#Sweet Home 1x06

[amuseoffyre]

@triflesandparsnips made a rather spiffy observation on my post about Ed and face-touching:

It may be worthwhile, considering how much face/mouth violence Ed is sensitive to -- and when we see or hear about it -- to do a review of how much of that face sensitivity is also associated with food and eating.

And hooboy, I ended up down a rabbithole thinking about Ed and food and it got so long, it earned itself its own little post.

These are all the food/eating related moments that tie in directly to Ed having strong emotional responses. I didn't limit it to just the face-touching because there's a lot of emotional mess going on as well.

When Stede wakes him for brekkie in 1x04, he recoils immediately as he wakes, until he realises who's beside him (especially pertinent since Ed wakes in 2x03 and asks if anything was done to him while he was unconscious - he even anticipates harm while sleeping).

in 1x05, when he's being taught the intricacies of dining and the French captain slaps on his big red trauma button while he's sitting at a dining table and already feeling out of his depth with all the tablewear.

Cut to the flashback in 1x05 which has him and his mum talking quietly in one part of the room, but his father is there, slumped and drunk on the family dining table, setting the domestic sphere as a place of constant present threat.

Later in 1x05, when he's alone at the party, he's freaking out over not knowing how to deal with this kind of fancy-folk dining and then someone touches his face - double-whammy of the emotional stuff and the physical.

1x06 gives us the main flashback to his childhood and his father's violent reaction to 'slop' and 1x07 has stressed, out-of-his-comfort-zone hangry Ed, trying desperately to keep up the Blackbeard appearance ("Blackbeard can't be seen treasure hunting!") and again, something touches his body/head unexpectedly and he lashes out defensively.

There is so much going on in the brekkie scene that I can't even get into it here. Ed trying to code-switch between the way he interacts with Stede and Jack respectively, but most significantly, when Jack talks over him and ignores him trying to change the subject about violence he's done in the past, Ed shrinks down in the chair, doing the small-and-quiet thing he does when he's unhappy (one day I will yell about Ed taking refuge surrounding himself with gold/yellow things - blankets, chairs, robes, pillowforts. His version of the battle jacket).

1x10 has several moments. First is the marmalade - there's something child-like about the blanket fort and eating sweet sticky things with his fingers, taking comfort in food and hiding.

The second is something that is viscerally explained in S2 - when he forcefeeds Izzy his own toe. The contrast of the brutality and the very paternal "now don't forget to chew" like an adult talking to a child gave me chills the first time I watched it.

The last thing in 1x10 isn't necessarily food, but hooooboy there is something in the way he sets himself up at what was Stede's brekkie table, putting on the worst of personas possible, that is very much reminding me of his dad at the table in a bare, empty home, lit by a single candle, in that first flashback.

And now, into S2, and our man starts things in a totally healthy and normal way - eating the cake with his weapon. And, more importantly, "did everybody get cake?" Again, we have the juxtaposition of implicitly care-taking language against the surrounding violence and brutality.

The gravy basket tells us so much as well - he wakes up to the horror of being vulnerable, trapped by his own body and force-fed by someone who we learn had a habit of forcefeeding live crabs to people and who had threatened to flay Ed's skin off and feed it to him. He's rightfully afraid that anything Hornigold feeds him might be poisoned.

Once again, we have the parental energy of "open up for the cargo ship" tangled up with the fear of threat and violence and horror - poisoning, flaying and force-feeding.

Ed's fear has the two utterly bound up together, inescapably so. His father shaped his childhood and Hornigold stepped into that role when Ed became an outlaw.

But even in this messy and horrifying confrontation with his own psyche and layered up with the horrors he's lived through as a boy, some part of Ed still desperately wants the comfort and security of food and home, especially when the food his subconscious is gathering for him are the ingredients for Māori boil-up, something his mother would very likely have made for them.

It speaks measures that the three things he wants to live for include good food and warmth and orgasms. No fame. No glory. No reputation. Just to be loved and safe and warm and fed.

Jump forward to 2x04 and dinner with Bonny and Read. Ed is unsurprised by the degree of violence happening throughout, but does hesitate when poison comes into the equation - "I got the present you left for me in my glass" - Ed immediately sets down his glass, staring at it warily. Again, calling back to the Gravy Basket and his fear that anything given to him might be poisoned.

He's already on edge and off-balance - "not sure what's real and what's the basket" and there may or may not be poison and knives and the person he trusted may or may not betray him again and he's already spinning out when Anne - who had already declared her intention to provoke Ed and Mary - cheerfully lands the bombshell of why Stede left him.

No small wonder he storms out of the room, but it does lead to them having a much-needed conversation and he and Stede are on a much steadier footing after.

And then, of course, we have the breakfast of 2x07. This one is especially significant because Ed makes the brekkie then disposes of his leathers. He's actively trying to step from one mode of life to another, from the Blackbeard-and-Piracy into the domestic, softer life he's been quietly craving his entire life.

Only, as he says himself, "I don't think I've ever made regular breakfast for anyone before". He's trying, but it's something new and unfamiliar to him and it's "my way of saying thank you".

And lastly, we have the scene with the fisherman and his son where Ed has shoe-horned himself into what he thinks is the solution to all his problems and also includes a father-son dynamic, because our man can't do anything without his daddy issues rearing their ugly head.

Once again, Ed is out of his depth, but at the opposite end of the scale from the party ship. This is a place he thinks he should fit but he doesn't. This is the domesticity he craved, but without understanding or appreciating the real work that is needed to get there.

And once again, over a meal, he has an angry father expressing violence. "Control your pop-pop!" he tells the boy who is around the same age as he was when he killed his father. But he doesn't fight back, he doesn't strike out at Pop-pop, and the son steps between them and pulls his dad back several times.

And it's this father-figure's words that ring in Ed's ears when he realises Stede may be in danger. "If you were ever good at anything, do that". And if there's one thing Ed Teach is good at, it's fighting for the people he loves.

In conclusion our Mr. Teach wants a safe and comfortable home-life, with food and warmth (and orgasms), but he has no real experience of what that is really like or how to get it. His entire life has been a succession of threats and danger and men who would do harm to people in their charge, especially when they were unarmed, defenceless and vulnerable.

He doesn't know how to be safe yet, because he's never experienced it. All he's known until this point is a life of violence and danger and while he tried to move away from that, the violence and danger was still there - as Stede put it, there's no escaping it in their line of work.

But now, at the end of S2, for the first time in his life, he is actually able to say "No, I need to be away from piracy" because his whole journey through both seasons has been him trying and trying to step away from the life that has him by the throat.

And now, he's finally been able to do it and he's not alone. He has someone he's safe with and who is willing to do the work with him to help him figure things out. And give him good food, warmth and, of course, orgasms.

#ofmd #ofmd meta #ofmd thinkie thoughts #blackbeard #ed teach #long post

[classic-maya]

When do you think Brian fell in love with Justin?

Omg, a QaF fan??? In my DMs??? It’s more likely than you think. Ok I have many a thought and I’m going to work backwards. It might be controversial b/c I think it happened early on in season 1 because…

By 1x10 Brian is so whipped he drives all night to New York to find Justin and even though he is beyond pissed the second Justin gives him puppy dog eyes Brian is falling over himself to get inside him.

Look at Justin’s smug little face! He knows that he has Brian wrapped around his little finger. He starts stripping and Brian doesn’t do anything but Justin is so confident he teases him and asks if he needs help taking his clothes off. Justin is the king.

Before that in 1x08 after Craig beats Brian up outside of Babylon and gives Justin the ultimatum to go home now or never again; Brian storms off yelling an emphatic “fuck!” He thought Justin would go home and in that moment he was mourning the relationship. I think Brian was already in love. It hurt him to see Justin being asked to choose between his family and Brian but really between his true self and being accepted by his family. Brian knows this pain and it’s why he had not yet come out by this point in the show and it tears him up to see Justin go through that.

Two episodes before, 1x06, we see Brian looking at Justin’s drawing while someone under the covers is giving him head. This scene is the first time we see Brian have sex with someone else while actively imagining they are Justin instead. Also he goes to the art show at the center in this ep and he would not have done that just for Lindsay. He is there for Justin and he is sooo in love.

In 1x05 Brian kicks a trick out because the guy was rude to Justin. At this point Justin is already much more meaningful to him than a one night stand. After this Brian tells Justin not to rely on anyone else and the only person you can trust is yourself. I think this scene is so telling because ostensibly Brian is talking to Justin but really he is desperately trying to remind himself of this belief. He is already in love but he is also afraid of what that means.

I think Brian fell in love as early as 1x03 when Justin had the gall to steal two tricks from him. It was a like-recognizes-like moment. Brian for the very first time respected Justin and saw him as more than just some kid. In a scene at Woody’s in this ep Brian defends Justin to Michael and says “Leave him alone…he’s actually kind of sweet.” Justin’s move at the end of the ep was far from sweet and it not only turned Brian on, it had him head over heels. The way he smiles while kissing him on the dancefloor that night and holds him up in his arms like a trophy. I’m certain Brian took him home and couldn’t keep his hands off him the rest of the night.

For the rest of the season we see the tension between Brian’s love for Justin and Brian’s love for his lifestyle. Falling in love with someone is entirely discordant with Brian’s idea of himself and as we know he feels he can’t be trusted to love someone and have them love him in turn. He is terrified of that vulnerability and he doesn’t want to be hurt especially by someone he has allowed to get this close to him.

This follows them until season 5 when Brian finally allows himself to tell Justin that he loves him. He says it’s because of the bomb, but Brian already had to consider losing Justin once before, and instead of telling Justin that he loved him after the bashing he instead pretends that he didn’t even show up to the hospital despite visiting him every day and watching him sleep. Brian loved Justin from the beginning but he had so much work to do healing from his childhood and the walls he built up before he could even consider letting himself be vulnerable enough to admit it to Justin.

Finally, I just want to say that Justin is god’s strongest soldier. Was he perfect? No. Did he leave Brian and misunderstand him a few times? Yes. But jesus Brian did not make it easy on him. It takes a lot to love someone unconditionally even when they refuse to tell you what you both know is true.

Ok, stepping off my soapbox.

#queer as folk #qaf #britin #brian kinney #justin taylor #qaf meta #can you tell i just rewatched season 1 #anon #asks #orig

[alsaurus-loves-dean]

what do we (think we) know about the akrida? 

