#omgcheckpleasecritical

[maeve-of-winter]

Anti-Parse fans: Parse is a coward for not coming out while playing in the NHL, Bitty and Jack are so much braver and stronger than him.

Me, aware there have never been any NHL athletes, either present or retired, who've publicly come out in the 100+ years since the NHL was established, which indicates an organization deeply steeped in a toxically homophobic and aggressively conformist culture, and that coming out vs. staying in is a choice many RL athletes must struggle with on a daily basis: Well--

#kent parson #omgcheckplease #omgcheckpleasecritical

[hctirdle]

As much as I dislike the ending, I'm so glad Kent didn't get a public spur-of-the-moment coming out scene, and I can go on ignoring that whole weird scene with Bitty and appreciating him for being an actual adult who understands that he's the face of a billion dollar franchise, and any potentially controversial declaration he makes in front of a bunch of people and cameras is going to have an impact on other people's lives, no matter how difficult and unfair that is to him.

#on the #parse positive #side of things #omgcheckpleasecritical #kent parson

[maeve-of-winter]

I think one of the reasons I like the idea of Parse and Whiskey both getting happy endings is that one thing OMGCP does is push this idea that happy endings are reserved for the good gays, those out and proud folks, and that if you’re struggling or if you have doubts or if you’re damaged by your past, well, that’s your fault and that’s all you get. 

And I’m just like, screw that, all gays deserve a happy ending, regardless of if you’re damaged, flawed, or imperfect. Regardless of if you’re in the closet to avoid damaging your career and said mean things to your ex that one time after they ghosted you, or if you’re struggling with your sexuality and may or may not be cheating on your girlfriend. You still deserve happiness. 💖

#kent parson #parse positive #omgcheckplease #omgcheckpleasecritical #connor whisk

[maeve-of-winter]

This is going to be really negative, but I just need to type it out. Full offense to ngozi, but like idk why I ever trusted a heterosexual woman to authentically write a gay character in any way, shape, or form. I mean, I really accepted her stereotypical white twink main character because it was the closest thing to representation we got in regards to lgbt folks and hockey. Then she had him out whiskey to jack aka whiskey's hero. I'm not even going to try to articulate her closet bashing narrative or how she treated Kent like shit after saying he was her favorite character. I can't even really interact with check please anymore because of it. Like straight people already give me shit and now I'm realizing ngozi is just playing gsa president as a straight woman. She really thought she did something by handing us all of these lowkey homophobic tropes.

Yeah, I’m in agreement with you, anon. I always cringe whenever I see reviews enthusiastically praising Check Please “subverting expectations” in regard to its treatment of gay characters. What I find “subverting expectations” tends to mean is that it subverts them where Jack and Bitty are concerned and lets them be fully accepted by their teammates and straight friends, but it doesn’t let characters like Kent and Whiskey have that same kind of acceptance and happy ending. I’m still salty over Kent’s teammate Carl making homophobic comments that Kent had to listen to and then Ngozi instructing us on the chapter notes to “ignore Carl”. Just, y’know, ignore homophobia. It’s not that bad, you guys. It’s not like it affects LGBTQ folks in multiple dangerous and detrimental ways in a daily basis. No, no; it’s just a silly thing that should be easily ignored when it affects Kent.

The mentality present there just makes me think that Check Please has this extremely straight perspective that homophobia is only bad when it’s used to hurt “good” people like Jack and Bitty. But it’s okay if homophobia hurts “bad” people like Kent, then that’s okay, because he was mean to Jack that one time, so don’t ever worry about any homophobia or discrimination he has to deal with. He has Scraps, this one straight friend who’s nice, and having one straight friend who’s nice makes up for all the homophobia a queer individual encounters in life. Plus, Jack and Bitty are safe, dontcha know, and that’s what’s important.

#kent parson #omgcheckpleasecritical #omgcheckplease #forever salty

[maeve-of-winter]

My Kent Parson hot take that no asked for:

It always pisses me off a little bit whenever I see this fanon on Tumblr or in fic that Kent realized that he treated Jack badly when he saw him at the Haus and is now seeing a therapist because he realized that being mean to Jack that one time means that he has anger issues.

Like??? Maybe he could be seeing this therapist because he’s a closeted star athlete in a homophobic sport? Maybe he could be seeing a therapist because of the trauma connected to his boyfriend/best friend almost dying and then cutting off contact after Kent was forced to move away from him? Maybe seeing the therapist could be a result of being a star athlete in a very physically and mentally draining sport in addition to being the team captain, meaning that his every move is being scrutinized by Canadian hockey pundits who are probably very critical of him?

