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e-l-forever · 1 year

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What is your opinion on Smallville Lana and Clana?

Oh wow a Smallville question! And what a question at that, right? I feel like I should preface this with a lot of stuff, because I actually have huge history with this character and the ship (which, believe it or not, I used to ship at some point).

First of all, I LOVE Kristen! I adore her, I've seen several cons with her and she's the sweetest and kindest and is stunning inside and out. And looks like she's also aware of the problems with her character's storylines and wasn't much happy about it.

Second, I watched Smallville as it was airing in.... god knows what year.... meaning, I was very young at that time and coming straight out of Lois & Clark TNAOS series, which turned me into a Clois shipper for life. So once Smallville started and was a huge hit right away I was hesitating about getting on board, because: "How do I, a Clois shipper, watch a series about Clark and another girl's big love?" And I vividly remember reading an article in a magazine with one of the producers, who was promising that this was about school years ONLY, that there would be no Lois, so we were all free and safe to root for this cute young couple. So I trusted them and started watching and just loooved early Lana and Clana, it was adorable and just age-appropriate cute teen love for me at that time. (I keep mentioned my youth because I think the show aged with the viewers and the early seasons/ships were more younger viewers-appropriate, while the more adult and mature Clois relationship was more for the older viewers, like you would grow out of one ship into another. And I think that's also how the different age groups gravitate towards these ships). After the first couple of seasons it started to get a bit tiring but I was still holding on, to the point that when they announced Lois's arrival after S3 I felt so betrayed 😂, I was like "you promised!" and I tried not to like her, but nobody could resist Erica and I fell for her in 1(ONE) episode 😂

After that it just all went downhill for Lana/Clana. Storylines kept getting worse and more unbearable. The back and forth and the constant will they won't they was super tiring, especially compared to the breath of fresh air that was Lois/Clois. Whenever Clark and Lana were sharing screen it was sheer misery and they were just bringing out the worst in each other. Their plots separate from each other were so much better (whenever Lana was allowed to have one, that is, which wasn't often). I remember genuinely loving Lana with Jensen's character until he had to leave and went psycho, and - unpopular opinion - but I even loved her story with Lex and their own love-and-war twisted games they were playing, at least it made her interesting and exciting as compared to the horrible stuff she was given with Clark! Basically with time I could stand her less and less.

I also think she overstayed her welcome, because the writers had no idea what to do with her anymore, especially in an adult Superman's story. In S7 I felt they were nicely building up to her exit and showing in excruciating painful details how Clana just was NOT working at all, no matter how much they tried (and GOD, they tried gazillion tiring times!!), and even the characters were saying it like a million times how maybe they weren't meant to be, but sadly the Arc of Suck in mid-S8 shit on all over it obviously... That was the worst written, most offensive, character destroying bunch of episodes I've seen in any show and I'm embarrassed on behalf of Smallville producers and writers for doing that. That exit and the horrible taste retroactively ruined all my fond childhood memories I had of the character and of shipping that ship. I can't stand either anymore, sadly.

I think I would have loved if they had kept her as just a friend for her last couple seasons, like Oliver was with Lois, I think her character could have been redeemed that way and could have been made likable again. Because I know they brought her back in S11 comics as a friend and that was pretty nice. But oh well.

#smallville #anti clana #I guess?#just to be safe

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glenngaylord · 1 month

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Sister Kristen - Film Review: Love Lies Bleeding ★★★1/2

Some of my favorite films feel like pulpy fever dreams. Think of Stanley Kubrick or Brian De Palma at their best or the early 20th century dime novels and you’ll get a sense of the otherworldly, heightened tone I gravitate towards. Consider my surprise then when Rose Glass, who made a little splash in 2019 with her debut horror feature, Saint Maude, follows it up with Love Lies Bleeding, a sexy, trashy, overripe thriller. One could draw comparisons with their themes of co-dependence and some similar visceral motifs, but Glass has taken a bigger swing here.

Set in late 1980s Nowheresville, New Mexico, Kristen Stewart plays Lou, the manager of a training gym who, when we first meet her, has her hand down a filthy toilet in an effort to clear out a clog. It’s a not so subtle shorthand to indicate that she’s living in a world of crap. Like any good film noir main character, she’s more than ready for a femme fatale to shake up her world. It’s not going to be Daisy (a scene-stealing Anna Baryshnikov), a messy local who crushes a bit too hard on a clearly not interested Lou. No, it’ll take Jackie (Katy O’Brian), a gorgeous, buff bodybuilder who drifts into town with the requisite mysterious past to catch Lou’s eye. When we first meet Jackie, she’s getting railed by the sleazy, poorly-mulleted JJ (Dave Franco) in the back seat of his car. Their relationship seems transactional and a short time later, Jackie shows up at Lou’s gym. When Lou’s eyes almost burst out of her sockets, it’s love and bulging biceps at first sight.

At this point, Glass and co-writer Weronika Tofilska, in the grand tradition of the genre, add one complication after another. You see, JJ happens to be Lou’s brother-in-law and horribly abuses her sister Beth (Jena Malone). JJ also just happens to work for Lou’s scary and estranged father Lou Sr. (an even more severely mulleted Ed Harris) at the local gun range. If all of this sounds ominous, it should. In a film this lurid, you just know those guns will get used for more than target practice. Make no mistake, this story has sex, violence and a high body count. Think an early 90s B-movie classic like Red Rock West with the seductive juice of Bound and you’ll be dead on about this stakes-raising good time at the movies.

Something like this doesn’t work without having terrific performances and Love Lies Bleeding has an impressive array. Stewart gives a mesmerizing turn as a fearless, sexually voracious aggressor who can’t help put herself in the path of pain over and over again. It reminded me of her depiction of Joan Jett in 2010’s The Runaways, simultaneously feral and vulnerable. Her delayed reaction during a phone call scene actually made me laugh and applaud. She has electrifying chemistry with O’Brian, whose hair-trigger temperament gets them into one terrible situation after another. Lou should be able to read the tea leaves, but she just can’t help herself when it comes to Jackie. Harris plays a scary monster but gives him a type of twisted logic that adds a layer of complexity to a role so often deemed beyond reproach. Malone and Franco also have their moments to shine, but I took the most glee from the little details in Baryshnikov’s turn (and yes, her father is Mikhail). Just watching her use her fingers on a diner table to express excitement had me grinning.

As things spiral out of control, Glass enters surreal territory. She uses many bone-crunching close-ups of Jackie’s muscles expanding from steroid use to suggest she’s turning into the Incredible Hulk, and late in the film, she really goes off the rails with the level of such transformation. There's also one incredible shot of Lou and Jackie running towards camera as an ethereal, colorful haze twirls in the background. These moments may turn some viewers off, but I’ll counter that it makes the film unforgettable. I did wonder, however, why they used that title without including Elton John’s classic 70s song of the same name. Maybe it’s too on the nose, but I felt it would have fit in with the big, colorful 80s aesthetic.