1x01: "The Akrida are a malevolent force. A monster not of this world. For centuries, they've tried to invade. The Men of Letters stopped them every time. But they're gone now." "They want to wipe out everyone here, including demons and all manner of monster, and take over our world. Samuel found evidence of a Men of Letters office in Savannah. It contained records of how the Akrida have crossed over in the past. Find where they're coming in, use this box to stop them." "What they didn't know is that the Akrida weren't just a threat to Earth, but to all of existence. Now, like I told you, there's gonna be some surprises. Hell, I'm still trying to find all the puzzle pieces myself. But I'll explain everything. And until then, I'll keep picking the music." 1x03: "Without that thing working, we don't stand a chance at stopping the Akrida from invading our world." "[A]ll of these unicorns started popping up as soon as the Akrida did." "The Akrida can't be stopped. Even with that thing working, there's too many of them. Me and my buddy, we went AWOL from hell. Crossed lines to make a deal with the Akrida. We get them that box, they let us live when they destroy all life on the planet." "[T]heir leader took a page out of the demonic playbook. It's hiding inside a human."

1x04: "You and your hunter friends are too weak to stop them, but you, a hunter and a soldier... you could be sharpened into a powerful weapon." "I was right. You are just like me. You're ready for the war against Akrida."

1x05: "It's just a theory, but these stingers could have been implanted by the Akrida, allowing them to take control of the human host." "While Carlos and I get on that, try to find the connection between these victims and... why the Akrida chose to control these people." "Our nightmares are rooted in trauma. They take shape in our darkest memories. ["You think that's where the Akrida hid the stingers."] Where better to hide them than a place where you don't want to face? A place where your deepest, darkest fears exist." "A radio tower would be a good way to send out a pied piper-type signal to lure rare monsters and bring them here." "[The] Akrida I heard in the councilman's mind and the others', there was talk about collecting essence from the remains of rare monsters." "So you're telling me by killing these monster unicorns, we've also been doing the Akrida's dirty work?" 1x06: "According to Carlos' research, they've been bouncing signals from radio towers all over the country, some outside of it even, drawing in unicorn monsters from everywhere."

1x07: "I'm just a worker bee, hon. They don't tell us everything. I was left here to give you a simple message. Our work here at the tower is done. We have everything we need. All that sweet, sweet monster essence is in our hands now. ["What's all that for?"] The queen, silly. Stand down, go home, and enjoy whatever life you have left to live." "I told you everything you need to know. Nothing can stop what's coming." "To be honest, given what's coming for all of mankind, I'd say ol' Hector here got off easy. Long live the queen."

#the winchesters #spnwin #akrida

[the-loststone]

Safir Reactions from 1x06

I binged Safir last night up to the latest episode (getting back into dizis and now I'm back to being that basic b*tch who stays up until 2:30 am watching a dizi) and I have some thoughts! (SPOILERS!)

First, I am loving the drama already. It is so melo!! I have loved the lead actor (Ilhan Sen) and actress (Ozge Yagiz) and had seen their previous works and enjoyed their acting immensely. I am so happy these two beauties are in a drama together. Their chemistry is amazing and they do a wonderful job. Not only are they wonderful together, and I absolutely ship them, but they have great chemistry with the rest of the cast.

So let's get into it:

Plot (so far):

At the moment, the plot is really good. We have our female lead (Feraye) who was in a long committed relationship with the SML (Yaman Gulsoy). As she is the daughter of servants for the Gulsoy family, they kept their relationship hidden from his family, although all her friends and some of her family knew about their relationship. Feraye's story is very reminiscent of cinderella. She has the evil step-mother and evil-step sister. Yaman, and his younger brother Okan get into some trouble and the evil stepmother witnesses it and uses it to blackmail Yaman and Okan. She orders Yaman to immediately marry her own daughter (Aleyna) who has had a long time crush on Yaman (and doesn't know about his relationship with her step-sister). Yaman, in a panic, does so. Feraye, heartbroken and confused (because Yaman was in love with her one day and they were talking about marriage, but the next day tells her he married her sister and actually loves Aleyna instead of sitting down and explaining anything to her, he ruthlessly breaks her heart) attempts suicide by arson. Now, in the midst of all this chaos, the eldest Gulsoy son returns home (Ates) and he finds her in the burning vineyard and saves her life. At the hospital, they learn that she was pregnant. Over the course of figuring out what to do, Ates proposes to her, hoping to save her from breaking her beloved father's heart and also hoping to avoid being forced to marry someone of his (evil) grandfather's choosing. Win-win. Ates is very charismatic. He is sweet and caring for Feraye, and to the audience, there is definitely the appearance that he knows more than he lets on. Yaman, now married and a horrible husband, is distraught with jealousy and lets out his toxic behavior. He stalks, harasses, vilifies, and abuses Feraye. Instead of doing anything logical, he acts selfishly and with lack of foresight. He proposes to run away with Feraye and keep her as a mistress and abandon his current wife (who is also her sister - even if it is a terrible sister). He continues to pressure her to the extent that she decides to do away with marrying Ates, who she appreciates for his kindness and generosity but at this point is definitely not in love with, and run away. Her friend promised to bring money so they could leave for Istanbul together where she can live in hiding and have her baby. Unfortunately, her friend went to Ates' mother for money saying that Feraye would leave Ates for 2 million dollars. Ates learns of this (from his mother's boasting about how she was right) and soon after Yaman learns of it as well.

There's also some business shenanigans going on with the family being bankrupt and hiding it from Ates (although again, this kid seems like he knows more than we think) and Okan going crazy.

Characters (so far):

Feraye: Feraye so far is a mix bag, I pity her and admire her, but can also be a bit frustrated with her. In the beginning, when we meet her, she is very in love with Yaman. From her point of view, he cheated on her and abandoned her for her sister. Completely heartbroken, she agrees to marry his brother who proposes a logical solution to her problems, which comes with the massive hiccup of having her in close proximity to her toxic ex. Feraye exhibits typical behavior for someone being overwhelmed with feeling and super hormonal, is understandably distraught. Some of her behavior is frustrating to the some viewers who can't understand why she still loves this obviously crazy individual, however as it is literally only a couple weeks since they broke up in such a confusing way, I'm not too surpised by her emotional behavior. Ates can only protect her so much, and she doesn't tell him his brother is the father of her child (although I suspect he knows). She doesn't really waiver though. Everytime Yaman harasses her she does try to avoid him and push him away believing she can not trust him and not willing to hear his excuses. However, the trailer for episode 1x07 may have her waiver on this when Yaman gets into an accident. Nevertheless, I do feel a lot of pity for her as she is the main victim of Yaman, her stepmother, and Okan's behavior. No matter what happens in the future, I don't see her ever being able to trust Yaman again, whether or not she gets with Ates.

Ates: Ates is by far my favorite character. Where a lot of characters in the show are led by their emotions, he is very cool and calm. A lot of his backstory is still unknown. So far, we know is very upfront about a lot. He doesn't like being lied to, which is unfortunately what everyone in his family is doing to him, and hates being out of control. I wouldn't be surprised if he was a sociopath, honestly, and with so much unknown about him,the writers may even make him into a villain, but to be honest, I would still be on his side because even if he is a mastermind manipulator, I am loving his character so much. He left for the US years earlier and is just returning now. He is trying to bond with his family again and though they started out okay, by becoming engaged to Feraye it has strained those bonds. However, Ates doesn't waiver. He doesn't hide his feelings. Unlike Yaman who hid his relationship with Feraye because he worried that she would not be accepted, Ates is very upfront (and I will admit it is likely because he needed to speed up the process so that he can believably be passed as the father of her child). He doesn't hide his relationship and does everything by the book. He has a demeanor that makes people fear his reaction if he is angry. Honestly the way people keep f*cking around, I can't wait to see what happens when he rains down fire on them like his behavior suggests he can do if he is pushed far enough. I'm looking forward to seeing him be a guy that teaches Feraye to trust again.

Yaman: The other end of our love triangle is a little b*tch. But honestly, I will admit that in the beginning, I did pity him. He obviously loves Feraye and seemed like a sweet boyfriend (although some of the latest flashbacks do show some signs of red flags tbh). He is a good older brother, protecting Okan and that is the reason for his trouble, not anything he did. So I can understand his frustration. He didn't deliberately do anything wrong in the beginning. Honestly, if this was a different story, I can see how the story would have him as the main lead and end-game for Feraye (which I really hope doesn't happen) -- and some people seem to continue to ship them despite his very obvious red flag behavior. See, my sympathy is not limitless. I think that once you shit the bed you can have second chances, but you can't have more chances than you deserve, especially when you're not actually trying to fix anything beyond yelling that you deserve a chance. Yaman, after breaking up with his girlfriend (brutally), marrying her sister, refusing to explain anything (even in vague terms), he then regrets. Which okay, yeah, I get it. Totally understandable that he panicked and after having done everything, he now tries to return to normal. But he just never does anything logically. After failing to talk to Feraye, who also very understandably doesn't want to hear his excuses, he doesn't try to have a civilized conversation with Ates. He doesn't do anything but continuously harass Feraye and refuses to take accountability for how the relationship ending was his fault. When he believes that she cheated on him with his brother during their relationship, he becomes the epitome of TOXIC. It's not a good look. And while some viewers may be able to stomach it and it can echo other male lead's 'passion' for their female leads, it is really just a good showing of how many red flags people ignore in excuse for 'true love.' Not a fan. It's really just toxic love, selfish love, obsession. I'm not saying his feelings aren't valid. But how he displays them is wrong. I also think his behavior towards Aleyna is disgusting, no matter how much I dislike her. What's distressing is that I understand him, I understand why he is acting this way, but I don't excuse it.

Cemile (evil-stepmother): Ugh the absolute worst! I honestly hate her. She is the one that started all of this and her motivations are extremely mercenary. She says she wants to do everything for her daughter, and I do believe she loves her daughter, but she is not the brightest woman. Blackmailing a guy into marrying your daughter isn't going to make her happy. She's going to be in a loveless marriage where she'll be a pushover because of unrequited love. She's a really stupid, jealous and selfish woman and I just really want to see what her comeuppance will be.

Okan: Okan is the youngest Gulsoy and by far the dumbest. He's easily led, doesn't have many braincells and is rather spineless. Now, he's the baby of the family, and so his family very obviously babies him a bit. In the beginning, the trouble is basically pushed way out of proportion of what it should have been because of his stupidity and panic. His actions lead to massive consequences for those around him and he is aware that he's dug a grave he's not going to be able to get himself out of and instead of lying in it himself, he's basically digging graves for everyone around him. Already, he's had a psychotic break from all the lies he's telling, pressured by his family and his fear. I'm not going to lie, Ates is doing a really good job guilt tripping him (whether or not he knows he's being lied to by Okan or not, it's really fun to watch) and it's a treat. The poor kid is out of his mind. Despite his guilt towards Ates, he's firmly on Yaman's side, feeling more guilty to Yaman for being the reason his relationship is in turmoil (broken). But like I said with Yaman, while I can understand his actions, I can't excuse them.

