interested in Keith, and Lance very loudly and animatedly objects to the idea, and it’s really weird. Did the show not just immediately prior to dinner give us a scene in which we’re supposed to interpret the rift between Lance and Keith as resolved? Where is this spastic reversal coming from?

As an aside, Lance’s mother tells Allura, “Lance never brings girls home. You must really mean something to him.” Allura says, “That’s strange. He always gave off the impression of being rather popular with women.” His mother replies, “He gets that from his father. It’s all talk. But if you can get past that, you’ll find a good boy with a big heart.” Wow. So, Lance’s father is hyper flirtatious and aggressively jealous too? That is not a healthy mentality for this show to be normalizing like it is. And to have Lance’s mother excuse that behavior like it’s okay for a man to behave that way is appalling. The line, “if you can get past that, you’ll find a good boy with a big heart,” is the show saying that it’s a woman’s responsibility to make herself not have a problem with a guy who flirts with nearly every woman he sees and gets aggressively jealous over her. This is just so wrong. And that this was written by a female writer makes it even more disturbing.

Veronica leads a toast “to family,” and even Lance, despite having been picked on, is happy about the toast. Allura, however, is saddened by it, and Lance notices.

Meanwhile, Romelle talks to Luca. This is the one scene of Romelle’s in the entire series that I actually really like. This scene hints to me at what Romelle could have been to this show had she been written well. The scene first reestablishes that Romelle knows Luca personally as she starts the conversation. Romelle says, “I’m so glad to see you’re alright Luca. We can help. What happened to you, where’s the Colony?” Luca rejects Romelle, saying, “So you can betray them yet again? You abandoned us, Romelle. And for the Paladins of Voltron! The very ones who killed our savior, Lotor!” Romelle is shocked at Luca’s reaction. Luca continues, “You’ve sided with the Great Destroyers! She told us of their lies! She’s going to fix it all! She’ll reunite us with Lotor! With Altea! You don’t stand a chance against Honerva!”

And then Luca gasps, there’s a flash, an outlined shot of Honerva’s face, and Luca falls over dead. Seems like Honerva killed Luca from a distance with her space magic to keep her from talking anymore. There’s a shot of Honerva, like so much of this show, still weirdly standing in the middle of an empty room. So now, the episode has confirmed where Luca came from, that her attack on Earth at the end of last season had at least something to do with Honerva, thereby setting Honerva up as the final big villain of the show. I have never really found Honerva/Haggar interesting. But, I guess, at least the final main villain being Honerva does sort of stage the conflict as Honerva versus Allura, space witch versus space witch. Honerva as a foil for Allura is a good structure for the show. I don’t think the show does well exploring that foil parallel though because none of what Honerva does is related to any of Allura’s character motivations. The best villains in stories are ones who are directly connected to the protagonist’s goals. This show doesn’t give Allura any goals other than stop the Galra though. The protagonist-antagonist contention for this season, and really most of the show as a whole, is barely existent. The story would have been far stronger if the protagonists had had clear goals.

Lance and Allura go for a walk to a park. They look at leafless trees. Lance says, “This place used to be so beautiful,” and Allura responds, “It’s my fault the Galra did this to your home.” We’re not told where in the world they are nor what time of year it is. Given this bit of dialog, I think we’re supposed to interpret these trees as dead. But my first thought was that it was autumn, and the trees had lost their leaves. Lance tries to reassure Allura that it’s not her fault and that he’s glad to have met her. Allura touches the tree and does a hand-glowing thing. The tree glows, grows, and all the plants around the park gain leaves. So, again, we were supposed to interpret the trees of this park as having somehow died, right? And she just brought them back to life? Or did she just make them gain leaves in the middle or depth of autumn?

Allura says that while Team Voltron was out in the universe fighting the Galra, “I somehow felt like we were a family.” Of course, the show never really depicted them as being a loving family. Most of the characters always were angrily yelling at each other. “Each of us was alone, but we were alone together,” she says. Clearly, the writer thinks this is a poignant line, but, while it does have a certain truth to it, it’s not a flattering one. Being “alone, but […] alone together,” isn’t being a family. It isn’t being friends. It isn’t a close bond. It’s a statement that though they had to work together, they never actually were close to each other.

