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atalana · 3 years

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[copied over from my cr blog, also this is gonna get long, i’d apologise but im not sorry]

okay, so

this is a rant probably about 7 years in the making, bc when i first watched lok i had not done any music study, i had not done any composing of my own, my knowledge of music theory was at a primary school level and i still thought tv soundtracks were just made by one person composing a whole cache of music and then the audio editors pick and choose what track to place where

(spoiler alert that’s not how film and tv scoring works, i have now done a music composition course where we had to score a short film, among other things, and i have so much more respect for tv composers jesus christ)

but this one stuck out to me even way back then, bc me barely knowing what a leitmotif was was like “hey this one little refrain keeps popping up whenever bolin does lavabending, and i like it, i’m gonna see if it’s on the soundtrack”

it was not, and that’s sort of where i left it back in 2014, but i actually did a rewatch of lok pretty recently out of nostalgia, and then noticed it even more

and to explain why (and this is also a little bit why five’s stuck out to me in tua, i’ll get to that in another ask), let’s cover, leitmotifs, and tv scoring in general

so a leitmotif is basically just a short musical idea that represents something in a piece of music. when i studied motivic development we were encouraged to make that motif four notes or less, and then develop it into something longer (aka a theme), because if you can constantly come back to a really short idea while keeping the piece moving, that’s what makes a piece of music memorable

(you can ignore those rules on purpose but that’s a different essay)

so the most common way that a leitmotif shows up in soundtracks is to represent a character or a location - you play the motif when that character shows up or when you’re in that location and boom, the audience associates that motif with that person place or thing, and you can then use this to tell the audience things without actually telling them. for example, star wars playing the imperial march whenever someone does something darth vader related - darth vader isn’t on screen, but you can feel his presence, because his music is playing

and if we were a film score, where we have two hours to show one particular character’s development, great! we give them a simple motif, and then as they grow as a person we change their motif to reflect what is happening to them, until we end up with something that communicates on a subconscious level how much they’ve grown. we toss in as much symbolism as we can, and we have a really great soundtrack that’s instantly memorable

tv scoring, is harder. partially because of time constraints (have you ever composed half an hour of original music a week, and had to make sure it fits perfectly with every beat of what’s happening on screen? these guys have), partially because there’s a much larger focus on ensemble casts

so what atla and lok do, for the most part, is not score individual character motifs for everyone. this is fairly common in tv soundtracks, instead we score ideas, concepts, and feelings - these’ll come up a lot more and give you more information than just “oh hey this character’s on screen”

the avatar state, for example, has the strongest and most recognisable theme across both shows. i’m linking an atla track in here because it has the best example but you’ll know this shows up with korra too - and with particularly important moments for wan, for kyoshi, etc. they also appear in the opening of both shows, four strong notes that start and end on the same note (in the case of what i’m linking, it’s an F#)

youtube

the first part of this track is the more uncertain, pensive theme that comes up when both avatars are feeling doubt/worry/sadness, but then it transitions into the more recognisable four. worth noting though, those are both basically the same motif. if i write them out back to back, you’ll notice they both have four notes and start and end on F#. if i had to guess, four notes four elements, and it comes back to the start because the avatar is a cycle.

korra has a theme for when she’s fighting, but not an individual character theme. the airbenders as a concept have a theme, republic city has thematic instruments, as do some big name characters, like iroh and his tsungi horn (this is also a cross-series thing, he’s always playing it in atla, it shows up when zuko has to make big moral decisions, and when we first meet iroh in the spirit world in lok, it shows up there too, to let the audience know who this is before we properly see him)

so, if korra doesn’t get a single theme and instead has several for different aspects of her life, and mako and asami follow along with the mood of the story like all the other characters, the fact that bolin has a personal leitmotif at all, let alone a solid, developing one, is pretty remarkable!

now, granted, it mostly starts with book 3, before then he was like every other character, but it has clear symbolism through those last two books! and, initially i thought it was related only to his lavabending, since that’s most of when it shows up, but since my rewatch, i’ve started calling it his hero theme

see, when people wanna criticise mako and bolin, usually the comments they get are that bolin’s too immature and mako’s too serious/uptight. but like, that’s how they work, you can’t analyse either of them without the context of the other. since they were little kids on the streets, bolin chases his heart and mako makes sure they don’t die from it, that is their entire childhood. and neither would have got here on their own because mako wouldn’t take the necessary risks and bolin wouldn’t take the necessary precautions. (like. remove either one from the equation and they’d still be working for the triple threats bc s1 and their flashback miniseries make pretty clear that bolin got them out and mako kept them out)

and then book 2 proves it! because it splits team avatar up, and what happens? bolin is totally taken advantage of by varrick and used as a pawn in his evil plan and mako ends up in jail

so what’s book 3, to them? it’s, being able to find themselves without having that codependency. mako no longer has someone to protect, which is what he’s based his whole life around so far - bolin’s doing fine and he’s no longer dating either korra or asami. and bolin’s trying his hand at some of that responsibility (look at how he immediately adopts kai who is explicitly them but younger because he wants to be the older brother for once). most importantly, they find the rest of their family, and stop being defined by being orphans. they don’t have to be that singular piece of a puzzle, they can just be themselves. and that’s where bolin’s character really starts to shine, because that’s when they bring in the bending plot, and bending, perhaps more than any other character, really gets to the heart of who bolin is

if you want more of my thoughts on that i have an essay here, but tl;dr: bolin’s an extremely powerful earthbender, but he’s not a metalbender because metalbending requires you to double down on the earth characteristics and think like an earthbender, and bolin doesn’t, he’s too fluid for that, which is one of his major strengths, so of course he can lavabend

and finally - to his motif itself! (as a note, i’ve put all of these in the same key to show where it repeats, but there’s a variety of keys used in the show)

as far as i can find, it first shows up in s3e8, when bolin stuns p’li with this well placed shot

[Edit: it first showed up in the s2 finale, but again in a simplified version and again with him doing something heroic with earthbending, so we can still start the analysis here]

mako volunteers bolin for that job, because he knew bolin was capable of it. why? because bolin landed an identical shot earlier in the episode, after trying to metalbend, getting frustrated he can’t, and cheating with some extremely well aimed earthbending. it’s just a short refrain and you barely notice it, but it’s the first connection of this motif with the theme of bolin’s bending

it looks like this, and it’s always played on a trumpet, which is part of why i call it the hero theme, because, if you’re looking at music from a western perspective, trumpets were used to herald kings, and then used to represent military glory, and then when superhero themes started happening, they used trumpets too - it’s basically western music shorthand for hero these days

(it’s also symmetrical so that helps with the good vibes)

and he’s saving everyone here, so it’s linked to his bending, but it’s also linked to his heroism

it ties the two together, and they are tied together.

when’s the next time it shows up? episode 10, when the brothers are in prison in ba sing se, and bolin tries to metalbend them out. again, he’s doing this to save people, and this motif gets a few notes added on to the end in a raising pattern - they’re inspiring, but they don’t go anywhere. which is exactly what happens in the scene, because he’s trying to go about this in the wrong way. mako believes in him, but it won’t (and doesn’t) work

it appears in episode 12 when bolin saves everyone from ghazan destroying the temple, in a more fancy orchestral remake of the first version - it’s impressive, but it hasn’t actually developed yet, it’s just his discovery of it

the book 3 finale already has its own fucking amazing soundtrack, i love that entire episode’s score, but it gets its own moment there too, and the first real development!

because what we hear is not what we’ve heard before. we know it’s the same theme, because it’s using those signature trumpets, but it’s the second part of this phrase, the answer to the question supplied by the first one. why? because bolin’s figured out who he is and he’s starting to use it. it still hasn’t settled yet though, it’s early days and he’s still just turning ghazan’s lava back on him, so again, it raises, leaving it on a question mark

it doesn’t appear in s4e7 when he lavabends as a warning against the escaped prisoners, because he’s using it as a threat, not to help people. but it does later in the episode when he uses lavabending to save them from kuvira. and that’s when we get the first full phrase, question and answer

it keeps the first motif identical, takes out the first note of the second, and ties them together - except now it’s not open ended, now it knows where it’s going - it’s been three years, at this point bolin is confident in both himself and his bending

and then that phrase appears all over the place in the finale, because all bolin does is save people - everyone from the exploding building, he slows the giant mecha with lavabending, he saves opal, he slows the giant mecha again by collapsing a building on it, and most importantly, he’s the one rescuing his brother this time, instead of the other way around (though that one doesn’t get a motif appearance bc admittedly a fuck ton of other things are happening in the soundtrack at the time)

so to that question asked in book three - who is bolin when not next to someone else? well, funnily enough, we saw it in book two as well, just in a warped way, playing nuktuk. it just wasn’t truly him because it was created by varrick, and he needed to get away from varrick too. the question put forward by the narrative is who is bolin, and the answer given by the music is, he is a hero. and i don’t know why bolin is the only one to get a theme like this, but i think it may have something to do with the fact that, while everyone in team avatar has been a hero and saved people, he is the only one who has, from the start, solely been motivated by wanting to help people. he follows his heart, and his heart cares, about everyone. it’s been the driving force behind almost everything he’s ever done. and i love him so much

#so yeah those are my thoughts on bolin go forth and cry with me about five notes on a trumpet #legend of korra #lok #bolin #music

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dramaticviolincrescendo · 3 years

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Okay, what are your thoughts on Ian's relationships? With his family, his boyfriends, and Mandy (since I think that's the only friend he's had)

Oh, no. Ohhhhhhhh, no. Now you’ve done it. You’ve asked about my dear, darling favorite character on the show. My love for one Ian Gallagher runs deep, which means this answer is going to run super long. The good, the bad, and everything in between—Ian Gallagher lives rent free in my brain and always will. I derive so much satisfaction from seeing Ian interact with other people, in whatever capacity that might be. I admire and aspire to the compassion he has shown for others over the years, even and perhaps most especially those who arguably haven’t earned it. He tries so hard to be good to people, and seeing their love for him manifest when he’s reached such lows where he can’t even fathom why the love of his life would want to be with him forever? That’s powerful.

So, yeah. I said I could write essays on these characters, and that’s exactly what you’re about to get: five hours and 6k words’ worth of my thoughts. (I am so sorry. There will be text walls.)

Let’s dive into Ian’s many and multifaceted relationships—his family, his friends, and his romantic pursuits.