Aleyna: Aleyna is the most oblivious character. She is the one who knows absolutely nothing, living in a fairytale world where she's the main character. She's led by her wants and desires and has a remarkable lack of self-awareness. She knows when she's not wanted but she goes anyway, she knows when she's annoying but she acts out anyway, she knows when she's being treated badly but she excuses it anyway. In a lot of aspects, she's a pitiful person, and I don't like the way Yaman treats her, but she had a lot of power to walk away from that treatment because that relationship was based entirely on her imagination. She's just a spoiled child. Whether she gains any depth later on is to be seen.

Concluding notes:

I just really enjoy where this show is going. Waiting a week for updates is exhausting. I really hope it continues to do well. It's excellently directed and written so far, so hopefully they can keep up the good work. Now, with most dramas, after the first 9-12 episodes it falls into the trap of exhausted story lines, so while I expect it to happen again to this one, I'm enjoying the ride while it's good. And if it doesn't happen, I'll be pleasantly surprised.

#safir #dizi #turkish series #turkish dizi #ilhan sen #ozge yagiz #ates x feraye #ates gulsoy #yaman gulsoy #okan gulsoy #feraye yilmaz #sapphire #turkish drama

[wellntruly]

The problem with just giving my whole M*A*S*H Season 1 viewguide a watch, is that I think I might have been good at this. Because now I’m like, hmm Season 1, best season? Cannot possibly be!! But! !

Anyway I never posted my backstage notes on the first season because I didn’t take any notes on the first season, because I’d just had a minor surgery and was, a little bit rather medicated. Just enough to be like, peaceful dismissive flomp of the hand, wrist Very loose.

But I have thoughts now.

M*A*S*H Season 1 Notes Finally (Deluxe Episode Selection)

1x15 ‘Tuttle’

Phasing out the bits of original score laying over the start of the cold opens was a mistake, this is so worn-in & cozy I could cry

I had missed Hawkeye promptly swooping up this nun’s hand—to clean the engine oil off it with the bottom of his jacket. Overwhelmed that this would be his introduction to anyone following my list.

Also hadn’t realized I’d kicked off with an episode where Hawkeye starts talking about a man getting pregnant within the first three minutes. Starting strong for our BOY (gender neutral)

I’m just so happy. I was right, 'Tuttle' best first episode. 'Tuttle' best episode? I am also so happy watching the laugh track version again, I don’t know! I really can't figure out why I feel it highlights somehow how the early seasons were soooo Catch-22, the idiotic and painful absurdism of the military, and the surreal blitheness that those who can see it take refuge in.

Have I not noticed before that Radar’s cot is just one the beds from post-op, with that cross bar across the head of it

WAIT WE SAW SPARKY HERE???? ‘Tuttle’ perfect intro wow

Hawkeye does not frequently tent his eyebrows like this and good on it as we might be in a 'some dead, many injured' situation otherwise

Hehe I’d missed early seasons Radar, this sweet but entire little freak...

/

1x09 ‘Henry, Please Come Home’

They are all SO scruffy (even Radar!!!), yet Hawkeye also has his shirt tucked in. Disorienting visual moments to come back to. (Don’t hate it!)

I think about the physical dialogue of this wordless bit of Frank trying to get Hawkeye & Trapper to salute him all the time

I cannot figure why Hawkeye and Trapper are staying sooo low in the bath, up to their ears, besides that maybe they just happened into it on the day and found that it was extremely funny, because it is.

Okay and now I want to know why they are wearing kimonos over full Class A uniforms, with tie. They look so handsome and silly.

Really remembering now why this was my second up: the sequence where Henry takes charge is one of the more interesting and rewarding character bits of early Season 1. It’s important to know early on that Henry can step up, and really cares about his people, as he’s gonna be such a goofy buffoon a lot of the time, but will be called upon for gravity and pathos in certain moments. Seeing him in this episode bolsters those moments so much when they come later.

he literally seduced him

Fun I had just meant to stylize that with a hashtag and Tumblr did this to it. Leaving it!

/

1x06 ‘Yankee Doodle Doctor’

They really talked to generals a whole lot more in the early days huh

Lol wait, he’s only a brigadier general

The scene of Hawkeye & Trapper dancing in each other's arms around their tent is just….they are Together. This was the sixth episode.

TRAPPER JOHN, YOUR GOLDEN RETRIEVER BOYFRIEND: Hawkeye: “Oh, that’s my bad side.” Trapper: “You looked good to me.” Hawkeye: “Oh-oh-oh, you were good in that place! Isn’t that good?” Trapper: [laughs delightedly, beaming]

Trapper, literally, stepping in between them as Hawkeye's bodyguard, Hawkeye playing up the leading lady, “Save your voice, my darling”—THEM IN THIS EPISODE.

It’s funny that this is also our first & only glimpse of Alan Alda, Future Actual Director

Wait, is his name Crandle?? Oh lord I looked this up later: yes. Brigadier Gen. Crandell Clayton. Naming Awards.

Gary laughing when Wayne bonks him on the head with this prop mallet for “anesthesia” as powerful a painkiller as one ibuprofen

It’s just a good little monologue, huh. It gets me every time. Part of it is those haunted silver eyes, and we have the black & white to thank for that, but it’s just a nice bit of writing too, and a nice choice to play it almost calmly (tiredly) direct. He is Looking.

/

1x07 ‘Bananas, Crackers, and Nuts’

This muted, meandering riff on the theme is so so pleasing

Trapper asleep on a bed in the OR, welcome

Oh my god, this episode was their “Our first fight” moment. My babies…<3 Why does Alan keep Hawkeye’s bent knuckle resting against Trapper’s bare arm for half of this vacation planning…<3

Trapper: “I’m worried about Hawkeye.” Frank: “Well I wouldn’t be. He does very well looking after himself.” Margaret: “Very well.” Trapper: “That’s exactly the point, he’s not himself.” Frank: “What’s that supposed to mean?” Trapper: “He seems to be losing touch with reality.” Henry: “I think the last person we have to worry about is Hawkeye Pierce!” Margaret: “I second that.”

You know what. This episode is destroying the scraps that remained of my own sanity. I’m ruined maybe most by Trapper jumping on the idea of “he looks after himself” as a worrying sign of self-editing. I’m reading into that but also, as Frank asks, what's that supposed to mean? If not something like that?

Ah this shot of the moon beyond the PA speaker…!

His like, James Dean look up through the forelock of his hair talking about the man he’s in love with…fucking hell, Hawkeye

“You know she dyes her hair blonde? That’s why I died my hair black. I think Frank should have a clear choice.” This joke has always killed me. That’s such good bonkers logic, and also a bit custom-made for Tumblr.

Absolutely adore Frank & Margaret silently conferring with each other just upstage, actually. Something that is really well rendered with them is the co-conspirator angle of being a couple.

“This is the Army, no one can do the best they can!” See I did miss this kind of thing later. This is a whole nuanced essay I need to write about Lt. Colonel Blake to Col. Potter, and it will be so much about the Vietnam War.

I think I’m starting to figure out the difference in early Radar, and it’s that he was still super innocent but simultaneously, crafty. He is constantly, or at least every episode in my list so far, roped into schemes by Hawkeye & Trapper as like their inside man, which he tends to perform well, for a comedic value of well.

The ‘Bananas, Crackers, and Nuts’ rewrite where the psychologist is Sidney Freedman. Everything goes the same, except of course, Sidney has no previous connection to Margaret. But they still send Radar in trying to make this scheme happen, and Sidney is just so amused watching Radar try to pull something off, sipping his soup surreptitiously, that he goes along with it. He just keeps going along with it, cheerily makes the same burnt-out bulb joke about how “my profession is helping people find their way in the dark,” and then when he finally figures it out of course tries to stop Margaret from undressing, and she flips, but then cracks up at the idea that she’d be trying to sleep with HIM, the opposite of her general type (pun inteeeended), and she actually makes this joke, which cracks Sidney up, partly just imagining himself as a general, so when the boys rush in to catch him they’re just cackling together, and Sidney’s like you know what, this has been entertaining. I’m not taking Pierce right now as it’s clear he has a support system (cut to Trapper and Radar), but I’m gonna be back, to check in on ALL of you. Margaret’s like, I’d like that. :) Frank is like, Margaret?! This is my vision.

(And then the Wouldn’t Actually Happen In Real M*A*S*H But I’d Like It final button is Sidney having breakfast with them all in the mess tent the next morning before he heads out, seeing how they all are together under what passes for normal conditions, and then as he’s clearing his tray outside with Hawkeye just mildly asks, “So, Frank was it?” And Hawkeye’s fork stills over his tray, but already Sidney is just smiling at him and saying “Good choice—I really could have thought you were crazy.” And Hawkeye grins, and Frank comes outside, and they both laugh, and Larry Linville does that little sort of shifting stomp thing that he does over how he keeps walking into spaces where the psychiatrist is laughing and he doesn’t know why. FIN.)

Anyway trying to figure out why this scene with the not-Sidney psychiatrist and Margaret, in real M*A*S*H, didn’t bother me as much as it seems to have bothered lots of others. I think maybe it’s partly because it was never going to get very far, as they were already waiting outside to stop it as soon as it started? So it plays without an air of actual threat. And also that we’re supposed to hate this guy, he’s the episodic enemy, so Margaret’s fury against him is all framed as right & justified & him getting his just desserts. Unlike, sadly, a number of other “jokes” these early seasons, this episode positions a man trying to take advantage of a woman as wrong, punishable even. I think that’s why I was weirdly kinda okay with it. Though on the whole I mean I would have preferred we just, not. If we have to, would prefer the Sidney version I already laid out, OF COURSE.

/

1x11 ‘Germ Warfare’

Hey Oliver Jones was still here in this one too! Godspeed fella, your stay at the 4077 was too short.

Hawkeye, sleeping in a chair so the wounded North Korean soldier can have his cot, whispering “Trap?” without opening his eyes. No note I just like it.

The fucking theremin cue when they start stealing Frank's blood while doing their Dracula bit

“In the morning he will be one of my brides!” Alright.

Larry’s little meow in his sleep, omfg

Hawk stop trying to seduce Frank while he sleeps, this psychological torture is so…subliminal

Truly what makes incorrigible flirt Hawkeye work is that in just so many of his ceaseless attempts to seduce Nurse Cutler and Lieutenant this blonde babe, the joke is on him. He has no sense of shame or self-preservation.

“I’m only paranoid ‘cause everyone is against me.” I’D MISSED FRANK.

They walked back a little Radar being so, so psychic as well

The thing about Frank & Margaret is that while we hate Frank for Margaret (because we know later Margaret), it’s also extremely good that they fully are set up as the counter couple to Hawkeye & Trapper. Like 1000%. Those are the two couples. Constantly engaged in battle.