“But now, here on Earth, I see that everyone already has a family.” Well, Shiro doesn’t. Not that this show cared about addressing that because that would require the EPs and the writers to care about Shiro. It’s also really weird to have Allura talking like she doesn’t have a family, when the show very explicitly visually juxtaposed Allura being visited by Coran and Romelle in the hospital at the end of 7x13 “Lions’ Pride Part 2” with Hunk and his family, Pidge and her family, Lance and his family, and even Keith with Krolia and Kolivan. Why is this show suddenly having Allura discard Coran as part of her sense of family? This very episode had Coran acting as if he were Allura’s father. Having Allura act this way now is so out of place.

She continues that they have “a home to return to once the war is over. Everyone except me.” I can totally understand her being sad over Altea being gone. That is totally reasonable to bring up. It has an unfortunate dimension given what happens at the end of this season though. The season opens with Allura lamenting not having a family and a home to return to after the war is over, and then ends the show by having her give up her life, rebooting all existence, restoring Altea to existence, but she doesn’t get to benefit from her work. She doesn’t get to go home.

Allura’s story this entire season is hugely depressing, and I remember the first time I watched this season feeling that Allura herself was deeply depressed the whole time. That’s not a good message for the show to send either: If you’re depressed, then the only way out is dying.

“It’s silly,” she continues, “but I used to think that the team relied on me.” It once did, back in seasons one and two. But then the EPs wanted Keith as Black Paladin more than anything, and that put Allura in the Blue Lion, and ever since, her position of leadership has been eliminated. She just follows orders from Keith now. It makes me mourn for what Allura could have been if she been written with respect and a desire to show a strong female character in a position of leadership instead of reduced to a magical person of color who has to give up her life to magically fix everyone’s problems. In past commentaries, I have referred to Allura’s previous position of leadership on the Castle of Lions as being like she was an admiral overseeing the fleet. Imagine what it would be like if she was in command of the Atlas, not as Captain, but as an Admiral. Imagine how she could have been written such that Sanda was another foil to Allura, and with Sanda gone, Allura filling that void in fleet leadership.

Allura says that she gains strength from the Paladins. I mean, sure, that should be blatantly true by this point in a story with a found family theme, and it should be true for everyone about everyone in that found family. I don’t think that it is anywhere near fully realized though.

Lance tries to assure her, telling her that she’s not alone. “I don’t care that this is only our first date, Allura, I love you.” Really? This show went there, having Lance say “I love you” on the first date, and the creative team of this show didn’t think there was anything wrong with that? It’s at least notably immature of him to have done so. That the solution to a woman having complex emotions and thoughts about something is to just tell her “I love you” and everything is solved?

In response to Allura’s asking, “You truly feel that way,” Lance takes Allura’s hand and makes her touch his chest and says, “With all my heart.” It’s a little cliché, but it’s still way too soon. Against a glowing background, Lance and Allura, in silhouette, kiss. I wonder if this kiss was added late into the production because the animation is stiff and a little jerky and feels really different to most of the show’s animation.

So yeah, their first date and Lance has said “I love you” and they’ve kissed. On the first date. Now, I know this show doesn’t have the patience to build up a story over time, the show has taken so many narrative short-cuts, but this is just too damn fast. It just feels like there’s something missing to get to this point.

Beezer arrives for some reason. He takes a picture and gives it to them. Why is Beezer in the park? There definitely feels like there’s something missing.

Allura arrives at her room, and Coran and Romelle are waiting for her. Cut to the meeting room, where the three of them are talking to Shiro. Allura says, “If Honerva sent that beast, then our mission must change.” Shiro says, “No, we have a plan and we need to stick to it. If Honerva is behind this, then I’m sure we’ll find her along the way.” Allura follows up, “Or she’ll find us.” It is interesting that Allura’s instincts were very much right here. I wonder how much difficulty they could have spared the universe (and other realities) if they had altered their mission to actively looking for Honerva.

The time has come for the team to leave, Voltron and the Atlas. I like getting another shot of the scale of the Lions next to the Atlas for comparison. I do very much like the design of the Atlas ship. A huge crowd is there to see them off.

