#and also nureyev's reaction was pretty much exactly what it had to be in this situation | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ernmark · 5 years

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Man in Glass (pt 1) reactions

Spoilers under the cut.

I love that the season started with yet another fakeout, with Juno starting a typical monologue and then Peter promptly telling him to shut up and taking over as the narrator.

The thing about narrators is that they can be difficult, and it can be really easy to fall into the trap of using the wrong narrator just because they’ve been appropriate up until now.

In my experience, the best narrators for a given story are often the ones who are competent and present enough to be able to convey what’s going on, but also are at enough of a disadvantage to have actual conflict and tension. And I think that, up until now, that made Juno an excellent narrator even when he wasn’t the protagonist of a given story.

But when last we saw Juno, he was probably in the best place that we’ve ever seen him. He’s taking the effort to grow and improve himself (which, while important, is full of so many itty bitty checks and reassessments that it gets a little tedious to see in person), but he’s also left an altogether toxic environment and entered one where he’s surrounded by people who trust him and are good at communicating with him (Vespa aside). And you could hear it in his voice in that opening monologue—he’s more confident and at ease than he’s ever been.

And sure, Kevin and Sophie could yank him out of that and shove him into more trauma, but that’s exhausting. So Juno has a fairly low-stakes mission, very reminiscent of Midnight Fox. Our lady needs a break (and, apparently, a really kickass ball gown).

Enter Peter Nureyev.

Peter’s got conflict coming out his ears right now. Apparently he’s in debt up to his eyeballs (over what? to whom?), he’s dealing with some major resentment and animosity toward Juno (despite being very obviously besotted over him, which is beautifully complicated), and he’s trapped in a situation where he depends on Juno to vouch for him in order to keep this job that he so desperately needs.

And oh my god, listening to Peter’s voice is a delight. There is just so much going on in there, and I love it, especially with how profusely he compartmentalizes. This man is a ball of overconfidence and anxiety, and he keeps folding up his every spare thought and filing them away, and that leaves a sea of ideas and reactions half-thought and pushed aside. And did I mention conflict? Because that’s all his head is. It’s in the mix of love and disdain for Mag every time he brings up Mag’s teachings. It’s in the way he describes Juno—with derision, with seething jealousy, with longing, with trailing thoughts that are suddenly cut off before he can finish thinking them. (My god, he’s got it bad. I love this so much.) He’s pissed as hell with Juno—and rightfully so—but he has to make an active effort not to be drawn in again. This time it’s Juno who needs to charm him. Also, it’s so wonderful to finally hear exactly what about Juno draws him in. And I think that largely it’s his sincerity—he’s real in a way Peter tries so hard not to be, and Peter seems to both hate and adore that about him.

And I think that’s exactly why this mission is happening, in-universe. Because Buddy is a good, solid leader, and she knows how to handle Juno to bring out the best in him, and how to read him. Even if Vespa hadn’t pointed it out, I don’t think she missed the fact that Juno and Peter used to be romantically involved. The tension is too palpable for that, and Peter’s disdain is too one-sided. She knows Juno wouldn’t ordinarily put up with that. Also, Juno choking on his coffee at the first (deliberately placed) implication that he and Peter were sleeping together was a pretty big giveaway.

So naturally, she forces them to work together right off the bat. She puts Juno in a pretty dress and makes sure he’s the belle of the ball, makes the two of them play happy newlyweds, and lets the chips fall as they may. If this mission ends with the tension dissipated and the two of them in bed together, fantastic. If they don’t make up, but they manage to pull it off and work well together despite the obviously uncomfortable circumstances, then that’s great, too. But if they prove entirely incapable of working together under stress, then that tells her everything she needs to know. And my money says that Peter would be the one to get the boot. Juno’s got proven results with everybody else on the crew, sans Vespa. Peter is entirely unproven, and it would be significantly faster and cheaper to find someone new than to try to overcome that kind of bad blood.

It is a superb strategy. I wholeheartedly approve.

And I love that this situation—which, like I said, I feel was engineered on Buddy’s part to create conflict—is taking something that would ordinarily be extremely straightforward and making it complicated. Yes, Juno got bored and acted stupidly. That’s undeniable. But that could easily be worked around if Peter had deigned to actually engage with him, rather than shove him into a corner on a fool’s errand. If he’d let Juno get a word in edgewise, he might have had an incredible advantage in the auction. Instead he shot himself in the foot with his own jealousy and hurt.

And let me reiterate here: Peter has every right to feel hurt. Juno was an absolute asshole the last time he saw him, and Peter is entitled to the pain he’s feeling. It makes sense that he wants to curl up in his shell and refuse to depend on anyone else for anything ever again. But this is not the time or the place to indulge that impulse, and if he’s not careful, it’s going to cost him his spot on this pirate crew.

And for once, Juno is the one reaching out. He’s trying to start conversations with Peter. He wants to talk about what’s hanging between them. He’s trying to make amends. This time it’s Peter who needs to accept the compassion he’s being offered.

My predictions:

“The Man In Glass” doesn’t refer exclusively to Peter. I think there’s another person (or object?) that fits that description. My money says it has something to do with what happened to Nova a year ago, when she was robbed.

Nova isn’t nearly as wealthy/powerful as she pretends to be. Giving herself access to everyone else’s money means she can tamper with it somehow. Also, she was way too nervous about the bidding for the map. Maybe she promised it to someone in particular? Maybe they were supposed to win it in the auction, but Juno outbid them too quickly, so she had to take drastic measures?

Juno is gonna get chummy with Nova and “lend” her Peter. I suspect he’s going to request the map in exchange, but she’ll refuse, and Peter will accept whatever terms she gives instead on the premise that he can steal it out from under her nose. Bonus points for the chance to make Juno as jealous as Peter obviously is.

