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atomicradiogirl · 4 months

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house md christmas episodes ranked with commentary:

s1e5 damned if you do:

overall: 4.5/5

medical case/patient interest/plot twist: 4/5 pretty interesting patient and case plus the copper IUD allergy twist was sooo smart

hilson: 4.5/5 they had christmas dinner together <3

medical malpractice: 2/5. house’s mistakes were rectified by cuddy, minimal antireligious remarks against nuns, no breaking and entering. house prescribed a patient cigarettes.

christmas spirit: 5/5 christmas songs used throughout and a patient was santa. as christmassy as it can get.

s2e9 deception:

overall: 3/5

medical case/patient interest/plot twist: 3/5 interesting concept but the overall twist wasn’t that shocking or interesting and i didn’t really connect with the patient all that much

hilson: 1/5. they have 2 interactions and they’re all cordial but nothing too special.

medical malpractice: 4.5/5 breaking and entering and obvious HIPAA violations. house flirting with lab staff to get what he wants. house falsified blood tests. poor treatment of a suspected mentally ill patient. house drugged a patient outside of hospital grounds with the risk that it could kill her.

christmas spirit: 1/5 just because it’s christmas time and there are decorations and it’s snowing does NOT make it a christmas episode. there is one christmas song at the end but no one says merry christmas. they wasted my TIME.

s3e10 merry little christmas:

overall: 3.5/5

medical case patient interest/plot twist: 4/5 interesting patients and commentary about disabilities and being “normal” and parenting as a disabled person.

hilson: 2/5 tritter arc plus wilson’s betrayal is so… but i love angst. at least they interact this time. wilson refuses to testify against him though. wilson still wants to spend christmas with house “thought you’d prefer people over pills” but house rejects him :( house ODs on oxy and wilson leaves him alone

medical malpractice: 3.5/5 house makes fun of little people. breaking and entering. HIPAA violation plus being rude to a grieving widow but he’s detoxing so i guess it makes sense. house tries to steal oxy from a dead man.

christmas spirit: 4/5 christmas songs used plus lot of decorations plus snow. christmas tree opening and PPTH has a whole nativity scene in the lobby. tritter wishes house a merry christmas.

s4e10 it’s a wonderful lie:

overall: 4/5

medical case patient interest/plot twist: 2/5 didn’t really care but it went along with house’s “everybody lies” philosophy. house performs a christmas miracle yayyy. the twist was cool

hilson: 4/5 “you are so full of love… or something” they’re so :) they interact a lot in this episode. “happy solstice house” :-)

medical malpractice: 3.5/5 why are foreman and taub questioning people?? house and a patient flirt? going through a patient’s computer.

christmas spirit: 4/5 house throws away all the diagnostic room christmas decorations. christmas songs used. secret santa!!! wilson in the reindeer hat!!!!! “you wouldn’t hang dreidels from a christmas tree” “you could”. house singing “god rest ye merry gentlemen”. house had a christmas epiphany!

s5e11 joy to the world:

overall: 3.5/5

medical case patient interest/plot twist: 3.5/5 general patient case isn’t that interesting but the clinic case of virgin conception was CRAZY (even though it was faked by house but whatever)

hilson: 4/5 wilson’s gift and note “greg - made me think of you” and an antique medical book?? that is sooo cute. also the way that wilson lied about a girl giving house the original gift because he was probably embarrassed to admit it was his but then he admitted it hehehe. house didn’t even open the original present.

medical malpractice: 2/5 shockingly minimal but house did fake a patient’s test results just to win a bet with wilson. cuddy does breaking and entering.

christmas spirit: 4/5 christmas music used. house says merry christmas. i mean it’s christmassy but not like that christmassy.

#house md #christmas episode #christmas with some medical malpractice #it was so hard to give overall ratings #hilson #episode rankings #my thoughts #i did this on a plane #hate crimes md

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weirdgirl92 · 1 month

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After much nostalgic binge watching, I’ve decided to do my own personal rankings of every classic Powerpuff Girls episode per season (because it sounded fun, and I was bored anyway).

Season 1:

Uh-Oh Dynamo

Mr. Mojo’s Rising

Tough Love

Telephonies

Mommy Fearest

Boogie Frights

The Rowdyruff Boys

Buttercrush

Mime For a Change

Bubblevicious

Just Another Manic Mojo

Cat Man Do

Ice Sore

Octi Evil

Monkey See, Doggy Do

The Bare Facts

Abracadaver

Insect Inside

Major Competition

Impeach Fuzz

Geshundfight

Paste Makes Waste

Fuzzy Logic

Powerpuff Bluff

Season 2:

Something’s a Ms.

The Powerpuff Girls’ Best Rainy Day Adventure Ever

Slumbering With the Enemy

Twisted Sister

Stuck Up, Up, and Away

Beat Your Greens

Speed Demon

Just Desserts

Birthday Bash

Supper Villain

Los Dos Mojos

Mo Job

Collect Her

Too Pooped to Puff

Dream Scheme

Daylight Savings

A Very Special Blossom

Slave the Day

Pet Feud

Imaginary Fiend

Mojo Jonesin’

You Snooze, You Lose

Schoolhouse Rocked

Cover Up

Down n’ Dirty

Cootie Gras

Season 3:

Child Fearing

Criss Cross Crisis

Power Prof.