But no. None of Kent’s actual emotions or experiences are ever considered relevant in this fanon. Instead, what’s important is that he realized that he was very mean to Jack and is seeing a therapist, not because of what Jack did to him, but because of what he did to Jack, and going to therapy proves that Kent is a Good Person in the end. Which is a weird way to use therapy in your story, but IMHO, treating Kent like he’s entirely in the wrong and like Jack is a pure and true innocent who never hurt anyone in his life is pretty weird.

#FOREVER SALTY #kent parson #jack zimmermann #omgcheckpleasecritical #omgcheckplease

[maeve-of-winter]

Do you think Jack’s OD was intentional? I go back and forth on this one

Based on what Bitty says to Parse in 4.19, I think we are meant to think from canon that it was an intentional suicide attempt. 

To me, it makes Parse look more sympathetic than ever before, because 4.19 not only confirms Jack’s overdose as a suicide attempt, but it also confirms that Jack ghosted him afterward. So Kent’s issues with Jack aren’t so much about him being a jealous ex. It’s about him searching for closure after his boyfriend tried to kill himself. 

I also am just very “???” at Bitty lecturing Parse on Jack’s overdose as if Parse wasn’t there to see it and was totally unaffected by it. Because Parse was there, he’s well-aware that Jack cut him out of his life afterward, and he was extremely frustrated and hurt by it. Bitty is the one who wasn’t around for the aftermath.

I also really dislike the implication that Parse wasn’t allowed to have any kind of emotional reaction to Jack’s overdose. Because to look at the situation as an outsider, one queer teenager has tried to kill himself, and canon is basically trying to said another queer teenager is wrong for having an imperfect emotional reaction to his boyfriend/best friend’s attempted suicide. Like, how very dare this queer teenager be upset and confused and angry by situation. The nerve, to be a gay teenager and react badly to the attempted suicide of a fellow gay teenager.

And it also creates this weird double standard, where Jack is allowed to hurt Kent by trying to kill himself and ghost him afterward, but Kent daring to have negative feelings on Jack as a result make him the true villain. Somehow.

#kent parson #jack zimmermann #omgcheckplease #omgcheckpleasecritical #Anonymous

[maeve-of-winter]

what do you think about how everyone just started shipping whiskey and kent?

TBH, it was the least surprising thing ever to me. When there are two characters that a part of fandom feels were both separately screwed over by the creator, the natural solution to their fans is to have them find happiness with each other. I’ve seen it happen in fandom after fandom, and the fans’ tenacity in wanting to give two unfairly treated characters a happy ending always makes me smile. 

Personally, I don’t get two much out of the pairing, and I sort of like the idea that Kent shows up in one of his fancy sports cars and whisks Whiskey off to the Aces and becomes his mentor/big brother figure. But the ship is fine by me, and I honestly just like to see people having fun with the characters. 

Plus, I really hated Whiskey’s canon ending as the lying and cheating bisexual who’s closeted and miserable and stays closeted and miserable (and is yet another queer character who mysteriously doesn’t get the same unyielding support from SMH that Jack and Bitty. Hmm). So any alternate fanon ending where Whiskey gets to live his best life earns a hearty thumb’s up from me.

#connor whisk #kent parson #omgcheckpleasecritical #omgcheckplease #parse positive #Anonymous

[maeve-of-winter]

Okay, so while I dislike Kent’s ending on so, so many levels, I’m actively squicked by the implication that Jack was allowed to have anxiety and issues during his time in Juniors Hockey (which we know he did, especially in regard to living up to his dad’s hockey legacy), but that Kent wasn’t, and that Kent was somehow responsible for managing Jack’s anxiety/mental health.

I’ve been reading Crossing the Line: Violence and Sexual Assault in Canada's National Sport by Laura Robinson, which is a book that examines the toxic masculinity and rape culture within Juniors Hockey, where Kent and Jack were playing. It is a deeply troubled system that allows vast power disparities between coaches and players, fails to prevent extreme hazing even when there’s express bylaws against it, is ripe for giving predators continued and unhindered access to victims, and is overwhelmed by the idea that women exist to be used by men, mistreated, and then unceremoniously disposed of, and that women who try to speak out about sexual assault are “attention-seeking troublemakers.” 

And above all, there is a prevailing attitude of homophobia--that not living up to traditional masculine standards and breaking from the group in any way is a betrayal of the team and hockey itself.

However, Kent’s story arc ends on the conclusion that he was at fault for Jack’s anxiety during this era--him and no one else, because he was involved with Jack and therefore should have been looking out for him. (Even though they were only hooking up a few times and not officially together, if we go by Jack’s final word on the matter. Somehow, Kent is still responsible.)