With such recent films as Nyad, May December, and Bottoms, we’re in the Bechdel Test-passing era of cinema where female characters don’t merely exist to prop up the male leads. Love Lies Bleeding, which falls handily within those guidelines, feels like it’s built on two axioms, that love is indeed blind, and that relationships built on trauma bonding and deep sexual attraction just might be the way to go. Either way, I’ll follow Rose Glass, blindly (!), anywhere.

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likeatlas · 2 years

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TEveryone remembers the great love stories of cinema. Since When Harry Met Sally until White HouseHollywood has always loved the stories of two people who find their soul mate in the least likely of circumstances. But things don't always work that way. Some movies choose to delve into the darker side of romance, into love relationships that quickly sour and spiral into destruction. Often this is deliberate. Movies like Bad Timingby Nicolas Roeg, or BlueValentine, by Derek Cianfrance, lead the viewer through the troubled waters of a toxic relationship. The only thing to do is watch in horror through your fingers as something once sacred is painfully marred. Sometimes, though, the toxicity is entirely accidental: a horrible mismatch of people that gets framed as a heartwarming love story (something that's particularly prevalent in older movies like grease either The Breakfast Clubin which troubled relationships are scrutinized more harshly decades after the premiere). But things don't always work out that way. Here, then, is the classification The Independent made the 20 most toxic relationships ever seen on film... 20. 'Love Actually' It's almost hard to pick the most toxic relationship from the mix of interconnected romances in Love Actually. In my opinion, it's probably the unhealthy relationship between Hugh Grant's prime minister and junior clerk Martine McCutcheon. But otherwise there is a wide variety of options. Hugh Grant and Martine McCutcheon in 'Love Actually' (Worldwide) 19. 'Fatal Attraction' The thriller erotica has been a fertile base for exploring toxic relationships on screen, and Fatal Attraction is no exception. While Alex Forrest, played by Glenn Close (who becomes obsessed with Dan Gallagher, played by Michael Douglas, after a brief sexual fling) may fuel some pretty troubling stereotypes (ahem, the pot with the rabbit), the film remains a gripping portrait. of a really troubled relationship. 18. 'Happy Together' Wong Kar Wai, perhaps the leading trafficker of unfulfilled romantic yearnings in cinema, portrayed a chaotic love affair between two Hong Kong men (Leslie Cheung and Tony Leung) in Argentina, in this modern queer classic. HappyTogether it's both funny and tragic, an idiosyncratic take on a strange and destructive relationship. 17. 'Twilight' I don't think I'm going overboard with the age gap talk to suggest there's anything dubious about a 100-year-old vampire dating a teenage schoolgirl. The movies of twilight they're defiantly sentimental about Bella's (Kristen Stewart) and Edward's (Robert Pattinson) romance, but there's no getting away from the fact that it's deeply toxic. Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson in 'Twilight' (SummitEntertainment) 16. 'Cold War' This is another movie that could have easily been titled "Toxic Relationship: The Movie." The Polish drama of 2018 Cold War follows the torrid romance between a talented young singer (Joanna Kulig) and a musical director (Tomasz Kot). There are moments of beauty and shock, but mostly the uneasy feeling of seeing two people plummet into mutually unhappy passion. 15. 'Basic Instinct' It doesn't take a detective to suspect there's something off about the twisted romance between police investigator Nick Curran, played by Michael Douglas, and seductive novelist Catherine Tramell, played by Sharon Stone, who turns out to be the prime suspect in the latest case. of Nick's murder. Sex and violence intermingle in the influential thriller erotic by Paul Verhoevan. 14. 'Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!' Pedro Almodóvar's 1990 romance is the story of a courtship so strident and problematic that it's laughable. Antonio Banderas plays Ricky, a recently released psychiatric patient who kidnaps and imprisons a porn star Marina (Victoria Abril). In the end, and inevitably, she falls in love with his dysfunctional captor. A sick and provocative delight. Ricky (Antonio Banderas) and Marina (Victoria Abril)

(© 1989 El Deseo, SA – All Rights Reserved.) 13. 'She's All That' teen romantic comedy She's All That 1999's was a quick hit after its release, but the years haven't been kind to their central relationship. Freddie Prinze Jr. stars as Zack Siler, the school jock, while Rachael Leigh Cook is Laney Boggs, the bumbling loner who, against all odds, wins her affection, but only after physically reinventing himself with a drastic change. of image. 12. 'How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days' One of the many problematic romantic comedies of the boom of the genre during the 1990s and 2000s, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days centers on a rather embarrassing relationship between Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey. Both parties manipulate and deceive the other, and the film also promotes a series of easy dating cliches. 11. 'Marriage Story' There are moments of genuine, harrowing virulence between feuding spouses Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson in Noah Baumbach's 2019 Oscar-winning drama. Although the scene has become a meme, there's no denying the visceral discomfort that comes from watching Adam Driver spitting the words "Every day I wake up and hope you're dead" at the mother of his child. Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver in 'Marriage Story' (Netflix) 10. 'The Breakfast Club' Much of the work of John Hughes could be on this list; since Weird Science until Sixteen Candles, his teen comedies are peppered with inappropriate, toxic, or downright reprehensible romances. But for many people, what irritates the most is The Breakfast Club, specifically the meeting between the rude and sexual harasser John Bender (Judd Nelson) and Claire Standish (Molly Ringwald). Ringwald admitted as much later, when she reassessed the film's troubled romance in an essay for the new yorker. 9. 'Blue Valentine' Derek Cianfrance's 2010 drama follows the ups and downs of a turbulent relationship between a nurse (Michelle Williams) and a volatile factory worker (Ryan Gosling). Intimate and heartrending BlueValentine presents their central destructive relationship with almost unparalleled directness; the breakup stings all the more since the courtship is so charmingly sincere. 8. 'You've Got Mail' Whether you subscribe to the idea that opposites attract or not, in Nora Ephron's romantic comedy You've Got Mail of 1998 there is something more than conflicting sensibilities. Tom Hanks' character Joe Fox is a total corporate jerk; Megan Ryan plays his unwitting pen pal, a bookstore idealist who comes across as brooding. Adapted from the 1930s classic The Shop Around the CornerEphron makes the matter more unpleasant and tiresome, and the central relationship is full of red flags. Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in 'You've Got Mail' (Warner Bros) 7. 'Beauty and the Beast' You might think that classic children's movies are careful not to instill dangerous ideas about romance in young viewers, but too often that's not the case. Beauty and the Beast is one of the worst examples, featuring a highly troubled romance between young Belle and her captor, the Beast. It is the Stockholm syndrome framed in true love: a story that gets worse the more it is analyzed. 6. 'Passengers' Chris Pratt is an ethically dubious hero in this 2016 sci-fi romance. After being prematurely awakened from hypersleep aboard a decades-long spaceflight, he decides to wake Jennifer Lawrence to keep him company, dooming her to a life of secluded codependency. aboard an empty spaceship. Ultimately, it's framed as a heartwarming romance, but make no mistake: this is rotten to the core. Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence in 'Passengers' (Columbia) 5. 'Grease' There are many things that have aged badly in grease, from the date rape joke to the odd elderly cast. But the central romance, between Sandy (Olivia Newton-John) and Danny (John Travolta), is probably the worst of them all. The movie ends on a pretty terrible message, as Sandy reinvents her entire personality just to please her heartthrob.

