#when a season has some bs childhood flashbacks

[fyeahvarchie]

KJ APA as ARCHIE ANDREWS ↳ 6x22 - Night of the Comet

#archie andrews #archieandrewsedit #kj apa #kjapaedit #dailyrivermale #riverdaleedit #riverdale #622 #may we never have to witness such awful haircut #ever again #used to think s4 was bad #but god was only preparing me for s6 #when a season has some bs childhood flashbacks #that's when you know

[vanveronicango]

if you don't mind me asking, what aspects of s2 did you dislike? bc for me, although i liked it a lot better than s1 (mainly for the increased focus on sibling dynamic scenes). i also kind of realized that it had kind of a Lot going on, that although i appreciated, didn't get enough equal attention? idk

i agree that the dynamic scenes this season were pretty great. we got some great interactions between characters that didn’t have much last season (personal fave being klaus/allison/vanya and every individual combo in that trio). 

i personally love reading other peoples’ opinions on shows/movies, even if they don’t match my own, because a lot of the time they open my eyes to some stuff i haven’t seen, and i love to see work affecting others the same way it does me, even if it has a different outcome. 

so, i know  i said i wouldn’t, but since you asked, under the cut i’m going list out some of the stuff i wasn’t a huge fan of, and some of the stuff i really liked. 

(edit warning: this shit is LONG. but please don’t take this as me absolutely hating the season - I didn’t. there was some genuinely enjoyable stuff. but, in my opinion, it didn’t have the spark and intent that s1 did. it wasn’t the caliber of the season i fell in love with. i think it’s still rewatchable though, unlike a certain godawful season of a certain hit netflix show...... coughstrangerthings3cough)

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE

1. not enough characterization/development in most of the characters (this will be the longest point, so I’ll get it out of the way first) - for one, the siblings - save maybe vanya & allison - really... did not develop much this season, and weren’t explored as heavily as in the first season. hell, even in vanya and allison’s cases, i still think s1 did a better job at delving into their characters and psyche, even though they still had a bit of it in s2. but especially in the other siblings cases, i feel like SO MUCH of this season leaned into trivial things the fans liked, that it either (at least) took time away from or (at worst) was an active detriment to the characters’ development and plots. they said oh you like banter? we’ll give you unnecessary arguing and jokes that go on for 20 minutes too long when we could be delving deeper into these interesting situations we saw on the surface. here’s some fart jokes and forgettable music when we could be seeing more of how these characters are coping with the literal end of the world/being sent back in time/facing the prospect of never seeing their families again. 

in s1, we got luther’s immense internal struggles in living up to his “name” and only existing to please his father... diego finding his relationships through his jaded nature towards his siblings and himself, and grappling with feelings of inferiority... allison’s coping with the effects her powers have had on her life, and trying to become someone without rumoring everything into existence, which is a new feeling altogether that she isn’t quite sure how to cope with... klaus going through intense development as a simultaneously self-obsessed and self-destructive drug addict that gets thrown into a gruesome war for a year, only to watch the person he loves most die, grappling with his ptsd from war & his abusive childhood, and discovering new powers... five coming back home after decades of solitude and then being used as a weapon, trying to reestablish himself within the group while dealing with an eating feeling that he doesn’t belong in his body or in this group.... vanya, oh vanya, with her depression, anxiety, feelings of loneliness and betrayal, feeling invisible and utterly ordinary, gripping to whoever makes her feel special (and dealing with that fallout) before suddenly being slammed with unbelievably powerful abilities that she can’t control.

in s2... yes, we get lesbian!vanya who becomes truer to herself, and - through intense struggle - finds a way to harness her abilities so she isn’t so out of control and can finally feel extraordinary herself. but much of the latter was given up for a vast majority of the season bc she literally didn’t know who she was (there was a positive in that though, which i’ll list in my positives list), and so we lost a LOT of potential coping and learning time, which easily could have mingled with her sissy storyline! allison’s storyline i actually dug, i don’t have too much gripe with it except that i wish her throat injury didn’t just kind of magically heal, and they could’ve addressed it more. the end of ben’s story was interesting, but still lacked depth imo. as for the other siblings.... it all just felt like a TON of jokes that were funny at first, but quickly became stale and had me wishing they would take the story a bit deeper. that said, a lot of the gags, jokes, and quips were great, but they could’ve been incorporated WAY more intelligently, and allowed for characterization at the same time. loads and loads of banter, not being balanced with poignancy like s1 did very well.

we could have seen luther’s descent into the criminal underworld, and why he felt the draw and obligation to go that route. a more detailed look at klaus’ beginnings and relationship with the cult, his motivations (which s2 kept super shallow), more of diego’s life inside the asylum and even beforehand. but no, we got five and old five farting.

2. the music - man, the s1 soundtrack was iconic, was it not? effortlessly cool scene/music combos, countless iconic music moments, brilliantly and thoughtfully done. this season felt like they said “music? oh ok throw music EVERYWHERE” and it was just. not. good. instead of music that intertwined with each scene like it was a character itself, amplifying the tone and adding a new layer (like in s1), the music this season was mostly just distracting, forgettable, and felt like they were this close to just making a bunch of music videos. i even found myself hating a couple of their choices (the rest i just kinda... forgot). i did like the vanya/allison/klaus dance scene, but other than that.... eugh.

3. the handler - I HATE. HATE HATE HATE. when shows/movie franchises do shit like make a big deal of killing off a villain or lead and then just being like “hehe jk uwu” and bringing them back with some totally bs reason that they lived. a metal plate? really? and she magically awoke... how long after? not to mention how unbelievably lazy and lame it is. they could’ve done so much more with carmichael and the swedes, but they had to bring back... the villain we already had? don’t get me wrong, i LOVEEE kate walsh, but come on. it’s season 2. give us something fresh.

4. the swedes - in s1, cha cha and hazel had personalities, wants, desires that were all explored. we knew their motivations, their doubts, their fears. we liked to watch them. then the writers threw in the swedes... who were completely devoid of any and all characterization (they could’ve gone in my #1 point too heyo), personality, backstory, anything. it was so painful that when each one died, it was clear that we were supposed to feel something for the others, but did any of you really feel anything? no. because we didn’t know these characters at all. they were walking guns, pretty much. nothing substantial.

5. ben & klaus - being someone who loves these two characters so, so much (hellloooo, my old url?), this one breaks my heart. i was so unbelievably disappointed with them this season. all either of them were was horrible to the other. in klaus’ case, he just decided to keep ben’s presence a secret, not even telling the group ben loved them, or that he was there. he called him his ghost bitch, he used him as a personal pet, he lacked sympathy or compassion. we saw a glimmer of hope when he allowed ben to possess him, but that’s where ben’s issues start. seriously, possessing your brother past his breaking point, fighting him out of his own bodily autonomy, until he is in a state of complete exhaution? then saying he “regrets nothing”? and then the show playing it off as ~comedy~ bc that’s almost all they cared about this season... no... there was nothing in their relationship this season that compared to last’s. no moments of tough brotherly love, where ben tries to help klaus through his drug/alcohol desires or ptsd flashbacks, no moments of teamwork (besides the brief moments of consenting possession before that was ruined), no tender moments between brothers in general. all just REALLY FUCKING LOUD “comedy”, anger, resentment, bickering, and cruelty, all played for laughs. not about it son

6. “we’re not blood related!” - and, once again, getting played for laughs... for a show that became uncomfortably self-aware with trivial fan desires (but not the deeper stuff...), they sure do lack a lot of common sense of realizing what we don’t want

7. hazel (& agnes) - they went through the trouble of saving hazel and agnes just to have agnes die off-screen before the season started, and for hazel to die five minutes into his only appearance? lame. lame lame lame.

8. plot pace - i don’t really recall any moments in s1 that i thought “this scene doesn’t need to be here”, “this is moving so slowly”, or “this is being really rushed”. there was plenty of all three of those in s2. s1 was constant, everything was either towards the main goal or was filled with private and fascinating character moments. i love just watching characters live and do their thing if it’s done properly... but those scenes this season really weren’t very entertaining (save one or two), didn’t really seem to serve a purpose or hold weight, and didn’t give us any character insight.

9. klaus - the reason he’s listed specifically even after i mentioned him in the first point, was because of how personally saddened i was by his “arc”, if you could call it that. i know, him being my favorite (along with vanya) in s1 isn’t an original thought. but the writers, directors, and robert created a character so entertaining, charming, layered, and multi-faceted that it was hard not to fall in love with him. for all his goofiness, he then got a shit ton of characterization and development in the war, in dave, in his ptsd and discovering his power. his poignant moments were so powerful because of how different it was from his typical outward appearance. and fuck if he didn’t develop! this season, klaus felt... shallow. the cult stuff had no depth, no real reason to be there at all (the show really wouldn’t be much different without it, besides it being how five and allison found klaus), and it was kind of a throwaway point anyway, just another tool to get - shocker - more laughs. those touching, serious klaus scenes were completely absent in s2... he was just the ~quirky~ and/or ~high/drunk~ guy. there was literally no depth to his character at all this season. yeah, he crawled from behind the desk in e9.... and what else? nothing. robert did all he could this season, but something tells me even he was probably disappointed by just how one-dimensional klaus was. he was really no different at the end than he was at the beginning of the season, which is a no-no. 

