#like he chose simon already in s2 finale | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

raincitygirl76 · 10 months

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There’s been a lot of Sara posts floating around lately. Rather rhan hitch my wagon to someone wlse’s, here’s mine:

I empathize with Sara, yes. And I think her neurodivergence does make it more difficult for her to understand neurotypical people. And in several of the paragraphs below I talk about how I think the show is setting up a redemption arc for her. And I want to see that arc play out in S3. But there’s no denying she’s made some spectacularly terrible life choices in S1 and S2! Her neurodivergence may well play into why she made those choices, but it’s not the only reason. In 1.06 she cut a deal with the sex offender who’d just victimized her little brother, all so she could board at Hillerska. That’s a BAD choice, no matter why she made it.

I don’t think she’s irredeemable. In fact, I suspect a big part of Simon’s arc in S3 will be him figuring out a way to forgive her, and forge a healthier sibling relationship with her going forward. Just as a big part of Simon’s S2 arc was him figuring out a way to forgive Wilhelm, and forge a healthier romantic relationship with him going forward. Simon and Sara’s relationship has always been somewhat dysfunctional, but perhaps it can become better. Although I don’t think Simon will forgive his big sister until late in S3.

On the bright side, as of Sara’s last scene in S2, she’s trying to make amends already. In 2.06 she breaks up with August, rejects the dream gift he offers her (owning Roussea herself), and calls the police to report August’s crime. Sara is now actively trying to atone for the harm she’s done to her younger brother. She just doesn’t realize that she’ll get him into legal trouble, because August won’t hesitate to use those pill bottles against him. Sara seems to have accepted that Felice also feels betrayed by her. She’s chosen to return home, so Felice will no longer have to share a dorm room with her.

So it seems like a redemption arc for Sara has already kicked off. She did something terrible to her brother in 1.06, and she spent most of S2 doubling down on that initial awful choice by pursuing a relationship with August. She also sent risqué selfies of herself to the guy she already KNOWS leaked a video of her brother naked and having sex. Which is astoundingly dumb, given Sara is an intelligent young woman. Or perhaps more naive than dumb. She’s in love for the first time, after all. She trusts August because she loves him, not for any objectively logical reasons.

But as of 2.06 at the shooting range, Simon now knows Sara repeatedly chose August over him. She got into bed with August (figuratively in 1.06, and literally in S2) knowing full well he’d committed a sexual offence against Simon. And she’s finally realized Simon is DEVASTATED by the news she’s betrayed him profoundly. Also that August wasn’t worth protecting over her brother. He’d used her tip-off to blackmail Simon instead of to confess his crime to the police, as she’d expected. It was naive of Sara to expect that from August, but she’d projected what she wanted to see onto August.

But when push came to shove, August, even though he truly loved Sara, didn’t hesitate to pile a new felony on top of the old one and blackmail her brother into silence. Because love or no love, August will never take responsibility for his actions. When push came to shove, by contrast, Sara finally realized her actions had been horrific, and she soon started trying to atone.

Would it be better if she’d realized earlier in S2 she was making terrible mistakes? Would it be better if she’d never made that initial deal in 1.06 to throw her brother under the bus? Yes and yes, of course to both. But while she made those fucking awful choices in the first place, she has now chosen to take responsibility for said choices. And to try and clean up her mess, by reporting Simon’s abuser to the police, and vacating the dorm room she shared with Felice.

Simon might think at first this is too little, too late from his sister, after such a huge betrayal. Especially since he’ll probably end up in trouble with the police himself over the pill bottles August still has. But while August regretted leaking the video, he never seriously considered taking responsibility for the harm he caused Wilhelm and Simon. In fact, he went to extraordinary lengths to avoid being held responsible, by the police, the judiciary, and the general public. Sara did awful things too, but the penny finally dropped about how badly she’d hurt her brother and how little August deserved her trust. And then she wanted to fix her mistakes, make things right for the people she’d hurt.

So yeah, Sara Eriksson’s made terrible, spectacularly bad decisions. But she’s certainly far from irredeemable.