Think about that for a moment. The pressures of Junior Hockey, with all of its homophobia, misogyny, and hazing, and their effect on a queer teenager with anxiety, somehow aren’t the responsibility of the straight white men who built and maintained that culture. It’s not the fault of the coaches who turn a blind eye to hazing or seek to enable it. It’s not the fault of a system that allow flagrant homophobia to run unchecked. It’s not even the fault of Bad Bob, who knows what the Junior Hockey system is like but is never shown objecting to or even worrying about Jack’s participation.

Instead, all of the blame for Jack’s issues is passed onto Kent, another queer teenager who was just as helpless to stop the system they were a part of as Jack was. Check Please, for all that it’s praised for fighting against toxic masculinity in sports, ultimately decided that toxic masculinity wasn’t the problem--but that a young closeted queer man was, for not being as supportive of a friend (or rather, as supportive of an occasional hookup) to Jack as he should have been.

#Kent parson #omgcheckpleasecritical #check please #parse positive

[maeve-of-winter]

hi this is v random and v stupid but it won’t leave my head and i wanted to tell someone, So: late-series bitty gives me big tradwife vibes aldksk

OMG, anon, I LOLed when I read this. I don’t know if I’d necessarily go that far with it, but I do wonder how much he’d judge other WAGs if they weren’t as into cooking and baking and packing lunches for their boyfriends/husbands like he does for Jack. One of my fics has Alicia running low on patience for him because he keeps trying to talk baking with her and being aghast at her having a holiday dinner catered instead of doing it herself, when she has no interest in either.

One headcanon I’ve had for a while is that Bitty ends up rubbing a few of the Falcs WAGs the wrong way because they’re not as accepting to his habit of walking in and making changes to plans/traditions as he deems best as the Haus residents begrudgingly were. I generally think there would be one or two more patient WAGs who’d step in and smooth things over for him before any drama got too out of hand, but I definitely can see Bitty ruffling a few feathers.

#omgcheckplease #eric bittle #my headcanons #my asks #omgcheckpleasecritical

[maeve-of-winter]

I stopped reading omgcp a while ago, but Kent was always my favorite. Can you tell me what the update about him was? I don't want to slog through the rest of it to find it.

Sorry it took so long to respond to this anon, but I really appreciate the ask. I’m going to give a summary of what actually happens in canon in Kent’s ending, and then a short breakdown of why I dislike it.

This turned into a lengthy post and a collection of what I’m sure is only a fraction of the retcons surrounding Kent’s character, so I apologize for that.

If there’s one takeaway to understand from this ending, it’s that this ending really isn’t about Kent or for Kent’s fans, and I’ll explain below.

The canon ending:

—Bitty is taking out the trash at the Haus one night after a kegster when Kent unexpectedly pops up, dressed like every one-off drug addict character ever seen on any crime drama ever. He says he didn’t know how to contact Bitty (I guess Bitty’s Twitter and Facebook must still be on lockdown at this point? Can anyone confirm?), hence why he appears out of the blue. He says he wants to talk.

Note: Kent mentions here that he’s been getting kegster invites from Ransom for years now. It’s unclear why he didn’t try to contact Ransom to get Bitty’s contact info, but that’s really just a nitpick.

—Kent says he wants to wish Bitty good luck in the playoffs (which I guess he’s been following?) and to wish him good luck with Jack. Bitty responds by inviting him in for pie.

—Kent proceeds to try Bitty’s pie and gush about it at length, like every character in the comic has at this point. Actual quote: “Oh my God. Oh my fucking God. This is. Wow. Jesus. Thank you.”

—Kent mentions again he really does want to wish Bitty good luck, and then mentions Jack and wanting to tell him something.

—Bitty asks if Kent would apologize to Jack. Kent seems surprised and says no, but then he says maybe. He brings up the last time they talked, and specifically points out the last time he and Jack spoke and comments, “Not like I said anything terrible.”

—Bitty informs Kent that he was there and confronts Kent about how he treated Jack. At this point, there’s yet another retcon, this time more subtle, about what Kent said.

4.19 version:

Parse Part III (2.09) version:

Note: No mention is made in 4.19 about anything the could be interpreted positively or sympathetically about Kent’s conversation with Jack, including his offer to Jack about freeing up cap space on the Aces so that Jack can be a part of the team [basically that means trading away current Aces players to make room for Jack’s salary], telling Jack repeatedly that he misses him, expressing frustration that Jack shut him out, or telling Jack that he and others still care about him even if Jack thinks of himself as worthless. More on that last part here.

