#because that's just...demonstrably false; after this episode

[adickaboutspoons]

Tea Soup and Sympathy

There’s already been plenty going around fandom about the significance of soup this season, so I’ll just condense soup discourse down and summarize that it’s about love and nourishment. But sometimes, soup is not real soup.

When we first meet Zheng Yi Sao, she is posing as Susan the Soup Merchant. But before the end of the episode, it’s revealed that her soup-slinging ways are all artifice.

And just as soup is love, this Yi Sao’s soup-slinging pretense is indicative of the fact that she uses the semblance of sympathy to manipulate people to her own ends. Let’s look at the case study of her interaction with John Bartholomew: Having successfully sacked his ship, she gets news that he wants to shoot himself, but only with the captain that bested him watching. Yi Sao attends the cabin of of the clearly panicking John with Stede and Olu in tow, and lets John show his ass with his inground racist and misogynistic assumptions; with him first identifying the white guy as the captain, then the MOC, and finally the WOC. In spite of the insult, Yi Sao meets him with the contrivance of compassion to give validation his heightened emotionally volatile state, acknowledgement of the cultural assumptions that are making this a particularly difficult defeat for him to accept, but also plays INTO his misogyny by suggesting that if he follows through with killing himself that his final deed in life with be the (implicitly shameful) act of surrendering to a woman.

Once she has gotten him to a place where he feels like someone is listening to him AND understanding where he’s coming from, and shamed out of taking his own life, she applies the social lubricant to foster that warm, fuzzy feeling of camaraderie by suggesting they have drinks.

Pay close attention to the language she’s using when she’s talking John around. After John complains that he’s just trying to feed his crew, and maybe make a little extra money on the side, Yi Sao jumps in with more affirming statements to demonstrate that she understands and appreciates the obstacles he’s facing in obtaining his goals, and concludes with a restatement of his thesis:

“Sure, but they won’t let you. The Spanish, the Dutch, the fucking English! Everyone is cracking down on the little guy! Like, hello! How’s a pirate supposed to make a living?”

Having established that she understands where he’s coming from, she starts the bridge-building portion of her agenda; inviting him to identify with her because of common interests, but simultaneously downplaying her authority, AND using a rhetorical question to which he can easily agree in order to prime him to continue agreeing with her further down the line:

“I don’t speak for everyone, but I didn’t get into this business to fight other pirates, did you?”

She’s also using neurolinguistic programming: all the while that she’s talking to him, she’s reaching her hand out to him - a gesture that mimics the way she is metaphorically reaching out to him, and inviting him to reach back. She then floats a hypothetical that ALSO is easy to say “yes” to, but posing it as a question rather than an order to encourage him to buy into the idea rather than just submit to it:

“What if we could all work together, support each other?”

From here, she plays coy - feigning reticence to float an idea as though it’s TOO audacious, and employing a little false modesty, suggesting her idea is stupid, to not only, once again, play into John’s misogynistic zeitgeist, but to allow him to feel that, when she DOES give voice to her ultimate plan, he can feel like HE won one over on HER by enticing it out of her.

“I don’t know… be, um…Oh! Forget it! It’s stupid. What if… What if we could be partners?”

And that, ladies, gentlemen, and those betwixt and beyond, is how you get someone to cheerfully buy into their own subjugation in the coming invasion.

And make no mistake - invading and conquering the Caribbean IS what Yi Sao is after. She's not looking for partners - she's looking for subordinates. She’s very clear about that with Stede back aboard the Red Flag.

Her soupy subterfuge in the Republic of Pirates was a reconnaissance mission to scope and get info on the local talent in order to try and get them to either join her or die. But she’s not picky either way. Her red flag fleet is already making its way over land at the isthmus of Panama. This IS going to happen. So are you on-board or not?

“Okay,” I hear you say (or not. I don’t know you well enough to put words in your mouth), “but she’s really nice to her crew, providing them with gentle exercise and kind words and soup that, according to all the Caribbean pirates who taste it, is so good it might be the best thing they’ve ever tasted. What makes you think it’s manipulation and artifice, and not the real thing. Maybe she’s just actually compassionate, but her compassion has its limits - the proverbial iron fist in a velvet glove, as it were?”

Because we’ve already seen this behavior before. Using alcohol to lower inhibitions, using both shame and sympathy to motivate participation, using neurolinguistic programming to let the other party think that THEY’RE the one driving the action, and even being calculatedly withholding to make people think they’ve won something when they extract it from you:

That’s right. It’s Calico Jack, the master manipulator (RIP, asshole) all over again. But whereas Jack leaned further on the typically masculine end of the shame-to-sympathy scale with bullying and establishing himself as a subject matter expert, Yi Sao is coming at it from a decidedly more typically feminine place, encouraging self-identification and downplaying her strengths and contributions. But Yi Sao also ups the game transforming into what the other person needs her to be to close the deal. With Jackie the bossbitch businesswoman, Yi Sao is the Money Bitch. With John Bartholomew the prototypical pirate drowning in toxic masculinity, she’s a feminine fount of sympathy and understanding who, gosh, just CAN’T be sure that her silly little ideas are any good unless a big, strong man affirms that for her. And with Stede, she’s a girl-friend who has BEEN THERE and wants to dish about his toxic ex and all the complicated feelings about that.

So when we hear:

It should immediately throw red flags, both for us AND Stede. He was THERE when she used this voice with John Bartholomew. There might not be any liquor, but she KNOWS that Stede has said that he encourages this kind of “talking it through” behavior, so she doesn’t need to get him to buy into it first. Instead, she launches directly into the same kind of tactics she employed before. She hears Stede say “[The crew] couldn’t keep living like that. Ed can be quite troubled.” Out come the affirming statements to demonstrate that she understands where he’s coming from, and restatement of his thesis: “You must feel so weird. Like you’re glad he’s alive, but then he did all this evil shit to your friends?”

Then on to bridge-building (literally and figuratively - look how she reaches out to clasp him on the shoulder) to invite identifying with her: “I’ve dated my fair share of guys on ‘Wanted’ posters.They’re hot.”

She doesn’t bother with downplaying her authority, because Stede has just confessed to being a novice in terms of romance, but she is so calculated with her wording, floating a scenario that invites Stede to come up with a solution for: “But it always ends in a massacre and then the wrong people get hurt.”

So when she “caves” to his suggestion of “Maybe we could avoid that happening here?” with “I AM feeling a little merciful today,” it begs the question:

What, exactly, was going to be the price of this “mercy” if Auntie hadn’t interrupted?

So Roach isn’t wrong when he praises the soup they get aboard the Red Flag as “Beautiful, complicated, and balanced.” It IS a complicated act, an artfully balanced deception, and beautiful in its artifice. It HAS to look better and more enticing than the real thing. Because it will never give you the actual nourishment you need.

#ofmd s2 spoilers #ofmd s2e3 #ofmd s1e2 #ofmd s2e1 #ofmd #our flag means death #my modest contribution to fandom

[savelockwoodandco]

Hi! Do you think the show has a good chance of being saved? It's been a month and 11 days since the cancellation and everytime I rhink about that it drives me crazy

Hi Anon, thanks for the question!

We've said a few times our feelings about the timeline, so I won't go super into-depth here, but we do want to reiterate that a month and change is not at all a long time for a show not to be picked up. Short of B99, shows just aren't picked up in their first month of cancellation, nor announced to be picked up.

This is going to be a months-long -- emphasis on the plural -- fight, but we are still fully confident that we're going to come out the victors. We haven't even hit a month and a half yet; these are early days. Let me state clearly again: we think the show has a great chance of being picked up, "even" at this stage.

However, we get that it can be discouraging, especially since in current culture there's a sense of "if it doesn't happen immediately it won't happen at all" that's rather pervasive, only getting more intense the younger the person in question is. That can make it hard to work towards a goal that doesn't have an end date and that'll take months.

So here's a fun little tidbit to keep our engines revved and moving: CF has been very, very quiet this last week.

Why is that a fun fact? Well, because CF has been relatively aware after the first week or so of the campaign with us fans.

On their Twitter -- which we know some people (Tumblr Mod included!) aren't really involved with -- CF tweeted the phrase "Nice Things" (their capitalization, not ours) with a piece of fanart. Afterwards, a tweet went around praising CF for their use of coded messages in Tweets -- which CF liked. Previous to this, CF had tweeted that they wouldn't try to trick us or falsely build us up, so this like had a number of heads scratching.

And since then, CF has been quiet.

There are so many reasons for a business to be loud on twitter -- it helps build their brand, they enjoy engaging with fans, they're having time between projects, etc etc. For a company as small as CF, it's likely that, unlike Netflix and other Giants, Someone from CF actually is in charge of the twitter, rather than a faceless intern. Many fans have theories on who it might be, but it's not the purpose of this post to speculate on that.

The important thing to note is that while there are many reasons to be loud, there's really only one reason to be quiet: they're busy.

Which is something very much in our favor.

We know that media business isn't something that everyone's interested in, so here's the facts: signing contracts for a show takes a long, long time. Signing contracts for renewing a show takes a long time as well. Meetings are scheduled, meetings to discuss those meetings are scheduled, both sides have to have separate meetings within their teams, then between teams, then company-wide, and then schedule follow-ups with the other party. It's a process and even if both parties (CF and whoever picks it up) agree immediately on terms, which never happens, contracts still have to be drafted, considered, debated, re-drafted...

It's a process, and we don't get to see any of it. Lucky for us, honestly, because it'd probably drive us crazy. The only thing we get to see is the end result -- the show being saved -- popping up like a bolt from the blue.

But we have to remember it's not from the blue, it's from weeks and weeks of hard work and negotiation. If CF is smart -- and CF is very, very smart -- talks of saving the show will include the ability to tell the whole story, whether that's negotiating for 2 more seasons, or for 1 season of ~16 or so episodes.

We have no say in contracts or anything like that for S2. What our presence does have a say in is helping out CF with negotiations. The louder, more passionate, more demonstrative, and yes, more consistent we are, the more negotiating power CF has. They have great numbers to present for the show itself, growing every day, but because of LockNation, they can demonstrate the ongoing market appeal of Lockwood & Co. That translates to the opportunity to earn more money and clout for whoever it is picks us up, and that puts CF is a very good position.

We're of the firm belief that the best mindset going forward is not "it's already been X amount of time", it's instead "it's only been X amount of time".

It's only been a month and 11 days.

The things we do help. The things we do matter. They will continue to matter as long as we do them.

So let's help our show out as best we can, and be cheerful about it. Take breaks -- please, please take breaks, or you'll go crazy -- and take care of yourself.

Good things are coming. Or, to use CF's words, Nice Things are coming.

#save lockwood and co #lockwood & co #lockwood and co #l&co #locknation fic writers day #answer post #encouragement post

[princeescaluswords]

The Teen Wolf fanspace would be a perfect case study for the Mandella Effect. How fandom works to build false narratives to create false memories among a collective when a story doesn't cater specifically to [their] white interests.

On, god, I am really quite willing to trawl through the history of this show's audience sewage responses just to build a paper around it.

Well, I'll tell you one thing: you won't have a problem finding evidence for your thesis!