EDITED TO ADD:

In retrospect, “redemption arc” may not have been the right wording. I do think Sara will be on a journey in S3 that will end in personal growth and hopefully a better relationship with her brother and her mom (Sara can’t be so critical of Linda for not leaving Micke immediately now Sara too has been in love with a bad person). Anyway, below @bluedalahorse has a great post about the term redemption arc, its connotations, etc.

Also, @darktwistedgenderplural has a great addition to my original post, referencing Sara and Simon’s childhood trauma from Micke. And suggesting that Sara dodged a bullet by seeing August’s true colours only a few months into their relationship.

Gradually August could’ve turned abusive, and it would’ve been much tougher for Sara to extricate herself from his life if they’d been together for years, possibly been married, and possibly had children to tie them together even after a divorce.

And this debacle of a first love affair Sara’s experiencing could bring her closer to her mom. Linda could have valuable insights for Sara from her own experience being in love with a man who turned out to be a walking red flag. And Sara might become less dogmatic than she was in 1.06, when she blamed Linda for not leaving Micke immediately, as soon as she realized he was hurting their family.

Because Sara now has her own experience of having a romantic partner and loving him (and hoping he’ll change). Even though he’s hurt a loved one of hers. For Linda the partner she loved and wanted to change was Micke, and the loved ones he hurt were Simon and Sara. For Sara the partner she loved and wanted to change was August, and the loved one he hurt was Simon.

Either way, I could see Sara displaying more empathy towards Linda now she herself has been in a similar situation. And Linda maybe opening up to her daughter more.

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weapon13whitefang · 6 years

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The Walking Dead 8x13 Things

I’m just gonna get this out of the way - I don’t think Dwight’s arrow was tainted, but if Tara dies at the end of this season, then I’m gonna be raging so hard and it might be what takes me from a fan to a backseat casual viewer. Because I’m sick of this shit with killing off LGBTQA+ people on this fucking show. Even if “their arc was wrapped up”, I don’t care. Alisha, Denise, Eric, and now Tara? I’m not okay with that anymore. I wasn’t okay with Denise and now I’m really not okay if it’s Tara.

Eric I’m very upset about for Aaron, but I’m hoping it leads to the Jesus/Aaron romance by S9 like in the comics because I do rather enjoy that pairing and Paul needs a boyfriend and Aaron needs someone as full of heart as him... I’m gonna go on a ramble so I’ll shit up on that.

My point isssss... STOP KILLING THE BLACK PEOPLE AND LGBTQA+ PEOPLE!!

Okay! Moving on to more shit.

Back to Tara... I keep seeing a lot of people say that Tara’s arc is ending. That she’s going to be killed because she’s not needed anymore and has no use... I don’t believe that at all.Because Tara is still a use... Because of Oceanside.

Tara is a connection to Oceanside with Cyndie. Right now, Aaron is trying to get Oceanside to work with him and the others for the war against Negan. See if he can rally the troops. With Natania killed by Enid, Cyndie has taken over as the new leader. Oceanside follows her lead. She is the one that can turn her people to help take down the Saviors.

But right now Cyndie is hurt and angry. Her grandmother was killed by Enid. Natania was making choices, killing whoever she could find that encroached the Oceanside territory. Enid didn’t have to kill her, but she did to save herself and Aaron. It was Natania or them. There could’ve been another choice, sure. But a choice was made. And it hurt Cyndie. That was her family, no matter if she was in the right or wrong. And Cyndie made a choice to not kill Enid and Aaron and let them go... Just like she did with Tara.

Right now, the only person that Cyndie has a decent connection to is Tara. Aaron is trying to connect to them and make a connection. But Aaron might not be able to alone. These women are wary of men. Aaron may be gay, but he’s still a male and that trust is going to be hard for Cyndie to reach for. Especially with Aaron being with Enid when Natania died.

So here’s what’s possible. Aaron may return to the fray and need help with things. Or Tara decides to go for help. Oceanside had people willing to fight and Cyndie has a relationship of some trust with Tara already. Tara is the one who can truly bridge Oceanside and TFs group together for the final fight. aron might be the one to bring them all to the battle, but Tara is the one who can close the bridge. Thus why I personally feel like she’s still got a story to work through.

Now I could be wrong and Tara is approaching death. It won’t be from Dwight’s arrow - again, don’t believe he poisoned his arrows and he shot her to save her from Simon - and this is going to be important for Simon and Tara. And also for Daryl.