I’ve seen people point out this animation error before, and I want to point it out again because it’s odd. In the first shot behind the Paladins and crew on the stage, from center stage outward, the Paladins are standing Keith, Lance, Allura, Pidge, and Hunk. Then in the next shot, a reverse shot, from center stage outward, it’s Keith, Allura, Lance, Pidge, and Hunk. It’s odd that Lance and Allura are flipped from one shot to the next.

Sam starts a speech, and then Keith takes over. Allura then takes over from Keith. There’s a montage of Hunk hugging his family and Lance hugging his. One of Lance’s family hugs Allura such that he lifts her off the ground.

Then Shiro takes over from Allura. “Each of you have given something to this fight. Many have been lost, but not in vain because through their sacrifice, many more will live on.” The memorial wall of the dead of the Garrison is shown, and then a close up of Sanda’s placard. Why in the freaking world would they chose to juxtapose Shiro’s statement with Sanda’s picture instead of Adam’s? That’s really offensive and shows how little this creative team actually cared about Shiro and Adam and the inclusion of a queer relationship on the show.

The Atlas launches. I have to agree with others who’ve pointed it out, the way Shiro is standing in the shot of the camera looking over Team Voltron from behind on the bridge of the Atlas does not look like Shiro’s posture, it looks very much like how we’ve seen Allura stand many times before.

The music during the launch is nice.

So, that’s the first episode of the final season. It’s very much a different kind of story than most episodes of the show. There is a lot of focus on relationships of various kinds. The Allura-Lance romance is most prominent, and it’s really uncomfortable. It just amazes me that a story that so strongly reinforces traditional gender norms, patriarchal family structures, and rewards a male character with success through the nice guy trope was written by a female writer.

#voltron legendary defender #voltron #vld #voltron criticism #vld criticism #voltron critical #vld critical #vld season 8 #vld 8x01 #commentary

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catty-words · 6 years

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despite the new year being an arbitrary way to mark the passage of time, it provides a great opportunity to get sentimental as shit. i wanna take a moment to appreciate the people who make a difference in my life.

copious amounts of love found below the cut:

to @bethanyactually -- you are one of the people i’ve been friends with the longest on this site, and i’m so grateful to have so many fandoms in common. you are kind and generous and thoughtful -- i cherish every message you send me. our writer/beta relationship is honestly one of the most important dynamics in my life. i love working on fic with you, and i love you in general. thanks for being you.

to @bisummers -- i love you, you talented, beautiful, wonderful lady! i love that we share an appreciation of fuffy and in the heights because sharing interests with you is so much fun. your creative edits are so mind-bogglingly cool -- i can’t wait to see what else you create in 2018, but i promise to leave plenty of praise in the tags. also, you watched crazy ex girlfriend for me this year even though you didn’t enjoy it that much, and that was really touching. thanks for being my friend!

to @neonbars -- hey kid. we were both kind of disasters this year, huh? our respective depression has kept us from touching base very often in the back half of 2017, but not even that could stop me from counting you as one of my closest and most cherished friends. you are so, so strong to deal with all the trauma in your life and still find the courage to go back to school and support yourself. you try so hard, and i know the weight of that trying is hard to bear sometimes, but the fact that you’re still carrying on? you’re an inspiration. i love you so so much.

to @lesbidar -- you are incredible!!!! i still get a little starstruck when i talk to you sometimes because you’re the dazzling combination of kind and creative and beautiful. your webcomic is so interesting, and i admire you a lot for putting a project you’ve poured so much of yourself into out in the world. also, you’re a talented writer, and the btvs femslash fandom is so lucky to have you. i’m so lucky to have you. *muah*

to @textsfromumbridge -- 2017 brought you to me, and i love this year for doing that! you’re fun and funny and so easy to talk to. thanks for being one of my main sluts. i love you and i can’t wait to see what 2018 will bring for us to fangirl about together.

to @pepperf -- listen. no matter what fandom you end up writing for, you are also going to be one of my very favorite authors. your writing is with me, you know? influencing me and inspiring me forevermore. also, you’re a swell person, and i love you, and i love hearing what silly adventures your cats are getting up to. thanks for being in my life.