Was briefly considering if this should have gone before ‘Bananas, Crackers, and Nuts’ in my viewguide, but have decided it’s funnier if Hawkeye hits on Frank so much after the one where he pretends to be in love with him, like it puts the idea into his head.

Wait the boys brought Frank daisies???! Huge Frederick Chilton visiting Will Graham in the hospital tbh

/

1x12 ‘Dear Dad’

‘The Longjohn Flap’ is the first true And They Were All So Cold episode in that it’s the plot, but I was loathe to forget that this one invented being bundled. Hawkeye in his scarf writing this letter to his dad....my absolute origin story.

I MISS GINGER. Her vibes with Hawkeye and Trapper were so good.

Father Mulcahy is So Cute, look at him!

Henry stressfully cajoling his unruly audience, “Let’s just can the jokes, I’d like to get right down to the sex,” did make me laugh

A whole interlude about how Trapper is the strapping sweetie-pie of the outfit, wow

WAIT this was the first time you would have seen Klinger!!??! And he was so rowdy!!! Wow wild intro for him

“Attention all personnel: when filling out GI insurance forms, be sure to state your age and sex at the time of your last birthday.” Innncredible.

What do you think a snail smells like anyway

I’d forgotten that the first time Hawkeye kissed Margaret, just out in the middle of camp as a bit, he then promptly volunteered to go down on her, in so many words. Y’know this is the other thing that makes his pursuit of all the nurses (slash everyone) work: he’s extremely keen on making sure they have a good time. “I’ve certainly done my share to keep up [the nurses] morale,” he wrote earlier, “but I’ve only got two hands.” This apparently is the perfect cocktail for an incorrigible flirt: 1 part complete willingness to embarrass yourself, 1 part complete willingness to be a service anything.

And then of course that scene is immediate followed by one where he makes a joke that Trapper is getting him pregnant. ~HAWKEYE PIERCE~

Hmmm. Hawkeye paused before getting on the chopper and tried to say goodbye to Trapper just in case, and Trapper went “Tell me when you see me!” Aw Trap…

“All the ladies of the ensemble” oh my god...<3

/

1x19 ‘The Longjohn Flap’

I love Radar and Henry so much

It’s actually all of the cots, they’re all taken from post-OP supply huh

Trapper dealing cards into the stove one by one…

It’s just soooo goooood watching Hawkeye comically cave to poor shivering sneezing Trapper, he’s so resistant and such a soft touch at once

Have I ever mentioned in public how much I love Radar's makeshift ear-muffs---surgical gauze layered under his radio headphones---that he uses for multiple season's worth of cold episodes. Man...Now That's Television

‘The Longjohn Flap’ is so perfect. Hawkeye listing out all the descriptors of the long underwear Trapper has just lost (“double weave! semi-woolen!”) while he just sits there in shock, Radar already trying to unbutton them off his chest.

Trapper: “Hey. Look what the giant rodent has on his body.” Why is this line killing me.

Loretta’s bizarre little cold voice is just the greatest, wtf

Y’know, this transition from Klinger, in a bandana but fatigues, trying to blow Frank up with a grenade, to now being outside in a dress in the cold and saying “I’m crazy, ask anybody. Crazy Klinger,” kind of works?

Hawkeye: “Only God knows where they are now…” [Cut to Father Mulcahy bringing a sentry coffee] Alan I want to kiss you on the cheek

It also works as a second Klinger episode that once again his closest relationship seems to be with Father Mulcahy. Incidentally, I’m also seeing where the Klinger & Mulcahy truthers are coming from lately.

“—which we own” Oh so now the 'johns are collective property of the two of you

Hawkeye’s sweet overwhelmed joy when he gets them back, oh my gOD

What is this!!!!!!!!!

/

1x17 ‘Sometimes You Hear the Bullet’

Loretta Swit’s “trying to figure out how to grab crouched-over Frank to move him out of her tent” acting is so, so funny

Loretta Swit’s “pointing where Frank was coming from” acting is, you guessed it, so, so funny

Admittedly, the way Tommy fully seems like Hawkeye’s wild gay friend, is incredible. McLean Stevenson’s reaction to Tommy kissing him though is just the bee’s knees & all the rest of her.

But…this episode does still throw me off a little! Not for nothing is I think their only homophobic joke from Hawkeye? Unless we want to count “If you kiss me I’ll throw up,” but he says that while eyeing Trapper over a sip of his drink so it still just feels flirty ultimately.

“I’d give you a kiss but I…can’t move my head” is just quite good as a line I’ll give you

God I’m so sorry ‘Sometime You Hear the Bullet’, but look at that I’ve just come right back down on you again. It just doesn’t work for me! It’s too quick, you can’t introduce a character I’ve never heard of before, tell me he’s one of Hawkeye’s best friends, and kill him 10 minutes later, and not have me just looking at all the brush strokes and not the picture.

/

1x21 ‘Sticky Wicket’

“You go right to Major Houlihan, you set your jaw firmly, and you look into those cool, killer eyes of hers and you tell her I’ll be right there.” McLeeaaaaan

Radar waking up Hawkeye is always the cutest. I’m injured.

Sorry sorry to just bag again on ‘Sometimes You Hear the Bullet’, but really, I just feel like its relative emotional depth is shown up in sophistication by even just a few of these other S1 episodes. Margaret going from threatening Hawkeye with a formal complaint in one scene to the two of them working seamlessly together in the operating room in the next, and that’s the point, is so much more real about the nature of living in a surgical hospital camp during a war, if that’s what it is that 'Sometimes You Hear' is supposed to be giving.

Hawkeye, operating: “What’s the score, John?” John, minding the patient’s vital signs: “He’s doing pretty well, considering what you’re doing to him.” I can’t really explain exactly what emotion this inspires in me, but it sure does it

Putting this one right after the episode where he loses Tommy does give Hawkeye’s behavior in this one a specific interpretive flavor. Not sure if I prefer that though; there doesn’t always have to be reasons, you know?

Trapper hauls Hawkeye away from trying to murder Frank by the waist. Just FYI.

Ah and yes also the first time we see Trapper just physically steer him out of the hospital. Hawkeye is upset and Trapper has gone hands-on. Hmm I was probably going to rest easier before I noticed this.

The “I told you to leave me alone, Trapper,” bit, TRULY ...truly

Wait then Trapper ACTUALLY SHOWS UP, with booze. And literally is like, so is she helping? Wow? Wow.

Was this the first one that started on how Margaret is very good at her job

Y’know what, one of S1’s hottest episodes is: ‘Sticky Wicket’. This episode has everything: The very beginnings of Hawkeye & Margaret, Besties. Operating on war victims feeling like it has Consequences. Trapper jilted that Hawkeye left him for two nights, then relenting and being like [literally chucking his cheek] baby at least you came back. :) The first shower scene in my viewguide. McLean Stevensen sleep mask acting. And what's that? Why, it's Radar O’Reilly.

/

1x20 ‘The Army-Navy Game’

I do love how open Hawkeye always is with his fear. It’s nice.

Had missed before that Margaret is fully just leaning on Trapper as they cower near Henry comma concussed

“Yeah yeah, don’t panic, I’m doing that for everybody. Go inside.” LOVE Leadership Pierce, when it kicks in.

Army brass: “Call me at half-time, will ya Captain?” Hawkeye, amazed, mockingly polite-society: “Certainly.” Army brass: “If I don’t hear from you, I’ll understand.” This Catch-22 shit in this episode is SO GOOD

Wait so was S1 just entirely the Klinger/Mulcahy hours and I just never noticed the pattern

Henry: “One foot, can you imagine!” Radar: “Twelve inches!” Literal lol

Henry: “….It’s whose?” [scene cut] Hawkeye: “The CIA!?” Sublime.

Reading off the flyer: “Give yourselves up. You can’t win. - Douglas MacArthur” It's perfect.

*****

Viewguides (selected episodes for each season; M*A*S*H reduced like a gravy)

Misc. MASH (formless notes from my watches)

#M*A*S*H hours (all this & More)

#“S1 revisited” is here #Misc. MASH #M*A*S*H hours #M*A*S*H

[mikefaistmiamor]

Drunk and in love. ~ Dodge Mason

Reader is 18. This takes place during panic, partying at players ball. No names are properly mentioned but you are the one living the story and “he” is Dodge.

Part of this was inspired by 1x06 “DEAD-END” of the scene of Dodge and Natalie in Dodges room ;)

Contains a bit of swearing, drug and alcohol references and references to sex.

The reader has been living with the Mason family after their father was arrested and their mum died.

I spilt my drink on myself whilst partying and he helps me get back home to change.

I’m trying to take off my shirt but struggling because I’m highly intoxicated

“Woah, woah. Hey, let me help”

he helps me take my shirt off. He admires my almost bare body for a moment before taking off his shirt and sliding it over my head and pulls it down and it sits past my waist. His hands linger on my waist for a moment. We are staring into each others eyes.

“Why won’t you kiss me”

He was taken back by my new found confidence. He knows I’m not the type of person to just say something so bold.

“I’m not going to take advantage of you”

Whilst I’m happy he won’t do anything when I’m under the influence, it strikes my heart because I’ve been wanting him to make a move for a while.

“I haven’t drunk anything in hours. I’ve been eating. Im sober enough to know what I want and to think straight”

He removes his hands from my waist and walks to his room. I feel defeated. I slump onto my bed.

When a rush of energy hits me , I walk to his door.

“You just walk away. Seriously? After I say something like that?”

I’ve told him about my past. He knows what’s happened to me and he is careful with how he treats me. Yes it’s sweet of him to care but I wish he would just do something like they do in the movies you know.

He is still shirtless. I can feel my body burning up as I scan his figure sitting in the bed in front of me. He can obviously see how red I’m turning and a smirk crosses his face.

“Fine. If you’re just not going to say anything”

I turn to leave as I feel a cold hand grip my wrist. It was loose, as if he didn’t want to accidentally hurt me.

“What?” I say with annoyance in my voice.

If he wants something with me he should just say it. I’ve never told him how I feel as he is my best friend but I’ve dropped hints and tonight I made it obvious that I was to kiss him.

He pulls me towards him. I stumble a bit as I’m very light on my feet.

His hands grip my waist again.

“No one’s saying I don’t want to kiss you, I think about doing it all the time. How I need it to be perfect and at the perfect time. But you’re impossible to catch alone and it’s difficult to make a moment special since you’re usually high”

He’s not wrong. When I’m not working or with “the gang” I’m getting high. Yes I know it’s bad, but it helps me deal with everything that happened with my parents.

“I’m not high right now”

My eyes drop to my waist where his hands are tightly gripped.

“Nothing is stopping you from doing it right now”

“It won’t be special”

“Who gives a fuck if it is or it isn’t. It’s with you and that’s all that I could care about”

He doesn’t say anything, he doesn’t do anything. He just stands there and stares at me.