Ian and Family

Ian told us where he stood on this in the very first season, and it set the standard for his character for eleven years to come. Faced with a prospect that others in his position could only dream of—not being Frank’s son and having a wealthy father with a functional, prosperous lifestyle mere miles away—Ian refused to buy into it. He refused to do what might have been objectively better for his future by seeking a relationship with Clayton. In that household, he would have had access to a better public school, more financial resources, a tutor to help him where he was struggling, and less urgency for him to work so that he could enjoy being a kid. When he got sick, he would have had access to better healthcare, too. Perhaps he would have had a better shot at West Point from that background than he did at home. But that’s just it: home was with his family, and he was very clear that they didn’t live in that nice house. All he wanted—all he wanted—was to be with his brothers and sisters. He has never referred to them as only half-siblings or half-cousins; he has never even used the words, “you’re not my dad,” on Frank. That’s his family, the people he loves most in the world, and he’s always been at his best when he’s with them and at his worst when he’s not. Let’s look at each of them:

1. Frank: It is so striking to me that Ian doesn’t appear to hold the outright contempt for Frank that Fiona, Lip, and Debbie have exhibited at different points over the years. Aside from the handful of instances where they’ve gotten into physical altercations (which Frank always initiated) and kicking him out of the house on occasion, Ian is simply indifferent to him. But there are these moments, these brief glimmers of mutual attachment and loyalty, if those are the right words. In the scene where Ian famously doesn’t count to three before using the pepper spray on him, Frank starts saying how his New Gallaghers weren’t his real kids—that Ian is his real son, and Frank is his real father. It’s a passing thought uttered while trying to manipulate his way into the house that neither of them think much of, nor does the audience…until you remember that biologically, Frank isn’t his father, and he certainly hasn’t behaved like one either. Ian has more right than anyone to comment on that, but he doesn’t because Frank is his father. He’s the father that Ian idly hoped wouldn’t come to his wedding yet sat joking about with Debbie rather than getting pissed off that he was making out with some lady in front of everyone. He’s the father who sat at the table with them eating breakfast in 11x03 and claimed Mickey was the man in their relationship without Ian saying a word to him about it, and who Ian saw no issue with taking Franny to school when no one else could. In s4, as far removed from his family as he’d been for a while, Ian still went straight to the hospital when he heard that Frank was at death’s door. We focus so much on his attitude towards Monica because of how obvious it was that we frequently miss these tiny moments and their implications. It would take an awful lot of patience, compassion, and love not to write Frank off completely after all he’s done. Not necessarily our standard definition of love between a son and his father, perhaps, but a loving soul.

2. Monica: I have actually written a pretty lengthy post about his relationship with her because while their shared mental illness definitely plays a role in his feelings toward her, that grew complicated far earlier than his diagnosis. The first time we meet her, we see that he has a visceral reaction to news of her presence. He runs. When Ian can’t process strong emotions, that’s what he’s done in the past. I happened upon an interview Cameron did just after the end of s1 where he mentioned something I had already been thinking: Ian’s age when Monica left is extremely important. He was a kid in s1, but one who could roll with the punches, sometimes literally. She left them two years before that. Ian would have been in middle school, roughly as old as Debbie was when she still called Frank “daddy” and forgave him for everything he did. It’s an awkward age that once again set Ian in something of a danger zone—too old to accept an excuse or no explanation at all, but not old enough to process the situation in a healthy way. And then she’s back all of a sudden with no warning. Ian doesn’t cry like Debbie, and he doesn’t typically get explosively angry like Fiona. He can’t deal, so he runs. He hangs back. He only speaks when he has to and compartmentalizes: Monica wants to take Liam, and they need to stop her. It doesn’t have to be about her leaving. They have a goal—he can focus on that. And then she’s back a year later, saying she’s here to stay while Fiona seems to take her at her word and Lip isn’t there to ground everyone. Ian tries so hard to behave like Lip would with his biting sarcasm and attempts to stay emotionally distant in a way that seemed pretty exaggerated for Ian, but he’s also dealing with a fresh wave of guilt over Mickey going to juvie—and Monica gets it. She’s the only person to acknowledge that he’s in pain and actively try to make it better. She’s the only one who really knows at the time, but that hardly matters. This poor kid, whose mother left him when he still needed her, has her standing in front of him and saying she’s sorry and listening when he speaks and taking him dancing—just the two of them. Embarrassing as it was and harmful as it could have been, she tried to facilitate his dreams when no one else wanted him to go into the military. She was there for him when he went AWOL. She came for him when he was arrested and even wanted to make a place for him in her new life, unrealistic as it was. This goes so much deeper than them both being bipolar. Ian’s comment about her parachuting into their lives in s7 wasn’t about Mickey or her role in them breaking up. He trusted her. He wanted her. He needed her. And she’d convinced him that she would be there—until she left. Over and over again. She was there for him and unintentionally took advantage of how desperately he still needed his mother. She made him keep loving her, and that’s both a blessing that has him crying into a voluminous man’s arms when she passes and a curse that wrecked him more than once.

3. Fiona: The trust these two have for each other cannot be understated. Fiona has discussed things with Ian that she never brought up around any of the other kids throughout the entire series. In the pilot episode, she tells him about feeling needed and takes his opinion on the matter to heart. At the end of the season, he’s the one she talks to about the car because she can trust him to give her an answer even without speaking. In s2, she tells Lip that the two of them are her rocks, and we see that time and time again. That’s part of what makes their falling out over the church hit that much harder: it’s Ian and Fiona. The only time they’d been on the outs in any serious manner up to that point was when Ian was adjusting to his new reality and they were trying to find a balance between sister and caretaker. Otherwise, that bond of trust had never been severed—not until Ian literally sold himself only for it to amount to nothing in the end because she had no idea the lengths to which he’d gone to get that building. That damage gets mended, thankfully, but what a powerful period of time when those two were the only ones who’d never really been at each other’s throats. There is a downside to that trust, though. As I mentioned before, Ian was so responsible and put together when he was younger that Fiona didn’t think twice about his situation with Ned or that he ran away. Not even seventeen yet, and she was telling Debbie that she didn’t like his decision to leave but trusted him. That is one of the things I love about this show—even something like trust that we always prop up as an important factor in our relationships can betray us in the most unexpected ways.

4. Lip: I won’t go into it here, but the relationship they share is something that means a lot to me on a personal level. It’s part of how I knew that Ian would become my favorite character pretty early on. The way he simultaneously admires and envies Lip, loves and is annoyed by him, relies on him and is desperate to pave his own path in the world—what a beautiful and accurate depiction of what it means to be a younger sibling. Lip is the first person to discover that he’s gay and openly accept him for it. (I think what he tried with Karen came from a well-meaning place even if it was horribly, horribly misguided.) Lip is the one who tries to get him into West Point, hate it as he does. He helps Ian when Terry is after him, takes care of him in the aftermath of the wedding when he realizes just how deeply Ian feels for Mickey, searches the whole damn city for him when he finds out that Ian is in trouble, gets him a job, leans on him in his own time of need… He’s not perfect. He slips up, just like Ian does. Some things break my heart, like Lip insisting that he’s earned his own space when his little brother is asking him for safe harbor or Ian thanking him for being his brother outside the prison. But they love each other so much, and I just… I can’t possibly put into words how much I love their dynamic.

5. Debbie, Carl, and Liam: I’m grouping these three together because they’re further separated from Ian in age, so we see a lot of the same trends with them as a whole. Ian loves taking care of people. We know this. We also know that Fiona and Lip don’t typically want him taking care of them—they’re the ones who take care of him when he needs it, specifically Lip. With the younger three, however, Ian can be the Big Brother. He can shake his head in utter bafflement at Debbie’s obsession with holding her breath for two minutes, walk Carl through what he needs to go camping, and promise his baby brother postcards when he leaves. The difference here is that his relationship with them is so much less fraught with conflict. We don’t see him fight with Debbie, Carl, or Liam the way he has with Fiona or Lip. While Ian tends to be the voice of reason during conflicts overall, I think it’s also because he relies on his older siblings in a way that he doesn’t with his younger siblings, and the latter don’t tend to rely on him as much as Fiona or Lip as well. There’s a lack of tension in most of their interactions growing up because that pressure isn’t there. Perhaps this is where Ian’s age and standing in the family is a bit more beneficial: young enough to have people he can rely on while too young for anyone to really rely on him for more than his share of the squirrel fund.

Ian and Friends

I’ve seen it mentioned that Ian (and Mickey) not having more friends is bad or lazy writing. I tend to believe that that fails to take something into account that, admittedly, most of us don’t really have to think about: having friends is a luxury. It requires time and effort to cultivate friendships, especially lasting ones. As a kid, Ian spent a lot of his free time working or helping to manage one family crisis after another. Going AWOL, losing his health, struggling to acclimate to his illness, trying to find a new career path, spiraling into the Gay Jesus movement, going to prison, adjusting once again to normal life, getting married, a pandemic… I’m sure he’s had plenty of acquaintances over the years, but having a family to support and constant upheavals would have made it extremely difficult to really forge strong relationships with them. I think that’s part of what makes his relationship with Mandy so special and valuable to him: she’s sort of the same way.

When we met Mandy in s1, she had other friends. We saw her meet up with them and go shopping; she told Ian a story about how one was mad at her for not sharing her make-up. As the trauma in the Milkovich household reached its zenith for her in s2 and she started thinking seriously about getting out of there, we saw those friends fall by the wayside—all except Ian. He saw her and let her see him early on. That’s a level of trust and respect that nobody else in their neighborhood would have displayed, certainly not to her. But then there’s this guy who defended her against their creepy, perverted teacher and treated her like a human being, not an object. It’s no wonder she developed an obvious, unrequited crush and sought physical comfort from him occasionally. It’s no wonder she tried to repay the favor by giving Mickey a hard time in s3 and s4, misguided and rather uninformed as we know it was at the time. (It’s also no wonder that she went for the closest Gallagher to Ian, either, but that’s for another meta.)

And Ian… Ian is loyal to a fault. We have watched Ian cut out his own heart and let the blood drip down his arm to pool on the floor at his feet if it would make a damn bit of difference for the people he loves. Like Fiona and Lip, Mandy immediately accepted him for who he is and suggested an arrangement that would protect him as well as benefit her. That is enormous where they came from. To him, that had to feel like the ultimate sign of friendship: he could trust her with a part of him that he hadn’t even entrusted to most of his family yet. From that point on, she was on the List of People Ian Gallagher Would Do Anything For. Finding out about Terry and what had happened? He held a bake sale, of all things, to fundraise for her. Seeing that his brother—his best friend—was treating her like garbage? He put him in his place. Her boyfriend was beating her? He brought her home and made it his goal to find a safe place for her to stay, even if it ultimately didn’t work. She was going to move away from all of her meager support with that boyfriend? He didn’t just rally his own arguments—he brought in outside help with Lip, who he thought might tip the scales. It’s usually just a saying that true friends will help each other hide a body, but Ian literally tried to do that. Lucky for him, he has a good head on his shoulders and used it.

No, Ian doesn’t seem to have a lot of friends. We’ve seen that he has spheres of influence, if you will, and acquaintances that he can call upon when he needs them. (For example, the guys that helped with the preacher.) However, Ian has always struck me as a “quality over quantity” type of person. Being a soldier or an EMT isn’t lucrative, but they’re meaningful for someone who sees them as vehicles for helping people. Seeing more parts of the world than just Chicago has appealed to him in the past, but he seems perfectly content to carve out a spot for himself right here at home. Having only three best friends—Lip, Mandy, and Mickey—doesn’t seem like much of a hardship for him.