After you sent me this ask, I read up on the Mandela Effect, and I have to admit I tried to resist applying it to the Teen Wolf fanspace at first, because there's something dissatisfying to me about looking at my experience through that lens. Intentional misrepresentation can be rejected and countered, but with subconscious misrepresentation, the task becomes so much more difficult. In other words, it's easier to dodge a bullet than an avalanche. In the end though, the result is the same.

My discomfort arises even more as I examine the Teen Wolf fandom through that lens, because you can see examples of the effect consistently. Scenes, characterizations, and flat-out lampshading must vanish completely from the fandom's memories in order for their experience to conform to their peer-reinforced expectations. No example demonstrates this more than the way fandom treats Master Plan (2x12).

Do you know how many times I have had to explain to other individuals in the fandom, both new and old, that Scott's plan was never to make Derek bite Gerard. It was Gerard's plan for Derek to bite him, and we know this. In the episode itself, Gerard crows that science doesn't have a cure for cancer, but the supernatural does. Scott figured out that Gerard had cancer, but Scott didn't know that Gerard planned to make Scott be the one to physically force Derek to do it. Scott didn't know that Gerard could sense Jackson's location and that Gerard would show up at the warehouse. Scott certainly didn't know that Gerard would put Jackson's claws to Allison's throat in order to extort him into doing it. Do you know how I know this? Because the show carefully lampshaded every single thing I just said.

Scott's plan was to poison Gerard so he couldn't get the bite, so he wouldn't kill Derek and be able to become Alpha. That's why he switched out the mountain ash. If he had wanted to simply kill Gerard, as many people have pointed out, why not just switch out the pills for actual poison?

But the fandom forgets everything in that scene beyond the fact that Scott made Derek bite Gerard. They forget the logical conclusion that if Scott had died in Raving (2x08), Gerard would have simply found someone else to make Derek bite him. They forget the reality that Allison -- someone who was far more important to Scott than the man who had stepped on his throat to prove a point, had kidnapped and threatened his best friend Stiles, and had sent his classmates to murder Lydia in his freaking bedroom -- was in mortal danger every moment Scott's hands were on Derek.

But the Mandela effect doesn't stop with Scott. Think about Allison herself at the end of Season 2. She's suddenly a "b*tch" because she hunted down Erica and Boyd. Make no mistake, she shouldn't have gone about it in the way that she did, which Chris Argent rightfully pointed that out. Fandom correctly remembers that this was due to an overreaction to the death of her mother and the manipulation of her evil grandfather, but then they treat Erica, Boyd, and Isaac as if they were innocent victims of prejudice, instead of the people who had chosen to hurt her boyfriend Scott, hurt her friend Stiles (who was her friend, not Derek's and not the beta trio's), and try to murder her best friend Lydia. That doesn't include the fact that she had been personally threatened by Erica and physically attacked by Isaac, or that Derek had accepted Peter -- the man who ripped out her aunt's throat and tried to kill her repeatedly -- back into his pack and was working with him. But two entire seasons' worth of violence and attempted murder simply vanishes in order to facilitate the fandom's judgment of Allison's behavior in the last three episodes of Season 2.

I've put it down to racism and misogyny -- and it is! -- but I have to suspect that it isn't a deliberate decision to forget about all the things Teen Wolf did to lay out the story. It's been encouraged and repeated often enough that it's taken on a life of its own in fandom, and now participants aren't even obligated to take what little they've seen into account. Why should they? It's like it never happened.

#scott mccall #allison argent #scott mccall defense squad #teen wolf fandom problems #fandom racism #fandom misogyny #stiles stilinski

[akariarda]

Will you ever stop breaking my heart ,all over and over again...

EPISODE 6

Ep5. More talking and angs and Pixal is in an unpleasant situation. I promise that the real action will start in a few chapters.

"You need to be with me."

Misako struggled to breathe when she heard those words.

'You can still reach him.' she said to herself in false hope.

"Why?" She asked him weakly, a voice that showed more emotion than she wanted.

"I have to." Garmadon said as he sat next to her.

"I'm doing this for Ninjago." He said as he took her hands in his and gently loosened the restraints around her wrists.

"I wouldn't tie you up." Garmadon said with disgust. "But I know what you're like. You'll fight to the last breath, like an animal in a cage."

"I am like an animal in a cage." Misako coldly responded to him. "Even worse. Because an animal never loves its captor."

Garmadon didn't have a respond on this.

"All this for Ninjago? Is that why you allowed them to bring you back to life, the evil version of yourself?"

"You will never understand the reasons I had." Garmadon said coldly and lonely. "It's all for you, Lloyd..."

"How is this for us?" Misako angrily shouted and moved as if she would jump at Garmadon but he caught her bound hands.

"You're trying to kill Lloyd.."

"Enough." Garmadon said coldly. "You need to rest."

"Stop." Misako angrily said. "Stop switching roles, from the cruel captor and occupier to the one who wants the best for everyone."

Garmadon cut her off and leaned suddenly over her.

"Do you want me to only be cruel!!?"

Misako was momentarily taken aback by his words, but quickly regained her composure.

"Better that than to think my husband has returned when he hasn't." She retorted boldly, raising her voice.

"Your husband is dead, that weakling is dead. Only a destroyer remains."

"I see." Misako replied in the same tone.

"What do you see?" Garmadon asked her.

"A lonely person, no, a monster doomed to destruction." Misako replied quietly.

"Don't you dare!" Garmadon squeezed her tighter. "You forget who is in danger here."

"You forget that I don't care about myself." Misako insisted.

After her response they fell silent. No one knew what to say.

~~~~~

"How can't you see what's happening?" Pixal asked Harumi as she pressed her against the floor.

"Emperor Garmadon, he.."

"No!" Harumi shouted again. "Let me go!"

"You just don't want to hear the truth," Pixal reasoned with her. "Emperor Garmadon is hurting people, he.."

"And so what?" an irritating voice interjected.

"I don't see a problem with that." Ultra Violet cackled maniacally and lunged towards Pixal, who flew back.

"I will kill you robot!" Ultra Violet screamed and moved towards Pixal, only to be stopped by Harumi.

"I have a plan," she said.

"It's not over yet."Pixal attacked Ultra Violet.

~~~~

"Let's negotiate then." Misako said, her throat dry.

"I hope you understand, dear, that you're not in a position to negotiate." Garmadon told her, demonstrating by showing her hands that he still held in his own.

"I'm not negotiating for myself." Misako retorted.

"For whom then?" Garmadon skeptically raised an eyebrow.

"For the safety of Lloyd and the others." Misako said.

"Oh really?" Garmadon was angry. "They have defied my rule, they deserve the harshest punishment. To be all destroyed." Garmadon said angrily.

"Please, if there is anything I can do..." Misako pleaded desperately.

"Anything?" Garmadon playfully raised an eyebrow.

"Almost anything." Misako said.

"Not good enough." Garmadon said and stood up.

"No, wait!" Misako desperately shouted after him.

"Please, anything, just make sure Lloyd is safe."

"Are you sure?" Garmadon approached her.

Misako didn't answer, she just swallowed.

"You know the price won't be small." Garmadon said sternly.

"I know." Misako said bravely.

Garmadon took a deep breath as if he was about to say something, but then he looked at her and for a moment it seemed like something had changed in him.

His eyes had that something she knew in him.

"Rule with me." He said,likw it was hard to even say.