Equal Fights

Meet the Beat Alls

Ploys R’ Us

Hot Air Buffoon

Three Girls and a Monster

Super Zeroes

Jewel of the Aisle

The Mane Event

Bought and Scold

The Headsucker’s Moxy

Helter Shelter

Power Lunch

Cop Out

Catastrophe

Candy is Dandy

Town and Out

Gettin’ Twiggy With It

Monkey See, Doggy Two

Fallen Arches

Moral Decay

Season 4:

Power-Noia

Knock It Off

Him Diddle Riddle

Not So Awesome Blossom

Forced Kin

Superfriends

Get Back Jojo

Stray Bullet

Members Only

Keen on Keane

Nano of the North

Film Flam

All Chalked Up

Season 5:

Substitute Creature

Silent Treatment

Monstra-City

Save Mojo

Twas the Fight Before Christmas

See Me, Feel Me, Gnomey

Documentary

Burglar Alarmed

Bang For Your Buck

Curses

Boy Toys

Girls Gone Mild

City of Clipsville

Lying Around the House

Bubble Boy

The Boys Are Back in Town

Seed No Evil

Divide and Conquer

Shut the Pup Up

Sweet ‘n’ Sour

Pee Pee Gs

Toast of the Town

Shotgun Wedding

Season 6:

Aspirations

Custody Battle

Makes Zen to Me

The Powerpuff Girls Rule!!!

Mizzen in Action

Oops, I Did It Again

Crazy Mixed Up Puffs

City of Nutsville

I See a Funny Cartoon in Your Future

Simian Says

Coupe D’etat

Mo’ Linguish

Neighbor Hood

Live and Let Dynamo

Roughing It Up

Prime Mates

Nuthin’ Special

Little Miss Interprets

What’s the Big Idea?

Octi-Gone

Night Mayor

A Made Up Story

West in Pieces

That’s Not My Baby

Reeking Havoc

Say Uncle

The City of Frownsville

Sun Scream

Top 10:

Power-Noia

Knock It Off

Uh Oh Dynamo

Something’s a Ms.

Best Rainy Day Adventure Ever

Mr. Mojo’s Rising

Tough Love

Telephonies

Child Fearing

Slumbering With the Enemy

Bottom 10:

Shotgun Wedding

Toast of the Town

Sun Scream

Pee Pee Gs

The City of Frownsville

Moral Decay

Say Uncle

Cootie Gras

Sweet ‘n’ Sour

Reeking Havoc

#the powerpuff girls #powerpuff girls #ppg #ranking list #episode rankings #me and my bullshit

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queseraone · 3 months

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Alright, next question: we’ve done favorite Chenford episodes, but what are your 5 favorite non-Chenford episodes and/or storylines and/or multi-episode arcs?

I sort of answered this one here, but that was specifically about favourite non-Chenford episodes, so I'm going to answer this with a mix of episodes and storylines/arcs.

It's really, really hard for me to separate Chenford from The Rookie, because clearly they're my favourite part (shocking, I know). So there are certainly more I'd love to include in this list, but tried to exclude because while I love every part of them, I love the Chenford parts most of all. (Looking at you Standoff (1x09) and Plain Clothes Day (1x14) and about a dozen more....)

1. The Dark Side (2x10) and Day of Death (2x11) - Sorry not sorry, this is absolutely the top of the list. Yes, lots of Chenford, which we love, but as an overall arc it's phenomenal. Everything from the Lucy/Jackson/Nolan/Armstrong bar night to the Angela/Wesley parts to the perfect creepiness of Rosalind Dyer to (yes, duh) the Chenford of it all. And I'll rave about the acting and the scenery and the sound editing (the song choices, and of course the use of silence) until the end of time, because it's just so, so good. (I'm resisting the urge to add Now and Then (2x12) to this, because while it's still a part of the arc, it leans more heavily on the Chenford side... but I can't leave this without celebrating them continuing the story beyond just the little bubble of those two episodes. It's truly refreshing that they didn't gloss over Lucy's recovery and have everything just back to normal right away.)

2. Safety (2x07) - I yammered on a bit about this here, but I LOVE this episode, and Tim and Lucy don't interact in it at all. I don't think there's anything I dislike? Football Tim cold open ✅, Tim and Nyla and the challenge coins ✅, the beginning of the Lucy/Nyla duo of awesome (seriously, everything at the bomber's house) ✅, Angela being a sassy queen in her security gig ✅, and how Tim and Jackson's football storyline suddenly tied in with Angela's story ✅. One of my absolute faves!