10. klave - this is kind of an expansion of #9, but i was so disappointed by it that it needed its own spot. the only stuff that was supposed to be serious in klaus’ story - the klaus/dave stuff - was really not good. the moment the shopkeeper said “david?” in the store, i literally gasped bc i was so excited... but that was the last of any excitement i felt for the two, which, if you know me, is BONKERS considering how much i adore s1 klave. but this new young actor had ZERO chemistry with robert (fuck if rob wasn’t trying, though. it looked painful for him, but this guy really was just not well casted) (cody and rob were phenomenal together and had a fraction of the screentime this new actor had), and klaus being 30 and this actor/character being a kid was just... weird to watch. plus... so many white actors look the same, they really couldn’t find someone who looked like cody ray thompson? c’mon now ...... also, was there any point to it? at all? dave just wound up going anyway and there was literally no differences made in that situation. i think the writers thought they were catering to the audience by adding dave, but you need actors with chemistry (cody! cody!!!) and a good plot to do so.

11. s1 fallout - there really was none. that’s it. you’d think there’d be more after the explosions in the relationships of these siblings, but everything was just kind of glossed over.

12. sparrow academy - mostly here because... does this mean 7 more characters? meaning MORE time taken away from our og siblings, who already (mostly) didn’t develop well this season? i’m not gonna lie, i’m worried/

WHAT I LIKED

1. the chestnuts - i absolutely loved ray, loved allison, and loved their and their group’s work this season. the issue of race is so important all the time, but in the 60′s the tensions were so high and it would’ve been a joke if the show hadn’t addressed it or just kind of went with little racist remarks. these two had some of the most touching scenes of the season, and the sit-in scenes/every police scene had me incredibly anxious. that was well done, imo. which is proof that they still know how to do a good storyline, which makes me even more upset that the show was overall lacking that this season. i’m also so glad they didn’t go the “oh sry ray i still love luther’ route bc i literally don’t know if i would’ve kept watching. ANYWAYS im gonna miss ray sm :(

2. vanya & sissy - lesbian!vanya is all i want and more. vanya/sissy was all i want and more. these two, much like the chestnuts, breathed so much life into an often-dull season. so in love!!! vanya connecting with harlan even in just the most human ways!!! sissy finally standing up to carl (and carl d*ing god bless).... little found family oh my GOD!!! super devastated that sissy didn’t come back to the future with vanya, but because of harlan’s ending, something tells me we haven’t seen the last of them. oh and i am so conflicted about vanya’s amnesia, bc while i think so much more development could’ve happened without it, i also don’t think a lot of what happened with her and sissy could have happened, at least as quickly, if vanya was bogged down by guilt, anger, and lingering feelings of self-hatred and anxiety.

3. sibling dynamics - okay, this one is a contradiction, kinda sorta. i know i said the ben/klaus relationship was horrid. and i didn’t dig absolutely everything with all the siblings.... but they had some REALLY strong stuff this season. i know i’ve already mentioned it multiple times, but vanya/allison/klaus was everything to me this season. i knew i wanted klaus/vanya stuff happening, but adding allison to the mix gave it a whole new layer and they all just worked SO. DAMN. WELL. i just kind of wish it was vanya with her memories getting that bonding time, because i feel like the trio really could’ve gone in with how they all related to each other, their struggles, etc. but still, just some Happy Time was much appreciated. in addition to them, i really did dig a lot of almost every sibling dynamic this season. not every relationship got the attention it deserved, but it wasn’t too bad, it would be really hard to get all of that into 10 eps. plus, the fact that almost all of them grew so much closer was everyyyything. it’s odd, because good dynamics usually come with good development but uh..... nvm im keepin this section positive

4. the humor - another kind of contradiction, maybe. for some of the humor, i thought it went too long, was extremely heavy-handed, often took away from the plot, and some of it even degraded certain characters and situations (see examples throughout my points above). however, the stuff that didn’t fall into these categories was so, so good. some favorites: olga foroga, “think of batman, then aim lower”, “you look like antonio banderas with that hair” “thanks man”, i’m t h e  d a d d y  h e r e, “not everyone here likes you” “sounds ridiculous but go on”, klaus’ little pop culture quips to his cult, “being smart doesn’t make you interesting” “neither does that beard”, klaus calling ben to manifest and ben being like ”...nah”... there are plenty more, but these were the first i could think of in 60 seconds off the top of my head. some of it really was laugh out loud funny, which can be hard to do, especially consistently. if only they didn’t lean into it so damn hard, and put in WAY too much heavy-handed humor that it dampened the experience

5. old five - although i don’t love all of the stuff in the five/old five scenes, old five’s actor was fantastic! he got aidan’s mannerisms down really, really well. it’s always cool to see actors do that kind of thing when they play a character at a different age, or a character’s sibling, etc.

6. time period bigotry - i’m really, really glad they didn’t gloss over the intense racism and homophobia of the era. it was mostly brought up with allison, vanya, and klaus, and all three actors did a great job in their respective roles when expressing their reactions to the hatred. the scenes were really hard to watch, but well done.

7. pogo/grace/reggie - don’t get me wrong, i still hate reggie with a burning passion. but i actually found his scenes with these two really interesting, and it gave us great insight as to why pogo was always so loyal to reggie, and how grace was more than just a face on a robot to hargreeves. (which actually makes lack of development in our mains even more infuriating... they clearly knew to put some in there, where is it for the rest of the sibs who got nothing this season!!!)

alright, i’m gonna stop here. i’m sure i can think of more for each section, but i’ve been thinking this out and typing for an hour (holy shit) and it’s 2am and i need sleep xoxo

#anon #ask #tua2 #this is the most i've really sat and analyzed the season since it came out #feels good

[timeladyjamie]

Robin Hood - 3x10 Bad Blood Meta

Here’s another crazy Robin Hood meta by Jamie about her thoughts pertaining to the confusing and retcon mess that is episode 3x10 of BBC Robin Hood. 

Let me know your thoughts and I hope you enjoy my ramblings once again. 

“I’ll free you, free you from the bad blood that shackles you to each other.” - Malcolm of Locksley to Robin & Guy

Where do I begin with this? No honestly, I’m not sure exactly where to start. 

I guess I’ll start with the obvious fact that while most of the fandom dislikes Season 3 in general, this episode is only one of the things that fuels it more. You can tell that the writers were trying to come up with a Surprise Mcguffin™ to keep the show running despite a good majority of the cast wanting to leave the show (all except one honestly.) Hence the retcon mess that transpires. Don’t get me wrong, I actually love some things about this episode, but there are also somethings that make me (and the fandom) scratch our head and just downright facepalm. 

Follow me through the ride that is this episode and make sure you don’t forget about that Mcguffin. There is a pop quiz on it later. 

Welcome to the first episode where Guy has become an outlaw. What there is only 3 episodes of this before it’s the end? Yeah, I feel ya. We should have gotten more of this. Anywho, Robin runs into the newly outlaw Gisborne in the forest as the two do what they do best: argue and fight with each other. It leads to a strange hooded man in the forest who shoots them down with poison darts, ties them up, and tells them a bedtime story of their past once they awaken because he wants to end the bad blood between them.

Kay...sounds legit???

Flashback to 20 years earlier! 

We are introduced to a couple kissing. Oh, don’t worry, it’s just Ghislaine of Gisborne and Malcolm of Locksley having a secret affair with each other. WAIT, WHAT?! Guy and Robin sit around the campfire as Gisborne tells him of the fact he spotted this happening. The stranger reminds Robin he was once on a different path. In fact, Guy and Robin both were. 

This episode is pretty much about the affair between their parents and is mostly a flashback episode, so the only way I can explain it all is in the characters themselves.

Ghislaine of Gisborne - Guy & Isabella’s Mother

She’s a supposed widow who has two kids, is ridiculed by the villagers for not only trying to run a manor/village all on her own, but for also being French. 

I LOVE THIS PRECIOUS MAMA! FIGHT ME! Her two children idolize her and love very much and so does her husband. Ghislaine was one of my favorites from this episode because despite her affair, it only ended up happening because she thought her husband was dead and since women (yes, even noblewomen) didn’t have many rights, the only way to secure her children’s future was to have a husband. Did Ghislaine love Malcolm? Yeah, probably, but there is also no denying the fact that even when her husband returns back from the crusade alive and is discovered as a leper, she still dearly loves him. She even sneaks to the leper colony to feed him and make sure he is well. 

As for the way she dies....by pretty much getting knocked back by Malcolm and hitting her head on the floor, I can see it, but I still call BS. 

Ghislaine was greatly loved by children so much that even once they discover the truth about her affair, they try to deny she would be capable of such a thing.