"Rule with me, and Lloyd can be there if he listens."

~~~~~

"I have the robot." Ultra Violet grinned when they captured Pixal.

"Now what?" Harumi asked. "She won't give us any information."

"Then I have an idea." Ultra Violet laughed maniacally

EPISODE 7

#ninjago #lord garmadon #emperor garmadon #misako montgomery garmadon #Pixal #Harumi #ultra violet #Kind of garmasako #Garsako

[thatgirl4815]

hi elle! first of all, i loooove your analyses and i've been checking your blog religiously after ep7 so i can calm down about the shitshow that is raymew...

now that i'm calmer, i have a few thoughts as a film major with a screenwriting obsession: according to one of the most well-known and accepted versions of the three-act narrative structure, we can say that the thatcar.mp3 blowing up was the halfway point of the story (ep6 of 12) where shit starts hitting the fan for real.

and the fallout of it is raymew: the false victory/defeat that usually occurs before we build up the actual climax. which will probably blow up in 11 because this is a thai bl and spill into 12 bc of what first said abt khao's intense scene in 12. and also you can't just have a whole-hour ep as an epilogue, especially in a series as messy (affectionate) as this.

i'm kinda done theorizing plotlines bc raymew fucking blindsided me, i didn't think they would actually go there. but looking at it as a false defeat (for sand and top) and a false victory (for ray and mew) it makes such perfect sense that as upset as i still am, i'm also kinda amazed at how brilliant the writers were for this...

so i have no idea what the actual climax is going to be, or how we'll get there, but i'm pretty confident about a sandray endgame from a narrative standpoint. i don't think that endgame is gonna be particularly healthy or happy, but i think it's gonna be pretty hopeful, if still somewhat ambigious.

(also on that note: i kinda love that jojo et al. are using the fixed pair concept to move the narrative along without spending a lot of time establishing the ships in the series (as angry as i am about the lack of sandray scenes lately...). we know that forcebook (topmew) and firstkhao (sandray) are likely ending up together, so they can introduce as much mess as they can into the story without fucking them up for good. i think it's a pretty genius way of subverting but also honoring the genre tropes we've come to know and love.

anyway, i'm done now klsdmgk keep up the brilliant work!!!

Hi Fen! That is so sweet of you! Honestly made my day. I’m trying to stay hopeful, mostly because so many people in the fandom seem to be in a very hopeless state right now over SandRay, but I still firmly believe it can work out between them. The way forward is rocky, but there is a way forward nonetheless.

I know Thai BLs have a tendency to let shit hit the fan in Ep11 and then clean it up in Ep12, and while I also fully expect that to be the case here, I hope that doesn’t mean they’ll rush through the resolution. I mean I would take an hour-long episode of SandRay: Adventures in Chiang Mai, but realistically I don’t think we’ll see much future stuff.

I’m thinking the climax for each couple will be much more personal—as in, within the pairs themselves rather than outside of them. So for SandRay this could be Ray’s addiction and commitment issues, etc. (It could have to do with Sand’s ex, but I think the bulk of that conflict will pass before Ep12). For TopMew, this could be about trust, with Top possibly making some grand gesture to win Mew back over, or Top demonstrating his love for Mew by saving Mew from himself (similar to next ep?)? For BostonNick, it could be Boston realizing his feelings for Nick and trying to win him back over, only to realize that Nick helped Mew get the sex tapes from Gap? Or that Nick really has moved on. Idk, I’m just brainstorming at this point, because yeah, after RayMew happened, I genuinely have no idea what to expect.

Side note, but I have a hunch Khao’s best scene in Ep12 is some sort of a mental breakdown? Maybe something similar to what we saw in Ep4. It’s got to be highly emotional to compete with the funeral scene in MLC. Maybe it’s Ray confronting his mother’s death again, but this time it’s Sand who pulls him out of his despair? Who knows.

Interesting point about how Jojo is using the established pairs…I really hope it is the case that FK and FB’s pairings make it out alive and all of this RayMew stuff is just for dramatics and will soon pass. That is the one negative to watching shows as they air (aside from the grueling wait between eps): I wish I knew how the couples will turn out so I don’t get my hopes up for nothing.

Also, because I know this is a hard time for all of us, I wanna say that my DMs and Ask box are always open! If we’re going to suffer, at least we can all do it together lol. <3

#only friends #only friends the series #ofts #ask #only friends ask #sandray #raysand #sanray #raysan #TopMew #RayMew #BostonNick #only friends theories #only friends predictions #only friends episode 7

[nesiacha]

After being critical about the episode "Secrets d’histoire les femmes de la révolution" I am forced to admit that the show remains just as mediocre concerning the episode on "Soliman le magnifique."

With the guests, I learned astonishing new things: Mahidevran would have actually been the mother of three of Suleiman's children and his favorite before the arrival of Hurrem. It's funny, I thought that due to the fratricide law, the rule was that a concubine of the sultan could only have one son; and that Suleiman broke the rule by having more than one son with Hurrem.

Have our guests discovered evidence that this rule had already been broken before under the fratricide law? Or how did they demonstrate that Mahidevran had been the favorite for a time while having the lowest salary among the concubines? The continuation to clarify these surprisingly grotesque points more precisely will be in the next episode (or not), like this alleged physical fight between Hurrem and Mahidevran that never actually happened. Or Mahidevran's alleged repeated crying fits when we have no proof of that (even though justified given the stressful positions of the concubines, generally these women were chosen for their intelligence and ability to keep their composure among other things).

Let's move on to the more serious points: I was expecting the classic but false explanation that Hurrem influenced Suleiman to eliminate Ibrahim. In real life, even if Hurrem and Ibrahim dislike each other, Ibrahim was not executed for that. Moreover, it's strange, the guests of this emission say that Suleiman is not manipulable (which is totally true) and then contradict themselves. We know that Hurrem was his adviser, but she wasn't the sultan.

The most shocking (or funniest to adopt depending on your point of view): a guest explains that some rumors say that Hurrem was Ibrahim's mistress before she was introduced to Suleiman and that she tried to eliminate Ibrahim so that this part of the episode would be forgotten. The guest may claim that it's subject to caution, but it's mostly nonsense (euphemism)

I understand better now why some people dismiss Hurrem and Ibrahim if they've seen this mediocre show.

Finally, Mustafa's execution, I don't need to tell you anything, I imagine you would have guessed on your own which way the explanations of his execution go. I admit to having had false hope when they were finally explaining the laws of fratricide (finally a truth explained that it's not the mothers' fault if the Sultan's sons are enemies) and when a guest was explaining how he wondered how Suleiman could be manipulated to this extent (I thought the guest was going to break the grotesque stereotype that Hurrem had Mustafa assassinated and it's entirely her fault, yes, I had a completely stupid false hope). But in the end, no, false hope not more than that especially when the show says that Suleiman has a strong morality (oh really, the guy mistreats the mother of his son Mustafa and condemns her to poverty even though even his father Selim Yavuz, a man of terrible temperament, left BulBul Hatun, the mother of his half-brother enemy Sehzade Ahmed, alone, which demonstrates unnecessary cruelty on Suleiman's part; Suleiman refuses to give the necessary support to his son Mustafa to defend the province out of fear of his popularity and therefore is ready to sacrifice a part of his people because of it, we don't have the same conception of morality).

Finally, Sehzade Mehmed, son of Sehzade Mustafa, is renamed Sehzade Murad when the show talks about him ( new inaccury) and his assassination. It feels like Suleiman acted on a whim and the show doesn't explain that the rule in Ottoman Empire is that when a sehzade is executed by his father the Sultan, all his sons perish with him. Or maybe our guests were completely unaware of this, which wouldn't surprise me.

Finally, Bayezid's fate is barely mentioned and as usual, the black legend of Selim II is once again briefly mentioned by saying that he was a mediocre leader compared to his father (which is false, I think Selim II was more competent than his father and I say this while also liking historical Sehzade Mustafa). So, in summary, in this show, Hurrem is still in her black legend, even though she did charity and tried to alleviate the fate of the slaves (I'm not saying she's a saint, but nobody was if we had to take her position she was mostly the scapegoat of a system change just like Anne Boleyn was in England to avoid blaming the real leaders), but a man like Tallien who pillages, massacres, betrays for better interests and fills his pockets, a very bloody weathervane is seen as heroic (some will argue that this comparison is anachronistic given that Tallien started in the French revolution but that's the conclusion I draw from these shows). Wow, what magnificent morality.

Other people seeking much more accurate references have gone to read the comic book "Ils ont fait fait l’histoire Soliman le magnifique." I've read it and I'm critical (although the mistakes are less serious). Already in this collection, there are good volumes like Elizabeth I's, but others in which I disagree. There is also a big problem: the comic starts with Mustafa's assassination, which means that many important elements are left out (that's the problem some people have the right to a trilogy in this comic like Napoleon to my despair, while others only have one volume which is insufficient to understand how the character got there). It is made clear that it's Suleiman who is behind the execution even if Hurrem approves and is even relieved by Mustafa's death (natural given the law of fratricide), it's not she who had the upper hand in the execution. However, historical inconsistencies arise: first the story takes up the false legend of Cihangir who dies of grief for Mustafa when in reality they were not close at all ( maybe they didn't meet each other). Selim II is seen as incompetent and Sehzade Bayezid as more competent (still false). We see a somewhat ruthless Hurrem but not enough of her gentle side (and the comic implies that Mahi, although absent-minded, is arrogant, the black legend about these women is tenacious and frustrating). Mustafa only makes two pages of appearances, Mihrimah is absent, Cihangir doesn't appear, only Bayezid makes the most appearances.

A detail that the comic seems to forget: the stranglers are deaf-mutes, so they couldn't argue about the execution of the youngest son of Bayezid (I know it's to accentuate the horror but we must try to remain consistent in history plus it was already horrific to know that a child was going to be executed because of his father's rebellion).

In short, I understand better now why I encounter some people convinced they hold the truth if they've only seen this show or rely solely on this comic.

#sultan suleiman #hurrem sultan #mahidevran hatun #ibrahim pasha #sehzade bayezid

[as8bakwthesage]

How the Exploration of Wanda’s Grief in “Multiverse of Madness” Sucks Compared to “Wandavision”

So, Wanda is a character who has gotten a lot of flack recently and not exactly for the wrong reasons. The most recent addition to the MCU’s huge roster of movies “Doctor Strange; Multiverse of Madness” has caused a lot of opinions to be shared about it. It’s reception by fans has been varied. And a lot of people were utterly disappointed by Wanda’s role in the story.

Spoilers for “Avengers; Age of Ultron”, “Avengers; Infinity War/Endgame”, “Wandavision” and “Multiverse of Madness”.

Wanda Maximoff was first introduced in “Avengers; Age of Ultron” as the secondary antagonist alongside her brother Pietro Maximoff. She and Pietro were assisting Ultron with what they thought was simply destroying the Avengers themselves. Upon learning that Ultron was planning to yeet us all into oblivion, she and her brother ran to help the Avengers in a ‘your enemy is my enemy’ kind of deal. They do manage to defeat Ultron but at the cost of Pietro’s life, the only family Wanda had left. Earlier in the film, it was established that Wanda and Pietro hated Tony Stark specifically because of the weapons he created which killed their parents when they were 10 years old.

So now, Wanda is truly and utterly alone in the world, but she begins to gain a new family in the Avengers, and a friend in the newly created Vision in “Civil War”. And in “Infinity War”, Wanda and Vision are dating and are happy together. Vision is Wanda’s only family, the only person she allowed herself to be close to. But worse comes to worse when she is forced to kill Vision by removing and then destroying the Mind Stone to prevent Thanos from acquiring it for his Infinity Gauntlet. However, right after she does all this, Thanos undos it using the Time Stone and reverses time to when the Mind Stone was intact and on Vision’s head. And then Thanos removes the Stone from Vision’s forehead and kills him before snapping his fingers and killing half the population in the universe.