3. Man of Honor (3x10), Triple Duty (3x13), and Threshold (3x14) - I'm specifically talking about Tim as Angela's man of honor. Their friendship is amazing, and seeing this all play out is so much fun. Tim bursting into the bridal shop ("you're going into labor?") is hilarious, and then him helping her find a dress?? Ugh my heart! THIS FRIENDSHIP!!! And then Tim and Nolan trying to reduce the guest list, and Tim and Jackson showing up with riot shields??? I love it all so much. (Doesn't hurt that it culminates with Tim in a tux *fans self*)

4. The Q Word (2x19), The Hunt (2x20), and Consequences (3x01) - I'll give credit where credit is due, I absolutely did not see the Armstrong twist coming. It all seems glaringly obvious now, but hindsight is 20/20. This is one of my favourite arcs. It was unexpected, a great Nolan/Harper team up, brought Rosalind back, and just really exciting to watch. (And while I don't hate Nolan like so many others, I do enjoy when he gets knocked off his pedestal a little bit and faces some real challenges.)

5. Greenlight (1x12) - PAIN. I miss Andersen so much, she was an absolute badass. I can't watch this without crying, and that alone speaks to the power of this episode.

Oh, and for shits and giggles, I'm also going to name my least favourite...

I hate, hate, hate that arsonist arc from early season 4. It was painfully obvious who the real killer was - literally the moment I saw him I was like "yup, there's your guy". It was just too much. It felt like a departure from the overall tone of the show, just way too dark, and yet somehow also leaned into a bit of a cartoonish depiction of a villain? The worst.

(Oh, and the double dose of shoving of The Rookie Feds down our throats backdoor pilot for The Rookie Feds is a close second... hated everything about it.)

Part of me wanted to add Under Siege (5x22) to the favorite arcs list, but since it's still ongoing, I will instead say I can't wait to see how to all plays out! Love seeing this team come together for each other!

#asked and answered #makeitastrength #chenford #the rookie #the rookie questions #opinions #episode rankings

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chekhov-and-chill · 2 years

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House Episode Rankings!

Note: I’ve had to post it in pictures from notes because tumblr won’t let me copy and paste for some reason??

Note 2: you’ll notice some rankings are “.5” or something; that’s because the way I did this was I made two rankings on two different days (because I occasionally rank episodes differently based on my mood) and then averaged the rankings for a fair score.

#greg house #house #house md #gregory house #hilson #huddy #house x wilson #james wilson #lisa cuddy #episode rankings

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bookhouseboy1980-blog · 6 months

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youtube

Top 5 Best and Worst Buffy S2 Episodes +MVPs

Sub to my channel for more: https://www.youtube.com/@RevisitingTheBuffyverse-yp3ey

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little-miss-ghostess · 1 year

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I ranked all of Invader Zim's episodes + movie (because why not?)

So recently I decided -- very spontaneously -- to binge all of Invader Zim. The show, that is, not the comics (although I do need to do that at some point). I hadn't seen Enter the Florpus since it released in 2019, and I hadn't watched the show in a longer time than that, and since I'm a stressed out little gremlin I just kinda went "Hey, why not?"

And it was a good time! I see more flaws with the show than I did as a kid/teen, but I still enjoyed it. I think this was the only show I saw as a kid in its entirety cause in every episode there was SOMETHING I remembered, and it was also a lot of fun to see Florpus right after seeing the show since it meant I could directly compare them.

Partway through this binge project I decided, "I wanna do a ranking of these episodes, that seems fun." I was originally going to do it on a tierlist, but then once I made this blog I decided it would be more fun for me to just dump it here instead in a list format and with some short thoughts of mine on each episode.

From worst to best:

Rise of Zitboy (Ep.9B)

The concept for this one wasn't really great to begin with, and the execution wasn't much greater. It's basically just an extended gross-out joke, and it wasn't a funny one imo.

Career Day (Ep.6A)

A great concept for an episode I feel wasn't executed the greatest. I laughed a couple times, but it was too gross-out focused for my liking.

Gaz: Taster of Pork (Ep.26)

Felt like a regular episode forcefully extended into a double-length special.

Voting of the Doomed (Ep.25B)

Like Career Day, this had a great concept but eh execution. I think this is considered the worst episode by fans? I don't agree with that entirely, but it is weak.

Door to Door (Ep.14A)

I remembered this episode being one of my favorites as a kid, and it's still alright, but not as good as I remembered.

The Sad, Sad Tale of Chickenfoot (Ep.16B)

I remembered this episode being not great as a kid, but it was better than I expected.

A Room With a Moose (Ep.7A)

Dib should've let those kids face the moose tbh.

Future Dib (Ep.13B)

Good concept, decent execution. If it was given another rewrite it could've been great.

Walk of Doom (Ep.2B)

AKA the favorite episode of everyone making Gir line compilations on YouTube in the early 2010s.

Lice (Episode 17B)

Dib seemed weirdly out of character in this one and Zim probably should've gotten more play, but it was still enjoyable.

Abducted (Ep.16A)

I'll never forget you, weird blob creature.

Mysterious Mysteries (Ep.13A)

I find the implication that Zim actually accepted an invite to appear on a human TV show funnier than I should.

Hamstergeddon (Ep.7B)

The only reason Zim failed is because he tried this plan on a hamster. If he tried it on a DOG then he would've won, easily. Dogs listen to you, hamsters only seek to cause mayhem.

Battle Dib (Ep.6B)

Considering how little his dad was around at this point, it's amazing Dib knew as much about him as he did.