See Tara’s story still connects to Daryl. Tara and Daryl and Dwight and Rosita have the strongest connection. I keep seeing people say that Tara is too forgiving of Dwight, but Tara’s not. She hasn’t forgive Dwight for killing Denise. She will always have hate in her heart for him and what he did to Denise... But she saw him as she saw herself.

The argument between Daryl and Tara in 8x13 was interesting because it was a full circle connection for Tara... And it also brought up something weird

Daryl: Hey... You shouldn't be out here. Tara: Oh it's just.. It's just a scratch. I can help. Daryl: What if it wasn’t? Tara: Then it'd be my own damn fault. He’s back with them because of me. Daryl: No, he’s back with them because that’s who he is. Tara: We got lucky. Finding Maggie, Rick. It could have been different. It was for me, when I was with the Governor. Daryl: Yeah, but you weren’t one of them. Tara: But I was with them. Your brother too. Daryl: My brother? My brother ran the wrong way his whole life. If he were here, if I’d stuck with him when he left, we’d be with the Saviors too. Or some other group just like them. But I’d have figured out who they were, just like you did. Tara: Maybe that’s what happened to Dwight. Daryl: Is that before or after he killed your girl? Or is that all square now? Tara: It is. Look, I might hate him forever, but he saved my life. Daryl: No, he tried to kill you last night. Tara: When we were in the woods, when we were coming here, I saw him try and help us win. Daryl: Yeah, I saw what I saw too.

In the argument, Tara brings up Merle. This was both delightful to me because I love Merle... But it makes no sense. Why? Because Tara never met Merle. Tara met the Governor after Merle was killed, after the Governor lost the to Rick and Woodbury fell. How would she know about Merle? Unless Daryl or someone has explained everyone's history to her... Even so, she didn’t know Merle and wouldn’t have known him from cow shit vs horse shit.

Even Daryl seems a bit surprised by Tara mentioning Merle. He’s actually kind of defensive and against using Merle in the topic because to him, Merle was always on a path that’d get himself in trouble or killed. Because that’s who Merle was... But that’s wrong in a sense.

Merle fucking KNEW how the Governor was. He knew how Philip played. It’s why he lied about killing Michonne. It’s why he was so amped up to kill the guy. He knew that the Governor was bad news a long time ago. He was sticking around because he owed Philip and he needed the man to get the resources to find Daryl again. To see of his brother was still alive. Merle made reckless and cruel choices under the Governor, but you can see he wasn’t necessarily okay with them. He did what he had to because he believed that was how he found Daryl. Merle was an enigma. He even said so himself that he didn’t understand the thigs he did. Just that he did them. But even so, 90% of the time - ten percent being when Merle was high on the roof and when he didn’t know TF was still alive - Merle did what he did to be with Daryl and find him. Would Merle have ended up with someone like Negan? To save his and Daryl’s ass, probably yes. He would’ve done what he needed to keep him and Daryl alive. Merle wasn’t dumb. He was a cold survivor. To have Daryl brush Merle off like he’d just go with the next big bad guy... That doesn’t sit right with me at all. Pretty sure Michael Rooker would agree with me as well. For the most part anyway.

(Sorry, got on a rant here)

So using Merle and writing him off like that doesn’t work... And Daryl acting like he’d have just left is wrong too. S1 Daryl was still the Daryl that went around and did whatever Merle said. Merle was going to have him and Daryl rob the camp near Atlanta and then split. If that had gone through, Daryl would still be following Merle and probably end up dead or yes, sticking to a group like the Saviors and backing Merle up. They both would’ve probably wised up real quick, but they’d still be doing what they needed to stay alive and get out.

By S3, yes. Daryl leaving off with Merle and finding a group like the Saviors.. He would’ve wised up to them quick. Even S1 Daryl would’ve. But because Rick took a chance on Daryl in S1 and S2, by S3 Daryl had been allowed to grow out of Merle’s shadow so that kept him from making a choice that lead him and Merle to someone like Negan.