to @thebadddestwolf -- you are such a role model to me -- you have your life together and you have a really strong sense of who you are. you’re funny and generous and every tag-rant about your life makes me love you a little more. plus, your ability to write heart-twisting angst is unparalleled. thanks for being my friend!

to @thediaryoflaurapalmer -- first of all, thanks for keeping the community fandom alive with your continued giffing. secondly, every time you tag me in something, my heart melts a little bit. you are so sweet, and you deserve so much happiness. i love you!

to @hedawolf -- it’s so great to see you passionate about a story again, but i just want you to know: our fandoms may change, but i will always be here loving the heck outta you and your talented self!

to @buffster -- your buffyverse observations give me a richer enjoyment of a show that’s very dear to my heart, and that is no small thing. thank you for taking the time out of your year to share your thoughts. they make at least one person’s life better.

to @bisexualcordelia -- you are the most fabulous person i know - stylish and beautiful. and your take-no-prisoners attitude is something i admire. it’s been a pleasure to share the buffy fandom with you. i love you. i hope your coming year brings joy and prosperity.

to @jenny-calendar -- honestly you’re just the sweetest person alive? how could someone know you and not be grateful to have you in their life?? i continue to enjoy the depth your bring to jenny calendar. you are a gem and an excellent writer. i hope you feel creative and refreshed in 2018.

to @sunnydaleslut -- i love you!!! may your aesthetic become even more punk rock in the coming year. may your hair be dyed several bold colors. may we continue to enjoy trashy ships together. thanks for being in my life!

to @regenderate -- we don’t talk a lot in the one-on-one sense, but i really do enjoy having you on my dash. your buffy commentary is so wise and chill. keep on being great!

to @thelma2017dirjoachimtrier -- we fall out of touch constantly, but i really love you a lot! every conversation we’ve had has been enjoyable and your meta analysis is a gift to the world.

to @swan-heda -- you’re hilarious and spunky and i’m very grateful to run in some of the same circles as you.

to @kathubs -- where do i even begin!? you are the definition of magnanimous. you are the loveliest person on this website. you spread joy and kindness wherever you go, and i love you so much!! thank you for making tumblr a softer and more enjoyable place to me. now imagine me and amber pulling you into a warm embrace.

to @loosey-goosey -- you are such a good and understanding friend. thanks for always offering a sympathetic ear when i’m feeling blue. you’re kindness is unparalleled, and i am extremely grateful for your presence in my life.

to @lemontoaknifefight -- your enthusiasm for the things you love is so infectious. you bring a lot of happiness and light to my dash, so thank you. also, it’s been an absolute gift to watch you find love this year. may 2018 bring even more goodness to you.

to @buffyscmmers -- wow, um, i just love you a lot. you’re talented and provide a really consistently calming presence to my dash. thanks for making beautiful stuff for the buffy fandom, and thanks for being my friend. <3

to @anyasbunny -- you absolute, adorable delight. i am so lucky to know you. thanks for being the sweetest.

to @womanaction -- you’re classy and beautiful and you bless my dash every day. thanks for being you!

to @scienceofficer-winifredburkle -- i think you’re swell. i hope the new year only brings good things for you.

to @a-mi-zivi -- i really appreciate your multi-fandom madness of a blog and also your charming self. much love for you!

to @bunchofbloom -- the efforts you go to to provide the crazy ex fandom with content is admirable. i admire you. thanks for all that you, and for being a super cool person!

to @starshollowisonahellmouth -- you are so sweet, and i really appreciate that our buffyverse interests are so complementary. thanks for being awesome!

to @valenciaperez -- idk man. i just think you’re really cool. so thanks for blessing my dash with your sweet, sweet self.

to @annbradleys -- i’m so glad we found each other this year! you are a total sweetheart, and i’m happy to call you my friend.

to @dancesong17 -- i think you’re really cool and well-spoken and funny, and i just generally get a kick outta you. so thanks for being you!

#i hope i didn't leave anyone out #that's always the worry when you make stuff like this #but i love all you guys a lot!#thanks for making my year that much more enjoyable!!

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castaliareed · 7 years

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Tinfoil & Crack: The Final Face of Arya Stark

I've been sitting on this theory for a few weeks/months. I've even researched i.e. casually searched google to see if anyone else had come up with something similar. So far it doesn't look like it.