At this point, Wanda had to kill her own lover and then watched him get resurrected only to be murdered right before her eyes. After Thanos snapped her out of existence, 5 years go by. And then we get to the very end of “Endgame” where Wanda is revived and kicks ass, but she is decidedly without anyone. The Avengers end up grieving for the loss of Tony Stark and Natasha Romanoff, but Wanda has nobody.

And that’s where the events of “Wandavision” come into play, where Wanda, through all the traumatic stuff she’s been through, creates a fantasy world where Vision has been revived using the town of Westview as the basis which is referred to as the Hex. The entire point of the show was to demonstrate just how utterly Wanda has removed herself from reality because it is too painful as a result of her grief and trauma. The show has an interesting thing it does where every episode is shot and acted like an episode from a sitcom from different time periods. (Episode 1 is “set” in a 1950s sitcom, Episode 2 is in 1960s, Episode 3 in 1970, all the way up to present day sitcoms.) And every time Wanda experiences something that could break her illusions and fantasy, she creates a new setting within the Hex.

The show does a fantastic job at exploring the nature of grief, of trauma, and how unhealthily Wanda copes with said trauma and grief. Until the very end, where she removes the Hex and as a result, loses her children which she created in this false reality and Vision once more. But it’s also a moment of growth from Wanda as she realises that she needs to move on because well, she removed the Hex. She did so of her own free will, so she knew what was coming. She doesn’t try to stop it, because she knows its inevitable. It’s a beautiful and heartbreaking moment when Wanda realises that she’s in fact, losing her husband and her children but she accepts it. “Wandavision” was about the exploration of grief and the stages of grief. And while it still hurts for Wanda tremendously, and she will be in pain for a while, she can move on slowly but surely. That’s a good and healthy message.

And then “Multiverse of Madness” took a whole shit all over it and pissed napalm.

Immediately where “Multiverse of Madness” loses me is in the portrayal of Wanda. Her arc about moving past her denial and allowing herself to heal? Let’s get rid of it and make her experience it all over again! And then let’s kill her off! Yeah, fans of Wanda definitely won’t be pissed and frustrated that one of the only female characters who got a very good mini-series that explored her trauma in a positive and healthy way was then reduced to the villain bat.

Wanda Maximoff is the villain of “Multiverse of Madness” and we get to see her in full supervillain mode. She wants to kill a child in order to get her powers to travel across the multiverse so she can be with her children in another universe where they do in fact exist. Her motivations are fine and honestly, I would be fine with her exerting as much power as she does in this movie to do so, and we have seen she is not above killing people to achieve her ends, but the problem comes in when we remember that Wanda doing crazy shit to deal with her grief already happened – in “Wandavision”. The entire point of “Wandavision” was to show Wanda letting go and healing, not repeating it again and going full crazy. It’s implied that the book she was studying from where she learned about alternate universes (the Dark Hold) corrupted her, but it’s still extremely redundant and weird to have her repeat her character arc, and in a much less healthy manner as well.

And then we get to the part where Professor X goes into Wanda’s mind during the film to try and convince her to stop. And it turns out, the Scarlet Witch (the title given to Wanda due to her having incredible magical capabilities unlike any ordinary witch) is a separate personality from Wanda and the Scarlet Witch is the reason she is going crazy. But this was never established in “Wandavision” whatsoever. Wanda was never shown struggling with a different alter regarding her own issues, so the whole “split personality” thing read to me both as ableist and demonizing Wanda as a trauma survivor.

And then the Scarlet Witch is confronted with a different universe Wanda and her children. The children are terrified of her and at this point the Scarlet Witch/Wanda realises the error of her ways and destroys the Dark Hold across all universes which doesn’t make sense as how could the original Dark Hold in the MCU universe getting destroyed destroy all others in different universes? Was it the original? I fail to see how Wanda manages to do that when she previously could not interact with other universes unless she possesses herself in those different realities, which she can’t do all at once.

It really feels like the writers wanted to make Wanda a villain and have her do all these crazy yet cool things, but because Wanda in the MCU was never intended to be a villain, she needed to be twisted and contorted into a role not suited for her. In “Wandavision”, Wanda destroys the Hex because she sees how its hurting people, a whole town. She doesn’t want to cause suffering like she’s been through. However, all of the sudden she’s cool with killing a child to potentially be reunited with her kids in a different universe? It’s contradicting everything that happened in “Wandavision” and erasing it, despite being a direct sequel to it.

But there’s another part of me, and a lot of other people, who see Wanda lashing out and being upset and see it as a proper “girlboss” moment. Where she isn’t afraid of taking what she wants and doing what she pleases. Elizabeth Olsen’s acting is top notch and she does such a good job portraying an evil Wanda and a mother hopelessly grieving her children, but despite that I still feel like “Multiverse of Madness” does a disservice to Wanda’s characterization. And then they straight up kill her off at the end. I was sitting in the theatre wondering if they were pulling my leg on Wanda dying, but no, they did indeed straight up kill her off. I’m assuming if they wanna use Wanda as a character, she’s gonna come from another universe, but it won’t be the same Wanda be know and love.

“Multiverse of Madness” is not a perfect movie, and overall, I enjoyed it. But the bastardization of Wanda’s character just throws me off a lot. I have other criticisms of the movie itself, but maybe I will talk about those in a different essay. Wanda is a character I love and want more of, but not like this please.

#wandavision #multiverse of madness #doctor strange #wanda maximoff #pietro maximoff #the scarlet witch #avengers #mcu #in this essay i will #essay

[eemoo1o-sunnyoo]

E.A.R.: Season One Round-up

⚠️ Please note that this season includes the episode “Charlie Got Molested”, in which several sensitive terms are used, as per the title. Discretion is advised.

So now I have finally finished S1 of It’s Always Sunny, I am here to present you with my notes from the season. The majority is of Dennis and his actions, with some additional notes on Mac as well.

Keep is mind I intend on keeping these round-ups brief, and as such I may not share all of my notes, simply the consensus of them. And with that, we have:

“The Gang Gets Racist” (1x01):

Dennis is weirded out by Terrell looking him up and down.

Dennis naturally attracts gay men when the pub becomes a gay bar. It’s assumed that Dennis gets the most tips during this time.

◦As such he then embraces the attraction. This could be seen as him valuing money despite his wealthy background (perhaps a season one-exclusive ideology), perhaps in excess, and — as Dee even points out — vanity.

Mac tricks Dennis into getting blackout drunk but pretending to being unable to follow directions over a tequila-and-lime salt lick.

◦This shows their closeness and manipulative undertones early on.

◦This also shows how Dennis perceives Mac as dumb, whilst Mac was able to trick him.

It’s at first inferred that actor friends of Dee’s are used to trick Dennis into believing that he had sex with them (actually, them with him, while he was absurdly inebriated). It later turns out that the actors couldn’t make it, and that this actually happened.

“Charlie Wants an Abortion” (1x02):

Dennis goes with Charlie to his supposed son’s house. He tries to support him, somewhat.

Then, the mother of Charlie’s “son” then asks if the two are “together”.

◦This, like natural Dennis’ attraction of gay men, could later foreshadow his close relationship to Mac and Mac’s crush on him.

◆ While Mac’s “thing” used to be remarks about his “questionable sexuality”, Dennis’ could have been incorrect assumptions about him and Mac/Charlie.

◦Additionally, the prostitute at the blood testing clinic also assumes that Charlie is Dennis’ boyfriend in the next scene.

◆ When he then denies the prostitute who later offers to blow him for ten dollars, he then insults her to Tommy when she can still hear him.

When Charlie advises Dennis not to engage with Tommy as he had just done, Dennis disregards the advice and proceeds to engage him anyway. This shows social ignorance and hardheadedness.

When Mac later reports that pro-life chicks are “dirty/freaky”, and Dennis is convinced to attend a rally with him, Dee asks him if he’s “really going to throw away all of [his] convictions for a chance to get laid”, to which Dennis replies, languidly, “I don’t really have any convictions.”

◦This appears to be the first suggestive highlight of Dennis’ detachment to social and political views.

Dennis thinks that it is appropriate to hit on women at (the pro-choice side of) an abortion rally. After a failed attempt he retries. This seems to be the start of Dennis’ inappropriate behaviour, particularly towards women, during the series.

◦After two women reject him, he approaches Dee and claims that he thinks that all the women there are gay.

◦He then promptly switches sides.

“Underage Drinking: A National Concern” (1x03):

Dennis is the first to ask why weren’t they carding (asking for IDs). The rest of The Gang says that it isn’t their job, to which Dennis replies, “It’s everyone’s job!”. This could raise the question as to why Dennis wasn’t carding himself.

In this episode, we see the first instance of what we will later discover to be Dennis’ false recollection of his middle/high school popularity.

◦Mac and Charlie then point out that the only reason Dennis ever had a girlfriend in school was because he always went after freshman, because he’s “always had a creepy thing for younger girls”, which Dennis contests.

◆ This demonstrates his need for control for the first time in the series. This need for control presumably comes from his molestation by the high school librarian.

Dennis is then later easily seduced (this does not lead to sex) by Tammy. This is presumably the first time in the series, beyond Maureen Ponderosa, where Dennis has been the one seduced/pursued.

After getting the go-ahead from Mac and Charlie, Dennis immediately embraces Tammy’s advances. This could suggest that the only thing on Dennis’ conscience over begging with Tammy was his friends’ ridicule, and not her status as a high schooler.

“Charlie Has Cancer” (1x04):

In the opening of the episode, Charlie says that he’s been crying. Dennis replies with an awkward laugh, “Oh, I’m sorry,” but it’s obviously insincere.

◦Even after acknowledging that Charlie has been crying, he then goes, “Oh, and I thought my place looked like shit,” when stepping into his apartment. This demonstrates an emotional detachment as he’s set on getting the basketball that he’d come for.

Dennis’ immediate reaction to Charlie informing him that he may have cancer is “W-What?”, but then as Charlie starts to talk about it, he asks, “Did you want to talk about it, right now?” which shows that he is relatively uninterested. This could suggest that his initial shock was due to being taken by surprise, and not out of empathy or sympathy. After some back and forth, the two stand in awkward silence.

In the next scene, Dennis then lies to Dee and Mac that he Charlie “cried together and [he] held him for a while”.

Mac and Dennis then concoct a plan to cheer Charlie up by finding him a woman to look after him. When Dee declines to help, Dennis calls her a “pain in the ass”.

In an effort to put his plan into motion, Dennis exploits Charlie’s sickness by referring to him as “sick and injured” with no remorse. This shows that the plan is to make Dennis and possibly Mac feel better, under the guise of it being Charlie.

To get Dee in on the plan, Dennis promises that she can punch Mac in the face. He makes this promise with seemingly no remorse.

◦Additionally, he sided with Mac for punching his sister during the Christmas party.

Dennis quickly discards his plan to help Charlie for what he believes to be “a hot new waitress”. This shows that most of his morals are like paper, and that he thinks of himself first and foremost.

Dennis shames Mac for planning on going out with Carmen.

When Mac voices his plan to tell the Waitress that Charlie has cancer, Dennis vetos it immediately. When asked what he would rather do, Dennis hesitates before the scene cuts and he is doing what is essentially Mac’s plan, but moderately softer, perhaps more flirtatiously. This results in him getting with the Waitress despite him knowing that Charlie has a crush on her.

◦After this, even when Mac points out that Charlie has liked her for months, Dennis hardly shows much remorse.

When Dee asks for help carrying a keg, Dennis declines with an easy lie without even sparing a glance.

Dennis’ reaction to Charlie telling him that he doesn’t have cancer is very similar to when he was told that he had it.

◦He then gets angry at Charlie for lying (which he then admits that he was). This shows that, like any other person would, Dennis feels betrayed at being lied to, feeding into the “I have feelings” speech from “The Gang Tends Bar”.