Tara was a different story. She was hauled up in an apartment with her sister and niece and father. the Governor saved her from her father after he turned into a walker. She had no clue about his past, who he was and what he’d done. He was just the guy who saved her. That he was a guy who wanted to help them find a better, safer place. Especially since Tara didn’t really know how to stop walkers until the Governor told her how. She was even one of the first to agree with the Governor to take the Prison from TF. But things weren’t like she was expecting them to be and Rick SAW that. It was Rick who turned to Tara and tried to reason with her. To have her help reason with the Governor. When shit hit the fan, Tara ran away and hid because once she saw the Governor kill Hershel, she realized that she wasn’t where she should be - that she was wrong - and made a run for it.

Tara mentions to Daryl that maybe that’s what happened to Dwight. Daryl sayibg he would’ve wised up and left the bad people he might’ve ended up with, is what Tara did and she believes that is what Dwight did. Which is kind of right. Except Tara didn’t kill people. But she was there and didn’t stop people from getting killed. So in a way, yes. Her and Dwight are similar in that they got blood on them. Dwight killed because he believed that was what he had to do to keep going on and be safe and alive for Sherry. Sherry chose Negan to protect herself and to protect Dwight. When they came back, she went back to Negan so Dwight wouldn’t be killed. He was maimed but he was alive. Negan took a lot from Dwight and it took Daryl and Sherry leaving to really make Dwight realize just truly how much he wanted Negan dead. He even says to Simon that, yeah, he thought about killing Negan. But he was surviving. Sherry was too. But Sherry had enough and ran. Because Dwight was surviving to a point he was no longer the man she loved. That pushed Dwight. Her saving Daryl. Meeting Daryl... That all changed Dwight. Or at least snapped him back to who he was meant to be; a better man.

. Daryl can’t see that though. Some people say that Daryl wants to kill Dwight because of what he did to Denise... But there’s more to it than that. Before Daryl even came across Dwight, he was having nothing but shit luck on saving people. He was still trying to be a good person like Aaron said he was. Like Beth and everyone knew he could be and he was. But then Daryl couldn’t save Button the horse, he was already hurt from loosing Beth and Tyreese and Noah, and then he tries to help Dwight and Tina and Sherry and they knock him out and tie him up and take his stuff from him while holding a gun to his head. That was enough for Daryl. Dwight and them get away, sans Tina, and Daryl is left angered that he went back to help these people with Tina’s insulin and they still fuck him over. Flash forward, he meets Jesus and Hilltop and he goes with Rick on killing a whole damn community in their sleep because, to him, there aren’t good people anymore and fuck everyone. So he helps kill this community. Jump forward, he takes Denise out with Rosita to help her get the medicine... But also because Denise WANTED Daryl and Rosita because - as she says - he reminds her of her brother and makes her feel safe. Right after she says that and chews him out, she gets shot WITH HIS OWN FUCKING CROSSBOW by Dwight, who he TRIED TO HELP AND FUCKED HIM OVER. Daryl’s anger over Dwight fucking him over and getting one of the few good people he believes exists killed sets Daryl off and he goes off on his own in anger to find Dwight and kill the bastard. But that gets Glenn out there with Michonne and Rosita. They can’t bring him back and Rosita and Daryl get captured with Glenn and Michonne. Then TF gets lined up and whose with the Saviors and WHO shot him? Dwight again. Dwight was a big reason that Negan knew about Daryl and his group. He was a part of the reason that Abe gets killed and while I don’t believe he was the main reason Negan killed Glenn - because Negan was WAY to happy to kill again, he just needed someone to pop off and thought it might be Rosita - and now another good person and HIS DEAR BEST FRIEND is bludgeoned to death like a rat before him and Daryl is swallowed in guilt. He’s scooped up by Negan and he’s tortured by the saviors AND Dwight. Dwight is the one who sleep deprives Daryl, shoves dog food at him, gets him beat up, and pushes him around like a dog. Daryl admits to Dwight that he gets why he did what he did, but that doesn’t square away everything that Dwight has done to him and his people.