4. 'Bad Timing' It may seem like an understatement to describe Art Garfunkel and Theresa Russell's romance in Nic Roeg's 1980 drama as a "toxic relationship," as the film ends with one of the most gruesome scenes of sexual violence ever seen in film. screen. But for most of its duration, Bad Timing is a riveting portrait of a doomed and turbulent love affair. 3. 'Gone Girl' Although the thriller David Fincher's 2014 film keeps you guessing for much of its run, one thing is clear from the start: Nick's (Ben Affleck) and Amy's (Rosamund Pike) relationship wasn't even remotely healthy. Though few could have predicted the extreme — and murderous — depths to which Amy ended up sinking, the Dunnes' marriage is a spectacle of catastrophic suburban toxicity from start to finish. Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike in 'Gone Girl' (Fox) 2. 'Gas light' Yes, there are plenty of good (and not-so-good) movies about toxic romance. But how many inspired their own word, now ubiquitous and certified by the dictionary, from affective-romantic jargon? Charles Boyer plays a husband who cunningly manipulates his wife (Ingrid Bergman) into thinking she's going crazy. If only they had a word for it back then... 1. 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' This is the quintessential toxic relationship movie. Mike Nichols' 1966 adaptation of Edward Albee's acid play is a spectacle of marital dysfunction. Elizabeth Taylor and James Burton, who were actually married at the time, play a married couple that has sunk into a state of poisonous passive aggression. George Segal and Sandy Dennis, meanwhile, play a young couple trapped in a dinner from hell.

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loveyourownsmiilee · 2 years

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Hi Juju, do you still trust Oliver? I’m genuinely asking because he hyped up AK so much I for sure thought Buck and her won’t have anything beyond friendship. But after this episode, and the way Oliver said he’s not frustrated about Buck’s choices…I don’t know what to believe.

Also the way Kristen talking about Lucy in NEXT season, and Oliver keep saying ‘twists and turns’, AK saying ‘best pal with sexual tension’ ‘changes and shifts’ in the finale, I think we’re in for a repetition of Taykay S4. With Lucy end up with Buck in the finale.

I don’t know how people will accept Lucy as legitimate LI after this, but it sure feels like a slap in the face. Do you think Oliver is only excited bc he’s free of Taykay, and likes working with AK more?

Hello. This is the one and only time I’m going to answer this bc I keep getting these asks. Yes I trust him because he hasn’t really lied or done anything to make me not trust him. Has he been happily promoting this season? Yes he definitely has. Is it because he’s happy with where the storylines for his character are going? Possibly yes. Now here’s the thing, Oliver’s been portraying the role of Evan Buckley for five years now yeah? And we all think he does a damn good job at portraying him and bringing the character of Buck that we all know and love to life. I think he’s very passionate about his character and genuinely wants him to do good. That also comes hand in hand with his on screen partners. We saw a massive decline in his enthusiasm in 5a when he was forced to film with MW but that’s also bc he wasn’t filming with his normal screen partners (JLH, Kenny, Ryan, Gavin). So like of course he hated it and was so not satisfied with that in any way. This half he’s more into it and is genuinely putting his heart into promoting it. Now it can be because of numerous things. It can be because the man is just happy to have all his normal filming partners back again, it could be because he’s excited to be filming with AK, or it could be because he’s happy for us to see where Buck’s story goes this half. Remember the reason for my social media analysis was just what I noticed as a pattern and it was my hypothesis. I never claimed to say it’s proven that Buddie will be happening which is why he’s behaving the way he is. No I left it up for the readers interpretation! And each person is entitled to their opinions of course. So if one person thinks he was lying or he’s leading us on, ok that’s fine as we’re all allowed those opinions. I believe this is only episode 1 out of 8 and we still got a long way to go. We have these articles coming out which are totally negative for us and we have Oliver out here being excited and encouraging us to watch. I’m torn myself bc I’m upset at the stuff I read but I have faith in Oliver because I don’t think he’d make it a big deal if he knew we weren’t gonna like it? So my thing is maybe he’s genuinely excited for us to see all the Buddie/Buckley Diaz scenes more so than the scenes he has with Lucy. That could be his opinion and the main reason why he’s excited. Just because he plays the role of Buck doesn’t mean he has to like or agree with all the decisions Buck makes. So honestly maybe he as Oliver is super excited about all the Buddie content we will get and that’s what he is choosing to focus on. That’s not him misleading us or baiting us but him being excited to share these moments with the people he believes will truly enjoy it. So I’m choosing to focus on that as well, all the possible great buddie moments we’re going to get.

In regards to Lucy and whatever is happening in the finale, I don’t know. Yea it’s been hinted there’s gonna be a big finale for them but if they just take him outta one relationship and stick him into another one immediately, I think that’s horrible storytelling. Clearly she’s not a good match for him and even if they get together, once the excitement blows over he’s going to be left feeling unfulfilled in that relationship. Lucy was not made to be his long term endgame let’s remember that. She’s created to be some sort of plot device and that’s what she will be. She’s there to serve a purpose and move on. I’m hoping she really won’t be back next season but again idk bc I’m not a writer (even though I should be bc these writers are all idiots.) So idk why Oliver is excited, if it has anything to do with her or not but like let’s all take a deep breath and just relax for a bit yeah? My emotions are through the roof too but I’m not gonna sit here and blame Oliver for him being happy about his job you know? And if you do wanna then that’s your choice! He also did mention we would be frustrated with some of his choices in the beginning so I’m hoping it’s a few episode thing and by the later episodes it won’t be much worrisome about the two but again what do I know? Oli says one thing, Kristen and AK say another. Idk if any of them are being honest or just saying shit to promote and hype up the show. Either way let’s just see what happens by the end of the season and then circle back with how we’re feeling ok? Hope this helps a bit and I will not be answering any more questions about Oliver, if I blame him or not because I don’t nor do I mistrust him. So please don’t send me any more.

#juju answers #anon asks #oliver stark #lucy donato #evan buckley #911 spoilers #911 speculation #eddie diaz

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gpsoftun · 2 years

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Now, for the ever controversial but inevitable reasoning as to why the Amazing Spider-Man 2012-2014 royally topples Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy.

Upfront, I don't have anywhere near the level of disdain for the Raimi flicks that I have for the X-movies. They're disappointing, but not completely twisted and mental health harming.

I'll be nice and say what I like about the Spider trilogy first. Unlike the Punisher, Daredevil, and Elektra films, the trilogy has a solid supporting cast. James Franco as Harry Osbourne, Willem Dafoe as his father, Cliff Robertson as Uncle Ben, Dylan Baker as Curt Connors, Daniel Gillies as John Jameson, Bill Nun as Robbie Robertson, Elizabeth Banks as Betty Brant, and oh yeah, the ****irreplaceable**** JK Simmons! He is to J. Jonah Jameson what Patrick Stewart is to Charles Xavier. The great trend ends in sm3 with the casting choices for Gwen Stacy and Eddie Brock being, what must have been, the first two young-ish people the director saw after forgetting to hold auditions for those comic book important roles.