I shake my head

“Fine. If you’re just not going to do anything.”

I try to escape is hold on my waist but he wouldn’t budge.

“I want to kiss you. Never assume I don’t. I just don’t want it to be bad and I don’t want you to be weirded out and get embarrassed and stop talking to me.”

“That wouldn’t ha-“

He cuts me off and slowly starts taking steps closer towards me. I start taking steps back. My heart is racing.

“I’m the one talking now”

I can’t step back anymore. My back hits the wall.

He leans down, my body is burning.

He lightly kisses me. Then again. And again.

He puts his hand on my face as the kiss deepens.

He takes off the shirt he had previously put on me.

He lays me on his bed and looks down at me for a moment.

He resumes with one kiss to my lips then moving down to my neck. Trailing kisses all the way down my stomach, across my breasts.

Down.

Down.

Until he reaches—

#mike faist #riff lorton #dodge mason #panic prime #west side story #wss riff #riff west side story #panic on prime #connor murphy #dear evan hansen #deh

[purpleplaid17]

Jess Watches // Fri 13 Oct Synopses & Favourite Scenes

Shelter 1x07 Sweet Dreams are Made of This

Spoon, Ema, and Rachel take a road trip, while Mickey runs into someone he recently met.

Spoon really going through it this ep. He had the funniest lines but also the most devastating scene. And his photo on the wall??? Rachel being the no.1 lesbian... supporter while Ema was very handsome in her black suit driving her mum's sexy green lamborghini. Also, Shira, don't you dare run away again. She got a body exhumed for you ffs.

Still Up 1x06 The Road Trip

Lisa gets drunk at a hen party and can't get home. Danny worries about her so much he ventures out to get to her.

I say let the friend have Veggie if Lisa doesn't really love him. She needs to figure her own shit out tbh. I thought the visual representation of Danny's panic and anxiety was really effective. Also, hi Scottish Amy *waves*

Lessons in Chemistry (with mum) 1x01 Little Miss Hastings

Elizabeth gets caught doing unauthorized late-night experiments in the lab. Calvin eventually sees her under-valued intelligence and offers her a job as his lab partner.

An ok first episode. There was obviously going to be sexism in the 1950s, but it didn't feel grounded in reality somehow, a bit heavy handed maybe, idk. They don't feel like real characters that you can get lost in just yet.

Van Helsing 1x10 Stay Away

Vanessa and the group find refuge among a band of humans who have bargained with vampires for peace. Their leader, however, appears to be hiding a terrible secret. Meanwhile, the true serial killer among Vanessa's group is finally revealed.

Vanessa was very valid for wanting to climb Theo like the tree he is. But did she have to do it right in front of Susan's salad? Poor lass looked heartbroken. Also, I was wondering how Tom Cavanaugh could be in this and The Flash. He didn't last the episode so that's how lol

The Uncanny Counter 2x10 Episode 10

Ju-Seok and Pil-Gwang face a change in their relationship. The Counters celebrate some good news.

Ju-Seok's mum telling So Mun the story of how he and Min-Ji met at the orphanage was so sad. Adding more weight to an already tragic storyline. And how do they make the black demon swampy scenes? It's gross but very effective. Especially that last scene.

#shelter #harlan coben's shelter #still up #van helsing #the uncanny counter #polls #tumblr polls #jess watches #day 24 #i did not sleep well so if some of this sounds cranky i apologize

[katevd]

This is The Care

Holy shit I wrote a Mileven fic. 

Mike x Eleven

One Shot Fluff, Rated G

References: 1x06 The Monster 1x07 The Bathtub 4x08 Papa

Dedicated to my Mike, my soulmate, my best friend. 

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

            40 minutes after Eleven explained everything she saw when visiting their friends in the void, the back of the van got quiet. The soft jams of Bob Marley pumped from the speakers. Jonathan is still at the wheel, nervous, checking the mirrors to see if anyone is tailing them. Argyle is quietly stoned, sunglasses on, looking over the map. The sun will be setting soon and they need a phone to book a flight home. Will, always quiet, is worried, staring out the window, his knee bouncing wishing the van would go faster to get there faster, El has to help their friends. His painting to Mike is rolled back up behind them; there are other more important things.

               Mike and Eleven are sitting facing each other, their legs touching. El is staring into space, a tear rolls down her dusty cheek. Mike, who is letting El have some space but not too much, has his hand on the side of her thigh in support, his thumb rubs her softly. He’s trying hard not stare at her but for the last days only wished he could see her again, keep her safe. Loosing Dr. Brenner for El must be difficult. She shared he used her to find Henry, 001, re opened the gate and the rest of the story begins. Her tears double as she tries to hide a sob. Papa is dead. She didn't give him his wish, but her pain about it is more complicated than that, but it’s still loss. Eleven would not forgive him for what he did to Terry, her Mama. There was no kindness there. But her powers had returned because he believed, Dr. Owens believed. Now Papa is dead and Owens was captured, they’re so far from Hawkins and Max’s plan would not work. All felt lost.

               Mike watched her hide under her skin.  He reached for a clean Surfer Boy Pizza napkin in the van, not one dried with agent man’s blood or pizza sauce. He bundled it in his fingers to soften it. He touches her chin so gingerly with his long fingers to turn her head a little. She turns slowly with his touch to see him, holding to her stoic face with teary eyes.

             "Hey" he whispers in their little bubble. He dabs and wipes her tear away still holding her chin, wiping the new ones too. "I know it hurts" she closes her eyes to squeeze the rest out. She shakes her head no, lowering it. He raises it for her and looks in her pretty brown eyes "it’s ok.” His voice is full of love. “I understand." Mike dries her tears; his thumb touches her so softly, like a feather. This is the care he spoke of and El felt it. She stares back before she holds his hand with hers, she nods in agreement. Mike leans into her cheek and gives her a sweet kiss. The touch warms her. They lace their fingers together, palms together.

               His lips curl to a smile; he remembers when he cleaned her in his basement bathroom. Eleven saved his life from the quarry, in more ways than just lifting him up. She called herself a monster which was the opposite of what she is. Mike knew she was an angel, he just knew. His angel. His superhero. The feelings sounded right but the words…the words always escaped him. He wanted to tell her I love you, I love you so much El Hopper, he wanted to say it in this van. But in his life those words, so many times, meant goodbye. His Grandpa Sully only said it to him on his death bed; Mike was 9 and didn’t understand. The fear of telling El and then something would happen…it kept him up at night. It kept him from giving her what she deserved in her letters.

               He wiped a bit of dried dirt under her ear lobe with the napkin. He kissed her on her neck, she folded closer into him. His fingertips ran through her new buzz cut. He whispers into the ear he just kissed "Still pretty." She cracks a smile; he can feel it on his face. It feels like sunlight. "Really pretty."  

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

#stranger things 4 #mike x eleven #mileven #el hopper #mike wheeler #one shot #fan fic

[j-nightingalesb1tch]

a while ago, i made a post ranking each season premiere episode of glee (click here) so i thought i should rank the rest of the episodes:

.

5x02 - tina in the sky with diamonds

6x02 - homecoming

3x02 - i am unicorn

4x02 - britney 2.0

2x02 - britney/brittany

1x02 - showmance

.

5x03 - the quarterback

2x03 - grilled cheesus

6x03 - jagged little tapestry

4x03 - makeover

3x03 - asian f

1x03 - acafellas

.

4x04 - the break-up

2x04 - duets

1x04 - preggers

5x04 - a katy or a gaga

6x04 - the hurt locker, part one

3x04 - pot o' gold

.

3x05 - the first time

4x05 - the role you were born to play

6x05 - the hurt locker, part two

1x05 - the rhodes not taken

2x05 - the rocky horror glee show

5x05 - the end of twerk

.

4x06 - glease

2x06 - never been kissed

5x06 - moving out

6x06 - what the world needs now

1x06 - vitamin d

3x06 - mash off

.

4x07 - dynamic duets

6x07 - transitioning

3x07 - i kissed a girl

5x07 - puppet master

2x07 - the substitute

1x07 - throwdown

.

2x08 - furt

4x08 - thanksgiving

6x08 - a wedding

3x08 - hold on to sixteen

5x08 - previously unaired christmas

1x08 - mash up

.

1x09 - wheels

5x09 - frenemies

3x09 - extraordinary merry christmas

4x09 - swan song

6x09 - child star

2x09 - special education

.

4x10 - glee, actually

2x10 - a very glee christmas

5x10 - trio

6x10 - the rise and fall of sue sylvester

1x10 - ballad

3x10 - yes/no

.

3x11 - michael

2x11 - the sue sylvester shuffle

5x11 - city of angels

4x11 - sadie hawkins

1x11 - hairography

6x11 - we built this glee club

.

6x12 - 2009

2x12 - silly love songs

5x12 - 100

1x12 - mattress

4x12 - naked

3x12 - the spanish teacher

.

5x13 - new directions

4x13 - diva

3x13 - heart

6x13 - dreams come true

1x13 - sectionals

2x13 - comeback

.

4x14 - i do

3x14 - on my way

5x14 - new new york

2x14 - blame it on the alcohol

1x14 - hell-o

.

5x15 - bash

3x15 - big brother

2x15 - sexy

4x15 - girls (and boys) on film

1x15 - the power of madonna

.

2x16 - original song

1x16 - home

5x16 - tested

4x16 - feud

3x16 - saturday night glee-ver

.

4x17 - guilty pleasures

3x17 - dance with somebody

5x17 - opening night

1x17 - bad reputation

2x17 - night of neglect

.

1x18 - laryngitis

2x18 - born this way

4x18 - shooting star

3x18 - choke

5x18 - the back-up plan

.

2x19 - rumours

3x19 - prom-asaurus

4x19 - sweet dreams

5x19 - old dog, new tricks

1x19 - dream on

.

1x20 - theatricality

2x20 - prom queen

5x20 - the untitled rachel berry project

3x20 - props

4x20 - lights out

.

4x21 - wonder-ful

2x21 - funeral

3x21 - nationals

1x21 - funk

.

2x22 - new york

3x22 - goodbye

4x22 - all or nothing

1x22 - journey

#glee #glee ranking #seasons 2 and 4 are superior #seasons 1 and 5 can get in the bin

[uncleasad]

I finished Season One of Dickinson earlier this week, and now I have a backlog of thoughts to post… This one—the only one so far in complete prose form—was written on or about January 5.

With Dickinson 1x06, the “cruelty arrow” has finally come to land on Emily herself. And while her intentions were noble—who among us would not wish to be freed of responsibilities in order to spend a few days devoted to our life’s calling?—the way Emily went about this ruse, and especially witnessing her loved ones’ reactions, make her seem callous and selfish, or at least obliviously self-centered.