Malcolm of Locksley - Robin’s Father

THIS ASSHOLE! With all the problems I have with this episode, they all stem from this man right here. Who knows what happened to his wife? She’s never even mentioned, but it’s assumed she passed away. He’s a somewhat good father to Robin...at least he gives him helpful advice. He helps support Ghislaine while her husband is gone. 

But once everything is out in the open about the Secret Mcguffin, this shitstick says that despite the fact her husband has returned, he will declare his feelings for her, marry her or else once it’s discovered her husband is a leper, she will lose everything. Ghislaine is obviously having trouble accepting this, so he says she will have their Secret Mcguffin in secret and have it taken away for a short while until they can recover it.

Once Roger is kicked from the village for being found as a leper, probably by the hands of Malcolm since he was with the priest and bailiff when it happened. However, after the event when Robin refuses to go inside a lepers house, Malcolm at least calls his kid out on his shit. He also tries to defend Ghislaine from the bailiff who has spotted out their Secret Mcguffin, but does a wrong move by trying to marry her soon or else she will lose her lands to sneaky bailiff that goes to take the deeds at his order. 

But here’s the cake taker for me: despite fighting Roger for breaking the code to visit his wife, Malcolm of Locksley fakes his own death and makes his son think he is dead for years until he shows up to tell him this very story. Yep, the strange hooded man is none other than Malcolm of Locksley himself, much older and scared by the fire during his fight with Roger. Oh, and he only appears in this one episode to unite Guy and Robin to find the Mcguffin before disappearing again.

*sarcastic* A+ Parenting right here. Wow.

Roger of Gisborne - Guy & Isabella’s Father

This man is literally EVERYTHING Malcolm wants to be...no honestly, he’s literally trying to take his wife, and his lands, and probably his kids too. 

Presumed to have died fighting in the crusades, he mysteriously returns back with a secret (and no, it’s not the Mcguffin.) He contracted leporsy. He confides in his wife who tries to keep it a secret despite the villagers talking about the possibility of it. This man loves his wife and his kids dearly and pleads with his wife to pronounce herself a widow so his family doesn’t follow in his fate; homeless in a leper camp in the forest. Roger even tells Malcolm to take good care of his wife and kids, but still doesn’t know of the affair between them.

When Guy comes to warn his father of the fact Malcolm is trying to get Ghislaine to marry him, rules be damned. This man goes back to the village and speaks with his wife. Malcolm walks in on them and that’s when shit hits the fan. The asshole fights him for no good reason and when his wife is knocked dead, Roger refuses to leave her side and stays in the fire to die by her side. 

I mean, it doesn’t help their kids, but the kids have already lost their future at this point. 

Meet Young Robin of Locksley

He’s small, a great archer, and comes off as an irritating brat that accidentally causes trouble and ends up almost getting you hanged for it (whoops, sorry Guy.) He doesn’t listen to others that well, but can you blame him? He’s only 11.

He is assumed to be childhood friends with Guy, or at least they live in the same village and their parents know each other (a little too well.)  While the focus is on the parents in this episode, it was nice to see a Young Robin and Guy. Especially at the end when Robin finally listens to his father’s advice and takes up his bow, refusing to be afraid and fight for what’s right. 

Sure, I mean his dad faked his death and left him all on his own, but this kid will go places.

Meet Young Guy of Gisborne

Me being the big Guy fangirl I am, of course I have a lot to say about him. And of course it’s one of the reasons I love this episode: because we get hindsight into his backstory and find out why he turns into the asshole he is later on in life. This is pretty much a episode that makes you sympathize with him if you haven’t already and lets us see why he has no family as he’s told us in Season 1 and 2. 

Despite being 15-16, this boy comes off like an older brother figure when interacting with Robin. He easily shows his emotions unlike his older self and honestly just wants to protect his family. He doesn’t like that his mother is having an affair and feels she is being used by Malcolm. He also doesn’t like that his mother is visiting his father in the leper colony despite telling him not to do so himself. 

While trying to defend his parents when Malcolm comes bursting through the front door like a wild man, Guy grabs a torch, trying to scare him away. Malcolm pushes him back which ends up causing said torch to fall from his hands and start the house fire. While the parents quarrel inside, the manor burns to the ground and the parents with it. 

The other asshole (and supposedly main villain of this episode) Bailiff Longthorn exiles the Gisborne kids since the lands are his now and Guy is left to raise his little sister; homeless, penniless and without any help. He had to quickly become tough in life. Sorry, it just makes me sympathize with him more. 

Meet Archer: The Mcguffin - Robin & Guy’s Half-Brother

I love and hate this character so much. He only appears as a baby in this episode, but he is the reason that Malcolm of Locksley finally shows his face after hiding for years. Apparently he had been searching for him the whole time, but neglected Robin, wow. Okay....sure.

It’s not Archer’s fault but yet it is. When you meet an older version of him in the next episode, there is no denying he has a wonderful personality and lots of potential, but yet the reason he was created bugs me, especially since we only get to “know” him in only 3 episodes which isn’t enough honestly.

Jamie’s Pros & Cons of this episode:

Pros:

Backstory exploration showing the history between Guy & Robin that explains their conflicts with each other (Despite both losing their parents, Guy also lost his home and titles which were given to Robin by the villagers.)

Introduction to the parents (Roger, Ghislaine and Malcolm.) 

The Acting

Young Guy and Robin. Just look at how adorable they are.

A cause that unites Robin & Guy to work together for the only family they have left (Archer)

Cons:

The story can be confusing at times. I definitely didn’t understand it the first time I watched. In fact, I still question things.

The somewhat love triangle between Roger, Ghislaine and Malcolm. It feels more forced on Malcolm’s side then anything else because he is literally coming between a couple that is already married and clearly in love with each other.

Malcolm of Locksley. Mostly everything he does in this episode is stupid. Lets not talk about the fact he left his kid thinking he was dead for years only to show up once telling him the story of how he abandoned him....only to abandon him once again. Great, give this man Best Dad in the World mug. 

The townspeople who don’t help the Gisborne kids and criticize them for being French and exiling them, but giving everything to Robin because he’s the kid of an English Noblemen. What assholes. 

The fact that when you think about it: this episode is just a way to bring Guy & Robin together as well as keep the show going with Archer as the new Robin. Yep, that’s pretty much why our Mcguffin was created. I think they could have brought Guy and Robin together in a way that didn’t involve a secret Half-Brother between them....but that’s just me. 

The puzzling questions of Retcon:

Is the land that the Gisborne’s run Locksley village or is it an unnamed village? Where is Marian? How did Robin grow up fine and well if Malcolm left him behind? How did Guy and Isabella survive for the little bit they had together before he sold her as bride when she turned 13? Why wasn’t this established sooner? Oh yeah, that’s right, it’s a retcon. 

My thoughts in total:

Despite my issues with this episode, It’s actually one of the ones I enjoy in Season 3. I love that we got a glimpse into Guy and Robin’s backstories and firmly know that a character’s backstory is what shapes them into the people they are going to be later on down the road and this episode is proof of that. 

It’s a good episode in itself, but it clearly has some flaws that just don’t make sense and leave you with questions. I think if anything, this should have been revealed earlier in the season or done differently. 

#Robin Hood meta #bbc robin hood #Robin Hood bbc #guy of gisborne #sir guy of gisborne #robin of locksley #Malcolm of locksley #Ghislaine of gisborne #Roger of gisborne #Jamie's Metas #JamieWritings

[rolanslide]

IT’S TIME TO RAMBLE ABOUT ANIMATED KIDS SHOWS AGAIN WHOOP WHOOP

Major spoilers for seasons 2-3 of Tangled the Series below the cut, beware~!

Okay the reveal that Cassandra was Mother Gothel’s true, biological daughter who she abandoned for Rapunzel was one many saw coming, and it makes sense, but it also kinda bothered me a little bit.

Not because it doesn’t make sense or was unsatisfying, no, it was a twist I thoroughly enjoy, however it still feels odd to me.

For one, the odds of Gothel managing to bone someone and get a kid out of it seem uh, low, all things considered, but that’s not the only thing that bothered me.

Let’s remember when and where the reveal happened: The House of Yesterdays Tomorrow.

For the few episodes Raps and CO stay in the house, we’ve seen it to be uh... less than kind to them.

The idea that they suddenly decided to take Cass on a mini journey of “self-discovery” by showing her her past just seemed... out of place to me.

So here’s my idea: Cassandras “flashback” was fabricated/altered by the house and/or it’s residents.

I know how much of a leap in logic that may sound like but hear me out here.

We already know that the residents of The House of Yesterdays Tomorrow have it out for Raps and CO, especially Rapunzel, due to her connection with the sundrop.

The ghost that escorts Cassandra through her “flashback” (who I’ll call “Blue” here for simplicity’s sake), is constantly feeding Cassandras anger, hate and jealousy throughout what we’ve seen of season 3. Encouraging her to use her powers and destroy the things around her, especially including Rapunzel.

In “Be very afraid” Blue says again and again that Rapunzel's existence is snuffing Cassandras power, and that she needs to be destroyed.