“Gun Fever” (1x05):

The episode opens with Mac making fun of Dennis’ health drink, asking if it will help erase the damage he caused to his liver the night prior. Dennis digs back with if Mac’s coffee will help him forget the whale he slept with the night prior.

◦This remark could come across as unjustified.

◦This also feeds into Dennis’ view on women, calling the “whale” gross and even suggesting that she had diseases that might have spread to Mac.

Mac says that if Dennis lowered his standards “a little bit”, then maybe he would get laid more.

Mac and Dennis find that Dee “has the worst taste in men” when Colin makes his first appearance. Dennis even calls him an “80s stereotype”.

When Charlie mentions that last week, Colin had his hands down the back of Wendy’s (a bartender from another bar) jeans, which Dennis replies with “Gross.”

◦Perhaps this could suggest that Dennis is disgusted by PDA.

Dennis finds it gross when Mac makes a remark about Dee potentially sleeping with Colin.

◦It is at this point that Dennis works out that Colin is the safe thief.

It’s actually Dennis who intends on reprimanding Colin outright as opposed to Mac. Dennis then goes along with Mac’s plan to “trick” Colin.

Dennis is the one to shoot Charlie when he steals money from the register. He is clearly apprehensive to use the gun, as he runs forwards and shoots with his eyes closed.

Dennis is reluctant to drive Charlie to the hospital as he “doesn’t want bloodstains all over the interior” (of his car). He then ‘compromises’ by suggesting that they put a trash bag over him.

“The Gang Finds a Dead Guy” (1x06):

The first line of the episode from Dennis is his first thought over the dead man: a sarcastic, “Well this ought to do wonders for business.”

◦He is also more concerned about the mess than the death, as is the rest of The Gang.

Dennis is the first to jump in to stop Charlie’s power-washing method with facts about spreading germs. This could show that he is built to be the most logical out of the group.

Mac and Dennis fight over who owns the pub when Rebecca (a conventionally cute girl) asks for the owner to discover where her grandfather had spent his last night.

Mac starts talking about her grandfather, and she asks if he knew him, to which Mac starts to disagree, but Dennis jumps in, easily, with a “I knew him pretty well,” so that her focus may be on him. He also says before she leaves that he has some “pretty incredible stories about [her] grandfather that [she] will just not believe”.

When Dee seems concerned over the death of the girl’s grandfather, saying it reminds her of her and Dennis’ own grandfather, Dennis shuts her down, saying that Pop-pop is an asshole and that he bets Rebecca’s grandfather is too, and that “People don’t just abandon their parents for no good reason.”

◦Charlie passively disputes this.

◦Later, Dee asks Charlie to visit their grandfather with her because Dennis won’t go.

When Rebecca comes in to find the two bickering, and asks if it’s a bad time, Dennis immediately swoops in with a lie, saying, “We were just talking about your grandfather. Emotions are running very high here today. (…) I try not to think about me, in these circumstances, though. How are you?”

When Rebecca asks for a favour from Mac and Dennis (putting together a memorial service), Mac is the first to jump in. Dennis doesn’t answer until Mac says that it may be difficult (to find people who knew her grandfather well), to which Dennis jumps straight in saying that he knew many of his friends, saying, “It’s not gonna be hard for [me].”

Dennis’ plan for this is to go to the homeless shelter and pay some men to attend the funeral. Even Mac says that it’s shady. Dennis replies with, “If you wanna back out now, go ahead. I’d be happy to take all the credit for this,” to which Mac refuses despite his convictions with the scheme.

◦In addition to this, Dennis is the one to ask an encroaching homeless man if he’d like to make twenty bucks. When the man agrees, he then asks if he has any nicer clothes. There is an awkward amount of time before he and possibly Mac realise what he had just asked.

◦Later, Dennis (and Mac) take five homeless men to Rebecca’s grandfather’s memorial, under the pretence that they were close friends of his.

Rebecca asks Dennis and Mac to give a speech, to which Dennis says that he has something prepared, shocking Mac (proving his previous statement a few scenes ago about being one step ahead), and then going even further to embarrass/foil Mac by saying that he’s a terrible public speaker.

◦He also goes into additional detail about this and ends the list of embarrassing symptoms with, “His third grade stutter comes back, it’s adorable.”

When Mac asks to borrow Dennis’ car to go to Charlie’s “emergency”, Dennis says, “You can’t, you’ve been drinking.” After Mac leaves with a grunt of frustration, Dennis then turns to Rebecca and tells her that Mac “has a bit of a drinking problem”, proving that he can so easily throw his friend under the bus.

◦This is also proven to be ironic later in the series.

Dennis then lies his way through his speech quite naturally, using some clichés like “He was a bit of a curmudgeon, but he had a heart of a lion.”

◦Dennis also throws in an anecdote about Lionel (Keane) wanting to give and so he persuades him and himself to go down to the mission where they “fed every last poor, miserable, precious soul, but [also] washed the feet of every man, woman, and child there in the spirit of Christ”.

◦He finishes the whole speech with a wink to an honoured Rebecca.

Dennis then goes back to the bar where he finds Charlie and Dennis burning the nazi uniform (paraphernalia unbeknownst to him) and then asks Mac if he’d like to know about that girl. Mac declines repeatedly but Dennis continues to taunt and egg him until Mac admits defeat and gives up. Dennis says that he doesn’t get to give up as they went “head to head” and that “he won fair and square”. He then proceeds to explain at an aggravating pace about how he and the girl went home and “sweet, passionate love”.

◦Then, Mac hands Dennis the photo of young Pop-pop and tells him that his grandfather’s a nazi, breaking Dennis’ spirit upon finding out that the picture looks like him.

“Charlie Got Molested” (1x07):

Upon discovering the newspaper headlines about Mac and Charlie’s former P.E. teacher, Dennis (and Dee) show concern, even calling it “awful”. When Charlie leaves in a rush, Dennis concludes that he, too, was molested by the teacher.

◦This immediate accusation is popularly surmised to be a byproduct of Dennis’ own molestation in middle school by the librarian Mrs. Klinsky at 14. (“Takes one to know one”).

Dennis tells Dee that the first step to dealing with molestation is understanding. Dee disputes that it’s acknowledgement, meaning that some of the things that Dennis may say in confidence aren’t always true or can be disputed, especially in the region of psychology.

Dennis mocks Dee’s idea of giving Charlie an intervention and inviting his whole family to it.

Dennis shows dismay/disgust at Mac focussing on whether or not the abused kids were “blown”.

After Mac rushes off to his bedroom due to the prior point, Dennis and Dee follow him, though Dennis is the one in the lead, and the first to ask if he’s okay.

When Mac is upset over “not getting blown”, Dennis says, after some silence, “You’re goin’ to hell, dude.”

◦Perhaps this aligns with the theory of Dennis assigning his own trauma/molestation onto the situation?

Dennis and Dee follow Charlie to the McPoyle’s apartment, which demonstrates a lack of boundaries in the group (as we know).

Surprisingly, it’s Dee who wants to “drag [Charlie] back to the bar and tell him that they know he got molested” whereas Dennis wishes to take the softer approach and “ease him into it”.

◦THIS IS IMPORTANT. Perhaps this is the tactic that Dennis would like to be used on himself?

Dee says to Dennis, “You have no room to talk, all the girls you’ve molested-” which Dennis stops her and says, “Woah, woah, don’t start throwing that word around like it’s meaningless, okay? This is serious.”

◦The fact that Dennis adds, “This is serious,” could infer that he doesn’t take such a claim seriously unless it was to harm him in some way (hence the woah-ing).

◦Unfortunately, this claim could also be seen as true. Dennis’ hypersexuality and controlling tendencies when it comes to sexual relations (especially later in the series) could be an attempt for his subconscious to regain control since Mrs. Klinsky.

When Dee and Dennis go find Charlie at his mother’s house to try Dee’s plan, Dennis says that he thinks that it’s a terrible idea.

When Bonnie starts hyperventilating over the news, Dennis is the first to ask if she’s okay.

At the end of the episode, Dennis is smoking a cigarette down to the butt. He’s mostly holding it.

Additional Mac Notes:

(1x01) Seeing as their hateful “frenemy”-esque dynamic is yet to be thought out, at the end of the episode Dee and Mac are sat alone drinking together in the bar counting their earnings of the night ($114).

(1x02) Mac is immediately attracted to the Pro-Life Centre’s secretary, Megan, indicated with a “Hoo, mama.” This must indicate this season is set “before he was gay” (consecutively, not canonically).

(1x02) Mac signs off his and Dennis’ phone call with “Later, gator.”

(1x02) Mac’s morals seem to be easily abandoned when they put himself in jeopardy. (I.e. Abortion is right when he may be the father.)

(1x03) At the high schoolers’ party, Mac is playing beer flipping / flip cup. After several failed attempts he finally lands one and appears to be a sore winner.

◦The irony here is due to how many attempts at flipping his cup that Mac fails at, as in “The Gang Reignites a Rivalry” (5x12), Dee is continuously chastised by the rest of The Gang for being terrible at flipping cups.

(1x03) Out if the entire Gang, Mac is the only one without a prom date.

◦This could perhaps suggest that he hadn’t a prom date for his own prom, which could be why he slept with Dennis’.

◦There is also the possibility that due to his initially closeted status and crush on Dennis, most of not all of the girls that Mac would pursue would have to have something to do with Dennis (i.e. His mother, his prom date, the Waitress, etc.).

(1x05) Mac’s immediate reaction to the breaking and entering (and everything in the safe stolen) is, as though it is obvious, “to buy a gun”.

(1x06) In the opening conversation with Dee, Mac disputes that he break Tom Brady’s arm, then saying, “No more super bowls for that pretty boy.”

Additionally, I made a tier list for the season’s episodes:

You can find the Tier List here.

#it’s always sunny in philadelphia #iasip #dennis reynolds #mac mcdonald #sunny s1 #em’s analytical rewatch #macdennis #mac x dennis #season round up #original post

[mikuni14]

Kinnporsche ep 12 AKA The Good Stuff

The composition of the episode, alternating KP scenes living their happy time surrounded by family and friends with VP scenes, was such a great idea.

Kinn and Porsche I watched their scenes literally blushing. First of all showing love in public and declaring love embarrass the shit out of me, secondly, Kinn and Porsche are incredibly sweet together. I’m curious what will they do as a couple now. Porsche will go back to college? Become Kinn's “mistress”? I don't see Porsche in that role. Maybe I’m wrong, but Porshe wanted to quit because of his brother, but since his brother is with him anyway, what prevents Porsche from being a Kinn’s bodyguard? To be like Chan for Korn? It’s a honest job! I guess that's why he sabotages the position of his successor, maybe subconsciously he wants it back for himself;) Kinn is a good boss, he immediately sensed that Pete's behavior was strange and called his grandma (how many bosses have phone calls to employees' 👵? So cute! Porsche's behavior towards Pete’s leave on demand is understandable to anyone who has ever been an employee: just let him take his fucking days off !!!!!! :D

Kim and Chay (their fans could skip that part) With each episode, this pair is getting worse to me, Chay is becoming more and more childish, his exaggerated meekness gets on my nerves, and I remember he wasn’t like that in 1 episode. I’m also annoyed by the fact that Porsche constantly has to arrange his life around his brother. And series cannot decide, whether he is too young to be independent, or old enough to start an relationship with a grown man. (Also - I am writing this as the oldest sibling 👵)

Vegas and Pete The series surprised me pleasantly. I was curious how they would make me believe in Pete's love after being tortured, it seems impossible! And yet I THINK that the series will handle it :)

The creators have subtly demonstrated that Pete and Vegas are from the same world and therefore Pete doesn’t react to torture as if he were an outsider, a "civilian". Pete suffers and doesn’t accept torture (so no “i’m into pain” THANK ODIN), but at the same time knows that it is part of the "game", he has done similar stuff to others. Vegas and Pete are like soldiers who although fight on the opposite side, still fight the same war, know its rules, know that war affects both of them, and although they fight each other, they UNDERSTAND WHAT'S HAPPENING. I realized this when I saw how Vegas reacted to unconscious Pete and later his care of him. Also when I saw how Pete reacted to Vegas taking care of him. As if they were actors playing their assigned roles and suddenly they ran out of script and they both dropped out of their roles.

Perhaps Pete made up a story about his father to get closer to Vegas (I would respect Pete for such an initiative). If, however, this is a true story, then this is the bridge that can connect them both, a shared bad experience and pain.