Most of fandom is pretty unanimous about the greatness of the sm villains. In that regard, I must agree. As stated previously, Willem Dafoe is so good as Norman, despite me not being a Green Goblin fan (Joker types grate on me real fast with their chaotic randomness). Alfred Molina was absolutely wonderful as Otto Octavius and still who I picture when I think about my dear Doc Ock. Thomas Haden Church did really well as Sandman. Too bad that performance wasn't enough to NOT leave me livid when Doc Ock and Norman died horribly but Sandman got the all-clear to continue his criminal activity- more on that later, believe me.

Of course, I know the other reasons fandom prefers the trilogy. Special effects up the wazoo and fight scenes on top of fight scenes. It really shocks me how much shade is thrown at Michael Bay for his testosterone driven directing style when superhero fans are so obsessed with the action elements that the actual protagonists are pretty irrelevant. The titular Fantastic Four were perfectly casted in 2005 and got across the heart of the comic characters wonderfully, but low action makes those movies horrendous?!

With that, let's talk about the sm trilogy protagonists, Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst. They were not so much poorly acted but terribly written and directed. They both also had such lackluster presences, carried entirely by the supporting players with who they shared scenes.

After being introduced to and starting my sibling connection with the famous web slinger through Spider-Man the 90s Animated Series, Tobey was an unimpressive surprise in the live action version. He fit the tender, more vulnerable side of Peter Parker well. I figured we would see his nerdy high school self then watch him grow from there. Not only did that never happen, Peter seemed to emotionally backtrack with every film. After seeing all three, it's clear Tobey had no personal investment and just saw the iconic hero as a job.

Tobey's scenes with Norman, Harry, Doc Ock, Uncle Ben, and Jonah were great. Again, the other actors carried that. Unlike watching Ben Affleck or Thomas Jane, Tobey solo scenes are either depressing or dull. Then, there are his scenes with Kristen Dunst, which are awkward and repetitive. Tobey is nothing but a guy filling the suit. He brought nothing special to the role. None of Peter's amazing humor and charisma came across.

I'm left to wonder why people consider the trilogy to be the corny, lighthearted Spider-Man series. I ask this a lot, but did we watch the same movies?! The first one was okay and Tobey even got to joke a few times. Despite the forced bittersweet ending between him and Mary Jane, it was a decent first installment. Then, help me, sm2. It had more engaging elements than the first one, but this flick couldn't have been more of a mood killer. Great Spider-Man fight scenes did not make up for the amount of misery heaped upon Peter Parker. At every turn, something awful happened to him. I know his bad luck is infamous in the comics, but it was taken to extremes here. He lives in a disgusting slum apartment, Aunt May loses her house/his childhood home, his relationship with Harry is strained, his 'relationship' with Mary Jane is supremely stupid, the older male he makes a connection with becomes a dangerous criminal and dies in the end (like Norman in the last one!), he has no one he can confide in, he's on the borderline of academic probation, and being Spider-Man is a guilt filled chore, NOT a calling. No, seriously. Except for a few kids admiring him, Spider-Man gets such bad press and it ruins every single thing in Peter's personal life. I can't see what pleasure he gets out of this chosen turmoil. Kids should want to emulate him because.... why? Sticking to walls and kicking super freaks? Yes, that's sure the guy I connected with so many moons ago.

Did Raimi hate Kristen Dunst, Mary Jane Watson, or both? She is like the non-homicidal conglomeration of Erik Lehnsherr and Raven Xavier. None of her immoral deeds are ever properly addressed. With the exception of maybe Flash, she cheats on every single guy she dates. That undeserved iconic rain kiss is still referenced today. First, the upside down guy and right side up girl position looked uncomfortable and gross. Yes, what a romantic moment between two people betraying their boyfriend/best friend respectively. Since she has a phobia of being single, Mary Jane winds up engaged to astronaut John Jameson, despite being blatantly thirsty for Peter's standoffish self. After the amount of press that surrounded their engagement, it's supposed to be a 'happy' ending when she ditches John for Peter. On their wedding day. With all of John's friends and family present. Without formally breaking up with him first. John who had been nothing but kind to Mary Jane, even suggesting she invite Peter to the ceremony..... Is Tim Story the only Marvel movie director who showed up for Satisfying Conclusion Class?? Not to mention that course on How to Maintain Your Hero's Humanity.

Despite all of this, I eagerly looked forward to sm3. I thought with the bs drama finally out of the way, it would just be a fun adventure film with Peter and MJ in a secure relationship. Especially with the positive excited cast interviews. Alas, they're no semblance of Reed Richards and Susan Storm.

Sm3 started off promising. Peter finally found balance in his personal and Spider lives. He's also able to show up for Mary Jane's shows. She's fully aware of his crime fighting and that fact has made them cuddle, kissy close. Peter even woke Aunt May up in the middle of the night to tell her he plans to propose. Also, Harry got contrived amnesia and forgot about his blood vendetta thingy with Peter.

Of course, all of this falls apart. By a major new villain threat? Despite the number of villains this time around, no. Things come undone thanks to a series of romantic comedy cliches and baffling idiocy. Peter is genuinely happy being Spider-Man for once, which causes him insanity even before the symbiote attaches. He kisses Gwen Stacy for a publicity stunt, though he knew his potential wife is watching. Granted, Mary Jane's been cool with infidelity kisses in the past, but she got fired from her play and is currently mad at the world. She knows Peter's secret kept them apart, but she's not honest with him about her own issues. She dismisses any advice or reassurance he offers her as well. Mainly because she's envious of Spider-Man's long overdue recognition and popularity. It's nice that Mary Jane has her own life and concerns but boy, is the ginger snap petty.

Something else about her that warrants mentioning is that she's the full-blown manifestation of the damsel in-distress stereotype. Something I don't normally mind too much, but this trilogy abuses it to an absurd degree. After promising she would not get kidnapped again in sm3, Raimi didn't even have the spine to tell Kerstin he broke his word. I think that fueled a lot of her bitter portrayal of Mary Jane. Compare it to her child acting role like Jumanji, where Kerstin shows more energy and emotional range.

As for the rest of sm3, it was so long I fell asleep for like 20 minutes the first time I saw it. The villains were Venom, Sandman, and sorta Harry-Goblin. Harry realizes Peter didn't actually kill his father and suits up to join Spidey in battle. Their teaming up and affectionate quipping are the best part of the film and among the trilogy.... until Harry dies. Young grieving, misguided Harry dies. Young bitter, misguided Eddie Brock dies. Middle-aged murderer and active criminal Sandman not only lives but gets forgiven by Peter for killing Uncle Ben. He's let off the hook because he's commiting crimes for his sick daughter. So, the next inevitable manslaughter he commits, is entirely Peter's fault. Norman Osborne and Otto Octavius- two men Peter knew personally and who cared about him- suffered mental breakdowns and died brutally, but sound-minded Sandman's sick kid just tugs at the heartstrings. But goody, Peter and Mary Jane reconciled until the next time their still active high school hormones get in the way.