The Wettening (Ep.5B)

One of Zim's most effective plans, and it was just to get back at Dib for splashing him with a puddle. Incredible.

Bestest Friend (Ep.3A)

Keef scares me.

Parent Teacher Night (Ep.2A)

Has probably the single funniest Zim shriek in the whole show.

Bolognius Maximus (Ep.11A)

I've seen some weird stuff in cartoons, but I'm not sure anything can top "Turning my enemy into sentient bolognea to defeat them."

Battle of the Planets of Doom (Ep.15)

Pretty good episode, and it reminded me that the "Face on Mars" is a real thing.

The Girl Who Cried Gnome (Ep.24A)

Moofy's screaming can get to be a bit much, but otherwise this was a stupid episode in a fun way.

Mortos Der Soulstealer (Ep.23A)

Shoutouts to Dib who was so focused on stopping Zim he didn't even consider trying to show off Mortos to prove demons are real. Kid has a helluva one-track mind and I relate.

Vindicated! (Ep.25A)

More like Mr. Dicky. Got'em.

Invasion of the Idiot Dog Brain (Ep.8A)

All things considered, it's incredible that Zim had the patience to stand Gir piloting the house for a full year.

Bloaty’s Pizza Hog (Ep.10B)

It's a good thing Zim never targeted Bloaty's at all. Gaz would've ended the whole show in 10 minutes if he did.

Gir Goes Crazy and Stuff (Ep.19A)

I keep thinking this episode is called "Gir's Gone Crazy and Stuff" which lead to two of my friends misreading it as "Girls Gone Crazy." Oops.

Germs (Ep.4A)

Zim being a clean-freak is the funniest character trait he's ever been given. I will not be taking in outside input.

FBI Warning (Ep.14B)

This episode made me afraid of renting things as a kid.

Backseat Drivers from Beyond the Stars (Ep.22)

The scene between Zim and Dib when Zim realizes Dib is in Tak's ship is the funniest interaction in the whole show, both performance and animation-wise.

Dibship Rising (Ep.24B)

Dib faced less consequences for a robot him wreaking havoc than he did when he threw a cup of punch on the ground

Dib’s Wonderful Life of Doom (Ep.19B)

And the award for the Most Hilariously Petty Act goes to.....Zim!

Hobo 13 (Ep.20A)

I can't believe Skoodge was voiced by Ted Raimi.

The Frycook What Came From All That Space (Ep.27)

It's unfortunate that the show was cancelled, but this wasn't a terrible episode to end things on all things considered. Almost made things feel like they came full circle...almost.

Game Slave 2 (Ep.11B)

At the time, this probably came off as Gaz being unnecessarily cruel. Nowadays, Iggins would fit right alongside the other Gamers™ so I can say with certainty that he deserved it.

Dark Harvest (Ep.4B)

...Ok yeah, I'll give this one to the parents of the 2000s. I have no idea how this episode got greenlit.

Walk For Your Lives (Ep.20B)

This is Zim at his absolute stupidest. It's a riot.

Plague of Babies (Ep.10A)

Ayo what the fuck

Nanozim (Ep.3B)

na-no

Megadoomer (Ep.17A)

This is the most cooperative Gir has been short of being hypnotized. Wow.

Halloween Spectacular of Spooky Doom (Ep.12)

Honestly, Zim and Dib need to put aside their differences for like a month and get some damn therapy.

Zim Eats Waffles (Ep.23B)

This episode is stupid. So, so stupid. It's also incredibly funny and is the first episode that comes to my mind when I think of Invader Zim.

Attack of the Saucer Morons (Ep.5A)

I like this one a lot. Why?...I dunno I just do, it's funny. Leave me alone.

The Nightmare Begins (Ep.1)

The crew really hit the ground running with this show, huh?

Bad, Bad Rubber Piggy (Ep.8B)

Real talk, this was a great balance of humor and genuinely telling an interesting Zim story.

Planet Jackers (Ep.9A)

I love that Zim's final plan was just to let himself get the shit beaten out of him to distract the drivers from his ship. Zim may be dumb, but he's smart dumb.

The Most Horrible X-Mas Ever (Ep.21)

Can we get Jhonen to write more Christmas specials?

Tak: The Hideous New Girl (Ep.18)

Easily the best episode of the original show imo. It's just really well-written, even if it does take a little longer than you'd expect to get to the real meat of the episode. Also, I probably quote "Your head smells like a puppy!" the most out of any Invader Zim line. No I will not elaborate.

Enter the Florpus

Everything that made the original show great but in HD and with some genuine heart to it. I do prefer the original designs from the show itself (sharp angles for LIFE) but the coloring here is just so pretty I hardly mind. If this is the last animated Zim thing we ever get, it's a great note to end things on.

#zim #invader zim #episode rankings #ghost ranks stuff cause she's bored #cartoon #nicktoons #nickelodeon

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ichayalovesyou · 2 years

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SNW Episodes Ranked

Subjectively by me on a curve because holy shit what a great first season. With a little vignette with my thoughts for each!