Vegas is like a wild animal kept away from the herd :) he has not developed appropriate behaviors, reactions to the violence and pain inflicted on him. Since he did not have positive role models, he developed a distorted reactions and defence machinsms. But he certainly has the need to accept and to show "affection", because he showed it to his brother and to his 🦔 :) But still, Vegas is “twisted” and knows only bad behaviour patterns. I wonder how much of what he does to Pete is a repeatition of what his father was doing to him, like beating him, using belt, humiliating him, giving him a false sense that the escape is possible, maybe even force feeding. We see only glimpses of his father, but the fact, that he’s visiting Vegas just to beat him up, says a lot about him and his potential cruelty to young Vegas.

Pete's story and his explanation of their fathers' abusive behavior is the first "positive" pattern in Vegas life. This is the first time someone has given him the opportunity to experience received violence in a different way, to see his abuse from a different perspective. This alone has changed how Vegas received another dose of abuse. It doesn’t have such a destructive effect on him now. Previously, he took it all on Pete, now he’s calm. Vegas is learning, he’s like a child. discovering new possibilities, new world. My heart squeezed when he said that he’s hurt but it’s not as bad as before, there was a childlike wonder in his voice, on his face. GOOD STUFF. And it seems to me (I hope!) that Pete's role will be to teach him deal with his emotions - not necessarily in a healthy way ;) just deal with them and get something out of it all for himself.

I'm so glad that Vegas and Pete aren't fighting over which of them is the bigger “pervert”, that neither of them is trying to dominate the other by being the bigger “freak”. I like Vegas, even when he’s the worst (glad that him and the torture was not tamed, however it sounds🤷‍♀️ ), I like that Pete is still himself. I like how they influence each other and how Vegas is changing without losing myself :)

"get up and laugh at me" this could be the most important sentence that Vegas said today. Or ever. Defining him the most.

#kinnporsche #vegaspete #thai bl #bl drama

[windmilltothestars]

15 Questions Meme!

Not really tagged by @magnetocerebro but it’s been a while and I’m in the mood, so why not?

1. Are you named after anyone?

Sort of?  I apparently had an ancestor named Malinda Minerva Spanigal!  Is that not the coolest name ever??  My parents also found ‘Malina’ in a name book or something and decided they liked the sound and meaning of it and it could also honor the ancestor but just knock of the ‘d’!

2. What was the last time you cried?

It’s actually not too recently, oddly enough!  I’ve been a little on edge for hormonal reasons the past few days, and the good ol’ dissatisfaction with my current place in the world, but I’ll cite the funniest example.  I watched an episode of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys where the people tried to put Herc on trial for inspiring people to endanger themselves by trying to be ‘heroes’ and how ‘heroes’ had no place in a civilized society.  But in the end he gave a passionate speech about what it means to be a hero and if that’s wrong in the modern world, he’ll gladly go to prison for it, and then all his friends stood up and did the “I am Spartacus” thing to stand by him, and I’m not gonna lie, I got a little choked up.

3. Do you have kids?

Nope!  This is unusual among my high school classmates, but normal among my college friends.  I do have two cats that I unload my motherly feelings on, though, along with some of my friends’ kids, to whom I am an honorary auntie.

4. Do you use sarcasm?

I’ve come around to being mostly irony-free and earnest!  However, I feel being around my brother brings out my sarcastic side.  And sometimes I will try to use sarcasm for good, ie. sarcastically complaining about my friends’ qualities that are clearly false and the opposite of their best qualities, to demonstrate how absurd their own self-criticism is to me.

5. What’s the first thing you notice about people?

I mean, obviously just seeing them I’ll notice what they look like, but I feel I am also very attuned to the kind of energy people project, and shy away from certain kinds of energy and gravitate toward others.  I don’t mean anything weird and spiritual by this, I just mean the vibes and emotions I pick up from the way people talk, carry themselves, respond to others, etc.

6. What’s your eye color?

It’s a dull greyish shade of green or blue that looks greener or bluer or brighter depending on what I’m wearing.

7. Scary movies or happy endings?

I mean, for sure happy endings!  There’s certain brands of ‘horror’ that aren’t too rough for me and have elements I do enjoy, but often that milder horror will have a happy ending, too!

8. Any special talents?

Well, if I’m honest, I have no false modesty about my singing voice.  In fact, I have been known (to my shame) to get a little vain or show-offy about it.  But so many people tell me it’s nice, and I take great joy in singing, and I like the sound of it, too, and I have a special pride when I am able to lead people in song because my voice is on-pitch and strong and confident.

9. Where were you born?

Billings, Montana!

10. What are you hobbies?

At the moment?  I’m trying to get back into drawing and writing fanfics.  But I have not achieved massive success so far!  I’ve had more success reading through my third biography of Lafayette, and writing weird meta-essays comparing fandom stuff . . . When I’m with like-minded friends, we always sing folk-songs or hymns together, and that’s always a wonderful time!  Occasionally I enjoy playing my guitar alone or cross-stitching as well . . .  To simplify, my hobbies are everything and nothing!!

11. Do you have any pets?

Cats!  My two girls I adopted in Korea, Kartoshka (Toshka for short) and Dulcinea (Dulcie for short) have now joined their venerable old uncle Phoenix, whom I got in high school and who stayed with my parents while I was in Korea.

12. What sports do you play/have played?

I used to play softball in middle school, and I took a summer course in Mixed Martial Arts once.  When I was a little girl, I took ballet.  But I’m not super-athletic by nature, so I haven’t played in quite a while.

13. How tall are you?

5′3′‘-5′4′‘ I think.

14. Favorite subject in school?

English, Choir, Art (specifically loved my sculpture class; my teacher was amazing!) and Acting in high school.  Really loved my Philosophy class and Classical Mythology class when I got to college, but my FAVORITE class of my college career was Screenwriting!

15. Dream job?

Well, as you can see by my favorite subjects and favorite hobbies, my interests are very wide across the spectrum of the arts!  Do I wanna be a musical theatre actress?  A folk/filk singer?  A stage or film director, or actress?  A screenwriter?  An author of fiction or an author of comparative literature criticism?  A comic book writer/illustrator?  A sculptor?  An English teacher or college lecturer who just gets to monologue about my favorite books and themes as a living?  A youtuber who does the same?  All of the above and more? 

But also, my career experience so far has been in International ESL Education, and I do love working with kids!  I specifically loved working closer with individual kids in a tutoring capacity, while also experiencing new cultures!  So I was looking into au pair/governess stuff . . .

Following in the footsteps of my esteemed forebear, I won’t tag anyone specifically, but welcome anyone who sees this (especially if we know each other!) to participate, if they feel so inclined! :)

#about me #this was nice and meditative

[healendometriosisnaturallyuk]

#154 - Save Your Womb

In this week's podcast I want to address a pressing issue. I recently spoke to a woman who was told by her gynaecologist that she needed a complete hysterectomy, a procedure involving the removal of her uterus and potentially ovaries. What deeply troubles me is the misinformation women receive about hysterectomies.

My own mother had a hysterectomy, and she was devastated by the outcome. She was led to believe it would be a cure-all, but it wasn't. She faced complications and even developed more endometriosis symptoms after the procedure. Many women reach out to us, seeking information, after they are often given frightening and misleading advice from others.

Your uterus and ovaries are crucial organs throughout your life, beyond just reproduction. They play a major role in hormone production and preventing conditions like osteoporosis. Yet, some doctors rush to recommend their removal without considering the long-term consequences or other natural options.

Some women are told they can keep their ovaries while removing the uterus, but this can lead to blood supply issues to the ovaries, causing them to atrophy and necessitating another surgery. Even worse, some are falsely told that not having a hysterectomy will lead to cancer, a dangerous and highly irresponsible claim.

Historically, women have been conditioned to stay silent and not question authority figures, especially in medical settings. It's crucial to understand that you have the right to take your time and make fully informed decisions about your health. These decisions are irreversible, so make sure to gather as much information as possible.

Dr. Stanley West, author of "The Hysterectomy Hoax," states that about 90% of hysterectomies are unnecessary. Surgery can often do more harm than good, posing needless risks. Surgeons too often rely on hysterectomies as a 'one-size-fits-all solution' to various conditions, from PMS to fibroids.

Even Dr. Sarah Myhill, renowned in the UK, has achieved remission in terminally ill cancer patients, demonstrating that alternatives and natural protocols exist.

I do what I do because I remember the fear and devastation I felt when pressured to have a hysterectomy (which I refused). I was scared to question doctors and felt trapped between a rock and a hard place. It's vital to empower yourself with knowledge before making any critical decisions.

I believe that most women can achieve remission by following the guidance in my book, online programs and other resources as I have done, along with hundreds of other EndoBosses.

Seek safe and expert support, but don't be swayed or react by fear. Reflect on how you cannot reinstate your precious organs once they have been removed. 

Surgery is invasive and comes with risks, so take the natural route, even though it may take time, it comes with ZERO side effects and great life long gains. It's a real opportunity for those who are ready for change and self-discovery.

Remember, you are in charge of your health and you know your body better than anyone.

To learn more, visit our website, at https://HealEndometriosisNaturally.com

@WendyKLaidlaw #HealEndometriosisNaturally #WendyKLaidlaw #EndoBoss

  Check out this episode!

#Endometriosis

[channeleven]

B-Sides: Meat Man (Camp Lazlo)

I'm hardly the biggest fan of Camp Lazlo. I watched it as a kid and I'll admit I enjoyed it. But over the years I grew apart from it. Camp Lazlo was created by Joe Murray, better known for creating Rocko's Modern Life, a show where Stephen Hillenburg would get an early start before SpongeBob SquarePants, then it seemed Cartoon Network would hit up Joe Murray to create something in a similar vein to SpongeBob SquarePants, full circle.

Aside from that tidbit, the reason I bring up SpongeBob compared to Camp Lazlo is how both shows would lose their muster as you get older. Think of it like this. As a kid, you identify with Lazlo, naive and innocent and just having fun. As an adult, you identify with Lumpus, and 95% of the world is out to get him, and you'd be watching this with your kid. It's the same reason people reacted harshly to most new SpongeBob episodes as they identified with Squidward as adults.

Not to mention, compared to Rocko which got away with adult innuendos, this felt like a considerable step down. It's not a bad thing, but it felt like it could've been better. However, while I don't want to ever return to SpongeBob ever again because that plain has been rendered toxic, I may give Camp Lazlo another chance in the future, or at least leave off with a certain level of respect, because it's not a bad show by any means, it's just not exactly for me, I'd prefer some episodes over others, because when Camp Lazlo got it right, they got it down solid.

Meat Man has to be one of the most disturbing episodes in any cartoon, and I love it for that.

The Episode

As is tradition with most Halloween episodes that only last fifteen minutes, namely this, SpongeBob and Rocko, you get one Halloween episode, followed by a b-segment that features a scary story. Got some demons to work out, you have the opportunity to do so. Compared to I Was a Teenage Gary and Ed is Dead, Meat Man went further out, and it still sticks with me.

The episode carries the cautionary tale essence, while preserving its brand of humor. If you have a keen eye, you can also determine something is wrong right away, why would a green health nut like Chef McMuesli want with a can of meat? Then again he has demonstrated psychotic tendencies in most episodes so hey, maybe this is more air tight than I thought.

What really works in this episode's favor is the flow. We get the idea something is or is about to be wrong, we just don't know how, and it gradually dawns on the viewers. Then there's the suspense, not just waiting for something to happen, but false expectancies thrown in. Is the meat trying to lure them to their doom? Or is it just messing with them? Or perhaps both.