—Kent looks defeated and responds that there was no excuse for what he said, and follows up by saying he’s sorry that Bitty had to hear what he said and also expresses that he’s sorry for saying it at all.

—In the next part, Kent explains his thoughts. Actual quote: “When Jack left hockey, it sucked. And...yeah, he shut me out of his life. But he was taking care of himself. The shit I was doing at eighteen, as a rookie, in the league...wasn't good for him. And if he thinks he owes me an apology for that, he doesn't. I made it about me. But at this point, trying to say all that to him, yeah, that'd still be more for me than for him, you know? He's way, way past...Zimms has done so much for himself...It might sound weird, but I'm proud of Zimms. Even though I was shit to him. I'm proud he's moved on in a big way. He's a great player and Jesus....I'm twenty-six and our shit was forever ago."

Note: Kent unequivocally stating that Jack doesn’t owe him any apologies is a direct narrative retcon of this panel from 2.10.

Second note: Many fans speculated Jack completely cut off all contact with Kent after his overdose when Kent went ahead into the NHL as Jack took time to recover. Kent’s statement in 4.19 is explicit canon confirmation.

—Bitty responds that they were both kids at the time. Kent dismisses that notion in regard to himself. Actual quote: “"Yeah, but Jack grew up. And seeing you guys together? That center ice kiss? Holding the cup? Listen, when I said I came here to tell you good luck, I meant it. That's why I came here, because the more things work out for you, being out and stuff...you know? The more things could work out for everyone else. You guys are doing good stuff. So thank you for that."  

—Kent follows this up by effusively complimenting Bitty’s pie again and telling him he should open a bakery.

—Kent goes to leave and finds Scraps (the one other named Aces player besides Carl) hanging out with Ford and Tango. Scraps was helping them both clean up. It’s unclear if Kent is actually out to Scraps at this point.

—Kent thanks Bitty for the pie again, wishes him luck, and then leaves.

—Also, as an extra, Ngozi responded to an ask about “What’s Kent been up to?” with another drawing of Kent with Bitty’s pie and paying thousands of dollars for it because he loves it so much.

Link here.

My thoughts:

     1. It’s been said before, but this scene taking place between Kent and Bitty is utterly bizarre. These two characters have no history together to make this conversation compelling or meaningful. They’ve never even spoken a word to each other on page before. Additionally, Kent is a closeted NHL player whose career could be destroyed with this information, and so he’s used to keeping his emotions in check. His decision to have this conversation with a stranger at all severely stretches the willing suspension of disbelief and makes it clear that this conversation isn’t occurring because it’s a natural decision for the characters, but for narrative convenience. 

And when you factor in the part about Kent being Jack’s ex-boyfriend who was seemingly in love with him for years after their relationship ended painfully for them both, and that he’s having this heart-to-heart with Jack’s new boyfriend, it shatters the willing suspension of disbelief into a million tiny pieces. Why would Kent want to talk about his baggage with Jack to Jack’s new BF who he’s never spoken to before? There’s no real reason for it. It only happens because Ngozi wanted to have Kent apologize to Bitty regardless of how weird or illogical the scenario for them to talk. And so that’s what happens, even if it’s utterly absurd.

     2. This ending really goes out of its way to paint Kent in a negative light as possible while still having Bitty be the righteous but charitable arbitrator of what’s Good and Decent behavior.

Notice that Bitty offers up an excuse for Kent’s behavior: “Y’all were kids.”

But the narrative makes it clear that the audience is not meant to excuse Kent’s behavior, as Kent then rejects that excuse and shoulders responsibility: “Yeah, but Jack grew up.” (Implying here that Kent did not.) “And seeing you guys together? That center ice kiss, holding the Cup? . . . Listen, when I said I came here to tell you good luck, I meant it. Because the more things work out for you, being out and stuff . . . you know? The more things could work out for everyone else. So thank you for that.”

And I know that as an audience, we’re meant to nod our heads in agreement with Kent and be like, “Yes, what he said was beyond the pale, good for him for admitting it, and good for him for admitting that it was perfectly fine for Jack to spend years refusing all contact with him.” But I’m definitely not nodding in agreement, and the narrative’s refusal to allow this justification really bothers me, because Bitty is right: they were kids. Jack and Kent were kids of the same age and in almost identical situations. So why is it that Jack gets a free pass for his bad decisions while Kent doesn’t?

The answer is, of course, to pacify the section of fandom that really, really wanted to see Kent come crawling back and beg for forgiveness or “get called out”, but that really isn’t any kind of satisfying answer within the story itself.