Ian and Romantic Pursuits

I hate to say that there were five, but from Ian’s perspective, there were. So, let’s talk about all five. Even though…there weren’t five. There was only one. We’ll save the best for last.

1. Kash: The first of Ian’s perceived romantic pursuits that really wasn’t. I hope it goes without saying that I hate this man with the passion of a thousand burning suns. I hate him so much. However, their interactions taught me a whole lot about how kind and compassionate Ian really is—and how naïve. Of course, he would believe that Kash loved him. The man was buying him all sorts of expensive gifts, and that’s what we see on all the commercials and in so many movies, isn’t it? Grand gestures of affection through expensive gifts. Poor as they were, Ian still scraped together the money to buy him baseball tickets and CDs, convinced as he was that that was all part of what you did in a relationship. That desire to do things like a “normal” married couple in s11? Yeah, that starts here. Ian has always been a planner, and he’s always bought into certain stereotypes. We can see that here. What we can also see is Ian’s compassionate, kind, loving soul. He cares so deeply for other people, even ones that he doesn’t know very well, especially if they are living in circumstances that mean something to him. (For example, the mentally ill woman they tried to help at work and the shelter kids whose situations were so similar to Mickey’s.) Kash being a closeted gay man living in misery with a wife he didn’t love and two children he never meant to have clearly tugged at Ian’s heartstrings. Even after everything that happens, even though Ian behaves as though they’re awkward exes who just happen to work together, he still covers for Kash. He gives him that head start and takes it upon himself to break the news to Linda that he’s gone. He defends Kash to Lip when the latter finally says exactly what we all know: he was a pedophile who deserved to rot in prison for what he did. As with Fiona’s trust, Ian’s loving soul, compassionate heart, and desire for love outside his siblings are virtues that have done him harm in the past. This is one such instance.

2. Ned: The second of Ian’s perceived romantic pursuits that really wasn’t. To be honest, I don’t believe that Ian would even characterize it that way. He seemed very aware that Ned was a distraction from his problems—from Mickey being in juvie, Monica falling into a depressive episode, the money in the squirrel fund being gone, Lip moving out, losing his shot at West Point, and getting denied for service due to his age. Again, though, Ian has always wanted to feel valued, and this rich dude was letting him stay in a fancy hotel room with anything he wanted readily available. This (disgusting predator) guy was giving him attention and a distraction with no strings attached. Then the complications roll in, and he’s once again faced with being the mistress to a closeted, married man. The difference here is that he’s not comfortable with it. He tries to tell Fiona twice, which is enormous for Ian when he has never been very good at communicating if it means burdening others with or even merely facing his own problems. But he tries to tell her. He rejects the GPS unit and tells Ned that he has a boyfriend, boxing him into a strictly sexual arrangement. (This, unfortunately, makes sense. It aligns with how Fiona viewed things: where Jimmy was concerned about it, she told him that it was “just sex.”) He is also visibly embarrassed to admit to Lip and Fiona what has been going on with Ned. By that point, Ian is a year and a half older and, while still scarred and warped in his views because of Kash, perhaps a bit wiser. Emotionally, he kept Ned at arm’s length most of the time. He used Ned not just as a distraction, but as a way to galvanize Mickey into taking their relationship a step forward. But Ian is still Ian, and Ian is compassionate to a fault. Ned played that card by asking if he could have a little understanding for a man whose life was falling apart. Sure, he can. He’s Ian, the Gallagher too empathetic for his own good at times. We know how that spirals out of control. It just goes to show that even when Ian was trying to maintain some emotional distance, his heart is simply too big and his perceptions too heavily impacted by the grooming he’d experienced with two different people by then, and so he [SPOILER ALERT] still feels enough of a connection to Ned after all these years to be mildly bothered that he passed away.

3. Caleb: The third of Ian’s perceived romantic pursuits that really wasn’t. Ian’s relationship with Caleb strikes me as being similar to what he had with Ned. While more age-appropriate, Ian was very much using Caleb, just as Caleb was using him. That’s why it was so easy for both of them to walk away. Ian was in a difficult spot when they met. He was grateful to the firefighters who saved his life, but he had also just saved someone else at a moment when he was perhaps at his absolute lowest. That’s what he’s always wanted, isn’t it—to be a bit of a hero and help people? So, he’s understandably drawn there, first out of gratitude and then to be surrounded by very attractive gay firemen who helped people, saved his life, and invited him to be part of a function they were holding. But he made himself pretty clear from the start: he was interested in sex with Caleb. That was the draw. He still hasn’t come to terms with being bipolar and losing Mickey, but Ian has never not been with anyone for any extended length of time. That’s just who he is: he’s always sought some level of outward validation—from the army, Kash, Monica, Mickey, and so many others. We’re seeing him struggle with that now as he deals with the opportunities available to him as a mentally ill ex-con felon. So, he pursues Caleb as a distraction just like he did with Ned, only Caleb is a predator in his own right and can smell that his interest is coming from a place of weakness. He immediately (and initially unintentionally) preys on Ian’s desperate need for structure and order by insisting on a traditional date where Ian is very much out of his element and even goes so far as to instruct Ian on how to be intimate. It’s no wonder he mentions Mickey in these moments, as Mickey never wanted him to change, and Ian leans heavily (even slightly hyperbolically) into the fact that Mickey wasn’t a paragon of order and stability like Caleb outwardly appears.

And I think why Ian puts up with it so long—being taught like a child, being used to upset Caleb’s parents, being paraded in front of his friends to make them jealous—is because he was getting something out of it too, just like with Ned. A stable place to live when their home ownership was in flux, a place away from his family when they weren’t providing the support he needed as he adjusted to his disorder, someone who validated his desires to help people regardless of their ulterior motives, and a physical distraction from his own problems. All of these parallel his relationship with Ned very closely. It was never going to last, of course. Ian is a strong person who temporarily forgot how strong he was because he forgot who he was, and Caleb didn’t want to be cared for—he wanted a project, like all of his sculptures. Being a project, being something that others see as needing to be fixed? That’s a hard no for Ian. It always has been. There’s a moment I love later in their relationship where Caleb tells him to turn off the lights when he goes out and lightly reprimands him for leaving one on the day prior. Ian is in a better place at that point, having regained a lot of his sense of self, and stares after him with indignation at being treated like a kid. He’s then lied to and cheated on, but I think that to mention those things to Caleb when they break up is to admit weakness on his own part—that he stuck with Caleb knowing that he was being mistreated, and Ian is not one to be called a victim. So, while we know from his discussions with Lip and Sue that the cheating and distrust bothered him most, he merely focused on Caleb lying about his sexuality, which removed a lot of the emotion from the situation—just like he did with Ned. It ultimately turned out to be a bad move since Caleb, being a skilled predator, made him question even his own sexuality in return, but we’re starting to see that Ian isn’t here to be someone’s toy anymore. Not an older, married man like Ned, but definitely not anyone his age either. I’m glad this pseudo-relationship happened because it showed Ian how strong he really was and that he could be in control of his own life. Sure, it destabilized him a little in the aftermath, but he worked through it. He leaned on his family, specifically Lip, who has always been his rock without the blurred lines that Fiona represented between sister/mother-figure/caretaker. Caleb is a garbage person, but Ian was the one who pulled the treasure from the trash, not him.

4. Trevor: The fourth of Ian’s perceived romantic pursuits that really wasn’t. Trevor is perhaps the first relationship where we don’t see Ian dive in. Whether that’s because of his confusion over Trevor’s gender identity or the fact that he was really beginning to fully mature as an adult by that point (ostensibly finishing his education, getting a career, being fully self-sufficient, etc.), he tried to take his time and not jump right in. They hung out, talked around the neighborhood, and yes, engaged in some casual intimacy at the club. Again, Ian might not be in a full relationship, but he’s never without someone for long. At that point in the series, all he was missing was a relationship when it comes to traditional, “normal” goals for people to have. But Trevor posed a situation he’s never been in before since, while gay himself, Ian has never been very interested in activism or engaging in the LGBT community. It’s just not in his culture or environment, so to be faced with someone he’s interested in that challenges a lot of his views of gender and sexuality is something he takes his time with. Unfortunately, Trevor is younger than him and not quite as mature, not quite as experienced. He tells Ian he has plenty of friends and doesn’t need another, which is an ultimatum that has never really sat very well with me personally because I’m generally of the mind that if a person needs time and you really care for them, you’ll let them have that time. I’m not unsympathetic to Trevor: he’s been burned before and has his own trauma stemming from responses to his identity, so it makes complete sense for him not to be patient in this regard. He shouldn’t have to be—but then, Ian shouldn’t have to rush into anything he’s not 100% certain he wants either. That’s exactly what he does, though, because Ian does for others without thinking of the implications for himself a lot of the time. They make great friends, but they don’t make great partners. Trevor treats Ian similarly to Caleb in that he’s a bit of a project. Trevor educates him on the LGBT community and incorporates him into his ventures for the shelter without ever really showing much interest in Ian’s life or family, which suits Ian just fine because for as interested as he is in helping with the shelter and as attracted to Trevor as he is, he seems to know they’re not compatible. Ian, who has been having sex since he was far too young, takes a step back from it when they run into compatibility issues. (And pushes back on the pressure to bottom with some of his own—neither of them were in the right on that.) He doesn’t ask much about Trevor’s family or try to be part of his personal life. They sort of embody the “friends with benefits” stereotype: they hang out, they have sex, and that’s really all there is to their relationship.

The reason Ian doubles down on trying to make it work isn’t because there was a future for them before Mickey broke out. It’s because he thinks he’s lost Mickey forever, he knows he’s lost Monica forever, and he’s not going to get the support he needs from his family when they couldn’t stand Monica and Fiona told him what he already knew to be true, namely that Mickey being an escaped convict would destroy everything Ian worked so hard for if he got involved. So, he does what Ian does. He needs that distraction—he needs to run from these strong emotions he can’t process, so he bottles them up and unfairly hopes that Trevor will provide some of that comfort after cheating on him with Mickey. (Had Mickey been released, I think they would have broken up. Instead, that was the first match Ian lit, but certainly not the last.) Now, the thing is, Trevor said at the start that he didn’t want to be Ian’s friend. He’s also younger and less mature in a relationship, which means he threw the concept of love out there prematurely, just like Ian thought what he had with Kash was love. The death throes of their relationship were a back and forth where Ian was spiraling and seeking comfort, and Trevor was providing some while keeping their relationship pretty amorphous. (Were they exes? Were they friends? Were they people who shared interests and danced around each other? Were they going to get back together? They never officially broke up—it fizzled and resurged, then fizzled for good.) Ultimately, whatever it was that they had couldn’t survive Mickey, Monica, or Gay Jesus. Trevor wasn’t prepared to deal with a full-blown manic episode, and based on his hands-off approach with involving himself in Ian’s life even before the Mickey-shaped bomb got dropped on them, it doesn’t seem like he really wanted to anyway. He did what he’s always done: prioritized his shelter, which I’m not deriding in the slightest. By that point, Ian was too far gone to care that he disappeared anyway. Had the situation been different and he was getting the support from his family that he needed, it doesn’t seem like he would have cared much there either.