1. Children of The Comet 11/10

Everything I love about Star Trek while also giving us a solid ‘up yours’ to the critical flaws in the Prime Directive. A benevolent singing comet that can see the future? That’s some peak optimistic sci-fi stuff! It also had baby Cadet Uhura getting her time to shine as a linguist and a beautiful singer. I remember saying when the show was announced the thing I wanted most was to see the origins of Spock and Uhura’s friendship/jam sessions and this episode DELIVERED. Good shit!! No notes!

2. The Elysian Kingdom 10/10

Don’t get me wrong I am absolutely in love with Discovery and darker Treks but one thing I did miss was TOS campiness and oh BOY this episode fit the bill. I will never emotionally recover from this ridiculous, beautifully costumed, heart wrenching episode! Anson Mount getting to play a snivelling coward! Christina Chong playing a pretty pretty princess! Hot wizards! Badass women with swords and bows! A beautiful message about letting go and letting your kids become who they want to be! I love it!

3. Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach 9.5/10

Sexy times and societal allegories! Nothing like a Star Trek episode that’s a hot one-night-stand one minute and then a school shootings (among other applicable faux “for the children” arguments) allegory the next. I love Star Trek episodes that give you an existential crisis and also being weirdly horny, it’s what this franchise is all about! My only gripe is that, if it weren’t for the fact there are tons of real situations that make you go “why do you have a machine that eats babies on purpose?! Is the vacation spot really that worth it? Really???” Majalis has an implausibility to it if you don’t remind yourself of things that piss you off lol.

4. A Quality of Mercy 9/10

Hoo boy I love my Captain Pike content and this episode FED meeeeeeeee! I think at least part of why I love this episode so much is that it makes me feel very smug and vindicated because I correctly predicted a lot of it lmao. I knew they wouldn’t break off into an alternate timeline and it felt like a ‘screw you, be a little patient’ to some of the more… belligerent, TOS purists. I am absolutely rabid over the pure-grade father/son Pike & Spock content from this episode. It probably would’ve been my favorite if I didn’t feel like they gave us Kirk too soon and that Ortegas filling in for Stiles dialogue felt very weird and out of place for her. Other than that it was great!!!

5. The Ghosts of Illyria 8.75/10

I love funky plague episodes! The whole light thing was really really clever and fun to watch. There were lots of little moments that I liked about this episode like Pike going full hen peck dad mode when the ghosts accidentally hurt Spock. Hemmer going full mad scientist after getting infected and promptly getting stunned and carried to sickbay by Una. You could hear queer women everywhere drop trou at that scene. SNW loves poking holes in the questionable moral declarations of older treks, and this one did so with the Illyrians and genetic manipulation! Loved it! Would’ve been a bit better if they let the dread of Una getting caught stew longer imo.

6. Memento Mori 8.5/10

The Gorn are back! In this episode they were a pretty cool unseen enemy (I only wish they’d stayed that way *sigh*), gotta love that submarine drama! The cinematography in this episode really stuck out to me, I think this and Elysian Kingdom have the best visual directing in the show to date. I am also an absolutely massive angst monger so I loved all the La’an, Spock, Una, and Pike angst we got out of this cinematic bad boy! I also loved Hemmer and Uhura in this episode, I cherish every bit of his screentime considering the fate that later befalls him.

7. The Serene Squall 8.3/10

Pirates! Pronouns! Messy relationship drama that begins to explain why Chapel is Like That (tm) in TOS! Pike wearing an apron over his tactical armor! A direct criticism of people who believe their internal version of Spock is the only one true Spock! FRICKIN SYBOK ACTUALLY MATTERS FINALLY :D! There’s a lot to love about this episode but it kinda felt like it tried to have too many tones at once and fell short on all of them in the struggle. It also raises a question about Vulcan divorce, I figure either the Skype divorce they did was crap the fiancés made up on the fly, or there’s something special about the nature of T’Pring’s adultery that leads to Kalifee. I guess we’ll see!

8. Spock Amok 8.2/10

Nothing will ever be as delightfully funny as Elysian Kingdom imo but this episode certainly had a lot of fun moments. I’m here for Spock relationship drama and him getting to punch a racist bitch as a treat. Enterprise Bingo is an absolute gold mine of fanfic opportunity and I’m super here for the cute Una and La’an friendship that feels like it runs parallel to Pike and Spock’s in some ways. It was also really nice to get Chapel confirmed as bi (and gives me hope for OTHER queer confirmations about certain legacy characters we know). The biggest reason this episode is as low as it is is simply just that other episodes had more going for them that I personally enjoy.

9. Strange New Worlds 8/10

This is probably my third favorite pilot right below DS9 and VOY’s pilots. That being said it does have trademark pilot issues, a lot of characters to set up and very little time to do it. On top of having to explain What Pike’s Deal Is to new audiences who haven’t seen Discovery. Which they did an okay job with, but it does lose some of its punch and nuance if you haven’t seen at least the clip pertaining to that vision from Through The Valley of Shadiws. It criticizes the Prime Directive’s frustrating lack of nuance the way Children of The Comet does which is a win in my book. Good episode but definitely suffers from too-many-things-to-do disease.