This series owes a lot to the X-movies. Because without them, the sm trilogy would be the most morally bankrupt superhero franchise.

Side notes:

-Peter is still employed by Jonah?! After Mary Jane stomped all over the heart of his beloved son to get with his mildly tolerated freelance photographer?! WHAT?!!!!!

-I genuinely enjoyed the dance sequence. Yes, I dared to love the rare bit of levity and only time Peter Parker shows a trace of a backbone.

Finally, time to move on to the Amazing Spider-Man movies, which actually earn their title. They also prove that it takes a real Spider-Fan to portray Spider-Man.

When I read the magazine article about Andrew Garfield's reaction to being casted, my heart overflowed for him. A true once-in-a-lifetime dream made reality. And let me tell you, this guy did not disappoint.

Again, for fairness, I'll say what I didn't like about these movies first. I have never been so glad to see Uncle Ben die. Martin Sheen's version was an insufferable, obnoxious, self-righteous prick. He wouldn't stop busting Peter's chops at every turn. I can't believe he took Flash's side when Peter gave that antagonistic jerk a taste of his own medicine. Not to mention deliberately embarrassing him in front of Gwen just to be petty. And he died so idiotically! What unarmed civilian sees a gun wielding thief and chases after him as he runs from a store?? It's just money! He hadn't shot anyone until Ben tried to play cowboy like a daggon fool. Sm trilogy Uncle Ben was so patient, understanding, warm, and wise. It was easy to be angry at Peter for disrespecting him in their last conversation. I almost wanted Andrew Peter to punch his uncle. Thank God he thought about his deceased father later on more than big dumb Ben.

No JK Simmons or any J. Jonah Jameson at all. Additionally, while the plot was interesting, Rhys Ifans was such an underwhelming Curt Connors. Dylan Baker in the trilogy never even turned into the Lizard, but looked and acted exactly like Dr. Connors. Ifans' version looked absolutely nothing like him nor did he have his wife and son to add emotional weight.

Two things I didn't like in the sequel. One, the blatant foreshadowing of Gwen Stacy's death. I hated them breaking up, too because Gwen dying would have hit so much harder if they'd been in a strong relationship the entire time. Though it is nice that Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield have legit chemistry and those weird things known as morals.

All that aside, EEEEEEEE Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker/Spider-Man! Fandom- especially fanboys- tend to reject him because he's 'too cool' to be a nerdy outsider like the fanboys identify as. Uh, guys, in case you didn't know, Peter Parker is NOT a perpetual, blubbering pansy a la Tobey, either. No, Amazing Peter doesn't check all of the outdated cliche boxes of nerdome. This is what drew me to him. Someone can be a smart, relatively good looking, quiet outsider loner without being totally spineless and pathetic. He still faced bullying and socialized very little. I love how he showed his inner hero by retaliating against Flash over that girl Flash was messing with for no reason. After this lesson in humility, Flash is compassionate towards Peter after Ben dies and even friendly with him by the end. I love this because Flash Thompson is such a major in-universe Spider-Fan.

Emma Stone played Gwen Stacy great and I have very few qualms about her direction and writing. She was actually smart and useful, not merely an idealized pretty face who is really boy obsessed. Peter unceremoniously revealing his identity to her almost had me falling out of my theater seat. No will they/won't they secret bs?! What?!!!! I also loved her as Peter's primary confidant. This gave them a unique connection physically, emotionally, and intellectually that Peter has with no one else. I melted over that kiss Peter planted on her on the graduation stage. I hated that her father, Captain Stacy, died. I spent the first film waiting in dread for Gwen to die, so her dad legitimately dropped my jaw. Their family just suffered too much back to back loss.

That's something else the Amazing movies had, true human depictions and moments. Peter was not made into another on-the-nose Christ figure, doomed to suffer for the good of mankind. The scene where he nonchalantly removes his mask to reassure a little boy that Peter is 'just a guy' displayed this best. Peter was not a glorified stuntman filling a suit. He went through various emotions without needing to voice them. He experienced pain, injury, and sickness because enhanced abilities or none, he's as mortal as the rest of us. He did not just lurk from rooftops. He walked among and interacted with ordinary people. The ones he saved were moved and inspired to follow his example of goodness. Great power and great responsibility without cramming that, now nauseating, phrase down our throats every second.

Not only was he realistically vulnerable, Peter possessed an enormous amount of strength. No matter what setbacks or tragedies, I had no doubt that he would come back from them without losing himself. He is the Peter Parker and Spider-Man that makes you feel like you matter, that you are not alone, that you have worth, and he offers the audience the same sense of safety he gives to his protectorate. I know he enjoyed being Spider-Man and I definitely know why.

Sally Field is the best ever Aunt May. While Rosemary Harris acted well in the trilogy, her Aunt May seemed more like an overly fragile great-great grandmother. Sally's Aunt May does so much more with less screentime. She's a good 20 years younger than normally depicted and she wordlessly emotes like a champ. After Peter's parents have to leave and Aunt May wraps those protective arms around little Peter, she is shamelessly possessive over him from that point on. Ben mentions that anyone who has anything bad to say about Peter better not do so in front of May. One quiet look from her cements this as fact. Instead of being utterly helpless after her husband's death, Aunt May is able to keep the house and becomes a nurse to pay for Peter's college tuition. They're not rolling in money, but they're far from the soup line. I love how annoyed Aunt May could get when Peter focused on his parents. Bonus points that she's his aunt by marriage yet insists Peter is only her boy. Wonderful of Peter to reiterate his love and appreciation towards her.

As for other human emotions, I actually liked Jamie Foxx as Electro. Electro is a traditionally masked villain and not too well known so it didn't feel like race-swapping. With a big name like Jamie Foxx he was likely just the most qualified to audition. His Max character comes off like the cliche nerd- actually surprised that fanboys didn't fall in love with his Tobey-ish essence- but because of how Jamie played him, I honestly felt for Max's loneliness and mistreatment. With how ignored and/or emotionally abused he was plus the electric powers affecting his mind, I found his sudden rage against Spider-Man believable.

Here's a real shocker. I enjoyed Dane DeHaan, who is the exact opposite of James Franco, as Harry Osbourne. I really did not expect to from the trailers. However, Dane's performance in the sequel had this unique quality to it. His stage presence was a mix of intriguing, ominous, and if I'm being honest, a bit sensually provacative. His Goblin was straight-up goofy and shoehorned in, but his Harry sold me. Felicia Hardy is introduced and he aligns with her. I love Felicia/Black Cat and hate that she was showed but not given a chance to develop. Funny enough, part of me always envisioned her with James' Harry. I'd have taken Dane's, too.

I will never be over the rest of the Amazing franchise being cancelled after all the improvements and promises they made. I was ecstatic when they finally greenlit a Sinister Six movie only to pull the plug. I liked the mystery going on in Amazing and wanted to see how it all concluded. It was great to see Peter trying to unwrap the mystery of his father. He's so angry at him for leaving/dying yet he can't help loving and yearning for him still.

That's something else I, or rather a certain flexibly fantastic older male, will likely have to remedy 😉

MSU marches on!