5. Mickey: Finally. Only took over five thousand words to get here. I’ll preface this with something that anyone who knows me from other fandoms is already well aware of, namely that I don’t do romance. Ever. Never been interested. The relationships I’ve always been most passionately interested in are platonic ones, especially “found families” and siblings, which is probably obvious from the other five thousand words here. Ian and Mickey are the first relationship I’ve actively shipped or written for in a fandom. They’re the first I’ve been invested in to this extent. As such, one of the biggest pet peeves I had when I first joined this fandom was the saying, “Ian fell first, Mickey fell harder.” These two wonderful dumbasses face planted on the concrete in front of the Kash and Grab in s1 and never recovered. I could go on forever about these two, but that particular wall of text would probably be too daunting for even the most avid Gallavich stan to traverse, so I’ll keep it fairly brief. As we can see above, Ian has a very strict sense of what he “should” want in a partner. Someone who is moderately successful in their chosen field, makes enough money to at least live comfortably, and typically does something that helps other people (a doctor, a fireman, a youth counselor). These aren’t passionate people. They’re not men who operate on instinct the way most of the people in his life have always had to by virtue of their social standing. They have life goals and opportunities that he envies, and Ian has a great deal of compassion for them when they hit a roadblock or things don’t work out. The amazing dichotomy of Ian Gallagher is that he straddles a line most people can’t between the rough neighborhood that has instilled in him all of his values/behaviors and the middle-class mentality of pulling yourself up by your bootstraps and aspiring to more. Ian has always aimed for what Lip said wasn’t possible for poor people: being successful without having to scam or steal. But as I said way back at the beginning of this manifesto, the South Side is his home. His family is his family. And none of the people he’s been with personify the South Side quite like Mickey—they don’t personify home like Mickey.

And I think that’s where the initial draw for Ian is. (I’m going to focus on Ian’s side since he’s who your question focused on.) The other guys look great on paper, and Ian’s brain says that that’s what he should aim for. We know better, though. We know that Ian has an enormous heart that belongs first and foremost to his family and their home. His heart says that this person—this dirty, rude, mean, violent person—is home. His heart says this person is everything about himself that he denies having, just like Ian was everything about Mickey that the latter declined to openly acknowledge for so long. I don’t like relationships built on “making each other better.” I really don’t. The wonderful thing about this is that it’s never been that way. Ian didn’t change Mickey. He’s exactly who he’s always been, but he’s grown past the fear of his own emotions and Terry’s response to them. He’s still a thief, a con artist, violent, and rude. Mickey didn’t change Ian either. He’s still rigidly conforming to certain stereotypes of what he thinks he should want, seeking structure (to his own detriment at times), and not a great communicator. The point for them is that they complement each other, not that they make the other a better person—not even that they bring something out of each other that wasn’t already there. That’s what Ian’s other relationships did. They made him shave off his edges so that he could fit a square peg into a round hole, and that’s not happiness. It’s simply what he thought he was supposed to do—what “normal” people did.

With Mickey, he doesn’t have to worry so much about what is normal or acceptable. He doesn’t have to worry about whether or not his life is objectively “on track,” not until fairly recently. Mickey is the only person he’s ever been with who has accepted him for who he is, faults and strengths alike, without the underlying insinuation that he should be aiming for something else or pretending to be whatever the other person needs him to be in order to care for them. Kash needed an escape—Ian provided it. Ned needed a very specific brand of toy—Ian played that role. Caleb needed a project to feel fulfilled—Ian went along with it for a bit. Trevor needed someone who accepted him as he was but did things his way—Ian did that. To care for Mickey has only ever meant being himself because all Mickey ever really needed was him. Mickey didn’t need an escape from his home—his relationship with his family is more complicated than that. Mickey didn’t need to be saved from his upbringing—it’s what made him the person Ian fell in love with and who he is happy to be. Mickey didn’t need someone to change who he is on a fundamental level because unless it is going to get him into trouble and separate them, Ian never wanted him to. (Even then, it’s about what he does, not who he is.) And yes, I’m sure that there’s a level of excitement that Ian finds exhilarating where Mickey is concerned, but I tend to believe it goes a lot deeper than that. What he finds exciting about Mickey is what Mickey embodies about the South Side—about home. About his own upbringing, but also Ian’s. About Frank and Monica, his siblings, school, work, ROTC—existing and surviving in an environment where it’s not guaranteed that you’ll have money to keep the heat on this winter or feed your family. They spent the early seasons living in a constant state of fight or flight. They couldn’t afford not to. And there’s excitement in that. Look at how many people say that the first seasons are their favorite! There hasn’t been a huge shift in the quality or direction of the writing, just the trajectory of the characters. They’ve gotten older, and their problems have been different. It’s not about survival so much of the time anymore, but those are the storylines that excite us. For Ian, that exhilaration in the constant battle of survival in their neighborhood is sewn into the fiber of his being just like it is Mickey’s. He saw his home in Mickey before they truly fell in love, and when that followed, Mickey became home.

In Conclusion

Ian has spent his entire life looking for the “right” path only to realize that it was laid before him: his family, his small circle of friends, and Mickey. I love that that is coming full circle this season, where [SPOILER ALERT] marriage has almost made him regress a bit to that place where there must be a right way of doing things going forward, and slowly but surely, we’re seeing him loosen up.

Good morning. It’s Ian Gallagher loving hours.

#shameless #ian gallagher #it's ian gallagher loving hours #shameless meta #well that took six hours #and I didn't get more writing done #but I feel accomplished

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lesbianrobin · 3 years

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have u done an analysis on endgame st ships? a penny for ur thoughts

i have not!! i would like two pennies please. my thoughts are not actually worth that much but i think i deserve them anyway. i’m gonna talk about some stuff that may seem unrelated or only loosely related to the question but i prommy it’s relevant <3 warning this ended up being like a thousand words somehow idk how that happened but i’m putting it under a cut bc i’m nice like that.

so! something that’s kinda unique/interesting to me about stranger things is how all of their ships are so clearly telegraphed and quickly developed. there’s a sense of... impatience, for lack of a better word. on the surface, it appears to be largely an effect of the cinematic style of the show; there’s very little room for questioning who someone’s gonna end up with or for slowly developing a relationship over time when you only get eight episodes every like. twoish years. AND you have about a dozen main characters AND evil government forces AND monsters from another dimension. it’s a lot to juggle!

stranger things has a lot to accomplish in a pretty short amount of time. the timeline of a single season usually spans no more than a week (excluding flashbacks/end-of-season timeskips), and well... nobody wants the important stuff to happen offscreen! i’ll use the stoncy love triangle as an example: jancy was originally intended to get together at the end of s1 after steve’s death, but since they decided to let steve redeem himself and survive, there was just no time to separate stancy and get jancy together without it seeming wayyy too abrupt. since jancy was always their plan, they didn’t want to leave nancy with steve, but they knew they couldn’t just have that boyfriend swap occur offscreen... which is why s2 Had to have a stancy breakup plot in order for the writers to accomplish their goal of getting jancy together.

the main characters in stranger things tend to maintain homeostasis between seasons, their circumstances and relationships rarely changing any more than the audience might have just assumed they would anyway (like lucas and max dancing together + sharing a kiss at the end of s2 and officially dating by the start of s3). steve and nancy are dating at the end of s1, so they must still be dating at the start of s2, and thus we must break them up DURING s2. joyce and hopper are friends with some deeply buried feelings in s2, so they’re friends with Less Buried feelings that must become apparent during s3. excluding the stancy situation (for reasons which i think are obvious but i will talk more about later), momentum is always forwards. mileven, lumax, and jancy argue, but they come back together, presumably more mature and stronger than before.

all of this is to say that stranger things has thus far been rather dedicated to their starting ships. there isn’t much misdirection; mike’s crush on el is obvious from the start, nancy and jonathan share charged moments even while she is with steve in the beginning, lucas shows interest in max immediately and shares more significant interactions with her than the other boys from early on in s2, and the deep loyalty and care between joyce and hop is always apparent. steve and robin (initially intended to be together romantically) hold hands quite early in s3 and dustin asks steve about whether he likes her.

the point? stranger things doesn’t dick around when it comes to love! they handle their ships with remarkable efficiency. in each season, it tends to be pretty obvious from the start who’s going to end up with who, and heading into the show’s fourth season, almost everybody is paired off: mike and el, max and lucas, joyce and hop, nancy and jonathan. which leaves us asking... are all of them going to last until the end?

we’ve only had one true breakup on the show so far, and as i’ve said before, the stancy breakup is an anomaly as it was essentially “righting a wrong,” allowing jonathan and nancy to get together as they were intended to do from the start. the only other romantic relationship to end on the show was between joyce and bob, and well... we all know why that ended, and it started/ended within the confines of a single season.

stranger things tends to treat each season as an extended film, right? they draw inspiration from classic 80′s films, and each subsequent season after s1 is treated as a sequel (they are Literally referred to as stranger things 2 and stranger things 3). when they introduce tension in a season, they’re inclined to resolve that tension by the season’s end so that people leave satisfied, while also providing a plot hook for the next “sequel” for audiences to theorize about. this hook is always part of the grander plot, not a will-they-won’t-they tease or something else of the sort. remember, they could have broken up steve and nancy in s2 and waited to get jancy together in s3, but they didn’t! they wanted to go ahead and resolve the tension!

while there are narrative and practical incentives that i’ve covered for this impatience/efficiency/[insert better word i can’t think of here], i also think it kinda reveals something about the writers of the show. to some degree, they genuinely care about and want their ships to be together! we’ve watched them introduce new characters just to kill them off a couple of times now, and i think it’s fair to say that the writers might be a bit too attached to the mains to consider killing any of them off (at least prior to the series finale). maybe... this reluctance to kill their darlings extends to ships.

romance isn’t the primary draw of the show, but an indulgence, something that there may not always be time for but that the writers continue to prioritize as much as they can because they enjoy it, or feel that it is important to the overall product. if we accept this idea, that the inclusion of and focus on so many romantic relationships in stranger things is (to some degree) indicative of the writers’ own desires, then it might inform our speculation regarding endgame ships.

i’m not here to like... really actually assert that i know what’ll be endgame, because i don’t really know jack shit. however, i do think that the writers are pretty invested in all of the current canon st ships (and yes, i am including jopper in that, as their romantic development was explicit in s3). i also think that the writers like catering to fans, leaning into popular jokes (steve “the hair” harrington) and devoting more and more time to the ships fans obsess over (particularly mileven).

with this all in mind... i really think that most if not all of the current canon ships will be endgame.

i think that barring any extreme circumstances (i.e. a character Actually dying instead of just fake dying) jopper will be endgame. they’re the only ones that the writers have had the restraint to actually do a slow burn with, and i really can’t see them devoting so much to developing their dynamic just to say it was all for nothing in the end.

i’m less confident on the others. there are some signs in canon that the remaining couples have some serious problems and may not last, but these issues are often dismissed, played for comedy or brushed over within the text itself, and many of the details within the text contradicting this dismissal are often so small that it’s unclear whether they’re intentional or not. while breaking up mileven might make perfect sense for a fan who reads into subtext and pays attention to unusual acting choices and subtle parallels, it would be a pretty risky move on the surface level. allowing these ships to remain canon for awhile and garner large fanbases only to break them up later would require both a willingness to actively contradict the desires of their audience as well as a certain degree of restraint in their romantic storytelling, which runs counter to the impression i personally have of the st writers (this is, of course, my own personal opinion).

there’s a good chance that at least one of the current canon ships will break up by the end, if only because i think that it would be a little boring if every relationship stayed the same for almost the entirety of the show’s run, and the stranger writers like to keep things new and exciting. perhaps long distance will kill jancy or mileven, or lucas and max will go off again and never come back on, but either way i wouldn’t be surprised if we got a breakup in s4. even with that, though, i think it’s somewhat likely that a current couple may break up in s4 and get back together for the series finale, just for the sake of a little suspense. overall, though, i feel like our current canon ships are going to be more or less the same at the end of the show.

that’s about it. i suppose i didn’t really... answer the question you asked skdndsdkjc i feel like you probably just wanted to know like if i’m a byler endgame truther (which i am not but i could happily be proven wrong). thank you for asking, though! i hope this made at least a little bit of sense.