Simply put, everything about the situation and the dialogue goes to great lengths to paint Kent as the one in the wrong who’s now doing the right thing at long last by shouldering responsibility, all while simultaneously playing down any culpability Jack might hold for the tensions between the two of them.  It is the “Kent Was Wrong” show, and it’s being aired because a certain portion of the fanbase thinks that Kent is villain who needs to repent for all of all of the terrible crimes against Jack and Bitty that he has committed, while Jack is an innocent smol bean who has never done anything wrong in his life.

From 1.05.

However, I will point out that while the 4.19 accomplishes that specific goal, it also fails in the area of character development. Because the narrative works so hard to make it known that Jack is completely blameless, Kent, a minor character whose appearance here in 4.19 marks only the fourth time he appears in canon proper, ultimately winds up growing more as a person than Jack. As much as I dislike his ending, Kent is someone who can admit when he’s done wrong and apologize for it. Jack, to date, has never apologized for how he treated Bitty during the latter’s freshman years. At the end of the day, Kent’s refusal to accept any excuses for his behavior, even the ones that are reasonable and justified, paints him as a more mature individual than Jack.

     3. It’s impossible to ignore the equivalency of Jack and Bitty publicly kissing and coming out with “growing up” and implying that Kent’s decision to remain closeted is therefore immature. This bugs me for several reasons, which I’ll explain below.

The NHL is a highly homophobic environment, as is juniors hockey, where Kent and Jack met and became romantically involved. There’s recently been a lot of discussion on these points from former NHL players Akim Aliu and Dan Carcillo. Conformity is perceived as commitment to the team, and being different or even showing off too much is frowned upon and criticized. RL NHL players like Alex Ovechkin have been criticized for celebrating too much after scoring a goal, and just to show you how extreme it can get, player PK Subban faced ongoing tensions within his then-team the Canadiens because he opted to start his own personal charity for the Montreal Children’s Hospital rather than use the team’s established program. The incident is actually speculated to be a factor in the reasons for his trade to Nashville. That’s right; conformity is so valued that players are criticized for giving to charity the wrong way.  

So, yes, Kent’s growth is very likely to be stunted because he’s coping in such a highly pressurized homophobic environment, dealing with at least one homophobic teammate. Yes, he has chosen his environment insofar as joining and continuing with the NHL, but he didn’t specifically chose its homophobic and toxic culture. And it’s worth mentioning that he’s being contrasted with Jack, a character who took several years off from hockey following a drug overdose, attended an LGBTQ-friendly liberal arts school for four years where he could find himself and grow comfortable with his sexuality and build a strong support network, and then landed on an NHL team where every member was miraculously accepting and not homophobic.

Of course Kent is going to look immature in comparison to Jack if you compare them that way. Kent has been locked into a culture of toxic masculinity and homophobia since he was a teenager and forced to be closeted so he could have a career. And why should he have thought differently? He was being exposed to homophobia on his team, which would have cemented his fears of not belonging in hockey or having a place on his team if he came out as gay.

Meanwhile, with every Falc unfailingly supportive of Jack and Bitty, Jack really had nothing to fear. Honestly, from the way the story develops, it seems as though Bitty’s life was made more difficult by their post-Cup kiss, rather than Jack, who is the celebrity athlete, and, according to canon, the first gay athlete in the history of pro sports.

So while Kent (and canon) might continually praise Jack for growing up and coming out, Jack had far more time to become comfortable with himself and the idea of being openly gay, given that he’s had Samwell as a safe haven for years and multiple close friends he trusts. Kent hasn’t had either of those things. Of course he’s not ready to come out like Jack and Bitty—after all, he’s not out, and he ends up having to listen to Carl’s mockery of queer individuals. And yet, canon would have us think that this decision means he’s not “grown up” like Jack is. So Kent essentially ends up being implied to be immature for . . . being afraid of the homophobia that he already experiences.

From 3.16.

Also, I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: it’s never sat quite right with me that Jack and Bitty both gets teams that are unfailingly supportive of their sexualities and relationship, while Kent isn’t even out as gay but is stuck dealing with open homphobia from a teammate and has no known support system. Almost as if canon is okay with protecting its main gay couple from homophobia while pushing the struggle against homophobia onto a gay minor character, all while proceeding to put the main couple on a pedestal for “growing up”. I don’t care if Ngozi told us not to worry about it; it really annoys me that no one on the Falcs or SMH is homophobic, but at least one person on the Aces is, and we’re supposed to be okay with it. After all, Ngozi herself told us: “Okay, first of all, ignore Carl”, as if homophobia is something that queer people can totally dismiss and forget about.