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s-aint-elmo · 3 years

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thinking about adaine failing the con save back at the pit, making it without incident all the way until the bad kids scramble up the roof of a party frozen in session, time unfreezes to let the moonlight through, and adaine shifts and mauls that patronizing indignation off of aelwyn's face. just lays into her with teeth and claws and the hard red haze of single-minded rage, and through the cacophony of screaming --hers or aelwyn's or the bad kids' or those loser hudol athletes-- nothing but the wardrum beating of her heart, so loud and furious that she almost doesn't make out the soft scrape of an arcane focus tumbling off a sloping roof, cracking neatly along spiderweb tracks on the rim of the pool.

then: the police, but also the ambulance; gorgug pulls her off, in the end, and maybe only half of the bad kids hand aelwyn off, the other half running a golden wolf around and away from the suburbs, until she lies her bloody muzzle between bloody paws and they wait out the dawn.

in fallinel, when they march adaine past aelwyn's cell, she sees the healing, horrible scars stretched across her face and neck, disappearing into her shirt, and she looks away. when aelwyn messages her, adaine has an apology for her too. she huddles close around boggy in her frosted over orb, listens to aelwyn tell her about the vault on the first floor for the twentieth time, and says, i'm sorry about your face.

then, after a silence so long adaine resigns herself to another repeat of the conversation: you got me back.

when aelwyn's failsafe locks into place and kills the beginnings of a person that adaine might actually have a functioning relationship with, the first words out of her mouth are not adaine, little sister with that patronizing twist to her lips, but instead, snarling, the lines of her scars pulled taut: you ruined my fucking face!

and that's a little harder to argue against than a dragon being worth more trouble than just being big.

thinking about aelwyn, exhausted but vicious, caught between guilt and love and so much bitter anger for her little sister and her claws.

thinking about does jawbone still get that counselor position, when he's gone and given adaine lycanthropy? is it a case of jawbone, coming back to himself, and doing his damnedest to help her out because he's been there and he knows and he's responsible? jawbone, still becoming the one adult they can trust, guiding adaine through full moons, taking her running between him and tracker until the sun rises? does adaine get help for her anxiety much earlier? when she howls with him over pancakes on the first day of sophomore year, does it sound wolfish and true? does he still become her werewolf dad, because god knows her real parents never took this much responsibility for what they did to her?

holy fuck, do the bad kids spend one night every month locked in a jail cell with a werewolf during their prison stint? (follow-up question: do they make the most of it by trapping wolfed out adaine in the middle of a cuddle pile when she fails to chew through the bars, snarling in frustration?)

does adaine eventually just adopt the strategy of wolfing out to deal damage when her spells run out/aren't cutting it? do we get adaine & tracker friendship bonding moments? for that matter, how does being a werewolf affect adaine outside of the full moon? does she go from shrimpy to sturdy in way-too-few weeks, filling out the shoulders of her jacket and shooting straight up to match fabian inch-for-inch? what goes down the first time the bad kids grab breakfast together and adaine out-eats gorgug? how much of a rush does she get when she realizes she can lift kristen or fig like nothing at all?

we as a society do not talk about werewolf adaine enough and i think that's a damn shame.

#fantasy high #adaine abernant #werewolf adaine au #mine #listen. listen to me. there is so much here #the untapped abernant angst potential in a werewolf adaine au............. limitless #i have like 3k words combined in three separate wips about it i'm dead serious #there Will be more mark my words

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imrandymeeks · 3 years

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Just finished VM and. Holy shit. That ending destroyed me. Of course, of COURSE they would go there, its Veronica Mars, but goddamn. It came out of nowhere, but at the same time it felt like it was always going to end where it did. And it’s not even just Logan, it’s all of Neptune, like a horrible self-fulfilling prophecy. The powerful win and the scrappy underdogs are forced out (with the exception of a charming little motel and a small PI agency). God, what a ride. I don’t know that they’ll ever do another season, but I’d absolutely watch if they did. Veronica’s one of my favourite characters ever, and I’d follow her wherever she goes next

I wouldn’t say the ending came out of nowhere, really. The season-long misdirection has been Keith’s health, so this final Logan twist is a twist in an earned kinda sense. As for the city, well, it was going to implode into gentrification at some point, as lots of actual cities have. And life dealing Veronica blow after blow is built into the show’s and hard-boiled fiction’s DNA. By self-sabotage or by happenstance, she’s staying alone and getting more dangerous with each person she loses.

It really makes sense for her to end up in this ronin kinda role, four seasons and a movie in the making. And even if it didn’t, yeah, like we’re gonna stop watching. I like how Kristen Bell is clearly aware this is one of the best, if not the best role she ever got, and she’s holding onto this little show that could while aggressively and cleverly diversifying her portfolio. She may be a Disney princess, but she does not forget about this tough little cookie with a taser who constantly gets taken off air and always comes back swinging.

Which is very heartwarming, given how Veronica Mars is a show about unending heartbreak and heroes losing again and again.

#veronica mars #movies #randy answers

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dallonm-archive · 4 years

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What if Patchwork were a Netflix series?

(credit to @radwrites for the template!)

Four students living together in Sheffield uncover secrets about themselves whilst attempting to navigate adulthood and an unknown girl who wants to know everything about them.

I’ve been dying to work on this project (I can finally start at the end of this week!) so this was my way of visualising my thoughts! I think Patchwork would suit a Netflix series the best out of my projects; I can imagine it being a weird twist between Sex Education and The End of the F***ing World. Funny, emotional, sometimes a bit ~dramatic~ and very British at times. Maybe a dash of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia but only the meme elements, not them being absolute horrible people. Hopefully it’d have a FAR better logo than that but I am very sleepy and not great at Photoshop lol. Honestly though trying to figure out how it would work in a five episode season - what the key points and what the “finale” would entail really helped me understand the structure of Patchwork’s start! Not all the episodes reflect one chapter strictly, but adapting that for suitable episodes was fun too. They are all named after chapters though - and the episode synopsis’ can give you a hint about what’s to come in the actual updates. 👀

(I like how all the images fit an aesthetic except for Witching Hour, which suits the intention of that chapter itself! It’s a very strange moment in the story where a lot of things change.)

Episode 1. Lucid Dreams

After waking up in a field an hour away from home, Thomas - with the help of Junie - tries to recount what happened the night before. Kristen tasks himself with figuring out Manon.

Episode 2. Big Arcade

The semester begins in full swing and Kristen already feels over his head, until he meets his new seminar partner. Junie and Manon bond. Thomas begins to slip.

Episode 3. Witching Hour

The gang have their first official group outing since Freshers week at a friend of a friend's house party - and it gets messy quick.

Episode 4. Welcome Home, Son.

Junie accompanies Thomas home for reading week and the two of them finally open up about their demons. With the house to themselves, Kristen finally figures out Manon.

Episode 5. Roll the Dice

The holidays are approaching and everyone’s desperate to find some spirit. Junie and Kristen convince Manon to go decoration hunting with them, and Thomas bumps into someone he never thought he’d see.