10. All Those Who Wander 7/10

Ah yes, the one I have the most complicated opinions about. It’s a good story, even if it borrows heavily from Alien and not in the narratively potent way LUWSCR does from Those Who Walk Away From Omelas. Horror in Star Trek is kinda hit or miss since Trek’s usual motif is to learn about the unknown rather than fear it. I don’t particularly love the Gorn babies being discount xenomorphs. But hey, if we can befriend the Borg after them being nightmarish and pretty exclusively enemies for so long there’s hope for Gorn too, even if we don’t see it in SNW. I did absolutely adore La’an’s character growth and the show not glazing over M’Benga “losing” his daughter, that was really enjoyable to see. Hemmer had a good send off even if I wish he could stay longer, but then again, we never did see a body…

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imasquint · 8 months

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#the x-files #episode rankings #how were the 90s 30 years ago

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jtheplante · 1 year

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I ranked ALL episodes of All Hail King Julien worst to best watch here: https://youtu.be/rP9y39FyQYQ

#all hail king julien #ahkj #king julien #episode rankings

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calliopecalling · 2 years

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QOTS Rewatch - Season 5 Retrospective

Man, I've been dragging my feet on working on this. I've spent almost a full year on this rewatch (it really took on a life of its own; I didn't go into it planning to write involved metas or reblog a week's worth of gifsets for every episode but I am just THAT over the top) and I don't even know what I'm going to do with myself now that it's over. Watch something else?!?!?! Like what!?!?!?! Seriously though.

Anyway, where were we? Season 5. It's an interesting season to reflect back on. Sometimes it feels like my second-favorite season after season 2, and other times it feels like my second-least-favorite season after season 4. It ends up being really difficult to place. Its primary problem really in my opinion is that it's rushed, and there's so much plot to get through that the writers and editors had to leave us with sometimes frustratingly short character-driven scenes and force us to fill in the gap. But it does feel more Teresa-driven than season 1 does and, Kote notwithstanding, the non-Teresa-centered scenes still somehow feel a little more relevant or engaging than some of the Vargas stuff in seasons 1 and 3 both. (Epifanio and Batman's story took up a superfluous amount of screen time in season 1, I realized on rewatch, and season 3 has soooo much Cortez and Isabela and Loya and stuff that is way more painful to watch than Kelly Anne getting an ultrasound, even if Pote's sexist quips do make me roll my eyes.) So I don't know. I guess you'll have to give me a few more weeks to think about it. But season 5 as a whole entity in my opinion stands up pretty well on rewatch. It's the Jeresa content in season 5 that doesn't hold up as well as season 2 or 3's Jeresa. (Again, largely because of how rushed it is.)

But as always, I'll do my ranking and things:

My Top 3 Episodes

My Top 5 Scenes

Season 5 Episodes Ranked

Teresa’s Journey

Jeresa, DUH

Top 3 Season 5 Episodes

3: 5x05, Mas Dinero Mas Problemas

It actually was hard to choose the third place episode. There are several other contenders for this spot. But this episode as a whole is really fun to me. It's Teresa-centric. It features Oksana (yay female characters). It's set in Berlin. It features awesome Jeresa teamwork. It throws back to earlier show canon (Rocco de la Pena! Oleg!) and Teresa even gets to break an asshole's nose. James's all-black suit is to die for, as is Teresa's high pony, and best of all? The non-Teresa-focused material is focused on George and Boaz in Miami which, while definitely feeling sinister, gives both of them great material to work with. George buying Teresa that boat? Lol. This is an episode that I gladly watch in full without wanting to fast-forward through anything (a rarity for me among episodes after season 2) and it's a queenpin-esque version of Teresa that isn't as painful as the previous two episodes. All great stuff.

2: 5x09, A Prueba de Balas

Listen, I am not going to pretend that this is here for any other reason than the love confessions and long-awaited Jeresa hook-up, though I love every single Jeresa moment in the episode, I love that it's down to the two of them against the world (just like it was in the beginning before Teresa even knew that it was the two of them against the world), and I love that she takes out Kostya like the badass she is. We won't talk about the raccoons and peewee soccer.

1: 5x02, Me Llevo Manhattan

OBVIOUSLY. I mean: this episode might be my favorite episode of the entire series. It's perfect, classic, angsty, electric Jeresa; they actually talk to each other about stuff other than business (several times); they call back in their dialogue to earlier seasons. They KISS and it's magnetic. They dance around whatever the fuck it is that's happening between them. And they both just stumble around incoherently attracted to each other but refusing to talk about it because they are imbeciles. On top of all that, there's James back to his going-all-out-to-protect-Teresa habits and Teresa back to her taking-crazy-risks-but-earning-mad-respect bs. Teresa's whole "you work for me now; when I call, you answer on the second ring" speech to Lafayette is literal fire and even the non-Jeresa scenes in this episode are good: Kelly Anne with Judge Lafayette's business partner; Boaz with the Judge; the pregnancy reveal. My favorite scene of the episode, though, the one that makes me levitate, is the balcony scene between James and Teresa in Manhattan. Wtffffff that scene was like, designed to personally destroy me. But more about that later.