While Blues explanation that Rapunzel holds some of the moonstones power does make some semblance of sense, for all we know it could be complete BS, just another ruse to get Cassandra to destroy Rapunzel.

We hear it in the way Blue talks, the expressions she makes. She clearly has some ulterior motive. What exactly her motive would be for killing Rapunzel is unclear at this moment, but we still have a ways to go this season.

Now with all of that in mind, what does this have to do with changing or completely fabricating Cassandras “flashback”?

Well, in the end, Cass “finding out” that her own mother chose Rapunzel over her is what made her snap. If she hadn’t been pulled into that door in The House of Yesterdays Tomorrow, Rapunzel would’ve taken the Moonstone without Cassandras interference (at least presumably).

For whatever reason, Blue needed Cassandra to snap.

It’s clear that the house somehow knows the mind of whoever enters it, what drives them, what they fear, etc. We already saw it with Rapunzel in “Rapunzeltopia”, it knew what would be the most tempting to her, knew about her life before she entered the house, it knew everything that it had to know to reach it’s goal.

They created a whole alternative dream universe; fabricating a single scene or implanting fake memories into one person is entirely plausible.

Now I’m not saying it was entirely fabricated- I don’t think it is. Cassandra herself says that the house and memory “feels familiar”. She recognizes her young self (although who wouldn’t, really) and recognizes the older woman as her mother, or at least seems to.

This is mostly just speculation, but I think it’s entirely plausible that Cassandra did have a cold, controlling and unloving mother who abandoned her, but it wasn’t actually Gothel. Someone (presumably Blue) is using Cassandras existing, faint memories, and altering them for their own benefit.

It’s possible that Cassandras real mother left home and either died or just abandoned her daughter and left her for dead. This could explain her feelings of inadequacy and betrayal. However, if her mother is anyone but Gothel, then Cass would have no further reason to turn against Rapunzel specifically. Blue wouldn’t benefit from her then.

All Blue needed to do was add some simple alterations to Cassandras existing memories, and she was golden.

Now, if the memories were altered, then why was Cass so thoroughly convinced and effected by them? Well, you just need to consider the power of suggestion.

As established, Cass recognizes her childhood home right away, and in the end, that’s all it took for her to be hooked. “I recognize this place, I recognize this feeling, this must be what actually happened”

When Gothel steps into frame, Blue is quick to “confirm” that, yes, that is Cassandras mother. All it takes is that small push, and Cassandra is hook, line, and sinker to betray Rapunzel.

TLDR; Cassandras flashback was altered by Blue, turning Cass’ real mother into Gothel, sending Cassandra down the path that would prevent Rapunzel from taking the Moonstone and, eventually, destroy Rapunzel outright.

#I've been thinking about this for days #ever since I saw the scene with the big reveal #tts #tts spoilers #tangled the series #cassandra tts #tts theory

[pxiao]

Reasons I’m glad V///R is dead and gone forever

So V//R is dead and cancelled and my only reaction is FINALLY. Since VR is gone and we can finish forgetting the forgettable show and get rid of all our salt. You’re free to add to the post but there are rules. 

1. DO NOT TAG IT SO THE FANS CAN SEE. As much as I hate the show and the fandom even they don’t deserve to see people bashing the show in their tag. 

2. Don’t write the name of the show or the characters. Use /// or ---- in the character’s name like Yu///saku so the tumblr search can’t pull them up

ok good? Good. 

Everyone but Yu///saku is worthless. 

Seriously when have any of the characters actually progressed the story? Potentially only SB have done anything truly worthwhile. Everyone else was just to die to build tension for Yu//saku. And if you’re asking for RE///volver. OHHH I have a section just for him, don’t you worry.

Sto//rm Acc/ess aka Yu//saku is such a shitty duelist that the MINORITY of his duels has him not cheating. 

SERIOUSLY it’s written that Yu//saku can get a random extra deck monster with his skill BUT the issue is despite it being “random” Yu//saku ALWAYS gets the monster he needs to win. NOT ONCE IN THE 100+ EPISODE HAS HE GOTTEN A USELESS CARD. ALWAYS THE ONE HE NEEDS. Totally doesn’t seem like plot armor. And you know it wouldn’t be as big of an issue IF HE DIDN’T USE IT FOR EVERY SPE///ED DUEL!!!!!!!! For a character that the show likes to say is “invincible” he sure isn’t good enough to win with the deck he built. It got ridiculous with his duel with G/oo in season 2 where G//o countered his skill BUT A//i revealed it had a secondary effect that let him draw a card AND still get a new extra deck monster. 

Plot twists: 

They fall into two camps, “we already knew you dumbasses” or “THE HELL WERE YOU GUYS SMOKING!” Essentially the twists are obvious like A///i was based off of Yu//saku’s data as why wouldn’t he be. Or the dumb ones like Spec///tre beating A///oi or somehow Spec//tre had CONSCIOUS TREE AS A MOTHER. There have been a few twists that I can count that surprised me but they lead to other twists that fall back into stupid.  

the “Plot” just plain doesn’t exist.

 It’s just things happening with some connecting plot lines BUT they rarely lead into each other. Light///ning revealed that his plan was happening THE EXACT SAME TIME as season 1′s finale. A//i being the villain is more due to Light//ning’s simulation somehow proving that A///i will destroy humanity than the fact that A/i’s the only Ig//nis left. And each season’s arc has no connecting plot either. Season 1 can be broken down to Yu//saku gets A//i which has him meet the “main cast” and then Yu///saku go to S//OL for info that was TOTALLY pointless. Which is isolated from Re//volver setting a virus that traps you on the internet which leads to Re//volver learning Yusa//ku’s face AND MEETING HIM but does jack shit with that info. And then Re///volver’s final plan happens that was based on timing than anything else. 

Does that seem disjointed? YEP because there is no narrative at all, things are just happening. There is a vague connection at best but none of the characters’ actions actually affect how the story goes. THE FRUSTRATING PART IS THEY SET UP MOMENTS WHERE THEY COULD HAVE BUT THEY DIDN’T. SEASON 2 AND 3 IS THE SAME THINGS JUST HAPPEN AND THEN YU//SAKU HAS TO SAVE THE FUCKING DAY. V/R has no rhyme or reason why things happen, they just do and let me tell you, that’s fucking boring.

The Yu//saku praise

 My fucking god. Look the protagonist getting praised isn’t new, it happens with each series BUT the issue is the volume that Yu//saku gets and how early he gets it. Most protagonists have to wait till at least the second series before the population love them. Yu///saku got it by the THIRD EPISODE. BY. BEAT. A. MOOK. He was called a hero, people were saying he was hot, people were copying his avatar. AND IT NEVER STOPPED. EVERY OTHER EPISODE HAS SOMEONE SAY HE’S AMAZING, STRONG AND SOOO IMPORTANT. 

An A//oi episode in season 1 has a less than five minute section just to show that a kid HERO WORSHIPS YU//SAKU AND WAS IT. The kid appears with an avatar based on PM, PM saves him and tells the kid to trust him to save and then the kid logs out. AND THIS HAPPENS CONSTANTLY. “YU//SAKU IS INVINCIBLE”, “YU//SAKU IS MY HERO!”, “EVERYONE DEPENDS ON YOU YU//SAKU”. IT’S BEEN AN ENTIRE SHOW OF PEOPLE SINGING YU///SAKU’S PRAISES AND THE WORST PART OF IT IS, HE DESERVES NONE OF IT.

The setting. 

Let me ask ... THE FUCK IS IT. What even is Link Vr//ains? Is it a game, a site, a program? WHY IS IT ONLY IN DE///N CITY? WHY IS DESTROYING IT WILL LEAD TO THE ENTIRE INTERNET CRASHING???????? Link Vr///ains is something that NEEDS to be explained but the show NEVER DOES. HELL IT NEVER EVEN TRIES. 

The girls

Jesus christ ... the girls are .... just sad. A///oi ... my fucking god A//oi. A///oi’s personality starts and ends with “onii-sama”. NEARLY EVERY MOTIVE OF HER’S IS I WANT TO DO SOMETHING FOR MY STEPBROTHER. Everything else is a passing fancy. Mi///yu? Yeah nice motivation but that’s why her two duels as BM in season 2 is more about her relationship with Ak//ira than her “friend”. 

Em//ma’s backstory was absorbed into BS’ despite the fact he was a new addition when Em//ma was around since season 1. 

Vir//ya is just a bit character meant to fill out the remain KOH, since their return in season 2, she haven’t done anything of value. 

Qu///een ... why is she there? I mean she appeared in a Bikini ... in virtual reality. seriously there is no point in that shit, and then did nothing besides watch over Ear//th’s death and then lost to A//i when her skill was named honey trap. 

Mi////yu is so unimportant we haven’t gotten a scene of her out of flashback despite being a lost chi//ld.   