Patchwork taglist ; ask to be + or -! ; @dahladahlabills @memories-written-in-words @reininginthefirewriting @reeseweston @aelenko @justahufflepuffnerd @inkwell-attitude

#i put everyone who expressed interest in updates/being on a taglist on the intro post (tysm!!) but i know i never formally made a post about #the taglist so please lmk if you want to be on it!!! or removed lol!!!#patchwork #also sidenote: changed the spelling of Thomas :)#feel like the dash is kinda dead rn....European Things #ALSO ONCE AGAIN I HAVE MADE SOMETHING AT LIKE 5AM SLEEP DEPRIVED AND GRAMMAR CHECKED IT 10 TIMES BUT IM STILL SCARED OF TYPOS BC I KNOW WHAT #IM LIKEEEEEEEEe SDOFISJDFSDF

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mermaidsirennikita · 2 months

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Do you know any books where accidental pregnancy is done well? Preferably historical in contemporaries I usually just want the heroine to get an abortion

Yep! I actually really love a well-done oops baby plot. I'm a big fan of the DRAMZ.

Historicals:

Melissa and The Vicar by S.M. LaViolette. Melissa gets pregnant and has a whole crisis of faith thing about it due to her internalized self-loathing, which means she's not like... thrilled about it at first? Which I liked. She had to THINK about it. She doesn't tell the father at first, which I know some people hate, but... to me it was deeply understandable.

The Recruit by Monica McCarty. The heroine gets pregnant by accident doesn't tell the father immediately, but she a) kind of has reasons to both not tell him and have literal issues getting in touch what with it being medieval Scotland and b) honestly develops a pretty solid plan for concealing it lol.

The Rakess by Scarlett Peckham. The heroine gets pregnant and actually has a lot of trauma surrounding it due to a horrible loss earlier in her life. And she's also an alcoholic, so she has to like, figure out shit surrounding that. Refreshingly messy imo.

Never Seduce a Duke by Vivienne Lorret. LOVE this book. The heroine gets pregnant, she and the hero are separated due to some traveling issues/twists of fate, and she can't find him to tell him about the baby. Fortunately, she has a very supportive brother (hero of a past book, naturally). Then there's a time jump a few years later.... And our hero shows up.

Suddenly You by Lisa Kleypas. An oops baby of the "well now I'm putting a ring on it" variety. TW: this does end in an early miscarriage. I thought it was done well and was moving, but of course YMMV.

The Leopard Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt. This one is about a heroine who inherits an estate and begins an illicit affair with the rough and tumble steward... which leads to CONSEQUENCES. I really liked how conflicted everyone was about the whole thing.

The Dragon and The Pearl by Jeannie Lin. This one is towards the end, but I really love it and I ESPECIALLY love how she tells him, I gasped.

In Bed with the Devil by Lorraine Heath. This is another one where it's like when will you learn!!!! That your actions have consequences!!!!

I will say, if you want to try a contemporary that has good accidental pregnancy stuff, I would recommend:

A Holly Jolly Ever After by Sierra Simone and Julie Murphy. In this one, the heroine had been trying for a baby with her ex, I believe, so it did kinda make sense to me that she'd want to keep it. And it's not like. EASY when she does. The hero needs to get his shit together, she has very overbearing parents. She has to really grapple with tough stuff, which imo is what makes an accidental pregnancy in romance work--I don't want it to be easy and simple. I want there to be consequences.

The Friend Zone by Kristen Callihan. In this one, the hero and heroine are fairly young (like 22, though he is set for the NFL and she comes from a wealthy family, so it's like... they do have money to help) and the relationship is super new. So they actually do seriously consider an abortion. Together. It's honestly really mature. He's supportive of whatever she wants. She does end up deciding to keep it, but, TW: there is a miscarriage and it is a tough read but I like how it was handled. Nothing's wrong with her physically, she's not going to be "barren" because of an early loss. It just happens. A good amount of the time. It felt very REAL versus a plot device loss.

Jana Goes Wild by Farah Heron. I liked this one because again, consequences! It sorta happens before/in the very beginning of the book, wherein the heroine has this amazing fling with this man, only to find out that he's married.... And then she finds out she pregnant. And he's the hero! Shocking, I know. But there are Reasons. And then it jumps to like five years in the future and they're realistic, mature co-parents in their thirties (which I also liked--the heroine lives with her mom due in part to family/cultural dynamic stuff and gets that help, and she's also a successful professional with a high income so it makes sense to me that she'd be like "fuck it I'm doing this" if she had a gut feeling to keep it). But then Tension arises when they end up in the same destination wedding party...

#romance novel blogging #book recs #romance novels

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oberynmartell · 3 years

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No its not just you. It sucked to be frank lol. Awful pacing in my opinion and the limited action sequences werent even enjoyable to watch. And they also looked off to me

it didnt just suck it was fucking HORRID. like you said awful pacing and little acting + bad writing, bad use of actors (except pedro and kristen imo), horrible dialogue, “twists” you could see coming from 100 miles away, and the racism and stereotypes were so overt it was almost laughable had it not been so offensive

#messages #anonymous #ww84 spoilers #ww spoilers

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crushzone · 4 years

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would you rather do one of those painting with a twists classes with kageyama or couples yoga with Tsukishima.

Answer: Painting with a twist with Kageyama

This got me questioning my inner anxiety what I would rather do because:

I’m decently good at painting, or at least, find myself very comfortable with it, so going to painting with a twist with Kags should be easy peasy—if not, a little too restricting to me because I am limited to painting their assigned image.

Whereas, with couples yoga....I am TERRIBLE at yoga. I’ve never been good at it, even when my dance teacher forced us to do it at the start of all our classes. So this experience would be something new/challenging, therefore, it’e going to really depend on how I am feeling that day.

Frankly, if Tsukki is also just as horrible at yoga as I am (in which, I genuinely think he may be, he looks like the kinda guy who hates stretching and can barely touch his toes), and if someone were to go there with us too (maybe you can bring Makki with you to join us, Kristen 😉) then I might be down to do it, just so I can see him suffer.

It will be teasings after teasings, as we take turns laughing at how pathetic we look, all shaken up from pain, so I hope you and Makki are prepared for it.

Painting with a twist with Kags though, would take 0 effort to motivate me to go. It would be so much fun, I’ll get all tipsy as I try to be all competitve against this one other person who is good at painting (they’ll assign me some chicken to paint, and I will end up with a swan or Great Hornbill lolll.)

Meanwhile, sweet Kags, will probably not drink (he’s aged up ofc) because he is an athlete and is try to stay in tip top shape. So he is completely sober, surrounded by tipsy people (myself, included), as he’s trying to paint an acorn. Everyone around him is a little afraid to approach him, not even the instructure, because his resting-concentrated face is a little too intimidating.

At the end of the day, we’ll take a photo of us and our paintings, as he forces an awkward smile.

Then we’ll hang it up in our bedroom for a month, before I take it down cuz it doesn’t match the aesthetics of the room LOL (don’t worry, I’m keeping it in my art studio.)