Peter’s going to keep insisting on doing everything by himself and dig himself in progressively deeper until Juno gallantly comes to his rescue and sweeps him off his feet. This is going to start the ball rolling on Peter trusting Juno again, but it won’t mend things between them. Not by a long shot.

Nova finds the man of her dreams, and he turns out to be none other than Cecil Kanagawa. Possibly Juno even introduces them.

#the penumbra podcast #man in glass #100 #200

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theradioghost · 7 years

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reactions to early release of JS + the Kitty-Cat Caper Part 2 (plus some Serious Thoughts about where I can see this going):

piss off everyone until they start fighting one another for the chance to kill you oh my god Juno WHAT A STRATEGY

rita is me every time I've ever tried to teach someone older to use a computer. oh my god juno turn it on

min has one of these cats? can we get this cat away from her somehow?

OF COURSE IT'S A REAL ESTATE CONSPIRACY THIS WOULDN'T BE A NOIR SERIES WITHOUT A REAL ESTATE CONSPIRACY

juno. doesn't know what a desktop is.

JUNO DOES NOT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT COMPUTERS

fifteen years since they've met which sounds like it MIGHT be longer that the "decade and change" that juno has been a PI? I am so interested in whether they met at the HCPD or not. at any rate, though, it means they met when Juno when in his early twenties. which I guess explains why Rita is so willing to stick through this mess: she’s seen him, by his own estimation, in a worse place. she’s seen him in all the worse places

honestly I am so, so glad to be getting more of these two bickering mid-case I love them so much. the opening here and the break-in in Prince of Mars are two of my favorite exchanges in the show.

can I say that I love the narrative thing where you challenge a character by taking away their greatest advantage?

"impromptu surgery from a one-eyed maniac with nothing to lose"

holy fuck joshua's imitation of noah's old man voice im c r y i n g

"tall dumb and stupid"

back at it with the bad one-liners

Juno comparing Bosco's height to yours like that means nothing we all know you're short as hell

i'm having vivid flashbacks to a bad mystery novel I once read that involved a chase scene where a maniacally evil taxidermist was throwing stuffed squirrels with bombs inside them out of his car at the protagonist's car

I......... want a plasma chainsaw

"ohhh you're kidding me." his voice is so small. he is so Done.

"HEY YOU CAN'T RUN AWAY WHILE I'M DOING A BIT!" My favorite thing about Juno Steel is that it doesn’t matter that he’s genre-savvy because the rest of his world does not give a fuck about the narrative he assumes he’s in

"fine! she's going fast! I'm going fast! sooner or later one of us will go faster than the other and the chase will be over!"

"no! let's not play that game! that sounds like a REALLY bad game!"

oh my god junes take more than one shot

"a tongue that was a few inches longer than regulation" I’m not sure whether to take this as “longer than normal” or to read it as “Hyperion has some serious laws about human body modification”

Juno ran all the way there with Pippa omg

"Is something wrong with him?" "I think he's thinking." "Does his face always get this red when he thinks?" "He'll be fine once he cools off a little."

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD:

I love that like twice in this case Juno has tried to be Done and the ending theme has played and then people are like "lol nope"

FUCK

FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK

JUNO WASN'T ORIGINALLY FROM OLDTOWN??? HOLY FUCK??????

JUNO'S BROTHER'S NAME WAS BEN

OH MY GOOOOOOOOODDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

"feeling good isn't the point. DOING good, that's what I'm for. that's all that matters." juno baaaaaaaabe no

am I allowed to fight Joshua Ilon for the way his voice sounds when Juno Steel is sad because that’s the direction we’re headed in

"a future worth running to" Well, if that doesn’t sound familiar.

"You're the hero private eye at heart and it embarrasses you"

Oh man this guy's got Juno pinned down exactly

"megagreen"

SO RAMSES IS MANIPULATING JUNO INTO BECOMING HIS PERSONAL WEAPON

"he reminded me of someone" wow, who else have you described as a) having vivid eyes b) running towards a better future c) liking to show off and be the smartest person in the room. I wonder who he could possibly remind you of.

oh wow, the lack of an ending monologue here is fascinating, especially considering that they basically had one earlier -- but seriously, not knowing Juno’s closing thoughts here the way we’re used to? I am SO IN SUSPENSE.

concluding thoughts: I’m gonna fight them for killing the cat but wow, what a good episode, and I am so interested to see where this story goes. it’s pretty clear that Ramses is setting Juno up to get into trouble here, and he also obviously has a very, very good grasp of exactly how to make him do it. Juno’s put a lot of emphasis, ever since the end of The Day That Wouldn’t Die and particularly in his Season 1 end monologue and in this episode, on doing something to make the city better, despite knowing he can only change a little of it, if any. And now Rameses is offering self-aggrandizing, selfishly selfless Juno Steel the ability -- and the justification -- to bite off way more than he can chew in that regard, in partnership with a man who pretty much flat out said that Juno shouldn’t bother thinking about what his motivation is in wanting Juno to become his personal vigilante.

That bit about access to the HCPD’s files is scary as hell. Juno is absolutely not the kind of person who should be a solo arbiter of justice. On top of which, we’ve already seen the results of one government deciding to “clean their home of crime,” and it didn’t end well for anyone we care about. (Which maybe opens up the most horrifying possible scenario for Nureyev’s return. Imagine Peter coming back to the discovery that Juno has become the tool of more or less the thing that made the first half of his life hell.)

#my posts #the grandest hotel this side of nowhere #in other words I am FIRED THE FUCK UP FOR THIS SEASON

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