We even get early hints to its ability to shapeshift early on, at first it seemed like only the campers could do it, but we soon get clued into its sentience, and ultimately how it would reveal itself proper. There were some things I didn't remember, like a bit where McMuesli blows up after getting a speck of meat on him, heh, why would a vegetarian keep a can of meat around amirite?

Admittedly, the fact that this turned out to be a scary story seems like an expected yet cheap conclusion, but you know how it took the shape of Raj and Clam? A little buildup later, fool me once shame on you, fool me twice, good one.

Final Thoughts

While there were some elements to the episode I forgot about, compared to something like Hey Arnold! where scenes stick in my head years later to the finest detail, I respect Camp Lazlo for committing to a creepy tale. It's not all out violent, gory or packed to the gills with references, it's just a tale of suspense with a twist.

It makes me consider looking back at other episodes I remember liking as a kid, and who knows? I may do just that.

#camp lazlo #cartoon network

[tailsrevane]

[tv review] ds9 2x02 "the circle" & 2x03 "the siege" (1993)

so, the previous episode ended with the bombshell that the famous pow major kira helped rescue is to replace her as first officer on ds9, and kira is to report to bajor for reassignment. it’s pretty transparently obvious that this is because bajor’s first minister sees this war hero as a threat to his political position, but said war hero doesn’t really mind because as we learned in the past episode his role in the bajoran resistance was greatly overstated and he doesn’t want the pressure of being a leader, but every time he tries to set the record straight people think it’s just false modesty.

what won’t become obvious until the plot starts to unfold further is that another huge part of this is keeping kira out of the way (and putting her in extremely convenient kidnapping range, like exactly 1 kidnapping distance away). after sisko’s opening volley in the fight to keep kira on the station, we move on to a frankly pretty hilarious scene where kira is packing and nearly every single other main cast member bursts into her quarters to commiserate or encourage her to fight this. it’s the kind of scene an aaron sorkin show would probably do, except better because it’s not aaron sorkin. (yes hi i used to be the kind of idiot who watched that propaganda. i got better.)

the last person to enter kira’s quarters is vedek bareil. he’s there to invite her to spend some time in his monastery if you know what he means. wink-wink, nudge-nudge. ok in all seriousness bareil does get significantly less creepy eventually when he & kira do actually end up in a pretty hot & heavy romantic relationship, but their first few encounters really do rub me the wrong way.

we hear (but never really see) that violence is escalating on bajor. quark bursts into odo’s office and basically says “we” (yes, “we”) “have to get out of here!” so, you know. husbands. instead, odo extorts quark into being his deputy, performatively hating his own idea the whole time.

husbands.

i’m not going to do a blow-by-blow of everything that happened in these episodes, but basically it turns out that first minister jaro is behind the circle (what!! i’m shocked!!) and he finds a temporary ally (and sexual partner, gross) in vedek winn, but she never really fully commits and throws him under the bus the moment it suits her. starfleet orders sisko to evacuate deep space nine, and he doesn’t directly disobey but he does drag his feet quite a bit, forcing a fight between the skeleton crew left on the station and the invading bajoran forces.

the pow kira rescued back in the first episode of this three-parter shows exactly the kind of leadership he kept denying he had the capacity for when he gives an impassioned speech to his fellow bajorans asking that they let their non-bajoran comrades have priority in the evacuation because the invading bajoran forces are unlikely to target them in the same way they’ll target outsiders. his story ends up wrapping up with him throwing himself into a phaser beam meant for commander sisko, also demonstrating exactly the kind of courage he insisted he lacked. dude had a serious case of imposter syndrome, turns out.

there are some shortcomings with these episodes to be sure, but they do accomplish a lot of worldbuilding and give us some quality star trek fighting. overall, it feels like they spent a lot of time between seasons thinking about a way to relaunch the show. in a lot of ways this whole arc felt more like a series premiere than a season premiere, and it definitely helped the second season hit the ground running.

b-rank

#star trek #star trek: deep space nine #star trek deep space nine #star trek ds9 #deep space nine #ds9 #tv review #reviews #tv

[dritafindmy]

The amazing world of gumball nicole bikini

Small proceeds to let out a "WOO-HOO!", like that "herbal tea" is more enjoyable than it should be. Small's "herbal tea" gives him some adverse effects most notably towards the end of the episode, where after taking a sip his eyes begin to get weird and his face gets all loose. During one of Gumball's tirades about Leslie, a long list of insults includes "self-pollinating." If you know anything about reproduction in flowers and plants, he basically just called Leslie a jack-off.When Gumball falls in the swimming pool and ends with his body fully red, steals two ice creams and put them on his chest, looking like he has pointed breasts or a cone bra.The girls (falsely) brag about who has the older boyfriend, and Carrie says "Mine is so old that he doesn't have teeth.".and he's surrounded by cat/fish babies while Darwin comes home and yells, " I WANT MORE KIDS!" What really crosses the line with that scene is not only are they both children, but they're also both siblings through adoption. Gumball has an Imagine Spot that he and Darwin are married.For Gumball this "shows how extreme it will be". Gumball receives a letter from Darwin for date in the roller coaster and at the end there are three "X"s.His name on the concept art is even "Albert the Pervert" ◊. The "baby sitter" Richard found online and almost hired is depicted as a literal slimeball note Which is a slight improvement from an alternate concept where he was a pair of underwear who wants to sit on children.Nicole also does not like losing, as shown in "TheGame," but still does not prefer to fight those who had a close relationship with her, such as Yuki, unless they threaten her family or her job. Though, despite her somewhat ruthless faults, she can accept defeat, acknowledge her mistakes, and even find humor in them. Winning seems to be a necessity for her at times, most likely due to her mother's ambition for her to succeed in her youth. Nicole can be quite stern when provoked, and occasionally vindictive, as was shown in the episode "The Ape," after Miss Simian called her and her family "losers." On top of this, she has also proven to be very resourceful and inventive, a trait she most likely passed on to her daughter Anais, who has demonstrated similar talents - in this case, strategically setting a mine-like trap in a paintball arena/forest, merely using environmental supplies, and whatever she took with her. Despite all that, Nicole is still a good mother and person, very supportive, kindhearted, and has a softer side, and she still loves her family very much, especially her son, Gumball. In fact, on one occasion, Gumball decides it would be easier to face Tina than an angry Nicole. She is also quite strict and a demanding mother, and sometimes has extremely nasty temper issues when upset. Unfortunately, Nicole also suffers from a tremendous amount of emotional stress because of her many duties. Often, when she competes against the rest of the family, it is "for" the family, such as when she wanted to watch Win or Don't Win to win a new microwave in "The Trmote." She is also very protective of her family, as seen in "The Ape." Since she is the only truly responsible member of the family, Nicole does most of, if not, all the household chores, and in addition, she works long hours at the Rainbow Factory just to put food on the table. Nicole cares very deeply for her family, so much that she would do anything to express her love for them. She is very dedicated to her family and would do anything in her power to keep them comfortable and safe. Nicole is the mother of the Watterson family and is the only truly responsible member of the family. Doctor Nicole Watterson (born Senicourt) is one of the main characters in The Amazing World of Gumball.

#The amazing world of gumball nicole bikini

[alienidentities-f22a]

Character Analysis - Michael

Michael Guerin is the epitome of the lone cowboy. In the solitary of the desert, he lives alone out of choice in his beat-up, old trailer. Since the beginning of Roswell, his character has revealed the soft interior that lies beneath the hard shell that he has built around himself. The walls he constructed around his mind and heart were made for good reason. Unlike Isobel and Max, Michael was not given the luxury of a loving family. Despite being found together as children, Michael became the odd one out and did not get picked to go with his siblings on the fateful day when Ann Evans decided to take in Max and Isobel as her children.

As the first season progressed, it was revealed that Michael is in the process of putting together pieces of the crash that brought him and the others to Roswell. By surrounding himself with the glowing pieces of alien glass, one of his only remnants of home, he is desperately trying to piece together the puzzle of where he belongs. He wants to get back home so badly because, unlike Isobel and max, he never had a real home. Throughout the first part of the season, Michael gives a little bit of information about the homes that he stayed in throughout his childhood, and none of them were sustainable, not to mention mentally and physically abusive. He endured his circumstances while also developing his intelligence and gifts, but it is evident how much the past weighs on him. 

Through all of the hardships Michael was put through in the past, he stood by Max and Isobel. His past still caused him to mature too early and build walls around himself that he thought were necessary. He did not let anyone besides his siblings see the other, deeper side to him until Alex Manes. However, by the end of his senior year, Alex was taken away from Michael, which only led to more hardship and isolation. Michael had finally allowed himself to express some emotion and trust another person, but that comfort was soon yanked away, leaving him with a smashed hand and a broken heart. Michael was not able to grieve losing this new part of himself that he was just learning to accept before he pushed those emotions down again to focus on something he deemed more important than himself - his siblings. 

Michael demonstrates that he would take the fall for his siblings over and over again. On more than one occasion, he is willing to sacrifice himself for them, including volunteering to falsely admit to killing Rosa Ortecho. He helped cover up the murder of Isobel’s attacker when they were younger and furthered this pattern by creating a fake scenario to cover for the real reason behind Rosa’s death. An essential part of his nature is to selflessly love and care for his sibling no matter the circumstances he was put under as a child or how differently they were raised. For example, although Michael never had a lot in terms of a home, he still gives Isobel a place to stay when she needs him. Underneath the macho cowboy bravado, he has a unrelenting need for connection and trust that is demonstrated in his relationship with Max and Isobel. 

After the flashback episode, there are new dimensions to Michael’s character. The fragments of himself that he no longer shows freely because he prefers to bury his feelings and emotional scars became apparent. Everything he went through made him into a seemingly tough character, someone committedly independent and used to going at it alone. However, he has more depth and feelings than he would like to let on. No matter how much he tries to build up his barriers, there is always the part of him that cares deeply for his family and longs for a permanent home.  

#nipin hennings #character blog

[panharmonium]

okay, honest question about 5.11 -

are we seriously supposed to watch this episode and still come down on arthur’s side?

i’m not saying that’s what the show wants us to do.  on the contrary, i think they actually do a pretty good job this episode of NOT hammering us in the face with “you’re supposed to root for camelot,” which i appreciate, because there have definitely been other times when they’ve approached the moral dilemma of magical oppression and have kind of punked out at the end - most noticeably in ‘the sorcerer’s shadow,’ when they finally force us to look merlin’s cognitive dissonance in the eye by putting him in the position of saving uther from a magical youth fighting for freedom, and then they back off from that uncomfortable question by having kilgharrah say “you, like i, must hold hope that arthur will bring about a new age, an age where the likes of you and i are respected once again.”  

they don’t quite do that in this episode, which i really appreciate, because i just cannot see how they would have been able to pull it off without sounding ridiculously disingenuous.

arthur is WRONG.  

(i’ll get to merlin later, he’s...he’s got a whole different issue going on, but let’s just deal with arthur first.)

that whole conversation where he interrogates kara in front of the court - just look at it:

were you part of a cohort of saxons who attacked an arms shipment bound for camelot?

yes.

and were you acting under the orders of morgana pendragon?

what i did, i did for myself.  for my people, and for our right to be free.

i have no quarrel with the druids. 

i have spent my life on the run because of my beliefs, and seen those i have loved killed.