#nin's 100 milestone event #100 followers milestone #100 milestone #milestones #haikyuu!!#haikyuu!! writer #haikyuu!! x reader #fanfiction #reader insert #haiky?!!#haikyuu #haikyuu x reader #hq!! imagines

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nicemom93 · 5 years

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In The Wreckage

Eight days. It’s been eight days since the horror of Season 4 dropped on us unexpectedly, messing up all of our plans to watch together, with personalized marshmallows (thanks, @jjmazzy) and Veronica-themed food. And while we all knew that we were going to lose someone, I don’t think anyone was ready for what we got, or how poorly it would be done.

What I also never expected was a season that made me:

1. Wish that we’d never clamored for more Veronica Mars after MKAT;

2. Wonder if I could actually still enjoy old VM canon, since what S4 did to Veronica and her story was so awful.

I came across a Hulu forum (again, thanks, @jjmazzy ) and wrote more than I’ve been able to write in the last 8 days, explaining my unhappiness and my hope that Rob Thomas is not allowed to bring any more Veronica Mars canon to life, but it may have been too long and the damn thing won’t post. So, I’m sharing here, under the cut, to at least get this off my chest.

Although it is inevitable that this show would have ended for good in 2007 without the steadfast support of its fans, I respect that a showrunner gets to run his show. He doesn’t have to cater to what has become disparagingly termed ‘fan service’. There are a couple of problems with that in the case of the Veronica Mars revival however.

After the unprecedented fan response to bringing Veronica and company back for a movie, the fandom continued to keep the attention on the desire for more canon content. Rob Thomas and Kristen Bell did an admirable job continuing to mention their own wishes just often enough to keep the fans’ interest piqued. Then, last summer, a month before the formal revival announcement, the teasing began…we’re close, so close, so very close…and the fandom responded as expected, shouting our desire for more VM content from every forum available. I cannot believe that this deliberate tease and the fandom response did not help make the deal with Hulu. “Look at our built-in audience! This is a sure-fire money-maker.” For the next 11 months, we were then spoon fed the pieces and parts of the story that anyone with a brain would know was going to keep the interest high. Kristen Bell even finally declared herself ‘Team Logan’ after years of frustratingly stating that do-nothing Piz was better for her beloved character than the boyfriend who always had her back and knew exactly what she needed. What a great day that was – seeing her finally admit what the rest of us have thought all along. We should have known it was a scam to keep us on the hook, but, boy, did it work. Hulu has probably never gotten as much free advertising from a fandom as it did for Veronica Mars.

But the show we got in S4, and what is being proposed for S5, are not what we were sold. In S4, Veronica became a shell of who she has been in the past. That might be understandable given all of the trauma in her life, but when last we saw her, she was working toward understanding what she wanted out of her life and was learning to make better choices. What in the world happened to her between the end of MKAT and S4? Nothing is mentioned, but for a character to have such a significant change in outlook and behavior between chapters of a story, there really should have been some explanation. There is no question that Veronica's always been...troubled and kinda difficult, but that was earned by the circumstances of her life, and the people who cared about her still managed to ground her to a certain extent, no matter how hard she was on them.

In S4, she's hateful to everyone who has loved her, except for her dad, who she mostly ignores. Her disdain over Wallace's life choices was hard to stomach. Her treatment of Weevil was so self-righteous and horrible that I truly hated her in that last interaction...you know, the one before he saved her ass in spite of how awful she was. And her treatment of Logan was appalling. She spent most of the original series looking down on teenaged Logan because he wasn't as focused and driven and put together as she thought he should be (newsflash - she wasn't all that either), but here she's looking down on him because he’s gotten too focused, driven, and put together. I get why she had trouble with the fact that she's still a mess and he's not any longer, but the way she taunted and undermined him did not make her a character I would like to see again. Now, a Veronica who understands her own dynamic, and is trying to improve herself, that would be interesting, but there is nothing in how S4 concluded that would cause her to make this change. She now has a reason to be a shell of her former self, with no hope for anything good to ever come from her life.

Since S4 aired, we’ve heard from Rob Thomas and Kristen Bell telling us this was the only way to keep the show going. They’ve even had poor Jason Dohring out trying to sell that message, in spite of the completely disrespectful way he was treated after helping keep fan interest in this show over the long term. Not just because of the abs, although that’s the typical argument from those who want to see a fifth season of Veronica beaten down once again. No, it’s because Logan Echolls has had the best arc of character development on this entire show, and on most other television shows as well. It is difficult to fathom why no one wanted to continue to take advantage of that.

However, this showrunner doesn’t think a married woman detective can be interesting. Rob Thomas has stated in interviews that he thinks Logan and Veronica in a perfect relationship would be boring. Umm, have you watched your own show, sir? That marriage is never going to be perfect. Watching them negotiate their new dynamic would be interesting to watch, but apparently not interesting, or maybe it's just not possible, for Mr. Thomas to write. He’s also stated that he needed Veronica to be the underdog again—that’s where she is best. I don’t disagree, but I’m not sure how more trauma piled on her translates to underdog. She’s always going to be the underdog because she takes up for the underdog. At least she used to. Her relationship status doesn’t change that.

Mr. Thomas’s consistent message following the show’s drop has been that he wants this to be a pure mystery show, and take out the teenage soap element. He could have done that easily by not regressing Veronica back to the maturity level of a teenager. That was the only obvious aspect of teen soap that I saw in S4 and he chose to wrote her like that. He also chose to throw in the completely unnecessary love triangle tease, a ridiculous soapy twist for a character who has never been a cheater, at a fundamental core level because of what she has seen, and who has been in a reasonably stable and loving relationship for five years. We’re also told that the horrific trauma she endures at the close of the finale is what will finally get her to heal. There is no valid writing that would make that true. Over the last fifteen years, Rob Thomas has piled trauma after trauma on this character, and none of them have caused her to heal. Here, in spite of her fears, she again chooses a life with the love of her life, establishing that she does still have some hope for a better life, even when she knows so much can go wrong, and she is rewarded for this growth by being dealt the worst blow possible. What about that set-up sounds like a reason to finally choose to heal?

Our final sight of Veronica is of her again running away from what’s left of her life, including any type of support system. Mr. Thomas indicates he sees the future of this show only as Veronica traveling and solving mysteries on her own on the road. He wants a pure mystery show, although he admits, very accurately, that he doesn't do mystery that well. He also accurately assesses that humor/banter is where he excels, but where in the story of a lonely, bitter widow with no one in her life are we to find that humor? V's repartee with Keith and Logan especially are where that is easiest to find, and Logan’s dead and Keith will maybe be on the other end of a phone call. Why would we wish this dark and hopeless world on a character that we’ve loved for years in spite of her flaws (and her creator’s). As a longtime, very immersed fan, I wish I could travel back in time and let the fandom know what it’s like at the end of this time stream. If I believe in Marvel Time Travel, that still leaves us in a shattered world that we unwittingly asked for, but maybe I could at least save other versions of me and my fandom friends from the heartbreak of a Veronica Mars revival. Canon ended just fine with MKAT. I can only hope that the Hulu Powers That Be don’t continue to allow Mr. Thomas to continue to inflict his vision of more trauma porn on Veronica Mars.

#veronica mars #season 4 spoilers

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