Back to A//oi, it’s not even that A//oi isn’t important,sadly that’s not uncommon in YGO, it’s the fact EACH TIME SHE TRIES TO DO SOMETHING, THE SHOW PUNISHES HER FOR IT. She tries to be a symbol for people, it’s stupid why she trying but still, Spec///tre reveals he was toying with her the entire time and she had no chance. She tries to get stronger in season 2, SB beats cause she doesn’t have an Ig//nis and then she does nothing for half the season. She tries to save her “childhood friend”, Bow//man beats her and takes her consciousness so Yu//saku has to save her ... again. She tries to protected Ak//ira, A//i beats them and only takes A//oi to taunt her over her failure. THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE SHOW, ANYTIME A//OI TRIES TO DO ANYTHING, THE SHOW BEAT HER UP AS IF TO SAY, YOU SHOULDN’T DO ANYTHING EVER. Great message there. 

Simulations

You know as people there are plenty of reasons that conflict starts, greed, hate, anger, lust, desperation to survive, hunger. And how does conflict start in V/r? FUCKING SIMULATIONS. EVERY SINGLE CONFLICT IN THIS SHOW IS BECAUSE OF A SIMULATION. K//OH are a thing cause Kog///ami did a simulation that showed that the Ig//nis are learning TOO FAST AND WILL CAUSE THE END OF HUMANITY. Ligh///tning turned evil because he learned no matter what he can NEVER BE FRIENDS WITH HUMANITY CAUSE OF A SIMULATION. A///i turning “evil” because he’s doom to end the world cause of you guessed it a SIMULATION. Simulations are just tools and are NEVER THE FINAL RESULT. There are too many variables to truly make an 100% accurate simulation BUT HERE THEY ACT AS IF SIMULATIONS ARE A FUCKING GOSPEL. IT’S STUPID AND INCREDIBLY LAZY THAT THE CAUSE OF ALL the conflict in this show is because of independent simulations.  

Mental illness

As a person with a mental illness and went to therapy I can say this, VR doesn’t deserve any brown points for covering mental illness. If anything VR touching mentally illness takes points away. I have already said my piece on how poorly VR tackles mental illness. But my take away is this when it comes to mental illness VR is a absolutely horrible.

Rev///ovler

Re//voler is in all honestly a shitty character despite what his fans think. He’s an asshole that has no drive of his own. He admit he does this all BECAUSE OF HIS DAD. The one time he did do something of his own accord, turn his dad in, he later regretted so much that he refuses to do it again. LOOK I can understand missing your father despite the fact he’s trash, human relationships are complex BUT RE///VOLVER BEING “FATHER I WILL NEVER EVER GO AGAINST YOU AGAIN DESPITE THE FACT YOU KIDNAPPED KIDS AND THEN TORTURED THEM BECAUSE YOU FELT SAD HUMAN WILL EVENTUALLY GO EXTINCT ONLY TO TURN ON YOUR CREATIONS” IS FUCKING STUPID. And then he goes the EXTRA MILE OF ASS and says to Yu//saku’s face that he REGRETS SAVING HIS LIFE TWICE. And he never apologized either. 

Also his “development” is forced as shit, Revo//lver never develops onscreen or shows signs of changing, just the show and characters say OH YES RE//VOLVER CHANGED.... IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.  Honestly after his return in season 2 where he showed he DIDN’T CHANGE, then he tries to help Hom//ura despite telling Yu//saku he regrets saving him. WHY THE CHANGE. HE HAS SEEN NOTHING THAT MADE HE FEEL SYMPATHY FOR THE LOST KI//DS. BUT HE’S ALL OF A SUDDEN KIND TO HO///MURA. AND THEN AFTER HE LOSES TO LIGH//TNING AND SAY’S A/I NAME, ONLY TO SNAP BACK IN SEASON 3 AND WANTS TO KILL A///I. What I’m saying is, he has no real character development, you can tell what the show WANTED him to become but my god they were too lazy to actually show him changing. 

Yu//saku

OH BOY this is going to be long. Yu//saku is by far the WORST WRITTEN PROTAGONIST IN YGO HISTORY.  He has no personality and no real background besides HE WAS TORTURED, POOR HIM!!!!! Seriously what was his life like before the Lo//st Incident. What did he like to do, did he have friends, where the fuck are his parents. There is no information about him, past or present. Like his current “personality”, WHAT IS IT besides he’s stoic/emotionless. He’s not nice or even mean anymore. He has no likes or even dislikes. All we know is he’s determined ... and that’s it. Yu//saku is a blank slate for the viewers to project on. Yu//saku is honestly NOTHING. 

Honestly, Yu///saku isn’t strong as he cheats the MAJORITY of his duels, he isn’t smart as rarely does he do anything that’s smart, wanting to brutal force the solution and he doesn’t follow his own advice. 

Yu//saku: Bonds are important and the only thing that are absolutes

Yu//saku then fucks off for 3 MONTHS NOT TELLING ANYONE

And like Re//volver, his “development” is forced as hell. He just says things that make no sense for him to say. Yu//saku shouldn’t say revenge doesn’t help WHEN IT OBVIOUSLY DID. The show was supporting him and he got the guy that kidnapped him killed and then he got better. HELL JI//N WAS SAID TO GET BETTER ONCE THE K//OH WERE BEAT.   

#vr damn it

[statusquoergo]

Hi! I feel like Gordon dying so suddenly (and on the day when Harvey made partner) really fucked Harvey up and made him even more closed off than before. He seemed more emotionally available (bs season 1 Harvey) in all the flashbacks, especially when he had scenes with his dad. I just wonder how Harvey would have evolved if he still had Gordon in his life. Not to mention his relationship with the rest of his family's.

I’m sure Gordon’s death fucked Harvey up more than he’s let on; most of the time, when someone says “I am dealing how I deal” (s02e08) in response to a tragedy, it’s a pretty big red flag that they’re not dealing with it very well.

It’s difficult to make predictions about how Gordon’s continued presence in Harvey’s life would have affected him because their actual relationship is so unclear. Gordon was Harvey’s hero, but he also sent him to a boxing camp when he was a kid that worked him so hard he “either threw up or passed out or both” (s04e11); as an adult, Harvey asserts that Gordon was “a great father,” but Gordon himself says he’s been “the cool father, not a great one” (s05e10), heavily implying that he’s been on the road for most of Harvey’s life. Expanding on that idea, Harvey may have spent his childhood building Gordon up into the hero he wanted rather than the father he had, an impression that certainly follows him into the present (see: visiting his grave in times of emotional strife [s02e08]), meaning our interpretation is necessarily heavily biased because we see Gordon primarily through Harvey’s eyes.

Having said that, yes, Harvey losing his father and hero-figure so abruptly and on such a momentous day in his life most definitely fucked him up (and the way the funeral played out couldn’t have helped). Although his emotional isolation probably comes in part, or even primarily, from his discovery of Lily’s infidelity, I wouldn’t be surprised if Gordon’s death amplified it further; then again, finding out about Cameron Dennis’s shady practices probably also made it worse, so really he’s just having a bad time of it all around. (I know that happened four years prior to Gordon’s death, but if Dennis was another father figure to Harvey… Well, there’s not really a timeline on dealing poorly with emotional trauma.)

Overall, I suspect Harvey would have more emotional stability if his father was in his life (although some of that might come from a place of denial, which would manifest problems in different ways than the ones we see onscreen), probably going to him for support whenever he has personal or moral problems or what have you (especially after Gordon’s band breaks up), and yes it’s certainly very possible he would be more emotionally available to the non-familial people in his life. As for how it would affect his relationship with his family… That might be contingent on Gordon’s relationship with the rest of them (which is of course a strong indication of emotional immaturity, so, you know, more issues). When Gordon describes Lily’s infidelity in “The Other Time” (s03e06), it doesn’t really sound like he’s forgiven her so much as accepted that that’s just who she is (“Lily wouldn’t do that.She’d be different with me, because Lily loved me.… Ten years later, I found out that the other guy thought the same thing.What I’m trying to say is, even if Cameron believes that he’ll never make you do it again, he will”), which, if he was still alive, might well impede Harvey’s willingness to mend fences with her. As for Harvey’s relationship with Marcus, that seems separate from his relationship with their parents in that Marcus, as I’ve discussed previously, is perfectly willing to take advantage of Harvey regardless of their parents’ activities and behavior.

So I guess my verdict is that Harvey would still have plenty of issues, but they would be different issues than the ones he has in canon. And yeah, emotional isolation might not be such a big one.

It’s always fun to speculate about Harvey’s life; thank you for bringing this up!

#suits usa #Anonymous

[travllingbunny]

The 100 rewatch: 1x03 Earth Kills

I’m a new fan of The 100, who first binged it last year, August to November. This is my first full rewatch of the show. I was planning to start it anyway and finish it before the season 6 premiere on April 30, and when I saw that Fox Serbia was airing a rerun (Monday to Friday, 40 min. after midnight, with repeats the next day), starting on 1st February, it was a great opportunity to start my rewatch in HDTV on my beautiful new TV. I decided to do write-ups and tag other fans on SpoilerTV website, as I did when I was first watching the show. But my posts turned into full blown essays. So, finally, after over a week, I’ve realized: Why don’t I post them on my Tumblr blog, too? I’ll copy my write-ups of the first 7 episodes, and then I’ll post my rewatch posts after I watch each episode. (The next one, 1x08, is on Monday’Tuesday.)