And as much as I love writing about this stuff...sometimes it's hard. Because there can be lots of judging out there about fans/writers/etc. who write meta, blogs, and fics. So I want to say how much I appreciate those who do! Not everyone gets it but that's ok.

Before I get into the details, I want to give you a FULL DISCLAIMER: I don't actually like this theory or want it to be true! There are folks who also won’t like this theory because Arya’s story is a lot about her becoming her true self. Saying ‘I am Arya.’ So please read the part about why I don’t actually like this theory.

This piece will cover 1) The Theory, 2) Reasons it's possible, 3) Reasons I hate this theory, and 4) Other possibilities AND the theory with the highest possibility. And after having written all of this, I think one of the other possibilities is much more likely and probably the one I will use in my fic. ;-)

Ok let's get right into it. MAYBE POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD. I try to avoid the leaks but they weave their way into the thinking.

The Theory

Arya will take a final face and it will not be her own. This face will be the face she wears for the rest of her life. That final face must be both someone very important to the story and to her. Or she needs to use it to fool someone who knows her. The stakes need to be high! There are only a few people that qualify. Really, there are only three that are still alive, Jon, Sansa, and Bran. Of those three faces, it is Sansa's face that she will wear in the endgame. (Again this is just one very tinfoil theory!)

This requires that something awful happens to Sansa. She has to die. (This is one of the reasons I hate this theory.) If she does die in the story I don't think it will be permanent. This world has established that resurrection is possible. So, whatever happens, I don't think death for Sansa would be forever. Unless of course, Arya takes her face that is only sorta forever.

Let's go over the ways she could die. In no particular order, her are the ways she could die. 1) She could die when they try to take down Littlefinger. 2) She could die at the hand of a wight during the war for the Dawn. 3) The Night King could try to take her and instead of going with him she kills herself. She has already established on the show that she will not let herself be taken by a man intent on raping her. 4) Daenerys tries to turn her into dragon kibble. 5) She dies in childbirth. More importantly, she dies giving birth to Jon's child.

On her death bed, we have all the remaining Starks with her. Maybe Bran tries to save her. Nothing can be done. Jon is completely defeated by the loss of Sansa. He doesn't want to go on. If there is a child, it will now grow up motherless. This is an important fact. Jon didn't want to father a bastard. I believe this was only partly because of the issue of status. But more because he did not want a child to grow up motherless.

Arya watches all of this. Maybe her and Sansa have a heartfelt moment at the end. They forgive each other for all the hurt they caused. Arya decides she will sacrifice herself and take Sansa's face and raise Sansa's child. If there is no child, she takes Sansa's face to get Jon to keep going.

Why it's possible

In Westeros, sibling relationships are the most important relationships. Arya and Sansa are the Frozen sisters.

Early in AGoT, Jon and Arya have a conversation after she has argued with Sansa. The argument caused Septa Mordane to criticize Arya's sewing which led Arya to run away from the sewing lesson. She knows she is in trouble. Jon says "You will be sewing all through winter." as punishment. He also tells her they will find her body frozen with a needle in her hand.

Most people focus on the foreshadowing of Arya's death. Sure this could mean she will be using her sword Needle all through winter and when spring comes she is found dead with the sword Jon gave her. (Most likely) It could also mean she is literally sewing all through winter as Sansa.

Another discussion Arya has in AGoT is with Ned. He tells her "She will marry a king and rule his castle." Arya says no that is not her that is Sansa. Consistently, Ned's daughters prove the statement "from the mouth of babes." They clue him into the reality of things he can't see because of his own bias. But what if both Ned and Arya are correct here. It is Arya that will marry a King and rule his castle as Sansa.

Arya's storyline has been much closer to Catelyn's than Sansa's. She was in the Riverlands where Cat grew up. She takes the name Cat of the Canals while in Braavos. Raising a child that is not her own as Cat was supposed to raise Jon would bring that storyline full circle. Some theories think this is something Sansa will do. She looks more like Catelyn. But her personality and plotline being in the Vale follow Ned. Both girls have a lot of their father and mother in them. Arya is the true heir to Cat's personality and story.