Link here.

So, as far as the OMGCP narrative is concerned, homophobia is meant to be something that’s should be easily shrugged off and ignored, and being afraid of it and unwilling to deal with it means that you’re immature and not ready to “grow up” in the way that openly gay individuals have already chosen to. 

     4. The implication that Kent was wrong to be bitter or upset about Jack cutting him off.

This is a fairly simple one, and one where the characterization does an exceptional job at refusing to admit normal behavior. It is perfectly fine for Kent to be upset and hurt that Jack ghosted him. Canon has him accepting all of the blame and saying that he was wrong to not want to let Jack go, but let’s examine the scenario. 

You’re dating a guy for several months and then he abruptly overdoses in a deliberate suicide attempt right before the jump-start to both your futures. You’re forced to abruptly move away to begin your new life without any real closure from the incident, so you’re left hurt and traumatized and wondering if you could have done anything to stop him. You try to reach out to him so you can heal, only for every attempt to be rejected. This behavior and your attempts continue for years. Now, even if you decide to move on, are you going to think fondly of this guy going forward? Or are you going to be hurt and confused and questioning your entire relationship and what you could have done differently whenever you think back about him?

Jack did not overdose in a vacuum. This is not an incident that had zero effect on Kent. And yet, canon seems to want us to think that this highly emotional and traumatic event should have washed right over Kent and that he chose to bear a grudge against Jack due to, like, petty vindictiveness or something. When the real issue is that Jack deliberately refused to give Kent any closure over the incident. And if that’s the case, if Jack is just refusing to speak to Kent over and over, why shouldn’t Kent feel bitterness towards him? Maybe Kent honestly wants to give Jack up and get over him, but needs this resolution to move on, and can’t get anywhere without it. Maybe he’s still hurting from watching Jack almost die. Whatever the reason, Kent being upset with Jack is only human.

     5. Finally, the complete lack of acknowledgement from Bitty or Kent regarding Kent’s individual accomplishments. It’s less obvious than the rest of what’s on page, but I find that this omission speaks the most strongly out of everything that this ending is written by someone who doesn’t really like Kent, specifically for people who don’t like Kent.

Kent was introduced with a multitude of accomplishments. Thirty-one game point streak, one of the best players in the sport, a recent hat trick (three goals) during a game, which earns him congratulations from Holster for it. And he’s not arrogant about his accomplishments—Shitty refers to him as a “modest bro”. Additionally, even though Kent is only at the Haus to see Jack, he still takes the time to take pictures with various Samwell hockey team members.

From 2.08

From Notes on 2.08.

But glaringly, none of these positive qualities are found here. Instead, all Kent does is compliment Jack on growing up, compliment Bitty on his pie, wish them both luck, and apologize to Bitty (for his treatment of Jack). There’s no mention of what’s going on in Kent’s life, no compliments about his hockey or mentions of any recent milestones he’s reached. There’s no exchange of praise between him and Bitty, even though there easily could. Just as an example, one of the many lines where Kent is gushing over Bitty’s pie could have easily led to a response from Bitty congratulating Kent for reaching the five hundredth goal of his career or something similar. 

Or Bitty could have wished him luck at his next game—maybe the Aces are up against their division rivals, maybe they’re up against the top team of another conference. But there’s no mention of anything that has to do with Kent’s present or future, and that’s because this ending really isn’t about Kent or for Kent’s fans. It’s written for Jack/Bitty fans who think Kent is mean or abusive and really wanted this scene of Kent groveling to Jack and/or Bitty. Why else would Jack be absolved of all responsibility for treating Kent badly for years while Kent is left shouldering the blame?

Kent might appear in this chapter, but what we get isn’t actually Kent. This appearance is Kent being used as a device to state information to the audience instead of using interesting and emotional storytelling. We are being told via Kent yet again how Jack is a flawless cinnamon roll, that Jack is oh-so-noble, that Jack and Bitty are brave, that Jack and Bitty are special, and that Bitty’s pies are unnaturally wonderful. And that’s nothing we haven’t seen before.

We ostensibly got an ending for Kent Parson in this chapter. It was just an ending written with a certain audience in mind, and that audience wasn’t people who actually like the character or wanted better for him.

#kent parson #Anonymous #my asks #parse positive #omgcheckpleasecritical #check please #kent parson ending

[maeve-of-winter]

I feel like I’m going insane, did Kent actually have a kitchen scene with Jack and Bitty? I thought he appeared last after the cup with with scraps etc at the pub watching the game.

I’m so desperate for Parse updates I’d even take a short panel!