Top 5 Season 5 Scenes

This was so hard for me. The truth is that there are two types of scenes, Jeresa scenes and non-Jeresa scenes, and they belong on parallel ladders to me. The Teresa who shows up with James and the Teresa who shows up otherwise is so different (I mean: compare literally any of the 5x02 Jeresa scenes to, say, how Teresa interacts with Oksana and Oscar and the Judge in that same episode). And I love both kinds of scenes for her. The way she almost coyly greets those real estate developers in 5x06, knowing full well she's going to slaughter them? *shivers* sooooo good. But when push comes to shove, it's the Jeresa scenes that all slide to the top, because it's the version of herself she gives him that is the one we're ultimately rooting for. So without further ado:

#5:

The scene: Episode 5x02, bedroom conversation

What I love about it: Soooo muuuuuch subtext here. After Teresa in the previous episode gave James literally nothing to work with, now that she's wrapped her mind around him being back she is completely unable to keep up the act. Watching both of them dancing around what they're actually trying to talk about is so delightful, and the icing on the cake is Chicho walking in right in the middle of a particularly intimate gesture.

#4:

The scene: Episode 5x09, the balcony kiss

What I love about it: Do I really need to explain myself? I love this kiss so much because it's written all over Teresa's face what combination of fear, desire, and love is driving her. It's no longer impulsive as it was in 5x02 or tenuous as it was in 3x09 or generous as it was in 3x05, it's for her, it's because she wants him and she's terrified of dying without him knowing it. And then he returns it so wholly and confidently and damn. To me it's the moment they catch up to each other and finally land on the same page. The I love yous that follow were made possible by this kiss.

#3:

The scene: Episode 5x07, the waterfront launch party heart-eyes

What I love about it: Again, so much subtext here. The intense intimacy of a moment in which relatively little gets said (and all of it completely innocuous). The verbal callback to the season 3 finale made the fandom's collective hearts jump to our throats as we wondered, with Teresa, if he was about to say he was leaving. Teresa's clear display of vulnerability in this single 90 second scene made up for the four previous episodes of distance between them. But really.... it's all in the subtext here.

#2:

The scene: Episode 5x10, the final Queenpin scene

What I love about it: It's the perfect Queenpin send-off. It's perfectly appropriate that she shows up one last time and the way it's done here is so beautiful. She looks so serene and her nod of approval closes the circle with episodes 2x06 and 3x10 where Queenpin seemed to be nudging Teresa towards James. And THEN, as Queenpin departs, James steps in. 'You ok?' Could it be any clearer? She doesn't need Queenpin to be her guardian angel anymore. She has James. God, I must be in a mood today because I'm literally choking up as I write this 😭 Excuse me while I go rewatch this scene 28 more times.

#1:

The scene: Episode 5x02, the balcony scene

What I love about it: Was there ever any doubt this was going to be my number one scene of this season? No, there was not. It is the perfect combination of classic Jeresa--James pining, Teresa being cool and unruffled, an almost visible electric current of tension between them, and oh my god the subtexttttttt. Yes, I'm predictable. I don't even think I have enough words to convey exactly how much this scene breaks me apart and I definitely don't have the words to confess how often I rewatch it. Literally I AM JAMES when she says "you and me can't happen" and I feel my entire body turn to jelly, and then when she says "maybe in some other life" I'm like EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE GO GET IT JAMES. This scene to me is their crowning achievement as actors playing this couple of idiots. That chemistry is crazy.

Season 5 Episodes Ranked

5x02

5x09

5x05

5x06

5x08

5x07

5x01

5x03

5x04

5x10

Yes, the finale is my least-favorite episode of the season. There's just nowhere near enough Teresa, or James. Waaaaay too much Pote, and Pote is just not an interesting character. Plus it's so dominated by men. I just could not care about the fight between him and Boaz. It all felt like male viewership fan service. Ew. So, looking at episodes in their entirety, it falls at the bottom. Really though I think this speaks to honestly how strong the season is overall, when it comes down to it. I loved it on rewatch and looking back at this list I even feel sad about having 5x03 and 5x04 so low! I've grown to like even those, despite how painful some of the scenes are.

Teresa's Journey

So, this is the season that obviously brings her as close to Queenpin as she'll ever come, the season in which she faces the ultimate choice: fully abandon herself in a quest to become untouchable in her power, or fully abandon that quest in order to save her soul. Both of these are different sides of the "survival" coin. And both involve incredible risk. Having taken out Kostya, she came as close as really was possible to that untouchable power that the Queenpin visions throughout the series evoked. She would have been protected by the American CIA and would have run the largest and most powerful drug empire in the world. Of course when you're at the top, someone is always ready to take you out, so the risk of staying--despite the promise of safety and protection--was huge.

On the other hand, disappearing. So much risk there, too. So simple in concept: shed your identity, go somewhere remote, and start over from scratch. But when you're in the cartel world that deep, obviously it's not just possible to get out. Your continued existence is too threatening to everyone who stays in; you know way too much. And SO much could go wrong in the process of trying to escape.

So both of these choices offered the promise of safety and both came with a heaping side of risk. But the Teresa we were introduced to in season 1 would've had absolutely no difficulty picking between them, right? So in retrospect, her full character journey was to slowly and gradually become someone who would believably struggle with that choice, someone we would believably worry might make the "wrong" choice.