When it aired in 2019, no one could have understood the gravity of Emily’s (fake) illness, which is ironic since but a year later, in early 2020, everyone would have understood—yellow fever in Emily’s day, like COVID-19 in early 2020, was essentially a death sentence. Today, only 3 years removed, I think many people, particularly those who did not lose someone at that time, neither adequately recall the dire nature of those days nor adequately grasp the deathly seriousness of Emily’s lie. Indeed, while I recognized her lie was when I watched, the full gravity of it did not sink in until much later, when I made the connection (and, mercifully, not having lost someone, I still don’t have the same sense of terrible weight that others would).

Emily’s father’s confession of his drunken affair/one-night stand while betrothed to her mother was one thing, but Mrs Dickinson’s (still casually cruel) reminiscence of early motherhood and lament at soon having to bury a child (one she never wanted, yes) began to show the real harm of Emily’s faking a deadly illness. Austin’s bedside chat, though sad, was a breath of fresh air, because it served to highlight the depth of the sibling bond they share, and his love for his sister, in spite of their “fight” for Sue’s affections.

But it was Sue’s return to Amherst, distraught at the likely loss of yet another person she loves—the person she loves the most in this world, perhaps—that really hammered Emily’s cruelty home. Knowing that Sue had lost everyone she’d loved, how could Emily have stooped so low to have faked such a sickness? (How long had Emily been faking this illness? And how fast does mail get from Amherst to Boston? I can believe Sue could make it back to Amherst the day after receiving Emily’s letter, but I cannot believe Emily wrote and mailed the letter the day the episode opened, it got to Boston, and Sue was back the very next day.)

I’m somewhat hopeful that Sue’s words resonated with Emily and that, combined with Austin’s confessions about the nature of his love for Sue the night before, prompted Emily to realize how selfish she’s been and “urge” (with eye contact and a nod and a lifetime of shared history between them) Sue to say she’d come back for Austin.

I enjoyed the B-plot with Emily’s “new George”—Edward’s new law clerk, Ben—who like George has shared literary interests with Emily and encourages her wilder notions—perhaps more so than even George, as the night swim shows. (Edward has let another fox into the hen house!) Unlike George, Ben seems (so far) far more understanding of Emily’s situation and desires—although I do not fully trust him, no matter how sweet his story about his father’s wedding ring is….

In the C-plot, was I the only one to think that Lavinia’s dress looked reminiscent of Emma Watson’s as Belle? And with her…wild-haired…cat, it was to be a portrait of Beauty and the Beast? (No? Just me? OK, well, we all know my mind works in a bizarre manner 😂) It was heartening to see that she took the portraitist’s words to heart, however, and began trying to draw herself as she wished to be seen—a nude self-portrait in front of a mirror is a fascinating concept. And…also interesting that Lavinia did not make a bedside visit to Emily…

#musings #Dickinson #Dickinson 1x06 #Emily Dickinson #Edward Dickinson #Emily Norcross Dickinson #Austin Dickinson #Sue Gilbert #Ben Newton #Lavinia Dickinson #Beauty and the Beast #this is the way my mind works

[alaffy]

Nancy Drew, Ep. 1x06 – The Mystery of Blackwood Lodge

Okay, it’s taken six episodes; but I’m hooked.  I mean, I still am not invested in the relationships and such (although Bess and Lisbeth are kind of sweet).  But I do like the quirky nature of the show and the mystery is quite good.

Ball, Pegasus, Kraken, Medusa.  Nancy is trying to find out the connection between Lucy and Ryan based on a poem Lucy wrote.  Those words are brought up.  They will be important.  Nancy goes to Ryan’s house and, because he didn’t answer the door after three seconds, Nancy figures that means she has permission to just walk inside.  

Inside, she finds an overturned dining chair.  We have a quick Lucy appearance.  And then she finds an invitation with a bird on it. It’s the same bird that can be found drawn on Lucy’s poem.  Then, Nancy flashes back to Karen talking about how Lucy changed after going to an underground party.  The invitation itself says “The Velvet Mask,” and “dusk.”  

Meanwhile, at The Claw, Bess is obsessing about her first date with Lisbeth.  George just wants her to shut up and get to work.  Nick asks if Nancy is at The Claw because he found more information on Owen (let me guess, we’re going to find out Owen was helping Tiffany at some point?).  Nancy comes in and we get exposition about The Velvet Mask; that it is an underground party held by rich people every five years.  It’s always held in a different location.  That townies who go to the party, end up being…hunted?  (Sure the last one is probably an urban legend, but who knows with this show).  

Nick talks to Nancy about Owen, and reminds the audience that Tiffany was digging up information on the Hudson’s.  Still, Owen’s name keeps popping up and the Hudson’s and the Marvin’s do do business together.  Nancy says she’ll talk to Owen.  

Nancy meets up with Owen and she asks if he and Ryan are business partners or mortal enemies.  He tells her they’re both.  He then asks if this question comes from Nick, as he’s noticed him following him around.  Nancy then asks about The Velvet Mask, specifically where and when.  Nick says he’s happy to talk to her tomorrow over dinner. Nancy deduces this means he has plans that night; which, given his look, is a yes.  So, the invite must be for tonight.  Then, he invites Nancy to go sailing with him sometime.

Nancy goes home.  As soon as she steps inside, someone slams the door behind her.  It’s Ryan who “didn’t mean to scare her?”  (Really, dude?).  He thinks someone is trying to kill him.  Okay, info dump time.  Ryan is there because he needs Carson, but apparently is willing to tell Nancy his story. Ryan thinks someone is trying to kill him.  The night before he heard someone rummaging through his house and he went to sleep in a motel.  The thing is Ryan owes money to some bad people and he can’t pay them because he’s been cut off by his father because his father found out about the kiss at the fundraiser.  He, oh geez this is lame, just so happens to have these Roman Coins that he can sell at an underground auction tonight; except he can’t get to them because they’re in his family’s storage facility.  He was hoping Carson could pull some strings.  Of course, Carson is in Boston; but it’s a good thing that Nancy is a master at B&E. She’ll get the coins, if Ryan takes her to The Velvet Mask.  We don’t get his answer her, but you know he’s going to do it.  Also, Nick calls during this scene and Nancy rejects the call. This is the second time this has happened, which usually spells bad things in Teen Dramas.  I’ve got a feeling they won’t last (and, uh, I kind of know what happens between her and Ace later).  

Meanwhile, Bess has decided she and Lisbeth will have a late lunch at The Claw.  Ace coaches Bess in the ways of dating, as she doesn’t date much. It’s a nice scene.  Lisbeth comes to The Claw that afternoon and it’s an awkward cute date.  However, Lisbeth has to leave early because of a family emergency; which Bess thinks was just her trying to get away from a bad date.    

At the same time, Nick and George are looking through the files; trying to figure out why Tiffany was also looking at the Marvin’s.  Nick isn’t sure what all of these documents are; but George knows that they are a shipping manifest (her family has been in fishing industry for three generations). George asks if Nancy got information out of Owen.  Nick tells her Nancy hasn’t called back, to which George makes a face.  

Back at Nancy’s, Nancy asks Ryan about Lucy Sable and if she was at The Velvet Mask the year before she died.  But before this conversation goes on, there is a knock at the door.  Nancy opens it to find Nick and George standing there.  So, they’re wondering what’s going on and Nancy tries to make an excuse, but she opens the door too far and they see Ryan in the house.  Nancy steps on to the porch and shuts the door.  Nick and George are trying to figure out why Nancy seems to be helping Ryan, until Nancy mentions that she thinks Ryan killed Lucy.  When that confuses her friends even more, Nancy finally admits to being haunted by Lucy.  And if she’s bringing it up this soon, my guess is that Ryan may not have anything to do with Lucy’s death.  Eh, scratch that, he may not have killed Lucy, doesn’t mean he doesn’t know anything about it.  

Anyway, Nancy tells Nick and George she thinks that something may have happened to Lucy at the party.  At which point, George and Nick wonder why Nancy has never brought up any of this before; like she didn’t trust them.  (To be fair, though, neither of you two believed in ghosts until, like, yesterday, so….).  Anyway, she tells them she’s hoping to find out information about what happened to Lucy (by going to a party, 20 years later?).  Nick asks “what about Tiffany?” to which Nancy says she’s put some calls out to the person she sent the blood sample too.  Nancy asks if they’re good, Nick says “100%.”  They were, in fact, not good.  

Nick and George goes back to his truck, where Gorge calls him out on his bs.  However, Nick looks through the shipping manifest and finds something about Roman coins.  It must be the same ones, but “what are the chances?” he asks.  It’s called plot contrivance, Nick.  But George asks the important question, why are they important? But they’re going to find out because George knows someone.  

And (Good Lord George!) she apparently gets the guy, who used to date her mom, to The Claw by pretending that Victoria wanted to speak to him.  She apologizes for Victoria not being able to make it, then Nick asks the man if he could look at something for them.  Real smooth, guys.  Uh…turns out it’s a shipping manifest of a ship that sank 18 years ago.  All of it’s crew and cargo was lost.  So, the coins are burial coins, the 12 coins of Charon.

Which Nancy has just stolen from the…That’s the secure storage facility?!  It has a chain on the door!  

Anyway, the man leaves and Nick and George discuss.  It seems in Tiffany’s files there are several copies of cashed insurance checks.  If the Hudson’s put in a claim for those coins, well obviously insurance fraud.  But the more important thing is that, for them to have the coins, it is quite possible that they stole their own cargo and sank the ship/killed the crew to cover up their crimes.  If Ryan is trying to sell them, he must not know the whole story.  They figure that that’s why someone is trying to kill Ryan. Which is possible, but wouldn’t it be easier to just unfreeze the assets?  Or move the coins to a location that Ryan doesn’t know about?  I mean, I could totally see Ryan’s father able to kill his son, but….

Ok, so, back at Nancy’s home; Ryan is wondering where Nancy could be.  Ryan drops his wedding ring and he stoops down to retrieve it.  He hears creaking behind him, and he turns around. Lucy is there and he can see her. Furthermore, Lucy is able to grab Ryan’s arm.  As she does so, the metal on his ring starts to glow red.  Nancy comes into the room, she doesn’t see Lucy it seems, but she does see the burning ring on his hand and it’s clear something has his arm. Suddenly, Ryan is let go and he asks what that was.  Nancy says it was Lucy.  

Ryan thinks, at first, that Lucy is haunting the house; but Nancy lets him know that the sounds at Ryan’s place was Lucy too.  Which means, was Lucy haunting him before Tiffany’s death?  Tiffany heard sounds too.  Nancy’s phone rings and she doesn’t answer.  Instead, she gives Ryan the poem.  Nancy believes Ryan is the Prince and he took Nancy to The Velvet Mask.  Ryan says that they had a summer fling and that was it; afterwards she ended up getting killed.  