An endgame like this would also play into GRRM's original outline that had Jon and Arya falling in love. Many believe this outline has either been completely abandoned at this point or that the Starkcest has been transferred to Sansa's character. What if both the original outline holds some weight and the incest plotline has been transferred to Sansa?

This would give a purpose to all the face changing in Arya's storyline. I get that the face changing is a commentary on womanhood and identity. The notion that women 'put on their face' i.e. makeup. The face-changing needs to serve some purpose in the endgame. And taking a face to kill Walder Frey is just not enough. As stated up top, she needs to take the face of someone important to the story and important to her and/or to use face-changing to trick someone important to her.

Why I don't like this theory

It seems so contradictory to Arya’s character development. I don't want to live in a world where both Stark sisters can't exist in their own right. Their relationship, everything about them is imperfectly perfect. They are great because they are exactly like siblings or sisters. I don't have a sister but I have younger brothers and I see so much of that relationship in Sansa and Arya.

I want to see these young women grow into fully realized people. To live out their hopes and dreams. To continue to have a fraught relationship because they will always love each other and always argue. Most of all I want both of them to be happy.

An end game like this, says that women have to become something else eventually. That we can't exist as our own individuals. And maybe that would be the commentary. Maybe that is what the story is trying to tell us. Look at what this world does to us. Look what all this war, fighting, politics, patriarchy forces us to become. We don't live in a world in which both a Sansa and an Arya can exist, at least not yet. It is a world that forces us to choose. Maybe that is something we need to think about.

Other possibilities

Working out this theory led me to think about other ways Arya's face-changing could be important to the endgame. And it is the last possibility that I think has the best chance of coming to fruition.

1) Arya takes someone else's face. This could be Jon or Bran. Or she glamours herself temporarily to be Jon (without him dying) in order to take out Daenerys.

2) Arya only uses another face when taking out LF. In this case, she could temporarily take Sansa's or Catelyn. She would use glamouring not the pull on face method.

3) She takes Jaime's face in order to kill Cersei. Thus, getting rid of both Lannisters. The s.7 trailer seems to suggest Arya and Cersei are on a collision course.

4) She accepts her own identity and gives up the face changing entirely. This possibility is particularly annoying. Because why do the face changing at all.

5) She takes the face of a wight in order to kill the NK.

6) Arya will save the day. GRRM has said this will happen. I'm reminded of a scene in LoTR in which Eowyn kills the Witch King. In the recent EW cover, Arya is shown with the Catspaw's dagger. A valyrian steel dagger the perfect weapon to kill a white walker. Is it possible that Arya takes someone's face in order to fight in Jon's army against the walkers? Because there is no way Jon would agree to let Arya fight in the war on her own. Maybe she almost dies after the battle and Bran is able to save her. A recent re-watch of LoTR The Return of the King had me thinking that Eowyn wasn't very convincing when she went off to battle supposedly disguised. Seriously, none of those riders knew it was her? If you are going to sneak into your uncle and brother's army you really need a good disguise. Eowyn's disguise was crap. Arya would not make the same mistake. And there is no way Arya is sitting out the Great War.

If #6 is the theory that happens, I do hope that when/if Arya is found near death on the battlefield it is not Jon that finds her but Sansa. Eomer and Eowyn's relationship is very similar to Sansa and Arya's. It would be poetic for Sansa to be the one to find her. To Sansa see that she saved the day and to accept her as she is.

I've written all this to say that face-changing for Arya has to be important to the endgame of the overall story not just her story. In general, I've not really liked the face changing plot. It's hard to see what the point of it all is. Yes, it’s important to her personal story but this personal story must also fit into the big story. Sure it let's her kill the likes of Walder Frey in the show but Frey would not have known what she looked like. So changing her face was a bit unnecessary and most likely it will be someone like Lady Stoneheart who kills Frey in the books. Arya has to use it fool someone who knows her. It may very well be used to kill Cersei. BUT the most likely candidate is Jon 'You know nothing' Snow. It's all a matter of what face she takes to do it, the reasons behind it, and if it is a face she will wear forever.

#arya stark #the final face of arya stark #asoiaf meta #tinfoil and crack

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