And I think they really did pull that off. Already by season 2, it's less clear that she would choose to disappear rather than become all-powerful. She'd already lost everyone she'd loved by then and felt herself to be alone, and I think loneliness was one of the biggest drivers for her in seeking power over feeding her soul. It was always loss and trauma that pushed her further into the business and, even though season 5 didn't super explicitly link her rapid power grabs to Tony's death the previous season, it was clearly the darkness of that loss (maybe combined with the unsettling reappearance of James) that pushed her over the edge.

So was it believable that, in the end, she chose her soul? Yeah. They made us worry about her for the first half of season 5, pushing away everyone she cared about and seeming like a hollow shell of herself. But by episode 5x08 her vulnerability is palpable again. Like George's loss, combined with pregnant Kelly Anne's kidnapping, and faced with the possibility of dying herself, and losing James in the process, that she gets her wakeup call. So to me, her final decision feels very earned. I just wish they hadn't wasted a full episode trying to convince us she wasn't going to make it 😂

Jeresa

And all inextricably tied up with Teresa's character turnaround in season 5 is her relationship with James. This is another thing the season didn't make super explicit, at least in the written dialogue, but on rewatch it feels exceptionally clear that his presence allowed her to make what no doubt seemed like an impossible decision to turn the train around that was fast hurtling towards a cliff. He:

showed up mortally wounded trying to save her life

stuck by her side even when she made a disappointing decision that showed how much she'd changed

tolerated her snapping at him and pushing him away because he wasn't going to just give up on her after the huge way she'd busted into HIS life and changed HIM from the inside out

gently challenged her, wherever possible, despite having had it made clear to him that doing that was risky

backed her up 100% and went the extra mile to show his loyalty (beating up Navarro's connect), care (delivering an entire army of ex-Mossad for her security), and competence (stealing the painting)

And then, when she'd sent Pote and Kelly Anne packing and it was just the two of them again (the symmetry to the beginning of the series is so lovely there), his steadiness in the face of her emotional undoing is such a visible factor of her turning everything around. Yes, she's scared for Kelly Anne and her baby. Yes, she's upset about George. But in 5x09 after she's sent Kote away and it's too late to save George, those aren't her motivators anymore. James is. You can see it in her eyes on the balcony that it's not her own death that she fears but the possibility of dying without having loved.

Teresa is a lover. We knew that from the very beginning. She essentially told us that in her own voice over in the pilot. Her drug of choice was Guero. Comparing Guero to a drug is so apt (and foreshadows all the events of the first three seasons and how Guero's actions underlie so much of what she had to go through) so that her fear of love also becomes understandable. She was so slow to fully trust James because of the betrayal she'd experienced before; she was slow to open herself up to him as a lover because the risk of that vulnerability was too devastating. But when she stares down death and realizes she's held real love at arm's-length, its pull and its promise is way too great to turn away from.

I think the writers and show runners of this season struggled with this because the love story they'd created was so powerful and yet they knew (and I agree) that this show wasn't intended to be a love story. The book that it's based on is not a love story. It's the story of a woman and her incredible journey from life on the streets of Culiacán to becoming a powerful druglord and then her final escape from that life. But Jeresa is so powerful that even without explicit efforts on the part of the writers this season it's clear that it's a story in which love wins. She gets out, because of love. She makes the choice to disappear, because of love. Yes, platonic and familial love play into it, too; and stacking up the losses of those she's loved over the years and the risks to those who remain are explicitly part of the story. But by 5x09 the only ones who remain are her and James. She's lost or sent away everyone else.

I guess I forgive the writers for leaving much of their relationship this season to the imagination. I would've loved more conversations between the two of them that were 5x02 or 3x08 caliber, but I think the writers were trying to strike a balance between the people who clearly watched the show for Jeresa and the people who clearly cared less. Do I think they should've just written the show the seasons 2-3 writers set up? Yes. Do I blame them for trying to please a broader base? No. I don't, because I think it's ultimately so obvious anyway that James helped Teresa out of the cave in the same way she did originally that it still ties together beautifully in the end.

So. Now what?

As I said yesterday, I have saved many hundreds of gifsets in my queue still to reblog that I didn't reblog as part of the "official" rewatch. And I'm sure I'll continue to find more, and will reblog any others that get created. I'm also a huuuuuge Alice fan (in case that's not abundantly obvious by now) and will stick around to reblog whatever Alice content I consumer and maybe even Peter content from time to time. I'll post a full series retrospective eventually, but I doubt it will be quite as comprehensive as these season metas because I think I've kind of covered a lot of the analytical ground by now!! But I still want to do my rankings and all that. All that to say: I'll be around. And I hope to continue to see some of you around too 🥰 Thanks for sticking with me.

#qots s5 #2021 rewatch #txt post #qots meta #season 5 retrospective #episode rankings #farewell beloved characters I shall miss thinking THIS level of profoundly about you every day #but I'm looking forward to becoming *slightly* more chill in my level of consumption of this show lol #I'll start my post-rewatch queue tomorrow #can't wait to see what the shuffle reveals lol

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