Spoilers below for all 5 seasons of the show. I go of on a tangents and make a lot of references to future events.

...

Wow, the show actually got good pretty quickly. After how bad much of first two episodes was, full of cheesy teen soapy stuff, I was surprised how solid 1x03 was throughout - I wouldn't be embarrassed to show it to someone to show what The 100 is like. I remember that I found 1x03 and 1x04 a real improvement the first time as well, but I was still unsure about the show till 1x05. I think it's because there's again some teen soapy BS at the end of 1x04, which put me off big time the first time I watched it, since I expected the worst, especially with the Clarke/Finn/Raven love triangle, but now I know that this storyline was resolved in a surprisingly good and not at all cliche way. Still, I was mildly annoyed by the ending of that episode.

Rating: 8/10

The acid fog! I had forgotten that it turned up in the show and played such a significant role so early. The Mountain Men were already killing the Delinquents 10 episodes before they even showed up and interacted with them directly. It killed 3 people - Trina and Pascal (random couple that we first saw just before they died), and Atom. (Atom also has the distinction of bein Octavia's first love interest on the show. Love interests tend to die a lot in this show in general, but in particular, so far everyone who's made out or had sex with Octavia so far has ended up dead.) And then at the very end, in the twist ending, Wells, the first dead main character, killed by another Delinquent, 12 year old Charlotte. I know that they wanted to kill off a main character to show how edgy the show was, but I remember didn't find Wells' death that much of a surprise at the time - that it happened so quickly, yes, that was a surprise, and that a little girl killed him, but I had already been expecting him to die and wondering how long he'd survive, with so many of the Delinquents hating him because of his father. Charlotte has something in common with Clarke, Bellamy, Octavia and Murphy - parents executed by Jaha. Awww, the early season 1 Clarke - so innocent and full of moral certainty, "saying things like "This isn't the Ark, down here every life matters", and pretty open about her feelings, before she started to bottle them up. I loved it when she said to Finn: "Why is it a bad thing that I don't want Jasper to die?" Yes, exactly! It annoyed me so much that he and others were acting like her trying to save a person instead of go around having fun and not giving a damn was so weird. Clarke's speech to Charlotte early in the episode, talking about the traumatic past on the Ark: "All the pain up there... maybe all that is behind us. Maybe now we have a second chance on the ground." Well, that didn't work out But maybe now they will have the third chance on the other planet. Our first flashbacks to the Ark - memories of happy life with the Griffins and the Jahas, before Jake Griffin decided to tell the Ark the truth, and got executed by his friend Thelonius (this is also the first time we see a person getting floated - which reminds me of Battlestar Galactica, which had many scenes like that), and Clarke got locked up for a year. 16-year old Clarke and Wells, and their dads, happily watching some 140 year old tape of a soccer match. Of course, this kind of happy life - while just normal by our standards - was the privilege of the elite on the Ark. In 1x06 we get to see very different flashbacks of the Blake family. Even the living quarters of the Blakes are very different and shabby. But at least they had books - books are always the cheaper entertainment. Finn is probably at his nicest and most likable in this episode. It doesn't last long, but at least in this episode he figures out that Wells is letting Clarke believe he betrayed her father to cover up for her mother. Finn figures it out and makes an effort to fix Clarke's friendship with Wells. Although, if I were to be cynical, I'd say that it's not an accident that he did it only after he had asked Wells if he and Clarke had ever been an item, learned that they had not, and concluded he didn't have to fear Wells as competition. And now that Clarke has realized the truth, we get the beginning of the multi-episode mini arc about Clarke's resentment of her mother for getting her father killed. But to be fair, Abby clearly never expected Jaha to actually execute Jake. Though the first time I watched the show, I didn't understand how she could still be friends with Jaha after that. I guess she could justify his actions by the idea that life on the Ark was tough and they had to make sacrifices etc. The show sort of comes back to this plot in season 4, when (in 4x11, after Clarke and Jaha has stolen the bunker), Jaha expects Abby to be OK with Kane being sacrificed, and Abby is like, nope, not this time. Murphy is getting very obnoxious in this episode, which is kind of a prelude to the next one. Before he was just antagonizing Wells, which was unfair to Wells but to an extent understandable since we know that Wells' dad spaced Murphy's father, but now he spends most of the episode complaining about hearing Jasper's cries of pain and saying he should die already. Meanwhile Bellamy gets to show his sensitive side, naturally, because there's a little girl nearby that he wants to be a big brother/pseudo-father to. It's kind of funny when people try to argue that it was OOC for Bellamy to put a chip in Madi's head so she can be a Commander because she's just 12 and he's protective of kids. He is, but his idea of protecting them is a bit different and consists of, say, giving 12 year old Charlotte a knife and teaching her to defend herself: "You cannot afford to be weak. Down here, weakness is death". Since he was told at the age of 6 that he needed to be his baby sister's protector, his idea of childhood may be a bit different than most viewers'. Monty about Bellamy, earlier in the episode, angry about his comments on Jasper: "Power-hungry, self-serving jackass. He doesn't care about anyone but himself". This is just one of the times in these episodes that people make such comments about him (Finn says Bellamy cares just about himself, after they learn about him throwing away the radio in 1x05), pretty obvious irony as we learn more and more about how his entire life and his motivation is all about protecting his sister. Clarke is also playing an almost motherly role to Charlotte. Both Clarke and Bellamy have this tendency to play a parent to others, including, sort of, to the Delinquents .But this time it spectacularly backfires - Charlotte misinterprets Bellamy's advice to "slay your demons" and uses the knife to kill Wells, and she does it imitating the way she saw Clarke mercy kill Atom, and singing the same lullaby Clarke sang. That moment when Clarke mercy kills Atom is a pretty important one for the development of Bellamy's and Clarke's relationship - earlier on he was doing that thing that characters in post-apocalyptic shows often do, when they say things like "You don't have the guts to make tough decisions", which is usually about killing someone (Kane had similar lines in the Pilot) - or in this case, mercy-killing. He claimed he was going to kill Jasper if he doesn't get better by the morning, but later was obviously finding it hard when faced with the necessity of mercy killing Atom. One more early sign that Bellamy didn't really find it easy to kill people. Clarke doing that instead of him and gently killing Atom after singing him a lullaby is a really good scene, and you can see from Bellamy's face that it's the moment when he really gains new respect for Clarke. Clarke has probably seen her mother do that to patients quite a few times, Sadly, this is not the last time these two will get to have important bonding moments over having to kill people. That's how messed up their lives and the situations they are put in are. To be fair, the show does show a scene of Octavia mourning Atom. Then they have the next episode take place a week later, which is a nice excuse to never have him mentioned again. Also a nice excuse to show just one scene of Clarke mourning Wells in 1x04 and then never have her mention her childhood BFF again.

#The 100 #the 100 rewatch #the 100 1x03 #earth kills #wells jaha #clarke griffin #bellamy blake #john murphy #abby griffin

[clio-just-clio]

The Riverdale 102(?)-Day Sprint, Day 7: “Chapter Eighty-One: The Homecoming”

Same as it Ever Was?

Unbelievable! I’ve stuck to this project for one whole week. We’re approximately 6-7% finished! I gotta say, yesterday’s episode really did a number on me. I am still not wholly convinced it was some kind of joke by the showrunners – that flashback was so completely divorced from whatever reality the show had it’s astounding. Today we have another Season 5 episode, and I honestly have no clue how it’ll play out. Will it be set during the flash forward? How did Jughead crash and burn? Why did Archie join the army? I suppose I’ve rambled and put this off long enough. Here goes...

                                                   *          *          *

This episode surprised me by seeming like a stereotypical Riverdale episode. It is a flashback episode, yes, but it feels almost like the beginning of a season instead of the 5th or 6th episode. The gang descends back on Riverdale 5-ish years after high school graduation, and everyone’s basically where they were in yesterday’s episode. It’s incredibly strange though – Archie says he was in the Army but he doesn’t seem traumatized or anything in the least, which he definitely was in yesterday’s episode. Shouldn’t he be going through that trauma now, if all of that has already happened? Or is there a second time jump midway through S5?

This episode largely centers around small-town politics, with now-Mayor Hiram Lodge attempting to unincorporate Riverdale for... reasons. Veronica says this has “been his goal for years” but I have no way of verifying that. It seems weirdly cruel coming from a character who I had previously only thought of as “sleazy”. His secondary goal is to close down Riverdale High because he is, in fact, the antagonist, and the show doesn’t know how else to illustrate it, so it has him target its most recognizable landmark. The whole gang does a Vigilantism to clear a gang out of Archie’s abandoned childhood home, and then reunites again for Pop’s retirement party. Now, because of my unique watch order, Pop has really been a background character in the show for me; he’s always there, yes, but he hasn’t done anything particularly important that I’ve seen, besides being a sage, elderly advisor. Having the gang doing things like speak at his retirement is clearly designed to make the viewer feel some kind of nostalgia, but it’s really something I would’ve expected to see from a revival series instead of... just another season of a CW show.