#me answering an ask: yeah this is long as fuck and makes no sense drop it #asks #em talks #lesbianrobin.canon #stranger things

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saltbroom · 5 years

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S3 Meta: How the Joy Hardbroom Arc Could Have Worked Without the Confinement

I want to preface this by saying: I’m not a TV writer, and I don’t want to act like it’s an easy job in the slightest. All of this is very easy to fix with hindsight, and I have certain ideas about why the confinement was included narratively that I’ll get into, but looking at my problems with s3 and s2 to an extent, what has bothered me is the style of writing that places plot over characterization, and even actively hurts characterization in favor of the plot. Kids TV can get away with doing this, but I think the reason so many of us are so dissatisfied with how the show has gone is that s1 set a specific writing precedent where character arcs had a lot more weight, and the plot tended to be written around the characters rather than vice versa. That, however, is another post entirely. So let’s get into how I would have liked to see s3 change. There are a lot of things about s3 I liked, and I actually really like parts of Hecate’s backstory and the addition of Indigo to her story. Here, however, is how I would have liked to see it changed:

1. Joy is a child who thinks the code doesn’t apply to her. This can stay because I think that it’s an important aspect of this arc. It's also one of the first things Hecate mentions when she tells Mildred this story.

2. Joy meets Indigo Moon, they become best friends, they do everything together, Indigo can see her because she believes in magic, etc, etc

3.Joy never gets caught by the teachers and is never confined.

4.The episode Finding Joy establishes that Indigo talked to Joy extensively about her family life. It's clear Indigo hasn't had it easy and likely lost her parents, then moved in with her extended family who she doesn't seem to think like her presence. I think it's heavily implied that she's a runaway child, since she would often live outside, even in the rain, despite the fact that she had an aunt and uncle who must have taken her in. Some more details about Indigo’s situation would have probably helped tbh.

5. Joy feels tremendous sympathy for Indigo's situation (I’ve talked with people about this, but we know nothing of Hecate’s family and it’s entirely possible it wasn’t a good situation either, so maybe she feels a specific kinship with Indigo for that reason) Joy decides that because Indigo has nowhere to go (at least, no where she feels she belongs), and because Indigo can see magical people, she should come to Cackles. They could establish Joy knowing about a wishing star in the main office and plan for Indigo to sneak into school during half term (its established in Selection Day that students can stay over break to help the teachers which is what esme was doing) so that Joy can give her magic, and then maybe help her study over the break so Indigo can apply during Selection Day. This basically sets up the entire necessary plot without Joy needing to be confined. It also establishes a good motive for Joy to give Indigo magic (because Indigo is her friend, she wants Indigo to feel like she belongs somewhere, and she wants her to have somewhere to physically stay)

In this case, Joy would be making a conscious decision to break the code for a reason she believes is totally justified. Imo this would make the consequences of her actions far more impactful and far more devastating. I honestly think the confinement was meant to add sympathy to Joy's decision, where rather than breaking the code out of a disregard for the rules and consequences, Joy is driven to break the rules through the magnitude of her loneliness and isolation. But to me, the tragedy of the situation should have come from the hubris: Joy has to learn the hard way the enormous price of not taking magic or rules seriously, even with good intentions, and this situation proceeds to inform the Hecate we know now and all of her motivations. Honestly, that’s still the tragedy of the situation to me, but the confinement has significantly overshadowed that aspect of it despite the fact that I really don’t think it’s what we’re meant to focus on.(For example, the entire Indigo tragedy is the basis of her arc this season, whereas the confinement is barely touched upon outside of Bad Magic and only brought up again when it’s being lifted. Narratively, it didn’t take a lot of president in the story, which makes me think the writers didn’t think of it as that big of a deal)

I think this method also would have created a stronger parallel between her and Mildred. Mildred was on the fence about giving her mom magic until Hecate humiliated Julie in front of the school. While I still don't like that scene, I might have liked it a lot more if they let Mildred call Hecate out on it later, and brought it up in connection to the Indigo arc. Mildred says something along the lines of “If [Julie] doesn’t have magic, she’ll never fit in” while not directly the same situation, Mildred wanted her Mom to belong and knew that having magic was the only way to accomplish that. This could add a ton of weight and meaning to Hecate’s line in The Cackle Run; “The girl does not belong here. And she never will.”, Imagine hearing that if this was previously established, it would show how far she’s fallen in the tremendous care for Indigo she had as a girl. Something this season really needed with the constant parallels being drawn between Mildred and Joy’s actions, was an actual frank conversation between Hecate and Mildred, where Mildred brings up her motivations in giving Julie magic and how similar Joy's motivations were with Indigo, and use it as a way to call out Hecate's refusal to tell Indigo the truth. I think the dialogue would sound something like this:

"You told me you wanted Indigo to belong. I wanted my mum to belong too. Why can't you make Indigo feel like she belongs now?"

I think this type of conversation could open up a lot of interesting avenues for Hecate's character arc, where she would have an internal battle over the years she spent suppressing her feelings about what she did to Indigo and her personal morality that she formed about breaking the code, vs. the reality in front of her, where keeping her identity from Indigo and refusing to move forward is detrimental for everyone, including herself.

Basically, most of the events that happened with Indigo returning to Cackles and Hecate's reactions to them could have been the same. Plus they could have had an even more thought out conclusion to Hecate's self blame and guilt with her eventually accepting that 1) she was a child who made a mistake and 2) she needs to face up to her problems and fulfill her original motivation in giving Indigo magic; to give Indigo a place to belong. In concealing her identity and treating Indigo similarly to Mildred in s1, Hecate became another adult who let Indigo down, and while I love the scene where Hecate apologizes, I would have loved to see a more full-circle arc in terms of characterization. Hecate maintains the lessons she carried into adulthood about breaking the code but also forgives the child she used to be and fulfills her childhood wish for Indigo.

AND FINALLY, this wouldn't make her presence at Cackles problematic or paint the entire academy in a weirdly sinister light, which I seriously doubt was the actual intention when the confinement was written. I think functionally, the confinement was a means to an end in terms of moving the plot in a specific way, setting up the situation for Indigo to come to the academy, a way to add more tragedy to Hecate's background, and a symbolic way to show Hecate moving forward when she asks for it to be lifted to look for Indigo. Beyond that, there didn't seem to be a lot of thought put into what the actual ramifications of this would be for her as a character.

What do y’all think? Did I do ok? Discussion would be lovely, if you have thoughts or even disagreements hit me up.

#the worst witch #hecate hardbroom #tww s3 #tww spoilers #indigo moon #joy hardbroom #long post #extremely long post lmao

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badasshybridqueen · 5 years

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okay, if you could redo season 5 how would you write the end of to???

Oh anon - you shouldn’t have opened this box of worms. But I’m gonna answer this because I have needs to get that shit out. BUT. I’m going to preface this with: I mean NO offense to anyone, any muses, or any one else’s opinions. This is simply MY opinion on how I would have written season 5 & what I would have done differently.Let’s start off with the facts. 90% of season 5 was basically a set up for Legacies and Hopes tragic backstory because god forbid Julie make a character interesting without giving them some kind of crazy tragedy. [ Plus Phoebe, Joseph and Daniel REFUSED to do Legacies so she killed them all off because it wouldn’t make sense that her parents and uncle wouldn’t bail her out of trouble - THIS was literally in an interview Julie did. LoL ]That being said the first thing I would have changed is this season being a setup for Legacies. My ideal S5 would have still had Summer in it playing Hope & waiting to use Danielle until Legacies started. But we’ll stick with the time jump for now.- Klaus would have kept in touch with Hope through video chat, phone calls and letters. [ the only reason they made him a “dead beat dad” was to give Hope a reason to act like a little shit, which still made no sense because even though she didn’t have Klaus she had healthy & loving relationships with the rest of her family. She was a well adjusted 7 year old and we come back 8 years later and all of a sudden she’s this crazy out of control teen who feels unloved and abandoned? UM hello you have a mother who’s done nothing but be there for you. You have aunts and uncles who talk to you all the time. Okay you don’t have you dad..but really? ANYWAY ]- Hope would not be selling her blood & making hybrids to get money to track down her dad. [ The fucking Mikaelson’s have been around 1000+ years. They have money. This was just stupid writing and it made Hope seem like a reckless child who doesn’t care about anyone but herself & her needs. And considering she was so compassionate at 7 years old I find this super hard to believe ]- Hope NEVER would have kidnapped Hayley because that’s another thing that was fucking stupid. You kidnap the one person who’s been there for you, your entire life to bring your dad back? WHAT? That’s just poor fucking writing. - Caroline would be NOWHERE near TO. I’m sorry but Klaus hasn’t seen or spoken to Caroline since that ridiculous episode where he went back to Mystic Falls during S1 of TO. And then I think he spoke to her on the phone once? In S2 or maybe S3? I’m not sure it was whenever Stefan came to TO. But they have their own lives. They never mention each other - and they’ve both moved forward with their lives. Having her pop in during the FINAL season of TO when she’s never been a part of the show and making her seem important to this story when she’s not is ridiculous lol. It would be one thing if they threaded her through the story from the beginning but they didn’t. And as a viewer I’m expected to believe that after they haven’t seen each other in 15 years that SHE’S the person he’ll listen to and not the people that have been in his life for the past 15 years? Julie pls - sit your ass down because no. What they should have done is have Candace be in Legacies because THAT would have made more sense then even putting Alaric there. - There would not be a large focus on so many new characters. Declan would never have happened. And the whole weird ass Nazi storyline never would have happened either.- I still would have written Hayley getting kidnapped, but instead of their weird nazi shit, I would have had one person from each faction working together to kidnap her so that they can create a war between the factions so no one would be united.- I would have had Klaus actually succeed in saving Hayley so he could have KEPT his promise to Hope. He promised to deliver her mother to her and ofc they made him fail [ Which is ridiculous again honestly I can’t ]- I would have had Hope defeat the Hollow period. No Hollow stuck in her killing her - that whole thing was stupid. Hope is a first born Mikaelson witch & she’s a tribrid. She’s supposed to be the most powerful witch there is. She was doing magic when she was an infant - hell her blood healed Hayley when she was in the fucking womb and you’re telling me she couldn’t beat the Hollow? Nope. Hope would have destroyed it after she locked them all together in the mind place.-The family would have taken care of Greta and the other two people working with her to start a war and killed them all. Josh would NOT have died. Elijah could get hims memories back and then the whole family dinner with everyone could have INCLUDED Hayley - the way it should have.- Basically since The Originals was supposed to be the show about FAMILY - season 5 would have been about bringing the family back together, restoring friendships, relationships in general and then Klaus and Hayley would have dropped Hope back off at school together we would have gotten a nice moment of the three of them as a family [ which we barely got in later seasons ] Maybe even a flash forward of when Hope is older and a full tribrid and flashes of each of the family members and what their doing as like a small montage and like a small montage of Hayley and Hope traveling with Klaus like having little “family” moment showing them giving their daughter everything they never had. And then the final scene would have been Elijah and Klaus ending the show like it started except they wouldn’t be dying they’d be “starting” their next adventure or whatever something like that. And then Legacies could be everything that happens from the minute they drop Hope off together once all is well in NOLA to the flash forward from the end of TO.And that is what I would have done if I were writing it. No emphasis on romantic ships perse - but giving everyone closure with all their relationships and leaving it somewhat open with the focus on FAMILY.ONE DAY I WILL WRITE THIS FIC…okay I want to write it but I’m lazy so probably not but yes lol.