once, maybe.  but i’m not my father.

you don’t kill those with magic?  it is not i, arthur pendragon, who needs to answer for my crimes.  it is you.  you and your father have brutally and mercilessly heaped misery on my kind.  it is you who has turned a peaceful people to war, and it is you and camelot that will pay the price.

are we supposed to look at this girl and condemn her?  nothing she says is wrong.  

whenever we encounter these magical rebel types, the show always tries to play it like ‘well uhhhhhh they’re a little extreme......i mean......they kill people 0.0,’ as if camelot’s regime hasn’t been killing magical people all along.  like - kara stabs that soldier when she’s escaping from the cells, and the show kind of plays mordred’s reaction as...‘omg she killed someone oh no what a baddie,’ but dude!  the soldiers are about to kill her!!!!!  she’s running for her life!  killing a guard is nothing merlin and arthur haven’t done a hundred times, when escaping from captivity on their own adventures, but it’s never been framed as some sort of evil thing, for them.  why is kara the only one branded as a sinner?  a knight’s life isn’t more valuable than any of the children uther drowned.  a knight’s murder isn’t more deserving of reprisal.  

the girl’s murdered innocent men in cold blood.  we are at war.  i must be resolute.

we hear arthur say that and we kind of just want to shake him like - CAMELOT has murdered innocent people in cold blood!  if arthur can use “we are at war” to justify killing someone who has magic, then the same justification should apply to magic-users attempting to kill him.  camelot declared war on magic-users decades ago.  these people are fighting for their lives.

arthur is showing his father’s reasoning here.  his own rules don’t apply to him.  his rationale, his justifications, they only go one way.  there is so much to pick apart in his response to this situation - he tries to make it sound like ‘the problem isn’t magic, it’s that you murdered some guys,’ (he tells kara “you stand before the court not because of an act of sorcery or sedition, but because of an act of murder”) but literally in the previous episode he sends out a squadron to hunt down finna (and merlin, unknowingly) just because gaius said finna practiced the old religion.  

finna had killed no one.  she’d done absolutely nothing wrong.  but arthur went after her and said she ‘must be found and brought to trial.”

brought to trial?  for WHAT????  she hadn’t DONE anything.  nothing except be a follower of the old religion.

and his hypocrisy!  ‘it is [people like morgana] that have terrorized camelot and forced us to outlaw such practices’ - really, arthur?  literally two episodes ago, you went the cauldron of arianrhod and used magic to save your wife from an enchantment.  at the beginning of season 5, you used magic to summon your father’s ghost.  at the beginning of season 4, you used magic to try to save uther’s life.  

arthur has always been willing to use magic for his own purposes, when it suits him.  all while continuing to restrict others from doing the same.

this show is big on pushing the narrative that “arthur’s different from uther” - and he is - but how different, really?  seriously.  in the end, how different are they?

i feel like because we are fond of him - because we’ve gotten to know him personally, in settings where we can temporarily forget the impact of his policies - we’re sometimes asked to sort of look past the real harm that is constantly being done in his name.  like - ‘it’s okay for us to let it slide when arthur persecutes people with magic, because he has valid reasons to think magic is a threat.’  but what, then it’s not okay for someone like kara to want him taken out?  

she has valid reasons to think ARTHUR is a threat.  he IS a threat!!!  to people like her!  that’s the reality.  these people have every justified reason to want arthur off the throne.  they have every rightful reason to riot.  they have EVERY RATIONAL REASON TO REBEL AND REMOVE HIM FROM HIS SEAT OF POWER.  

if this were star wars, they’d be the rebellion.  we’d be rooting for them!  it is not wrong for an oppressed population to rise up against their oppressor!!!!!!!!!!  we all know this!!!!!!!!  just because we like arthur on a personal level doesn’t make it less true.  we CANNOT fault these people for refusing to just sit back and wait for arthur to someday wake up and give them their rights.  that never happens.  that is never how people become free.  we can’t fault these people for not choosing to be like merlin, for not choosing to hover in a morally questionable limbo for years and years and years and become complicit in their own oppression.

(and again, i’ll...i’ll deal with merlin later.  he keeps fucking up and i hate to see it but i also have to remember that he is a victim of the same oppressive policies as kara and mordred so it’s like...his case is more complicated.)

but arthur.  i honestly feel like the most telling moment is when he gives kara that opportunity to “repent,” which is supposed to be like ‘oh wow look how benevolent,’ only the thing is he’s completely missed the point.  the point is not that she needs to apologize for her crimes.  the point is that she hasn’t done anything wrong.  

no.

it isn’t.

the way they cut to merlin at that particular line is devastating.  it’s this...reminder of how far we have wandered, from who he used to be.  he used to think this, too.  he used to fight for himself, too; he used to come home to gaius angry and upset saying “i want to be seen; i want to be free.”  and now he’s just...locked into this impossible place where he can either ignore the veritable chorus of dragons, seers, and literal gods who keep telling him he has an absolute responsibility to make sure arthur triumphs, or listen to their counsel and thus betray himself, and his own people along with him.  and all this while still living under threat of execution himself - what is he supposed to do?  

this episode calls back so strongly to ‘the sorcerer’s shadow,’ which is the first place where the show confronts this problem so directly, when merlin outs himself to gilli and gilli challenges him about his choices:

i know how it feels.  i understand.

then you understand why i have to fight.  if uther is killed, so what?  how many of our kind have died at his hands?  how many more will?  it's time those with magic fought back.

gilli - 

you can't tell me what to do!  

you need to learn to use your magic for good.  that is its true purpose; it's not meant for your own vanity.

i'm not going to apologise for who i am!  you can be a servant and - and pretend you're less than them -

no, that is not what I do - 

no?!  you're defending the king!  protecting a man that would have you dead!

i'm protecting you!

you've been pretending for so long now that you've actually forgotten who you are.

merlin gets so upset by this.  he’s visibly shaken, and on the verge of tears, and he weakly protests, and then the next shot is of him lying awake in his bed, agonizedly stewing over it, because deep down he knows that gilli is right.  

this conflict has never been resolved.  i would add, as we move toward the spot where i am now in season 5, that it’s not so much that merlin has “forgotten” who he is, exactly, but that he’s been forced to abandon who he is, for the sake of his mission.  and most of the time he tries not to think about that, because it’s the only way he can survive, but he feels deeply conflicted about it still.

watching 5.11, it is so easy for me to get frustrated at merlin, because i feel like he should do more, in this episode, and do the Right Thing, but honestly at this point the only way for him to do the right thing is to reveal himself.  that’s it.  there is no other option for him.  we’ve exhausted all other avenues; there is no other step he can take.  he is trapped, in his current situation, and his deception is not just hurting him, now, it’s...it’s an abdication of his responsibility to everyone like him.  

i don’t like saying that.  because in real life it’s never okay to just say like...’oh, you need to out yourself because you have a responsibility to the community.’  that’s never okay.  a person’s primary responsibility is to their own safety, when they’re living as a marginalized, threatened person.  

so in real life, i would never say that.  but this is fiction, first of all, and it’s more complicated than that, for merlin, because he is already in a position of responsibility over these people, whether he wants to be or not.  the decisions he makes are things that impact their lives.  

and secondly - how threatened is he, really?  he is supposedly the most powerful sorcerer who’s ever lived.  do we really think arthur could successfully get merlin up on a platform and hang him?  do we really think arthur could hold merlin in a cell?  when merlin was newer to intentional magic and unstudied, absolutely, yes.  but now?

the risk merlin faces now isn’t necessarily to his life.  it’s to his lifestyle.  he might have to leave camelot.  he might lose all his friends.  and these are valid fears and i UNDERSTAND, because merlin has never felt safe and he has so rarely felt loved and i UNDERSTAND how paralytically frightening it is for him to consider doing anything that would jeopardize even the tiniest bit of belonging that he has been able to scrape together for himself, but i do not see that he has another option - not one that doesn’t poison his soul, at least.  he knows that what is happening to kara in this episode is wrong.  he tells arthur “free them both.”  he knows that’s what should have happened.  but then arthur executes her, and merlin does nothing to stop it, and i hate to put one more burden on merlin’s young shoulders but the fact of the matter is that this cycle of violence will never end until merlin ends it himself.  merlin cannot continue to stay trapped here between the dictates of destiny and his own sense of right and wrong.  it is killing him, and now it’s killing other people, too.

it is not a crime to fight for the right to be who you are.  

merlin desperately needs to remember that.  he needs to remember it for his own sake, not just for the people around him.  he is one of them.  their struggle is his struggle.  it is not the magical community’s fault that merlin has more information than they do - how are they supposed to know that arthur is supposed to be some kind of great saviour?  without knowing that, why would they ever choose to bow to him?  he has done nothing to earn their trust.  they have no reason to approach this situation the way merlin has, with infinite patience and a willingness to suffer constant injustices.  

merlin has to understand that.  he has to know that.  he can’t condemn them for fighting for their freedom.  they haven’t done anything wrong.  and i think he does know that, deep inside.  but he is trapped, where he is now, and the only way out is for him to tell the truth.  

the truth will set you free.  it might upend your entire life, but it will set you free.  and it is past time that merlin was free.  from camelot’s oppression, and from the oppressive dictates of destiny, too - if destiny had shut up for two seconds about ‘don’t trust mordred,’ we wouldn’t necessarily be in this situation now.  

i guess overall this episode leaves me feeling pretty grim.  and sad, i guess, because honestly like - it’s hard to for me to even root for arthur, as we enter the finale.  i can’t condemn mordred for running away to join the rebellion.  i don’t think morgana’s ideals are exactly pure, obviously; we’ve already seen several seasons ago how her goals have slid from ‘liberation’ to ‘power’ - but mordred is only motivated by the fight against injustice.  he’s in it for freedom.  and i can’t fault him for that, because he isn’t wrong.  i can’t fault him for giving up merlin’s identity, either, because merlin’s been treating him like crap from the very beginning (and again, yes, it’s more complicated than that - merlin is in an impossible position; he has reasons to trust all of the people who make prophecies at him - but still.  that doesn’t make mordred less wronged.)

so it’s kind of like - i’m going into the finale feeling like i shouldn’t really be rooting for our heroes.  which is kind of...depressing.

i mean.  yeah. 

he kind of does.

#the once and future slowburn #meta #merlin S5 #long post #this is such a...i don't know #it's just...a bummer #like i appreciate that the show is kind of allowing us to sit with the complexity #and for once not telling us that 'arthur's right no matter what' #they haven't quite gone the 'guess we were right not to trust mordred route!' yet #they had arthur say 'i shouldn't have trusted him' but i don't believe that's their endorsement of that position #and i'm glad #because that's just...demonstrably false; after this episode #but i also don't trust them not to take that tack later because they have a history of that sort of thing #so who knows? #right now i'm just in a place where i feel glum because i mean...how can i even root for the heroes? #like #mordred strides off to morgana's fortress and i was like 'good! you go! you march over there!' #he's been wronged! how can i justifiably ask him to just roll over and take it? #it's not fair to ask that of him #it's not fair to ask that of any of them #and that **includes** merlin #merlin should never have had to do all the things he's done for this regime #i know why he's done them; and he won't complain; but he's been wronged as well #he's made mistakes but he's also been victimized so it's just...it's a mess #i just can't envision a scenario where this turns out okay for anyone #even arthur and merlin 'winning' doesn't seem like a good ending to me #because like...why does camelot deserve to win right now? #i don't know #it's hard to explain #it's just...a disaster