The mystery of how characters get from this episode – which sees characters in a different place from where they were in previous seasons yes, but not really that different – to where they are in Chapter Ninety-Two is one that’ll really interest me, much more so than whatever trucker killer they’re setting up. All of the characters seem pretty... normal? Jughead isn’t an alcoholic, Betty is a self-righteous FBI trainee but she isn’t dressing up like Polly to be Dexter, Veronica... well she’s basically in the same place as she is later (she really just has the worst character stuff huh), and Archie is still trying to “save the town” by beating people up. It’s such a strange thing to see, this almost “back-to-basics” approach of having simple stories that overlap with each other, much like what I’d imagine the earlier seasons were. So why add all the convoluted BS back in later??? Why would the writers do that??? And what is in Season 6?

Tomorrow: “Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Hills Have Eyes”

quick notes

- yeah we’re in the flashback. hoo boy

- I’m actually glad we hardly see Archie actually fighting the war (unless it’s in a previous episode I haven’t seen yet). It makes sense tho

- Toni being “queen of the Serpents” makes sense I guess? maybe?

- Who’s Veronica married to? Reggie? was there any setup for that?

- ah, the mysterious voicemail from when our boy Jughead left Riverdale to start anew. I wonder if we’ll ever get to hear it...

- OH Veronica’s married to Chad! well we already know how that’ll end up lol

- whose twins is Alice looking after?

- ah Jughead, the starving writer. gotta be honest I still think that makes a lot of sense

- HA and Hiram is mayor of Riverdale! I missed that in yesterday’s episode

- and Jughead is estranged from the Serpents because of his dumb book! fantastic

- why is Hiram Lodge trying to close Riverdale High anyway? don’t get me wrong I love a mustache twirling villain as much as the next person but it just seems needlessly cruel

- eyyy Archie is doing vigilantism again! he deserves it

- auhsahsdhbdsbh and Betty is now “Agent Cooper”. yet another Twin Peaks callback, although possibly unintentional

-HA AHAHAHA Kevin directly references Succession! a show that Riverdale probably can’t hold a candle to! (although, again, I haven’t seen a single episode)

- this “small-town politics” arc feels weirdly natural for the show, which is baffling considered how completely bizarre yesterday’s episode was

- Veronica’s #girlboss arc is the same in every season, and yet I feel it’s most annoying in this one. why is she still butting heads with her dad? do they not respect each other yet?

- this episode was so boring no one said anything funny-bad, just generic-bad. boooo

#riverdale #the riverdale 102 day sprint

[swashbucklery]

I watched the second episode of this ridiculous thing so here you go: The Last Episode of Arrow Season Five, Summarized By Someone Who Has Seen Maybe One Season Of Arrow In Total.

PREVIOUSLY ON ARROW: this happened. Also Talia Al Ghul is a person who exists, and idk some other stuff probably.

So anyway, everyone is on Lian Yu, because nothing bad ever happens there. Oliver is really mad because he has to Rescue Everyone, and His Son Is There, so he makes some dubious moral choices b/c He Has To. Namely: releasing Slade Wilson and some other white dude with evil boomerangs from Island Super Jail.

Some other stuff happens. Nyssa is there, and her clear disdain for Malcom Merlyn and Oliver and all of their dumb white man decisions is clearing my skin, watering my crops, etc. Her hair is also fantastic.

Nyssa finds some of Oliver’s friends? But they’re in cages? And it looks super easy to free them but spoiler: it is a trap. Talia and Adorable BB Canary (who I now love, because I read the wikipedia summary of her villain origin story and it’s basically just that she thinks Oliver sucks, which is also my villain origin story, so I can relate) are there. They fight and everyone gets away except for BB Canary, who Oliver locks in a cage even though she is adorable & clearly has some stuff to work through, she is a very young person. He spins some BS about he’s going to come back for her against his better judgement, after he rescues his pals. Like, he deserves a gold star for not leaving a teen girl locked on an island to starve to death? Whatever.

OH BY THE WAY: the League of Assassins set is on Lian Yu! But this is a different one, it’s not Nanda Parbat, it’s an Ancient Temple that happens to look extremely similar for no reason at all. Other New Canary is there, with the other new Arrow character who wears a hockey mask sometimes! Oh and Quentin Lance. They are all Kidnapped and for various reasons, New Canary cannot use her metahuman powers just yet.

Other stuff happens. Most importantly, Malcom Merlyn “dies” by sacrificing himself on a landmine, in order to save Thea, and she feels real conflicted about it. Although you never see a body, so: did he really? I guess that depends on whether or not John Barrowman wants to do another guest arc next year.

Also, Oliver’s kid’s mom ships Olicity.

We all end up at The Other, Smaller Nanda Parbat, where stuff happens and Nyssa gets to fight Talia in a glorious blaze of sword fighting, Katrina Law is fantastic. A L S O did you all know that Talia left Nyssa when she was a kid, knowing that Nyssa’s father would resent her for her gender and treat her terribly for her entire childhood? B/c that’s a thing that Nyssa just mentions, and I have a billion million feelings about it, how dare.

Whatever you do, don’t think about Nyssa learning about Sara and her relationship with her sister and comparing that to what Talia did to her. Don’t do it.

Oliver sneaks in a thing that means New Metahuman Canary Dinah can use her scream and everyone is no longer locked up and everyone punches everyone in the face. Also Oliver does a LOT OF YELLING because if there’s one thing that always works to defuse a really tense, high stakes situation, it’s SCREAMING YOUR OPINION WHILE HOLDING A WEAPON.

So this is the core dilemma of the episode: Chase/Chace apparently wants Oliver to murder him, b/c somehow this will prove a point about how Oliver is a shitty person, because one time Oliver murdered his father? But Oliver is NOT a shitty person b/c he now refuses to kill people? He USED TO kill people but now he DOES NOT WISH TO because he is a GOOD PERSON for very minimal definitions of “good person.” This is undercut somewhat by a) all the flashbacks where he is seen murdering people, and b) all of the random goons he has knocked unconscious b/c I know that seems like it’s harmless on TV, but traumatic brain injuries are real and damaging and I guarantee you he’s given someone a skull fracture in this episode alone. “Not murdering” is relative I guess.

But anyway, Oliver “doesn’t kill people anymore” so he won’t, but then if he doesn’t, Chase/Chace will kill his son? But if he DOES, Chase/Chace has rigged things so that he will literally blow up all of Lian Yu at the moment of his death, and literally every major Arrow character is currently on that island. Oliver is forced to choose, or at least the show is framing it that way.

Rather than taking advantage of the fact that he has two supergeniuses, a police detective, a trained soldier, three assassins, one viligante, and a metahuman canary friend RIGHT THERE who could maybe help him, Oliver tells them to go away and leave the island b/c he’s gonna handle this ALONE. They’re all, “hey, we have useful skills and could perhaps collaborate on this issue,” but Oliver REFUSES because he just NEEDS TO KNOW THEY’RE SAFE and buddy you have been trying this literally every episode I’ve seen and it has yet to help anything.

Spoiler: his pals cannot leave the island, but now they have wasted all of their Helping Oliver time trying to leave, and everyone is SOL.

So anyway Oliver ends up on a fishing boat and Chase/Chace is there. He tries to negotiate by using his favourite tactic, which is punching Chase/Chace in the face and screaming at him. This does not work, as it has not worked the last 30 times he’s done this in the past two episodes alone. I haven’t the foggiest why.

After that doesn’t work, Chase/Chace brings out Oliver’s son? And then Oliver is faced with his Terrible Choice which he’s not really locked into because he had tons of other options up to this point and kind of chose to paint himself into this corner, so is this situation really Beyond His Control? Whatever. Anyway, Chase/Chace gives Oliver his son and everything’s gonna be fine, and it’s actually real sweet b/c Stephen Amell conveys some genuine emotion over being a parent and that’s nice. However, then Chase/Chace kills himself!!! A dishonest evil genius!!! Who could have forseen this!?

As advertised, literally all of Lian Yu explodes. The whole island. Seriously. In theory: everyone dies. In reality: What does this mean? Will they really kill off the entire main and supporting cast of this series except for Stephen Amell and some kid? WHO KNOWS. Enjoy the hiatus, but also if Nyssa died on that island I will literally explode. JUST LIKE LIAN YU.