reblog if you want to be spammed with anonymous asks │Accepting

#Anonymous #The Originals #S5 #Hayley Marshall #Anti S5 #all yoυr qυeѕтιonѕ anѕwerѕ│Cori Answers

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ra-lek · 5 years

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I have watched mr robot so many times and I am still confused to why they picked “red wheelbarrow” as season 2 and 3’s symbol and how it ties the show together? Where did it come from? What’s the actual significance of it?

aalright first thing’s first- i’m so sorry for the long wait. i’ve been busy & all over the place but i wanted to give this ask my full attention because i’m beyoNd excited to get into it!!

second- this gets long. like, very long. so if you’re cool w that; buckle up, click on that ‘read more’ and let’s go: the red wheelbarrow

i’m gonna attempt to explain all the questions above- to the best of my ability. but to do so i have to make something clear: as you will see in my analysis below, or if you’ve, y’know, seen the show- mr robot does not play episodes in chronological order. or scenes, for that matter.

there was absolutely no way to know anything about a red wheelbarrow until the end of s2- so, naturally, there are going to be gaps in my list. but in order to fill them, we need to see what we missed out on once s4 comes out. (this is basically my apologies in advance if some questions are left unanswered)

so, some facts: the red wheelbarrow is a poem written by william carlos williams & published in 1923. it’s a real, existing poem, and the first time it appears in mr robot is actually in the FIRST season. and that’s exactly why it’s such a staple to the rest of the story.

but you see, the scene itself is split into puzzle pieces across 3 seasons.

so let’s treat it as such. i’m going to list & highlight important scenes in each season the best i can and then we’ll piece it all together, sounds good?

SEASON 1

this is the very base of the series. so it’s not surprising the red wheelbarrow is nested within it. trust me, if i attempted to piece everything together in one post it’ll be longer than a fucking bible so i’m only going to focus on the god night™

okay, so- the first time some shady shit happened was in episode 8 when we saw an SUV parked at coney island in which tyrell and mr robot were sitting & having a discussion. tyrell starts the conversation by saying he has to know what mr robot is planning because they were meant to be allies; that they want the same thing & he wants to be involved.

mr robot responds with flat out telling him he’s wrong- that there’s nothing they could possibly agree on. tyrell demands more explanations and mr robot is so fed up at this point he goes to leave only to be pulled back by his shirt. tyrell asks “aren’t you forgetting i know about your dirty little secret? there are people close to you who wouldn’t be happy if they knew what i know” to which robot replies casually. they’re both too smart to allow pettiness to dictate their actions, there’s no benefit to either one of them to say those things to anybody- and that the best thing for tyrell to do when it comes to HIM? is nothing.

the scene ends there but transitions into mr wellick coming home lookin’ like a wreck and downing half a bottle of vodka- this surprises joanna since she actually heard some good news from tyrell’s lawyer- but he interrupts by telling her none of that matters; because there’s this tech he met a month ago, talks about his motives a bit to a very concerned woman at this point- and when he mentions not seeing what’s above them- she asks what it is exactly. he responds, “god.”

at this point into the show, the ‘who is mr robot’ reveal hasn’t happened yet.

the conversation he had with tyrell happened the day before it, actually. since, in the same episode, elliot gets to find out who his family is- and the episode ends with mr robot saying “it’s time to talk.” and the reason i know this is because the following episode starts and,

episode 9.

suddenly, it’s morning. elliot is freaking out and yelling and he’s confused and we’re confused and we’re yelling and mr robot is not helping at all by being so goddamn vague but there is one sentence that stands out and that is - “especially since that unprompted visit from tyrell wellick last night”

he is referring to the car scene only. because both he and tyrell came home after that talk- so it is not a 5/9 attack they did then. because, once again, there’s a sentence mr robot says: “i’ll explain everything. tonight.”

alright then so how do i explain the fact darlene was in elliot’s room looking for his meds after the reveal scene and THEN tyrell entered? – it’s actually pretty simple, it didn’t happen the day of the reveal.

because, remember, elliot realized who darlene was the day before. she is concerned because he forgot again. those are the meds she’s looking for- they never acknowledge HIM.

once she leaves, and says she’ll be back with the meds soon- it’s understandable why she’s been looking for elliot for quite some time earlier in the episode and why mr robot came to elliot’s apartment at night- but they only had the ‘talk’ in the morning.

that same, unfortunate night for elliot tbh, tyrell enters the room and says he’s been waiting for darlene to leave. he approaches him for the first time, tells him how he strangled a woman and how he knows everything elliot’s been behind. that’s he’s the one constant in the sea of variables. so, he puts on his ‘fighting’ gloves and-

next thing we know, we’re in the arcade. elliot talks about changing the world and whatnot- says no one else is involved- tyrell very beautifully says “well it’s you and me now” and the episode ends with elliot looking over to the popcorn machine.

this is the night of the 5/9 attack.

we know, because elliot wakes up in tyrell’s car- 2 days later- and is met with world destruction (the song) playing in the background. you know what i mean- the deed has been done we don’t have time for this.

one more thing to point out about s1 before we wrap that one up is: when elliot searches for tyrell, joanna recognized him as the young tech her husband told her about when he was going on about god or whatever. she asked him when she last saw him and if he seemed strange- elliot replied with “a week ago” and “no” which she found funny because, the last time she saw him, he was acting very strange.

SEASON 2

elliot put himself in jail out of spite. anyway, as i said, not a lot of time to decipher everything so let’s get to the main meal. we get some teasers about tyrell being a wanted criminal associated w fsociety and the one behind 5/9. that’s all the info we need cause the piece we’re searching for here is in episode 12.

we get the full version of the car scene!! this time, we see elliot as mr robot- delivering the same line. however, we were lead to believe that once mr robot exited the car it was the end of the scene but no no no no no- tyrell now opens his door and calls out to elliot.

he’s desperate and just wants to be a part of this project honestly so he says there’s something between them and he can feel it. now, mr robot/elliot says “you’re only seeing what’s in front of you. you’re not seeing what’s above you” tyrell asks for an explanation, doesn’t get one, and so he decides to fight cryptic with cryptic and recite the poem we mentioned like 7 hours ago.

“so much depends upon a red wheelbarrow, glazed with rainwater, beside the white chickens.”

now mr robot/elliot is intrigued. he lowers his head slightly and tyrell explains how his father used to quote that old poem all the time, how it meant so much to him, that it had been the only english he knew. so today, tyrell is using it as a reminder. a reminder of him, and a reminder of what he never wants to become.

i’m going to take one more paragraph to dedicate to this season and say: no this is not the only important thing. i’m just trying to not spiral out of the main focus. but if you’re interested you can send me an ask about red wheelbarrow spottings and meanings in s2 by just sending “godot?” and i gotchu, granted, in a few days- but i gotchu.

SEASON 3

this is where we get the full picture. well, sorta. because we don’t know exactly what happened after they part ways. but it’s okay, it’s not like the show is over.

now, a psychology break: elliot alderson suffers from dissociative identity disorder. (shocker, i know) mr robot is an alter. but you know a fun fact? most DID cases have more than just one alter. there’s at least two besides the host personality. and they all serve a specific purpose in order to keep you alive and help you cope with extreme trauma.

mr robot, as we’ve seen him, is a protector. the moment tyrell put on those beating gloves it was a trigger and mr robot took over. same for when those neo-nazis were punching elliot, same for when he took a beating from ray’s men, and so on. — point is: alters come out with a help of a trigger. just how elliot says talking to darlene makes him see mr robot more often, for instance.

this is important because, even though neither he nor mr robot remember the quote, elliot can’t stop thinking about red wheelbarrows. he’s named his journal after it, he draws wheelbarrows in it.

the red wheelbarrow. something tyrell associated with his father whom he despised. something about that changed something in elliot- it could’ve been a trigger, it might’ve pulled another alter forward.

so, without further ado, let’s paint:

how about we pick up from what we see in s1e9. since, all of this happens in that day. welcome to 5/9

elliot remembers leading tyrell into the arcade, he remembers looking at popcorn. and that’s it. (he says so at the beginning of his journal, too) elliot switched with mr robot for enough time to remember tyrell and popcorn. but also there’s just something about wheelbarrows that keeps ringing in his head during his time in prison.

next, everything is from mr robot’s perspective. he slowly reaches for the gun, aims it at tyrell, fires- but nothing happens. this leads tyrell to an impressive conclusion: they’re gods. he insists they were destined to be together and work together. so he says “now i understand- when you told me i wasn’t seeing what was above me” and while he goes off we see mr robot’s face frowning with confusion because.