So Daryl’s anger for Dwight - all lined up - makes sense and him not being able to see good people and being ready to just fucking murder all the saviors without care... It makes sense. And for awhile he had an ally with Rosita and Tara. But after loosing Sasha, Rosita started to see that her rage and anger were gonna get her killed. She wanted Dwight and Negan dead. But she wasn’t gonna run off to get herself killed or get others killed. Tara and Daryl were still ready for blood. Dwight’s blood... But Dwight had hos own journey and wanted to help take Negan down. Daryl knew that too or he wouldn’t have sent the letter to Dwight with the “Tomorrow” on it. Daryl keeping Dwight alive shows restraint on his mind set. But right now wasn’t the time to murder Dwight. The man was still gonna die but other pressing matters were on his mind... But Tara wasn’t there. She wants the man dead and Dwight knows that... But he still saves her. He was ready to sacrifice himself. But nobody had known about his betrayal to Negan so he now had a way back into the Saviors. He could save Tara, lead them away from TF and get back to help them while being on the enemy line. A line he knew well. And Tara saw all this. Dwight told her he wanted Negan dead and he showed her he was on their side by jmping out, ready to die.

But Daryl can’t see that. Dwight is only looking out for himself. All he does is get people killed because he’s bad and he deserves to die. It’s why he brings up Denise to Tara. To him, those that take from him - take his good people - deserve to die. We saw this with Dawn at Grady. Dawn “shot” - no she didn’t, it was someone else but sure let everyone believe it was Dawn - Beth down and Daryl - point blank - shot her down because one of his own - someone he loved whether in a romantic way or a friend - was just taken and shot down before him so he took care of who he saw got her killed. Daryl cared about Denise, he liked her, he was growing a true friendship with her and she believed in him protecting her... And Dwight killed her with his own weapon. That’s really heartbreaking for Daryl but it’s also a fuel to that rage of his. If Daryl loves you, he loves you forever. He loved Denise in a way just as he loved Abe in a way and loved Glenn in a way. Dwight helped get them killed so Dwight deserves to die. That’s how Daryl is right now. The Saviors get his good people killed, gets the ones he loves killed. They deserve to die. So he can’t see how Tara sees things... Because Tara is seeing herself in Dwight, seeing their similarities. Daryl probably feels betrayed about Tara seeming to be so easy to “square away” things with Dwight on what he’s taken from Tara. To him, that doesn’t resonate because Daryl is too angry. There’s Them and Us in Daryl’s book and Tara defending Dwight as an Us makes no sense.

So now Tara and Daryl are on different sides of one road.They’re both on the road to fight the Saviors. But Tara isn’t in the mindset to murder everyone. She’s ready to see a future. She doesn’t know what that future is yet, but she’s going to be able to see one where she’ll never forgive Dwight, but she believes he’s trying to help and is on their side. Daryl is on the rage and death side of the road against the Saviors. He’s with Rick. There is no future. Just death and destruction.

With Tara now being open eyed, her story can now move on to a future and helping lead to a true win for TF. That’s why I believe she is still a key player in this war. She is still a key to helping bring in Oceanside. I truly feel that... I could be wrong. I’ll accept that. But right now, Tara isn’t over yet. She’s gonna live and she’s gonna help the future. Her meeting Oceanside was leading to this. In the comic, Siddiq is the one who discovers Oceanside and the one who tells Rick about the community. Now Tara has taken this role and Siddiq is present to take over as medical help. In the comic, the Oceanside pretty much stay to themselves the whole time. I don’t believe this will be the same here. The Saviors took a lot from the women of Oceanside and now they have a chance to make them pay for that... But they need someone to help pull them in. Aaron and Tara can be that.

So no. Tara isn’t gonna die. I feel that much... I’ve been wrong before on characters, but I’m really hoping that ain’t the case now.

Overall I liked this episode. But this scene has been eating at me with Tara mentioning Merle and then Daryl not seeing Tara’s side and also because of everyone talking about how Tara is gonna die and people hating on her... I had a lot of thoughts to share.

Also, someone fucking slap Henry. Damn kid... Fuck.

On a TD note, I also personally feel that Tara and Siddiq are gonna be key players in finding Beth or a part of what brings Beth back. Call it a feeling I can’t really explain right now. But for awhile now, especially after Denise died, Ive felt that Tara is gonna be art of Beth’s return if she is returning and same with Siddiq.

#the walking dead #tara chambler #daryl dixon #beth greene #team delusional #team defiance #team i don't care i'm having fun #team fence #team on the fence #team whatever #merle dixon #twd dwight #denise cloyd #long post

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