Nick calls again and Nancy goes into another room to answer.  Long story short, Nick doesn’t want Nancy to give the coins to Ryan as it is important to Tiffany’s investigation.  Nancy says that the coins won’t help solve Tiffany’s death (how would she know?  She doesn’t even know why their important).  Besides, she needs to give them to Ryan to solve Lucy’s murder and she hangs up.  Nick is understandably upset and doesn’t understand why Nancy is so single minded.  George points out that this has always been Nancy’s nature.  If they want the coins, they’re going to have to go to the party.  And the only way in, is if they go as the guest of someone who’s rich; like Laura Tandy.  

Nick talks with Ace and sees if he can talk to Laura.  Now, while this is going on George is talking to Bess (this is right after the date) and asks if she wants a new dress and a chance to steal something at a party full of rich people.  

Cut to the party and...where have I seen that staircase before?  Wait, is that the Sisters of Quiet Mercy?!  Fitting they used the same location.  So, Ryan and Nancy go in.  Ace, dressed as a Chofer, lets out Nick, George, and Bess.  Nick tells the guard they’re guests of Laura Tandy.  Nancy sees them arrive.  

The three decide that they need to get masks before they go to the auction, where they plan to steal the coins.  Meanwhile, Nancy has ditched Ryan and is looking for the other items in Lucy’s poem (but if the location is always different, why would she expect to find them?). Well, Nancy finds two of the clues in the shape of masks hanging on the wall.  “I watched Medusa embrace the Kraken, but not her husband the King.” Ryan is the Prince, so the King is his father.  Which would make Medusa his mother.  Oh look, here’s Owen with more exposition.  The Kraken was his Uncle Sabastian and he wore that mask every year until he died. It’s looking less like Ryan murdered Lucy, but his family…and Carson worked for the Hudson’s.  Is that why the dress was there?  Is he involved somehow?  

Anyway, Nancy asks if Owen knows anything about Ryan brining Lucy to the party 20 years ago.  But he doesn’t.  However, he is interested in those coins.  See, the ship was a venture between the two families.  If Ryan has the coins, it’s proof the Hudsons double crossed the Marvins.  One of the people on the boat was Sabastian, who was a rival of Everett Hudson.  Nancy tells him she doesn’t have the coins. Owen tries to convince her to leave and she agrees to, if he can tell her where to find a Pegasus.  

Meanwhile, Ryan runs into his mother, who is doing everything possible to get Ryan not to sell the coins.  She even says that if Ryan gives her the coins, she’ll get the father to change his mind.  Ryan refuses.

Nancy is lead toward the Pegasus, when they run into Nick.  Owen reminds her to remember their agreement and tells her which room to go to.  Then, he leaves Nick and Nancy alone.  Nick follows Nancy, who hopes he isn’t here to steal the coins.  Wishful thinking.  Nancy’s says there’s too many of them there and they will all be thrown out before any of their goals are accomplished.  Look, this is basically set up so the Nick asks Nancy to let him in and she turns him down.  The problem is, she did tell him why she’s here; she’s being haunted by Lucy and she thinks that this party has something to do with her death.    

We cut to George and Bess, who see Lisbeth working at the party.  She works for the Hudson’s, but there’s clearly something else going on. Bess is frustrated and Lisbeth is…quite possibly turned on.

Cut to Nancy, where she finds the Pegasus on a piece of furniture.  So, to put it together; Lucy was unhappy at the party and so she hid. From her hiding spot, she saw Sabastian and Ryan’s mother, Celia, together.  But it seems that maybe Celia caught Lucy?  She definitely catches Nancy.  The mother tries to be all sweet towards Nancy, until Nancy tells her about her suspicions (oh, she and Betty Cooper would work together so well).  At which point, the mother not-so-vaguely threatens Nancy.  But she expects Nancy can be discrete, just like her father.  Oh boy.  

At the auction, Owen tries to convince Nick to work with him.  That would be a no.  Bess and Lisbeth flirt.  The auction for the coin starts, George screams, Ace turns off the power (how’d he get back there), and in the dark, Bess and Lisbeth kiss.  Then Bess remembers the plan and tries to grab the coins, but the lights come back on and she’s caught red handed.  It looks like Bess is in trouble, but Owen vouches for them and promises they won’t speak a word.  Nancy sees the three escorted out.

Ryan, at this point, sees a younger version of Lucy, who he calls Luce.  He goes into the room were she is.  Meanwhile, Nancy sees leaves on the floor, blowing in the wind. She goes back into the room and sees Ryan kissing Lucy; who’s back into her ghostly form.  Lucy grabs his arm and his wedding ring starts to burn him again. Nancy realizes that Lucy is upset about the ring.  On the ring, Lucy has engraved her name and an arrow pointing to Tiffany’s name. Lucy is trying to tell them her death lead to Tiffany’s.  Ryan understands how bad this looks, but he didn’t kill Lucy.  At the time, he was away a boarding school when Lucy was murdered. Ryan’s dad forbade his son to ever talk about Lucy again. 

The truth is, Ryan did love Lucy and he took her to the party to impress her.  He knows something bad happened that night, but she wouldn’t tell him what.  Then, his parents wouldn’t let him talk to her and they told them they took care of Lucy. Nancy asks how and Ryan replies through Carson Drew.  

Nancy goes home, afraid of what she learned.  However, she gets some good news from the person she sent the samples to. Tiffany’s results aren’t back yet, but there’s information on Lucy.  Turns out there were two different hair strands on the crown; Lucy’s and the killer. Furthermore, those hair stands belonged to a woman; which means Carson isn’t the killer.  Maybe.  Unless there’s another explanation for the hair.

At The Claw, the group is upset that their plan didn’t go so well (except Bess, she’s happy). Nick apologizes for getting the others in trouble.  Nancy comes in and everyone is upset with her for not helping out.  Even when Nancy shows them that she switched out the coins. (Um, three episodes ago, most of these people would have happily let Nick take the fall so they weren’t suspects anymore; so maybe not be so judgy against the person who’s currently being haunted.)  Nancy’s tells Nick she hopes that this gives him the chance to do what he wants, to turn the coins over to the police.  Nick’s response is that he hopes Nancy got what she want and…did he just break up with her? That just felt so final.  

Nancy begins to tell the others that Tiffany’s and Lucy’s death may be connected, when they hear a car pull up to The Claw.  It’s Owen, who won the auction.  Owen is fine with loosing the coins as he knows that the reason Nick wants the coins to prove the Hudson’s were involved is some pretty immoral things.  And he just so happens to have the number to an FBI agent, who he’s willing to give to Nancy in case she finds the coins.  Wink, wink, nudge, nudge.  

Meanwhile, Nick is watching from the window.  George suggests violence, but Nick says he’s good.  It’s clear to Nick that it may not work out with Nancy.  Meanwhile, Lisbeth comes by with pizza and so she and Bess seem to be working it out for now.  Owen asks Nancy out, but she says her heart belongs to Nick (yeah, about that…).  Nick is still watching and puts his head in his hands.  The camera focuses on the coins, that are starting to stand on their ends.  

#nancy drew #ned nickerson #george fan #bess Marvin #ace redacted #ryan hudson #celia hudson #lucy sable #owen marvin

[mischas]

I was re-watching 1.02 recently and the scene where Marissa asks Ryan to stay the night... I can't decide if it's uncharacteristic of Marissa or not to be so forward and make it so clear she wanted to sleep with him. She is so indecisive afterwards and what did she think would happen if they had gone through with that? Honestly, I think they both fall in love pretty quickly and perhaps even by then for Marissa.

I think it was probably very uncharacteristic of her at the time. Back then all she knew was movie dates with Luke, being picked up for parties, going to dances, etc. Ryan coming around changes her pretty much immediately. Him being so different and open with her in the model home kind of tells Marissa that boys can be sensitive and sweet and not just the jock that she's fallen in step with. It's how I see it at least. Offering herself to him is so girlish and spontaneous. Anything to keep this connection that feels so new and real. More real than anything she's ever supposed to have felt with Luke. All she knows of actual connection is probably what she's seen in movies and I guess she thought a romantic gesture would keep Ryan in town. Or maybe she's so used to Luke begging her for sex that she assumes offering it to Ryan will appease him and keep him around. I'd say that one isn't much of a leap. Girls at that age especially in the 2000s were often told that "guys only want one thing" so that probably also entered her mind. I definitely do not think Marissa considered anything beyond her offer of sleeping over. All that mattered to her in that moment was being with him and keeping that connection.

As the season goes on, we see her being the one confronting uncomfortable/scary things. Marissa's the one who first kisses Ryan (though he's the one who started the conversation by getting on the ferris wheel). She says the first ILY. She tries to have sex in 1x19. From then on I think the writing really wants Marissa to retreat into herself and be more passive. But with Ryan I think she pretty much immediately knew he was someone she connected with and who wasn't ~like the other boys~ so that helped in being more forward. Her indecisiveness in 1x06 is really not helped by Summer talking in her ear.

I've thought about when RM actually fell in love and I go back and forth a lot! Obviously falling in love and loving are two very different things but I think they both fell in love in the model home. "My mom's kind of a trainwreck" "So's mine" "I can keep a secret" "Hard to believe you're not more popular" like they fell hard. As for loving, I think Marissa knew she loved him after Chrismukkah. Something off screen after the car scene we see. Probably the way he holds her so tenderly when he brings her home. And I think Ryan realized he loved her when they were leaving Chino in 1x11, though we know he didn't officially ~know~ until 1x14 when Seth asks him.

#ask #anonymous #1x02 #not that you asked lol but head canons i've thought about #head canons

[moonlightfilly]

#Sweet Home #Sweet Home 1x06 #Cha Hyun Soo #Lee Eun Yoo #cw self harm scars #Evie watches Sweet Home #Evie watches #tumblring by moonlight

[helianthus21]

Lee Eun-yu @ Cha Hyun-su: Aren’t you tired of being nice? Don’t you just want to go apeshit?