“what the fuck are you talking about?”

he doesn’t remember saying that, doesn’t remember the poem. but he disregards all of that once tyrell drops on his knees and aims the gun at his own head. he wants to test fate once more, so they do. which is when mr robot decides tyrell is just the right amount of crazy to save him from himself.

as the hacking is happening, the dark army arrives. irving, walking in, explains the honeypot situation which was reported to the FBI (dark army owns them) so. they’re here.

remember, elliot had discussed the honeypot with whiterose- not mr robot.

irving sees the gun on the table, sees the situation, casually threatens both of them in this very charming way of his. it’s very clear they’re fucked and have to comply with what the dark army says. they ask mr robot if he knows how to drive that SUV out front- he says yes. irving explains they will be taking care of tyrell, cause now he’s the most wanted criminal there is- and robot is advised to drive it to a location elliot wakes up in season 1 finale.

above him, glasses with an usb containing the ‘boardwalk fail’ clip.

NOW,

tyrell got taken to a cabin, kept away from the world, chopping wood and asking where elliot is, chatting with irving occasionally- until one day he wakes to see some unusual things, among which is mr. williams if you remember, that’s the last name of the poet- but doesn’t have to mean much.

he asks him questions, until he proves he’s loyal to them. however, he says he is only loyal to elliot. which is a good answer- because the DA is now giving him a laptop and they’re starting to work on stage2. but then;

“the operation will be called the red wheelbarrow, mr. alderson’s request.”

THAT is how it ties everything together, where it came from, who said it, the only thing left to decipher is why it stuck. maybe we can leave that for another time?

there are plenty of different interpretations when it comes to the poem, honestly. it seems tyrell’s resentment towards his father, and mr robot calling elliot’s dad a zero- was what got to elliot, or whoever it was, that can relate.

lemme know what you think!! i hope you’re satisfied w the answer and, again, im so sorry for the long wait.

if there are any mistakes just keep in mind it’s 7am right now and i need some mercy.

#a very very long post #im not even gonna proofread it im so tired im gonna go straight to bed #mr robot #elliot alderson #tyrell wellick #/mine #shutupneil

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ruwithmeguys · 5 years

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I don't think Felicity was sidelined in 7a but she has definitely been pushed aside in 7b and disgustingly so in the 150th episode. I think it's very naive to think otherwise. Emily also didn't film a single day for 7x17 as she was in LA the whole time so she's even going to miss her first episode ever. This is problematic.

I think it’s not the best thing to tell people that they’re naivefor having a different opinion to you. I never said to not be upset by how afavourite character is treated. I asked for people to see the bigger picture. Thatdoesn’t make me naive.

I don’t go around leaving asks in people’s inboxes tellingthem to make me feel better about something I don’t like, which is what some anonsdo with me.

What I did do, wasask people to stop sending me the same asks without taking even a few hours toconsider the words they were using and I know that they didn’t because in lessthan one hour after the title for 7.18 was released I received three asks allworded almost the exact same way:

ANOTHER EPISODE WHERE FELICITY’S BEING SIDE-LINED AGAIN.TELL ME I’M WRONG, COME ON!

Are you kidding me? I’m not here to make up for that.

Did I appreciate the lack of Felicity in 7.13? No I didn’t,but with Arrow it’s par for the course.

Do you know what IS naïve? Ignoring how the show hasprogressed since forever ago and then dishing out anger in inboxes. Arrow does an excellent job of beingcontinuously inconsistent, it tries to detract from its own mistakes, it veryliterally ignores plot holes and avoids the things that need focus. It’s donethis to every single character… and you guys EXPECTED 7.12 to be chock full ofwhat you wanted. No part of the fandom got what they wanted in 7.12. Thatepisode was DESIGNED to not only remind everyone of what the show had become,but to embrace the flash forwards.

The writers were telling us that, yes we’ve heard how much you don’t like the NTA and we’re getting ridof one of them soon so there you go! BUT.We don’t really care whether you detest Dinah and Rene. We need them to buildthe FF’s and to evolve the team so that when Stephen and Emily and David leaveArrow, it won’t feel quite so much like the earth cracking in two.

They don’t care.

7.12 wasn’t this deliberate attempt to push Felicity out ofit, it was hailing the masks as heroes whilst keeping Overwatch to the side:the city doesn’t know about her. The writers expect us to remember the thingsthey can’t be bothered to include in the episodes. Beth didn’t write 7.12,which was how I instinctively knew it wouldn’t have what I wanted, though I letmyself hope.

I don’t trust Beth, but I give her far more credence thanother writers on Arrow. They played us like a fiddle with their use ofmisdirection: the episode description alone suggested this, HOWEVER. Felicityhad the most important line in thisepisode.

She TOLD the audience to not use the word vigilantes to describeher husband. They’re heroes. There’s a reason Felicity said that and it leadsinto the FF’s. Why are the vigilantes looked down upon? Why are they hated whenwe’re seeing them finally be recognised in the present? Why does Mia blamethem?

Like it. Don’t like it. AT the end of the day, it won’tchange a thing. The show is deliberately trying to expand away from the coreteam and 7.12 was the flag ship for that. Notice how each episode after the crossoverhas been singular.

7.10 was Emiko’s revelation. 7.11 was Siren’s entire redemptivearc in one go. 7.12 was pushing an undeserving city to accept vigilantes for the heroes they are and a poor effort to bring back the john diggle of old. 7.13 was aboutOlicity as parents and William and how they get from a to b in terms of the present and future. 7.14 will be about OTA andFelicity’s pregnancy. 15 will be about OTA, the SCPD and the FF’s. 16 willbe about Mia. And so on and so forth. They’re all standalone episodes and it’sknocking us for a loop.

I would have loved for 7.12 to call-back to S2 and 3 and howOTA was set up. I THOUGHT this was the purpose to 7.12. Instead of focusing onthat, they focused on how the show has CHANGED, which wasn’t what a lot of us wanted.It focused on how it shaped from S5 through to 7 with some S1 thrown in. Ifthey hadn’t lauded the episode so much, WE wouldn’t have cared so much.

Also, a lot of my anons tend to decide weeks in advance thatan episode is going to suck. Remember how good 7.13 was? Do you want to take aguess at how many anons told me it would be the exact opposite?

Now yeah: I don’t care about BC because they’ve never beenable to stick with one which tells me they failed with that character big time. Sara. Laurel. Dinah. Evelyn.Now Zoe. Fail. Fail. Fail. Fail.

But, so what if they take an episode to focus on her. I’m not taking this asa personal insult to myself. Nor am I taking this as an insult to Felicity’scharacter. Felicity, Oliver and the birds and so flipping detached from each other at this point. In fact, they've never been close. Whenever Felicity gets focus, I notice that no one gave a crap about everyone else's lack of limelight.

Would I love for her to have the limelight always? Yes. Would it have been great if her being present in every single episode description continue forever? Yes. But all good things come to end. She'll get the limelight again (DO NOT ASK ME WHEN: I am not a psychic) at some point.

The ENTIRETY of the OTA are not a theme in 7.18 either. The birdsare. To be honest, I kind of get it. Think about it:

Aside from pulling Rene up, being a hypocrite and looking down on Oliver, what hasDinah’s SL been this year? NOW she’s lost her scream, perhaps forever. Perhapsnot. They just got rid of Curtis. This feels foreboding for her character.

Again, aside from trying to BE LL in order to redeem herselfand being Felicity’s BF, what is Siren’sSL this year.

I already listed the SL’s for felicity and they’re severaltimes that of the other two.

It doesn’t remotely bother me that Felicity (AND Oliver) won’tbe in 7.18 much (save from her being Overwatch for them) because it’s lordingup each version of bird they possess (including Sara and the dead ll). It mighteven be a goodbye. No, Dinah isn’tleaving. I meant a goodbye to the canary cry or whatever the hell.

What they shouldbe doing in this episode (but I’m not getting my hopes up) is finally makingthese women realise, like Felicity has always known, that you don’t need a metascream to make a difference. Dinah is the lost canary because she’s lost her ability.As I said before, she’s nothing without her scream, so maybe this is where sherealises that’s not true. Again, I don’t care. It doesn’t bother me. It’sArrow. This happens all the time.

Emily did film for17. And 16. And 18. She’s filmed for them all. Just not much.

Neither has Stephen. In fact, she and Stephen have filmedfor similar amounts recently. And though the after winter hiatus arc has neverfocused on Olicity the way 7.13 did, we’re not even half way through 7b. I’d rathersave my opinions until S7 is finished.

But I’m not here to make anyone feel better: if you don’t likemy opinions, then you don’t have to ask for them.

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orrtala · 6 years

Text

Keith & Shiro Relationship Analysis

It’s a liveblog! I only finished season two, please no spoilers in the comments/reblogs!

(more character analyses)

(version for mobile users - if you liked the content please like/reblog this post!)

These two need a flashback episode.

Because I really want to know why from all of people in the Garrison Shiro befriended Keith. Because I really want to know if they actually did meet in Garrison or before that. Because I really want to know if they spared with swords before Kerberos mission. Because I really want to know how Shiro got Keith to trust him. Because I really want to know what made them so close in the first place.

The first time we, as an audience, see Keith and Shiro together, is when the former barges into Garrison's tent after setting some explosions, punches few scientists and teachers, runs to the table in the middle, sees the man on it and… his face softens, eyes are glassy, making pretty much complete 180 from that badass angry biker we saw.

We learn later that Keith didn't have anyone else except Shiro. His mum left him, his dad either left or died, he didn't have any friends, and Shiro,that one person in his life, his dearest friend apparently died in space. Poor boy was in grief and full of anger, ended up punching Iverson, became a drop out, and didn't know what to do with himself until he received some strange energy from the middle of the desert. He was alone once again for a year, surviving in that little shack, very possibly on verge of depression (or maybe was actually depressed? Flashback episode give me your answers) searching for… Something. There were prophecies something was going to happen and so Keith awaited this moment, making himself busy. He wasn't going to forget Shiro, never that, but he had to do something to not focus on the pain thinking about him brought.

But the man in question was right there, only scarred, white-haired, in rugs, and with metal arm. That was a lot to take in, but he had to focus on getting out of there. Garrison Trio came, crazy escapes happened and ultimately everyone got to Keith's shack safely where he apparently had clothes for Shiro. Where did he even take them from? Did they belong to somebody else or did Keith took them from Garrison? Would FE let me know that?

“It's good to have you back.” “It's good to be back.” Awwwww. They share this nice, little moment where Shiro might be confused and hurt, but his friend is here, that's a good reason to smile. Things happen, they end up in Blue Lion, then in space, are chosen to be Paladins in Voltron, and both along with Pidge land in Galra ship to search for Red Lion. And Shiro… apparently believes in Keith enough to know he's going to be alright on the alien vessel? To be fair kid does manage to get his cat but still. What is significant here is how Shiro's words, “Patience yields focus,” helped Keith find Lion's energy. After that they form Voltron, Red Paladin gets patted on the back and so their adventure begins.