(I already answered this privately, but I’m going to answer publicly just in case anyone out there doesn’t know about 4.19.)

Yeah, Parse did have a scene where he dropped by the Haus and ate pie with pie. I did a full recap and analysis here, in case anyone wants to read it. I also have a link to the scans, since it’s not publicly posted online, so if anyone wants to see it, feel free to DM me. 

As someone who really likes Parse, the scene with him and Bitty just felt like a culmination of every “Parse grovels to Jack and Bitty for forgiveness” fic ever, but the two bright spots are that we see that Scraps and Parse are still friends, and that Ransom is still sending Parse updates about Haus parties. 

But the part where Kent says out loud that “If [Jack] thinks he owes me an apology, he doesn’t” sort of negates anything about this ending that could be considered good for Parse or his fans, IMHO.

#kent parson #parse positive #omgcheckplease #omgcheckpleasecritical #jack zimmermann #pimms #csrogers

[maeve-of-winter]

I know it’s already been said that Kent’s ending doesn’t really work because it doesn’t make sense that he has his final conversation with Bitty instead of Jack, but can we just lay out the facts for a moment?

(Note: This post contains discussions of Kent’s ending in 4.19)

Kent Parson is:

- A celebrity whose image is very important to his team and fanbase

- A closeted queer man in an extraordinarily homophobic sport

- Someone who has been keeping his now-past relationship with Jack under wraps since they were 16-18-year-olds and is still keeping it a secret at age 26

- An ex of Jack’s who never really got over him because Jack decided to ghost him when they were 18-19 years old, and still had feelings for him 5+ years later at EpiKegster

- Not personally out to Bitty

To Kent, Bitty is:

- A random college hockey player he took a photo with at a keg party once

- Jack’s current boyfriend who came out of the closet

So, with all of this in mind . . . Kent chooses to disclose the details of his extremely tumultuous and painful past relationship with his ex boyfriend, who he seemed to still carry feelings for up to at least a little over a year ago, to the current boyfriend of said ex? When the current boyfriend is a some college kid he met once? When Kent’s past with Jack has been stated in canon to be scrunitinized, and when Kent is accustomed to living life as a celebrity, NHL captain, and one of the top players in the history of the sport (his point streak), and therefore is used to not disclosing insanely personal details to virtual strangers?

I mean, I totally get narrative convenience? But like. Come on.

#Kent parson #omgcheckpleasecritical #parse positive #check please #pimms

[maeve-of-winter]

When avoidance and repression are your unhealthy coping mechanisms, ignoring people from your past bc they remind you of painful stuff is the worst thing you can do, not just to them but to yourself. Parse talking to Jack's boyfriend doesn't feel like an ending, it feels like fanservice to the Bitty fandom which leaves anyone who actually cares about Parse and/or Jack hanging.

“Fanservice” is exactly the word. Parse’s ending feels very pandering and like it was invented specifically to give a specific segment of fans what they wanted to see, regardless of it made sense for the story.

You also hit the nail on the head by mentioning Jack’s methods of avoidance and repression. At the end of the day, it doesn’t seem like HE ever really reconciled with his past with Kent or any of the issues alluded to with his dad. It’s very weird, because Jack’s one of the two main characters, but in the end, it seems like Kent overcame his issues (even if I didn’t like how it played out), while all of Jack’s issues disappeared offscreen? And the way they never got mentioned again really does make me wonder, from a Watsonian perspective, if Jack ever truly reconciled with the problems that landed him at Samwell in the first place.

#kent parson #jack zimmermann #pimms #omgcheckpleasecritical #omgcheckplease

[maeve-of-winter]

Kent Parson changing his mind that he now likes Bitty’s pie is not character growth or development, and only exists because I guess the Check Please universe would cease to exist if someone wasn’t in love with Bitty’s pie.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

#Kent parson #omgcheckpleasecritical #check please

[maeve-of-winter]

Because it bothers me: What Kent is quoted as saying in the 4.19 chapter isn’t what he actually said it the actual Parse Part III comic.

I guess it’s similar enough in actual words, but the sentiment is quite different. This line in Parse Part III always struck me as important:

Kent: “You know what, Zimmermann? You think you’re too messed up to care about? That you’re not good enough? Everyone already knows what you are but it’s people like me who still care.”

I always see this line misquoted as Kent trying to manipulate Jack by saying he’s the only one who cares about him. And I always think that’s blatantly untrue, because Kent clearly says here that multiple--not just him!--still care about Jack.

Personally, I’ve always read this line as Kent saying that no matter how flawed Jack thinks he is, Jack will still always have people to care about him, Kent among them. I think he’s angry when he says it, that he’s exasperated and fed up with Jack (because, like, Jack’s been ghosting him for years at this point), but I do think he’s sincere when he says he cares.