#what she says: you're such a loser look at yourself #what she means: fucking love yourself bc you deserve nice things!! 😠 #sweet home #lee eun yoo #cha hyun su #it's how she shows affection:') #she just cannot understand how he goes thru all this without being at least a little bitchy:'D #ahh i love her #1x06 #eun yu trying to shake some self-love into this boy😔

[rlnacore]

I've seen a lot of people (especially more recently) trying to give a whole variety of reasons why it's impossible that Ricky delivered the chocolates, and why it was most likely EJ- and most of them make 0 sense. So I'm going to debunk some of them :)

1. EJ would've had Gina's mom's number meaning contacting her wouldn't have been a problem, but Ricky wouldn't have it.

- Out of all the arguments I've seen against Ricky delivering the chocolates and it being EJ instead, this one probably makes the most sense. With EJ buying Gina that plane ticket in season one, they definitely would have exchanged numbers to arrange travel arrangements for Gina. So I don't disregard that all, he definitely does have the number. But for some reason, a lot of people find it unfathomable that during the almost 2 months between Homecoming and Thanksgiving that Gina and Ricky were hanging out together (canon), that he wouldn't have somehow gotten a hold of her mom's number. In case it's been forgotten she did show up to his house in 1x07 unplanned, meaning she'd been there before. It could be as simple as her phone died once when they were together and she used his phone to text her mom, or even that her mom- knowing Gina finds it hard making friends- just wanted to know who her daughter was spending all her time with and wanted to exchange information (probably with Mike to). So yeah I think this is a fair(ish) argument but super easy to explain away.

2. Ricky was at home when Gina got the chocolates.

- This one is not even a fact, its just guessing his whereabouts at the time of the delivery. If anything, the window of time between Gina leaving Ricky's house and him sending his voicemail to Nini, backs up the theory that Ricky was the one who delivered the chocolates. We know that Gina went to see Ricky at some point between 3 and 4pm, and she received the chocolates around 9:30pm and texted Ricky back just before midnight, which was also the time he send his voicemail to Nini. His whereabouts between those times is a complete mystery to us the audience, we have no clue what he was up to. But to me at least, that window is more than enough time to: text Gina's mom about what's going on with her, formulate some sort of plan to deliver them and then have her mom text her soon after and get home just before midnight in time to play his song for Nini. Because otherwise that would mean that he just decided to wait over 6 hours at home doing nothing, not going to see Nini or anything and then play the song right when Valentines Day was basically over. So yes I think it's possible that he skated over to Ashlyn's, dropped off the chocolates, skated away and hid or whatever, sent his own text to her, then sent a text to her mom that she'd received the chocolates and she should send her own text (which she maybe didn't see til later).

3. EJ is known for sweet gestures, and Ricky has never given or shown Gina any sort of sweet gesture.

- Up until Valentines Day, the only "sweet gesture" that EJ had given Gina was the plane ticket back on opening night. So by 2x03 he wasn't particularly known as the sweet gesture guy because it was only a one off occurrence- at least until 2b. On the other hand to say that Ricky has never given Gina any sort of sweet gesture is false. Especially considering that the gesture she was referring to when she said she speaks from experience was when Ricky serenaded her in 1x06. I've seen some people say that the she was talking about the plane ticket which narratively doesn't make sense. The whole point of her saying she speaks from experience was to remind us of Gina and Ricky's relationship before she moved and he got back with Nini and show us how much has changed as a result of those events (also to reinforce that Ricky is an oblivious teenage boy).

Here's some reasons I personally think it wasn't EJ

- Ashlyn's house is like a second home to EJ, so he would've just walked into the house to drop them off.

- There's no way in hell EJ would've walked to Ashlyns, he definitely would've taken a car meaning we would've heard a car driving off by the time Gina got outside (I think Ricky used his skateboard

- Ricky is the only person who would've thought to be so anonymous about the chocolates, considering he's the only one she told how important a vday gift from her mom was to her.

In conclusion, speaking from a storytelling perspective, there's not really any logical reason for EJ to have delivered the chocolates or for it to have been made such a big deal of even up to 2x12 if it was him. Their storylines didn't cross over at all until 2x05 and before that point they had 0 interactions. A reveal that it was EJ would be meaningless because there was no storyline between them at the time of the incident.

#hsmtmts #gina porter #ricky bowen #ricky x gina #gina x ricky #rina #ej caswell #portwell

[bleulone]

Can we talk about about how Colin looked in ep 1 when he first saw Marina compared to how he looked when he saw Pen in ep 8. Almost the exact same look! Of course his look to Penelope is probably more about his guilt because he brushed her off when she tried to warn him but still..progress! Lol and then when he's getting ready to leave for Greece, he glanced towards Penelope's home. I think they're having Colin's feelings for her grow gradually in the show instead of all of a sudden like in the books.

Hey! Thank you for this insightful ask of yours :) Sorry for the late answer, I took a long time to write this— without further ado, here we go!

Indeed, Polin is first and foremost a story of gazes, those gazes being of many natures. Whether they are love ones, friendly ones, admirative ones or lustful ones, looking imposes itself to be a huge parameter in Penelope and Colin’s love story.

In order to understand that on screen, film-making has at its disposal a very rich and smart langage of its own. Sometimes, comparision helps to underlines the differences between one character’s relationship with person A mirorring person B. I feel like Shondaland and Chris Van Dussen wanted to introduce the audience to the evolution of our Bridgerton men’s perception of Love. For instance, while Anthony views attachement— to Siena— as a way to escape his responsibilities before becoming his villain (...until our queen ma’am Kate Sheffield comes to the picture), Benedict doesn’t comprehend this universal concept and prefers to enjoy the many physical pleasures life can offer. In other words, the older brothers already explored their sexuality here and there, making them the infamous rakes that they are. As for Colin, it’s a complete other thing.

Colin is young. Very young. At 21, he’s just left Eton College and barely knows anything of the world nor women. Like Anthony said in 1x06, Colin hasn’t been taken to brothels which is a very important step in the building of young men’s sentimental and sexual education during that time period. Since he missed this essential step, our sweet/immature boy has no clue about how to deal sagaciously with his feelings and his “foolish” impulses, baring his naivety. At this point of the story, we can easily come to the conclusion that Colin is a virgin who can’t drive XD. He’s just a child overcame by his passions, a hopelessly romantic who rushes things without taking the time to properly court or know his significant other. And his off-screen flirtation with those supposed numerous girls in London isn’t of any help to justify his (oh so little) experience. So when he sees Marina, he’s so struck by her... mainly by her alluring appearance. And he doesn’t seem to let his eyes nor mind go beyond her exquisite beauty.

In this perspective, the whole Colin/Marina storyline can be perceived as a parallelism to the Pen/Colin’s one. In 1x01, he is immediatley smitten with a dancing Miss Thompson, which happens to be ironically the same case with a 17 year-old Pen but with him. We got to see her, a few moments ago, dreamily looking at him from the back of the dancefloor (echoeing the episode where she fell madly in love with him after he fell off his horse at Hyde Park). She’s charmed by his dashing look and his kindness, yet she doesn’t seem to know anything else about him considering the rare conversations they share. Her burning gaze fits the original story from Julia Quinn’s books because in Romancing Mister Bridgerton, the 28 year-old spinster Penelope do realize later on that Colin is more than a good looking man : he’s a human who possesses a temper and flaws.

Either way, both of our boos are portrayed as hopelessly young people in love who childishly idealize the objects of their affection.

In 1x08, it’s the other way around. It’s Colin who sees Pen first, her who appears to wear the yellow dress’ lookalike from the pilot—what an interesting call back ^^. With his mouth slightly agape and his eyes wide open, we can catch sight of the timid spark of a change in his gaze : Colin Bridgerton notices Penelope Featherington. He‘s touched by the realization that she cares about him. It would be rather inappropriate of me to say that Colin is already in love with her. However, in the finale, I do believe that he’s more struck by her high level of deep care for him than her beauty.

We are thus able to spot two big differences in Colin’s relationship with women in this season : when his attraction to Marina was purely physical and rushed, his attraction with Penelope is more emotional and slow. And for now, he comes to cherish his special bond with her, especially after she tried to warn him of the dangerous trap he was about to fall into. Even if he just sees her as his younger sister’s best friend right now, Pen matters in his life. And it’s still a little yet important progress for sure.

Speaking of which, I agree with you that this look of awe as well as realization is mostly mixed up with guilt. Since he didn’t take into account her words, he felt the strong need to apologize. But bear in mind that guilt formulates a considerable part in Colin’s feelings for Pen... and it’s only the very beginning. In the future, he’ll blame himself for not seeing her as the beautiful goddess and siren that she is in the first place. He’ll blame himself for not reciprocating the feelings for her.... Though at the moment, due to his lack of experience with women, Colin is oblivious to Pen’s obvious signs of sorrow when he told her he’s leaving for Greece/Cyprus. Next time, he’ll detect her sadness and won’t let her go, I’m sure of it (if he doesn’t I’ll riot).

Furthermore, I’m so glad you brought up the scene where Colin glances at the Featherington house. I had the same thought as well. When you put this still and the one where Pen is crying while looking at her window side by side, it even seems like they’re looking at each other. In a way, it implicitly confirms Pen’s key role in his final decision... After all, she’s the one who inadvertently inspired him right ?

The act of traveling has always been seen as cathartic since leaving home to discover yourself allows you to heal your broken heart and soul. It’s natural for Colin to do this. To make his first real steps into the world. His choice is quite relatable more than it is essential for his arc in the series. I can’t wait for him to come back all changed, hot ^^ and mature. I think, like you said, they are planning on making him progressively falling in love with her. Colin’s feelings will gradually leave the platonic zone to explore and officially stay in the intimate zone throughout the seasons.

Overall, the Colin/Marina and Colin/Penelope parallel in s1 mostly helps viewers to compare the way Colin evolves from being a stubborn naive boy to a heartbroken young man who’s aware of his crutial need for Experience. His coming of age, just like Pen’s, has just begun. And they will surely lead to our boy changing himself into the true charming rake that he’s meant to be and our girl into a more confident woman. Consequently, I think their story won’t take 10 years but rather at the very least 5 years perhaps to fit the TV timeline. Once Polin will finally be able to discuss, we’ll hopefully get to see more interesting nuances and shades added to the portrait they painted of one another over the years. They’re indispensable to the slow build up of their emotions/attraction as well as the shattering of their childish idealization/perception of each other.

All in all, I’m so loving the fact that season 1 beautifully sets up the importance of the gaze in Polin’s love story. This first installment is like an expository scene of a play. It leaves a trail of clues and pieces of information here and there at the reach every viewers who can pick them up and analyze what can be the main themes which will determine one character’s story arc/romance. With Polin we have : admiration, wit, love and friendship, desillusionment. (I know they are more but it’s all I can think of rn lol).

If we’re already emotional messes just with the mere power of them looking at each other, imagine when they’ll actually talk and share real conversations. It’s going to be a long way to canon but luv me some good fluffy angsty steamy slow burn :) ✨ I hope this long of mine answers your ask ahah, even if I talked about many things other than just Polin’s looks. Also, sorry if you spot some grammatical mistakes, English is not my first language.

#bleulone answers #anon #ask #meta and gush #polin #polin meta #colin x penelope #colin bridgerton #penelope featherington #julia quinn #romancing mister bridgerton #bridgerton #shondaland #chris van dusen