The duo spends most of S1 in the background. They smile at each other after the goo fight, Shiro calms Keith down when he gets angry at Pidge, Red Paladin is the one to lead everyone when their leader (and Pidge) are in danger, as well is one to notice he's not with a group while dealing with possessed Castle. Also kind of judge Lance together when he's flirting with Nyma. And the others did notice that they're close, for example Hunk just assumes Keith and Shiro would end up working together on Balmera while the rest would take one tunnel each. Keith never questions Black Paladin (even in aforementioned situation with Pidge, he's mad at her, but doesn't tell Shiro anything.)

One moment did stand out from the rest however and it was when Keith saved Shiro from the training gladiator in the second episode. It was kind of in a similar vein of saving him and Pidge, but it was much more personal. Red Paladin was laying down on the floor, beaten by Altean child settings but when Shiro needed his help he immediately materialized in front of him. And it's not the last time he saved him, oh no.

In the finale after being thrown out by his Lion Shiro has to take another route, but Black was out there, in the open, ready to be taken from Zarkon. So what happens? Keith decides to take matter into his hands and moves his friend's Lion away from the beam. He fights Zarkon, mostly because he just wants to get rid of him, but after it becomes obvious he has no chance of winning he keeps fighting because he wants to make sure the Galran Emperor doesn't touch Black. Their fight parallels the one that Shiro and Haggar engaged in, and both ultimately end with our heroes receiving help - Shiro from Hunk and Allura, Keith from Black Paladin himself.

S2 is the moment where their relationship really starts to shine and gets a lot of focus. For starters both end up stranded on the same planet, though still get separated. Red is a little banged up but Keith is alright so he makes his way to Shiro, happy and relieved that his friend is fine. Black Paladin does his best to reassure him he's doing alright, but mentions the wound and I really start to question my life choices why do I watch this I don't want to see that expression on Keith's face ever again. The creatures show up, Shiro still reassures Red Paladin “I'm fine but could you maybe hurry” and so it goes with Black Paladin's constant bad luck and fending off these aliens while Keith wants to get to him as quickly as possible. Both talk to each other a lot, there's a call back to “Patience yields focus” line, both reassure each other they're fine despite dangling above the chasm and hiding from the dangerous creatures, and Keith says: “If it wasn’t for you my life would have been a lot different.” We knew these two were close, we knew that Red Paladin had problems with making connections with other people and his only meaningful relationship before all this that we knew of was with Shiro. But what the heck actually happened there? What does Keith exactly mean by that? FE tell me all your dark secrets.

Finally Red Paladin reaches his destination, asks Black Lion for help and saves his friend once again. Shiro is obviously thankful, but the magic wound is still there. Both rest near the fireplace with their Lions not knowing what they should do to get back to the Castle and Shiro asks Keith that in case he didn't make it out alive he should pilot Black Lion.

Let's talk about it for a bit, shall we? Sure, Shiro's in a bad place; he's dying, not that he wants to (whatever jokes fandom makes up,) Zarkon took control of Black that threw him into outer space, and then Keith was able to pilot them, making Shiro feel unworthy of his role as a Paladin. But not only you can’t blame him for covering all his bases, he knows who is he asking for it. Red Paladin was able to pilot Black Lion, he's a passionate, talented person, who is definitely not as selfish as the others might think he is. And he has this aura that kind of makes others listen to him. Keith doesn't think that, he's not confident in himself, thinking his personality will put people off. And Shiro… kind of wants to get rid of these insecurities, to let Keith know he trusts him, that he sees him for what he truly is – a selfless brave person, significantly less childish than the others. However there are two important problems. One is that while all of the above is true it makes Keith a perfect Red Paladin, not Black one, which Shiro kind of knows, but, again, feels unworthy and wants to make sure right person will be chosen in his stead. Two is that while Black Paladin wants to let Keith know he believes in him, Keith is simply terrified at the prospect of losing his friend yet again and doesn't see it that way. Thankfully Pidge comes to save them and take them back to the Castle, but the idea of replacing Black Paladin in case of emergency doesn't leave Shiro's mind to Keith's irritation and worry.

Initially Keith didn't want to trust Ulaz despite Shiro's opinions on the matter, but at the end of the day he was the one who came to Black Paladin to apologize and talk to him. It was also the moment where his doubts about himself and his heritage truly began. And I do think he tried to tell Shiro about it, but. But he was afraid Shiro would tell him to give it up, that it didn't matter, that he was selfish. Keith is a person who tries to look at the bigger picture, who proposed to leave Allura so Galra wouldn't get Voltron, yelled at Pidge when she wanted to leave that there are people who need their help. And now he was hiding something, something that could have been potentially dangerous to the team and, by extension, the universe as whole, and he was being selfish, making it a closed circle. Black Paladin, of course, knew something was wrong, and Keith was on verge of telling him when asked about it, but, again, he didn't want to give up his dagger and potential answers, choosing to escape in a middle of the night being afraid of the danger he could cause the others instead of talking about it. And Shiro's opinion about the whole situation mattered to him the most. Rewatch the scene where they meet Lubos; Black Paladin is disgusted with a king (no wonder, what a piece of garbage person) and says: “You turned your back on your own people to save your own skin.” Look at Keith's expression there, he's afraid it's what he's doing right now, choosing the blade and his heritage instead of his team. So when he takes Lubos 'hostage' it didn't really came out of nowhere. There's also a matter of being afraid what others might say about him being part-Galra of all of the races in the cosmos, and he was afraid of Shiro's reaction as well about that part, though he had a first-hand experience with a situation where Black Paladin was the only one willing to trust friendly Galra. Being related to the race responsible for conquering and enslaving numerous planets ties to his fear of being rejected and his way of thinking there's something fundamentally wrong with him, thus making others dislike him.

Everything has its conclusion in “The Blade of Marmora” episode. Keith and Shiro travel together to Marmora headquarters and the latter yet again mentions his decision of having Red Paladin as his substitute, and the former simply refuses to talk about it. At the base where they learn they're not exactly welcome here and find out about the blade Keith was hiding, which surprises Shiro, and he claims he does not know when Red Paladin acquired it. Black Paladin wants to leave, Keith wants answers and so the trials begin.

At this point both know they care about the other, but they don’t really know what the other half thinks of them. Shiro doesn’t know why Keith didn’t talk to him about the blade, was he not worthy of his trust? He’s confused and stammers that he doesn’t know anything about Red Paladin’s knife which. Is not a great choice of words considering Keith’s history of abandonment and his doubts about Shiro potentially leaving him.

Red Paladin fights off more and more Galra, but then, finally, Keith doesn't go through the door but through the hatch in the ground and finds himself in front of Fake!Shiro.

“His suit has the ability to create a virtual mindscape, reflecting its wearer’s greatest hopes and fears. And, at this moment, your friend desperately wants to see you.”

The desperate part is pretty obvious; Keith is… not in good place right now, confused about his heritage, afraid he's not the person Shiro wants him to be, afraid he will have to choose between his new family and answers about his dagger, and, on top of that, he was beaten to the pulp and barely can stand. And so Fake!Shiro comes in, pulls him up (using Keith's hurt arm) and tells him it's going to be fine, that he did good, that they can go back to the Castle. It ties a little with a hope part, where Shiro is proud of him, thinks he's a good person, because Keith still this kind of mindset where he thinks Black Paladin wouldn't truly accept him for who he is. The fear comes when Red Paladin still has questions about his blade, refuses to give it up. Fake!Shiro tells Keith he's selfish, that he should just give up the knife and come back to the team before it's too late. Younger Paladin refuses, playing into the hope part again, thinking that maybe Shiro will accept that, accept him for who he is.

And then Fake!Shiro leaves and Keith breaks down. Because that’s it, that’s his fear right there. Before that he took Shiro’s yelling calmly, he was sad, but not surprised (which is weird when you think how gentle Black Paladin is towards him but not that weird when you think about Keith’s issues) but when Shiro gives up on caring about him? He just lost the most important, only really close person in his life and with his history that’s beyond hurtful.

The later part of Keith’s trial still reflects on his desperation, hopes and fears using an image of his father, albeit in a different way. I’m not going to go into detail here, let’s just say that with Fake!Shiro Keith chose the ‘selfish’ way, a desire to know about his heritage, and with Dad Kogane hallucination he picked Voltron and responsibility of being a Paladin. Keith slowly wakes up when Red Lion attacks the base and Black Paladin comes in for the rescue.

Through the whole fight Shiro is clearly unhappy, claiming it's unfair, worried about his friend on the arena. And I think the whole situation reminds him of his time as the Champion, which only fueled his frustrations. At certain point he just has enough and tries to go to Keith, but is successful only after Red Lion is distressed.

The thing about Fake!Shiro is that how Keith sees Shiro and thinks Shiro might see him. For Red Paladin his older friend is an amazing, diplomatic person who keeps his temper in check and now solved the problems he caused by talking. He did help him up using a wrong arm, but I think it was mostly a part of Keith’s general outlook on his life and that his sufferance isn’t that important rather than projecting lack of care on Shiro’s part. Meanwhile real Shiro comes in concerned, horrified and angry, picks his friend up carefully with both hands and lets him rest on him to keep him standing. He’s not in a mood for talking and is ready to fight the whole organization for them to leave and the right of keeping the blade with Keith.

And that’s… totally different to what Keith was expecting. He simply miscalculated how much he means to Shiro but there it was, the truth right in front of him. So he gives up the knife and both of them pass the trials.

After that things between them are good, both of them proved how much they mean to each other, they don’t have to worry about it and so they share a hug and I’m found crying in a pit. After that they are mostly busy with preparations for the fight with Zarkon, but they do make a point to show us Black Paladin thinks of Keith as his equal and I’m pretty sure forming a flaming sword requires a close bond. So they beat Zarkon and send him into coma and go back to Castle and oh wait Shiro’s gone for some reason no happy endings allowed I’m afraid.

Keith is going to be devastated and angry and will refuse to pilot Black for multiple reasons, the biggest being feeling like they forgot about Shiro. And you know he won’t rest until finding and rescuing him yet again. He loves Shiro, he’s his anchor, his comfort and reassurance and after the trials he knows Black Paladin cares about him more than he initially thought. He does put Shiro on a pedestal, sometimes to the point of blind loyalty and that will have to change at some point in a future.

While we know Keith was alone and only had Shiro we don’t know much about Black Paladin’s past, his family, his friends. Aside from Matt Holt, I guess, if they even were close or just have been assigned for the mission and were on friend-ish terms. He doesn’t mention anyone when Paladins stand together on Olkarion which might mean he considers Keith as his ‘only true friend’ as well. Shiro is protective of Keith no matter the situation they are in, but also trusts him to take care of himself as well as a team. He is devoted to Red Paladin just like Keith is devoted to him, but his read on the kid is better in general and he’s not nearly as dependent.

So there you have it they have a great bond and love each other. Their relationship will evolve, they might meet another few bumps, but they will not stop being friends.

Space Family Relationships Part One Space Family Relationships Part Two Shiro & Kolivan Keith & Lance Garrison Trio Paladins & Lions

#keith #vld #voltron #shiro #voltron legendary defender #not liveblogging #orr blogging #non episode #vld character analysis #don't tag as ship please #sfw

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