This line is a little bit different, though:

Kent: “You’re scared everyone else is going to find out you’re worthless, right? Oh, don’t worry, just give it a few seasons, Jack. Trust me.”

This is the line that most people treat as utterly indefensible, and the one that canon deliberately misquotes. And let’s break that down.

Kent didn’t say, “Jack, you’re a worthless human being.” He didn’t even outright call Jack himself worthless. He insinuates it, playing on Jack’s insecurities, but I think it’s important to remember that he didn’t actually call Jack worthless to his face, as 4.19 tries to present him as doing.

In fact, Kent’s deliberate mention of “seasons” instead of “time” or “years” almost makes it sound that he’s talking about Jack’s hockey, not Jack himself. he sounds more like he doubts Jack’s ability as a player, not as a person. 

But let’s look into this further. Right before their rookie season in the NHL, Jack ODed and ghosted Kent. 4.19 makes it clear that he didn’t respond to Kent’s attempts to contact him. And Kent dealt with this treatment for several seasons in a row. It’s his sixth season when he’s having this conversation with Jack.

This is more my inferences than anything else, but I think that when Kent is talking about Jack proving himself to be worthless after a few seasons, I think he’s referring to Jack’s behavior as a friend and boyfriend. He’s already mentioned “people who still care” about Jack, and he’s been dealing with Jack’s cold shoulder for years now. So, while I don’t think it was intended to be read this way, I think Kent was reacting to Jack’s poor treatment of him and saying that once Jack begins treating his new teammates the same way, everyone will know exactly what type of man he is.

And while that is just my interpretation, I think it’s important to remember that going by 4.19 canon, Jack has been refusing contact with Kent for a long time by the time of December 2014, when Parse Part III takes place. Possibly since June 2009, when Jack’s OD took place, which would be more than five years. Five years of Jack ghosting Parse and rejecting Parse when he tries to help him, five years of Kent, alone in the NHL, struggling with his sexuality and the hurt and trauma of his then-boyfriend’s suicide attempt. Even if Kent was fully insinuating that Jack was worthless . . . is his anger really totally unjustifiable after what Jack left him to struggle with? Honestly, I don’t think that it is.

(Also, Bitty, yeah, duh, Kent knows Jack tried to kill himself. Because Jack tried to kill himself while dating Kent and then ghosted Kent for years, as confirmed by 4.19 itself. This is not news to Kent. He had to deal with his boyfriend trying to kill himself and then never responding when Kent tried to reach out. He’s been dealing with that, by himself, for years now.)

#kent parson #parsepositive #omgcheckpleasecritical

[maeve-of-winter]

As someone who likes Parse but can relate to Jack the most out of the whole cast whether I like it or not, I really needed them to actually talk and have closure. Both of them. I lost my hs best friend in similar circumstances, and seeing her around is painful to this day bc it reminds me that I never had That Conversation with her. I never apologized to her or even attempted to explain why I was in a bad place back then.

I’m sorry about the situation with your friend, anon. That sounds rough, and I hope you’re doing okay. ❤️

I agree that closure is important for both parties of a situation so that they can move on and don’t have to keep looking back at the past. I know that 4.19 establishes that Kent doesn’t think Jack owes him any apologies or that he should feel guilty for the situation, and I know we’re supposed to think Jack has no reason to feel guilty.

But it’s odd to me, because 4.19 also establishes that Jack did actually ghost Kent and prevented him from getting closure. So the result ends up being that Jack ghosted a friend/boyfriend, but doesn’t feel guilty at all for it, and that the narrative doesn’t think he should apologize, either. And unintentionally or not, that particular retcon adds an unpleasant element to Jack’s character: he’s okay with hurting people and walking away, and that he doesn’t worry or feel bad about the situation anymore. And that really doesn’t sound like a particularly likeable person. But it makes sense with how Jack shut Kent out: Kent needs closure, but Jack doesn’t see the need for it, so he cuts Kent off and doesn’t see a point to maintaining contact because he can’t quite comprehend the emotions driving Kent.

It ends up being a strange final situation between Kent and Jack, because I honestly think if there had been follow-through on Jack’s line about how they “both owe each a lot of apologies”, Jack would look a lot more mature than he’d been when he started out. If he was able to apologize, that would mean he was finally able to both acknowledge and accept his history with Kent and also move past Kent, and his character arc would seem more complete.

#kent parson #parse positive #jack zimmermann #omgcheckplease #omgcheckpleasecritical