#i watch so you don't have to #obviously spoilers #arrow i guess #cw dcu feelings

[sapphicalexaandra]

verdict on the episode: uncomfortable

just....uncomfortable, all around, like i thought it would be...

it wasn’t necessarily a bad episode but between this nasty feeling for the switch and mind games that were going on throughout on all fronts, and some disappointments....i’ll better just forget about it. 

what did i like though?

surprisingly for me lately, the malec... feels were real. the switch was the most uncomfortable part, but when magnus was trying to make alec believe him hit right home. their ending was more open-ended than i’d liked, completely doom and gloom,(i would’ve liked just a little more uplifting hint for the future. just a pinch you know, but fine, they’re gonna be fine anyway eventually) but it was still good. it featured concerned soft!alec at the end and that’s my jam. btw i’ll come for anyone going after him for this episode----he did what he could given the situation, so fuck off 

so yeah alec’s characterization was solid throughout, it wasn’t as satisfying as last week but he seems to still be the character i love <33 (what annoyed me was how other characters treated hIM but more on that later.) him slAYING azazel like nothing gave me life btw, alec need all the badass moments.

poor magnus really didn’t deserve this, however a good thing that will come out of this is seeing those childhood flashbacks that i’m really looking forward to. obvs the actors were great in the switch. however i think vagnus was a bit more mellow than he normally is ?? i mean it’s understandable in his terrible situation, but even later with magnentine i expected him to be more hardass against him. either way, my heart goes to magnus. 

the sebastian and clary interactions. will is still confirmed a great actor. and seb is an even better master manipulator that his father damn...he’s too nice and knowledgeable for our characters’ sake. such a creepy evil in disguise. i’m glad clary’s pain was brought up tho because SERIOUSLY this girl has been through some stuff, she nEEDS to have that aknowledged and to process that!

sue me but i still enjoy climon. their interactions don’t make me cringe in the least, they’re so natural and sweet...i’ll be sad when it ends and the real cringe fest begins. 

the ending scene with jace and the inquisitor!!!! poor boy just can’t catch a break but at least he knows his real heritage now and can move on from that...his little smile at the end touching the ring ç_ç

the not too bad parts: 

i said to myself i’ll try to enjoy s!zzy.... i dddn’t dislike it per se but i...still...don’t care. i don’t like simon or care about him that much or the vampire storyline (like i said, i tolerate him better with clary since they came in the show as a package deal and i can only feel that they should stay together) so i’d like izzy to be with someone betterrr. i haven’t liked any of her love interests and in an ideal world i’d love cl!zzy but since that’s not happening...i’m just doomed to like her but not her love stories. (and i didn’t particularly like her this episode...which makes me sad. i feel a trend of my fav characters being morfed into something i didn’t ask for when they interact with canon love interests...) 

luke storming in like a boss. i’m feeling another trend. this one needs to continue....not the part where he has two minutes of screen time tho.

the things that irRITatED me a lot

the. part. when. izzy. brought. sebastian. in. i was literally having war flashbacks of season 1 when they did that with clary, and jace and izzy were like ‘she’s cool she’s fine we need to help her we can trust her!’ and alec was like ‘she came??? out of nowhere?? why are we trusting her??? isn’t she suspicious???’ and literally nOBODY PAID HIM ANY MIND. and they were damn LUCKY that clary wasn’t the evil child of valentine....but guess what??? now we’re there and you’re DOING THE SAME THING. DON’T YOU EVER LEARN. izzy my girl my pal, it’s like when jace wrote off alec’s mistrust of clary as him being jealous....are you literally, doing the same...your brother is not that pETTY he listens to LOGIC first of all, even if he might feel bad for not being able to help her, he’s still trying to protect them form a possible threat???? these literal warrior kids need to learn strategy and logical thinking.... also i don’t resent jace for telling alec not to trust valentine that was LoGIcAL of him, but literally ten minutes earlier you were welcoming sebastian like nothing???? i don’t understand this bs. (i mean i do the plot needs him to be let in so that it hurts later, but dO it so that it makes SENSE....later with clary it did, but this initial scene is on my black list)

 cl@ce will always annoy me not matter what. i just...no. if you want the list of reasons you can ask me, otherwise let’s leave it at that.

valentine needs to stay away from dot asap. 

i’ll add more if i remember. but yeah. the whole plot business was so uncomfortable to watch unfold.

#my post #shadowhunters #you are not your own #basically the parts i liked the most (shockingly the malec) is also tied to what made me most uncomfortable #so that's why the verdict is just that....an episode that leaves a bitter taste #but that's what i was expecting-- i didn't think we would repeat last week when i LOVED the episodes so much #i know that from now on it'll be back and forth with this show #if i LOVE a couple of episodes more at least i'll call it a success....lmao #i just like very few specific things at this point that i know i can't possibly have them every episode #i'll stick around for when they do #(if you look at what i loved last week you all know what i'm talking about)

[profound-boning]

My live reactions to 12x16:

Let’s start with the basics: 1 where’s the angel and 2 I love Claire Novak

BLESS that small flashback to glasses!dean rip me

fun fact I had literally never heard of a Moscow mule before I moved to Denver lmao

lol I’m this Hayden girl I will absolutely not go down the scary path in the woods because I don’t want to die first

oops she died first anyway (update jk not dead hospitalized tho)

What’s with the creepy mask though, werewolf??

LMAO unrelated but the commercial I just watched was for Domino’s and this kid gets the notification that his pizza is on the way so he FLIES through town to get there for the delivery and I’m like @dominos marketing team when I order dominos it’s when I’m in bed in my undies too lazy to cook what is this unrealistic bs

LOL @ DEAN WINCHESTER LECTURING SOMEONE ELSE ON REPRESSION

“batsignal” “Hogwarts” nerd!sam at it again

And you can tell Mick is just like yeah ok yes hogwarts ha ha very funny

I love seeing Sam excited like that it’s so cute I genuinely see Sam in a role like that

Omg Dean’s scathing look when Mick says hunting “should be” his thing … I’ll prob write more about this later but here we have Dean who from childhood was expected to hunt and expected to give up literally everything in his life for it and for his family so that look right there was “how fucking dare you insinuate that you’re just gonna jump in on the Fun Hunting Time this isn’t a game this is our whole lives and people have died for this how dare you”

Can’t fault Mick wanting to be prepared though dude is probably scared af

Dean Winchester’s Guide to Hunting the Supernatural: Step 1: Put on a flannel

MICK AND SAM LISTENING TO PODCASTS I’M DEAD

aaaand here we have what I hope will be the fundamental fight of the season: BMoL believe all monsters are killing machines and Sam and Dean know that’s not true. Hhhhmmmmmmm…

I’m laughing I loved that bit from the commercial again and OMG DEAN RAVING ABOUT THE HOTEL AND HIS NUDIE MORNING SWIM FUCKING BLESS CHUCK DABB HONESTLY

@adoringjensen​ honestly I need to start a bitter!dean or petty!dean tag lmao I love this doofus

omg more sexy doctors for dean!!!

Ugh Mick first lesson don’t lie to your hunting buddies

YAAASS MAMA JODY I feel bad that Claire is lying to her though

Protective daddy!Dean is my fave and like I’m not thrilled about some skeezy guy (bartender? someone else? Unclear from dialogue) being grabby with Claire but I think it’s important to recognize that that would be a reality for female hunters, particularly someone young and lovely like Claire

Mick :( honey :( why :( I sincerely hope both the brothers tear him a new one for that

AAAAHHHHH DEAN QUESTIONING MICK ABOUT WHAT HE WAS DOING LAST NIGHT AND KNOWING HE’S BEEN LIED TO

YES DEAN THREATEN THAT SKEEZE who even gets a tribal tattoo on their neck that’s some High Level Fuckboy right there

FUCK I am living for this conflict rn this is a compelling plot thank you Dabb

Claire doesn’t know where she fits in and neither does Cas and I am beyond ready for them to sit down and talk about it

NNOOOOOO CLAIRE NO NO NO :(

YES SAM YELL AT HIM

okay no isn’t there a way to cure this??? I feel like they did that in an earlier season!

why is watching Sam And Dean On The Case™ so awesome

it’s THE OTHER BARTENDER

Good on Mick for figuring that out at least

kskdjajslfialdifjawlejasldkjasahwfotirueysidndjsksodifjdjjrndirueuwhsjwodofoieiejwhzjfkgk

AKDJFJDNANSKKTIRYGKFKFIRJDBDFDSAKJFLHWUAHLEIUHORIQWHEFKJANSJKSLSK

blessssss I’m so glad Claire is okay

cool dad dean and uncle sam got her back

CLAIRE CALLING JODY MOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay overall that was good and I’m happy

Things I am excited about for 12x17

Mick/BMoL conflict! I really enjoy Adam Fergus and I’m so far really liking where the BMoL vs Winchester hunting conflict is going - whose side will Mick land on??

E I L E E N ! E I L E E N ! E I L E E N ! E I L E E N ! E I L E E N !

Things I am not excited about for 12x17

where is cas

why does Mary need to be in a sexual situation with a man! WHY! IT’S SO UNNECESSARY! YOU CAN HAVE FEMALE CHARACTERS/GUEST STARS WITHOUT THEM HAVING SEX WITH YOUR MALE LEADS! THAT’S A THING!!! uuuuuuggggggghhhhhh

#spoilers #12x16 #12x17 #claire #dean #sam #brothers #mick #blessed be dabb #mary #eileen